March 2011
1 post
If Elizabeth Taylor can go to Iran, why can't you?
Ok, so Liz Taylor’s trip to Persia was in 1976 with photographer — and cousin of then ambassador Ardeshir Zahedi— Firooz Zahedi, but many of the places she visited and was photographed in, are just as awesome and untouched as they were then.
Just to clear things up, while the MEK claims that I’m an agent of the Iran’s ministry of intelligence, I think they’re...
February 2011
1 post
The most popular sites in Iran (according to the...
I just did a search on Alexa.com to find what the most popular websites in Iran.
The 5th most visited site in Iran is peyvandha.ir, better known as the page that comes up when one attempts to visit a blocked site.
Wikipedia currently ranks 7th.
Now if I could just figure out how to get some ad space on peyvandha.ir…
January 2011
4 posts
Are Dildos Somehow Un-Islamic?
Apparently the jury is still out…
Check out my new piece from the Monocle for more on Iran’s ongoing debate over the sale of sex toys inside the Islamic Republic.
What do you think: Marital Relations Equipment or Perpetrators of Moral Corruption?
1 tag
“It’s really funny, the official website of Iran’s Ministry of...”
– Grad Student in Tehran
Iran Bans Valentine's Day
Several international news outlets have picked up on the announcement that Iran has apparently banned Valentine’s Day traditions.
Here’s a perfect example of a law that can hardly be enforced and will undoubtedly go unobserved.
Like everywhere else that the holiday is observed, Valentine’s Day has become a cash cow for many businesses, especially here in Tehran.
This is...
December 2010
4 posts
Just got a bowl of free soup in Tehran
Say what you will about Shi’a Muslims, but the free food they hand out during the mourning months as an offering is a nice perk of living in Iran.
Everything is much calmer than this time last year, when there were massive street fights between regime opponents and security forces.
This year the bad guy is the rest of the world, as the Wikileaks scandal and sanctions have Iranians feeling...
Tehran Parties are great, but what about surviving...
In this article on the hazards of partying in Iran published in the Canadian Magazine Macleans, the author gives a decent overview of party basics in Iran: bribing police, partying in the countryside and getting bribed.
Recently a friend —along with 60 other party attendees— got arrested at a party that was raided in his own building. He spent two nights in jail where he wasn’t...
Iranians Are Just Like Us
In Part I of the “Iranians are Just Like us” series, have a look a this report from the New York Times’, Will Yong, on the increase in Iran’s divorce rates.
Choosing a favorite quote from this article was difficult, but I will have to go with parliamentarian, Gholamreza Asadollahi’s critique of Iranian youth, blaming the rising number of divorces on Iranian...
A Breath of Fresh Air... But Where?
I’m writing from Dubai, but I feel obliged to re-post this column I wrote a few days ago for the Monocle.
While everyone else is talking about the nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 in Geneva — ain’t that rich — residents of Tehran are still suffering from horrendous air pollution.
November 2010
3 posts
Happy Thanksgiving from Tehran
I just walked into my local butcher shop and for the first time in Tehran, saw a whole turkey. Apparently it was just coincidence, as the owner had no idea it was Thanksgiving, and was just scratching his head over what he was going to do with this gigantic, unsellable bird.
Sanctions Having an Effect in Iran, Just not the... →
Depending on who you ask, it doesn’t appear as though the sanctions imposed on Iran by the US and other Western nations are having the desired effect of getting Iran to give up its nuclear…
Sanctions Are Working in Iran, Just not How the US...
Depending on who you ask, it doesn’t appear as though the sanctions imposed on Iran by the US and other Western nations are having the desired effect of getting Iran to give up its nuclear enrichment program. On the contrary, average Iranians and not the regime seem to be suffering the brunt of the economic hardship.
Not only is the cost of many basic consumer goods rising exponentially, Iranians...
October 2010
7 posts
EXCLUSIVE Interview with Iranian Avocado Authority
Last week I paid a visit to Garcia Mexican Restaurant in Tehran, to talk with chef and co-owner, Janet Garcia, about the lack of avocados in Iran, what it would mean to her personally and in terms of business to have access to great Hass avocados, and and to enjoy some of her wonderfully authentic Mexican dishes in the least likely of places.
