17, 2008

Free Hossein Derakhshan

We, the undersigned, view the circumstances surrounding the Iranian authorities' arrest of Hossein Derakhshan (hoder.com), one of the most prominent Iranian bloggers, as extremely worrying. Derakhshan's disappearance, detention at an unknown location, lack of access to his family and attorneys, and the authorities' failure to provide clear information about his potential charges is a source of concern for us.

The Iranian blogging community is one of the largest and most vibrant in the world. From ordinary citizens to the President, a diverse and large number of Iranians are engaged in blogging. These bloggers encompass a wide spectrum of views and perspectives, and they play a vital role in open discussions of social, cultural and political affairs.

Unfortunately, in recent years, numerous websites and blogs have been routinely blocked by the authorities, and some bloggers have been harassed or detained. Derakhshan's detention is but the latest episode in this ongoing saga and is being viewed as an attempt to silence and intimidate the blogging community as a whole.

Derakhshan's own position regarding a number of prisoners of conscience in Iran has been a source of contention among the blogging community and has caused many to distance themselves from him. This, however, doesn't change the fact that the freedom of expression is sacred for all not just the ones with whom we agree.

We therefore categorically condemn the circumstances sourrounding Derakhshan's arrest and detention and demand his immediate release.

Arash Abadpour
http://kamangir.net/

Niki Akhavan
http://benevis-dige.blogspot.com/

Hossein Bagher Zadeh
http://www.iranian.com/bagherzadeh

Sanam Dolatshahi
http://www.khorshidkhanoom.com/

Mehdi Jami
http://sibestaan.malakut.org/

Jahanshah Javid
http://www.iranian.com/

Abdee Kalantari
http://www.nilgoon.org

Sheema Kalbasi
http://www.zaneirani.blogspot.com/

Nazli Kamvari
http://sibiltala.blogspot.com/

Nazy Kaviani
http://nazykaviani.blogspot.com/

Peyvand Khorsandi
http://soulbean.wordpress.com/

Nikahang Kowsar
http://nikahang.blogspot.com/

Omid Memarian
http://omidmemarian.blogspot.com/

Pedram Moallemian
http://www.eyeranian.net/

Ali Moayedian
http://payvand.com/

Ebrahim Nabavi
http://www.doomdam.com/

Masoome Naseri
http://www.mimnoon.com/

Khodadad Rezakhani
http://www.vishistorica.com/

Leva Zand
http://balootak.com/

11:28 Permalink

09, 2008

After all, life is not that bad....

Comments (0) 10:57 Permalink

24, 2008

Dinosaurs for Boys!

I was watching The Late Show with David Leatherman few minutes ago. There was a lady guest who introduced some new toys for kids. There was a new $350 dinosaur with 40 sensor all over its body to react to touch. Dave asked the lady if she bought that toy for her kids. The toy lady answer him: "No. I have girl."

I didn't know till 10 minutes ago that dinosaurs are for boys!

Comments (0) 11:36 Permalink

21, 2008

Lovely DavisWiki

We will move to Davis by end of the August this year. I was in DavisWiki, searching for various places; from grocery stores to Thai food restaurants. I found a page called cheap food and then the categories from $.01 to $.99 and up.
It was so funny when the page suggests some bagel's shot which sell bagel for half a dollar and then Wiki says "Take some olives from the deli area too."

I like DavisWiki. It is really student friendly.

PS: I can not enter the link in Safari. I have to ask my webmaster.
You may find DavisWiki here: www.daviswiki.org

Comments (0) 08:58 Permalink

01, 2008

Pain

I have this horrible, horrible back ache from Monday morning- when i woke up. It got worse today. I sat all day in my bed and finish, almost finish, my research project for a class. "Changing Family in Iranian Urban Life" is/ was my research project. It was not that hard and it was only 8 pages, but doing that in ASA format was something else. I don't understand why scholars are not come with one single format: MLA, APA, ASA,,,just get one and don't kill students.

Nicole text me today that Thursday is Lex birthday. I am totally broke, but I have to get something for her. I have to go to mall, not only for her gift, but getting something for a conference I will attend this weekend in Berkeley. It's about women in Iran. Some bullshit again, but I will go and see some friends, may be get drunk or smoke. Who knows?

This pain is killing me. I have to come back to my article and finish it. If I finish this one, I only have a 200 pages book left to read and write a review about. Writing part is not that bad, reading is killing me.

I had a big bowel of salad for my lunch again and still hungry. Thanks to the dark coffee I had in the morning, I am still awake. If I finish this paper,...never mind.

Comments (0) 05:17 Permalink

30, 2008

New Piercings

There is something missing in me. I have this feeling for a long time. I don't mean this missing thing, but writing my feelings in English. I am getting angry in English, happy in English, crying in English, swear in English, chat in English and almost making love in English.

More than anytime in my life, I come to this point of looking at languages just like a bridge to get me from A to B. Who cares what kind of bridge is that? Fuck the way, destination is important.

