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Baba Taher
Names
Giving Batul a chance
Changing one's name for practical purposes
By Guive Mirfendereski
Hamid's letter, "What
do I do? I am Italian," brought a few smiles and a flood of memories.
With a name like mine -- Guive Mirfendereski -- you can imagine how many
times in a day I have to spell it all out or explain each name's origin.
At times, when prudence or productivity dictates, Guive becomes an imaginative
combination of Guy (after Guy de-somebody, the French writer) and Yves
(after Yves Mon-somebody, the French matinee idol). Oh why couldn't my
parents agree on either name?
Of course, Mirfendereski suddenly becomes Polish depending on the circumstances.
In the summer of '86, I had decided that when calling people, particularly
in the Washington bureaucracy, I would introduce my self as Guido Murphy.
One day I called the undersecretary for-something-or-other at the Department
of Commerce to discuss the import classification for Turkish broadleaf
tobacco. When the receptionist asked my name, I triumphantly declared "Guido
Murphy." "How do you spell Guido," she asked in ernest...
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Outlook
What's Cookin'?
Cook Islands News is the daily newspaper of the Cook Islands, South
Pacific, New Zealand. It is published from Monday to Saturday on Rarotonga
and contains local and political news stories, sporting and other events,
letters and features... CLICK HERE
Iranian in Miss Asia USA
From Persian.com
Sometimes you just have to STOP and smell the flowers. Well, on November
15, you can see for yourself what Persian flower is all about--Jhanet Mizban
will represent Iran in Miss Asia USA 1999 in Los Angeles. But you have
to buy your tickets before November 1st, otherwise, ... DEATILS HERE
More Letters
* Sufis were great frauds
Glasse writers: The discussion is anecdotal rather than philosophical
[Iranica article: "Refusing
to bow to Adam"]. The material is tendentious; its goal is to
show that evil exists within God; the Sufis who are cited are merely dualist
Manicheans disguised as Muslims; they are no more profound than Jehovah's
Witnesses.
The premise is actually rather simple minded; it intrigues because it
entails a fatal contradiction of good and evil within the Principle, a
contradiction which cannot be resolved. It can however, be avoided altogether.
One doesn't have to take the bait... FULL
TEXT
* Film: Mehrjui and pre-79 cinema in
New York
Mark your calendars: During November 13 - December 3 Walter Reade Theater
in New York will present a retrospective of Dariush Mehrjoui's films plus
films by other directors made before 1979. Be there... PROGRAM
INFO
Thanks to Babak Nassirian
* Film: Mehrjui in Washington, DC
Dariush Mehrjoui will present his latest film "Golabi" ("The
Pear") at Washington DC's American Film institute on November 24.
Book of the Week
A Persian Requiem
By Simin Daneshvar
Translated by Roxane Zand
The first published novel by an Iranian woman and one of
the most widely read novels in Iran.
Click here to read about this book
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Turkey starts building gas pipeline
TEHRAN,
Nov 9 (Reuters) - The Iranian rial fell to historic lows on Monday, losing
2.8 percent against the dollar since late October on inflation fears and
concerns that the latest Iraq crisis could lead to open conflict. Businessmen
said the U.S. dollar fetched as much as 7,050 rials on Tehran's illegal
but active black market, compared to about 6,850 rials in late October ...
FULL TEXT
Majlis discusses plummeting carpet exports
TEHRAN,
Nov 10 (AFP) - Iran's parliament met in closed session on Tuesday to examine
plummeting carpet exports, the state's second most important source of revenue,
state radio announced ... FULL TEXT
Russia's Tupolev seeking to build planes
in Iran
TEHRAN,
Nov 10 (AFP) -Russian aircraft manufacturer Tupolev is in Iran looking for
a partner to begin local production of passenger planes, Iranian radio reported
Tuesday ... FULL TEXT
Iran to export... chocolate
Tehran, (HAMSHAHRI) - Iran expects to export $300
million worth of food stuffs this year (ends March 20, 1999), including
$100 million worth of chocolate... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Iran puts out one forest fire, contains
second
TEHRAN, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Iranian firefighters
on Tuesday extinguished a raging forest fire and contained another blaze
threatening a nature reserve in northwest Iran, officials said. Wildfires
fanned by winds destroyed 170 hectares (420 acres) of woodland and pasture
in 12 hours on Tuesday near Piranshahr on the border with Iraq before being
put out, a local official told Iran's news agency IRNA... FULL TEXT
"Ila": A woman alone
Tehran, (HAMSHAHRI) - "Ila," a play by
Mohammad Charmshir is about a woman whose husband leaves for the war front
shortly after their marriage. All alone, "Ila" imagines what her
life would have been like if ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Camping in UAE
Tehran, (HAMSHAHRI) - National soccer team will set
up training camp in the UAE next week, plus the latest news surrounding
the team ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
$ Rate
The
dollar now offered at up to 705-710 tomans
Source: Sehaty Exchange (U.S.) Tel: 602-595-0777
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Iran
Brief history of Iran
"Around 6000-4000 BC... the [Russian] tribes that immigrated
to the west came to be called Europeans. People that went to the southern
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Brief history of humanity
"I hope to give you a perspective on human evolution,
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Quote Unquote
New name
[Changing a name] is about being able to communicate without having to
account for or be interrupted or prejudiced by queries about national origin
or to encumber others with a name which can hardly be pronounced.
Guive Mirfendereski
"Giving Batul a chance"
The Iranian
Nov 10, 1998
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Sandy
Four songs from the Abadani band's latest album
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