![](//iranian.com/Shorts/Images/photo.jpg)
Selected short notes
October 2002
Past months
Latest
* Boy girl
* Maragheh
* Do you still
* Change and...
This month
* I never liked hot dogs
* Freudian
* What a headache
* I never liked hot dogs
* Freudian
* What a headache
* Planet in need of therapy
* Cloud
* Begging regular hours
* Danial Cyrus Mousavi
* Pink point
* Painful, determined
* God & Sharif University
* That place you might refer to as "Ostorallia"
* Jaaye Khayyam khaalee
* Sniper humor
* Nokare Agha
* 10 minus 4
* I'm not even kind or considerate
* Journalism award for iranian.com travel feature
* Evolution of Michael Jackson
* Test results
* Indian films in Abadan
* Missing friends
* Great song
* And I am George Bush
* Iftar at a bar
* Smoke Bush not Iraq
* Bribe
* Time travelers
* Ab-tobehee
* What I want to do
* Persian mom
* Muslim extremist gay terrorist Iranian
* Send help
* Persian mom
* Muslim extremist gay terrorist Iranian
* Send help
* Long live peace
* Koocheh Shahid Francois
* The night before
* Oh Champs Elysées
* Paintings
* Quiet reflection
* We don't even have oil
* Attention
* Aries
* Past months
To top
October 30, 2002
* Boy girl
Around 1998, there was a 20-year-old girl who lived near us in Tehran. She always
had very short hair and went about her business on a bicycle without wearing the
mandatory hejab. Those who didn't know her wouldn't notice since she looked like
a boy.
-- MJ
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October 30, 2002
* Maragheh
Heard from a friend at a party in Berkeley:
In the early 1970s, me and a friend went to Tabriz for a visit. We asked where
the red light district was. A man recommended we go to Maragheh instead.. He said
the prostitutes there were more attractive.
We drove to the small nearby town and found the brothel. I was in the waiting
room and reading Zan-e Rooz when I noticed one of the prostitutes. She was
really good looking. She came over and said, "Did you see me?"
I thought she was either mistaken or pulling my leg. How could a prostitute in
Maragheh be featured in a mainstream women's magazine? She turned the page and there
it was: her picture and an interview about life as a prostitute in Maragheh.
To top
October 30, 2002
* Do you still
I wonder.
:Do you still wake up feeling tired and in sweats? (but wait, that was when you were
15.)
:Do you still stand in the dark on the 10th floor, staring at the marina in front
of you?
:Do you still fill out university applications for your friends, paying $55 for each?
:Do you still start your emails to Reza with "Eshgh" instead of "Dear
Reza"?
:Do you still take a walk at night by that park, with that shore, by those boats?
:Do you still stop to help a friend, moving his furniture to a new apartment?
:Do you still have those colorful pieces with the question: "Zan CHIST"?
:Do you still wonder why people ever want to die?
:Do you still write short stories with a "point"?
:Do you still keep silence to avoid an answer?
:Do you still drink "mint tea"?
:Do you still think about me?
I wonder.
-- B. Rastegar
To top
October 30, 2002
* Change and...
The Iranian masthead used to be in Times-Roman font and capitalized.
By the end of 1998, I preferred Helvetica
font. Now it's still Helvetica but the letters are all lower
case. I was thinking why this change? First of all, the original capitalized
version was just too pompous. Now, the thin, all lower case looks simple and elegant.
Or it could be interpreted as passive aggressive. Or felfel nabeen cheh reezeh...
-- Jahanshah Javid
To top
October 28, 2002
* I never liked hot dogs
I spent years trying to trade handmade olvieh
sandwiches for turkey and cheese. A pound of roast beef pleased me when I resented
saffron rice drenched in broth from lamb back. I'd do anything to avoid the ancient
cuisine laced with a Mother's love.
Why couldn't we eat hamburgers and fries like everyone else? Shit, I already looked
different; did I have to eat different too? The smell of grape leaves filled with
spiced beef permeated throughout our apartment building. I was ashamed of that rich
scent. Kids told me it smelled like camel diarrhea, I believed them.
