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Nobody, LOL! I honestly haven't run into that factoid before.
Gar, thanks! Any sharing is good sharing! My URL is on the image itself on the left border, so anyone…
I don't think the existence of exceptions to a clear general trend, disproves that the trend exists. Interestingly, Mexicans seem…
Mental Floss "Word Nerd" 2025 Calendar January 9: Ampersand "Yes, an ampersand is a punctuation mark, but in the 1900s,…
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Category Archives: International issues
My Companion’s Scent Seeped into Me
This week’s “Sa’di Says” is a brief poem from one of the introductory sections of Golestan: I held in my bath a perfumed piece of clay that came to me from a beloved’s hand. I asked it, “Are you musk … Continue reading
Posted in Iran, Writing
7 Comments
I Have a Tumblr…
It’s called Sa’di Says and I will posting to it excerpts from my translations of Sa’di, the 13th century Persian poet, which were originally published by Global Scholarly Publications in two separate volumes, Selections from Saadi’s Gulistan andSelections from Saadi’s Bustan. Both books have been out … Continue reading
Javad Zarif’s Video Message: “There Is a Way Forward”
I met Mr. Zarif some years ago, when he was Iran’s representative to the United Nations, though I am sure he would not remember me. He gave a presentation with a former and well-respected American diplomat, whose name now escapes … Continue reading
Posted in Iran
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Thank You, Veterans
I wrote this on November 11, and then before I could get a thumbs-up from certain people to post it, life intervened. So, it’s a little late, but still worth saying. As GB Stern said, silent gratitude isn’t much use … Continue reading
Posted in Afghanistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iran, Iraq, Korea
38 Comments
Conor Friedersdorf’s Argument Against Drones
Conor Friedersdorf’s entire argument against Drones is worth reading, but here’s a sample: In thought experiments, we may be able to separate the questions, “Should force be used?” and, “If so, what is the most ethical weapon available?” But the … Continue reading
Trying To Be an Ally: Thinking About Hejab, Muslim Invisibility, and the Casual Hatred that is Cultural Appropriation (1)
In 2008, when my family and I traveled to Iran for my brother-in-law’s wedding, the day after we left Tehran to visit my sister-in-law and her family in Isfahan, the Iranian morality police drove a paddy wagon into Tajrish, a … Continue reading
Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Gender and the Body, Iran
28 Comments
Farid al-Din Attar: A Reading Journal 6
Here’s another quote from The Conference of the Birds: But think of some new pilgrim, some young boy, Whose boldness comes from mere excess of joy; He has no certain knowledge of the Way, And what seems rudeness is but … Continue reading
Posted in Iran, Religion, Writing
2 Comments
One of My Favorite Poems by Saadi of Shiraz
I’ve been thinking about this poem a lot lately, because what it says could easily have been labeled heresy by the authorities of Saadi’s time, which was 13th century Iran, and an accusation of heresy could, conceivably, have gotten him … Continue reading
Would You Give Your Life for Your Art?
People often tell me that my poems are brave, that reciting them publicly takes courage. I understand what they mean by that, and I thank them for the compliment they intend, but it also always makes me cringe. I think … Continue reading
Posted in Afghanistan, Writing
5 Comments
_Railsea_ by China Mieville has ampersands as part of the story-- both text and symbolism. A genuinely weird surrealist novel.