Monthly Archives: April 2013

Single-Gender Education: The Great Disillusion

Ghazal Dear, some days ago we had the pleasure to attend the 200 anniversary of the foundation of the “Max-Joseph-Stift“, the most prestigious girls college in Bavaria and the third highest ranked one in Germany. The daughter of good friends of us is learning at this elite gymnasium since 5 years now, and at the 200 years celebration we really… (more…)

First Thunderstorm

Ghazal my Dear, there are different definitions of beginning of spring. Astronomically it is the 21st of March, when you celebrated Norouz. Meterologically, the 1st of March is defined as beginning of spring, and some use a botanical time-table that associates spring with the blossoming of the apple-trees. For me, spring started today afternoon, when the warmth of the last… (more…)

Mysterious Moon

Dear Michael, I once went to Pompeij with somebody who was careless enough to fell in love with me. We got lost, after the Pompeij necropolis was closed and walked around through the darkness, expecting every second that a time leap might send us back to year 79 A.D., when the erupting Vesuv burried the town and all its people… (more…)

Iranian Perspective: No need for higher purposes

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…)

Love and Devotion: Exhibition at the Bodleian Library

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…)

Instead of an Oscar award: 90 lashes for actress Marzieh Vafamehr

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…)

Research Group Meeting

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…)

Another Norooz Celebration

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…)