Absolute Random Nonsense

Tom Morley — known for his Global Tribe Retreats with co-founder Nina Nazar, held in travel destinations around the world — has pivoted to virtual yoga and meditation, with more than 200 live classes conducted in the past few months.  Going back to 1999, when the news broke that the AIDS virus had been transmitted to humans from a subspecies of chimpanzee, Diamond Delvalle, a first grader from the Bronx, looked up at her mother and asked, ''So I have a monkey disease?'' Nina, a then 23-year-old senior at Hunter College, volunteered to become Diamond's big sister. Ms. Nazar was busy with her schoolwork and her job at the Sony Wonder Technology Lab, an interactive museum on Madison Avenue between 55th and 56th Streets. But she knew that youngsters with H.I.V. were desperate for company. When she first met Diamond, Ms. Nazar said, the young girl was extremely withdrawn. ''She didn't want to talk,'' she said. ''She ran away from me and hid....

Some time in the 80s I was visiting Venice. I came across a columbarium, stopping in front of a plaque of a girl named Angela Venezia who died in 1797. The plaque was decorated with the girl's portrait and a Venetian mask. I then saw what looked like the ghost of that girl by a canal. I seemingly was haunted by her, seeing her image and the mask in a restaurant, a postcard stand, an antique shop, and other places I visited. When the ghost of the girl appeared to me again, I followed it, but I was lured into a secluded courtyard where I found myself surrounded by a group of ghosts wearing carnival masks. Scared, I ran away only to come across the little girl again.   

Renowned for her fearless use of color and form, Iranian architect and designer India Mahdavi blends cultural richness with commercial clarity. Her interiors radiate personality: spaces that don’t just invite you in, but speak directly to how you want to feel once inside. For designers and clients alike, her work is a masterclass in atmosphere — demonstrating how color, materiality, and storytelling can shape both brand identity and user experience. From five-star hotels to global retail icons, Mahdavi’s spaces are as playful as they are precise. These five defining projects don’t just reflect a career that continues to shape the international design conversation, they show that in a world often drawn to minimalism, maximalism — when done right — can be timeless, tactile, and deeply human. "I was born in Iran from an academic Iranian father and an Egyptian English mother. We moved to the United States when I was a year and a half and lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for four y...

In 1996 I went to the Bronx to check out and potentially buy a car. As we were trying to locate a particular dealership I approached an intersection. A woman was standing there, seemingly lost as she kept looking around aimlessly. Once she spotted me she asked me if anyone had told me I looked like Barry Manilow. I told her no one had. She then asked if I thought I resembled him. I told her that although I was familiar with the name I didn't really know what he looked like. As we continued our conversation, I got spun around by one of the people with me who demanded to know what I was doing. I said I was just talking. He then said, "Don't you see? She's a hooker." Days later I had another encounter with a hooker in a different state.  

Glendale Police Department officers responded to the 1100 block of Sonora Avenue regarding a reported structure fire involving a commercial building on Sunday, May 17, at approximately 10:25 p.m. The Glendale Fire Department responded to the scene with assistance from the Burbank Fire Department and Pasadena Fire Department. Fire personnel initiated an immediate response and worked to extinguish the fire. Following the extinguishment of the fire, two deceased individuals were located inside the structure. The Los Angeles County medical examiner's office identified one of the victims on Tuesday as Mariyan Khosravizadeh, who sustained multiple gunshot wounds. In a post made to Facebook on Monday, City Councilmember candidate Vrej Agajanian said the fire broke out at his TV studio building and that the space will be inaccessible for the next few days as authorities continue their investigation and safety inspections. "Thankfully, none of our staff members were injured. However, w...

In early 2005 I visited southern California. As we were out for breakfast one morning I noticed someone with long hair and wearing a baseball cap sitting in the back. He reminded me of David Lee Roth and I mentioned this to my friend. He also saw the resemblance. We randomly began calling the name David out loud to see if he would react but he didn't. As we continued debating whether it is him or not my friend's girlfriend stood up, called on the guy and said, "These guys think you are David Lee Roth." He hesitated, smiled and noncommittally asked, "Why, do I look like him?" He then denied it was him. He finished his meal before us and as he was leaving gave us a look and a thumbs up before exiting.  

