Hafez for Beginners's blog

HAFEZ: Joe Biden

Hafez for Beginners — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 16:14:27 +0000

"HAFEZ: Joe Biden"

The one thing that struck me most about the Joe Biden /Paul Ryan Vice Presidential debate on Thursday night (Oct.11, 2012) - was the response of the two men to the question of "faith" and abortion.

HAFEZ: Et si tu n'existais pas

Hafez for Beginners — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 16:13:56 +0000

HAFEZ: Et si tu n'existais pas

This song always transports me to my chlldhood Tehran of the mid-1970s, where at age 9 or 10, it would regularly play on the radio. And the images it conjures up for me are for some reason, always that of Tehran's winter - with the snow covered trees of Pahlavi Ave., or the school bus driving through slush in the tiny side alley ways off Pahlavi Ave. (Vali Asr Ave. today)

Joe Dassin: "Et si tu n'existais pas":

HAFEZ: Omar Khayyam and "Koozeh.gar"

Hafez for Beginners — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 15:22:31 +0000

"HAFEZ: Omar Khayyam + "Koozeh.gar":

HAFEZ: Happy Jewish New Year

Hafez for Beginners — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 23:00:19 +0000

HAFEZ: Happy Jewish New Year - "Rosh Hashana":

"Rosh Hashana": The Jewish New Year celebrates the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve. It is one of four New Years in the Jewish year - but the one that symboizes a New Year fo people, animals and legal contrats. In 2012, it is celebrated from sundwon on Sept. 16 to nightfall on Sept. 18.

"SWEET NEW YEAR":

HAFEZ: Shakespeare's Globe

Hafez for Beginners — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 17:49:18 +0000

HAFEZ: Shakespeare's Globe:

HAFEZ:

Hafez has a wonderful line, included in today's Blog, celebrating his gratitude for the fact that the Tavern/"Meykadeh" is open. Taverns would often be shut down by the authorities - and here, he is happy that the Tavern Door, the place he best connects to his higher world, is open.

المنهّ لله که در میکده باز است

زان رو که مرا بر در او روی نیاز است

HAFEZ: BILL CLINTON + "Cooperating"

Hafez for Beginners — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 18:44:37 +0000

HAFEZ: BILL CLINTON + "Cooperating":

If you didn't watch Bill Clinton's key note speech last night (Sept. 5, 2012) at the Democratic Convention - Google or Youtube it and do watch it! It has already been dubbed as one of the best, most riveting, televised Convention speeches inhistory.

HAFEZ: OBAMA and the "Persian Carpet"

Hafez for Beginners — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 15:08:05 +0000

HAFEZ: OBAMA and the "Persian Carpet":

HAFEZ: "Dead Poets Society"

Hafez for Beginners — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 15:33:11 +0000

HAFEZ: "Dead Poets Society":

If you haven't seen this movie, I couldn't recommend it enough. (directed by Peter Weir - his "Gallipoli" with Mel Gibson, is also a gem.) The film stars Robin Williams as an inspiring English professor - with Ethan Hawke as one of the "sensitive" students. It's all performed very delicately.

HAFEZ: NIAC

Hafez for Beginners — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 22:38:02 +0000

Random Photo:

I received a letter circulating in the community, naming me as some agent or well known "supporter" of the Islamic Republic of Iran, based on the photo in this Blog.

HAFEZ: Vincent Van Gogh

Hafez for Beginners — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 18:42:58 +0000

"VINCENT and HAFEZ":

We are in the middle of responding to a recent Blog on this site, trashing Hafez as a
paedophile. Sometimes, to answer, you just go off on a tangent and do
more of what you believe in. I've learned that from Hafez. And I have
always wanted to honor the parallels in Hafez's beauty and the beauty of
Van Gogh's art and writings

HAFEZ: "The Logical Song"

Hafez for Beginners — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 18:57:08 +0000

HAFEZ: "The Logical Song"

HAFEZ: Iran - USA

Hafez for Beginners — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 14:40:41 +0000

Friendship vs. Enmity:

This is one of my favorite lines from Hafez. It's simple, but deeply profound. That we need to spend our lives nourishing the positives in our friendships, while when negative toxins come our way, it is also up to us to unpluck them in their very earliest of stages.

HAFEZ: A Prayer for Azarbaijan, IRAN

Hafez for Beginners — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 18:04:49 +0000

What can I say. Life is "basteh beh moo-i" as Hafez says, ie. "tied to a thread" - and fragile. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and survivors of the earthquake that befell the villages near Tabriz, in the Azarbaijan province, IRAN.

HAFEZ:

HAFEZ: "Ferdowsi: from NASA to Paradise"

Hafez for Beginners — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 16:49:23 +0000

"Ferdowsi: from NASA to Paradise"

Congratulations to Bobak Ferdowsi, flight director of NASA, and all at NASA on their Mars rover Curiosity landing this week! What a week for people of Iranian heritage. Iran wins Gold for "Strongest Olympian" at the London 2012 Olympics (thank you Salimi) - and then, a young, Iranian-American, Bobak Ferdowsi, catapults many of our hopes and aspirations!

HAFEZ: IRAN - "Stongest Olympian" 2012

Hafez for Beginners — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 23:31:49 +0000

Congratulations - Behdad Salimi - IRAN age 22, on becoming the "Strongest Olympian" (Reuters) 2012.

HAFEZ:

چه مبارک سحری بود و چه فرخنده شبی

Cheh mobarak sahar-i boud o cheh farkhondeh shabi

A blessed dawn followed an auspicious and promising night

HAFEZ: 1st vs. 3rd World

Hafez for Beginners — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 22:07:26 +0000

HAFEZ: 1st vs. 3rd World

With the Olympics on and viewing a myriad of categories where sportsmen can excel, I do wish we also had categories for what how rate nations as 1st World Vs. 2nd or 3rd World. We live in an era where the only category is essentially economic, material deveiopment, followed by political freedom. Fair enough, the West gets the gold medal and Kudos to them. But as any person from the Arts would immediately observe, that's like having an Olympics with only one or two sporting categories.

What about medals for:

HAFEZ: Polo and Ralph Lauren

Hafez for Beginners — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 19:05:43 +0000

NEWS: There was controversy in the news yesterday - that Polo the clothing company, who has issued the official US Olympic opening ceremony outfits, has had them all manufactured in China. US team parading out proudly in Chinese outfits, essentially. The company at this stage is promising not to do this for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

HAFEZ and Shakespeare: on SMILING!

Hafez for Beginners — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 02:01:38 +0000

"Smile and the whole world smiles with you":

We went to see "The Taming of the Shrew" as part of a Shakespeare group here in Washington DC, that I have put together. Studying two masters at the same time - HAFEZ and SHAKESPEARE - seems to effortlessly go together.

The theme today is SMILES. The concept of being positive, of turning to mirth and merriment, especially when faced with adversity.

HAFEZ: "Because" - The Beatles

Hafez for Beginners — Sat, 26 May 2012 16:55:49 +0000

LOVE'S AWAKENING:

"BECAUSE" - The Beatles

HAFEZ: Synagogue or Mosque

Hafez for Beginners — Sat, 12 May 2012 15:17:20 +0000

"YOUR GOD, MY GOD":

One attribute of much of Persian thought is the fascinating strands of continuity you find. One such strand, that goes back all the way to Cyrus's reign some 2500 years ago - is the concept of respect for all modes of worship. When you think about it, in his day - "invaders" asked the new subjects to either convert or die. In fact until very recently in Europe, that was how a religious ruler exerted his or her power: "my way or the highway."