Archives
January 2005
January 24
* How do you say goodbye to someone you love?
How do you say goodbye to someone you love? How do
you deal with that feeling... of knowing -- of just sensing in
your guts
that the relationship is over? You have not yet broken up; but
the relationship is at its deathbed.
You want to sit by it, like a soothing mother caressing
its hand, to will it to survive. Like a caring coach, you want
to stand by
its tired body, daring it to go on. But it's wounded and
its heart is heavy.
How do you make someone, who was the center of your
days, disappear from the picture of your life? Do you wipe them
off in one sweep,
or do you slowly taper off from their voice, their touch and
their love?
How do you walk away from the most important thing
in your life, when it's at its weakest? How do you not?
I have had a full life. By the time I became a teen,
I had seen a revolution through, had survived a war, had lived
in three different
continents, and had already said too many good-byes. And yet a
few degrees, some wisdom, a handful of years and several disappointments
later--Life keeps me on my toes, and I still don't know how
to say goodbye to someone I love. -- Baharak Sedigh
To top
* What's a lesbian?
We had an interesting experience with my son Xander
(Alexander) last night. It was after 9PM and we had already put
the Tasmanian
Devil in bed. But as usual, he ran out of his room several
times, dragging his favorite stuffed animal Goober and we kept
herding
him back to bed.
We were watching a new episode of Law & Order, which is one of our favorites and not something we let him watch!
So, during the last scene of this episode, the district attorney
has a meeting with the assistant DA to tell her that she is fired!
She is not happy and responds "Are you firing me because I'm
a lesbian?" (we had no idea that the character was a lesbian,
by the way!)
Right as she was asking that question, Xander and
Goober run out of his room and into the living room. You guessed
it; he heard the word LESBIAN! I immediately noticed a slight
pause and a question mark on his face!
Before I had a chance to process that hunch and
look over at Susan to see her reaction, he says, "What's
a lesbian?"
His mother and I looked at each other with our jaws
about 2 inches away from the floor. I didn't have a ready answer
and neither did
Susan! So, she just changed the subject and we never heard back
until he finally went to sleep. We're certain the question has not gone away. It's
just been filed temporarily to come back and hit us again when
we least expect
it. We have to come up with an answer!
What a joy it is to bring up a child in the age
of Satellite TV, the Internet and DVD! You have all the amenities
of this
age, but
then you have to be able to answer a 5-year-old's questions
about the kind of things that 20 years ago wouldn't have crossed
your
child's path until he was a freshman in college! -- Ben Bagheri
Source: PersianDadAmericanMom.blogspot.com
To top
* Miniatures of WW II allied leaders On the eve of the Tehran Conference in 1943,
the Iranian government commissioned a Persian master of
miniatures (probably Hossein Behzad) to create three paintings
as gifts
for FDR, Stalin, and Churchill. The scene depicts the three
leaders vanquishing Hitler, Hirohito, and Mussolini.
Each leader was given a painting in which he was personally
leading the charge on the white horse. (This
is a copy of the one given to Churchill.) The artist has portrayed
the
Iranian people as distant observers (upper left) >>> Source,
Dr. Abbas Milani
-- Sourena Mohammadi
To top * Why do we Iranians think we know everything
about everything?
Have you ever played backgammon at a party
with a couple of older relatives watching? I don't know what
makes them
compelled to give advice and opinions on EVERY move. "Agha
shisho besho ke oontori baazi nemikonan!" "Eh!
cheraa oon khoonaro nabastee? Alaan taas miyaareh mizane
pedareto dar miyaareh!"
They stand there and spew game
advice to the point that you wanna tell them "Hey
man, why don't you fuck off and let me play my own way?"
A few nights ago, I was playing poker in a
room near San Diego. I started with $80 and made it into
$240 in an hour
or so. Not bad for a low stakes $4/8 game. I had my $3 steak
sandwich and I was sipping on a glass of Congac. Life
was good.
