Mahmud Farjami, Iranian Satirist, Needs to be Less Homophobic. And,Who's his editor in Tehran Review?

Mahmud Farjami is a popular Iranian satirist. He used to write for several Iranian news outlets while he was in Iran, and since leaving Iran, he has written in Persian for BBC Persian, and most recently for Terhan Review. He is also quite prominent in Facebook among Iranian users. Currently he is living in Malaysia pursuing a PhD "at the School of Communication of USM in Malaysia, Penang." His full bio is available in his personal website: http://www.debsh.com/en/ .

In 2011, Mahmud Farjami became very popular among Iranians after publishing online his Persian Translation of a satirical book by Xavier Crement in defiance of the officials of Cultural Ministry of Iran who declined to permit publication of his work in print.

In his latest satire for Tehran Review website, he goes on to mention what behaviors in bed --before, during and after having sex -- should be considered stupid.  He basically goes on to provide examples of what heterosexual men and women should and should not be doing to have a better sex. However, for some reason unbeknownst to me, nearing the end of this article, he goes on to talk about homosexuals. Very recently, in one of his latest works, he used the word Hamjensbaz (derogatory Persian word for homosexuals), but in this current work published in Tehran Review, he does not use the derogatory term, but a clinical, acceptable term, which should have made me glad if not for the ignorant things he had to say about homosexuals. The following is the translation of the passage in question.Comments in [ ] are added by me. Italicized words are for emphasis done by me .: 

Regarding homosexual men and women, sexual stupidity is more complex and, unfortunately, it has not been comprehensively researched yet. Most important reason is that in many societies a number of stupid heterosexuals are still insisting to impose their sexual taste [orientation] on everyone. Consequently, homosexuals (be they stupid or intelligent) are so oppressed by the stupid heterosexuals that they do not behave ordinarily and we [the heterosexual people, such as Mr.Farjami presumably]  cannot  approach them ordinarily. For instance, one time,  while doing a research, I carefully asked an acquaintance -- who was a defender of Gay Rights -- with utmost respect, and in private if he [or She;third person's pronouns in Farsi are gender non-specific] was homosexual himself or not. And, since then, this person [got upset and] been asking me for years afterward [whenever he saw me]: Why I asked him such a question,What my motive was, Why I prejudged him, and If I know what Homosexuality means or not ... .

Stupidity has no exception. [meaning we can have both stupid heterosexuals and homosexuals] 

I think it is safe to say, Mr. Frajami needs to add a new recommendation to his work in fighting stupidity: You shall not talk about things you have no clue about. You should not go around offending people who are already unjustly offended in the worst manners in Iran, the same people who are utterly hated and marginalized among Iranians inside and outside of Iran. You shall not assume anything about Homosexual people if you have no knowledge about them whatsoever. You should maybe consider learning about homosexual people by talking to homosexual people. You shall learn how to communicate about Homosexual people if you are pursuing a PhD in Communication. Or, you would risk sounding like a true stupid person. 

That said, as a man who has dated other men in and out of Iran, and knows other Lesbian, and Bisexual people, I need to tell Mr.Farjami that homosexual people kiss, hug, caress and love each other, like other humans do, when they can: when they are not afraid of being harassed, or when they are not risking their lives. Homosexual people are as usual as you are, Mr.Farjami. They have emotions, desires, and wishes. They read news. They go to school. They read books. They may have even read your Bisho'uri book.


Be Kind not Stupid.

[April 17, 2003] Heterosexist Haji: Not a cry for censorship, but an appeal for journalistic responsibility

This piece is copied from pages of Iranian.com, thanks to Google Cache. I have not written this. I do not know the author. This piece was originally published here: http://iranian.com/Opinion/2003/April/Speech/index.html

Heterosexist Haji

Not a cry for censorship, but an appeal for journalistic responsibility

By Choob Dosargohi

April 17, 2003

The Iranian

Please read the following and consider publishing it. I prefer to remain anonymous, but if being "known" is a condition for being published, I will give you a name.

A friend sent me a link from iranian.com, along with a note that read, "have you seen this?" Eager to know what was awaiting my curious eyes, I clicked on the link, only to see an image of a headless naked female body, holding a sign that read (in Farsi), "lesbians going back to Iran to sell sex and do whatever we want to do."

