A Trip To Kashan

I had taken a trip to Kashan this weekend & this is one of the few Videos I've filmed with my cellphone.

Justin Timberlake On his Tour (Myspace Video)

How Cocky this is?

I might even show up!

Although I used to be a fan & I like the guy for the music he has brought to my life, I was not too thrilled about his new songs.

Loved the new 'suite' look though.... Ewww... Pink & a tie!

Thanks to Justin's Myspace.

A Post on Feminism By Lynne

• This is the Post by Lynne.
• Share your Opinion Please. & Be True to yourself.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Some
Thoughts on Feminism
One of the things I have been thinking about a lot lately because of some discussion I have read on various feminist blogs has been about make up and girly things and how those fit into feminism or how they don’t as the case may be. A lot of discussion has been around how such things are not tools of empowerment but rather survival skills in a patriarchy. Many are saying that it is perfectly reasonable for a woman to employ traditional trappings of femininity in order to gain power from men since it is still one way to do it.

Some say that since women now have other options, options that result in women actually being seen as capable, they should leave the trappings of femininity behind. Others say that one should just do what one wants to do and should wear makeup and get married or whatever they else they want to do as long as they recognize that when other women chose not to do those things, it is a valid choice. I have to admit that I am in that camp. I simply cannot bring myself to get offended when another woman shaves her legs or puts on lipstick. The discussion brought up some other thoughts though. One blogger, while talking about her love of things feminine made a comment along the lines of “no one ever accused me of being a feminist because I couldn’t find a man” (I cannot for the life of me remember which of the dozens of feminist bloggers I read who said that so I apologize for not giving credit.). That particular line got me thinking more about feminism than any other thing I read. Because you see, to me…lipstick is just lipstick and shaving one’s legs is something a person either does or doesn’t do and generally I don’t think about it too much unless I feel that I am being judged for not wearing makeup and not often shaving my legs or not having a man in my life as a romantic partner. You see, the thing of it is…I
think that I am a feminist because I cant get a man. Seriously. (we will all just forget for a moment as I often do that when I say that I cant get a man, what I really mean is that I cant get a man that I want. I suppose if getting a man were my only concern, I could choose someone I am not interested in)Ok. So here is the thing. By and large, I have been rejected by the patriarchy. I get no power from men. Men do not generally pay me compliments. Men generally do not ask me out. Sometimes men treat me badly because of how I look. Some women do too but they are usually women who get a lot of positive attention from men. Like it or not, getting a lot of attention from men gives women power in our culture. Less so than in times past but even today a woman can trade her beauty for economic security. It isn’t an accident really that most women’s economic position rises considerably with marriage. Men’s economic positions also rise with marriage but there seems to be less of an effect. There are other less obvious ways that women often find their self worth attached to the attention they get from men. I see this everywhere. From the shelves of books at the bookstore with instructions on how to get a man or how to keep a man to the comments made by single women along the lines of “Lots of men want me, I am single because I want to be” which may be true but still acknowledges that the
attention of men is a valuable thing for a woman. (And to be fair, the attention of women can be valuable for a man but it seems different to me somehow and I am sure it is a power differential I am sensing) Men, for whatever reason, are often
attracted to women who take an effort to appear feminine. Now, of course there are all kinds of women who don’t wear make up and dont shave who still find themselves shacked up with some guy. I will just say that if one happens to be very overweight and also chooses not to wear makeup, high heel shoes, feminine clothing, etc that one’s odds of finding a guy drop considerably. At any rate, at some point in my life, I stopped internalizing the bad messages our patriarchal culture was giving me that I was somehow not deserving because of my body or my choice be somewhat hairy and without lipstick on a regular basis. I stopped being offended by the phrase “women in comfortable shoes” since I generally like to wear comfortable shoes. What is wrong with comfortable shoes? Eventually, I decided that the real problem was outside me and that it was a problem with the culture at large and it was feminists and feminist writing that helped me see that. It was feminists who helped me take all of that self-loathing and put it outside me. And at some point I realized that I could starve myself and spend more time than I wanted to molding myself into a version of myself that was more approved by our culture OR I could just be the me that I have learned to love. I could learn that it is ok for a woman to choose to be herself even if it means not attracting a man. That was a very freeing moment in my life because once my sense of self worth was no longer in any way attached to attention from males, I could stop worrying about the lack of male attention I was getting and I could start paying attention other, more important, things.