My Father's hands, infested with calices, worked from sunrise to make sure we
could buy the rosewater our food was fried in. My Mother's tiny fingers picked for
an extra hour just so there wasn't any raisins in my rice. But even after all that,
I wanted a sloppy joe. Both of my parents, once among Iran's middle class, came to
this country and worked without shame so our family could still eat Persian. I didn't
know it then but my parents loved me through the food they put into my belly.
Some days my brother and I would sit hungry at lunch, too ashamed to break out
our oversized pita bread sandwich stuffed with joojeh kabob and feta cheese. Damn,
we were some spoiled kids. Maybe someone would point and yell "Look they are
eating towel head sandwiches." The whole table would probably laugh. Our cheeks
would turn apple red as we smiled pretending ESOL had not worked. In fact, I couldn't
wait for Ramadan so I'd have an excuse not to eat lunch. In those dark days all I
wanted was blonde hair, blue eyes, and mashed potatoes instead of abgoosht.
The truth is I never liked hot dogs. In fact, they made me sick to my stomach.
They smelled like shit. They tasted like shit, but embarrassment tasted worse. Nevertheless
I'd shove them down my throat without second thought. I'd devour those disgusting
clumps of haram meat until I started to feel white. But I'm not unique; it was the
same story with all of America's immigrant children. If it wasn't sangak then it
was tortillas. In the end, shame is all the same flavor.
-- Ramtin
To top
October 28, 2002
* Freudian
last night a very dear friend of mine told me that he could see right through
me. he mentioned that i had an endless cave of rage built up within my heart, simply
because of the cards that i had been dealt in this lifetime.
my verbal reflex was that the only emotion i felt was patience. i accept the reality
of my life, not with apathy, but with passion. passion to press on, to not only make
do, but to enjoy the path to this paradise known as the present.
i drifted into sleep with that notion in my subconcious. then, i had a dream where
i screamed at my dad and hit him. can you say freudian subconcious?
-- Lilly Benevis
To top
October 28, 2002
* What a headache
Yesterday was such a hectic day. I lost my purse with everything inside it...
my health card, driver's license, social insurance card, student ID, both my Visa
and bank client card and -- worst of all -- the keys to 4 different labs at the University
of Toronto (where I'm currently working on my masters thesis) and the access card
key to the whole building!
By the time I inactivated my credit card, someone had used it twice for a long
distance call in a call booth on campus (that's what the visa center told me) so
I noticed that my purse had actually been stolen from the lab (I'm so khoshkhiaal
to leave my bag out of the locker).
And as my social insurance number card was also missing, I had to call the police.
That wasn't enough because I had also lost the lab keys, so I had to report the case
to university's campus police. They came over and investigated me...
Anyway, now I'm a person with NO identity! What a headache!
-- Bahareh Vali
To top
October 24, 2002
* Planet in need of therapy
Has the whole world gone crazy or is it just me? As far as I can remember, there
wasn't ever this much fighting in the world or between individuals. Even amongst
my friends and I there have been changes. It's as though international fightings
have infected my circle of friends.
Someone I hadn't seen in a few months came to a dance recently and the first thing
she said was how much everyone she knew had changed. Her exact words were, "Everyone's
acting insane, like they're on speed or sumthing. You're the only one with semi-retained
sanity."
This seems so true to everything right now. War, terrorism, snipers are all that
you hear about on the news. Nothing happy. It's incredibly depressing to come home
from a long day of sophomore year and only see more awful news on TV. And it's not
even like any of it makes sense! If everyone just calmed down and took care of their
own countries for a while wouldn't the world be happier? It's like the planet is
one family needing therapy. Gah, it's so annoying.
School is in lockdown because of sniper shootings. I have bad dreams of war. Friends
are all changing everyday. Does anyone else feel pressure?
One of the only things that makes me feel better is a good massage. Putting on quiet
music and getting a nice massage; it's good even for just ten minutes. Yoga helps
too. It sounds corny, but the Sun Salute relaxes me more than anything. Simple things.
A book. A sweet kiss. A hug. Starburst.
