Capote 2005

Capote directed by Bennett Miller was one of the best films I have seen in the last couple of years. The film is the life story of Truman Capote, the writer (1924-1984), during 6 years of his research for his nonfiction novel In Cold Blood, about the murder of a Kansas family. During his research, Capote develops a close relationship with Perry Smith, one of the killers.

The story is simple. During the film viewer is following Capote’s interest in this murder case . Capote’s interest gets different shapes. He likes the fame and the money that this story will bring for him. Also he finds some personal similarities between himself and Perry (killer). While Capote’s interest grows in the murder case the viewer loses the interest in the case and gets involved in capote’s Personal life. The simple story now becomes an interconnection between the life of Truman Capote and Perry Smith, the writer and the killer, and also the real events around them; Harper lee, the writer of To Kill a Mockingbird, is a close friend of Capote. We are witness that her book is getting published in the film. Their childhood is known form the To Kill a Mockingbird and when the viewer realizes that Truman is the same little boy with round glasses (Dill) in To Kill a Mockingbird, film-story yet gets another turn.

I liked the film and the fact that it is built upon the knowledge of the viewer about history, Literature and culture. And I think you should see it if you are interested in American literature especially in the Beat Generation, Cinema, and wonderful performance from intelligent casts; Philip Seymour Hoffman (Truman Capote), Catherine Keener (Nelle Harper Lee), Clifton Collins Jr. (Perry Smith), Chris Cooper (Alvin Dewey).
Capote is also nominated for Golden Globe 2006.

Momayez

When I was 5 I met him once. That day my uncle had to baby-sit me and he had classes so he took me with him. My uncle M.M. was one of his students in Tehran University, Fine Arts, Graphic design Dept.

Morteza Momayes passed away. I had the chance to be at his presence. I never forget that day: he asked me to draw an Elephant, to keep me quiet of course. But I hadn’t seen an elephant before and he drew me one. Now I know what is the power of Imagination and how precious is Reality.

Iran’s Graphic Art is going to miss Momayez greatly. His works and influences are long lasting.

November

Isn’t November, the most beautiful month of the year? I believe it is. And if one disagrees here are some reasons:
It is in autumn the loveliest season of the year. The sky is clearer than ever. In The most colorful 30 days in a row, sun feels warm enough, wind feels cold enough. Balance falls upon the earth. Leaves leave and forest can rest.
In November, I hate that the weather gets colder and the wind gets chillier, nonetheless I feel more comfortable in this month than any other.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Walking on Tomorrow's Street

Last weekend with a group of friends, we went to New York City for Traditional Persian Music: (Shahram Nazeri’s Concert). But because the student thickets were SOLD OUT we decided not to go. Then we wanted to have Persian Lunch at Kabul Café (it is an Afghani restaurant but it also serves Persian food) it was CLOSED for some reason. So we went to a Thai restaurant instead it wasn’t bad, but hay our aim was to eat Persian food. And then we went to Guggenheim Museum for RUSSIA Exhibition and because it was too CROWDED and some ECONOMICAL problems we decided not to go there either.

So actually what we did at the weekend was mostly walking in streets of New York City, which is a pleasant thing to do when you are with your friends.
And as far as I’m concerned I will go to Guggenheim for RUSSIA Exhibition some day during the week when it is not as crowded as it is in the weekends.
Now here are 2 works by Yuri Pimenov from the RUSSIA Exhibition
One is New Moscow 1939, and the other is A Wedding on Tomorrow’s Street 1962 which I think is matching the weekend that I spent in New York City.

Wallace & Gromit

I wanted to see Chicken Little for a long time but the reviews are not good enough so last night I decided to see Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit instead, since I love Gromit ( more than Wallace but not the Pink Panther) I didn't care for the bad reviews although the reviews were good too.

It was indeed a very good Clay animation, as all other Wallace and Gromit movies:

In A Grand Day Out with Wallace and Gromit 1990, Wallace and Gromit blast off in a homemade rocket to see if the moon is really made of cheese since Wallace loves cheese.
In 1993,Wallace & Gromit in The Wrong Trousers, the mild-mannered inventor, Wallace and his faithful dog, Gromit are trying to stop a criminal penguin who stole a diamond.
Wallace & Gromit in A Close Shave 1995 Wallace and Gromit discover a sheep-napping bond and try to save the poor wooly victims from getting killed.

Nick Park the genius creator of Wallace and Gromit once more created a great Clay Animation adventure after 10-year absence. I believe it is a wonderful 85minutes for kids and people who appreciate animation movies specially Clay Lovers.

I still want to see Chicken Little. Just I might wait a little bit longer.




