Archive - Jun 5, 2008 - Article

We, the Short People

Once I told my female students wittingly if you want to get married, make sure to find a short man. A short man makes an ideal husband. He is not only more economical to maintain, but also you have the upper hand in case you get involved in physical altercations with him. You can hit him on the head with your shoes very easily! Furthermore, you don’t suffer much emotionally if he leaves you! You see, the best way to avoid costly lawsuit is to let others laugh at your expense! For years, we thought that socioeconomic status and opportunities are awarded by the society based on established criteria such as, education, skills, productivity, experience, lineage, wealth, name recognition, etc. >>>

Simply dazzling

Ferdowsi packs so much literature in his verses that storytellers, singers, percussionists, and painters have traditionally helped unpack his work for us. For a thousand years, this collaboration of the letters and the arts in ghahveh khaneh (coffee house) settings has upgraded and refreshed the Iranian national identity. To commemorate the Shahnameh millennium, the Seventh Biennial Conference of the International Society for Iranian Studies will include a multi-media concert combining Shahnameh storytelling (naghali), Shahnameh-inspired orchestral music, and visual presentations of scenes from the epic>>>

Fresh addiction

Last weekend I met two (wonderful) 127 band members Sohrab Mohebbi and Salmak Khaledi at the home of BeyondPersia.com's Lalé Welsh and Amir Salamat near San Francisco. We listened to their entire new album "Khal Punk" and I was quite devastated by their musical range (mixing rock, rap, jazz, Iranian... ) and powerful lyrics. Their songs are addictive, and smart, and fun, and full of energy and lots and lots of plain truth. Ladies and gentleman, we have another super band! >>>