Enraged by the message of this cartoon, I searched the archives of the Iranian and found another cartoon where the cartoonist, Hossein Hajiahga, materializes his distorted fantasy about lesbians through his drawing: Two female students lying to their parents, doing drugs, and having sex and confessing that they learned to be "hamjensbaaz" in their school. Hajiagha named this cartoon "The gift of the West to Iran."

As you can tell from my previous letter to iranian.com ("A Response to Responses to War"), I am dissapointed by the way that the dialogue on this destructive war exerts violence on female and queer bodies. This proliferation of homophobic language and imagery in the pages of iranian.com compelled me to write about what freedom of speech, as exercised by iranian.com, means to me.

I appreciate the fact that you are providing a forum for dialogue among Iranian diaspora. As a doctoral student in anthropology, I know how American nationalism has created a culture of fear that silences us in academic circles where any dissent leads to threats of being terminated or to loss of funding.

My letter to you is not a cry for censorship, but an appeal for journalistic responsibility. As Iranians and displaced people in the U.S., many of us can testify to the ways that violence of censorship breaks our pens and sticks duct-tapes on our lips. I understand your commitment to freedom of speech and am not asking you to silence impassioned voices of those who may think differently than you do.

On the contrary, I truly appreciate the Iranian, especially when all we see and hear through mainstream media is the masquerade of violence against Iraqi people under the guise of "liberation" and "freedom". There are those who voice their opinions in mainstream media without having to work hard to this end.

For these reasons, I value the fact that iranian.com has been a forum for people to express their dissent when their voices are lost in the drama of "public polls". I also appreciate seeing voices that repeat the dominant rhetoric of war on Iraq (albeit my disagreement with them). If nothing, these voices show that there is a lot of work to be done and a lot of questions to be asked.

Having said this, I hope that you do not take my objection to Hajiagha's heterosexist cartoons as an advocacy for leaving untouched, things deemed "sacred". If any thing, I think heterosexuality has taken the place of the "sacred" norm and needs to be questioned in cyber-pages of the Iranian. I am concerned that cartoons such as Hajiagha's are informed by a hegemonic knowledge that equates hamjensgarayee with drug addiction, deception, and perversion.

Hajiagha's obsession with lesbianism says something about his personal motivations and his deep hatred towards lesbians. But, I do not want to single out this cartoonist for his homophobia, for the problem is larger than him. What concerns me is that Hajiagha's cartoons that may provide a comic relief in these agonizing times of war, work along other texts within and without the Iranian to inscribe violence on the lesbian body.

This way of representation, constructs the lesbian Other as the "westoxified" abject without whom the existence of the "normal" and "authentic" Iranian heterosexual is impossible. This is where I think the freedom of speech reaches its limits. Speech is no longer a neutral utterance (it never has been), but an act of constituting subjects in accordance with complex workings of power.

Thus, while I understand your commitment to an open forum, I hope that you demonstrate your commitment to a critical questioning of discourses that have material consequences. How many more queers are going to be targets of hate crimes before we feel a sense of responsibility to our readers?

Mr. Javid, I know that this would perhaps be preaching to the converted if I told you that there is no necessary connection between being a lesbian and drugs use, hatred towards men, and/or being "westernized." This may not be news to you, if I told you that lesbian teachers and parents do not make lesbian students (As far as I recall, my parents and my teachers throughout my k-12 education in Iran were heterosexual. And look at me now! No, Mr. Hajiagha, I did not learn to become a lesbian in the U.S.; my desire for women extends to years back before my displacement).

But, dear Mr. Javid, you host a major on-line magazine and that puts you in a critical position. I know you like personal ways of writing, so here it goes: I expect you to be responsible to me and other queers who continue to read your magazine. I expect you to be responsible and create an alternative forum where not stereotypes, but creative dialogues are produced. There is no shortage of homophobic language out there in the world; no need for the Iranian to join in and allow hateful language.

At the end, I would like to encourage you to keep Iranian's committment to the questioning of the "sacred". In the light of this committment, let's rethink the concept of "freedom" as sacred. Let's think about how freedom for some entails material violence against others. Let's think about "Operation Iraqi Freedom" and let's think about "freedom of speech." Isn't there an irony in the way words are resignified?

Isn't there an irony in the violence that hides behind this "sacred" word, "freedom"? Yes, freedom comes with a cost, but who pays for whose freedom? Let us in our committment to write and speak against all that has suffocated us, think about those who die and those who get hurt in empty quests for "freedom".