And so…I have accepted that I am a single woman. But being a single woman has also made me appreciate feminism all the more. You see, married women do not feel things like the wage gap as much as single women do because their household’s incomes include a man’s income although I imagine that divorced women and especially divorced women with children feel the wage gap even more than single women do. Being single has made me appreciate the advances that have been made by feminists before me. I can have a job that is something other than being a librarian, a nurse, a teacher, or a social worker. I can own property and get a mortgage. I can vote. In short, I can do everything I need to do in order to have a fulfilling life even without a man.

More than just that though, being a single woman has given me a point of view of the outside looking in. There are a lot of amazing women in the world who have been blessed with incredible good looks, who get lots of positive attention from our patriarchal culture who have managed to still see all of the things I see. There are men who have managed to become feminists too. Those men and women are amazing. I don’t think I would have been one of those women though. I suspect that if I were given lots of power by the patriarchy, I would probably have used it for evil instead of for good. I think I needed to be challenged strongly in order to form my views in a way that was different than the patriarchal culture I was brought up in. I needed to be a woman in order to understand male privilege. I needed to be fat in order to understand how unfairly fat people and fat women in particular are treated in our culture. I say this because even with the challenges I have been given, I still accept at least some of the patriarchal notions of our culture. But I am working on it.

I know that is a thought somewhat far away from “is it ok for feminists to wear lipstick” but there you go. Sometimes I start in one place and end up someplace completely different.

posted by S. Lynne Fremont at 12:46 PM

Rain... Rain... & More Rain!

Did anyone mentioned anything about using cooling system somewhere in Dear Lynne's Comments? Not me certainly! *Tries to hide somewhere*
It had been raining all day yesterday... such a nice way to speand a holiday... sitting by the window nursing a cup of tea & listening to the rain fall... & shivering!!!!

Listen to the pouring rain,

Listen to it pour,

& with every drop of rain

You know I love you more

Let it rain all night long

Let my love for you grow strong

As long as we're together

Who cares about the weather?

Listen to the falling rain,

Listen to it fall.

& With every drop of rain

I can hear you call.

Call my name right out loud,

I can hear above the clouds,

& I'm hear among the poddles,

You & I together huddle,

Listen to the falling rain,

Listen to it rain.

Jose Feliciano

Anousheh Ansari.

This post is the answer to my dear Lynn:
I think it's pretty amazing that an Iranian by borne have had the facility to go space. What's more she is woman....
But I shall admit that I would be as excited as I am right now, if some other woman would have done that. The mere fact that a lady is as successful as this to be able to fulfill her dream is amazing. It does not matter what nationality she is, or where she is from.
I'm very happy that she could see her dream come true. & I read her blog all the time. She once said 'how much you pay to fulfill your dreams?' & this sentence alone got me so inspired that now I know that I have to pay a lot for my dreams.
I did not mention her name here because I think what she has done is beyond nationality... She's a global model for women everywhere.

SURPRISE

& that's how it's done....:
I watched with my own eyes that Mr. Poltics who was supposed to be in Canada studying, walked up the stairs of a resturant in Tehran & meet my questions with "Yeah, right I'm my brother!"
I just froze, could not believe my eyes & I had to pinch his cheeks to make sure that he was real! It was really funny... I could explode with joy.
When the initial shock washed off, it was time for questions: "What the hell are you doing here?" "Why did you come back?"

"I have only three words," he said "Loneliness, My friends & family"

& That's how it's done!

A Single Woman in Tehran

Dear Lynne,
If I say I'm having a hard time being single, it would be a lie. However, being single is not that easy over here with a culture where marriage is a sacred duty.
My family never put pressure on me or my sister to get married, visa Versa, my dad always says we should see for ourselves what really the world is & decide upon our own experience. But the fact remains that with every wedding I attend to, a lot of people try to bribe me into getting a hold of a good chap & settling down!
Besides, It's not usual for a single woman to live all by themselves in my country which in return makes independence somewhat impossible. My aunt, however, lives all by herself & is very happy yet I know that I would face a lot of economical & social problems if I would want to follow her lead. I'm far to dependent on my family to live somewhere else.

Yet another survey to pass along...

