Purchase the 2010/10 Iranian/Gregorian calendar designed and produced by the girls at the Omid Foundation showing their own paintings and photographs. Part of the proceeds is donated to the girls who created the calendar.

The calendar shows both the Iranian as well as the Gregorian dates/months from 22 March 2010 until 21 March 2011. Continue Reading

Stepping off of Westwood  Blvd. in  LA, into a Persian bookstore, I made a complete examination of the space, and noticed  that one book was placed in two different locations. 

“Ancient Iran,” by Massoume Price–and published by Anahita Productions Limited (2008)–was placed in both the “Children’s” section, as well as the “Adult Arts.”

It seems that the owner of the store was aware of the book’s dualistic qualities.  The book is seemingly geared toward the young reader (by the indication: “Culture of Iran Youth Series” on top of the book), who may be inexperienced with the culture and rich  historical timeline of ancient Iran. 

Photo-inclusive, and broken down into sections, the book attempts to categorize the different periods of Iranian history starting from the “Burnt City’–over  5000 years ago–ending at the Sasanian dynasty of the 7th century AD.  Simple, yet compact paragraphs describe the basic time periods, while the large color imagery serves to engage the eye and mind. 

There is much to be said about the photographs, and there are plenty of rich treasures that are printed within this book.  The almost life-size photo of a Gold Bracelet (pg. 15) is as real as one can get without being at a museum.  Ms. Price succeeds in highlighting archeological finds that give proper perspective into civilization, and to Iran, in particular showing the earliest finds for games such as Backgammon, wine making, and of course the garden.

I must admit, that while I consider myself an amateur historian, I found this brief read, insightful in ways that inspired me to research more of a particular time period.  When I grew up in the 80s in the states, regrettably there was nothing like this book, and I can only say that it serves both the young child, who is ready to learn about Iran, as well as the adult who could use a refresher course, or might not even be aware of Iranian history.

Ms. Price, also involves other aspects of Iranian culture, that being a description of the ancient writing forms of Iran ranging from cuneiform, to middle Persian, and even insight into clothing styles, and food.  While children can learn about Persian culture by cooking with the family, those of us without children can also replicate ancient recopies for Parthian Bread, and Parthian Chicken. 

I always wondered what we did to prepare food before the tomato, and the potato reached Iran. 

Perhaps in terms of a civilization that is over 5000 years old, we are all children who can benefit from learning more about the past.

Iranian-American Actor/Comedian: Maz Jobrani, Original Photo: MazJobrani.com

Iranian-American actor and mega-comedian, Maz Jobrani, is set to star in ABC’s first Iranian-American comedy pilot based on Firoozeh Dumas’s book about growing up in the 1970s in Newport Beach, California: Funny in Farsi.

For those that know, Persian humor is truly some of the most clever and unique form of comedy. And with Maz Jobrani’s timing and skills, we’re positive that he’ll be providing some authentic Persian flavor to the mainstream tube; which will surely prove to be funny in English as well.

How does Maz feel about being a part of this project?

“Like Tony the Tiger,” he tells us. “Grrrrrrreeeat!”

East-Coast-bred Iranian comedian, Max Amini, is set to tape a comedy show for the Showtime network: “Bridging the Gap: The Middle East Comedy Talks“.

“I will be doing a live taping for Showtime Saturday, Dec. 12th,” the comedian tells us. ”The show will be hosted by Ahmed-Ahmed and the line-up is great.”

In addition to his Showtime gig, Max was also recently chosen to be a part of the “NBC Diversity Showcase” this year. Continue Reading

Washington, DC — Anyone who has seen the aftermath of the Iranian election on the news or online, has been undeniably rocked to their human core by the violent backlash Iranians have received for speaking up and asking for their long-overdue freedom(s). Yet, the original party-people and poets of the world: the Iranians, have taken their rebuttal to Ahmadinejad’s statement about the people who protested the outcome of this year’s Iranian election (and his “presidency”) to a new, perhaps romantic level.

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The Shahnameh (Book of Kings), was written by Persian literary-master: Ferdosi (also spelled Ferdowsi). The Persian literary masterpiece, amassed over several decades in the tenth and eleventh centuries, is a collection of some 60,000 couplets full of Persian Miniatures created to illustrate scenes from the Persian epic, and has now reemerged in the form of HYPERWERKS‘ highly-entertaining comic book  series: Rostam – Tales from the Shahnameh.

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Photo Credit: Hilary Jones

WASHINGTON, DC – From the release of Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi (who is incidentally half-Japanese) to the elections in Iran, Iranians continue to be quite the headline-nabbing theme du jour. And we’ve got another one for you to add to the list of Iranian notables: Dr. Reza Aslan. An assistant professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside, Aslan is a coveted commentator on CNN, CBS, NPR, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. 

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“Organized by the Smithsonian Institution’s Arthur M. Sackler Galleryin collaboration with The Moscow Kremlin Museums, this presentation features more than sixty exceptional objects that large embassies, diplomatic missions, and trade delegations from Ottoman Turkey and Safavid Iran offered to the tsars of Russia.”

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