http://torontoreport.com/en Shayan Mashatian logs from Torotno Sat, 06 Jan 2007 19:40:09 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Ahmadijenad’s government has announced a bill which forces all Iranian webloggers to register their information in a web site so government can track them later if they write anything that government doesn’t like. Obviously everyone is against it and it is even against the Iran’s constitution law and government ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2007/01/38/ Iranian celebrate the Yalda, the longest night of the year, by getting together, reading poems and symbolically try do fun things. This year, one of the bloggers has suggested a game: everyone confess to 5 things which even his/her close friends don’t know them. So here is mine: 1. When I ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2006/12/37/ It is almost 5 years I have left Iran. During last years, a new generation of young musicians has been emerged which is very talented and I like almost everything I hear from them. Ironically, compare to all those L.A. musics that have been produced without any Islamic restrictions rarely ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2006/12/36/ I guess most people think risk means uncertainty; “if you are not certain about something you are taking a risk”. Interestingly, by definition, risk is different from uncertainty: Risk means there are some “known unknown” that you know those known issues might happen, but you don’t know when it ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2006/12/35/ Another character in Adieu Gary Cooper is a man who teaches skiing to the tourists in Alps mountains. He is white and so is his wife, and they have a few kids which one of them is black! (Obviously one of the seasonal tourists has had a role in ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2006/11/34/ I am not sure… I was going to meet 1 person at 11? or 11 persons at 1?! http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2006/11/33/ Adieu Gary Cooper has been one of the most favorite books of mine and a few close friends. It is full of interesting characters and we always enjoy quoting from it in different occasions. Tonight, I was browsing Orkut which is a social networking application and you can list your friends ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2006/11/32/ God exists since mathematics is consistent, and the devil exists since its consistency cannot be proved. - Hermann Weyl PS. for those who doesn’t know what is consistency of mathematics: It means if ‘currently’ 2 times 2 is 4, in future if we try it again, result will remain 4! ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2006/11/31/ Due to heavy censorship in Iran, there are many books each year that don’t get approval to be published (Yes, you need to get approval on content from authorities to publish your book and just market demand is not enough to publish a book). So, recently, there was an exhibition ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2006/11/30/ When I force you to do something I have applied at least 16 assumptions: 1. Truth exists (somewhere) 2. Truth is unique and there is no multiple-truth 3. The assumed unique truth, has only one face (so if I discover that face, that’s it; there is no other point of view or face ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2006/11/29/ Before coming to North America, I remember once I was looking at map of highways in California, those multi-level roads and bridges, and I was wondering how this country has been built in less than 200 years and I was thinking every single aspect of life should has been so ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2006/11/28/ I guess increasing the level of rationality (specially among politicians) in each country and society is one of the most important goals of social engineers. It is one of the biggest challenges in developing countries like Iran as well. We see so many claims, policies, goals, etc. in all different ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2006/11/27/ In Persian, there is an idiom called “Shooting Even Someone’s shadow” which means when you hate someone, you would even shoot his (or her) shadow if see it anywhere! Example: She will even shoot his shadow if he shows up. http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2006/11/26/ I visited Chicago two weeks ago; I was always thinking guys in Toronto city hall are following New York as a model for Toronto but now I am sure Chicago is the city they have in mind. I liked it. I was enough lucky to catchPatritia Barber in Green Mill ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2005/06/23/ So many worlds, so much to do, So little done, such things to be (Alfred, Lord Tennyson — In Memoriam) http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2005/03/20/ The intellectual elite of a society. [Russian intelligentsiya, from Latin intelligentia, intelligence, from intelligns, intelligent-, intelligent. See intelligent.] http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2005/02/19/ Not only would a foreign invasion of Iran vitiate popular support for human rights activism, but by destroying civilian lives, institutions and infrastructure, war would also usher in chaos and instability. Respect for human rights is likely to be among the first casualties. Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 winner of the Nobel ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2005/02/18/ Bush keeps telling that he wants to liberate Iran and Iranian people. I am wondering why he doesn’t pay any attention to Chinese people?! Or Russian? Or billions of poor people in Africa? They are hungry and suffering from aids. They even don’t want freedom or liberty. They are simply ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2005/02/17/ BBC has announced its award for world music (2005). It’s is always my most favorite collection of world music. This year I discovered Yasmin Levy; just listen to her and enjoy her Mediterranean nostalgic music. http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2005/02/16/ Don’t Worry. It’s not the last day of the world; it’s already tomorrow in Australia. http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2005/02/15/ I am studying philosophy of science in U of T. Indeed, it is history and philosophy of science and technology; when people ask me what is the benefit of reading philosophy, I didn’t know how to answer but recently I found a good one. For instance I told ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2005/02/14/ For those who want to hear persian music by masters, Alizadeh, Kalhor and Shajarian are coming to Toronto. Shajarian was my first favorite singer and it took me almost 10 years to understand Alizadeh: His majic in music and his infinite creativity. Kalhor which was a part of Silk ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2005/02/13/ Talking about war against Iran is on media everyday. Almost any single article in newspapers or interviews are talking about it. An analyst says bush and his administration are dead to do that and change the Middle East structure (From Afghanistan to Lebanon and Saudi Arabia). It’s very hard to ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2005/01/12/ As I mentioned before, I am a kind of education addicted, but once you take a course which requires a really hard work and you compete with younger people who are full time students, then things get a little bit hard! At this situation, you have to admit that Being ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2005/01/11/ Matt and thses ladies must pay copyright to Iranian women to copy their style of Hijab… anyway, he is nominated for the best photoblogs in 2005 and you can vote for him, Sam and Rannie here . http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2005/01/10/ American history has proofed that everyone has a chance to win! - Rocky! http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2005/01/9/ Hardliners in Iran are struggling with Internet and trying to ban or restrict people from getting access to it; it’s stupid but they even try to ban Yahoo messenger or Orkut! On the other hand some American service providers warn Iranian clients to reject them time to time. For ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2005/01/8/ I saw Million Dollar Baby last night; it was beatiful and I liked it. Of course If you are looking for a happy-end hollywood style movie it’s not for you. In one scene, Morgan Freeman says to Eastwod that everyday someone dies, dishwashers, etc. but only a few poeple ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2005/01/7/ Maryam is a big fan of Susan Sontag and I know about her almost nothing, but I read in an article (in New York Times) when she passed away that she liked almost everything! It is obviousely against common paradigm of being professional in something that education system forces us: ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2005/01/6/ Recycling all magazines, brochures, advertisements that you get along bills, etc, etc plus newspapers that you don’t find time to read them and have to get rid of them when new ones have arrived, gives a strong feeling of living in the moment; forget about the past. This experience is like ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2005/01/5/ The lady that is doing my hair cut was asking about my studies and wether it is finished or not, and as usual I explained that this semester I have registered only in one course and I was too busy to take more, etc, etc. She just says I know ... http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2005/01/4/ “Why is God making me suffer so much? Just because I don’t believe in him?!” Sidney Morgenbesser, Philosopher @ Columbia University http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2004/12/3/ After almost four years blogging in Persian, I am going to write regularly about Canada, Torotno, culture, Technology, Philosophy (what else?!) and some other issues that I am interested in them! http://torontoreport.com/en/archives/2004/12/2/