A friend Sent me this a few months ago, I went through the previous one & found that It had to have some changes... I made the changes & put it here:

1* First grade teacher's name: Mrs. Falahi
2* Last word you said: OK
3* Last song you sang: "Loves Me Not" By tATu
4* Last person you hugged: My Friend Ava
5* Last thing you laughed at: A musician come to sing Happy Birthday for Mat (My friend) in an Italian Restaurant & he was soooo embarrassed! I wish I had captured the moment!
6* Last time you said I don't remember: Well, that's a usual part of my speeches these days!7* Last time you cried: Tonight while talking to my Granny. I love her to death...
8. Last time you had sex: Now that's not something I would share ;)
9* What color socks are you wearing: None!
10* What's under your bed: I have a closet-bed which technically do not give me any space to have anything under it!
11* What time did you wake up today: 8
12* Current taste: Chocolate
13* Current hair: Dark brawn, Highlights of honey brown.
15* Current annoyance: Loneliness
16* Current longing: someone worthy to hold, someone to send my last goodnight sms to....
17* Current desktop background: Green Park
18* Current worry: How to handle my job & my studies
19* Current hate: Drifting apart from my friends... why do they give me the feeling that I am guilty for being admitted in MA?
20* Current favorite article of clothing: My halter tops!
21* Favorite physical feature of the preferred sex: LIPS, hands & eyes.
22* Last CD that you listened to: Schizophrenic (JC Chasez), A Girl Like Me (Rihanna)
23* Favorite place to be: Somewhere quite to study
24* Least favorite place: A Wedding!
25* Time you wake up in the morning: 5:45 to 6 weekdays; 9-10 weekends
26* If you could play an instrument, what would you play: Violin
27* Favorite color: Pink/ Black/ Blue/ Green
28* Do you believe in an afterlife: Yes.
29* How tall are you: 5' 2"
30* Current favorite word/saying: "Ok" "I'm pron to..." "Never mind"
31* Favorite book: "Women's Room"
32* Favorite season: Winter!
33* One person from your past you wish you could go back and talk to: No one.
*FUTURE*
35* Where do you want to go for college?: I got my BS in Food Engineering & Now I'm a student in Executive Management.
36* What is your career going to be like: That's a bit foggy considering the fact that I'm changing majors & I have to skip work to study.... I might leave my job for a while & find a part-time one.
37* How many kids do you want: NONE!
*HAVE YOU EVER...*
39* Said "I love you" and meant it: Once I used to save that for definite situations, but now, I'm not sure I never meant it.
40 Gotten in a fight with your dog/cat/bird/fish: Don't have a pet :D
41* Been to New York: ?
42* Been to Florida: Check the answer for 41
43* Been to California: Check the answer for 41
44* Been to Hawaii: :D
45* Been to Mexico: :D
46* Been to China: :O
48* Dreamed something really crazy and then it happened the next day:Shamefully yes... my dreams usually turn into nightmares in reality!
*RANDOM*
52* Do you have a crush on someone: Crush? I think I have turned into a hermit. I do not find anyone interesting enough to have a crush on.
53* What book are you reading now?: One Thousand & One Nights.
54* Worst feeling in the world: Loneliness among those you love (When you cannot communicate with them)
55* What is the first thing you think when you wake in the morning?:Another fu*king day to go through.
57* Future daughter's name: Proshat! (That the name of an ancient Iranian Queen). Or Juliet
58* Future son's name: Nastihan (another ancient Persian name) or Patrick
59* Do you sleep with a stuffed animal: Used to but now... (I must take my stuffed dog Stupid out of the closet)
60* If you could have any job you wanted: a Public Relation Specialist!
61* Wish were here: MY Old Self!
62* College plans: Getting through this one!
63* Piercings: just my ears
*THE EXTRA STUFF*
64* Do you do drugs: No way!
65* Do you drink: Hmm... not that I know of!
67* What kind of Shampoo and Conditioner do you use: Pantene
68* What are you most scared of: Seeing the people I love get hurt, Sharp Objects
69* What clothes do you sleep in: PJs... hardly dresses
70* Who is the last person that called you: My friend Pat
71* Where do you want to get married: No Ceremony! Just a religious blessing & then I would be off to a deserted island surrounded by deep blue sea!
72* If you could change anything about yourself what would that be:Not getting triggered off so easily
73* Who do you really hate: The wolves who look at the lambs with kindness in their eyes.
74* Been In Love: once thought I was. But of all the lies I believe in Love was the most heartbreaking.
75* Are you timely or always late: Timely... unless I had to meet some of my friends... I never happen to get there on time!
76* Do you have a job: Yeah... Ick! A bloody food Inspector
77* Do you like being around people: Depends on 'the' people...
78* Best feeling in the world: Being in love & get that back. seeing my loved ones happy
79* Are you for world peace: Yes! I hate wars... It's the ugliest thing I ever experienced.
80* Are you a health freak: Who me? Are u kidding? (Of course I am!)
81* Do you have a "Type" of person you always go after: Maybe... I don't know.... They have to have 'the mind' though
82* Do you want someone you don't have? Maybe...
83* Are you lonely right now? Yes. Not physically (I get loads of hugs & kisses) but there is that itching feeling for someone who should be here & is not.... specially when I see happy couples
84* Ever afraid you'll never get married: I don't want to get married! Commitment is not my cup of tea.
85* Do you want to get married: NO
86* Do you want kids? NO!
*IN THE LAST 48 HOURS, HAVE YOU...*
87* Cried: Yes
88* Bought Something: A cake for Mat's birthday
89* Gotten Sick: of trying to please everyone of my friends.
90* Sang: not a loud
91* Said I Love You: Nope
92* Wanted To Tell Someone You Loved them: Yeah... my granny
93* Met Someone: A new face in the group... I hated them!
94* Moved On: I'm hanging to yesterday....
95* Talked To Someone: Huh? All day long I am talking!
96* Had A Serious Talk: Nah.
97* Missed Someone: Yeah... & now we cry! lol
98* Hugged Someone: MY friends while hanging out.
99* Yelled at Someone: Nah but I got yelled at by my friends
100* Dreamed About Someone You Can't Be With: Nah.. maybe... but that's over.

