What a way to start the week. Nasser Hejazi was not only the best goalkeeper in the history of Iranian football, he was a true gentleman. Always well mannered, yet determined and serious. My first memory of Hejazi was at the 78 World Cup when he was furious after an own goal in the Scotland game and how he finished the Peru game despite being visibly injured. Our goal was conquered eight times during the WC, but to Hejazi's credit four goals were penalty kicks and one was an own goal. Here's a video of Mr. Majid Varess' interview with Nasser Hejazi at the 1980 Asian Nations Cup in Kuwait. Rest in peace Ghahreman. Roohet shad.
Okay so today's demonstrations were not as huge as June or December 2009, but the Iranian nation showed the government and the world that the movement is not dead. It has been sustained for almost two years and will not die down. The youth won't let it die down. The women won't let it die down. I am in awe of their courage. They're all my heroes. Here are the latest videos from today. Remember foreign press is virtually nonexistent in Iran. These videos are shot by ordinary (for the lack of a better word -- nothing ordinary about their courage) Iranians while facing danger and precautions. Long live Iran. Long live freedom.
Get the Iran-USA game shirt here. Iran national basketball team will play USA, September 1, 2010. Any predictions? This t-shirt may help.
So here's the story. I wake up late this morning at 4:45 AM (missing the first half of Iran-North Korea game) and switch to Tapesh. All of the sudden I hear this warm and familiar voice that I haven't heard in years. I'm thinking: it can't be him, but the guy is using the same metaphors and his reporting style has not changed a bit. Then the other reporter refers to him as Aghaye Varess!!! No way. Majid Varess has not reported a game in over 26-27 years. It made my Saturday morning. Finally after the game I see his face on the screen. He hasn't changed much. He actually looks good. I quickly snapped a picture with my phone.
It brought back a lot of sweet memories. Hope to see him more often on TV.
...they are a couple! Bahman Ghobadi is an internationally acclaimed Kurdish-Iranian film director, whose films painfully portray the plight of Kurds in Iraq, Iran, and Turkey while applauding their resilience despite years of facing adversity. Roxana Saberi is an American journalist born to Iranian and Japanese parents, who was sentenced to eight years in prison for espionage in a closed one-day trial last week in Tehran (read the story below). Ghobadi's new film has gone to the Cannes, but he now says he has no desire to go. He is staying put in Tehran waiting for the outcome of Saberi's appeal.
NoRooz, “New Day” in Persian, is the traditional new year holiday that was initiated in ancient Iran. Today, it is celebrated by over 300 million people living in greater Iran, roughly the geographical extent of the once mighty Persian Empire.
NoRooz is widely celebrated in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. It is also celebrated in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and northwestern China in Central Asia; Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia in the Caucuses as well as Crimea; among certain Iranic communities in Pakistan and India as well as Parsis in India; Kurds in Turkey, Iraq, Syria as well as Iran; Balkan ethnic groups with Iranian roots in Bosnia, Kosovo, Albania, and Macedonia; the countries of Bahrain, Qatar and UAE in the Persian Gulf region among the Iranian merchant communities that have made these countries home for centuries; and Alawis of Syria, Lebanon, and the Israeli occupied Golan Heights. The extent of NoRooz today even reaches the island of Zanzibar off the Tanzanian coast in Africa, where Iranian merchants from Shiraz and southern Iran migrated during medieval times! Although NoRooz is a secular holiday today, it has religious roots and significance for Zoroastrians (religion of most Iranians before Islam), Bahai’s, and Alawis. Of course, NoRooz is also celebrated by the Iranian diaspora (such as my family) worldwide.
Yet, there is no standardized English spelling for NoRooz. I have seen it spelled at least a dozen different ways! It is celebrated on the day of the astronomic vernal equinox, which usually falls on March 21 or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed. The new year begins with the first day of spring, signifying rebirth of nature as well as the soul. I have always been told that NoRooz is all about humanity’s continual commitment to goodness, love, hope, and prosperity.
Sources: Wikipedia and my own knowledge from many different sources re NoRooz that I have gathered since childhood!
This afternoon at Costco, somewhere in dixieland. See for yourselves. Not a single bag of basmati rice!
No, not Condoleezza Rice. Berenj!
It all started when the sharp rise in price of rice in Asia, especially in Thailand - world's largest exporter - was widely reported in the media couple of weeks ago. Soon after, Iranian stores in my town nearly doubled their prices and the rest, well, is history.
Basmati rice is a hard find these days. For those of you living in places with significant Iranian/Middle Eastern population, just drive to your nearest Costco or Sam's Club and you'll see. More than likely, the Basmati rice shelves are empty. These days the buzz at Iranian mehmoonis is all how everyone is hoarding rice. It has reached a crisis mode for those who have not bought an ample supply of rice, like it's the end of the world. A friend of ours was telling the story of how she bought 30 pounds, only to find out that her husband also bought 30 pounds on his way home the same day. This is madness and a classic example of how hoarding can potentially contribute to price increases even more. Fortunately, I don’t think this will happen.
All this hoarding business reminds me of the years following the revolution. Life was tough back then and hoarding or "ehtekar" was a term mainly reserved for businesses that stored away goods bought at subsidized prices for sale at outrageous black market prices.
Anyway, just like any other hot issue this will blow over soon too, when something new comes along and the sharp price increases gradually end. Or will it? Did you hear what happened in Myanmar (Burma) last weekend, another major rice exporter?
The saga continues…
