« December 2007 | Main | February 2008 »

Lunch at my desk on a rainy Thursday. So, I got caught up in a social gathering last night, coming home really late, and having to deliver on a promise I had made my friend to do something for him. I didn't get a chance to write a post or
More...
Photo By Ben Bagheri, Two Weeks in Iran, Iranian.com, January 2008.It rained and rained and rained today, but the dreary weather and the miserable cold could do nothing to bring my spirits down. I had such a happy, energetic day, accomplishing things at work and thinking good thoughts. I
More...
He says: "I was 9 when I started Ballet in Tehran. I had never seen ballet before in my life. My uncle was friends with Bijan Kalantari, who was a ballet dancer and a choreographer himself, and wanted to start the first Iranian ballet company from ground up, entirely
More...
Snow in Sanandaj, Kurdistan, January 2008. صدای ترس در گرمیِ يک چای تازه، و محبّتی دوستانه، و لحظه های خالی از کلمه، حسّی لبريز از احتياج به انفجار، قلبم را از پنجره پرتاب می کند تا دورترين عطر گل سرخ، در بعد از ظهر باغی تنها تا دختر کوچکی
More...
A member of the Mehregan Chorus performs at Fajr Music Festival, Tehran, December 2007. I so wished I could hear them sing. I am feeling so light and relieved today. Those of you who have been reading me longer know that since July I have been talking about writing
More...
Sima Bina and her all-women band perform "Majoon Naboodom" in Germany.It's Friday. So, it wasn't the most productive of weeks for me, at least not physically. Though sick, I had a good week, filled with kindness and affection of friends and family. Your good vibes were received and much appreciated.
More...
Narenjestan-e Ghavam, Shiraz, Photo by Parviz ForghaniThere is a strange symmetry between how the sun and the clouds have been fighting each other all day and how my body and that awful virus have been going at it. Our rainy and cold day gave way briefly to that beautiful
More...
Shahram Nazeri at artists' visit with Khatami, Tehran, December 2008.Hello, Hello! I'm alive! Thank you all for your good wishes and kind comments. I think my body is fighting some vicious virus and leaves me so tired and depleted. I am fine and back to my usual mischievious ways!
More...
The gutter (navdoon) of my house.I just got home after a very long day. It rains and I'm suddenly very tired, with a sore throat and no hoseleh. I will come back tomorrow to reply to your beautiful, kind comments. Today is already finished for me, tired and not feeling
More...
"When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be
More...
Jewelery shop in Mashad Bazaar. Photo by Shahireh Sharif. I spent the day working around the house and thinking, talking to very few people. I was thinking about something I want to write for Valentine's Day. Last year I wrote a piece on the occasion for Iranian.com which caused
More...
I would like to tell you about my friend, Mina, and her weblog named IranWrites, which she keeps in English. Mina is one of the most intelligent, articulate, and compassionate people I have come across in cyberspace. She is a scholar, an author, and an activist. I came to
More...
It's Friday. My week was filled with new meetings and experiences of new and old feelings. I shared some of them with you. My relationship with my children is transforming again, putting us on a more adult track yet again. These transformations only mean that the list of topics
More...
Snow, fog, and beauty in Bandar Anzali, Gilan, Iran. Photo from Alef Shin (by Mr. Anoush).This is what I woke up to in my in-box. Lovely, lovely Anzali Port in snow. So many times, true joy is ridiculously close to us, just a few clicks away, costing nothing, and
More...
Snow in Rasht, January 2008.You must be getting so bored with me right about now! I am back in a storytelling mood, and I can't stop myself! Continuing down memory lane and the issue of identity, I want to tell you about traditions today. When I was growing up,
More...
Little boy contemplates coming out in Hamadan's coldest winter in decades. Icicles shine. Be careful my young Hamadani friend! More photos here.To have lived as long as I have, one comes face to face with his or her own identity more than once. I told you a long time ago
More...
Those of you who are regular visitors to my weblog know that I have a good friend named Bayramali. He is a blogger who specializes in arts, nostalgia, and humor. He is an extremely funny young man who brims with intelligence, knowledge, and joy of life. We met last
More...
From right to left, Hamed Nikpay, Professor Lotfi Zadeh, and his friend Kimmy, today at Alborz Restaurant, Berkeley.Over the past 72 hours, I have learned that life can be full of small and big surprises, chance meetings and pleasant renewals. I was sitting at my desk contemplating what to
More...