An Iranian man who intervened during a knife attack on a Jewish man in Golders Green has told the BBC how he was trying to save a life. Ashkan Asadian rushed to help 76-year-old Moshe Shine as he was being attacked at a bus stop on Wednesday morning. Fearing Shine would be killed, Asadian said he tried to disarm the attacker. When the attacker later fled into a greengrocer's, Asadian barricaded him in with a shopping trolley, helping to give police enough time to arrive. Shine, who suffered serious injuries, has now been discharged from hospital. CCTV footage showed Shine standing at a bus stop adjusting his kippah - a traditional cap - before he was attacked on the north London street. Moments later someone could be seen lunging at him before he tried to get away, with the attacker close behind. Asadian, 61, said he had decided on the spur of the moment to intervene, having seen the stabbing right in front of him. "I saw him stabbing the old man in the neck," he told the...

In math class in college the professor factored out 2t early on from the expression and carried it through the entire problem. Each time he mentioned 2t it reminded me of a parrot. I thought to myself how confusing it would have been if in one of my math classes in Iran the teacher had a word problem that not only involved parrots but required an early common factor of 2t to solve the problem. It probably would have driven the teacher mad while prompting unnecessary questions from each of the students just to get the teacher to repeatedly say 2t.   

A Dallas business owner's decision to fly home with a humanoid robot has led to a new Southwest Airlines policy restricting the transport of human‑like devices. Aaron Mehdizadeh, owner of The Robot Studio in North Dallas, was returning from Las Vegas when he brought along Stewie, a 3.5‑foot humanoid robot typically rented out for events. Instead of shipping Stewie as cargo, Mehdizadeh bought the robot its own seat, using a type of ticket often purchased for fragile items such as wedding dresses or equipment. To meet airline and TSA requirements, Stewie was fitted with a smaller battery that could pass through security. The robot then walked through the airport and boarded the flight to Dallas Love Field. Passengers and flight attendants reacted with surprise as Stewie made its way to a window seat, drawing stares, photos, and plenty of questions. "Most people were very excited to see a robot flying and provided so much entertainment, and it was great," Mehdizadeh said. Tw...

 An Iranian heiress locked in a nasty, $200 million divorce battle with her doctor husband sneakily signed away control of her company so he couldn’t claim any cash from the business, new court documents allege. Setareh “Star” Bral — the daughter of a late real estate mogul believed to have had ties to the last shah of Iran — relinquished control of Star Pacific Properties shortly after she separated from UCLA Dr. Ryan Aronin, according to documents obtained by The California Post.    Aronin claimed that the property management company, which is estimated to be worth $15 million, is now controlled by Bral’s brother, Sean Bral. “Setareh took deliberate actions to reduce her income on paper and restrict her access to funds,” the documents said, pointing out that her brother allegedly “does not have an ownership interest” in the company. The document passing control of the business from sister to brother is dated October 15, 2024. Aronin has claimed the couple separated in M...

The date of my written and road test was approaching and I had been studying the driver’s manual. Based on what I had heard from friends who had taken the test, some questions were tricky and during the road test the testing officer would order you to perform illegal moves, for which he would fail you if you obliged. Amir, who had taken and flunked the written test, gave me some last-minute advice and told me about his experience. “Some of the material wasn’t even in the manual. I just guessed or tried to use common sense about it but I figure I got them wrong. One question was about whether you’re permitted to stage mule racing contests on a public street. I think I said no although I perhaps should have gone with the choice where it said you can with prior permission. Another was asking if during bus rides between different cities the bus driver is allowed to turn off the interior lights at night. I said yes because a lot of people sleep during the long rides, especially at night.” T...

An Iranian mother detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers was released this week following advocacy from Republican House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. Mandonna "Donna" Kashanian, 64, was detained by ICE officers last month as she gardened in the yard of her New Orleans home. CBS New Orleans affiliate WWL-TV reports that it happened on June 22, the day after U.S. forces bombed Iran. She's lived in the United States for 47 years and her husband of 35 years, Russell Milne, and 32-year-old daughter Kaitlynn are both U.S. citizens. Kashanian had been allowed to stay in the U.S. as long as she checked in regularly with immigration authorities, as she had done without fail, her family and attorney said.  More than 100 of Kashanian's neighbors wrote letters of support for her, which Hilferty told the AP she and Scalise had shared with the Trump administration.  Kashanian arrived in the U.S. in 1978 on a student visa and unsuccessfully applied for asylu...

Years ago I began investigating relationships between numbers like prime numbers, divisibility, and integer-based structures. I manipulated equations, x’s and y’s, with tools from all branches of mathematics, including analysis, probabilities, algebra, and geometry, among others. I applied what I knew about the behavior of integers in general to other specific integers, such as friable integers. After some extended research I came to the conclusion that all odd numbers have the letter "e" in them. Except infinity.  

