Persian Classical Music

I hope I’ll be able to write more about Persian Classical Music and its enormous strengths (that are completely unknown in the West) in the future, but Opium and Saffron has a great quote here that will serve as a very good introduction:

“like other Middle Eastern traditions, Persian classical music is based on the explortion of short modal pieces: in Iran these are known as gushehs, and there are 200 or so gushehs in the complete radif [repertoire]. These gushehs are grouped according to mode into 12 modal ’systems’ called dastgah. A dastgah essential comprises a progression of modally-related gushehs in a manner somewhat similar to the progression of pieces in a Baroque suite…The training of a classical musician essentially involves memorizing the complete repertoire of the radif. Only when the entire repertoire has been memorized – gusheh by gusheh, dastgah by dastgah – a process that takes many years, are musicians considered ready to embark on creative digressions, eventually leading to improvisation itself. So the radif is not performed as such, but represents the starting point for creative performance and composition.”

Can the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland be a first step in the right direction?

So apparently the former Iranian president, Mohammad Khatami, and the Dem senator from Mas., John Kerry, have met at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and there are talks about improving U.S.-Iran relationships. I can’t be too optimistic, but if both sides are wise enough, this can be a very important first step in the right direction.

Here’s an article about Iran, its politics and economy, which has a very fair and reasonable tone to it. It says,

…after “many years of exchanging verbal hostilities,” Iran and the United States “have not sat down to talk,” and that would be the way forward.

Persian-American Comedian Maz Jobrani (very funny stuff!)

I just found out about this guy, he’s very funny, and he’s had some major roles in Hollywood movies and TV shows. Check out this video, it’s veeeeeeery funny!

The White House just doesn’t get it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The woman in the picture, Jane Fonda, can probably attest that the White House is either extremely dumb or has a very short memory. Only 34 years ago, America was doing the same thing in Vietnam as it is doing now in Iraq– that is expanding the imperial project. Back then, the excuse was communism; now, it is terrorism. Yet, the real goal, the process and the end results remain the same. Why not learn from the past?

Great Rubaiyat website

I just found this great website which allows you to read a number of Khayyam’s quatrains (Fitzgerald’s translation). Make sure you check it out if you’re reading this!

When US Imperialism Spreads to Canada

So the Royal Bank of Canada has, in compliance with the U.S. treasury rules, started to close bank accounts of Canadians with an Iranian, Iraqi, North Korean, Cuban or Sudanese origin. Needless to say, this discriminatory policy is in breach of the Canadian laws, yet as it is explained here, the bank has no choice but to comply with the rules (one European bank has already been heavily fined for not doing so). So here’s an example of the US once again trying to apply its own will over the will of another sovereign nation, and this time the victim is not a country in the Middle East, whose name you can’t pronounce properly, it is Canada!

Islam and the Big Bang

Somebody told me today that Islam seems to have favored the theory of the Big Bang! There’s apparently some references to it in the Qu’ran. What is that about? I always though the Qu’ran said the world was created in 7 days.

Khayyam

“Yesterday This Day’s Madness did prepare;
To-morrow’s Silence, Triumph, or Despair:
Drink! for you know not whence you came, nor why:
Drink! for you know not why you go, nor where.”

That’s a quatrain by the 11th century Persian poet, Khayyam.

Interestingly enough, it was quoted in the movie, 12 Monkeys by Terry Gilliam.

Those of you who have watched this movie can probably see the common theme of the story and this poem, right?

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, translated by Fitzegerald, is a great, while short, read for anyone, any time!

Could Ahmadinejad destroy Israel?

That’s a good question, with a simple answer: NO! What people here in the West don’t understand is that based on the Islamic Republic’s Constitution, the president is little more than the head of the executive. The Iranian president is NOT the commander-in-chief. In fact, Mr. Ahmadinejad does not have the power to move a single soldier, let alone push the entire army into a conflict.

Persian = Iranian

I am Persian, therefore I am Iranian. I am Iranian, therefore I am Persian.

The terms “Persian” and “Iranian” are fully interchangeable in the context of nationality.