Archive - Feb 11, 2008 - Article

Brush stroke for every human suffering

A criticism often leveled at Iman Maleki’s astonishingly realistic paintings is, “why not just use a photograph?” Maleki’s hyperrealism is rooted in obsessive compassion. But he also draws from his gift as a storyteller. In “Omens of Hafez,” one young woman is wearing a ring on her right hand, the other only a watch, both waiting."Empty sandals" is a clever way to suggest each woman is waiting for someONE. The poetry book being opened does Hafez justice with its double entendre, hinting at wedding night sensuality. There’s a subtle contrast in the facial expressions of the two characters. The soft trace of hesitation in the older girl’s face is enigmatic. What is there to fear about becoming a woman?>>>

Five score and 45 years

Realism is supposedly the ultimate virtue for any politician. Idealism gets you in trouble. Haven’t we seen some criticize Bush Jr.’s disaster in Iraq as fundamentally flawed based on it’s alleged excess of idealism! And was it not the idealism of a generation of Iranians that brought us the unmitigated evil of the Islamic Republic? Almost all revolutions and their ensuing rigns of terror and bloodbaths have roots in some type of ideal. What I am trying to say is that we are told idealism is the root of all evil. Down-to-earth realism is the way forward. And then I find myself watching Obama’s “Yes We Can” speech. When was the last time I actually searched for a speech by a politician anywhere?>>>

Military maneuvers

General Jafari, the head of Islamic Republic Guardian Corps (IRGC), last Friday in a convention with the title of “Students, Elections, Maximum Participation, and National Unity” among the members of his militia, Bassij, after criticizing the content of the Human Sciences curriculum in Iranian universities, has clearly sided with the conservative front in coming Iranian parliamentary election and advised the Bassij to vote for an specific conservative alliance. This would be a fine statement from nonmilitary personnel, but it is devastating to the long tradition of Iranian military of not being affiliated with any type of political interaction>>>

شرقی دوست داشتنی

او که یک شارلاتانِ متقلبِ کلاهبردارِ دروغگویِ ریاکارِنامردِ نارفیق بیش نیست؟ او که میدانیم تا رویمان را برگردانیم کلاهمان را خواهد برداشت؟ او که میدانیم بازبان چرب ونرمش درپی خالی کردن جیب مان است؟ او که می دانیم به زن وبچه خودش هم رحم نمی کند، تا چه رسد به من وشما؟ راستی چرا؟ قاطبه یک ایرانی تمام عیاراست! >>>

The rest is history

...>>>