DreamWorks presenting,
directed by Nick Park and Steve Box.
Written by Bob Baker, Steve Box, Mark Burton and Nick Park
Running time: 85 minutes. Rated G.

Long Summer

I came back from Iran after 4 months. It sure was a long summer holiday.
I had a good time there and I will write about it here next time.
I live in Princeton now. A beautiful city but not a delicious one, well compare to New Haven at least. The first thing I want to do is to have lunch and then I want to check and see whether the animation movie Chicken Little is released yet or not and plan to see it.
Back home I went to cinema as often as I could.
Well, I am back and hopefully I will write more often than before.

Jome Bazar

These are photos that I took in Jome Bazar or Kohne Bazar in Tehran yesterday.
Jome Bazar or Friday-Market is a market for selling old, second handed, or home-made goods. One can find anything I mean anything in this market. I will put more photos later.
Being in this market reminded me of Harry Potter’s mystic world. Especially since the Harry Potter’s latest novel has released today, July 16 in US and I am not there to be able to read it.

Water Lilies

Monet’s Water Lilies is one the most famous paintings of all times. Not only I like this painting and its preparatory studies but also a week ago we found these real water lilies in a lake near to our place. I took a picture of them. We went to walk on the bank of Whitney Lake. I miss that lake and those moments with my lovely husband terribly.
Now each time, when I look at Monet’s Water Lilies I do feel love more than any other feelings.

Flying Turtles

Turtles Can Fly(2005) is Bahman Ghobadi’s latest film. Honesty of the picture is the most interesting feature that all Ghobadi’s films have in common. The sad and intimate relationship made between the characters of the story and the viewer is a sensitive touch of Ghobadi’s experience and knowledge. His films are the story of Life; not your life or mine, but his and his people’s: Kurds, wherever they are, in Iran, Iraq or Turkey. At the same time it is the story of all people who live their lives in fear, fear of being lost, fear of war, fear of separation but yet they don’t give up.



In his movies, each time, Ghobadi tells a new story which never gets boring or arrogant. Ghobadi and his wonderful cast and crew created moments in which we can all share the gratitude toward life. Whoever these people are and wherever they are, it doesn't matter; it is their life that we share through Ghobadi's films. In Turtles Can Fly hope is not easy to find, but we hear that better days will come as the handless boy foresees in the film. Do we have a chance to see that better future?

Madagascar

Madagascar, the DreamWorks Animation production is now playing in cinema theaters. I saw it this afternoon. I was laughing all the way through the movie. I wanted to write about it and say that it is a funny animation but now I am sitting here thinking: was it as good as I thought it was?

To tell you the truth Madagascar is a step up from Shark Tale but still it has not established a good story. It has a strong start and a funny structure but the ending is some how not an ending but I think they (the creators) simply have given up at the end. The pop-culture jokes are funny but how many people will really get the Twilight Zone reference when a lemur holds up a tome titled "To Serve Lemurs" and yells "It’s a cookbook!".



From the early years, animation cartoons have created a division between animals who are animals and animals who are human – at least human in the sense that they speak, sing, have personalities and are voiced by actors. Here this division is mixed up and is not as smooth as it should be.

Alex the lion (voice by Ben Stiller) lives a good life in the zoo, dining on steaks every day. His friends include Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer) and Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith). If Alex likes it in the zoo, Marty wants to break out and live free.

The story is doing well until these characters are in the wild land of Madagascar, when there is a change in Alex’s personality forced by his hunger. He is no more a civilized-humanized lion, but a wild and hungry one who wants to eat his best friend Marty the zebra. Well as one can imagine how the creators of the story can make the kids be disappointed by letting the lion eat his friend, so the solution comes with a group of rebellious penguins: eat sushi instead of steak. And one should not forget the local population of Madagascar, a colony of lemurs, who are ruled by King Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen) and his right-paw-man Maurice (Cedric the Entertainer).
This is a kind of paradox that always lingers under the surface of animal cartoons. There is a moment when Madagascar seems poised on the brink of anarchy, as the law of the wild breaks down the detente of the zoo, and the animals revert to their underlying natures.

The movie is much too safe to follow its paradoxes to their logical conclusion. The problem is that once it gets them to the wild, it doesn't figure out what to do with them there, it becomes a confused plot.

Madagascar is funny, especially in the beginning, and good-looking in a cartoonish way, but when cartoons like Finding Nemo and The Incredibles exist, Madagascar is a throwback to a more conventional kind of animated entertainment. It is fine for smaller kids but not for their parents.

