msabaye's blog

Freedom to be Poor, Ill, Forsaken

msabaye — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 21:28:05 +0000

There is so much talk about options these days, and how they are imperative to individual freedom that one is almost tempted to embrace these crusades for freedom blindly. After all, who is going to go against freedom? Who can argue that freedom can exist without options? But whether the lobbying is for absolute lack of government regulation on business and finance or cutting social benefits or health care as a means of preserving individual freedom, these advocacies fail to define one important element of the argument: whose freedom, whose options?

Newfoundland: Leave your Camera behind

msabaye — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 19:12:04 +0000

Newfoundland is one place where I would recommend you visit without your camera. There are scenes and sights you need to breathe in, memorize, and carry the effect. They cannot be recorded, for some reason, perhaps because it is a combination of so many things that affects different senses all at the same time. It is majestic yet homely; it is remote and isolated but not aloof; it contains the most harmonious combination of contradictory traits I have ever seen.

Test (Result)

msabaye — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 11:42:25 +0000

Yes, you got it. They are birds of different kinds.

Photo: Cape St. Mary's, Newfoundland

Test

msabaye — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 16:35:14 +0000

Here is a test (of I don't know what), a test nevertheless. Ready? What are the white dots on the rocks in this photo?

What? Wrong! Look more closely, and here is a clue: one of Hitchcock's films had many of these, scary ones too.

Photo taken at Cape St. Mary's, Newfoundland

یادداشت های سفر آبادان

msabaye — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 16:41:47 +0000

آبادان از معدود شهرهایی در ایران است که در آن سنگینی نگاه های چند جانبه مردان و قضاوت زنان را احساس نکردم. برای من این تجربه بسیار تازگی داشت، چرا که در بعضی شهرها حتی قدم زدن با گروه هم برای یک زن راحت نیست (در قرن بیست و یکم). مردم آبادان بسیار باز بودند و این حس راحتی در همه جا قابل لمس بود.

Invented Realities and the Disappearance of Social Activism

msabaye — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 22:06:27 +0000

I wonder whether those, who were inventing virtual reality in the 90s, knew that the world was going to become a collection of bodies with virtual realities programmed into their brains. It seems to me that many of us have lost the capacity or willingness to acknowledge reality as is, not as what we like it to be.

Trivia Question about Women in Politics

msabaye — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 23:03:20 +0000

Let's see how many get this question right. Without checking the web. Here it is:

What do Rwanda and Norway have in common?

Two of the highest representations of women in parliament all over the world.

Bonus (for those who didn't cheat):

In fact, in Rwanda, women make up 56% of parliamentary members, leaving Norway behind.

Memories of Unknown Flowers

msabaye — Wed, 23 May 2012 23:44:16 +0000

One thing I remember from traveling with my parents across Iran as a child was the view from the rear window. For endless hours, I watched the road we kept leaving behind, mesmerized by unfamiliar flowers on the backdrop of tall, brown mountains lining the roads. I never got to know the names of those flowers as I could never describe them properly. Perhaps, they weren't technically flowers at all.

Shiraz and its Sky

msabaye — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:36:42 +0000

Shiraz is very much like some human beings who make it easy for others to love them. It is easy to love Shiraz: who wouldn't love brooks with wafting aroma of Jasmine? who wouldn't adore gardens, flowers, and poetry? who can resist being near Hafez, Sa'di, Khawju, ... ? culture and art? drinking icy fragrant extracts or eating a thousand different pickles?

Spring in Toronto: Magnolias

msabaye — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 20:16:56 +0000

I love magnolias, and every spring, I look forward to their short-lived blooms. For years, I wanted to take photos of them, and finally my wish came true. One morning, I picked up my camera and thought, "this is the day."

And it was. As I walked in a residential neighbourhood, I came across not one or two but quite a few magnolias in full bloom. I took many photos, one of which I include in this blog. I hope you enjoy it.

The Unasked Question: Are You Interested?

msabaye — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 17:51:55 +0000

I was at lunch with a group of co-workers when someone began broadcasting all about his wife's aunt. She was not an extraordinary person by any measure. She hadn't done anything spectacular other than being a bit on the nosy side. The more I heard, the less I understood why he was talking about her to people like me, who had never met his wife, let alone his wife's aunt. We ended hearing to his monologue for ten or fifteen minutes -though it felt like eternity- on all details of what she does and what she doesn't.

