Absolute Random Nonsense

A Santa-suited gunman who killed six people on Christmas morning was the estranged husband of one of the victims and the father of two teenagers who died in the massacre. Aziz Yazdanpanah, 56, showed up to his estranged wife's apartment on Christmas morning dressed like St. Nick and opened fire shortly after the family had unwrapped presents. Yazdanpanah then killed himself. The six victims were identified by ABC affiliate WFAA as: Nasrin Rahmaty, 55, who was Yazdanpanah's wife; Nona Yazdanpanah, 19, his daughter; Ali Yazdanpanah, 15, his son; Zohreh Rahmaty, 58, his sister-in-law; Hossein Zarei, 59, his brother-in-law; and Sahra Zarei, 22, his niece. Zarei owned a popular Dallas, Texas, ranch and was well known in the Iranian-American community, according to WFAA. On Christmas Eve, the family hosted a party at the ranch. The gunman was not invited. Police received a 911 call, which initially sounded like silence, Sgt. Roger Eberling said. After listening to the call again, Ebe...

After I left Iran I heard that our cat stayed around for a while before leaving. I found it odd because even though it felt closest to me, it still received attention (and food) from other family members so i didn't understand why he chose to leave. It was only when I thought about it further that I realized he had been just as devastated as I would have been had he one day simply disappeared.  

A California woman is mourning the loss of her husband, who drowned over the weekend while  saving his 7-year-old son’s life after their kayak capsized.  “He was a very loving person,” Mojgan Manafi said of her spouse Hadi Ahmadi, 55, according to The Press Enterprise. “If he didn’t have anything, he was still willing to help people. He was such a great dad. He was such a great husband." According to a news release from California State Parks, tragedy struck on Saturday, Dec. 6, at Lake Perris State Recreation Area in Riverside County. Authorities responded to reports of screaming and people in distress in the water near Moreno Beach, the department said, sharing that a father and son were kayaking when their vessel capsized.   Neither individual was wearing a life jacket at the time, though there was a vest in the kayak, according to the department. “State Park peace officers quickly arrived on scene via patrol vessel and immediately recovered the man, who was uncon...

Darren’s puzzled look told Kurt that maybe he should have opted for the long version of the events. “Kurt, this is very unusual.   I’m not sure if I would feel comfortable just handing out that kind of money to you.   We have never had this kind of relationship before and it’s just a bit odd.   It’s not something I can make a decision on right on the spot.   You need to explain to me what exactly is going on.   And this really isn’t the proper place to be having such a discussion.”   Darren motioned at the children he held. “Look Darren, I really can’t explain. Just trust me on this, I need this money really bad.   Like I said I’ll pay you back and then some.   Just do this one thing for me.” “Kurt this whole conversation is a tad bit bizarre and quite frankly this isn’t the time or place for us to be having it.”   Behind him the sound of conversations, laughter and music morphed into one inaudible din.   “Kurt I’m sorry but I r...

Yashar Z. Sany, formerly at Microsoft is a serial entrepreneur and visionary founder of IranianLawyer.com, Azki.com, and PersianRugs.com, platforms serving millions and redefining legal tech, digital insurance, and e-commerce for Persian communities worldwide. While at Microsoft, he started a Persian Teams channel – a global community connecting Persians around the world. He hosted meetings on the last Thursday of each month. And during these sessions he invited and interviewed special guests which consists of successful tech & non-tech Persians, so as a team they can learn and inspire from. He immigrated from Iran, starting with humble beginnings, working at a rug store in the US. He then earned a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering from Boston University, graduating with honors. Later completed an MBA from the University of New Haven while working full-time

With the completion of the 1982 World Cup, an updated set of World Cup soccer cards were issued. Brazil continued to lead the pack in all categories (other than goals received). Still having a soft spot for Italy, I was somewhat agitated that they hadn’t overtaken West Germany as the second highest team in overall points. The fact that West Germany was in such close pursuit of Brazil in all categories made me uncomfortable. With the possibility of them eventually catching up and passing Brazil, I made a conscious decision to always hate the German national team and all things related to German soccer. Poland’s third place finish in the World Cup hardly ranked them high in these cards’ standings as their poor past performances yielded a low aggregate number of points. Updated stats aside, another observation regarding the new cards was the shoddy work that had been done regarding their pictures. While many of the pictures were just too dark, the actual content was also questionable....

From leaving Iran as a refugee to Germany in 1986, moving to the US in the year 1989, to establishing herself in the city of Los Angeles – Bita Milanian’s inspirational journey is nothing less than incredible. Always leading from the front, she has worked with a number of organizations and by sheer hard work and an innovative spirit, created a special place for herself in the technology-oriented global telecoms domain. As an Iranian who came to the United States in 1989, Milanian knows how different her life could have been had she stayed in her home country. “I remember I was 12 years old,” she says of the time when she was pulled over by Iran’s morality police. “That day I was wearing a colorful scarf, and I believe that kind of triggered them. But, my hair was fully covered.”  Her love of cuisines and cooking led her to start BitaKitchen.com where she shares her simple, quick and healthy recipes with all. “Food connects us,” Bita writes, “and when we are connected, we have the p...

“Thomas, for the last time drop your stupid ATM idea. It’s not gonna work, plus you will be in a shite load of trouble once you get caught.” “No one will get caught. People do it all the time, probably everyday.” “Yes, people do it every day in the movies, not in real life. In the movies everyone’s a hero and nothing ever goes wrong. Wake up man, this is the real world.” “Kurt you’re blowing this out of proportion. Movies are based on people’s lives anyway.” “Listen to me for one second, just one plain example. In the movies you see a guy being chased by the police. He looks over his shoulder and sees them drawing their gun. He hears them yell freeze. He continues running. He then hears the gun being fired. He’s still running, in slow motion, and he feels the bullet hit him in the shoulder. It throws him off balance but he still manages to stay on his feet. He tries to stop the blood by applying pressure with his other hand as he continues to run. He finally manages to shake ...