At the end, I hope that you post both of my letters on your site... if nothing, in the spirit of "freedom of speech."

[July 27, 2004] Hamjenspeak:Iranian gay and lesbian lexicon

This piece was originally published on Iranian.com. I accessed this material via the fantastic Google Cache.
I am re-publishing this piece here with full disclosure that I'm not the author of this piece.


Original piece written in   July 27, 2004 in this address: http://iranian.com/ChoobDosarGohi/2004/July/Speak/index.html

Author: Choob Dosar-Gohi 

Screen-shot of original place of pulication

Hamjenspeak
Iranian gay and lesbian lexicon

July 27, 2004

iranian.com

I read the "Watch your language" piece in the Shorts section. "Queer" has tentatively been termed faraahanjaar by a group of Iranian queers. To get the theory behind it, refer to Homan magazine No.18, introduction (You can contact Homan L.A. for a copy if you don't have it). Also, In the lexicon section of a queer women's site, khanaye-doost.com, there is a list of terms in Farsi.

I say faraahanjaar is tentative (even as it has been taken up and coopted by some queer groups already) because it is a word under construction and was introduced as a term that could yield to more appropriate terms. It was certainly NOT introduced as a short-hand for a long list of identities such as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, etc., but has been used as such.

Some of us have been talking about the way hamjensbaaz, because of it's negative connotations, could be re-signified by Iranian queers, the way "queer" has been owned up in the U.S. by queer theorists. However, more carfeul work on the history of the termhamjensbaaz and it's uses is needed before one makes such a move. Otherwise, this form of "translation" may risk a form of ahistorical copying.

(Time permitting, this fall, I am hoping to do some work on the discursive production ofbaazi, jens, and hamjens, their historical uses, and their roles as supplements, in the Derridean sense, in the reification of Iranian nationalism. If I get anywhere with it, I'll let you know. For now, Afsaneh Najmabadi's forthcoming book Women with Mustaches and Men without Beards has an excellent section on transformations of sexuality in Qajar Iran, where she talks about "fokoli" and effiminate figures as essential to imagining the nation in Modern Iran.)

Also, kooni is not really translatable as "asshole," but signifies an association with koon (of "ass"). It connotes a deviation from the "proper orifice", if you will. More often that not, it was (and still is) used to refer to the one who is penetrated and not thepenetrator. So long as the penetrator is not subjected to such "unmanly" deeds as being penetrated by another man, he does not count as kooni in heteronormative discourses. It has to do with notions of "manhood" and what takes to be demasculinized. It is curios how the Iranian man's manhood is constructed in hiskoon!

You are right about the prevelence of the term hamjensgaraaamong a large number of Iranian queers. Interestingly, because women's sexuality is all together erased in Iranian popular discourse, hamjensgaraa, has come to have a masculine designation. That is, used on its own, hamjensgaraa often connotes a male homosexual. Attaching zan becomes the way to get around this linguistic problem (Zanaan-e hamjensgaraa). The term is also exclusionary as it does not really account for those who do not fit within the naturalized and hegemonic heterosexuality, but are not solely attracted to their same sex either (some transgenders, bisexuals, etc.).

To make the long story short, there is no "correct" word to name non- normative sexualities, and as it is always the case, words are constantly resignified as they are circulated. Who knows, maybe hamjensbaaz will one day become a more common term reclaimed by Iranian queers than the terms hamjensgaraa or faraahanjaar.

As it is expected, there are many hamjensgaraas who would not agree with me on this. There are many who do not want to be called "queer" or "faraahanjaar" and insist on identifying as "hamjensgaraa." There are also those who use the word "queer" because it is perhaps the "chic" of diaspora these days. It makes one seem "cool" to be queer! Perhaps, as a friend once said, it is because of the desire for innovation in modernity that terms lose their political usefulness as they are appropriated.

Lastly, with a term such as "dyke" or "homo," it obviously depends on who uses it and how. Being called a dyke by homophobic bigots is being bashed by hate speech, but being called a dyke by a friend could even be a term of endearment. (As you know the march before the Gay Parade day in San Francisco is called the "Dyke March").

6 minutes & 47 seconds of Tehran & its People to Kick Me in the Heart ...

Edited on Friday, March 01, 2012 to add a few more pictures!   