Fool

When you look for something you won’t find it; People often say that. It is foolish perhaps to believe it and I won’t. I don’t give up when I want something or when I lose it or miss it. I will look for it until the minute that I find it. Well since I don’t always find the thing that I missed, lost or wanted, I say when you look for it you won’t find it.

It may make me a fool but definitely a happier fool.

French Exam

J'ai un examen français le mercredi le 11 mai et je sais juste assez pour traduire cette phrase.

And these means :
I have a French exam on Wednesday May 11th. And I know just enough to translate this sentence.

Even this is not correct. The only chance I have is to get lucky. And getting lucky rarely happens to me.

What Is Surrealism ?

By looking at some Art History texts you may find out that the Surrealism is a literary and art movement. Andre Breton founded Surrealism in Paris in 1924. Breton authored the Manifesto (Manifeste du surrealisme), which advocated the expression of imagination revealed in dreams. He later wrote two other manifestoes, published in 1930 and 1934. Surrealism attracted many Dadaist artists. Other Surrealist origins came from painters such as Paolo Uccello, William Blake, and Odilon Redon. Its origins in literature were traced to French poets Baudelaire, Rimbaud, and Apollinaire and the literary side of the movement remained primarily in France. In the visual realm, Surrealism became popular in the 1920’s and 30’s with the help of a famous painter, Salvador Dali.

Similar to the 19th century Symbolist movement, Surrealism was based on the psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, emphasizing imagination and subconscious imagery. A Surrealist work usually contained realist imagery arranged in a nonsensical style in order to create a dreamlike state.

Artists used spontaneous techniques based on the "free association" a concept, also called automatism, in which conscious control was surrendered to the unconscious mind. The Surrealist movement can be divided into two groups of differing expressive methods: Automatism or "Absolute" Surrealism and Veristic Surrealism. While Automatism was focused on expressing subconscious ideas, Veristic Surrealists wanted to represent a connection between abstract and real material forms. In other words, Verists transformed objects from the real world in their paintings, while Automatists derived their imagery purely from spontaneous thought.

Surrealism opened the way for later movements such as Abstract Expressionism and the Magic Realism. Surrealism offered an alternative to geometric abstraction and kept the expressive content alive in the 20th century. The more you look at a Surrealist work, the more you will understand the magic of it.

False Mirror by Rene Magritte 1928.

Gibran Khalil Gibran

Poet, philosopher, and Painter, Gibran Khalil Gibran(1883-1931) was born in Lebanon. Many of us are familiar with his philosophical writings but not with his paintings.
This is an example of his painting. You can find more in here

Surrealism USA !

I am busy, busy , busy with my papers !

If you are in New York City and have time, check this wonderful exhibition out:
Surrealism USA , it is a really good show at the National Academy Museum in Fifth Ave. next to the Guggenheim Museum.



Surrealism USA
February 17 - May 8, 2005
National Academy Museum
1083 Fifth Avenue at 89th Street

Directions by Subway/Bus:

Subway: Lexington Avenue 4, 5, or 6 to 86th Street Station
Bus: M1, M2, M3, or M4 on Fifth and Madison Avenues to 89th Street.

Museum - Hours of Operation:
Monday - closed
Tuesday - closed
Wednesday - 12:00-5:00
Thursday - 12:00-5:00
Friday - 11:00-6:00
Saturday - 11:00-6:00
Sunday - 11:00-6:00
Closed on public holiday

Today's Thoughts

1- Pop John Paul II has died. God rest his soul, they say he was a good one. I would like to write my thoughts about him, maybe later.

2- Why it is so hard for me to start my sentences with something other than I.
Is it a sign of a mental illness?
Is there something wrong with me? I mean can I just start to talk or write without using me, I or anything which has some self-center-ness in it?

3- I would like to do something for a birthday, a friend’s birthday. It is today, what can I do?

4- Broccoli is a vegetable which I love so much.
I start looking for its origin and its useful qualities 3 days ago. It is perhaps the most unusual of all vegetables. Very much like cauliflower it is an immature flower of a plant belonging to the cabbage family and like the cauliflower it stops growing while it is still in bud.

It was not until 1724 that the first published reference to broccoli emerged in an edition of Miller’s Gardeners Dictionary where it was called Sprout Colliflower or Italian Asparagus. So its origin is likely to be Italian and it seems that it was introduced to the rest of Europe around the same time as the reference was published in the early part of the 18th Century.

It is very high in nutrients and often termed as a super-food. It is a really good source of Vitamin A, C (when it serves un-cooked) and calcium. It has significant amount of potassium.
Many people in the world hate broccoli. They have clubs, meetings and parties. But I love it I couldn’t find a single club about broccoli lovers in the web.

