Displaying 11,401 To 11,430 Of 11,789 Comments I came of age during the grunge era. For much of the 2000’s I was still stuck in the 90’s. Lately the past 2-3 years style has become more important. I wish I hadn’t poo-poo’d the materialism and conformity – I had a closet full of flannels from Value Village and baggy beaten up pants. I wish I had had more of a sense of this in High School, certainly. I still have my own style – ‘corporate goth’, as it were, my only white and colors being in the form of ironic t-shirts. I must say it’s fun, and nice to know you look sharp, and to get compliments on your fastidiously polished Doc Martens (which I’ve gone through four pairs in 14 years, but take much better care of now). Jeans that fit, pinstripe and an assortment of black slacks, long sleeved shirts, belts, a tie (maroon with black shirt, silver with purple shirt, not business attire-like), my adored pocket-watch hanging out like a wallet chain. Maybe I’m still weird and idiosyncratic, maybe I’m fooling myself that I look better, but I like the feeling that you get when you get the sensation of someone burning their eyes in your back (in a non-creepy way), even if it is a placebo effect. I also noticed I’m able to do more eye-contact, feeling more confident, back straighter. My character traits are identical to hers (and I could get personal, with my issues of young men with these issues being overlooked and mocked – doubly invisible), so that prompted me to write this (even if ‘the others’ might see it), even if my fashion sense still leaves much to be desired. Needless to say I may have gone a little overboard from disheveled to metrosexual, but my nails aren’t manicured, just kept neat and tidy now – no more chewing (such basics of hygiene take longer for us, girls)! Now if only I knew what to do with my hair… I hate it short, I’ve had long hair since I was 14, I miss it when its not there, but for the life of me end up using a whole glob of product and spray just to end up tying it back and cut not too short or too long… wow, I’m getting all Gilmore Girls… like you care about my big hair dilemma. In any case, I’ll never understand the issues perfectly gorgeous women have. I relate, ’cause I have my own, but as a straight member of the opposite sex am often thinking like, WHAT? YOU don’t think you’re pretty?! It’s interesting to find out how oblivious some are, when I was at first intimidated by their looks. In any case, I can always watch “What Not to Wear” and instantly feel better about my wardrobe. » Posted By Khirad On December 10, 2009 @ 6:17 pm Between black clothing and love of dreary weather you and I seem to share some things in common. 😉 » Posted By Khirad On December 10, 2009 @ 5:38 pm Talking about Not Talking about Not Talking I’ve only been in and out sporadically tonight, but will join y’all tomorrow night for the boycott. Good night. » Posted By Khirad On December 10, 2009 @ 8:21 pm I get what you’re saying, but I might just fall off the wagon once and again… for those of those still there (plugging this website for one), it is sometimes irresistible to ‘cleanse’ after wading through the toxic sludge. » Posted By Khirad On December 10, 2009 @ 12:31 pm I used to. I’m guilty too. Quips and snark can be fun. I wouldn’t begrudge anyone for it. They key is that you’re capable of more. Thing is, many there probably wouldn’t know I was, if they never wade into my World section haunt. One, the threads go so fast sometimes, and two, the longer, more thoughtful it is seems to be is in direct proportion to its likelihood of being sent to pending purgatory or raptured. » Posted By Khirad On December 10, 2009 @ 12:26 pm Historian says Iraq “democracy” doomed to failure That’s the sad thing. It didn’t take an expert. Lord, I didn’t know nearly as much as I know now but I knew about the Sunni/Shi’a divide for Allah’s sake! I knew about the Kurds! What dumbfucks ignored the experts? – oh yeah, we know who… » Posted By Khirad On December 10, 2009 @ 8:15 pm I remember stumbling upon and reading about Louis Riel in one of my ‘get lost on Wikipedia sessions’ and wondering, why did I never learn about this? Why do Americans know nothing about their neighbor?! » Posted By Khirad On December 10, 2009 @ 6:32 pm What about women’s rights, though? » Posted By Khirad On December 10, 2009 @ 6:29 pm I heard Thomas Friedman on CNN or MSNBC talking about how great the democracy is in Iraq, the parties, etc. Full of crap. He consistently gets things wrong. I have yet to figure what his creds are and why I should listen to him. Anyone want to defend him? I’m very open to hearing you out. I want to like him… but, every time I see him he speaks in flourishes of sound bytes taken from snippets of his op-eds. Love Juan Cole. Thankfully he moved away from the official Bah » Posted By Khirad On December 10, 2009 @ 6:28 pm And Persian. Got married in Pakistan and I believe speaks Urdu as well. » Posted By Khirad On December 10, 2009 @ 6:20 pm It took more like two. And momentum was actually beginning in the early 70’s with even earlier incidents in ’63, I believe. I would compare those with ’99, and ’03 as precursors if this goes all the way to something dramatic. The roots go back further, among intellectuals, and with the shah’s own