Who was/is Mad?

msabaye — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 02:16:40 +0000

Nathaniel Lee, who allegedly became increasingly disturbed, was admitted to Bethlem Hospital in 1684. Protesting the decision, he described the situation as one where 'they called me mad, and I called them mad, and damn them, they outvoted me.' This brings me to the question of "who is mad?"

A while ago, I posted something on the subject by Emily Dickinson:

Assent - and you are sane-
Demure - you're straightway dangerous-

Tell me a Lie

msabaye — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 00:58:31 +0000

Do you ever get a sense that life in the movies is often more interesting than real life? Do you watch films where good looking people in nice clothes meet interesting people and exciting things happen to them? It is so, in some movies like most French ones where one walks down the street, and one begins an amazing conversation with a total stranger, and a great tale of adventure awaits. But not many French films have happy endings. Think of some Hollywood ones where good people are perfect, and they deservedly end up well.

Fat Woman: From Insult to Praise

msabaye — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 01:56:34 +0000

I have been watching "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series; a feel-good, humorous television series about life in Botswana. I loved it for many reasons. First, I found out about Botswana, a country neighboring South Africa, and the people. Secondly, the splash of color on the screen that suddenly radiated with orange and yellow and green. The wild life, the culture, and the relax and easy-going attitude were among the numerous attractions. But, the thing that first shocked me and then appealed to me most was the use of the F word, not that one, F as in fat. There I said it.

Security: The Worst Enemy of Mankind*?

msabaye — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:19:49 +0000

For quite a while now, I have been looking for genius. In anything. And I have failed to find it. What is it with this age? Why can we not create great stories, films, plays, etc.? I don't mean best-sellers, I mean a reflection of our time, this barren age of human creativity. What am I saying? I suppose the proof of the pudding is in the eating. But what about the future generations? How would they know what we thought, how we felt, how we lived?

Frost: The Road Not Taken

msabaye — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:49:51 +0000

If I had a dime for every time I heard "The Road not Taken" by Frost recited as an inspirational, motivational poem, I would be very rich indeed. Years ago, someone wrote it for me inside the cover of a book she gave me as a gift. I thought about it for a long time, first happy and flattered, then wondering what she meant.

Emily Dickinson (The Loser?)

msabaye — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:13:30 +0000

It troubled me as once I was
For I once was a child
Concluding how an atom fell
And yet the heavens held
....

Life set me larger problems
Some I shall keep to solve
...

This
was my introduction to Emily Dickinson. I was glancing through my
chemistry textbook in my second year of undergraduate studies, and I
came across this (a version of the poem above, I am reciting what I
remember of it). I believe it was love at first sight: I paused and

Sadness over Evils of the World

msabaye — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:46:27 +0000

"What was that word?"

"Which word?"

"The very long one, I think it has its roots in German. It means sadness over all evils of the world."

"Is that a word?"

"Yes."

"How do you know?"

"I heard it in a spelling competition."

"You watch those?"

"No, I noticed it while flipping through channels. Do you know the word?"

"No. What do you need it for?"

آسیاب های آبی دزفول

msabaye — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:45:52 +0000

دزفول شکل عربی کلمه دژپل است، کلمه پل نیز از پلی که در زمان شاپور اول ساسانی در دزفول ساخته شده، می آید. این شهر که در استان خوزستان واقع است دارای پیشینه ای چند هزار ساله است و شامل بناها و آثار تاریخی بسیاری از جمله آسیاب های آبی از زمان ساسانیان و مقبره یعقوب لیث (در حوالی دزفول) است.

Flamenco: Passion Rules

msabaye — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:34:18 +0000

When in Granada, we went to Sacramento to watch Flamenco performed by gypsies. We walked through cobble stoned steep streets to get to the place. It was quite an experience -up on the mountains in a house/tavern inside of which looked like a cave. Every other Flamenco performance I had seen, including the one in Barcelona, suddenly seemed rather diluted. The intensity of music, singing, and the dance reminded me of something a Spanish Flamenco teacher said in a film, In all Spain, the big motto on top of Spain is death, the plainness of death.