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It's Friday. I have had a whole week of very exciting and very exhausting events. My older son was applying for university admissions this week. Waiting until the last possible moment created so much stress for him, something from which I hope he has learned a thing or two.
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I went to listen to Dr. Trita Parsi present his new book, Treacherous Alliance, The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the U.S. Parsi is President of National Iranian American Council, and Adjunct Professor of International Relations at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. Parsi's book discusses
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Last, I want you to look at a slideshow depicting one woman’s story. Her name is Mahtab, and she lives in the Ghassemabad Village of Baluchestan. Her art and trade is soozan doozi (embroidery or needlework). Ghassemabad is a village that has gone through ten years of draught; its men
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While on the subject of inspired and inspiring paintings, I would like to make sure you have all heard the story of a Mazandarani woman by the name of Mokarrameh. Have you heard it? It is an incredible story, which my friend Alef Shin shared with me not too
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My friend, Talieh Shahrokhi who is a photographer has posted this picture on Iranian.com today. It is of a piece of a Hafez poem, written on a wall in the Corcoran neighborhood of Minneapols, Minnesota. Citizens of Corcoran have gathered to create artwork on their neighborhood's walls. Take a
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Parviz Sayyad and Mary Apic perform a special version of The Swan Lake Ballet in the 1970's Kaaf Show. Watch this. This is one of the funniest things that ever happened on Iranian television, well, in my opinion. Simply priceless!There is no mystery in the aging process. There is no
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I went to San Francisco yesterday afternoon. I had taken someone to meet Arash Sobhani for an interview. We went with Jahanshah, who was taking pictures. This picture is not by him, though. It is by Shadi Yousefian. Arash is such a sweet and warm person, approachable and not pretentious
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Photo by Leva
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My only picture of my dinner table. When I get better pictures I will replace this one. (To those who took those millions of pictures: get with it, send them to me!)Sorry for disappearing from the radar! I have been so busy this weekend, preparing for a gathering of
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I am preparing for a dinner at my house tonight. My good friend, Mersedeh, is here from Southern California this weekend. Poor baby, she has been chopping and mincing and cutting things for me all evening! She is working on the pomegranates now, as this is a very popular
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Thanksgiving dinner at my sister's house. Jaye hame khali bood.
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Nomad woman rides in Ashayer Festival in Lorestan. Come The Night When was it and how....That breeze ....Told me of your graceful amble? How long has it been .....Since your humble birth? When was it and how ....That fire ....Told the story of my burning ecstasy? How long has
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It's Thanksgiving Day in the US today. The original British pilgrims who arrived America in search of religious freedom were not very lucky in securing themselves food the first year they arrived. Many of them perished in the cold weather of US East Coast, and they all suffered much. The
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A young Rashid Behbudov performs Kuchalara Susapmisham.I grew up listening to Rashid Behbudov. He was an Azarbaijani musician with a heavenly voice. Iranians loved Rashid Behbudov, and he loved Iran and Iranians, traveling to Iran frequently, and even singing some Farsi songs. Though I don't speak Azari, there is something
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Autumn in Qom Province, Iran. I am in a hotel room, exhausted from a very long day of driving to an intensive training class and "team building" with several colleagues from work. Unpacking, I realized I had forgotten to pack the book I was reading. Without a book, I
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The Twins.I am glad to report that my "writer's block" has been cured for now. For several weeks, other than my blog, I was unable to sit down and write some self-imposed assignments I had been contemplating. Finally, I managed to get one of them out of the way
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Dr. Abdolkarim Soroush giving his lecture in Oakland's ICCNC tonight. من غلام قمرم، غیر قمر هیچ مگو پیش من جز سخن شمع و شکر هیچ مگو سخن رنج مگو، جز سخن گنج مگو ور ازین بی خبری رنج مبر، هیچ مگو دوش دیوانه شدم، عشق مرا دید و بگفت
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Ballet Afsaneh perform a magnificient production of Persian Dance at San Francisco's City Hall in Nowrooz 2007. Music is by Mr. Mohammad Nejad. I searched everywhere and found multiple copies of this performance, but they all had very poor quality as compared to this one, which has three other
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Sanandaj Bazaar in Kurdistan, Iran. Photo by Arash Ashoorinia. I have many Kurd friends. Colorful, vivacious, and kind, Iranian Kurds are some of the nicest people I have ever known. My Kurd friend, Leila, is generous, beautiful, and a most superb and soulful singer. I love their music and
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After a very long time, I'm sleepless tonight. Here, listen to what I'm listening. If you can't access YouTube, listen to the song on Deezer. Lyrics here.