A grieving Ottawa man is speaking publicly about the loss of his mother after she was fatally stabbed in what police are investigating as a femicide in Barrhaven. “How can you be okay? My mom just got taken away from me,” said 34-year-old Arya Farahani. “It’s not anything that I would hope on anybody. This is literally the worst-case scenario.” Ottawa police have charged 30-year-old Party Shah, Farahani’s younger brother, with second-degree murder and attempted murder following the attack on Ashbourne Crescent on April 23rd. Investigators allege Shah stabbed his mother Farnaz Farahani to death and seriously injured his grandmother Nezhat Lashgari. The allegations have not been proven in court. In an emotional interview, the victim’s eldest son described the moment he learned what had happened. Farahani was on his way to an appointment when he received calls from police detectives asking to speak in person. But it was a friend who shared the news, telling him to pull his car ove...

One day at my old job I told my coworker that the night before I had gone to a restaurant and when I walked in I noticed that everybody was Kung Fu fighting. He mentioned that it must have been really frightening. I responded that it was almost as frightening as his mom's ass. He neither agreed with nor refuted my assessment.  

Bijan Robinson is an American professional football running back for the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL. Contrary to popular belief he is not of Iranian lineage. He was named by his mother after the Iranian fashion designer Bijan Pakzad.  “I embrace the beauty of all women,” Bijan (the fashion designer) said in 2000, sitting in his lush penthouse office across the street from his Rodeo Drive boutique, which was undergoing a $10 million renovation. His recent ad featured a high-heeled, nude Bella and fully clothed Mr. Bijan. The lush Latin colors and the interplay between the two were meant to represent the great paintings from the masters. Bijan had a $1 million budget for the print campaign and submitted the ads to magazines from Elle to Town and Country. All, though they regularly accept his advertisements, refused to publish them. Bijan said he called them and asked whether it was because the model was too heavy. “They said, ‘No, no, no,’ ” he said. 

I once explained to someone how ever since I was young I enjoyed racing. I would normally participate in foot races but would also challenge people to bike races. I would normally such races and boast about it, ruthlessly rubbing it in my opponent's face. The person I was speaking to was not impressed and claimed I was racist.  

Leyla Milani is an Iranian model, actress, TV host and fashion designer. She was born in Iran and moved to Toronto when she was 4 years old. She is best known to TV game show audiences as Briefcase Model #13 on the NBC game show Deal or No Deal. She was also active in the wrestling field. Her most notable moment in the Diva Search was a wardrobe malfunction about two weeks into the program. Aside from her modeling, wrestling, and acting gigs, Leyla is also involved in the fashion world. She has her own line of hair extensions called "Milani Hair". She is married to Iranian entrepreneur, real estate investor and author, Manny Khoshbin.

When I was 14 I was walking through Tajrish Bazaar. There was one sports shop that always had soccer pictures. I noticed this time that they had a sports encyclopedia which had Zico on its cover. Although it wasn't specifically for soccer I took an interest anyway. The price was a steep 120 tomans which I quickly paid before having a chance to change my mind. I began reading and rereading through the soccer parts of it like a regular book. It enabled me to learn alot about past and present soccer players (up till the 1982 World Cup), clubs and stadiums, particularly British ones.  

Adrian Pasdar is an Iranian film, television, and voice actor.  "My father is a plastic surgeon. Both my parents are my heroes. They were able to have a dream and realize it is young. My mother is of Russian origin and father of Iran. They managed to come to the U.S. my father was surgeon in Iran, but when he arrived in America, they announced that he could not exercise. He asked them to pass exams. He had to take tests for a week while he was still learning English. They tried to trap him but he got 100% success. He's a genius, he taught me a lot of compassion."  In 2010 Pasdar was pulled over shortly before 3 a.m. after officers saw his Ford F-150 truck doing 94 mph and straddling two lanes on Interstate 405. The 44-year-old actor was booked for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department says he was taken to county jail and released on $15,000 bail.  

During Christmas break of 1993 one day as I was driving to my job at Burger King and fiddling through the stations the Iranian song "Niloofar" started playing. A few days later at home while going through the TV channels I came across the movie "شاید وقتی دیگر". I realized that both the TV and radio stations switched to Iranian programming during certain days and hours of the week. I wondered if it would expand beyond that. It didn't.