I may write more and more in English, especially when I want to talk about my emotions. I can write in other stuff in Farsi and keep my bullshit in English. How about that?

Fuck the grammar and spelling. It is like when you fuck someone, and in the middle the lover says "Honey! by the way your pronunciation of fuck is not right." And the other reason that I have far more American friends, or better say, non-Iranian friends and I want to share them my writings too.

I know Nicole doesn't like my whole philosophy about spelling and grammar. For god sake, she is the English major one, but she has a big heart and I know she loves me more than those 1ooo years guys, sitting in the basement of Oxford University and make the grammar for our worlds! ( You know we dont have such guys! or we do?)

I m mad of my boss, behind my radio producing project, behind my studies and writing. Actually, I m behind of my life. Sounds that this fucking gas price does not affect the speed of my life.

I got three new piercings on my left ears. Thats all.

Comments (0) 11:32 Permalink

13, 2007

Oh.. Well

I have not even opened this page for many months. I want to start writing here again, more regularly. I miss here, and sometimes, I really need to explain some of my feeling in English, and by the way I need to find more friends in English world. I thought about uploading my school projects or paper here or at least an abstract of them, as some of them are really long, but I am not sure yet.
About a month ago, I decided to change The Acorn to my photoblog page, but it never happened, as I want to add a new page for my photos, and by the way, do my photos really need a page?
I have never been an artist in any direction; not in music, drawing, painting or capturing the moments.

It is Thursday, December 13, 2007 and nobody is in the office. Holiday is right in the corner and nobody wants to be here. My coworkers found their excuses to leave the office, but I have to wait till 4:30 to go directly to the school. I have to turn to final projects today and the big final for this stupid class is coming next Tuesday, then I will have eleven days off at work and January will be a whole new chapter in my life. I can not wait to tell you.

Be Back! Soon.

Comments (0) 03:06 Permalink

30, 2007

Ghor Ghor

My schools schedule is sucks! Like last two years. I am taking a Circuit Weights class at 6 am. It means I have to wake up 5 am two days a week.
What in the Earth you think I am taking dance class? I practice three hours last night. Salsa! And I miss my last Saturday class as I thought the class will start this week.

I cam to work today and wish I could quit my job; I do like my job, but sometime is getting very frustrating. I know it is just the first week of new schedule and it is my normal nags!

I have a lot to write about. I just don’t know where to start! Have you ever design a booth for a fair? That’s what I m searching for now as my cousin, who is a professional photographer will present his work on a local fair and I m in charge of design! I took the task voluntarily, but it is not that much fun as I thought!

I may decorate the booth with white and yellow satin and flower. My sister is an interior designer, but she is so expensive! If I finish the project, I will post some picture of it here.

My beloved dad will come back tonight. I am going to pick him up from airport after my stupid biology class tonight; can’t wait to see what will he bring!

Comments (0) 08:53 Permalink

26, 2007

Sunday is For Relaxing

1. Shower
2. Breakfast in Mom’s house
3. Grocery Shopping
4. Cleaning the house
5. Working on my conference project
6. Buying school’s book online
7. Making lunch for tomorrow
8. Costco ( before 5 pm)
9. Call some friends
10. Email vacation pictures to some friends
11. and…

Comments (0) 09:12 Permalink

25, 2007

Sweet Home!

I know I have to be more active, actually much more active, in my English blog. I can not even remember the last time I post something here. However I started bloging as a way to communicate with new generation of Iranians, but since I got the English version of my acorn, I promise to update both together; A premise which I could not keep.
Sometimes I have strange feelings about English in speaking and writing. It may sound odd to express my feeling with my second language only after being here, in the US, for three years, but I feel much more comfortable to come here and write in English in some situation especially when it comes to my personal life.
Anyway. I just came back from my vacation to my sweet and lovely home here in Sacramento, California. After staying a week in Deauvile, our hotel in Miami Beach, Florida, it is very relaxing to lying on my old coach and type while Vahid is snoring from bedroom. Life is so sweet these days and I am happy.
I know I have to come back work and school Monday again, but it was a short freshment that I really needed.
We had had plan for Miami since last year, but Vahid used all his vacation time last year in his knee surgery and we only took a three day short rout trip to Mendocino, which was good by the way.
Miami was hot and wild. There was something on the air! I was in Hawaii two years ago. In Hawaii everything is peaceful and nice, blue and calm, but Miami is completely in the other side. Hot and wild young boys and girls, who walk, laugh, eat and drink and enjoy their life. I tried to act young too! It was great to walk with bikini on the street and look over sunglass to those hot and handsome Cuban young men However South Beach is famous for its gay’s community and most of those handsome boys looked at Vahid instead of me!
We had chance to visit Florida’s Key too. They are awesome. Those entire small island which connected by bridge and Key West is their masterpiece.
Orlando was too girlish for me. I am not Disney kind of person. I don’t know most of their character and I just found it very blue and pink, boys speared. Girls speared. I don’t know what is wrong with white?

Comments (0) 10:26 Permalink