Screen shot of Artist's website (http://www.alimolavi.ir) which shows one of the Tehranians in this film

I miss Tehran. I have not been to Iran for the past 6-7 years. When I first arrived in America, I was happy for I did not have to see people of Tehran anymore. For years I only missed streets of Tehran, its dirty. littered streets, its dirty cabs, its dirty, noisy air. I never missed its People. I actually did not have much love for them when I left for America. But, streets are different. It's simply impossible to hate streets for me. Streets have no guilt. Streets did not betray you. streets are not homophobic. Streets do not want to oppress you. Streets are reliable. Streets feel your pain. Streets know your pain. Streets have to stand under never-ending steps of the heartless. Streets deserve to be loved. Streets are innocent. Your parents, siblings, friends, classmates, professors  rulers, ... are not innocent. They had choices and they did things. Streets have never had any choices.



Long story short,  My facade of happiness cracked open in June 2009. Same people, whom I disliked wholeheartedly, protested the murderous charlatans ruling Iran. Not just a few university students this time, but millions came to the streets. They embraced streets. And it made me proud. I became an Iranian again. It feels good.

Since June 2009, whenever I read, hear, or watch awful news from Iran, -- which happens every hour of every day that I surf internet -- I am always reminded that these people, these hapless folks, are same people who came to streets 5 years ago. Most of them are still in their 30s and alive. This makes me hopeful and happy -- most of the times.

So, stumbling upon a video, that makes me feel I am there, standing in front of the People on the streets of Tehran, as if I am part of Tehran, as if I am having a small talk with a fellow neighbor has been most emotionally stirring for me.

This video is a very short film of 6 minutes, and 47 seconds of fifty random strangers answering this question: What is your wish if you could only wish for one thing to happen till the end of this day?

The collection of answers we see in this video are touching, breath-taking, and brutally honest to say the least.  Watching this 6' 47" was like remembering the many emotions I felt living in Tehran for 24 years -- emotions that keep on living inside me still. So, if I want to sum this video up in one word, I must say it is stirring. It made me cry. And it felt good.

Watch for yourself. Please activate the English subtitles.

Check the Artists page for more info here.

Most of the Tehranians in this film are interviewed in the proximity of Nasr Grand Bazaar: 

Nasr Grand Bazaar in Gisha, Tehran, Iran. One of the locations used in this film. 

Gisha neighborhood was re-named Nasr (meaning Victory) some time after Islamic Revolution victory in 1979, but people still refer to this neighborhood as Gisha.  I am pretty sure its fist inhibitors were of Middle-Class Iranians, and I know it for I have many relatives living in Gisha.  It is supposed to have good schools.  

That red cross is Gisha neighborhood, which is approximately in the middle of city of Tehran.

Now, Nasr Grand Bazaar where this video interviews most of its subjects is that indigo cross:

First boy I dated lived in Gisha, and that is beside the fact my aunts live there! 
I have good memories of Gisha. 

A List of Twitter Users Who Tweet About #Iran and are Not Assholes [Part 2]

The first part of this list was published a week ago  here.

This list is biased. The names in this list belong to people who have proven they are not assholes when tweeting about Iran. If your name is not in this list, it is not necessarily because you are an asshole -- it could just be because I do not know you.  The order of names in this list does not mean anything. I try to add a brief description for each name in this list. The third part of this list will be published as soon as I compile a list of non-Asshole #Iran Tweeps. I plan to publish a list of Asshole #Iran Tweeps for the Next week, if you have any suggestion for that list, contact me. 

If you have any suggestion about this post, please tweet them at @IranLGBT or comment in here. 

@SaeedK:  Not many Iranian journalist can claim they've interviewed Paul Auster -- an American Author who is very famous in Iran unlike his home country, USA, as far as I can say.  A 23-year-old Saeed Kamali Dehghan interviewed Auster for the weekly magazine Shahrvand Emrooz  5 years ago.  Saeed is now a journalist at the Guardian covering news of Iran.  He sometimes writes for the Comment is Free section of the Guardian. In July, 2012, he wrote a comment piece, aptly, and justly titled: Sanctions on Iran punish its people, not its leaders, which voiced the many concerns, fears and angers of many Iranians who oppose Ayatollahs but are not willing to sign off on the massacre of millions of Iranian by Western sanctions.  His brilliance  is not all I like about him, he is also an openly gay man. Considering he is Iranian, and worked in Iran for years,  this is big deal -- very big deal. Not many openly gay Iranians are out there, let alone a prominent gay journalist.  I guess he left Iran permanently following the bloody days of June, 2009, when the rigged presidential election took place and many journalists got arrested. I am glad he is not in Evin Prison, but in London. He mostly tweets news of Iran.  