The Poll... This is the one Sunnaz asked for

Here is the link to take the survey:
http://www.kwiz.biz/simplesurveys/do-survey.php

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey
Name:	Proshat
Birthday:	31st Dec 80
Birthplace:	Tehran
Current Location:	Tehran
Eye Color:	Brown
Hair Color:	Dark Brown
Height:	5. 2"
Right Handed or Left Handed:	Both mostly right
Your Heritage:	Middle Eastener
The Shoes You Wore Today:	sandles
Your Weakness:	Mark Feehilly, Romantic Items & Lovey-dovy couples
Your Fears:	sharp objetcs, getting paralized
Your Perfect Pizza:	Italian
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year:	Gain the first place at school
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger:	LOL
Thoughts First Waking Up:	It's another Fu*king Day
Your Best Physical Feature:	Hands
Your Bedtime:	10 pm!
Your Most Missed Memory:	My 16-year-old-hood
Pepsi or Coke:	Coke
MacDonalds or Burger King:	Mac
Single or Group Dates:	group
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea:	Lipton
Chocolate or Vanilla:	Chocolate
Cappuccino or Coffee:	Cappuccio
Do you Smoke:	Never
Do you Swear:	Always
Do you Sing:	Seldom
Do you Shower Daily:	twice actually!
Have you Been in Love:	I once thought I was... now? I dont know.
Do you want to go to College:	Studying in One for my master degree
Do you want to get Married:	No
Do you belive in yourself:	YES
Do you get Motion Sickness:	Sometimes
Do you think you are Attractive:	Dunno
Are you a Health Freak:	Definitely
Do you get along with your Parents:	Yes... Sometimes
Do you like Thunderstorms:	Yes
Do you play an Instrument:	No
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol:	No
In the past month have you Smoked:	No
In the past month have you been on Drugs:	No
In the past month have you gone on a Date:	No
In the past month have you gone to a Mall:	A Few hundered ones!
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos:	No
In the past month have you eaten Sushi:	NO!
In the past month have you been on Stage:	nah
In the past month have you been Dumped:	NO
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping:	No
In the past month have you Stolen Anything:	Not that I know of! Well, execpt a few glances over my shoulder!
Ever been Drunk:	Not really
Ever been called a Tease:	A lot Actually
Ever been Beaten up:	Nope.
Ever Shoplifted:	No
How do you want to Die:	Surrounded by my loved ones
What do you want to be when you Grow Up:	A PR
What country would you most like to Visit:	Greek, Egypt, Italy, India
In a Boy/Girl..
Favourite Eye Color:	Gray
Favourite Hair Color:	Brwon
Short or Long Hair:	Boy: Long, Girl: Short
Height:	Average
Weight:	Average... not thin
Best Clothing Style:	casual
Number of Drugs I have taken:	none
Number of CDs I own:	A LOT!
Number of Piercings:	none
Number of Tattoos:	none
Number of things in my Past I Regret:	I dont regret a thing... whatever mistake that I made seemed right at the time I made them.
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

When You gave all the info needed, copy the codes & change the post setting of yourblog to HTML & paste the codes.
You will have the table in your post

MS & Vitamins

Well, recently due to some personal reasons I had been drawn to know more about MS. This is the Link to the new findings about it... brought to you by BBC.

Pr. Bush Address Iranians

Here is the link to NewYork Times article.
NO COMMENTS!
*looks around: Is he really talking to me?*

Nick Carter's 'Do I Have To Cry For You'

Here is the whole version Video. Enjoy.