As luck would have it, 2 middle aged Iranian
ladies name Mahin and Hoda sat at our table. Mahin khanoom
sat next
to me. That's when I said, "Oh shit," -- not outloud of course.
They both lost over $50 in the first 3 hands.
God only knows why they were betting on their hands. But
that didn't stop
Mahin khanoom from giving me advice on how I should have
played my hands to make more money; "Agha, ba'd az flop
baayad check raise mikardee.", "Eh, cheraa dasto
endaakhtee? Miraftee to river caardeto migereftee..."
From the minute
she sat down she gave me advice, even as I was winning
and she was losing. I don't know what kind of logic was driving
her thought process; what was making her think she was a
better
player to give me advice. Not on a hand here and there
but on every hand. After I made my $80 to $320, including
winning
2 hands from the Iranian sisters, I asked for a table change
and left Mahin Khanoom.
The "piece de resistance" came last
night at a dinner party in Laguna Beach. There were multiple
discussions
going on between different groups. People were talking about
the economy, politics, future of Iran, and Bush's plans for
social security with such conviction that one would think
they were
heads of the CIA or advisers to Alan Greenspan.
Don't get me worng. If I am at an Iranian
function and Kamran Elahian is talking about venture capital
for tech
start ups
or Dr. Zamani is sharing the latest on laser
neurosurgeory, I will be all ears.
I long for the day I can be involved in a discussion
with a group of my countrymen where we could discuss and
exchange ideas without thinking we know everything about
everything.
-- Manouchehr
Mehrparvar
To top
* Your poetry and prose in Faultline
Dear artists and friends, Hello there!
I've been asked to help make the 40th anniversary
issue of Faultline literary Magazine, which is published at UC
Irvine (my Alma Mater), an issue with some migrant Iranian presence.
In general, they accept submissions of great quality from anywhere,
and for this issue, they are particularly looking for California-resident
immigrant voices of the same quality.
You
can submit poetry and prose written in English or translated
into English. As well, you can submit artwork. Submission guidelines
are listed below. They like submissions by snail mail, but in certain
cases they might accept email submissions. You can check with them
on that.
Please forward this information to your fellow artist
friends. And I hope that you submit and fill the issue with immigrant
Iranian
artists!
Niloufar
Talebi
Deadline March 1st, 2005Submission Guidelines
Poetry: Up to five poems
Fiction and Creative Nonfiction: Up to twenty pages
Artwork: Up to five 8 X 10 color or black and white prints (slides
may be necessary if work is accepted for publication)
Submissions are read between September 1 and March
1. Submissions received at any other time will not be read. Simultaneous
submissions
are acceptable, but please indicate if the manuscript is
being considered elsewhere. Please include a cover letter with your
name, mailing and email
addresses, titles of work submitted, and an SASE with appropriate
postage. To assist anonymous judging, do not include name and address
on manuscript. Send poetry separately from fiction and nonfiction.
Submit work to:
Faultline
Department of English & Comparative Literature
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697-2650 To top January 18
* Nooshe jaan
After posting my Dizi
pictures I got so many e-mails regarding the recipe, the method of cooking
and where to purchase the pots. So if you don't mind, here are
the answers to my dizi fans:)
1- For the recipe, see below.
2- As for the pots, they can either purchase them from Middle Eastern
markets (Iranian markets mostly) or from Bazaar Ghaem in Tajrish
(where I bought mine), in Tehran.
Recipe For each Dizi pot:
-- 2 oz beef shank
-- 1 Small piece beef soup bone (optional for more taste)
-- 1 Small red potato, skin on
-- 1 Small yellow onion, skin off
-- 3 Red cherry tomato
-- 1/2 Cup mixed red beans and garbanzo
beans
-- 1 Limo Amani ( you can get this from Middle Eastern Market)
-- 1/2 Tbsp spoon tomato paste
-- 2 Cloves of Gralic
-- 1 Tsp Turmeric
-- 1 Tsp Cinnamon
-- Salt and Pepper to taste
To make sure the meat is cooked thoroughly, put the beef shank
and the bone in a separate pot and add water to cover. Cook on
medium heat for 1/2 hour.
