Books, Sports, My center of mass!

I finished the book "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides. If you are into novels, good novels, this one is definitely a recommendation from me. From the very first page you know what will be in the last page yet you can not stop reading it. The story is about a hermaphrodite who is born as girl and is telling us the story as a 42 year old guy. He starts with three stories from his time, his parents' time and the grandparents' time in parallel and gradually connects them together. As you read, switching between these stories is so smoothly done that is more of a pleasant surprise rather than being annoying. The book is winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

I started "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundrea last night. It is recommended to me by my friend Babak. I have read only 19 pages so far but it seems a good book. I don't know why I have never read anything by Kundera before although I have heard a lot about him.

The ski class was just great. I loved the sport. It was nice and sunny yesterday, I wore like 10 layers of clothes and really had fun for couple of hours. I learned to slide with dignity and almost learnt how to stop. If you are in Ithaca and want to go skiing keep me posted. I can't come up there yet but even down the hill is a lot of fun. It also brought me to the conclusion that I have to make going to gym a habit. The same conclusion that I got last summer after my water skiing classes but forgot about it at the end of last semester. I think I need to be stronger and also need to shed a couple of pounds. My center of mass seems not to be at the right place!

Life

The beauty of life might be in a night next to the heater, wearing your new and warm fleece socks, reading a great book while your cat is sleeping next to you and you can tell no matter how asleep he seems to be he is making sure that he has some contact with your body...Putting his paws on your hand or stretching along your body or crawling next to you.

The beauty of life might be in the deep hole you feel in your chest which is a sign of missing some one and the cold which means you wanted the person next to you...Although you know that he was never yours to begin with any way...Or it might be the fact that you know that there are people out there having the same thoughts about you and you will never be theirs either and that's just life.

Or it might be in the 3 hour chat with a friend just got back from home or in the effort you put in saving money to be able to travel because no matter how much you hate taking lunch to school you love traveling more! It might be a smell, a look, a scene, a song...I don't really know what it is. But I know one thing, as difficult and shitty it gets some times it is still worth waking up the next day and start all over again...I like the challenge it puts in front of me every day...Did I ever told you that I like being challenged?

Quick update

Juge used to play by himself before. All he needed was his toys to be around. Now no matter how many mice are on the floor he comes to me, puts his hands on my knees and looks right into my eyes and meoooowwws. I can hear it:" I am bored! Come and play with me!" I don't know how to explain to him that if I spend all my time playing with him there is nobody to do my works and we will be poor ,house will be dirty and there won't be food in his bowl.

Ithaca life is back to normal again which is great. People (except the ones who are gone for good) are back and I have resumed the habit of trips between my office and the two offices in the thid floor. I spend a lot more time in the library though. I am just more productive out of my building away from everyone. Besides, those who have been in Olin library coffee shop know how relaxing is the view from the big windows and how comfy the chairs are.

I am going to my Arabic classes 11:15-12:00 and sit in a class that I have already passed last year again because I really didn't learn it last year. I also registered for ski classes. Must be fun. I registered for water skiing in Summer and loved it. Hopefully won't be too cold. Have to go now...later,Pantea

Forugh Farrokhzad

Forugh Farrokhzad:
"Life is perhaps lighting up a cigarette
in the narcotic repose between two love-makings
or the absent gaze of a passerby
who takes off his hat to another passerby
with a meaningless smile and a good morning "

In a culture still so confused between traditions and modern values, Forugh was a woman of pushing the limits. What she speaks of and the way she talks about it is still intolerable for a lot of people in Iran. To me the most amazing is how she is in touch with her feminine side and how bravely she talks about it. Sin is breathtakingly true, simple and ...Well, you can just relate to it .

Mo has a post about her. I got the poets from the site he introduced. You can find about Forugh here. She is one the most famous women( if not the most famous one)in Iran's literature. You don't have to like here but you have to know her.

I would like to finish this post with a piece of poet that I always repeat to myself when I loose something or someone dear to my heart. I find it the true essence of life:

"Commit the memory to the flight
for the bird is mortal"

My blog

I was looking at my recent posts and thought that if one looks at them he/she will get a good idea about my personality...I enjoy some serious talk about issues like politics or religion, I enjoy poetry, books and movies but I make sure to chat about the daily routine of my life and I am not afraid to speak my mind or talk about myself and my thoughts(there is more of this in my Farsi blog) Those whom I enjoy their company the most are the ones who can easily switch among topics.(So I assume that they are into talking thing to begin with) I guess that's why I came to the conclusion once that I will not date a nerd...A promise that might be hard to keep when you are doing your PhD at Cornell!

Countries - Tsunami Damage Assessment

Countries - Tsunami Damage Assessment

Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | When faith meets reality: the obstacles ahead for a president in a hurry

Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | When faith meets reality: the obstacles ahead for a president in a hurry: "House disdains such 'reality-based' thinking in favour of a more 'faith-based' approach, as a senior official famously told the New York Times. It believes the United States is so powerful and the administration's will so strong, it can create its own realities. "

A letter to President Bush

A friend sent this to me. Enjoy!

