KAMANGAR

The Master

She welcomes music for any occasion

14-Mar-2011 (7 comments)
When I first heard Tara Kamangar perform with the Oakland Symphony Orchestra I had a feeling that she would soon be invited back on the same stage. As it turned out, the next time I heard her perform, Kamangar was not a behind a grand piano locked in a precise and passionate embrace with a Rachmaninoff piece; the versatile concert musician was improvising gypsy-jazz with a fiddle tucked under her chin, accompanying the group Kiosk. This March 18, Kamangar will be back on the Oakland Symphony stage, this time the young master has a Beethoven concerto under her piano fingers>>>

PHOTOGRAPHY

Stories to Tell

Stories to Tell

Photo essay: Downtown Los Angeles

by Said Khorramshahgol
12-Mar-2011 (6 comments)

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PERSIAN

Saving Farsi

Maybe we don’t love our language enough to invest in its survival

09-Mar-2011 (4 comments)
It is hard to understand why in a community that prides itself for its wealth and knowledge; no one has stepped forward to help those who are desperately trying to resuscitate this “dying language.” When our children are small, we spend part of the weekend to drag them to community schools to teach them a little Persian, but when a university offers it, which would in turn train our future teachers, we don’t seem to grasp its importance. If these students are denied further studies in Persian education, then who is going to teach the children of our children? >>>

SMILE

Thank God you are God

Dear God, why do you hate donkeys?

04-Mar-2011 (11 comments)
I used to read what is claimed to be your last holy book written in Arabic, the Quran, because Mullahs have told us, and still do, that Quran cannot be translated into any other language. Although prohibition against translation seems to be more of a theological matter rather than a translational issue, I believe it is more a political concern. The Islamic clergymen believe that Quran is your word, God, and if it is translated into another language, it then becomes the word of human beings>>>

KIOSK

Eargasm

Triple distilled review of Kiosk's "Triple Distilled"

12-Feb-2011 (4 comments)
In a churning sea of come and go bands, Kiosk has thankfully remained consistent, in that each successive album pushes the boundaries of what is considered normal, but more importantly Kiosk pushes me to to try and make some sort of sense of it and I grow from it. "Triple Distilled" Obviously referring to late night drinking sessions of the yore of pre-revolution Iran, specifically those in the southern part of Tehran's red light >>>

CALIGULA

کالیگولا در زمستان دیکتاتوری

هر چیزی شروعی دارد پایانی نیز خواهد داشت. این قانون طبیعت است.

10-Feb-2011
« کالیگولا» باله ایست یک ساعت و نیمه با طراحی نیکلا لوریش، یکی از رقاصان درجه یک اپرای ملی پاریس و گیوم گاین. «کالیگولا» اولین کار او در زمینه طراحی رقص است و او شخصیت کالیگولا را با موسیقی چهار فصل آنتونیو ویوالدی بر روی صحنه آورده است. پیش از این هرگز هنگام شنیدن چهار فصل ویوالدی به کالیگولا نیندیشده بودم اما طراحی لوریش نشان می دهد که چنین امری ممکن است >>>

READER

The Good Writer

Jasmin Darznik's "The Good Daughter"

08-Feb-2011 (11 comments)
Darznik's book is an elegant and memorable way that the author has chosen to show her love and devotion to her mother, and also for her country of birth. It is clear that Jasmin Darznik has conducted an impressive amount of research to create a believable image of Iran during the past century, and she is very successful in the depiction of an Iran that many don’t know. This book, I am sure, will be a great success, especially among the non-Iranians, as it creates a believable universe, and as an Iranian reader I feel this urge to clean up my own acts>>>

HIT

On My Own

Rising UK Pop singer Yasmin Shahmir's debut single

06-Feb-2011 (11 comments)
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THUMBS UP

The King & The Prince

Alireza Pahlavi and "The King’s Speech"

06-Feb-2011 (24 comments)
The tragic death of Alireza Pahlavi happened barely two weeks after the release of The King’s Speech, a popular film about the psychologically tormented younger brother of Britain’s heir to the throne. Watching the film so soon after Alireza’s suicide, I suspect he missed this inspiring work of art that had appeared in time to speak to him. The vivid portrayal of Prince Albert--who later became King George VI through an improbable twist of fate—would have lifted his spirit and occupied his mind with positive thoughts of his burden>>>

FUN

Horse Calendar

Horse Calendar

This earned me the "coolest uncle" title

by Ben Mirkhah
05-Feb-2011 (6 comments)

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WOMAN

Kaniz

Kaniz

Photo essay: Wife, mother and artist on Hormoz Island

by Ahmad Nadalian
02-Feb-2011 (9 comments)

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STORY

 آقای اسکات

من دل در گرو آن پیرمردی دارم با ریش سفید و بلند که کتابش را زیر بغلش گرفته

26-Jan-2011 (2 comments)
خانه من درست در تقاطع سه چهارتا خیابان مهم واقع شده که همگی ختم می شوند به یک میدان کوچک. با خودم فکر می کردم چطور وسط تقاطع به این پیچیدگی فقط یک میدان کوچک ساخته اند. میدان کوچک است، خیلی کوچک ولی یک مجسمه بزرگ و با شکوه وسط باغچه قشنگش کار گذاشته شده. مجسمه برنزی از یک سوار دلاور با یک اسب بزرگ زیبا>>>

LIFE

درون شکافی در ساعت یک و بیست و سه دقیقه ی بامداد

این روزها از دایره عادت گذشته ام خارج شده ام. به جاده ای پا گذاشته ام که اصلن به هیچ عنوان بی انتها نیست

21-Jan-2011 (8 comments)
این روزها هر کاری که دلم می خواهد انجام می دهم چون به جادوی بزرگی دست یافته ام که توان حتی به کلمه رساند نشان را هم در خودم نمی ببینم. اصلن چرا باید به زبان بیاورم وقتی این همه آسان پیچک درونم را باز می کند و کاری می کند که حس کنم راه نفس کشیدنم بازتر شده>>>

DUET

Enta ya Ghali

Iranian-Lebanese musical collaboration

19-Jan-2011 (23 comments)
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SA'DI

دل شاد سعدی

سعدی زندگی و شادی های آنرا شایسته ی بهره جویی میداند و به مرگ اجازه نمیدهد که چون کابوسی بر زندگی سایه اندازد

14-Jan-2011 (3 comments)
در میان گویندگان قدیم و جدید فارسی کمتر کسی را به زندهدلی سعدی می شناسم. تخلص او "سعدی" و عنوان کتاب هایش "بوستان" و "گلستان" است. خدای او باغبان طبیعت و مذهبش آسانگیر است. نه چون مفتی در بند عبادات است و نه چون صوفی در قید ریاضت. نه چون بابا طاهر در سوگ رفتگان سوته دل است و نه چون خیام و حافظ از ترس مرگ خوش باش، بلکه دیوانی دربار شاهی است خودکامه و شادی کُش>>>