Diaspora

Fear and Hope

The occasion for this reflection is, of course, the Barak Obama phenomenon -the novelty of which, incidentally, is demonstrated by the fact that my word processing program does not recognize either name. To be more precise, it is the conundrum that the phenomenon poses for the American electorate in the 2008 Presidential campaign. The audacity of Obama’s hope has become contagious. The Democratic Party establishment’s iconic Ted Kennedy has endorsed him, and more than 70% of Move-On respondents have chosen him over Hillary Clinton.>>>

Simply Irresistible

The singletons amongst us are cruelly reminded that, once again, despite our best efforts, there will be no romance on this cruellest-of-cruel days… the dreaded Valentine’s Day. Yes folks, Valentine’s Day is just over a week away and there is no escaping it! My personal belief has always been that this special day was a well thought out scam created by the greeting card companies and florists of this world, to cash in on our hard earned monies…. Jerks. But single or not, Valentine’s Day is a strange affair at the best of times. Happy couples seem to appear from nowhere and the City is suddenly awash with red roses, shop windows are crammed with chocolate, perfume and lingerie>>>

The quiet side of Pop

I discovered Barzin a few months ago when I was browsing the Internet. Barzin was supposed to open for Kiosk in Toronto and yet, I had never heard of him. I quickly Googled his name and found his web site. Lucky me, I found a few full-length mp3 files from his music there to listern to. I think the first few notes did it for me. I was rather surprised at the fact that an Iranian act would create music in the same style as bands such as Wilco, Mazzy Star, or even Radiohead. The next thing that surprised me was his smooth Canadian/American/English accent, to the point that I first had doubts about him being Iranian>>>

دریچه ای سوی ایران معاصر

وبلاگنویسی نمای فراخی است از ایران معاصر؛ ایرانی که به تصویر هرگز ندیده ایم،از کوچه و خیابانهایش نمی توان شناخت، ایرانی که در پس انگاره های مذهبی و سیاسی نهفته است. وبلاگنویسی روز به روز در ایران مورد استقبال بیشتری قرار می گیرد. با توجه به محدودیت ها و قوانین حاکم بر صنعت نشر و رسانه های عمومی، هیچ جای تعجبی نیست که اینترنت پیوندی است به دنیایی بازتر برای باورها و گرایش های گوناگون.>>>

Slimming with Siamack (2)

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Memories

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Reversal of fortunes

Five hundred years ago, global warming helped create an economic down turn in West and Central Asia and facilitated the European economic rise. Today, might we have a case of reverse fortunes, allowing West and Central Asia to get back to where it was before? Andre Gunder Frank and many other economic historians have told us about “ReOrient”ing to China, and that while the Chinese economy has suffered 500 years of recession, it is only natural for it to make a come back and start dominating the world again. But can the same be said for the Near East?>>>

Brightest star

I mourn his loss. There are some people who believe an actor's death should not be front-page news when there are soldiers and civilians who are dying in faraway lands for greater causes. I don't know a single soldier or a single dead civilian. I do know a lot about war. I've read about it. I've written twenty page papers on the roots and causes of international conflict, the reasons for genocide and ethnic violence, the clash of civilizations. Reading and writing about something isn't as real as mourning the loss of something you know>>>

Effortless energy

The truth is I was a bit nervous at first. After all, it is not often that I have the chance to meet a total stranger whose voice has become a part of my every day routine. Odd as it may seem, this one dimensional nature of fame is an inevitable reality for all successful artists including the one I was about to interview. Adapting to increased recognition and celebrity is an adjustment that Arash Sobhani will most likely have to make in the upcoming years because both he and his band Kiosk have gained significant popularity and recognition recently across the US, Europe and Iran and show no signs of slowing down>>>

در انتظار ِظهور

ملاک کامیابی و موفقیت یک قوم کوچ یافته را نباید بر تعداد پزشکانش یا توانایی مالی اش بنا نهاد، کامیابی قومی کوچ یافته را باید از رشد و استقلال ذهنیش دانست. رشد ذهنی همان میانه روی است در زیستن و اندیشیدن میان دو فرهنگ، دو طرز فکر. رشد فکری زاده هوش است و هوش قدرت همگونی است با محیط، یعنی ایجاد توازن. امرسون نیز می آورد: "هوش یعنی باور داشتن در خود، باور داشتن در حقیقت خود، باور داشتن در درست بودن هر آنچه در ژرفای قلبمان شایسته خود می دانیم." >>>

Slimming with Siamack

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