Dear President Bush:

Congratulations on your victory over all us non-evangelicals. Actually, we're a bit ticked off here in California, so we're leaving. California will now be its own country. And we're taking all the Blue States with us. In case you are not aware, that includes Hawaii, Oregon,Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and all of the North East.

We spoke to God, and she agrees that this split will be beneficial to almost everybody, and especially to us in the new! country of California. In fact, God is so excited about it, she's going to shift the whole country at 4:30 pm EST this Friday. Therefore, please let everyone know they need to be back in their states by then.

So you get Texas and all the former slave states. We get the Governator, stem cell research and the best beaches. We get Elliot Spitzer. You get Ken Lay. (Okay, we have to keep Martha Stewart, we can live with that.) We get the Statue of Liberty. You get OpryLand. We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom. We get Harvard. You get Old Miss. We get 85% of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get all the technological innovation in Alabama. We get about two-thirds of the tax revenue, and you get to make the red states pay their fair share.

Since our divorce rate is 22% lower than the Christian coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms to support, and we know how much you like that. Did I mention we produce about 70% of the nation's veggies? But heck the only greens the Bible-thumpers eat are the pickles on their Big Macs. Oh yeah, another thing, don't plan on serving California wine at your state dinners. From now on it's imported French wine for you. Ouch, bet that hurts. Just so we're clear, the country of California will be pro-choice and anti-war. Speaking of war, we're going to want all Blue States citizens back from Iraq. If you need people to fight, just ask your evangelicals. They have tons of kids they're willing to send to their deaths for absolutely no purpose. And they don't care if you don't show pictures of their kids' caskets co! ming home.

Anyway, we wish you all the best in the next four years and we hope, really hope, you find those missing weapons of mass destruction. Seriously. Soon.

Sincerely,

California

This was my contribution to this protest. Sorry, but it's too cold to go to streets.

It is so *beep* cold in here!

Well, I couldn't sleep so I came to living room and it's like freezer in here. Checked the weather..-10F. All the windows are frozen from inside, I assume technically it means that my breath is frozen on the glass. I turned on the electric heater in my bedroom when I came home at 6PM , closed the door and left the house with Juge to koozeh's. At 12AM when I came back there was still ice on the bedroom window glasses. I don't know what to be afraid from more: the cold weather or the high electric bill. See how much fun we have in this villiage they call city of Ithaca?

I have concluded that cooking is like coding. It's painful but if you go through the misery something good *might* come out. Of course some people love cooking just like my friend lalunadiosa who loves coding. Not my type of fun.

OK, I am shivering. Have to go back to bed and try to sleep.

Sirlion Roast with Morel Mushrooms

Those who know me in person are well aware that I never cook or at least what I do in the kitchen is limited to a verity of sunny side up eggs or omelets with different types of cheese , pepper and mushroom , a 5 minute steak grilling thanks to this, and Shake N' Bake chicken which takes no more than 15 minutes total. I learned how to make pasta but gave up after gaining weight. So if you come to my place and I make something more than tea you are guaranteed to have a special place in my heart.

Given above I have cooked couple of times for koozeh. It has usually been something from the menu I just described. This week however, I went way beyond my normal routine. I saw this recipe in our local grocery store, Wegmans, with the same title as this post. The picture seemed really tempting and I thought how hard could it be given that I am cooking steak a few times every week?...So I bought all the material which even included white wine and told koozeh that I will cook for them. Today I cooked but I made sure she is standing there helping me understand the recipe...I think it turned out OK. It took about 1.5 hours. Definitely nothing that I want to do everyday but I think I can do it once in while if there is someone that special. After all I am always up for learning new things even in cooking.

Here is the recipe in case you are curious.

The king left

Mo's corner: Happily Ever After?

My friend Mo is describing the day Iran's last king left the country in 1979. I couldn't agree more with the last paragraph...Sad yet awfully true. I just want to add one point. I still think that it was a right movement. I believe that Iran is at least those 25 years of revolution ahead of its Muslim neighbors whose people still think that having an Islamic government is the solution to all their problems. At least we have passed that phase. At least my generation, the burnt sacrificed generation, and those coming after us are not afraid of questioning religion.

How Important is it?

Well, I have asked the same question in my Farsi blog but I want to know your opinions too. How important is it to marry with love? By love I mean the passion that you feel for someone and there is nothing like it. Is it worth rejecting the opportunities who seem really good but you just don't feel anything special? Like you don't have the passion? The thing is that this passion will subside after a while and if the couple is lucky it will transform to something deeper and calmer. So how important do you think it should be? Well, considering that you only live once and life is short!

I love these two songs

My current favorite Arabic song. I love her voice.
You've got a friend by Carole King.

Sideways

Fox Searchlight Pictures : Sideways

You should see this movie. Just do me a favor after seeing it...drop me a line to say what the name stands for:P

Didn't surprise me either!