RSS Feeds

I use Blogline & I like it.
You can also use Newz Crawler ; Awasu or some other softwares.
Just remeber you have to install the software & notifier & there you go.
For Sunnaz: I have the setup for Blogline. Remind me to give it to you.

I Take my hat off to Pope

I've read the speech & though I personally did not find the whole thing offending, I must appreciated the bravery of Pope to apologise for offending Islam.
This is the link to the NEws from BBC.

How to Pronounce 'Proshat'

Well, it could be a bit tricky... I guess by the way I spell my name. But here is the right form to pronounce it:
Proshat
You Pronounce the first part : (Pro) the same way you Pronounce a word like profound, or protein.
The second part (shat) is Pronounce the way you say the word shut in English.
& the stress is on R.
So yeah... That's my name: Pro-shut!

9 Sep 2001

I clearly remember that I turned on BBC, saw one of the twin towers on fire & thought 'Hey, Since when they strated to show fiction movies on BBC?'
& then came the shock... & with unblieving eyes, I watched the senario.... & I watched lives shattered....
For me, for us, who had been through a war, who have had our lives exposed to death during 8 years of war, who had seen people dieng at our feet... it was unblievable to see that a secure, a never-in-reach land was being under such stress as we (the third world nation, the poor, always-to-be-sacrificed nation) had gone through.
It was on 9/11 when I learned that no matter where I would be on earth, I would not be safe but to be in Lord's arms.... But to be in the Holy Grace of a greater being.
So Lord, blesses the souls of the one who left us behind & take us in your Grace.
Here is All Star Tribute for 9/11. Just a reminer though.

Odds & Even Days

Well, Yes, We have Odds days & Even days... in a week! I know it might sound odd to some of you but we have numbers for weeks days:
Our Week starts on Saturdays Which is called 'Shanbe' here. 'Shanbe' is an even day. Then we have Sunday or 'Yekshanbe' (1shanbe) an Odd day.... Monday: Doshanbe (2shanbe) Even, Tuesday: Seshanbe (3shanbe) Odd, Wednsday: Chaharshanbe (4shanbe) Even, Thursdays: Panjshanbe (5shanbe) odd day....
NO! YOURE WRONG! We do not have 6shanbe! We have Jom'e (Friday) & that day is neither odd nor even! That's holiday for heaven's sake!

Well, It seems that whenever I post a link in my link field, the rest of the post just show up! Isn't that totally wiered?
Anyhow... Today the discussion was about RSS or Site feeds.
What is RSS?
Well in very basic words it works as a notifir: Whenever you post something in your blog, your site feed changes & then RSS or Atom send a message to your suscribers that there is a new post available & then people come visit your page.
It's much better for your visitors to know the time of your posts... specially when you are not a regular poster. They do not need to check your blog every now & then only to see the same last post!
Anyhow, if you are interested in RSS, Give FeedBurner a try. It's nice & easy. Also, Blogger Beta provides you with the Atom Feed. So, Hurry up & let me see the RSS Feeds!

Secular Lecturers to be removed....

This: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/5316634.stm is the news itself! Enjoy!

Sanctions & Enrichments

So the deadline is over & now what? Clearly, Iran has nor did niether tends to stop enrichment. So now Mr. Annan has come down here to discuss the matter.
Personally, I dont think that we should stop enrichment before we get the grantee that another war is not going to be imposed on the country. On the other hand, if we do not halt uranium enrichment then indeed we will face more sanctions & a war maybe just around the corner.
In the first place, Iran should have been more cooprating about the whole nuclear energy thing. As an Iranian I do not see the need for nuclear energy when having more that 250 days of sunshine make us pron to use solar energy. However, now that we have come this far, we'd better stick to it & at least try to gain something out of it.
It's a gamble & I pray that people at the table would know 'what to keep & what to throw away'. This is what most people around me wish.
Sanctions is the subject I have avoided thinking about recently. The mild ones might not have that much effect on out already poor economy, still they will definitely reduce the 'luxury level'. I vividly remember the time when eating good choclate was a wish for a lot of kids. I remember that I was not supposed to take KitKats to school cos some kid might not have the fascility to have them.
I dont want to lose these small luxuries that I have.... like being able to order my books or music albums straight from UK. You know, I dont even want to imagine a time like that. & this is what worries me most.... I would not think about the impact on universal economy, the impact on ours or the whole sacrificing for your country thing... I would think of myself as an individual & the impact the sanctions would have on ME... The ME that I would be after them... The ME I am now.... What will happen?