5- The friend whose birthday is today, is one of broccoli haters. well, he should be happy that I couldn’t find any broccoli-lovers-club yet. Be happy R.E. it is your day, today.

6- I know that I don't have that much chance to change his mind about broccoli, but I will try. Well it is delicious and useful.

Well-known

Vincent Van Gogh is so well-known that Google celebrates his birthday (March 30 of 1853) by making its logo Van Goghian for today:



Hope you enjoy it as well as I do. It is not only Van Gogh's brilliant style that make one wonder and feel the emotions behind every single brush stroke, but also the process that drove people to know him and made him one of the top three well-known painters in the world is very interesting: you can find about his biography and his work here.

Thanks !

Last week Tameshk had some problems: first it was a blank page as white as snow,and then it wasn't in order and...

Well, it was easy for me: like always I asked, a friend of mine, Roya who is my problem solver, to help me.

Thanks to her and the time she spent on Tameshk, Now I can continue publishing my posts.

I am blessed to have a friend like her.

Beauty of Life

If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." (Morris, from The Beauty of Life,1880)*

Many people were born on, 24th of March, which is today. Many people will be born on March 24th in years to come.

171 years ago on March 24th 1834 William Morris was born in England. He intended to become a religious man, but his reading of the social criticism of Carlyle, Kingsley and Ruskin led him to leave the church and devote his life to Art. Well, till now his biography is maybe similar to many artists, but what is Art for him is the most interesting part for me.

Before his time, art is what we call today : High Art or Fine Art, which is Painting, Architecture, and above all Sculpture. (There were some arguments about Poetry whether it is art or not ? since Renaissance). One can say O.K. but art supposed to be Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. My point would be clearer if I tell what wasn’t considered art then: Crafts, Hand made objects, Designs for fabrics, Carpets, Jewelry, furniture and Cloths. All of the things that today we consider them and categorize them under the Decorative and Graphical Design.



Morris was one of the many geniuses whose work shaped the decorative art and Arts and Crafts Movement in the later half of the 1900th century. He encouraged return to handmade objects and rejected standard tastes. It is important for many people especially women in history, people whose hand made works considered Low Art for many years and maybe even today.
Morris’s designs for: fabrics, wall papers, tiles are so well-known that you have to have a certain kind of talent to miss them. Probably you didn’t know that they are Morris’s because they are everywhere, and so familiar to everyone.
*

Norooz

Afghans, Tajiks, Uzbeks and Iranians celebrate Norooz*, once again.
Happy New Year to all of those who honor the Spring.






*Norooz is the oldest Iranian holiday. Together with Mehregan (entrance of Libra to the house of Sun), it was one of the "two" New Years of the ancient Aryans. Mehregan was the first day of the "cold" year (autumn and winter), and Norooz was the beginning of the "warm" year (spring and summer), it is said that Norooz was chosen as the official holiday by King Yama (Jamsheed), the ancient Iranian king and hero of myth who expanded the earth. According to the story, when Yama expanded the earth three times, he ordered the day of the last expansion to be called Norooz, which was to signal a "new day" for the people living in what is now Iran. The truth most likely lies somewhere in between the story and the fact that Norooz is the beginning of spring. It could be that Norooz was already a holiday for the Aryans, but when it coincided with an important event in the region of Jamsheed, it was chosen to be the "special" holiday.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly *

I guess I should have admitted that I loved Animated Films (cartoons) before a lot of thing happened. Old fashion or computer animation, no matter when or where it is shown: on TV or in the Movie Theater I will be there to watch it. My personal taste to choose animated films over movies when we get to the cinema theater bothers my friends and family: in many particular cases my lovely husband. I think at first he thought what a lovely, innocent taste she has, it was later on that he realized that it is not going to end unless he puts an end to it**.

What could have done that: well, well, well how about a Bad Animated film. I didn’t believe a Bad Animation, I didn’t think that it can exist until last night, when we watched Shark Tale.

Here you are, animation lovers: a bunch of great stars as Voice Overs, a confused script-writer and a bad director, the result is a Bad Animation Movie.

* What Is Good? The Good is a Good animation film.
What Is Bad? The Bad is a Bad animation film.
What Is Ugly? The Ugly is the Time and Money you spend on realizing that a Bad Animation Film exists.

** He probably didn’t know that it can be done so easily, and he didn’t think that when he agreed with borrowing Shark Tale, he is beginning (a process of***) putting an end to it.

*** You know, it is a process: I still Love Animated films a lot, but I think I have changed my mind about existence of a Bad Animation Film.

