« September 2007 | Main | November 2007 »

So, O.K. Not ALL the Trick or Treaters were young children tonight! These ones were old enough to say that they loved our pumpkin! Everybody is looking for peace, it seems!
More...
It's Halloween. Every year on this night, children and adults alike get dressed in costumes. Whereas adults usually go to parties and parades, children go "Trick or Treating," which is very similar to the old Iranian custom of "ghashogh zani" on Charshanbeh Soori eve. Homeowners who are ready for their
More...
I tried to go visit the Berkeley Courts today to inquire about a moving violation ticket I had received a while back (I will tell you the story some other time). The Courts are located across the street from where I work. My little mission fell flat on its
More...
Nature's artistic shapes happen on my fruit platter! Photo by Tameshk. My sons went to bed early tonight. The house is quiet and I can hear the appliances and clocks humming and ticking, noises normally lost in the active and awake household. There is a digital clock in my
More...
Pomegranate Harvest Festival in Gilan's Anbooh Village, near Roodbar. See more photos here. Being a friend to many is a continuous stream of joy and happiness to me. I celebrate my friends' victories, enjoy their happiness, and rejoice in their celebrations of dreams realized. My friend Mani always teases
More...
Some pictures from yesterday's war protests in San Francisco. See more photos here.
More...
Fall outside my windows. Photo by Traveler. I was cleaning up in the kitchen. My older son was getting ready to go to work. Earlier he had been in the kitchen, asking me about his red tie and his work pants. Now downstairs, I heard him say something like:
More...
From a series of photographs taken of a whiteboard at a US elementary school, where children wrote letters to God. I received them from my friend Shohreh Nouri. I don't know the source.
More...
Picture from last March's anti-war demonstrations in San Francisco, showing the Iranian contingent. Photo by Omid Memarian. See more pictures of that day here. There will be a large anti-war protest in San Francisco tomorrow, Saturday, October 27th. There will also be an Iranian contingent particpating in the event.
More...
Washington DC foliage, looking on Washington Monument from Potomac River. Photo by Rachel Cooper. New England foliage on the banks of the Squam River in Ashland, New Hampshire. Photo by Judy Blomquist. Since I arrived US, I had heard of leaf color changes (foliage) up and down the US
More...
It was a very short trip, as I didn't get very far. Just to San Francisco Airport and back. I don't want to talk about what went wrong because it puts me in a really bad mood again and makes me want to do unloving things to my travel
More...
Early tomorrow morning I am going on a trip to visit dear friends in other parts of the world. I have waited for this trip for a whole year, and I’m excited. The friends I will visit are not very much into blogging, so they will probably not take
More...
"October 23rd, 2007, San Diego, California, USA. A home burns along Via Valle Vista in a neighborhood above Lake Hodges on the east side of the lake in San Diego, California. Photo by Eduardo Contreras" Southern California burns in flames. Along with an estimated one million other people, my
More...
Taleghan's Kash Village Woman, Ashpazan Kash Village Women Cooking For Many in Ashpazan Ceremony Photos by Farshad Salehi Do you miss the simple and free pleasure of being served a bowl of hot Ash-e-Reshteh cooked and served by the loving hands of women who put their hearts and souls
More...
This is a video clip of our trip to Orange County to see Kiosk last weekend. It's called "Having a Biscuit in a Moving Car." My birthday celebrations are officially over now. This is my last report about it and I promise you won't have to hear about it
More...
Mohammad Reza Shajarian, Hossein Alizadeh (composer, Tar), Kayhan Kalhor (Kamancheh), Homayoon Shajarian (Tombak, vocals), in a benefit for Bam earthquake victims in Tehran in 2004. "Hatta Be Roozegaran" is by Mohammad Reza Shafiee Kadkani. I give this song and this poem to Alef Shin's Dialogue class whose members have
More...
It’s Friday. Continuing with my friends and family’s utmost generosity and kindness to me, I attended yet another birthday party tonight, this time with my family. My sisters and their families and my kids took me out to dinner to celebrate. I ate too much, but laughed my head
More...
"...fahmidam keh sahar shod." Painting by Hanibal Alkhas* My friend, the Playboy, calls me long distance to wish me a happy birthday, and tells me that he is in love, again. As usual, I ask him to tell me about her. He says she is the kindest, sweetest angel
More...
