|
Thursday * Spanish Googoosh fan Hello. I am Nika Sancho from Spain. I know a lot about your country and I always read your magazine on the net. I see that you have a big disussion going on around your Pop diva, Googoosh. I don't know how much you welcome the idea of one starnger interfering with your national matters but I can't wait no more and I would like to tell you my experiences with this lady. (Excuse my terrible English) The one and only reason that I became interested in Iran was the Iranian legendary singer, Googoosh. I saw her CDs in London back in 1989. The name Googoosh had a very strange music and I bought two CDs and took them home. When I put them on I could hardly believe my ears. The songs that I couldn't read their titles and understand even one single word of them, touched my heart in places where have never been touched before (Bavar, Manoto, Komakam kon). For the first few weeks I thought that she was from some Arab country. But soon I found her nationality. I traveled to Iran in 1995 and saw the greatness of her legend. I had no idea of the conditions in there so I encountered a different country from the picture. I had read about in the papers. Warm and friendly people, over-crowded cities, delicious food (especially the one called jojo kebab). I was so simple minded that I asked the desk clerk to find out Googoosh's fan club for me. He laughed at me. I still remember the young girl called Poory who sang Googoosh songs for me. One of her standards was "poshte divaridelam". When I heard about Googoosh's comeback on the net I was shocked and couldn't belive it. But then it became serious and and she performed in Canada and then I bought a $250 ticket and watched her at the Great Western Forum in LA. She was exactly what I had thought she would be. Beautiful, well-dressed, and her voice, ah her voice. I never knew she had such a wonderful voice. Her voice had the greatness of Streisand and her personality was unmatched. She could make me cry and laugh without understanding one single word of her speech. I cried and danced and cried again with the people there. Sometimes I just search for her name in Yahoo or Google and that's why I got to know iranian.com. I don't know why she has become so much dear to you Iranians, I know it has something to do with the past. But for me it is just the passion in her voice and the light of her eyes. I also know that there are factions inside the Iranian government who dislike her and some people abroad who think she is an agent, but believe me, a true artist can never be an agent and she is definitely a genuine artist. I have a collection of her pics and I send you one that I like most. Truly yours, * Give me one good reason Hello Mr Peerooz. Excuse my language but you ARE ommol ["Emamzadeh Googoosh"]-- not in the sense that you like Marzieh and not Googoosh, but because you have no good reason for your opposition. Give me one good reason why should Googoosh not be adored. If you don't like her, good, but why the nagging? Let me ask you one question, and be honest: If you had written your letter about Vigen, Marzieh, Delkash, ... (whom I love and respect too) would anybody give a sh**? No man, I am not a Googoosh fan and believe me, but I respect her when she sings for the mothers who lost their sons in war, about the birds who don't sit on palm trees, and about palm trees that bring no dates anymore. Let the pieces of heart (this time full of happiness and friendship) come down on the captive land. For God's sake and for once in your life pick up a book and read something; act like civilized people. What the hell did we Iranians do that we cannot tolerate each other? Your generation fucked up the country with the revolution once, and now we have to improve things for the young generation in Iran. The love of this woman is the symbol of their oppsition. I live in this hell and you have fled this country and have your beers and congac every night, before going to bed. But we know how to express our opposition. One day with Googoosh, one day with demonstrations. * Amazing Asayesh It is amazing how Ms. Asayesh relays her thoughts to the reader ["That girl from Iran"]. I've read her book, Saffron Sky: A Life Between Iran and America. It is absolutely beautiful. It is a though she is behind a projector that instead of images projects words that in a magical way become images of her life when they hit that screen of the reader's mind's eye. She talks about things that we've all experienced, seen, and felt. She never takes a feeling for granted. All those little nuances that we hunger for, cry, laugh about, miss or hate, but can't explain with words, come to life in this book. It is all there and very vividly reminds us of our own-selves, and lives. I believe any Iranian can relate to this book, nevertheless the range of emotions can very well be universal. * Popular among Tehran English students I am a student at Tehran University's English Department. I am visiting England for the summer. Mr. Siamack