" Nooshi va Joojehash" A Persian weblog !

One thing that keeps me busy these days is reading "Nooshi va Joojehash"*, a Persian weblog. Its writing style astonished me. It amazed me by its simple and easy moves from one word to another. Nooshi is its writer/creator.

The way that She, Nooshi, writs in Farsi (Persian) is astoundingly beautiful. I believe Farsi, is an abstruse language, the language of great poets like, Hafez and Rumi. The complexity of words and variety of styles are surprising in Farsi, yet Nooshi manages to bring simplicity and greatness in her words and make you feel close to the subject matter.

It is not only her style which makes her blog a page-turner one, but also the subjects of her posts are noteworthy. Nooshi is writing about her kids (Jojehash). She is separated from her husband and she wants to take the custody of children after divorce. The Islamic law, in regular cases of divorce, gives the custody of kids to the husband. She fights for her rights as a mother and as a woman and struggles with the bitter situations that divorce creates.

In her weblog she chooses to talk about her kids, Aloosha and Noosha and their every day life as they are growing. She is not using real names for kids or even for herself. Readers do not see any direct accusations against her husband but they may feel his shadow which makes you not be sympathetic to him. When you read her weblog you become a close witness to their lives: a friend who is invited on their dinner table.

"Nooshi va Jojehash" portrays the life of a single mother and her two children in today’s Iran. If by any chance you know Farsi, take a look at her weblog, you won’t regret it.

* http://nooshi.ir/

I find this picture interesting and meaningful for this post: after all "Jooje" means "Farm Chicken" and it is contributed to one’s children. I heard that here; in U.S. mothers call their children "their Monkeys" which I think has the similar concept.

Roshanak!

I am in Panera again!

Today I had a call form Iran. My cousin, Roshanak*, called me . She is one of the kindest, loveliest girls I 've ever seen.
She talked about snow in Tehran and Rasht. 2 meters snow came in the last 2 weeks. It was and is a disaster especially near to Norooz, Persian celebration for New Year, the same day as beginig of Spring.

I miss the sweets, cakes and all the shoppings for the Norooz.

* http://www.harimeman.persianblog.com

Kite Runner

A friend of mine, A.F., suggested that I should read "Kite Runner" 2 mounts ago. I took a look at the cover, I saw the author’s name "Khaled Hosseini"* and I somehow became sad.

I don't know why, but recently I hate it when someone who knows you are form Middle East or somewhere other than U.S. wants to point it out to you that: "Hay this is about you guys, is this true?, see how much we care!, we study your culture, or oh so sad that this thing happened in your countries..." (as if I come from more than one country)
Another thing is that I miss my family, my country, my home so much that everything form there: a movie or a book or any news make me so upset that I want to lie down on bed for a whole day. I become so sad with these things that I don't want to tell anybody where I am coming from.

She/He* suggested it to me again and again and finally she/he lent me her/his own copy of the book. I asked her/him if the book had a sad story because I couldn't bear it. She/He said it had sad parts and happy parts: Just Read It. I thought, I had to read this one. Thanks to her/him, I started to read it. I am going to finish it soon.

It is Hilarious. It makes you want to have Pomegranate right away. It makes you wish if it was Yalda every night. It makes you hate war. It changes the meaning of honesty and honor.

Please Read It.


* Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1965. The son of a diplomat, his family received political asylum in the United States in 1980. He currently lives in California where he is a physician. The Kite Runner is his first novel.

* I think, I should put "He" first as a grammatical- correctness-point. But, by all due respect, I prefer "She" to be first. After all "Ladies First".

Distance

I wonder day after day :
What is this distance doing with us ?

Us is me, you, and all of those, who are far far from home.
Far from our mothers, far from our fathers,
Far from our private little rooms, rooms which we fought for,
Rooms which we didn't share with our younger brothers.

I wonder day after day :
What does this distance do with us ?

with our memories,
I don't want to stay here and lose it every day, day after day.

If I lose my memories , I will be lost forever in this distance.

The Dog & The Owner ?

1- We all probably have heard that dogs and their owners are alike. Even if we didn’t, lets remind you all: "One Hundred and One Dalmatians 1961" Walt Disney’s production: in its introduction sequence, which shows several owners and their dogs and their similarities.

2- The other thing is: after the years of marriage husbands and wives look like each other. (At least I have heard this from 5 different people with different backgrounds in last 6 months)


So don’t you think the out come is a little bit strange: from 1 and 2 one can assume that dogs and spouses(Husband or Wife) are the same:
1&2 => Dog = spouses.

The only thing that bothers me is how can we realize, which one is the owner which one is the dog.