Absolute Random Nonsense

One day as we were sitting in geology class I began leafing through my binder. There were many drawings in it, mostly soccer related. I stopped on a particular page, my first, and probably only, page of notes from the previous semester’s dynamics class. At the top of the page I had written the name of the required textbook (Beer and Johnston) and underneath it was a full body drawing of the professor, Mr. Nateghi. There were some equations regarding velocity and acceleration and then what seemed like my own work in determining the equation in the Cartesian system for the polar coordinate equation r = 2(1+ cos θ). Further down the page I had written all the things I had sacrificed during the time that I had asked Gita out (the money spent on perfume and my haircut, my clothes, the time wasted on preparations, the televised 1991 European Cup Final that I skipped, etc.). Below that was a picture of a girl, unmistakably drawn by Ardi, with my name entangled in her hair, tiny hearts pouri...

Iranian fashion designer, Nima Behnoud and friends engaged in experimental garment alteration which became emblematic of the youthful underground scene in Tehran in the ‘80s. Today the same hunger and fascination has turned into an organized clothing line, NIMANY. Now their dream is to use their brand to share their magical teenage years in Tehran. Quotes by Persian poets, highlighting the visual artistry of calligraphy, tell the story of their culture through fashion, inserting their art into daily life. He is the first fashion designer who implemented Persian calligraphy in the form of clothing. Despite stereotypes and recent media coverage depicting Iran as a nation of black shawls, he says that Iranians are very savvy when it comes to fashion, and as stylish as any fashionista in Europe or North America. “The current fashion scene is just as active as Milan or Paris,” he says. Even with government restrictions on dress, Nima says that Iranians...

As a kid I was always told that babies are born when a mother's stomach is surgically sliced open and the baby is thus removed and born. One time in Iran we were watching a movie where a guy had a cow with him. They spent the night out in the open fields and in the morning he realized the cow had given birth. I asked out loud how could that have happened if there was no doctor to slice the cow open. A protesting voice of someone in the gathering indicated that the question should not be answered. I made the assumption that the cow had used its horn to rip its belly open. I had no explanation for how it had sewn it back together.  

Marjan Sarshar was born and raised in Tehran before coming to the U.S. as a teenager. Marjan’s journey as a refugee and immigrant has brought many obstacles; however, she considers them a blessing and positive learning experience. Marjan is now putting her lifelong dreams into action by giving back to the community through providing healthy, local, environmentally sustainable options. Kreation Organic was born out of the love of a single mother raising two daughters and a mission to put their well-being first, which transcended into a larger passion to nurture her community and herself. "In my family food is everything. If you respect someone, you make them good food. Growing up, my Dad’s way of expressing love was through cooking for me and my siblings. He often made vegetarian rice with lots of fresh herbs and lentils. My Mom was also a wonderful cook. Fresh and healthy home-cooked meals have been a top priority for my children. I love entertaining and creating a sense of fa...

There was a time that I truly walked on egg shells. Every time I would approach home I would slow down to check if the coast was clear and if anyone was waiting for me. I absolutely found any excuse possible to be away from home where others might have expected me to be. When home I would periodically peek through the curtains to see if anyone was outside. I lost a lot of weight due to these stressful circumstances. It took a long time for life to get back to somewhat normal.  

Donia Bijan is an Iranian-American author and chef based in California. She is the author of the book Maman’s Homesick Pie: A Persian Heart in an American Kitchen (2011) and the novel The Last Days of Café Leila (2017). “Strange things happened when I returned to Tehran in 2010 after thirty-two years in exile,” writes Donia Bijan in her recent essay, “The Women’s Hour.” Traveling with her sister, she found her childhood home – the hospital their father built in the 1950s, on an avenue that was once named after him. On the top floor was where Bijan was born, and where the family lived. In the yard was the final resting place for the family dog. The pool, in which Bijan learned to swim, was still there. "In 2010, I went back to Iran for a short visit after 32 years in exile. It was an incredibly moving experience. I was a stranger. I didn’t even know how to tie a headscarf properly. I spoke like the awkward 15-year-old who had left three decades ago, and yet, I felt the very earth w...

A team which I have wanted to see for more than 40 years is the Cosmos. The Cosmos at one point had players like Pele, Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto and even Andranik Eskandarian. What I saw was the third version of them after they went bankrupt in 1984 and came back to life from 2013 to 2020 and then again this year. They are a far cry from their heyday and play in the US third division. Their stadium is much smaller holding only 10,000. On this day I estimated about 1,000 people there and it was announced as 1,174. They had a supporter's section that was loud throughout the game with their chants, drums and smoke bombs although it was maybe only about 50 people. There were still many people present who were wearing a Cosmos jersey with number 10 and Pele's name on the back. I bought a $20 ticket although I cold have bought the $17 one because no one checked where anyone sat as much of the stadium was empty and you could move around anywhere. I was surprised they had such an equ...

In what appears to be a national first, Texas students will be required to read Bible passages as part of a new statewide reading list. The State Board of Education gave final approval to updated Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills – known as TEKS – on Friday, capping off a week of meetings and often tense public discussion. The board also approved rewritten K-8 social studies lessons that narrow the view of history from a global one to a focus on U.S. and Texas history. The state will begin rolling out the new standards beginning in the 2030-31 school year. Attorney Niloufar Hafizi, who identified as an Iranian Muslim, said she sees in the social studies lessons about Muslims a “subtext telling students whose histories, which civilizations, and ultimately which people count. “Rather than present balanced and accurate standards, the proposed TEKS tell a selective narrative that elevates Protestant Christianity and Western civilization while downplaying other religions and civilization...

At the end of Ardi’s street was a boy named Reza, commonly known as Reza Allaf. When we were younger he came off as one of the thugs of the neighborhood although now that we were older he willingly socialized with us. He walked with a limp and crutches, the result of a motorcycle accident for which he was going through treatment and physiotherapy while fighting to get the other party in the accident to pay for his medical bills. Due to his limited mobility we would all just gather around him as he told us various tales of adventures that he had had. When describing them, he would also add sound effects when appropriate although he never seemed to get the sound effect right. For example he would be describing how a police car would be chasing him with its siren wailing and then make sounds of a cat meowing. Each night at the conclusion of his tales he would readily admit that half of the things he said he had made up although he would then justify it by saying as long as we were enterta...