There is never enough time anymore... I wish there was. One day of chilling with
an old friend heals the soul, and makes you feel happy. Truly happy. Not that I'm
a depressed person or anything (for instance - this weekend was awesome!) but there's
so much sadness happening. Who knows...
I just wanted to help everyone if they're having a bad day. Somtimes it can be too
much, but just relax, don't obsess. Take a minute and sleep. Get curled up under
blankets and read. It'll all be cool someday.
-- Christine Zahra Beyzaei
To top
October 24, 2002
* Cloud
![](//iranian.com/Shorts/2002/October/Images/cloud.jpg)
Hameed Gorani's email to friends:
Hello Gang,
This is the picture I took coming from Los Angeles to home [Washington DC]. Larger image
To top
October 23, 2002
* Begging regular hours
During the first six months after the 1979 Revolution, my father used to write
me about Iran's short Spring of Freedom and how it had affected Iranian psyche. The
hope for a brighter and happier future had made the people more honest, generous
and caring towards one another.
Where we lived in Isfahan, there was a mosque a few blocks south of our house. There
was a begger who had taken refuge inside the mosque and spent his days squatting
outside asking for donations from passers-by.
One Friday morning in Esfand 1357 (Mrach 1979), passing the begger, my dad dropped
a 10-toman note in the beggar's bowl. The blind begger immediately reached inside
his bowl, picked up the currency, extended his hand and hollered at my dad: "Sir,
I don't WORK on Fridays anymore."
-- Arash Kamangir
To top
October 23, 2002
* Danial Cyrus Mousavi
Elaheh and Vahid are the proud parents of a big baby boy born this morning, October
18, 2002 at 8:28 AM. Danial Cyrus Mousavi weighed in at 8 lbs 13 oz or 4 kg and 10
grams and was/is 21 inches or 53.3 cm tall. They will be at the hospital until Monday
- you can reach them at Fairfax Hospital...
Mother and baby are doing very well. Father is learning how to change poopy diapers.
:-)
-- Aref Erfani
To top
October 23, 2002
* Pink point
A couple attending an art exhibition at Canada's National Gallery were staring
at a portrait that had them completely confused. The painting depicted three very
black and totally naked men sitting on a park bench. Two of the figures had black
penises, but the one in the middle had a pink penis.
The curator of the gallery realized that they were having trouble interpreting
the painting and offered his assessment. He went on for nearly half an hour explaining
how it depicted the sexual emasculation of African-Americans in a predominately White,
patriarchal society. "In fact," he pointed out, "some serious critics
believe that the pink penis also reflects the cultural and sociological oppression
experienced by gay men in contemporary society."
After the curator left, a Scottish man approached the couple and said, "Would
you like to know what the painting is really about?"
"Now why would you claim to be more of an expert than the curator of the
gallery?" asked the couple.
"Because I'm the guy who painted it," he replied. "In fact, there
are no African-Americans depicted at all. They're just three Scottish coal-miners.
The only difference is that the guy in the middle went home for lunch."
-- Forwarded by Behnam R.
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October 21, 2002
* Painful, determined
a whole hell of a lot has happened since i last let you all in to what has become
my reality. lets just say that i got kicked out of the house, im homeless, and i
have just had my first encounter with public transportation, all in a few days. things
have been painful, to say the least. i am that much more determined to make it though.
its like i have so much to prove. ill write more this weekend... when i get my mind
together...
-- L B
To top
October 21, 2002
* God & Sharif University
Joke on how Sharif University students consider themselves smarter than the
rest:
Three students were in an airplane; one from from Tehran University, one from
Isfahan University and another from Sharif University. The plane crashes and they
end up at the gates of Heaven. They see God sitting on a great white throne.
God asks the Tehran University student, "What do you believe in?"
"Well," he replies, "I believe in power to the people. I think
people should be able to make their own choices about things and that no one should
ever be able to tell someone else what to do. I also believe in feeling people's
pain."
God thinks for a second and says, "Okay, I can live with that. Come and sit
to my left."
God asks the Isfahan University student, "What do you believe in?"
"Well," the Isfahan student replies, "I believe that the combustion
engine is evil and that we need to save the world from CFCs and that If any more
freon is used, the whole earth will become a greenhouse. And we'll all die... Waaahhh."
