Iran Solo

If Elizabeth Taylor can go to Iran, why can't you?

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 21:57:25 -0400

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 confused; I’m actually just a strong advocate of people visiting Iran; celebrity or not.

The most popular sites in Iran (according to the numbers)

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 10:20:47 -0500

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…

Are Dildos Somehow Un-Islamic?

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 06:22:38 -0500

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?

One of the greatest product packaging ‘jobs’ of all...

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 14:15:45 -0500

One of the greatest product packaging ‘jobs’ of all time. Thanks to New York Time’s ace correspondent, William Yong.

"It’s really funny, the official website of Iran’s Ministry of Education is filtered."

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 07:23:00 -0500

“It’s really funny, the official website of Iran’s Ministry of Education is filtered.”

- Grad Student in Tehran

Iran Bans Valentine's Day

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 13:37:00 -0500

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 probably the only day commemorating martyrdom that is actually good for sales of anything besides meat.

Just got a bowl of free soup in Tehran

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 05:07:07 -0500

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 more isolated than ever.

“It’s us against the world,” say Shi’as, “just like it’s been since 680AD.”

Tehran Parties are great, but what about surviving the After Party?

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:52:44 -0500

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 fed. No one got lashed, and no one lost their job.

The fact is that parties in Tehran are an accepted part of life now. At a birthday party friends threw for me last year, police arrived around 2am. When they came up they didn’t hassle anyone and said, “Consume whatever you want, just turn down the music,” adding that, “we wouldn’t have come, but we can ignore complaints from your neighbors.”

So that was the end of that soiree, but what never gets talked about is what happens after the party. No, I’m not referring to the hookups.

I’m talking about drunk driving.

It’s become abundantly clear to me, and apparently no one else, that driving under the influence is a big problem, and one with no easy solution.

Of all the idiosyncrasies of living in Iran, add this one to the list: drunk people feel safer getting a ride home from someone else who has been drinking than they do from a sober person they don’t know, like a taxi driver for example.

Accurate statistics on drunk driving deaths in Iran don’t exist, and as far as I can tell, there are no laws that specifically penalize drunk drivers, since all drinking is illegal.

For a campaign like MADD —Mullahs Against Drunk Driving, anyone?— a lot of Islamic judgment would have to be put aside, but it wouldn’t be a first for Iran. Have a look at this forward thinking needle exchange program in Tehran, that has helped to reduce transmission levels of HIV among intravenous drug users; a good example of realistic approaches to solving modern problems, of which Iran is full.

Iranians Are Just Like Us

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 00:57:15 -0500

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 youth’s inability to accept “the unseen power of God to solve life’s problems.

A Breath of Fresh Air... But Where?

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 00:43:41 -0500

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.

Happy Thanksgiving from Tehran

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 07:50:10 -0500

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 One We Wanted

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 22:52:30 -0400

Sanctions Having an Effect in Iran, Just not the One We Wanted:

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 Planned

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 19:12:42 -0400

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 are feeling a growing sense of isolation from being cut off from the global economy.

Although the Obama administration initially claimed that sanctions were not directed at the Iranian people, the passing of embargoes on products from Iran, including Persian rugs –an industry that several million Iranians rely on for their livelihood—has made it difficult for Iranians to feel targeted.

Still, a sizable segment of Iranian society – the one that has connections both at home and abroad – is richer than ever, many of them business owners profiting from rising prices bases on the speculation of a growing scarcity.

EXCLUSIVE Interview with Iranian Avocado Authority

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 13:02:05 -0400

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 happiest places in Tehran.

Check out the video and help support the cause.

Iran: The Most Affordable Knowledge on Earth

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 07:55:35 -0400

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

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 02:46:00 -0400

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....

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 03:23:10 -0400

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

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 04:22:32 -0400

Had lunch at The Goodfather restaurant in Tehran yesterday. Slogan “An offer you can’t refuse.”

Holiday

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 04:48:31 -0400

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.

Ode to the Iranian Rial

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 16:56:00 -0400

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 unit of American ‘debt.’