Persian New Year

Farhad Mehrdad, the brilliant Iranian singer
For Nowruz

بوی عیدی بوی توت بوی کاغذرنگی
بوی تند ماهی‌ دودی وسط سفره‌ء نو
بوی یاس جانماز ترمه‌ی مادربزرگ

با اینا زمستونو سر می‌کنم
با اینا خستگی‌مو در می‌کنم

شادی شکستن قلک پول
وحشت کم شدن سکه‌ عیدی از شمردن زیاد
بوی اسکناس تا نخورده‌ لای کتاب

با اینا زمستونو سر می‌کنم
با اینا خستگی مو در می‌کنم

فکر قاشق زدن یه دختر چادرسیا
شوق یک خیز بلند از روی بته‌های نور
برق کفش جفت‌شده تو گنجه‌ها

با اینا زمستونو سر می‌کنم
با اینا خستگی‌مو در می‌کنم

عشق یک ستاره ساختن با دولک
ترس ناتموم گذاشتن جریمه‌های عید مدرسه
بوی گل محمدی که خشک شده لای کتاب

با اینا زمستونو سر می‌کنم
با اینا خستگی‌مو در می‌کنم

بوی باغچه بوی حوض عطر خوب نذری
شب جمعه پی فانوس توی کوچه گم شدن
توی جوی لاجوردی هوس یه آب‌تنی

با اینا زمستونو سر می‌کنم
با اینا خستگی‌مو در می‌کنم
And listen to  Snow
And When I was a Child!

A prelude to the Foundation of Political Economy: Oil, War, and Global Polity

A prelude to the Foundation of Political Economy: Oil, War, and Global Polity (Economics of the Middle East)

By Dr. Cyrus Bina

 "The new book by Professor Bina places the trade in and production of petroleum into their global context, and relates them to changing conditions of political power at the international level. One need not be an expert to understand and appreciate the important arguments in this book." - John Weeks, Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of London, UK

"This is a groundbreaking volume of theory and strategy on political economy and polity of the twenty-first century, which unites domains of economics, politics, international relations, and the environment in an organic whole. Distilled in concrete terms, it elucidates the enigma of oil in view of the centrality of global social relations and with respect to two major exigencies of our time, namely, world peace, and defense of our ecosystem. A Prelude to the Foundation of Political Economy also highlights the need for detachment of US foreign policy from dependence on oil, to reveal rather vividly the illusion of America's power and leadership. This book is a wakeup call to the altered reality in which we live."

"Cyrus Bina is Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Minnesota (Morris Campus), USA. He is the author and co-editor of several scholarly books, including The Economics of the Oil Crisis, Oil: A Time Machine, and Alternative Theories of Competition: Challenges to the Orthodoxy; and has written more than two hundred scholarly and policy pieces. He has also spoken extensively to the international media on issues pertinent to global sea change. He is currently editing a three-volume work entitled International Economics: An Encyclopedia of Global Trade, Capital, Labor, Technology, and Innovation. Bina is a fellow of Economists for Peace and Security, and an editor for the Journal of Critical Studies in Business and Society."

Listen to one of his speeches.

The Bride of Acacias at MCA

 On Saturday March 30 at 3 pm David Rhee (actor, singer and musician) and I will read The Bride of Acacias, my one-woman play based on the life of Forugh Farrokhzad, a renowned Iranian poet as part of The Glass Roundtable Series  at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. 

The Glass Roundtable Series is organized by Lise McKean in collaboration with Chicago artists who participated in StreamLines, a recent exhibition in India of contemporary art that she curated—and others involved with Chicago arts and social justice organizations. 

An stunning tapestry....

The Glass Roundtable Series is inspired by the Goshka Macuga exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art inChicago. Her work includes a large doughnut-shaped glass-topped table that seats 16 people. To animate the piece, MCA is allowing anyone to reserve the table for meetings that are held right in the gallery while the public is coming and going.

220 E. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611

Museum admission is free for roundtable participants.

World Theatre Day

This is Dario Fo's 2013 International Theatre Institute's World Theatre Day Message translated from the original Italian version by Mirko Grewing (Milan) and Douglas Howe (New York). This English translation is intended for reading aloud and performance purposes, and it was originally published on the New York City World Theatre Day website.

A long time ago, those in power resolved their intolerance of "comedians" by banishing them from the country. Today, actors and theater companies have trouble finding public spaces, theaters and audiences—everything because of the crisis.
Therefore, rulers no longer worry about controlling those who express themselves with irony and sarcasm, since there are no longer places for the actors to perform or spectators to perform for.
In contrast, during the Renaissance, those in power had to struggle to keep comedians, who enjoyed a wide public, at bay.
It’s commonly known that the greatest exodus of comedians happened during the century of the Counter-Reformation, which upheld the dismantling of all theater spaces, especially in Rome, where their existence outraged the Holy City.
In 1697, under harassing demands from the most reactionary part of the bourgeoisie and the leading clergy, Pope Innocent XII ordered the elimination of the Tordinona Theater, whose stage, according to the moralists, was accountable for the greatest number of obscene performances.
At the time of the Counter-Reformation, Cardinal Carlo Borromeo, serving in the north of Italy, committed himself to the redemption of the "children of Milan," establishing a clear distinction between art—the highest form of spiritual education, and theater—the lowest expression of profanity and vanity. In a letter addressed to his collaborators, which I quote by heart, he stated more or less as follows:

While eradicating the evil weed, we had done our utmost to burn texts containing infamous speeches, to eradicate them from human memory, and at the same time prosecute those who spread such texts in print. But even as we sleep, the Devil works with renewed trickery. How far more penetrating to the soul than what the eyes can see! How far more devastating to the minds of boys and young girls is the spoken word, with appropriate voice and gesture, than a dead word in a book. It is therefore as critical for us to rid our cities of performers as we would do with unwanted souls.

Therefore, the only way out of this crisis is to hope that a great hunt will be organized against us, especially against the young people who want to learn the art of theater: a new Diaspora of comedians, who, from such an imposition, will undoubtedly reap unimaginable benefits from a new kind of performance.

Watch a video translation of his speech. 
Read Persian translation.

Robins!

Robins, Robins, what did you sing behind my window this early morning ?

Does Science Refute God?

Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates: Does Science Refute God? 

Premiered Thursday, March 21, 2013.

Watch the full episode here on PBS.

Nowruz

This morning, cardinals were singing again in the freezing, windy weather of Chicago! On the slippery,  icy sidewalks, the roaring wind ruthlessly slapped our face...under the beautiful, bright sunshine!
Sun...How empathetic you are!
Tomorrow will be colder! But I know the cardinals will sing again,
On top of the oak trees!

Happy Spring and Happy Nowruz, my global friends!

سال نو پر از شکفتگی باشد برای شما. هر چند  "نو"  بعد از زمان کوتاهی  "کهنه" می شود! مگر آنکه آدم "نو" و کهنه" را در عمق وجودش جور دیگری تجربه کرده باشد!