US confirms end of WMD search in Iraq - Sify.com

I heard this news in a McDonald's on our way back to Ithaca. There were no customers in the store and non of the staff seemed to pay any attention to the news. It was sort of obvious anyway. Any person with a slight sense of analyze could see this. It's shameful though. I wander what Americans who voted for Bush have thought after hearing this news.

I am back from DC. Decided to switch to Arabic instead of Spanish. The purpose is to learn a third language for the UN or World Bank jobs. Since we have studied a lot of Arabic in high school I thought it would be much easier to learn than a language from scratch plus it makes more sense to have one thing complete instead of several incomplete things.

Does anyone know about a free space to upload music? There is this Arabic music that I want to share with you. Oh and a music from Carole King named "You've got a friend".

No title needed!

Now, when I sit down and think of the days,
When I revive your memories in my mind,
I drag my eternally loving heart towards you.
And tell myself,
That perhaps, it is not an impossible dream,
That the pathway of our lives cross one more time,
That one day, the anxious winds and nebula,
In a field hidden from our eyes,
On a purple leaf rolling in the fall,
Or by a stream flowing like our tears,
Sit us together,Bring us back together.

[Read the complete poem]

Internet Content Filtering in Iran: Verification of Reported Banned Websites

Bulletin 004

Ohio Voter: Columbus Drops Out of the Top Ten

Ohio Voter: Columbus Drops Out of the Top Ten

Massive filtering this time!

The latest news in Iranian blogshpere says that they have filtered all the blog service websites such as: blogspot, persianblog, blogsky and also orkut.com in Iran. Regardless of effectiveness of this filtering(people in Iran will definitely find a way to go around the filters as they are doing now for some political, news and sex websites) this is a direct response to recent talks and reactions that was aroused after bloggers' arrests.

Iran: Journalists Receive Death Threats After Testifying (Human Rights Watch, 6-1-2005)

Iran: Journalists Receive Death Threats After Testifying (Human Rights Watch, 6-1-2005)

A new blog

Her posts are sometimes a bit too long and definitely not the best if you want to read something and just read it with no mind challenge. But if you want to get to know a knowledgeable young woman with Iranian descendant or a "secular Muslim woman" and a "feminist" as she describes herself and get some fuel for creative thoughts I would like to invite you to visit this blog.

Blog competition

If you have a favorite blog or photo blog you might want to nominate it here. The prize is small but the competition sounds fun. I am tempted to nominate koozeh's photoblog. But non of the English blogs I read are outstanding. This is because I haven't really been involved in the English blogging. I am sure they can't read Farsi. Otherwise I could nominate some good Persian blogs.

You can see the results from the last four years here

Iranians in Iraq's election_ I believe this!

"Another problem is the selling of ballots. We're getting our ballots through the people who give out the food rations in the varying areas. The whole family is registered with this person(s) and the ages of the varying family members are known. Many, many, many people are not going to vote. Some of those people are selling their voting cards for up to $400. The word on the street is that these ballots are being bought by people coming in from Iran. They will purchase the ballots, make false IDs (which is ridiculously easy these days) and vote for SCIRI or Daawa candidates. Sunnis are receiving their ballots although they don't intend to vote, just so that they won't be sold. "

[read the complete post]

Frog of the night: Dantzing-Wolfe Decomposition!

If I don't want to see someone in my dreams who should I talk to?

HoustonChronicle.com - Another Voice: Susan Sontag, intellectual

HoustonChronicle.com - Another Voice: Susan Sontag, intellectual

One frog a day

They say the first thing you should do to start your day is to eat a big frog. The reason is that eating that frog is so difficult that every thing else would seem easy and fun for the rest of the day. In real life this means doing the most annoying and difficult task of the day first thing in the morning. They also say that if you have to eat two frogs eat the uglier one first.

My frog of the day: has been reading this data and model of the advisor's project.

Question, Ithaca Times Update!

1. Is an intellectual person necessarily an open minded one?
2. Can an open minded person be conservative?

Intellectual: a person who uses the mind creatively
Broad-minded: inclined to respect views and beliefs that differ from your own
Conservative: Favoring traditional views and values; tending to oppose change

My answers:
1. No, not necessarily!
2. Yes! In fact I think I know a person like that. I mean so far as I know him.

For those of you who have left Ithaca, here is the update: The weather is exceptionally good. Believe it or not there is not even a trace of snow on the ground. I didn't even take my scarf with me today. Social life, as you might imagine, is meaningless at this time of the year. I have been socializing in the internet the last couple of days updating my Persian blog 2 times a day. Our most fun part has been playing with Juge but even he is bored of us. Didn't allow any of us hug him since last night. He looks like he can't wait for Monday to send everyone to school. What else?By now another Brazilian friend should have left for good. We didn't get the chance to see her. I wish her luck for the rest of her life...Hope I see you some day soon:) That 301 office will be really boring this semester. Ok, I am sleepy. Have fun where ever you are. Byee.