God says, "Okay, that sounds good. Come and sit to my right."
God then asks the Sharif University student, "What do you believe in?"
"I believe you're sitting in my chair," the students says.
-- Forwarded by Sourena Mohammadi
To top
October 21, 2002
* That place you might refer to as "Ostorallia"
![](//iranian.com/Shorts/2002/October/Images/logo.jpg)
salam! My name is Vida! i'm from downunda that place you might refer to as "Ostorallia"!
i live'n melb and i'm currently finishing year 12... here's a logo i designed as
part of one of my projects for a Persian footbal club. i love football and every
thing that comes with it... heehee... i like meeting new people, so if you're from
melbourne give me a buzz!:)
-- Vida
To top
October 18, 2002
* Jaaye Khayyam khaalee
Me and four male friends got together for dinner at Nader's house last night.
We drank, smoked and had sabzi polo with fresh tuna.
-- I was looking at a book by a Spanish photographer. The photographs were amazing
-- on a whole new level I'd never experienced before. Each one was a masterpiece.
I noticed I wasn't looking at the pictures for more than a split second. It made
me think and I scribbled this down: "I cannot appreciate beauty. It's too powerful.
I cannot withstand it. I surrender."
-- Farhad sang a few songs with his guitar, including a couple of his own. One
was country-music style, "Shi'ite Joe, what a man / Came here all the way from
eye-ran" and the other was an Iranian ballad a la Fereydoun Foroughi, "Zhaleh...
ey dokhtar-e baa eshtehaa... ey ezhdehaa..." (Zhaleh... You, the girl with an
appetite... You dragon...". He also suggested it would be really funny to sing
"Silent Nights" in traditional Persian style.
-- Two of the guys were talking about their classmate. "We learned all the
curse words from him. Once we asked him, 'Saa'at chandeh?' And he said, 'Koss'."
He had been accepted into the university, but the religious vetting board (gozeenesh)
would not let him in. So he went and did his military service instead. For two years
he fought in the Iran-Iraq war -- in the front lines. The war really fucked him up.
But he took the university entrance exam again and this time got into dental school.
He graduated, got married and had a kid. One day after work he had a heart attack
and died. He was in his late thirties and healthy.
-- One of the guys told a story. He and his buddy were in Iran. They were completely
stoned. They went into a store to buy something. But they couldn't remember what
they wanted to buy. The shopkeeper waited and waited. "I said, 'Az een cheezaa
daareen?' And I made an incomprehensible gesture with my hand." The shopkeeper
threw a bag of heroin on the counter. He thought they wanted drugs. They were so
shocked that they immediately sobered up and remembered what they wanted to buy:
"Aghaa Peef Paff (insecticide) daareen?"
-- Nader had recorded "Baraka"
on his TIVO machine. I had never seen it before. What a wonderful film -- mesmerizing.
There's a scene of Victoria
Falls. And I thought that's where I want my ashes to be buried.
-- Jahanshah Javid
To top
October 17, 2002
* Sniper humor
The sniper serial killer in the Washington DC area is still on the loose. Some
of his victims have been random persons at gas stations. Fearing for their life,
people are avoiding outdoor activities as much as possible.
Today Radio Alice in San Francisco offered to give two tickets to the World Series
baseball game between the San Francisco Giants and the Anaheim Angels to anyone who
did the most outrageous thing.
A listener called and said he would pump gas in Washington DC for a day.
-- Jahanshah Javid
To top
October 17, 2002
* Nokare Agha
Chatting with someone in Iran
![](//iranian.com/Shorts/2002/October/Images/agha.jpg)
To top
October 17, 2002
* 10 minus 4
Film critic Farrokh Golestan did a review of Abbas Kiarostami's latest film,
Ten for
the BBC Persian Service. He said censors in Iran had forced the director to take
out four scenes from the film. So Golestan gave Ten a six.
-- Shokooh Amirani
To top
October 17, 2002
* I'm not even kind or considerate
Every time I cross the Bay Bridge into San Francisco, I look toll operators in
the eye, smile and say "Thank you" when I pay my two dollars. I want them
to know that I see them as human beings, not machines. My token act of kindness.
