Moods and Chain Reactions

Some days everything seems to be in their place, everything as it should be. All that happens make sense and I succeed in what I do during the day. But some days... oh some days... nothing fits. Everything is falling apart. From early in the morning crazy people dominate the drivers, I am late for work, my colleagues drive me mad,.. (and you know the rest...). Like the whole world is doing its best to feed my rage.

I have no doubt that this chain reaction of disturbing events goes back to my moods. When anger takes over in me, frustrating events are in action. What I am not sure however is whether my angry mood makes me only notice the disturbing part of all things that happens around me, or it actually CAUSES disturbing things to HAPPEN around me?

On a second thought... is there any difference between the two??

Movie: TOWELHEAD

A bit disturbing, shockingly honest, great performance. Don't watch this if you are afraid of digging into your memories of confusing teenage years. I like Allan Ball's works and this one is no exception. I am tempted to read the book.

View of Tehran from Tochal

Tehran is not a beautiful city, I must admit. Google Tehran images and you'll see what I mean. Juxtaposition of tall and short buildings and lack of real control over its mushroom-like urban structure has made it not really a picturesque view to look at. But recently I have received this photo in my mailbox which shows parts of Tehran viewed from Tochal, one of several mountains surrounding this city. I found it interesting.

Yummies: Green/Unripe Almonds

We call them Chaghale Badoom (Badoom=Almond) and almost every body likes them. The are available during the first three or four weeks of spring. The smaller, the more expensive, the easier to digest!!! I like them salted.

Movie: The Hurt Locker

Intense, engaging, fascinating visual language, interesting main character.

Country Dropdown Lists

Did you know that when I am registering in some of the sites that ask about your information like name, gender, age, country, etc., I cannot find the name of my country in the dropdown list? Not much of a surprise, huh? since most internet sites are American and there is an embargo going on. What country would you choose if you didn't have the name of your country listed?

Elections and a Historcial Dilemma

Well, Khatami decided not to be a candidate in favour of the other reformist Mousavi and some other reasons and this has made things more complicated.

You see, for a few years now, people who want to see change in this country have to deal with a dilemma when deciding about voting in the elections. If they do, they have put legitimacy to the whole establishment of the Islamic Republic and its constitution (which many Iranians now disagree with). On the other hand, not participating in the elections puts the power in the hands of fundamentalists and the result would be what happened four years ago; a phenomenon called Ahmadinejad.

Khatami was popular. Many had decided to vote for him despite their disagreement with the whole thing. I have only voted two times for presidential elections and both for Khatami and I had decided to do it again. But now, I am one of the people who know nothing about Mousavi. Older people may know him through his Prime Minister times at the beginning of the revolution but young people who constitute most eligible voters don't.

Rick Steves : A Perspective On Iran

Insightful, fun and REAL:

http://fora.tv/2009/01/26/Rick_Steves_A_Perspective_on_Iran

Having a relatively fine knowledge of average american culture through several TV shows that I watch, I really enjoyed the way he compares Iranian culture and belief system with that of Americans.

I must also add that exceptions exist everywhere, and exceptions to what he describes as Iranian culture are growing radically.