Then divide
the cooked meat and bones along with the rest of the ingredients
into each Dizi pot. Place inside the fireplace (around the edges of your fire place.
Far away from the flames).
After the fire is out, gather the left over charcoals tight around
the Dizi pots and let them cook until the next morning.
It usually takes few hours for Dizis on charcoal to cook and
the smoky taste gives it an extra aroma.
Nooshe Jaan.
-- Sholeh Jahanfard
To top * Geotechnical scholarship
The Geotechnical Engineering Technical Group of the Los Angeles
Section is pleased to offer a scholarship directed to senior
and continuing graduate students planning to enroll in a graduate-level
geotechnical program in Fall 2005. The scholarship is intended
to recognize past achievement and career growth potential for
students
interested in pursuing a career in geotechnical engineering. The
scholarship provides a cash award of $2,000. [see
details]
-- Keyvan Fotoohi,
Ph.D., P.E.
Second Director
ASCE Geotechnical Engineering Group, Los Angeles Section
c/o Converse Consultants
222 E. Huntington Drive, Suite 211
Monrovia, CA 91016
Phone: (626) 930-1275
Fax: (626) 930-1212 To top
January 11
* Orkut update
Third note:
I'm writing again to update you on the filtering situation. This will most
likely be my last update on the story, since everything seems to be back
to normal,
so to speak. [Petition
to unblock Orkut]
Neda Network is back. Rumor has it that they refused
to filter Orkut and that's why they had to close down briefly.
Pars Online apparently never closed according to some, and was "plumbed" according
to others.
People are just figuring out different ways to circumvent
the filters and get to Orkut. One of the most effective ways to
do it is to use Orkut's IP address instead of the regular URL,
which would mean just typing //64.233.171.85 in
the address bar in order to reach the site. Of course, proxies
could be used for the purpose too. There are a few guides on how
to use proxies already on the web.
Most importantly, the rumors about the restriction
of blog sites definitely don't seem to be true and only hype. Persianblog,
blogger.com and the rest are all functioning as they always did.
The filtering only concerns Orkut. >>> First & second note
-- Anonymous, Tehran
To top
January 10
* Oldest animation
A team of archaeologists in Iran have recently discovered an earthenware
bowl which has what they believe is the world's oldest
animated
picture drawn
around it. Shahr-e Sookhteh "Burnt City" in Iran's eastern
Sistan Province, This is my animation gif version of it.
-- Mehrdad
Aref-Adib.com
To top
January 9
* IRI blocks popular Orkut
Second note:
Hi again,
I'm writing to update you on what I reported earlier
about the crackdown.
I've checked persianblog.com, and contrary to what the BBC
is reporting,
it
is alive and well and living on the Iranian web shores. [See
petition to unblock Orkut]
There are
no updates
on rumors concerning Pars Online and Neda, but this also might
be of
interest: Apparently, there has been a case made against [Vice
President] Abtahi at the
clerics' court ("daadgaah-e rowhaaniat") after
he created the
commission to investigate allegations of mistreatment made by
arrested
bloggers. This is also still a rumor, but the difference is that
Abtahi
himself has claimed having heard about the case.
I'll attach two
screenshots [from my computer monitor in Tehran] of the now filtered Orkut as
well as the filtered petition
site. First note:
Thought you'd want to know that there
are rumors of a major Internet crackdown over here. Orkut has
definitely been filtered "be
dastoore
ghovveye ghazayie", Neda.net is
not working anymore (though according to the
company itself, it's only for 24 hours), Pars Online has been "plumbed" ("polomb!")
this morning according to another rumor, and so on.
Weblogs haven't been filtered (yet?), neither is iranian.com
-- at least not
on the ISP I'm using. People can still get on Orkut if they use
the secure
version of the site (by using https for every page they're trying
to
retrieve), but apparently, there's a way to filter that as well.