-- Jahanshah Javid
To top
October 16, 2002
* Journalism award for iranian.com travel feature
Sent to The Iranian Times mailing list:
Ron Wurzner has won a journalism award
from the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation for his article and photographs
featured in iranian.com, "America,
welcome".
This is the second time an iranian.com feature has been given an award this year.
Earlier Setareh Sabety won an award from New California Media for an opinion
piece.
Here's the letter to Ron Wurzner from the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation:
Dear Ron:
On behalf of the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation, congratulations!
You are a winner in the 2002 SATW Foundation Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition.
We had a record 1,470 entries.
The awards will be announced and presented as part of the program at the SATW annual
convention in Hawaii October 27-November 1, 2002. The presentation is scheduled at
11 a.m. Wednesday, October 30, at the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort on Honolulu's
Waikiki Beach...
In early November, the results of the competition will be mailed to all winners and
awards will be sent to those who cannot attend the presentation...
Congratulations ñ and I hope to see you October 30 in Hawaii!
Mary Lu Abbott
To top
October 14, 2002
* Evolution of Michael Jackson
![](//iranian.com/Shorts/2002/October/Images/mj.jpg)
See here
-- Forwarded by Sheila Dadvar
To top
October 14, 2002
* Test results
Mrs. Smith goes to the doctor's office to collect her husband's test results.
The lab tech says to him, "I'm sorry, ma'am, but there has been a bit of a mix-up
and we have a problem.
When we sent the samples from your husband to the lab, the samples from another Mr.
Smith were sent as well and we are now uncertain which one is your husband's results.
Frankly, it is either bad or terrible!"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, one Mr. Smith has tested positive for Alzheimer's and the other for AIDS.
We can't tell which is your husband."
"Well that's terrible. How what am I supposed to do now?"
"The doctor recommends that you drop your husband off in the middle of town.
If he finds his way home, don't sleep with him."
-- Forwarded by Mahdiyeh Javid
To top
October 14, 2002
* Indian films in Abadan
I just finished watching "Ghost
World", directed by Terry Zwigoff, who chose
a clip from an Indian film "Gumnaam" (1965, directed by Raja Nawat'he)
for his film's theme. The clip was so fucking funny that I laughed my ass off, I
tell you. I watched it on DVD, and it had the Indian song and dance thing in its
entirety.
Talking about Indian movies, I vividly remember this movie theater in my hometown
of Abadan which showed Indian films most of the time. And, teenagers like us -- Bache-haa-ye-
Footbaalist-e- Teep-e- Javoon -- used to go there a lot. Just to laugh silly. And
we laughed loudly to the point of being obnoxious.
I remember there was this kid among us who was born in Masjed -i- Sulaiman but
raised in Abadan. His dad, like mine, worked for the National Iranian Oil Company
(NIOC). And, man! Was he funny! No matter how funny the movie was; HE was funnier.
Asr-e Shomaa Be'khair.
Issa Hajjizadeh
Las Vegas
To top
October 11, 2002
* Missing friends
![](//iranian.com/Shorts/2002/October/Images/rl.jpg)
It's been almost a week since Reza and Leila left San Francisco. Their departure
was almost overnight but unavoidable. I just hope they will be back soon. I miss
them dearly. I have a lump in my throat...
I took this short video a couple of moths ago when we were having cold cuts and
wine on the roof of my apartment building in Albany, California. Low
quality RealAudio / High
Quality AVI
-- Jahanshah Javid
To top
October 11, 2002
* Great song
![](//iranian.com/Shorts/2002/October/Images/del.jpg)
Flash animation "Bordee
az yaadam" sung by Vigen and Delkash (?).
-- Naheed Kalhor
To top
October 11, 2002
* And I am George Bush
This quote has been forwarded by at least five different people in recent days
in response to President Bush's "war against terror":
"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order
to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged
sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums
of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has
closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather,
the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of
their rights unto the leader and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have
done. And I am Caesar." -- Julius Caesar
To top
October 9, 2002
* Iftar at a bar
Heard from a friend:
One of my friends is a Black homosexual Muslim. One night during the month of
Ramazan, at the end of his daily fast, we had drinks at a bar for iftar.
