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Scriptures and Science

Those who search and often find scientific facts and nuggets in scriptures are not aware of the absurdity of their claims. For the simple reason that these books are ancient and having been written thousands of years ago can not keep up with ever changing of scientific paradigms. Despite the fact that our phenomenological understanding of nature remains the same (water is always wet, fire burns, sun is bright yellow, etc) our theoretical understanding evolves with time>>>

In Defense of English

As far back as January 9 1978 native English speakers used the word “Farsi” to denote the language spoken in Iran. I make this assertion because I contacted the Library of Congress for references to the word “Farsi” in general interest American newspapers prior to the 1979 Iranian revolution. The top image above is of page E10 of the Chicago Tribune dated January 9 1978. The writer says in the column on Iran, “The official language, Farsi, is spoken by only about 60% of the people.”>>>

Tehran Zoo

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There's nothing like it

I wish people would stop comparing Namjoo to Bob Dylan. As much as I love and enjoy Bob's music I do not find this a fair comparison. To start with, Namjoo has a great voice that poor Bob could only sound like in his dreams. Also, Bob followed a musical path that Woody Guthrie had paved before his death in 1931, and then entered Woodstock’s highway to fame. Namjoo has created his own style of music against all odds. He learned different styles of music, before fusing them in to what he presents to us today>>>

Farsi or Persian? Again.

Within the past few years there has been a tendency to replace the adjective "Persian" by "Farsi" when it refers to the Persian language. The practice seems to have originated within the Iranian community in the United States and out of good will. However, the provenance and the initial intention are not important, as the practice has backfired and developed into a widespread usage that is detrimental to the status of Persian language and literature. Quite often we come across absurd combinations of the two alternatives, such as "BBC Persian Section broadcast this item of news in its Farsi programme">>>

فردوسی منتقد نه ناسیونالیست

فردوسی این باور رایج را كه شاه چون فره ایزدی دارد و به اصطلاح سایه یا نماینده‌ی خداست با انتقادگرائی روشنی كه در برابر مفاسد برخی پادشاهان بزرگ مانند كیكاووس و گشتاسب بكار می‌گیرد متزلزل می‌كند و از عمومیت می‌اندازد. انتقادگرائی شاهنامه نه تنها پرده‌ی ابهام را از روی خشونت‌ها و مفاسد برخی پادشاهان كنار می‌زند بلكه نقطه‌ ضعف‌های رستم را نیز برای خواننده برجسته می‌كند>>>

Baaghe bi Bargi

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Complex Women, Simple Men

“Copie Conforme” is a film by Abbas Kiarostami which means that it’s s-l-o-w. Slow enough to make you fidget in your seat. Slow enough to take you back to the days of the interminable scenes of couples-- walking apart from each other and not talking—in those excruciating Antonioni films of the sixties. Slow enough to give you time to wonder about the nature of cinema. Should it be entertaining? Should it encourage reflexion? Can it be boring? Then, because it is a film by Abbas Kiarostami, “Copie Conforme” goes way beyond that first impression. >>>

Letter to the Sardar

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Daastaane Maa

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برای یک دوست بسیجی، پاسدار یا نمی دانم حزب اللهی

یادت می آید سالها پیش در ورودی شهربازی گریه من را در آوردی چون روسری به سر نداشتم و دختر خالم مانتواش کوتاه بود؟ من فقط 8 سال داشتم! آیا به خاطر داری در ورودی فرودگاه مهرآباد به من باز هم حمله کردی چون شلوارم کوتاه بود؟ من 10 ساله بودم! می دانم خاطرت نیست که هر بار با دوستانم به بیرون میرفتیم شبح تو ما را دنبال می کرد تا خاطرات شیرین جوانی را در کام ما تلخ کند!>>>

What would Prince of Persia do?

All the way home from the movie Prince of Persia we three cousins fantasized about what we would do if we had a Dagger of Time so that we could go back to our decision points in the past and do things differently. Some stock purchases, college majors, and divorces later we ended up in politics. How should we as a nation have acted so we wouldn’t end up in the mess we’re in? The conclusion was that as individuals we couldn’t change anything, except in unrealistic ways like taking a lot of money out of the country when 6 Tomans could still buy a Dollar and then funding a counter offensive against the dictatorial trends>>>