A trip to Garcia is always does the trick: one of the...
Iran: The Most Affordable Knowledge on Earth
My friend just showed me his most recent purchase: 3 DVDS containing digital copies of 7000 books in Farsi. Price? $4. (Iran doesn’t have any copyright laws.) Now if buyers would just read the books…
My appearance on HEY! with Dane Golden →
Check out my hour long conversation and call in Q&A session on HEY! with Dane Golden. HEY! is a new live interview podcast show with my friend Dane, and in this segment we discussed everything from avocadoes to Ayatollahs.
And The Winner Is....
Just been asked to name Tehran’s four architecturally ugliest neighborhoods and can’t come up with any clear front runners. This is one competition where everyone is a winner!
The Goodfather
Had lunch at The Goodfather restaurant in Tehran yesterday. Slogan “An offer you can’t refuse.”
Holiday
For those of you who keep track of such things, both Sweden and Iran are celebrating national holidays today. In Sweden it’s Cinnamon Roll Day —I’m dead serious— and in Iran we’re marking the 765 AD martyrdom of the 6th Shi’a Imam, Sadeq.
1 tag
Ode to the Iranian Rial
Despite what everyone thought they knew, the Iranian Rial is the only world currency worth the paper it’s printed on.. and then some! At least according this Op-Ed from Press TV, which argues that the Rial is a unit of wealth, while the US dollar is simply a unit of debt.
For those keeping score, it currently takes just under 11,000 units of Iranian ‘wealth’ to equal a single...
September 2010
16 posts
Iran's First Avocado Farm: Help Make a Dream... →
I’ve just posted a on the crowd-funding platform, Kickstarter.com
The goal of the this endeavor to bring avocado culture to the people of Iran, by any means necessary.
Have a look at the video and support this important cause.
1 tag
Interesting TV News Report on Tourism to Iran →
So much for Open Source: Iranian Programmers...
Check out the demo (in English) for the Farsi version of Android that graduates of Tehran’s Sharif University have developed and are now using in Iran: http://farsitel.com/en/ Unfortunately, sanctions are making it tough for them to get it in the hands, and smartphones, of Farsi speakers around the world.
Iran is Now Officially the Strongest Nation on...
…this link should prove it.
Science City Prevails (again) in Iran Baseball...
The team from Bushehr has repeated as the champions of Iran’s Baseball Federation, defeating Qom 6-5 in the Final Game. I don’t have any more information than that, but perhaps some of our friends in the federation will provide details of the game later.>
1 tag
Battle of Iran's Baseball Titans
Iranian Baseball Federation’s Championship game is tomorrow. Qom versus Bushehr. Incredible matchup: one side claims the power of the atom and the other the power of God. Seriously, I can’t make this stuff up.
2 tags
Marketing Iranian Style
A brand new hotel opened in Tehran and the GM asked me what was wrong with the tagline: “Sleep With The Best.” I told him: “Nothing at all!”
1 tag
Tehran History Professor on Iran's Trouble with...
Prof: We didn’t start the fire; it was always burning since the world’s been turning.
Me: Did you write that?
Prof: No, it’s from one of our old poets.
Me: Oh.
Protesting the Koran Burning that Wasn't →
Several thousand uninformed supporters of the Iranian regime took to the streets today to demonstrate against Koran burnings that never took place. The event highlighted an important fact lost in…
1 tag
““I have some friends who live in America. I think the Prophet Mohammad...”
– Told to me by a VERY Islamic taxi driver, the kind of guy you might expect to see burning an American flag.
Iranian Givers: Islamic Republic decides to give...
Just back in Tehran, and the bizarre ride continues. Yesterday the Foreign Ministry as well as the Ministry of Islamic Guidance and Culture (great name, huh?) announced the compassionate release of Sarah Shourd, one of the three American hikers captured last summer for trespassing in Iranian territory. While journalists made plans to get back to Tehran – this is a holiday weekend here, making the...
“Why do half of the Iranian women at the Dubai Mall look like space aliens? Is it...”