To top
October 9, 2002
* Smoke Bush not Iraq
This is what the demonstrators shouted during the demonstration
in London on Saturday, 28th September 2002:
* Drop Bush not bombs
* Behind every Bush is a terrorist
* Rumsfeld is a loose cannon
* US/UK real axis of evil
* No war for oil
* Boycot Israel - Boycot murder
* No more victims of war
* Drop sanctions not bombs
* Stop the American dream
* Stop Bush and Blair's war drive
* End occupation, return our land
* Don't attack Iraq
* Killing for peace is like fucking for virginity
* More shalom, less Sharon
* People before petrol
* How many dead in the Gallon
* Inaction is not an option/ stop Bush and Blair's war
* Treat the causes of terrorism
* Support Iraqi people's struggle for peace and democracy
* Smoke Bush not Iraq
* If you are not with us- the peace maker, you are with them the war monger
* Regime change- Blair out now
* Stop violation of Human Right
* People before petrol
-- Fathieh
To top
October 9, 2002
* Bribe
There's a guy who sends me stuff to put in iranian.com. With every email, he includes
a pornographic picture.
-- Jahanshah Javid
To top
October 8, 2002
* Time travelers
I was in the car with my half-brother Jamshid Ghahremani Ghajar tonight, going
to a restaurant in San Francisco. He talked about this neurological study he's organizing
with UC Berkeley to measure the brain's sense of timing and anticipation.
His theory is that we're 2.5 seconds "in the future". In other words our
conscious state is what we think is going to happen about 2.5 seconds ahead of real
time. In a sense we're "time travelers," he said.
The way he described it was most fascinating.
-- Jahanshah Javid
To top
October 8, 2002
* Ab-tobehee
I was looking at an old family album. I asked one of my relatives about a woman
in one of the photos, taken in Iran in the 1930s. "She's so and so's wife. She
was an ab-tobehee," my relative said.
I asked what that meant. She said, ab-tobehee women were former prostitutes
who had repented -- a precondition for marriage. They had "washed their sin
by repenting" so to speak, thus ab (water) tobehee (repenter).
I asked whether they were really prostitutes or were they labled so because they
had had premarital sex? She said they had in fact been prostitutes.
-- Jahanshah Javid
To top
October 8, 2002
* What I want to do
Heard from Ammeh Parvin:
The daughter of one of our Iranian friends came home one day after finishing medical
school. She told her parents, "You wanted me to become a doctor. Here's my medical
degree; take it. Now I'm going to do what I want to do."
-- Jahanshah Javid
To top
October 7, 2002
* Persian mom
Forwarded by Pedram Missaghi,
A young Persian man excitedly tells his mother he's fallen in love and that he
is going to get married. He says, "Just for fun, Mom, I'm going to bring over
3 women and you try and guess which one I'm going to marry." The mother agrees.
The next day, he brings three beautiful women into the house and sits them down on
the couch and they chat for a while.
He then says, "Okay, Mom, guess which one I'm going to marry." She immediately
replies, "The one on the right." "That's amazing, Mom. You're right.
How did you know?"
The Persian mother replies "I don't like her."
To top
October 7, 2002
* Muslim extremist gay terrorist Iranian
I was watching "Inside the Actors Studio" on the Bravo TV where the
actor Antonio Banderas was being interviewed by the host, James Lipton, in front
of acting students. Banderas was asked about his career. One specific question was
(and I am paraphrasing):
Lipton: What was the first movie you did.
Banderas: It was with Pedro Almodovar. It was about a gay Irani. (He actually said
Irani)
Host: You mean a Muslim extremist gay terrorist? (With a funny smile on his face)
Banderas: Yes. (You could see he was a bit stressed)
It was like something you wouldn't want to think about -- that if this is what people
in such high positions in cultural circuits are saying about Iranians, what will
await us from other Americans?
There are around one million people with an Iranian background in the Los Angeles
area. They are in this hostile environment and still they don't react to it. That
makes me more angry. (See reply: Beh
gheyratemoon bar nakhoreh!)