Baniameri's stories are very popular among Tehran Univesity as well as Sharif University language students. The stories are funny and clever. I want to thank your web site and your writers for giving us good and funny things. I also wanted to say that some of your readers are YOBS. I don't understand people taking jokes so seriously and making such a big deal. Merci, * Yek khordeh bekhand Thank you so much, Mr. Baniameri for your sense humor. There are so few Persians left with it these days. Why are some readers taking this piece so seriously? ["Persian for president"] Baba, it's satire, aroom baash... yek khordeh bekhand. Don't take everything so seriously. I think Mr. Baniameri's articles are refreshing and very much needed. Thank you so much for your contribution! Mitra * No thanks TEYEB Read your article about Asgar Ghatel becoming the president. I think he should do this in Minnesota they have an ex wrestler as a governor. I had an Irannian friend of mine who spent five hours at the gym every day. He was about 6.4 feet and a lot stronger than you. He got shot in the face by a 110 pound kid and lost an eye and his balance. Have you heard of the balance of body & mind? The more time people spend at the gym the smaller their brain gets. On the other hand, if you spend too much time reading, your body gets out of shape. No thanks, TEYEB days are gone. I wouldn't mind having a Mafia guy for president to deal with other leaders but this Arash dude should apply at LA Comedy club or circus freak show. But don't get me wrong. I'm sure he's fun guy to hang around and must have a lot of boyfriends. BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER. * Changing historical facts Mr. Farahani's letter about Aryans and Arabs ["Iranians always rise from ashes"] seems to include many inaccurate and odd points. It is important to be proud of one's heritage and culture, but extending it into such kind of racial dogma that even changes the facts of history is unimaginable. It also undermines a nation's ability to discover the roots of its problems and to solve them in a practical way. For example, Mr. Farahani says "[After the Arab invasion] for two hundred years the Iranian language was practiced in secret." Well, in fact right after capturing Iran, the Arab rulers adopted Persian language for administrative book keeping and accounting purposes in Iran, simply because all of their civil officers and book keepers were Persians. Only after a long time the books were converted to Arabic upon insistence of an Iranian official who himself undertook the job of translation. As for destruction of cities, institutes and libraries, may I remind Mr. Farahani that the Jondi-Shapour University, for example, was open and active until Ninth century A.D. and many of its graduates served in the Abbassid court. I will also be glad to know the names of the major cities and locations of the libraries that were destroyed, if there was any >>> FULL TEXT * Shorter answer Dear Mr.Morton I hope Mr. Farahani's explanation ["Iranians always rise from ashes"] was clear and adequate in answer to your question ["Arabs or Aryans?"]. In case there is some ambiguity, let me take it a little bit further. Many years ago I had to go through the same detailed explanation as Mr. Farahani did until I found a shorter answer. I am sure you are familiar with the Bible from your Sunday schools and remember your history books from the school days. Right? Then surprise.We are the same people as Persians from the Persian Empire as you remember it. The reason for the name change is that about 66 years ago a benevolent dictator who had never been out of the country , except for a short visit to Turkey , and never knew a foreign language, all the sudden decided that Persia was not a good enough name for him/us and changed it to the native name of Iran, as we call our beloved old country back home. Later on , to top that , we also went through a revolution to change the name to The Islamic Republic of Iran. But the fundamentalists probably would have done it any way because they hate Persia more than the dictator did.Now you know the rest of the story. Have a wonderful and educated day. * Righting every wrong Regarding Khashayar Pakravan's essay, "Imperialism is alive": 1. The movie "The Crying Game" depicts a transsexual character, not a transvestite. Big difference and quite a surprising blunder for someone writing about sensitivity toward minorities. 