-- Anonymous, Tehran
To top
* UNICEF, youth, Persian Dear all,
UNICEF's Voice of Youth website
is for all youth that like to talk about various subjects. We,
Chatr (in Farsi meaning umbrella) Adolescents and Youth Center
(CAYC) are a young NGO. A few of us already knew UNICEF but there
were so many of us who did not know anything about UNICEF and its
activities. Therefore, a kind of information sharing project was
developed with the support of UNICEF.
The objective was to create a friendly atmosphere for Iranian
children and adolescents to make their voices heard by everyone.
But a lot of children cannot speak English. So we organized some on-line
discussions in Farsi in which children from different provinces
as well and from all over the world participated. We would translate
children's views and put them on VOY in their name. But this would
take lots of time. Therefore, we spoke with site Admin and it was
agreed to create a discussion forum in Farsi.
The topics of discussions on VOY are: HIV/AIDS, education, children's
rights and media and we, in CAYC will be moderators of the discussions.
We have also promised VOY to put a brief translation of your views
for others to understand.
Persian-Speaking Children of the World, Now is the time to make
you voices heard, as loudly as possible! Cause, everybody is ready
to listen. We must ALL help to build a World Fit for Children!
Wish you all the best,
Chatr Association Youth Center
Tara Mokhtary
Administrator of Farsi Disscussion Group of VOY
Iran NGO News is a group composed of Iranian non-governmental
organizations that share their news and events through this group
that is moderated by the House of Culture and Sustainable Development.
If you are from the NGO community in Iran or you are interested
in NGO activities, please join us. Let us share what we believe
and do through this mailing list. You can become a member to
the list by sending a blank email to: ngonews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
-- Sent by Talieh Shahrokhi
To top
January 7
* U.S.-Iran conference, Ankara
* ** C A L L F O R P A P E R S ** *
US
- IRAN RELATIONS CONFERENCE: REGIONAL & GLOBAL DYNAMICS
-- MAY 19-21, 2005, Ankara, Turkey
** PROPOSAL DEADLINE: FEB. 25,
2005 ** The United States and the Iran have had severed diplomatic relationships
and only limited contacts in the past quarter of century. Mutual
suspicions and lack of communications between the two states and
their respective citizens have increased following the rise of
tensions in the post-9-11 world.
To promote networking, interdisciplinary
communications, and sharing of ideas and research findings on part
of scholars, institutions, policy makers and citizens, the University
of Utah (Middle East & Central Asia Conference Committee),
the Middle East Technical University (METU-Ankara, Department of
International Relations), and World Security Network are happy
to announce the upcoming:
US-IRAN RELATIONS CONFERENCE: REGIONAL & GLOBAL DYNAMICS, May 19-21, 2005,
ANKARA, TURKEY.
The conference is estimated to be composed of 24 topic-specific
panels with as many as 100 paper presentations. There will also
be two distinguished plenary presentations by renowned scholars
on the conference theme. Specific panels will likely fall within
the following general topics, but not necessarily be confined to
them:
* Historical Outlook and Analyses
* Civil Society and Citizen Contacts
* US and Iranian Hegemonies
* Afghanistan
* Iraq
* The 'Other' in US and Iranian Media and Politics
* Diaspora and Bi-nationals
* Trade, Oil, Gas, and Foreign Investment
* Nuclear Energy and WMD
* Human Rights
* Women and Minorities
* Terrorism, War and State Violence
* Palestine-Israel Impasse in Context of US-Iran Relations
* Regional Cooperation and Organizations
* The Role of the EU and European Powers
* Prospects for Continuing Sanctions
* Prospects for Diplomatic Relations
All interested in participating are required to send the following
to:
YOUR NAME
INSTITUTIONAL AFFILIATION
EMAIL ADDRESS
POSTAL ADDRESS AND TELEPHONES
PAPER TITLE
ONE-PAGE MAX PROPOSAL SYNOPSIS
ONE-PAGE MAX PROFESSIONAL RESUME
All of the above must fit in no more than two pages in one Word
file. (Please name the file as your last name in capital letters)
** PROPOSAL DEADLINE: FEB. 25, 2005 **
The Conference Committee will inform all applicants about its
decision on admission no later than March 10, 2005. All participants
with or without paper presentation are expected to send a registration
fee of $100 (this fee includes two conference meals; late fee:
$150) to be mailed to the Conference Committee. Further details
on paper and fee due dates will be elaborated and communicated
to individual applicants upon receipt of proposals. Updates will
be made available on our websites:
- www.utah.edu/meca
- www.worldsecuritynetwork.com
-- Sent by USIRANconference@aol.com
To top
January 4
* Nooouuurruouououoouoooooz: Saal Tahvil
- 73 days to go! :-)))
Norouz - Noruz - Nowruz - Noroz - Norooz - Norowz
- Nuruz ... How ever you spell it, it still comes out to be the
same day - My favorite Day!