Farrokh Shehabi's Ceramics Studio in Berkeley Artistic Hospitality Not too long ago, I went to see an Iranian artist in Berkeley who specializes in creation of ceramic pottery. I was delightfully surprised by what I found! Farrokh Shehabi is one of the warmest Iranians I have ever met. Of
More...
Please bear with me while I test the video feature of Blogspot, getting ready to post something good for you! Please tell me if you can see this silly video clip I made in my car behind a red light today. The only good thing about it is that
More...
Santa Barbara sunset from a moving car. He says: "When I was a child, I loved going to grown-ups and asking them for advice when in crisis. They were always so calm and would know exactly what to do, and would tell me. I used to admire that quality
More...
A pomegrante tree in the lovely home in Claremont, California I spent a weekend with good friends. It was exhausting as we were stuck in a horrible traffic jam caused by a major accident on the freeway, and spent most of our time sitting in the car, talking and
More...
Breakfast with a nostalgist and His Majesty before taking off with a sociologist.
More...
A Berkeley sidewalk in the rain. It's Friday, and another week comes to an end. To those of my friends and family who fasted during Ramadan, Happy Eid-e Fetr. This video clip, showing a marvelous musical performance of Iranian and orchestral instruments, composed by Javid Afsari Rad and performed
More...
View of San Francisco Bay from Oakland Hills, getting ready for rain. I read today that there will be a nationwide celebration of Hafez in Iran on Mehr 20th. Hafez is every Iranian's poet. Everyone reads him and believes that Hafez has talked to him/her directly. Every Iranian lives
More...
Pistachio Harvest in Khorasan's Torbat Heydarieh I really like the way days become shorter on this side of the year, giving way to longer evenings and nights. Evenings and nights are my patch of time in which to think, to do things, and to feel peaceful. My days at
More...
Ali Farahbakhsh, the Iranian journalist who was in prison for close to a year was just released, according to his sister, Helaleh's post in her blog. I never knew him before his imprisonment. He writes about economy, which most people don't follow with interest, and which also made his
More...
Looking out the window at work today. My older son has been experiencing office politics lately. The whole story of rivalry, gossip, and potential backstabbing is finding its way into his so far inexperienced work life. He calls to "consult" with me. I listen, ask some questions, and give
More...
Today is Mehregan Day, 16th day of the month of Mehr, celebrating the emergence of Mitra, the sun. "On Mehregan Day, angels came to the aid of Kaveh, the ironsmith, Fereidoon was crowned, and Zahhak was imprisoned in Damavand Mountain, freeing people of his tyranny..." Abu Reihan Birooni فریدون
More...
Photo by Amir Parstabar. Our weather has turned cool. My feet are cold all the time now, and I have to wear socks, my least favorite item of clothing! I made my Sunday morning cup of tea, and sit here watching the steam making a pretty dance escaping the
More...
I bring another week to an end, a week full of mixed feelings, longings, good news and bad. As of this week, we will have a new "driver in training" in our household. My younger son passed his written test this week and a new round of anxiety-filled driving
More...
A cottage in the village of Gouran, Taleghan. More Taleghan photos by Fatameh Farajmandi here. It's Friday in Tehran. I remember my Friday excursions into villages near Tehran. At this time of the year, Taleghan must be gorgeous, with walnut and fruit trees slowly shedding their leaves which have
More...
رو آن ربابی را بگو مستان سلامت می کنند وان مرغ آبی را بگو مستان سلامت می کنند وان میر ساقی را بگو مستان سلامت می کنند وان عمر باقی را بگو مستان سلامت می کنند وان میر غوغا را بگو مستان سلامت می کنند وان شور و سودا
More...
The protestors posed for me! Click on photos for a more detailed view. My boss and I were walking on Shattuck Avenue in downtown Berkeley this afternoon when we saw this group of protestors getting ready to protest the Iraq war, as well as plans to attack Iran. They
More...
I'd like to make a confession. Starting when I was 14, and lasting until I was 20, I used to hate school, classes, courses, teachers, and grades. I never studied, and defied every expectation by my parents to take my education seriously. Books, friends, and parties were my sole
More...
We all know about famous and successful Iranians in our midst. CEO’s and VP’s of big corporations, successful doctors, artists, high-ranking government employees, writers, and gifted scientists, there is always some Iranian somewhere doing something noteworthy for us to feel proud. As a community, however, we tend to lack
More...
I will salute the sun again The brook flowing within me The clouds which were my deep reflections The painful growth of aspens in the grove That passed through dry seasons with me I will salute the flocks of ravens Which brought me Sweet smells of nocturnal fields I
More...