-- Choghok
To top
October 7, 2002
* Send help
Email from Dokhi in Washiongton, DC:
Dear Jahanshah,
Have you been eaten by your computer? If you're in there anywhere, drop me a line
and I'll send help.
To top
October 6, 2002
* Long live peace
![](//iranian.com/Shorts/2002/October/Images/dast1.jpg)
Yaadegaari az 8 saal jange Iran va Iraq. (Larger
image)
-- Sent by J Nik
To top
October 6, 2002
* Koocheh Shahid Francois
Heard from a Tehrani:
Our neighbor's son, Francois Boroumand, was 15 or 16 when
he volunteered to fight in the Iraqi war. His father was Iranian and and his mother
German (God knows why they gave him a French name).
In the early 1980s, Francois became an MIA -- missing
in action. For years, no one knew what had happened to him. Was he captured? Was
he dead? The mother went back to Germany and the father stayed in the family house,
waiting to hear news about his son.
A few years ago the Iraqis sent some name tags belonging to Iranian soldiers killed
on Iraqi soil. One of them belonged to Francois. By then, the
father had turned into some sort of mystic. He even helped a couple of neighborhood
boys quit drugs.
Many streets in Tehran are named after martyrs of the war.
Our street was renamed as well. Francois's father spoke
to a few neighbors and asked for their permission to change it in memory of his son.
But the name of our street is not "Francois Boroumand".
It's "Abdol-Hossein Boroumand". We had never
heard that name before. Maybe he was called "Francois" at home, but the
name on his birth certificate (shenaasnaameh) was "Abdol-Hossein". Or maybe
municipality officials found "Francois" un-Islamic.
Mr. Boroumand, the father, died a couple of years ago, at his home on his son's
street.
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October 6, 2002
* The night before
![](//iranian.com/Shorts/2002/October/Images/face.jpg)
Last night I was making faces in front of the camera. This
one was particularly wacky. I was going to give it this headline: "The
iranian.com show is WHEN?"
But I'm not nervous, just a little anxious. The show starts in about 4 hours,
here in Berkeley. We're showing a documentary about Forough Farrokhzad. There's also
going to be some poetry reading and music. It's the fourth iranian.com show this
year. I know how to do this. Everything is going smoothly...
I think I WILL become nervous if I don't stop writing.
-- Jahanshah Javid
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October 3, 2002
* Oh Champs Elysées
![](//iranian.com/Shorts/2002/October/Images/ce.jpg)
Joe Dassin was a French singer in the 70's. This song is "Oh
Champs Elysées".
Enjoy,
-- Darius Kadivar
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October 3, 2002
* Paintings
![](//iranian.com/Shorts/2002/October/Images/paint.jpg)
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October 3, 2002
* Quiet reflection
![](//iranian.com/Shorts/2002/October/Images/gandhi.jpg)
Veteran Gandhi followers in Gujarat spent the day in quiet reflection on Gandhi's133rd
birth anniversary, October 2, 2002.
-- Marjaneh
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October 2, 2002
![](//iranian.com/Shorts/2002/October/Images/film.jpg)
* We don't even have oil
October 1, 2002 (New York Post) -- A Finnish filmmaker has canceled his
visit to the New York Film Festival to protest the State Department's refusal to
grant a visa to an Iranian director.
Aki Kaurasmaki said in an e-mail released yesterday he will not appear for the screening
of his comedy "The Man Without a Past," because if the "U.S. does
not want an Iranian, they will hardly have any use for a Finn either. We do not even
have oil."
Officials turned down Abbas Kiarostami's application, saying they needed to investigate
his background.
-- Sent by Darius Kadivar
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October 2, 2002
* Attention
My daughter was moaning about nothing. I asked her why she was bitching for no
reason at all? She said, "Charkhi keh sedaa nemikonad roghan nemizanand."
(If the wheel doesn't squeak, it won't get oiled.)
-- Yazdaneh Amiryazdani
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October 2, 2002
* Aries
Scorpio talking:
"I can't get along with Aries. It's all ME ME ME!"
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