February 24, 2006
denim goes global
brands of jeans currently on sale in the nordstrom junior's department:
free people
7 for all mankind
citizens of humanity
that last one's really the kicker. i'm wondering if it's now literally fashionable to seem socially conscious and globally aware... so much so that $150 jeans are designated by inclusive humanitarian phrases...
February 21, 2006
"to all the couples out there?"
so i'm really tired of "DJ's" on lite rock radio stations trying to tell me what to do with my life. you know, they put on that fake, i'm-so-soothing-and-sexy voice, and then say something like "it's been a long day at work and you're tired. so just sit back, relax, listen to some great lite rock, and just let the cares of your day melt away."
first of all, how do they know i've had a long day at work and i'm tired? maybe i had a short day at school, took a nap, and don't even feel tired. and what if i don't want to sit back and relax? what if i don't want you trying to melt my cares away -- what if my cares are legitimate, and i need to attend to them, instead of just drowning them in a sea of celine dion?
of course, it only gets worse when the love song shows are on. tonight i was in the pharmacy, and there was an evening love song show on one of the lite rock stations (i think the spelling of lite in "lite rock" also adds to my irritation). sure enough, this woman comes on the air in her trying-desperately-to-be-sexy voice and says: "this one goes out to all the couples out there. i hope that you stay together always. so to all the couples out there, stay together, and this one's for you."
ok, so what if there are couples out there with very unhealthy, abusive relationships? they don't need to be staying together. and this weird lady doesn't need to be telling them to -- especially when she has no idea who they are.
and, of course, to top it all off, the song she played was "one sweet day" by mariah carey and boyz II men. i'm pretty sure that song is about someone dying. they all sing about how someone they love died, and they didn't tell that person how much they loved them before s/he died, but it's ok because one day they'll be together in heaven. so yeah, not exactly a happy relationship song. especially if you're trying to tell people to stay together -- best not to play a song about dying, huh?
February 12, 2006
snow in the city
so my phone rang this morning.
my mom: "hi honey."
me: "hi mom."
my mom: "did i wake you up, honey?"
me: "no, i was awake, i was just praying."
my mom: "oh, i'm sorry. do you want me to call you back later?"
me: "mom, you called me to ask if it was snowing, didn't you?"
my mom: "yeah, how did you know? i was watching the weather channel. there's supposed to be lots of snow this weekend. how much can you see out your window?"
me: "about a foot. but the streets and sidewalks are plowed. it's fine, mom."
my mom: (switching to persian) "well how far do you have to walk from your dorm to school?
me: "10 meters, mom. i promise it'll be fine."
my mom: "ok, honey. be careful. i love you. bye."
so this morning's exchange was nothing new. my mom's a weather channel junkie. she watches it compulsively to check the weather in every city where each of her children resides. then she calls each of her children to inform them what the weather will be like, or what the weather is currently like (i.e. "naseem joon, it's raining in new york." -- "i know, mom. i'm looking at the rain out of my window."). that's just my mom. i think she gets away with it because she's so cute.
anyway, this morning's snowfall was, by contrast, something new. it's the first real snowfall we've had all winter. we've only had snow twice before since i've been here, and it was pretty mild both times. after getting used to chicago last year, winter in NYC was seeming downright tropical to me -- not near as much snow and not near as cold. since moving here, i've been the one less bundled up than everyone else, usually trying to convince them that the weather's not that bad at all.
but last night, we finally started to get some real snow. it's been snowing for about 12 hours now. there's plenty out on the streets, and the snow is still swirling. apparently, it's being called the blizzard of '06... which is kind of funny to me now, since i can recall snowstorms in chicago that were much worse, but no one batted an eyelash. maybe if i had come straight here from texas, this would've seemed a much bigger deal. right now, though, i just want to get out and walk in the snow. and i even find myself missing the morning routine in chicago -- shoveling and snowblowing the driveway with pam. strange to see how my frame of reference has shifted since this time last year.
anyway, i really hope i get to ice-skate in central park before the winter is out. in the meantime, isn't this a fabulous picture of snow in the city?
Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
February 09, 2006
that's my boys (and the olympics)
so U2 did it again. i'm proud of them. they are definitely worthy recipients. aside from the fact that bono's changing the world, they're still one of the best rock bands ever. i dunno if i necessarily would've given them song of the year, but then again, mariah took home 3 grammy's. so obviously i wouldn't have been in agreement with all the choices that were made anyway. my one question that remains is: what's the difference between "album of the year" and "record of the year?"
in other news, i can't believe the olympics are starting and i've been so completely oblivious to it. i didn't even know until a couple of weeks ago that the winter olympics were going to be in february. i realized at some point during finals that 2006 was upon us and that it thus has to be an olympic year. then i read somewhere about the winter 2006 olympics in turin, but i decided that since i'd heard nothing about it, they must be in december 2006. where i got that idea? -- i don't know.
why don't i know what's going on in the world around me? is it because i don't have a TV? (that would explain why i didn't even know the grammy's were on last night until i checked the news online today). i try to keep up on nytimes.com. but wow. i feel so out of it. and i definitely don't want to get a TV, but i really need to watch ice skating... what am i gonna do?
on an entirely unrelated and somewhat strange note... what's up with all the anonymous comments lately, brian? seriously, how old are you?
February 06, 2006
almost like a high-school e-mail quiz...
i got tagged by georgie. which is kind of good, since i wasn't sure what to blog about today... and as the title suggests, this whole exercise reminds me of those "about me" quizzes everyone used to e-mail around in high school (according to george/lacey/abby, they're called meme quizzes). nevertheless, here we go... :)
four jobs i've had:
1. legal file clerk
2. tour guide at the bahai house of worship
3. youth desk intern at bahai nation center
4. intern at the center for constitutional rights
four movies i can watch over and over:
1. last of the mohicans
2. wayne's world
3. aladdin
4. zoolander
four places i've lived:
1. austin, TX
2. duncanville, TX
3. wilmette, IL
4. new york city, NY
four TV shows i love (haven't watched TV in 6 years, so please excuse the out-of-date-ness):
1. star trek: the next generation
2. i love lucy
3. the nanny
4. any NBA or NCAA game
four places i've vacationed:
1. maui, hawaii
2. luxor and karnak, egypt
3. vienna, austria
4. buenos aires, argentina
four of my favorite dishes:
1. chicken fettucine alfredo
2. fresh flour tortillas and queso
3. thai curry - red, yellow, or green (shout out, george)
4. fessenjoon (shout out, meis)
four sites i visit daily:
1. thehungersite.org (and related sites)
2. home.nyu.edu
3. nytimes.com
4. lay-c.com (shout out, fam-lay)
four places i would rather be right now:
1. the beach
2. the beach
3. the beach
4. the beach
four bloggers i am tagging:
1. rachel -- my first roommate
2. stephen -- a friend
3. javad -- my service buddy
4. shokufeh -- a person i've never met, but i quite like
February 01, 2006
quite the phenomenon
more and more, i'm amazed to see the rapid growth of blogging among iranians -- both in english by those in diaspora, and especially (and most incredibly) in persian by those in iran. here are just a few of the interesting sites out there that offer testament to the growing power of this phenomenon.
a news item from the western press
of course, there are these, which require no explanation:
and the service that makes all of the persian blogging possible:
and finally, a couple of surprising stats:
as of 2004, persian was the 4th most widely-used blog language in the world -- no doubt it's grown since then
75% of web content in persian is from blogs alone
i'm not sure i have anything too insightful to say about blogestan, as it is now being called. i just thought i'd share... and maybe solicit insights from others... :)
* editor's note: it is, despite what may be suggested by the webpages above, incorrect to call the persian language "farsi" when speaking english. persian is only called "farsi" when one is speaking persian, much like spanish is only called "espaņol" when one is speaking spanish -- not when one is speaking english. just as one would not say "i speak espaņol" or "i speak deutsche," one should not say "i speak farsi." just for you FYI.