disastrous economic and agricultural policies. Rafsanjani is who he needs to be at the time. He’s more amoral than good or evil; an » Posted By Khirad On December 10, 2009 @ 6:51 pm On Azar 16 at Amir Kabir University, a student named Majid Tavakkoli gave a rousing speech against Khamene’i. He was arrested and ‘skirted’ through the crowd by dressing him up in women’s clothes. In solidarity, there’s a campaign of men dressing up as women and sending their pictures to the newspaper website that published his picture in drag (claiming he did it himself). http://iranian.com/main/albums/be-man Also, Ahmadinejad has managed to open his mouth and claims the US is actively preventing the Mahdi from returning! My comparisons of him to Sarah Palin are not just cheap hyperbole. Once I thought he was the Iranian Bush, now, not just because of changing times, I feel he was always a Sarah Palin, we just didn’t know who she was before McCain introduced her to us. There’s also this fun stuff on Ahmadi: Doctored photos of Ahmadi speech: http://www.mowjcamp.com/article/id/66213 » Posted By Khirad On December 10, 2009 @ 6:42 pm Is there one that says “front page”? 😉 » Posted By Khirad On December 10, 2009 @ 12:23 pm Thanks for the link. I’ve read Neda Agha-Soltan’s mother make similar statements to a German (I’m guessing Der Spiegel) newspaper. I love how the so-called “progressive” IRI apologists eschew Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch reports on Iran, but love the Goldstone Report and anything against Israel. They’re so transparent. A grieving Palestinian mother is worth more than an Iranian one. Sickening how they make it into a “suffering contest”. » Posted By Khirad On December 10, 2009 @ 12:22 pm Unless anyone were to get the wrong idea. I’ve completed a beginners course of Pimsleur CD’s, and, just got my TY Persian book (the edition which is out of print and was hard to find at a good price for a long time) a few days ago. My skills are limited to being able to read basic stuff like being immediately sure the dates referred to in my two event-related header graphics were correct, Urdu vocab borrowed from Persian, and using an online dictionary plus the very imperfect (though much improved) Google translate function to help me get the gists of things. I’m proud to say that I can now understand the Farsi line I used in this article though. Mostly I rely upon trusted sources for translations. And you’re right, it’s not just the ambiguity, it’s the phrasing. It’s so deeply ingrained (I’ve read many times, it’s a peculiar trait of Iranians, that you can walk up to any Persian (applies to Azeri poets and such too), no matter what education or class, and they can reel off classic poetry verbatim. Sometimes but a quatrain, other times, lenghty passages. This would be equivalent to walking up to anyone in the US, whether New York City or Tennessee, and having them reel off Chaucer or Shakespeare). You can even hear it in the way Ahmadinejad speaks – this natural inborn gift they have to hide what they’re saying, or veil it with double meanings and subtle allusions (of course, he’s one of the most blunt, too). Also, even if you don’t understand it, listen to the leaders speak. Far from being fiery Arabic, or the sermon style from the pulpit (which is Arab-inspired one could argue, like Islam), many of the times you would have no idea the horrible things they are saying, it’s so calm, rolling and sometimes melodic. » Posted By Khirad On December 10, 2009 @ 12:16 pm Well in his Nobel acceptance speech there were a few indirect statements (directed at Burma, Sudan, and Congo, but easily applicable to Iran). And this part directly: “So even as we respect the unique culture and traditions of different countries, America will always be a voice for those aspirations that are universal. We will bear witness to the quiet dignity of reformers like Aung Sang Suu Kyi; to the bravery of Zimbabweans who cast their ballots in the face of beatings; to the hundreds of thousands who have marched silently through the streets of Iran. It is telling that the leaders of these governments fear the aspirations of their own people more than the power of any other nation. And it is the responsibility of all free people and free nations to make clear that these movements — these movements of hope and history — they have us on their side.” That was pretty good, in my view. Without directly siding with leaders of the opposition (which would be problematic in more way than one – and another reason why he should not quote Grand Ayatollah Montazeri), he said that we stand with those who demonstrate, and in others talked about for their brutality. I have to think about whether or not more could be said. I think it should be said more, and said in diplomatic capacity, mainly. It is not the first time he’s issued remarks on this (though righties would have you think so), but it was the type of carefully crafted statement I envisioned. I’m sure they got the message. I’m waiting for their overreaction. This is an interesting Q&A on Human Rights and US Foreign policy with Omid Memarian: http://www.insideiran.org/news/681/ I’d also be curious what your thoughts on India were. That was my first love, but my energy and focus upon Iran has now trumped