Archive - 2007

Enduring endearment

Global communication and the urge to become one with the world has brought on drastic changes and bent a few rigid rules. Long gone are the days when we used different greeting for different people. Just three decades ago, you never said goodbye to your seniors with “Bye” or even the common term of ghorbanat – meaning may I be sacrificed for you! Instead, where I grew up, you had to say sayeh-toon-kam nasheh -- may your shadow never diminish. Or Marhamat-e-shoma-ziyad -- may your favors increase! The undertone was understood, yet such formal expressions often required additional gestures such as a bow, hand kissing, or simply standing up. I never understood why my father said taazeem arz meekonam when talking on the phone, and to this day can’t imagine the need to verbally bow to anyone. >>>

Me and the Campaign on Vozara Street

When Lyda left, we were all quiet... We were thinking about her ill-fated marriage and her silence in facing the separation... When we passed Haft Hoz Bookstore, we saw the members of the security forces surrounded by a crowd of people. Ehsan told me jokingly: "They are going to arrest you now." I was wearing no make up and I was distressed, my mind still occupied with Lyda’s black eye. So, I laughed. A chador-clad policewoman came charging towards me and said: "Come with me for a few moments." >>>

شبنامه شماره نهم منتشر شد ..... شبنامه مرز پرگهر در ايران

شبنامه شماره نهم منتشر شد >>>

Seminal Contributions of Historical Iranian (Persian) Philosophers, Poets, Physicians and Scientists, Revisited.

There seem to be an intensifying orchestrated effort in the west particularly the U.S. to neglect, discount, discredit or convolute the multifaceted contributions of philosophers, physicians, scientists, historians and artisans of the past few millennia in south, south-central, south-west Asia, and north Africa--a vast area now collectively referred to by the fabricated name, the Middle East >>>

Our short order cooks

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Freedom does miracles

Farhad is not just an ordinary friend. I have known him since high school. We were also roommates at college in Iran in the early 1970’s. While a Junior at college, he was arrested by Savak (Shah’s secret police) for distributing political pamphlets, put into prison, and sent to the Army to serve a mandatory 2 years service. I lost touch with him for over 25 years. A few years ago while visiting Iran , a mutual friend invited me to a college reunion in Tehran and it was there that I saw Farhad again. He told me the story of his life and how he was able to finish his engineering degree after completing his term in the army, how he was briefly detained again after the revolution, and how he began working like a ‘normal’ person, as he puts it, in the engineering and construction field.>>>

The Caspian

I am traveling north
Leaving Tehran in a car
With my family
On a snaking road
I am going up and through
The craggy mountains
The air is cool and refreshing >>>

Tell Congress to Stop the March to War with Iran !

President Bush announced today that he has authorized US forces in Iraq to confront Iran militarily. "I have authorized our military commanders in Iraq to confront Tehran's murderous activities," Bush said in a speech to US war veterans in Reno. Simultaneously, US forces raided a hotel in Baghdad and detained ten Iranians who according to a U.S.-funded radio station included members of an Iranian negotiation team. This move comes amidst a campaign by the White House to escalate the rhetorical war between Washington and Tehran, in which the President has taken concerted new steps toward war. This flurry of rhetoric has largely rung hollow in the halls of Congress, as members are away for summer recess. >>>

Are You Willing to Participate in a Survey?

Call me paranoid, but having lived in places where governments have no problems with violating personal rights, I kind of freak out when someone calls me specifically to ask my opinion based on my nationality/ethnicity. >>>

پاسخ استاد علی اکبر دهخدا

از اين گوشه آسيا شما می تواند به ملت خودتان اطلاعات بدهيد، تا آنها بدانند در اينجا به طوری که انگليسی ها ايران را معرٌفی کرده اند، يک مشت آدمخوار زندگی نمی کنند، و از طرف ديگر به فارسی، به عقيده من خوب است که در صدای آمريکا، طرز آزادی ممالک متحده آمريکا را در جنگ های استقلال، به ايرانيان بياموزيد و بگوييد که چگونه توانسته ايد از دست استعمار خلاص شويد؟ و تشويق کنيد که واشنگتن ها و فرانکلن ها در ايران، برای حفظ استقلال از همان طرق بروند. >>>

Lovin' it

Ditchin' it and lovin' it.... >>>

And God said, "Get a Decent Haircut!"

Latest crackdown on Iran's hair salons, shows that the ruling elite inside Iran have way too much time on their hands. Although Iranian youth have been pushing their luck for centuries! >>>

Twelve years later

I think the year was nineteen ninety two

When on SCI, I first set my eyes on you

SCI was home to xAle, dAyi, Amo, JR and you

G-man, Ben, Mac, Ostad and Mr. Mortazavi too
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