How to pronounce the name of Iran's new President: Rowhani as in "Row! Honey! Row! The Americans or Israelis are coming!" ... Continue reading »

Eulogy, the perennial battle between fighting back tears and trying to strike a meaningful exemplification of the loss of a close dear friend.   Ah Iran! I knew her well!   We first met in '41, when as a young diaper filled lad, I set a toddler's first foot upon her warm Mehrabad asphalt stepping off a cold Lufthansa at 2 in the morning. As a baby ... Continue reading »

I just watched the new Abjeez music video, "Parcham".   In Art School (not something most Iranians would pursue, I know), you study a short little known course on "The Psychology of Color".  This is most often simplified as the best combination of colors to achieve a desired emotional state. You know, Blue is calming, Red is excitement etc.   Then ... Continue reading »

"Nobody can overthrow me. I have 700,000 troops, all the workers and most of the people. Wherever I go, there are fantastic demonstrations of support."   - Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, July 1978 ... Continue reading »

  Once again it begins. The great farce and grand illusion that is the Iranian Presidential election.   If you read the Iranian Constitution it's painfully obvious. But my astute colleagues, even ones more astute than me, people with PhDs even, seem to be blissfully ignorant as to how the system and laws work, choosing instead to be gullibly swept ... Continue reading »

The new Kiosk documentary "Kiosk, A Generation Destroyed By Madness" is a wonderful behind the scenes peek into one of our best rock bands. If like me you have followed the rise of Kiosk ever since their ground breaking debut album "Adameh Mamooli", and own every album since, you naturally want to see and hear and read and watch more.   This film d ... Continue reading »

Watching the PBS program "The Iranian Americans", one can only be struck by the overwhelming self pity, sadness, and general lack of any satisfaction in spite of the overwhelming success of the stories that the subjects attempted to portray as the quintessential average Iranian American condition. Whether true or not, whether we all feel this dep ... Continue reading »