Nina Pari Aghabeikzadeh, a young Iranian-American woman (born to an Iranian father and an American mother), has made a five minute film about Iran and protesting potential plans to attack Iran . It is called "Children of Adam," based on Saadi's poem, Bani adam azaye yek peykarand... I have seen
More...
Flowers of Iran, photo by Khashayar DabestaniI started my day taking care of a couple of outstanding commitments. I then went to visit my sisters for a couple of hours. It was a most enjoyable and relaxing time. One of my younger sisters had a birthday, and we celebrated
More...
Shabestan of Nasirolmolk Mosque, Shiraz, Photo by Parviz Forgahani (I cropped this photo). I am working on a music review. This is a tough project, as I know I am not qualified to do an artistic review of anything! As a spectator and observer of the arts, however, I
More...
Nouvelle Vage Sings Dance With Me.It's Friday. My week went by in a whirlwind of activities, minor accomplishments, and a pleasant event. I want to tell you about stories tonight. Those who know me, know to always expect me to tell them stories. I would often start many conversations by
More...
Rain outside my window in Berkeley this week.We had another day of rain today, possibly the last one this week. Though weather doesn't normally affect my moods too much, I felt sad and tired when I woke up to rain this morning. Well, it might have nothing to do
More...
Painting by Parviz Kalantari, who is a master Iranian painter, and who has also written sweet and funny books. I met him during a display of his works in Tehran three years ago. A memorable artist and an interesting man, that Parviz-e-Kalantari. Have you ever had friends and family
More...
Do you remember this? It is a dance clip from the Indian movie, Sholay. Though I don't care much about Indian movies, I remember this one fondly, because of what life felt like around watching it in Iran in early 1980's. This clip is for Leva. I thought you might
More...
I call this unnamed picture "Woman with Flowers." From Iranian.com, Photo by Horizon, a very gifted photographer in Tehran. Someone has to remind me occasionally that life on the internet is not real. Or is it? Are the people we meet on the internet real? Are our relationships with
More...
Maryam Momeni, Photography Collection at Elahe Gallery, Tehran, December 2007.هدیه من از نهایت شب حرف میزنممن از نهایت تاریکیو از نهایت شب حرف میزنم اگر به خانه’ من آمدی برای من ای مهربان چراغ بیارو یک دریچه که از آنبه ازدحام کوچه’ خوشبخت بنگرمفروغ فرخزادGift I speak out of
More...
Storms building over San Francisco Bay, January 5, 2008. (I know this is not one of my best pictures, as I stopped the car in a precarious spot on El Cerrito Hills and snapped the picture in pouring rain, but if you click on it, you can see Golden
More...
Exhibit A, my dinner tonight.My sons and their friends went to San Francisco to celebrate their Saturday night. Instead of worrying about them as I am inclined to do, I decided to get busy doing my own things! I had a beautiful simple dinner, Exhibit A, and got busy
More...
Shams Ensemble performance celebrating the Year of Rumi in Saadabad, Autumn 2007.It's Friday. We had a major rainstorm in our area today. It was really interesting driving to work with almost zero visibility in rain and fog and awful winds. The storm is passed now and we are left with
More...
Environmental Arts Festival, Hormoz Island, Persian Gulf, December 2007On a snowy day several years ago, I went to Guidance Court (dadgah-e ershad) in Tehran. Several weeks earlier, my father's apartment complex had been raided by the police, who had broken the satellite dish and had confiscated his receiver, serving him
More...
Farshad's snowman in Tehran, January 2, 2007. The note says: "For World Peace In 2008.Also, look at these gorgeous pictures of snow in Tehran on Fars News Agency.My morning started opening an email from Farshad in Tehran, holding pictures of this snowman in his backyard. Thanks to Farshad, it
More...
I should have gone to bed a long time ago, but Halat also sent me this video clip which she took of snow on Tehran's Mirdamad Boulevard, as she and her father were driving to work this morning. I thought I would share it with you. It was fun to
More...
A Tehran street vendor's tray of piping hot red beets (laboo), January 1, 2007. Photo by Halat.On my request, my wonderful reader, Halat, who is a blogger and an artist in Tehran has taken this photograph for me. Isn't it just beautiful? I cannot think about Tehran winters without
More...
New Year's Mass, St. Joseph's Church, Tehran, January 1, 2008. Photo by Mohsen Sajjadi; see Mehr News for more pictures.I went looking for a picture appropriate to the occasion of New Year's Day for my post. Among the many many pictures I saw today, I found this image of
More...