it. » Posted By Khirad On December 10, 2009 @ 11:56 am Well, apparently the student demonstrations, at Tehran and Sharif universities carried on into a third day, though not at the same size, and with the focus of releasing arrested classmates. In my Arab view section I forgot to add this: Iran uninvited to GCC summit: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/kuwait/iran-not-invited-to-gcc-summit-1.549504 In targeting dissent abroad there is also this: http://www.insideiran.org/news/iran-tries-to-stop-protests-in-europe-by-threatening-dissidents-living-abroad/ From – http://www.opendemocracy.net/nazenin-ansari/iran%E2%80%99s-pre-revolutionary-rupture – filmmaker in exile and self-declared foreign Green spokesman had some interesting points (though he should be noted as highly biased and has kept some unsavory company in Paris): » Posted By Khirad On December 10, 2009 @ 11:45 am This didn’t turn out as polished as I would have liked (crap I just saw a thing or two to tweak!), I might have gotten a few things mistaken, and things are still getting out… but hey, that’s what these comments are for. » Posted By Khirad On December 9, 2009 @ 5:00 am An Open Letter to Arianna, With Deep Sincerity Said it better than I could have. » Posted By Khirad On December 8, 2009 @ 1:21 pm Yes. For all the people that complain rightfully about HP (which SHOULD hold itself to a higher standard) – TRUST ME – places like local newspapers, Yahoo! Buzz – YouTube, etc. are downright TOXIC and dangerous to your blood pressure and acid reflux. I learned to just give up. YouTube has such idiots though that it can be fun to once in a while just smack someone up. » Posted By Khirad On December 8, 2009 @ 1:14 pm LOTS of wind. Good amount of rain, too – all night. Not about to make up for the sorry monsoons though. A dusting of snow on the highest ridges and more on Mt. Lemmon. » Posted By Khirad On December 8, 2009 @ 12:23 pm Don’t worry, I get self-conscious about being a night-owl, too. » Posted By Khirad On December 8, 2009 @ 12:19 pm I got a little reticent with Sassy when *he* was being condescending. Of course, it turned out they were right, and it was a concern troll, but I feel compassionate towards anyone asking a question, and don’t feel the need to call them stupid, until I can prove they are willfully ignorant. I’ll admit to having lashed out on those undeserving. I, of course, try to make an apology when I’ve done so. The atmosphere, and the trolls can so poison the atmosphere there, that you end up reflexively blurting something out at the wrong person. » Posted By Khirad On December 8, 2009 @ 12:18 pm Give away for me is typo-slurring. I do that when I’m tired too, though. » Posted By Khirad On December 8, 2009 @ 12:10 pm Yes, I know, I was worried this would happen, and try to be measured, not saying anything I wouldn’t say to their faces. I of course fall far short of the mark though. I’ll miss you Pepe. I would join every one here in jolting, but they’ll have to ban me first. I’m really getting tired of it there, but will be more vocal about it now there. Unfortunately, it’s not the main that keeps me there. I’m quite addicted to battling the World section trolls. PS, that troll with the stylized roman-runes reminded me of Nathan Explosion from Dethklok (reference for those under 35). Come to think of it, that would make a good troll slaying av! » Posted By Khirad On December 8, 2009 @ 12:06 pm Alright, so I know Hume is an institution, and I’ll be sounding like a lemming, but I’ve never had a problem with him – though I’m naturally more cynical. I think lornejl was overreacting a bit (at least the part I saw), but recently I’ve noticed a little change in Hume, that you guys are talking about. Honestly, going after Mika would have brought my wrath against him, if that’s what he did though. » Posted By Khirad On December 8, 2009 @ 11:59 am Hitchens skewers Palin as mouth-piece of anti-semite. Nah, if he’s an opportunist, it’s being contrarian. You can’t quite pin him down. I think he’s got integrity. And serious intellect. And I enjoyed his treatment of religion far more than absolutist Dawkins (though Hitchens makes some contradictory remarks). As long as you believe what you believe and leave me alone… I agree, the trouble is… Still, his attitude I can’t get over. I’m a bit of a curmudgeon and surly myself, but lord, he’s just contemptuously mean sometimes. I am a hypocrite though. I remember that Palin article, and saw him taking on Joe Scarborough. It was gold. But when he was unnecessarily hostile to Jon Stewart, I didn’t get that. » Posted By Khirad On December 9, 2009 @ 4:55 am That had more to do with internal politics than religion. I don’t know if he mentions that. Certainly the basis was found in extreme interpretations, and cynically played to Muslims, but it was more domestic. Khomeini actually didn’t give a crap about the book. » Posted By Khirad On December 9, 2009 @ 4:49 am Let’s talk NFL and health care I got it. I think abstractly like that too. » Posted By Khirad On December 8, 2009 @ 1:09 pm Exactly. » Posted By Khirad On December 8, 2009 @ 1:09 pmComments Posted By Khirad
Political cartoon of Obama and Ahmadi with Nobel medals: http://www.mowjcamp.com/article/id/68192
«« Back To Stats Page
Home Stats