Ghazal dear, the following reply to a post of Bahmani I could have never written without experiencing the tightness of the relationship between you and your family and feeling how much a resistance this provides against any potential intruder (like myself). In Iran, the frequently expressed demand to do something for the community/society is a compensatory reflex to the traditional… (more…)
The idea of Persia has long fascinated Western minds. From the Middle Ages on, knowledge of Persia gradually expanded as a result of increased contact through trade, travel and diplomacy. Writers in Europe, such as Goethe, Chaucer, Dante and Shakespeare, reflected this understanding in the parallels with Persian literature and shared symbolism evident in their plays, poetry and prose. Love… (more…)
Any other country would be proud to have such a talented actress, and would probably trying to nominate her for an Oscar award. But the authorities of the IRI mullah regime in Tehran have other standards of showing their admiration. Marzieh Vafamehr, playing in the Australian movie “My Tehran for Sale” has been sentenced to 90 lashes. The actress, who… (more…)
Last week we had a spontaneous reunion of some former and (most of the) current members of my group. We used this nice occasion to have lunch at our favorite turkish fast food Olivia. It is not only the excellent quality of their Doener Kebab, but also that Bahar (1st on the left) can always negotiate free tea for us.… (more…)
The persion feast of Norooz is traditionally a celebration of joy and hapiness about the rebirth of nature and life. Inside the grey and cold walls of the Tehran Evin prison, however, the men and woman arrested there for month or year see little evidence of the awaking nature. Many of them suffer from bad health conditions and are deprived… (more…)
We were out to watch the new Iranian movie “Paziraie sadeh” (MODEST RECEPTION). Movie director Mani Haghighi lets his two main characters (Laila played by Taraneh Alidoosti and Kaveh by Mani Haghighi) drive through the mountains on a random search for people, whom they can hand over buckets of bank-notes they carrie with them. The actors act very statically, I… (more…)
Ghazal Dear, I wish you, your family and friends, your neighbours and colleagues, the people you meet on the street and in the Tehran underground line, your doctors, your basar shop owner, your bus driver and your post-man, and the lady that sold you the marvellous flowers, I wish all those a happy, prosperous, healthy and liberal new year. Michael… (more…)
Ghazal, my Dear, We recently discussed the issue of translating poetry from one language to another. You told me ones that in Persian language there are no gender specific prepositions, as there are HE and SHE in English or IT for all un-animated items. In German, in contrast, also un-animated objects usually are assigned a male or female gender, which… (more…)
Yesterday night, after opera “Aneas and Dido” was over, I was still in the mood to hear some more music. Went to the nightclub at “Bayerischer Hof“, in the basement of the hotel where every year in February the notorious annual “Munich Conference for International Security” takes place. How nice, that deep below the spot were little sympathic characters such… (more…)