People You Think You Know's blog

Happy Norooz ~ to everyone!

People You Think You Know — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:41:03 +0000

May everyone have a year full of wine and song!

Iran in a Nutshell

People You Think You Know — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:58:51 +0000

As the ancient holiday of Norooz approaches, I'm reminded of this conversation with my cousin in Iran. The Iranian New Year predates Islam by well over a millennium - if not more. But like most Persian culture it's stuck around and adapted to fit the mold of the times. My cousin gave me a crash-course in 2 1/2 millennia of history and politics...in under 1 minute - not to mention a brutal diagnosis of Iran's problems.

Morghe Sahar - music video

People You Think You Know — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:38:06 +0000

Here's a simple music video I made for Farhad's version of "Morghe Sahar." Hope you enjoy it.

The Green Movement and the Internet

People You Think You Know — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:37:38 +0000

Some of you may have seen my previous video (iranian.com/main/blog/people-you-think-you-kno...) which was not met with the warmest of receptions. Your comments have helped me realize how sensitive a subject Iranian politics are: very literally, lives are at stake. I thank you for your input - your feedback helps me shape my movie as I continue to work on it.

bend it like iran (with hooman majd)

People You Think You Know — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:07:47 +0000

Disappearing cigarette packet warnings, receding head scarves and Ahmadinejad's PhD.

I recently interviewed the author of "The Ayatollah Begs to Differ," Hooman Majd, about Iranian politics and culture.

Not Here or There - (preview)

People You Think You Know — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:55:08 +0000

Here's a quick preview of a video I am still working on. This one sort of follows up on where "The Planets Will Have to Wait" left off.

-- visit www.peopleyouthinkyouknow.com for extra features and context.

Iran's Internet Generation

People You Think You Know — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:12:39 +0000

In May of 2008, I spent two weeks in Iran. Its hard for me to reconcile the images of violence that spread across the globe after the 2009 election with the peaceful streets I witnessed a year before. What was going on behind the walled courtyards of Tehran while I was there?

Well, for one thing, millions of tech savvy people my age sat behind computers tripping through cyberspace, absorbing everything they could of the world both inside and outside their nation's borders. Here's a glimpse of Iran's Internet Generation:

Iran documentary project - from the top

People You Think You Know — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:35:01 +0000

Some of you may have noticed Ghormeh Sabzi's generous mention of my documentary project a while back -- http://iranian.com/main/2009/aug/people-you-th... --

I would like to start posting my documentary project onto Iranian.com as well - so I'm starting from the top. Below is the intro video. Soon my blog here will be caught up to the official website (www.peopleyouthinkyouknow.com) and I will be posting my new videos here as well.

being irrepressibly joyous

People You Think You Know — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:57:59 +0000

I find that generally speaking, Iranians are a jovial bunch. Quick to crack a joke, down for a party and always willing to sit down for tea with friends and family.