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There was a gathering in UC Berkeley's Sproul Plaza today at noon to protest a possible attack on Iran. The participants were also protesting the use of "water boarding" as a torture method used during US interrogations of terrorim suspects. There was a good crowd gathered around the speeches
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1. My older son is learning some things about what it means to own a car. Enough said on that topic, I had to give him a ride to the train station after a long time this morning. As I pulled into my parking spot in Berkeley, I called him
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The bird said, “What scent! What sunshine! Ah! Spring has come And I will go in search of my mate” From the portico’s edge The bird flew away; like a message, it flew away The bird was little The bird did not think The bird did not read newspapers
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I stepped out into a rainy afternoon and evening of pure nostalgia. Who better to take along than Mr. Nostalgia himself! Bayram and I attended a reception in honor of Nasser Rastegar-Nejad. Do you know him? I didn't until tonight. He is a musician and a poet. He has
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Ballet Afsaneh dance Persian dances. Music: The Hunt, by Azam Ali from her Niaz Album. Ballet Afsaneh dance Persian dances. Music: The Hunt, by Azam Ali from her Niaz Album. It's Friday. My kids got dressed up in their nice clothes and went to a birthday party. Days ran one
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He says: “I have decided to take it easy at work and not care anymore. Just this morning I caught myself rushing in to work and I had to tell myself: ‘Hey, Mister, slow down. Why are you running?’ My heart breaks for my friend who received a special service
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تصور کن، اگه حتی تصور کردنش سخته جهانی که هر انسانی تو اون خوشبخت خوشبخته جهانی که تو اون پول و نژاد و قدرت ارزش نیست جواب همصدایی ها پلیس ضد شورش نیست نه بمب هسته ای داره، نه بمب افکن، نه خمپاره دیگه هیچ بچه ای پاشو روی
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I am organizing myself, again! Papers, envelopes, bills, books, CD's, magazines, notes, and files are strewn all over the table, and I am painstakingly going through the disorganized mess on my dining table, trying to bring some kind of order to my madness! I am making some progress, feeling marginally
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I was getting ready to leave work for the day when I heard sirens and saw the flashing lights of fire trucks and police cars outside. Stepping out, I came face to face with a Berkeley police officer, diverting foot traffic from the sidewalk outside. The pavement was cordoned
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Water polo team members of a neighborhood high school and their parents wash cars to earn money for their team. My car, Shabdiz, got a good washing today. In the middle of the goings on of this weekend, I talked to my journalist friend for a few minutes. At
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به لوای عزیزم و همسرش وحید که مرا به عشق و دوستی و پیمان بین زن و مرد امیدوار می کنند. "...و بگذارید بادهای آسمان در میان شما به رقص در آیند. به یکدیگر مهر بورزید، اما از مهر بند مسازید: بگذارید که مهر دریای مواجی باشد در میان دو
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My autumn flower arrangemet. Photo by Tameshk. On my way home last night, I received a phone call from my niece, giving me some bad news about family members. My lovely aunt (my Khaleh), the oldest member of our family, passed away peacefully yesterday. One of my nieces continues
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I had such a relaxed time last night with my friends. After dinner at Faz, the three of us reached into our purses, pulled out our lipsticks, and got ready to leave for the lecture. We laughed when we realized we were all wearing the exact same shade of
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Water polo team members of a neighborhood high school and their parents wash cars to earn money for their team. My car, Shabdiz, got a good washing today. In the middle of the goings on of this weekend, I talked to my journalist friend for a few minutes. At his
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My friends Nazy and Kathy and I are going to listen to Dr. Farhang Holakouee. He is a guest of SIP tonight. Here are the lecture details: "You Need to Create What You Want", based on the law of attraction (as discussed in the book, The Secret) Presentation in Farsi;
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A few years ago, the Emamzadeh in Mashad Ardehal near Kashan, where Sohrab Sepehri is buried was going through a renovation. As a part of the renovation, the plan was to move Sohrab’s grave from where it was to another spot in the graveyard. In Iran and amongst Moslems,
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