2. The author implies that having sympathy for transvestites is wrong, again rather ironic for someone so dedicated to righting all expressions of prejudice, expressed or implied. If Iranians should take George Clooney to court for his utterances, shouldn't transvestites sue Mr. Pakravan for his lack of sensitivity? You see, that's the problem with wanting to right every perceived wrong. It is difficult to stone others when we all bear latent sins of our own. Alireza Torkzadeh * Azari beautiful In response to Shahriar Zahedi's insulting piece, "Buyuni Yuqun": In my experience, people who make fun of other people's language and culture are usually suffering from extreme low self esteem and self hate. This is probably a way for him to feel somehow superior even for a short time. Azaris have a very beautiful, and actually, vey poetic language and their poems and songs are filled with the praise of the earth and nature, pProbably because they live in an area that is blessed with wonderful natural beauty. Lucky are those who can understand and enjoy this language as well as Farsi. * Rumi correction Dear Zara, I feel that the third line of Wednesday's rumi poem may be referring to "glass work" rather than the "glass crying". What do you think? Thanks for the translations and hope you don't mind this different point of view. (See reply below) Dear Farhad, I think you're absolutely right, and I'm very grateful for the correction! I changed the translation. Best wishes, * Regarding zabaanam lol In a tantalizing collection of essays on Kharejeh Keshvaries our Departmental research presents a tribute to one of the best known intellectual questions to have shaped the field of Middle East Studies of kharejeh keshvaries. The overwhelming interest in mystical and occult, practices of kharejeh keshvaries as compared with "dokhelis" have paralleled in the works of other scholars such as the renowned dAyi Hamid of iranian.com, Shahin Shahin (author of "Bahram's cousin"), and the renowned presenter of Arash the Persian Candidate for president. In an attempt to explore the possibilities of a basic form underlying absurd practices of Iranian kharejeh keshvaries certain substantial research on their behavioral patterns and inclinations must be examined. In order to find the meaning of dualities in lives of kharejeh keshvaries, the followings are therefore those missing observations: *1 - Aragh vs. Chianti... Our envoys who were initially motivated by empirical observation which emphasize realistic and immediate concerns indicate that kharejeh keshvaries refuse to adopt traditional sources of intoxication such as taryak, aragh (our own Zacharya Rozi's label that is) and instead consume the Chianti of that extinct Roman Empire, or the Cabernets of the country of "deje artists". * 2- Zabaanam Lol Matters... Under the absolute tyranny of foreign substances similar to Zacharya's invention, kharejeh keshvaries demonstrate considerably higher orientations and excess toward "zabaanam lol" (In order to get due credit Zach's contribution needs to be mentioned over and over so that it won't be missed in The next PBS's documentary, Empire of Faith II). This is compared to less impious and unfaithful manners of "Dokhelis" who also clearly exhibit less curiosity and more innocence in dealing with zabaanam-lol matters. Kharejeh keshvaries traditional literary references to zabaanam-lol practices of our superheroes such as Ms. Forough, Mr. Sadi, Mr. Hafez, Mr. Rumi and Iraj are but misguided exaggerations >>> FULL TEXT Professor Hamechizdon * Outrageous claims I believe in freedom and human rights. I believe that Bahais like all other people should be free to practice their religion, preach and convert whoever they want. They should not be persecuted and discriminated against. The treatment of Bahais like many others in Iran today is disgraceful. They, like others, should be free and their holy places should be returned to them. However, I should also be free to express my opinion and I did. Mr. Mansuri ["Persian prophet"] does not beat his head and chest but he is a religious fanatic. Bahauallah simply praised Queen Victoria because she replied to his letter and scorned Napoleon because he didn't. Look what stories they are making. Had Queen Victoria fallen and Napoleon stayed in power then they would make some other stories. Mr. Mansuri is only confirming my letter ["Centuries of nonsense"] by making these outrageous claims that Bahaullah had predicted everything in the world! It is not very unusual for mollas to make outrageous claims like being in touch with God, prophet and imams and knowing about future! And Bahaullah was no exception. Maybe he was a better person then some other mollas, I can not be the judge of that. Finally I should say that I don't believe that Bahai religion was made by the British and niether did Kasravi. As long as mollas are around, there is no need for the British to make religions and sects for us. Peace on to you and good luck, * Tina's photos Thank you Mr. Javid for introducing us to such interesting and talented people such as Tina Manley ["Vivid memories"]. I truly enjoyed her photos. And I really enjoy and support iranian.com. * Jeanne d'Arc High School Hi. I am looking for my lost friends of Jeanne d'Arc High School in Tehran. I would like to get in touch with everybody who remembers me. Bonjour Je suis une ancienne de l'Ecole Jeanne d'Arc de Teheran, avenue Manoutcheri. Je voudrais avoir des nouvelles de mes anciennes amies.
|
I |
|
 |
Web design by BTC Consultants
Internet server Global Publishing Group