Norouz 2564 (1384) begins at:
12:34 UTC time
04:04 PM Tehran time
12:34 PM London
01:34 PM Paris - Frankfurt - Rome
09:34 PM Tokyo - Seoul
11:34 PM Australia/Newzeland
02:34 AM Honolulu
04:34 AM LA - San Fran - Seattle - Vancouver
06:34 AM Chicago
07:34 AM New York - Montreal -- Talieh Shahrokhi
To top * Southern California Scholarship Fund
We are happy to announce that scholarship applications
for the academic year 2005-2006 are now available at IranianScholarships.org.
For the past eighth years a total of 39 scholarships have been
awarded.
These scholarships are avaiable to qualifying Iranian
American students attending universities and colleges throughout
Southern California. We recommend that applicants make certain
that their attending institute is within Southern California region.
Deadline
for application submission is April 15, 2005 - post marked.
Board
of Trustees
Iranian American Scholarship Fund
IranianScholarships.org
To top * Maryland Language
Center: Persian
My name is Jane Edwards, and I work for the National
Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland. Currently,
we are
working
on a project called LangNet, which provides adult language learners
with interactive online tools to reinforce their foreign language
skills. We focus on the less commonly taught languages. This
year, we will be working with the Persian language.
We are currently
looking for several individuals to help us launch the Persian
project. Specifically, we need educated, native Persian speakers
(or equivalent)
to create online activities in the Persian language using the
software we provide. In addition we need Pedagogues to review
the activities.
We also need Persian speakers to find authentic Persian texts,
to record audio files, and to perform various editing tasks.
You
can find more information on our website www.nflc.org. If
you are interested in working with us or if you know a qualified
candidate who would be interested in working with us, please contact
me via email at jedwards@nflc.org or
via telephone at (301) 403 – 1750 x42.
Sincerely,
Jane A. Edwards
Program Coordinator
National Foreign Language Center
To top * Makhmalbaf, Garcia Lorca, Afghanistan
Recently
I watched Samira Makhmalbaf's movie about a woman's dream to become
president in Afghanistan. More than anything else
it showed the primitive nature and the brutal condition that people
live under in Afghanistan. I suddenly remembered how similar life
still is in some areas in Iran. But the part about the poet reading
Lorca to Noghreh the protagonist, reminded me of the political
evolution of Makhmalbaf.
Samira definitely shares his father Mohsen's
ideas as it can be seen in Mohsen's movies like Dastforoush (Peddler).
It is a full transition that the one who was a bulwark of Islamic
ideology now seeks refuge in Lorca's poetry. This phenomenon could
be observed before but it is more pronounced now.
The poem tells
about the death of a bull at five in the afternoon (and BTW "Five
in the afternoon" is the name of the movie) and how final
the death is. You can find plenty on this perspective in Persian
poetry but then again Makhmalbaf seems to have made this movie
for an audience that appreciates Lorca even though it may seem
out of place in Afghanistan. -- A. Ahmadi To top
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