And we're baking

Having bought brown sugar the week before specifically to use in a particular recipe,
Having had to deal with the ordeal of a torn sugar packet and sugary kitchen floor,
And then...
Finding yourself beating the good old white sugar into the dough!
Any better definition of "absentmindedness"?

El camino del Rey

Amazing video. It gave me a feeling like i am stepping on this walkway myself.

"Originally built in 1901, this walkway now serves as an approach to Makinodromo, the famous climbing sector of El Chorro."

P.S. Fly has gathered more info about this passage. Check it out!

Dreamy

Dreaming...
Of so many little insignificant unnecessary things i can't sort them out in my head
Of a white sand beach, and deep blue sea
Of a flower garden, with vivid colors surrounding you from everywhere
Of a sunny warm day where you can wear light clothes and get worried about getting sunburned!
Of a fast car and an empty road and this music i have on the previous post playing loud
Of a new pair of comfortable shoes and a lane next to a lake
Of a glass full of carrot juice and vanilla icecream
Of cool feeling 400 thread egyption cotton sheets, down comforters and a super duper mattress
Of this, and of that
All these unsorted dreams send me off to bed... dreamy
(Or greedy... )

127- Perfect Esfahan Blues

I so much enjoyed this clip, i couldn't let go of it unless i posted it here. Besides the interesting music and lyrics, the video reminds me of all those road trips i had in my days in Iran. The music is composed by a rock band in Tehran, called 127.

P.S. The credit of introducing this clip of course goes to the grand Mr. Bayramali.
P.S.2. This update is dedicated to the dear old friend who asked for it!

Kronos Quartet

Tonight, Kronos Quartet came to U of I. The performance was "different" and i liked it. I knew that they have a modern/minimalistic approach to music, but i was pleasantly surprised to see the theatrical edge they had incorporated in their performance. In one piece for example, the four were playing some music and when they turned their note pages in front of them (which was a pronounced theatrical act), the music would change drastically to another totally different genre! Or in another piece they were using the non-instrumental components they had set on the 4 corners of the stage to create a new twist, that included an old iron stove, pipes and metal pieces David Harrington was hammering, something like a chain saw the young guy was using, some pots and pans and something like a vacuume cleaner at the back! The set design and the light effects added a real "different" taste to the performance . In the second half of the program they performed some pieces inspired by middle eastern traditional music, Iran, Iraq, India and Balkans. That was good too.

Jeer's Picture Chronicle of New York

New York's photo chronicle

My first photo of New York, in route to the hotel from La Guardia airport.

From the observation deck at the top of the Rockefler Center (Top of the Rock). You see the Empire State building on the back.

From the observation deck at the top of the Rockefler Center (Top of the Rock). You see the view of the Cental Park.

The crystal star they put on top of the New York's Christmas tree each year. The tree is set in the plaza of the Rockefeller Center.

In front of the United Nations, Visitors Center.

Iran's gift to the United Nations. The portrait of the secratary generals of the UN woven in silk carpets.

UN, "Do unto others what you would have them do onto you."

Iran's section in the Metropolitan meuseum. It's not recognized by the name"Iran" there, it is "Near Eastern" section.

The writting on the wall towards the left reads:

"By the grce of Ahura Mazda, I built this palace... And i built it secure and beautiful and adequate."

Darius I 522-486 B.C.

Cup with a frieze of gazelles, Gold. Northwestern Iran, Caspian region, Early 1st millenium B.C.
Look how beautifully the gazelles' head is tilted out of the cup.

This staute used to be inside (?) World Trade Center towers. They have temporarily put it here and after they reconstruct the towers, it is going to be placed in front of the new buildings as is.

View of the city from top of the rocks in the Central Park. Manhattan is standing on top of big rocks. They need to explode these rocks whenever they want to make foundations for a building.

Times Square, past midnight. This is where the magic of New York overwhelms you. I stood there in the cold windy night, amazed for quite a while.

Chocolate is better in color, or in the robe! M&M store in Times square.
I didn't get a chance to see the statue of liberty. It was too cold and rainy and i was short of time.

Trees on the walls of the Trump building in Manhattan.

The first woman wearing a chador-meshki!!!;)

Do you know what "Amazon" mean? Amazons were the female warriors in ancient Greek army.


NYC is expensive! We paid 15 bucks for this tiny piece of cake.

I have to admit, in Manhattan you can find cheap food too. I had a very tasty lamb gyro with saffron rice and for $3:50. It was halal meat!

Beautiful Hyacinth flower, in my good friend's Haftsin. Also in Manhattan:)

Norooz Pirooz

It's New Year's Eve, and i'm on a trip to New York. Sitting at the 44th floor of a big hotel in the big city, I am looking to the wet skyscrapers wrapped in a layers of cloud, and the street lights sparkling down low . Spring hasn't touched this city yet, but my heart is pounding with each minute that we get closer to the Newest days of the new year. Tonight at 1:47 past midnight, I'll have my heart open to the graceful Spring. May it touch my life and yours with its colorful warmth. Happy New day to you my friend from close and far.


As a New Year treat, i give you the photo i took a few hours ago in the New York's Metropolitan museum. It is lion shape vessel made of gold, belonging to Darius the king. The top part of the drinking jar is made up of 160 feet of extremely fine gold strings, wrapped around the jar. It was a glamorous piece of Art.

and we're packing...

"If in my whole life,
I spend only a moment with you,
That one moment is all my life,
The rest has proven vain."
Does earworm include poetry too? This Saadi's verse is repeatedly recited in my head since afternoon.

I have to pack to go on a field trip very early tomorrow morning, that's the very reason i am sitting here blogging instead of filling up that purple suitcase:(
Anybody has a magic wand handy?