– iransolo
Enforcement of Ramadan Fasting Rules Stronger than...
Residents of Tehran are reporting harsher rules than in previous years for those caught not fasting during the month of Ramadan. People from all walks of life have been cited for the crime, and punishment includes caning and lashes.
Iran’s top soccer player, Ali Karimi, had been fired from his team for allegedly not fasting during a recent practice, —they make teams practice during...
Oh my God, what's that guy wearing?
A society where neck ties are considered subversive and beards are the height of conformity is clearly playing by a different set of rules.
Hooman Majd discusses the oddities of Islamic Republic fashion —or lack of fashion— for men on Tehran Bureau.
America wins B-ball game, but Iran is still "the...
The US trounced Iran 88-51 in Istanbul yesterday, but according to the many Iranian fans in attendance Iran is still the best.
“Iran invented basketball around same time as we invented chess and civilization,” noted Ali, a professor of history who made the trip from Tehran to support the national teaming. Adding, “I’m not a scientist, but I think all the hormones those...
ThaIranian Invasion: Hordes of Persians descend on...
I’m in Bangkok at the moment, and can report that the number of Iranian visitors in the Thai capital, and throughout the country for that matter, is visibly on the rise.
Groups of mustachioed men in long shorts and tank tops, multiple generations of single families donning various levels of hejab, and throngs of people stuffing themselves with McDonald’s, KFC and fresh fruit. All...
Iran and US to face off in FIBA B-Ball World...
Let’s face it, the squads that the US sends out to international competitions these days don’t resemble the Dream Teams of the 90’s, but any time Iran and the US compete in big global tournaments in any sport, its worth paying attention.
Expect the Iranians to be very gracious and friendly while the Americans shrug at the cool gifts their opponents give them.
Also, look out...
August 2010
4 posts
1 tag
Iranian Weddings, and the Risks of Going too BIG
As this story about over-the-top Iranian American weddings makes the Internet rounds, Iranians around the world are having a good laugh at the expense of their rich cousins living in LA.
The description of the “Phantom of the Opera” style wedding, and its disastrous outcome are particularly good fodder for Iranians who feed off the misery of others.
All jokes aside, though, more...
2 tags
Iranians Targeted as Next Market for Thai Sex... →
I’ve been talking for some time about how popular Thailand is becoming among Iranians. Now here’s some proof that the Tourism Authority of Thailand is seeing the same trend, and plans on exploiting it. Unfortunately, it appears as though they will be attempting to funnel them to Thailand’s city of sin rather than its richer cultural attraction. I guess it’s a start.
Breaking News: Iranians Aren't White After All
For over a century many Iranians have claimed that they are the “Aryan” people, and therefore the original Caucasians.
This commentary published on Tehran Bureau highlights compelling evidence that we’re not white after all.
From the staggering number of comments and their tone, it’s clear that many Iranians in choosing colors to identify with will more often than not...
July 2010
3 posts
2 tags
Iranian Authorities Unleash the Haircut Police, or... →
Much was made about the conference to promote hejab and chastity and new guidelines about hair styles for men that are acceptable. If I had to predict, this will be one more set of rules that never gets enforced.
2 tags
Inside Iran : More Odd News from Iran →
Some weeks the news out of Iran is weirder than others..This felt like one of them.
June 2010
3 posts
2 tags
Inside Iran : Stephen Kinzer: Offering a New... →
2 tags
Inside Iran : Iran Election: 1 Year Later →
2 tags
Why did Iran's pro-democracy movement stall? - By... →
May 2010
1 post
2 tags
Inside Iran : Is the U.S. negotiating with Iran? →
April 2010
1 post
2 tags
A dispatch from Thailand's street protests. - By... →
By now many of you realize I have a bit of a fascination (fetish perhaps?) of drawing parallels between Thailand and Iran.
So it seemed appropriate that I try to connect the dots between the political upheaval that I witnessed in both countries in recent months.
This piece offers some impressions of that.
March 2010
4 posts
2 tags
Let's trade with Iran. After all, Iranians love to... →
2 tags
Inside Iran : Ringing in the new year in Tehran →