Frozen Grand Central

From http://www.ImprovEverywhere.com , over 200 people freeze in place on cue in Grand Central Station in New York.
This is one of over 70 different missions Improv Everywhere has executed over the past six years in New York City. Others include the Shirtless Men in Abercombie and Fitch, the Best Buy uniform prank, and the famous U2 Rooftop Hoax, to name a few.

Thanks to the friend who sent me the video.

Chocolate

I once wrote here about a Japaneses brand of chocolate i had come to like. Tonight i'll talk about my recent addictive sin. My kind bittersweet melty companion who's been there for me, in my times of high and low! Lady's and gentlemen, may i introduce, Ritter Sport's, a la Mousse au Chocolat:

Broken...

"You oughta let your mother know where you are," said Jem. " you oughta let her know you're here..."
Dill's eyes fickered at Jem, and Jem looked at the floor. Then he rose and broke the remaining code of our childhood. He went out of the room and down the hall. "Atticus," his voice was distant, "can you come here a minute, sir?"

-To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee.

The Total Lunar Eclipse

The song Total Eclipse of the Heart for the musicality of the post:) Photo Credit: Doug Murray
Tonight, in the brutal cold weather of 1 below, i witnessed my third lunar eclipse here in US. My first was in 2004, in those days that i was studying hard to pass my core in the PhD track. I along with 3 friends in mt study group has stayed late on campus. We walked down to the University observatory and watched the moon up close. I watched the second one on my brother's amateur telescope in our apartment's open stairways. And this third one with naked eyes, with a blanket on my head, shivering from cold in the balcony!
. "Forever is going to start tonight."

My Carrot-Non-Cake!

.
It refused to rise, and i refused to frost it in return! We ate it nonetheless!

Oops

Don't drown!

We are under a flood watch from National Weather Service. The banner on the local TV channels reads: "If flood conditions are encountered, be prepared to seek higher ground. If traveling, turn around, don't drown." I am not the only one who finds this serious message funny!

Mistified

Sitting in my windowless office, my friend came and suggested we go out for a short walk. It was such a beautiful dense fog out there. The weather was chilly but not freezing. I accompanied her to the parking lot across the campus and walked back alone. Walking down that road was like you were stepping into a black and white photograph. It was like with each step that i took i was getting closer to a gigantic snow white ocean that was all around me. i could feel it caressing my cheeks, holding my fingers, hugging me tight. It was a walk to remember. I was alone, but i could hear the heavy breathing of the sleeping snow covered grass and could feel the acknowledging look of the bare branched trees witnessing me passing by. You wouldn't see where you were headed, but i didn't care, the pleasure was it was me, walking in that beautiful mighty mist, and nothing else mattered. I was "Mistified".

Giving vs. Needing

-I need someone i can matter to.
-You matter to me, completely.
-It's hard to be around someone who gives so much and needs so little in return.
-I have enormous needs.
-Well, i can't see them, neither can Lee or Holly.
Quoting from "Hannah and her sisters".

I watched Woody Allen's film tonight. For some reason this conversation made its way deep into me. Hannah is being blamed for being too giving...

Disconnected jottings, on a birthday midnight

-I feel pretty, i feel pretty and witty and gay(not really!) and i pity anyone who isn't me today!
-Is it necessary to have a birthday post? not really. but i've had it before and am just following the pattern. I guess i also like to have a post dated January 27th:)
-I had my birthday blues- a phenomenon that happens to you in the days before your birthday comes up- a few weeks ago. This week i was over it and actually looking forward to the day.
-Good food (Lebanese), okay cake (i bake better ones!), and good company is what makes your day special. Let me add to it, the influx of sweet love from your family and warm words from your friends from all over the world.
-Black and Purple!
-Happy birthday to Mozart too!
-Lebanese appetizers rock!
-What's a good movies to see today? I have not seen any of the 5 Oscar nominees, wayee!
-Partial credits for the titles goes to my good friend Emilof.
-Good night!

... and even more jottings!
-Speaking of superiority of homemade cake... i take my word back! I went to this expensive local specialty pastry shop in town and got one slice of a heavenly chocolate cake filled with chocolate raspberry fudge. yammmmm.
-the only disadvantage of a birthday morning is your long distance friends calling you 9 a.m. in the morning! It's a tiny one though, the goodness of chatting with old buddies evens that out:)
-i didn't get to see any movies today after all!

Haircut Talks, or Gender Gap...

Two women talking:

Woman 1: Oh! You got a haircut! That's so cute!
Woman 2: Do you think so? I wasn't sure when she gave me the mirror. I mean, you don't think it's too fluffy looking?
Woman 1: No, it's perfect. I'd love to get my hair cut like that, but I think my face is too wide. I'm pretty much stuck with this stuff I think.
Woman 2: Are you serious? I think your face is adorable. And you could easily get one of those layer cuts - that would look so cute I think. I was actually going to do that except that I was afraid it would accent
my long neck.
Woman 1: Oh - that's funny! I would love to have your neck! Anything to take attention away from these football player shoulders of mine.
Woman 2: Are you kidding? I know girls that would love to have your shoulders. Everything drapes so well on you. I mean, look at my arms, see how short they are? If I had your shoulders I could get clothes to fit me so much easier.
...

...
...

Now two men talking:
Man 1: Haircut?
Man 2: Yeah
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

P.S. 1. Reading that "yeah", i burst into laughter. This is sooooo true! at least with the guys i got to know!
P.S.2. Speaking of haircuts... Being extremely bored last night, i cut my hair myself! Now my right layer is shorter than the left. i actually did try to cut evenly, i guess i have bigger curls on the right!

Gustavo Santaolla's Score for The Motorcycle Diaries

The music Santaolla composed for this film is just wonderful. Also The main theme score of the film sounded very homey to my ears, listen to it here.