@CDA: "Collin Anderson, a 26-year-old liberation-technology researcher from North Dakota who specializes in Iran," that's what The New York Times wrote in 2011.  He tweets about Internet censorship in Iran, sanctions on Iran, ... .  Apparently he knows Farsi for he does tweet in Farsi too. A good source. 

@RezaAsadi: Reza Asadi is a producer for the BBC. I don't know him. His tweets are surely a good source for #Iran. Moreover, he did tweet a blog post of mine which documented the murderous musings of Blake Hounshell on Iran. Hounshell is managing editor at Foreign Policy magazine, and a gate-keeper of Foreign News/commentary in US Media, consequently, not many Iranian journalists tweeted or re-tweeted my blog post out of either sheer disinterest in Iran news or considerations for Mr.Hounshell's image, but Reza Asadi did. So, for that, I gotta tell you, he does seem like an independent minded journalist, and independent journalists are those I trust!
  
@Jrezaian: Jason Rezaian is the Tehran correspondent for the Washington Post. He is apparently from Northern California. My impression is he is from an Iranian father and an American Mother. [Correct me anyone who knows better,please, if I am wrong.] His father had a Persian Rug store in California, so he proudly calls himself son of a Rug man. He is funny. His tweets from Iran and about Iran are always interesting. He is a good source indeed. More significantly foolish #Iran tweeps call him an Agent for the Islamic Regime in Iran, which could be funny if these people were not serious!  

@Nima: Nima Akbapour is "Presenter and Producer" for BBC Persian. He belongs to the first name twitter handler royal club, as if that was not enough, he has about 15,000 followers mostly Iranians. He tweets mostly in Farsi sometimes in English too, usually cool stuff. He is an excellent source for those interested in knowing what's going on in the Iranian blog-sphere. 

@yjtorbati: Yeganeh June Torbati has a long name, but thankfully it is not her twitter handler! She is a reporter for Reuters, based in Dubai covering news of Iran -- for a fuck-up Reuters did in Iran re: Iranian Ninjas, Reuters has been banned from working in Iran unfortunately. She is 2nd generation Iranian born in Oklahoma, USA as far as I know. She used to follow me till I made the mistake of talking to her about Arab Kings in the Persian Gulf, and she did not like my language and unfollowed me. All in all, she is a good source for reliable news about Iran. Tidbit: I once told her names of all the children of Boz Boz Ghandi: Shangool, Manbgool and Hab'be Angoor, which she thanked me afterwards. 

@SeyyedReza: His name is Alex Shams, a co-editor of the excellent @AjamMC blog, but because his twitter account is private now, I am not going to say anything about him. 

@parissasaranj: Parisa Saranj is a columnist for Aslan Media. She tweets pics of Isfahan, her hometown and a beautiful major city of Iran. When she is not tweeting pics of Isfahan, she tweets news and funny stuff about Iran. She used to tweet more till a few months ago. Hopefully she'll get back to tweeting more soon! 

@Lrozen: Laura Rozen is a reporter currently at @AlMonitor. She has a scary twitter profile pic, but seems like a nice person! Her tweets about Iran are mostly news, opinion about the nuclear negotiations, and politics of the Ahmadinejad government. A good source. 

@OurmaninIran: Our man in Iran is Western, probably British  journalist in Iran. I don't know him. He tweets good links about Iran. He does know the domestic politics of Iran as evident by his tweets speculating about the next presidential election in Iran. A good source! 

@SanazRaji: Sanaz Raji is a scholar at "University of Leeds exploring gender, sexuality, and satire in relation to social media in the Iranian diaspora." She does not tweet much, but when she does it is usually something interesting about Iran. 

@pedestrian:  Her name on twitter is Sidewalk Lyrics, she is obviously an anonymous tweep. I got to know about her from a piece that was published on Tehran Bureau from her blog. I can't find that piece now, but you should check her blog for some good stuff to read. Unfortunately, her activity on twitter and blog abruptly stopped on 30, November, 2012. I know she is Iranian, living or Studying in US, but for some family problem -- seemed she lost a dear relative in Tehran-- she went back to Iran a few months ago. She used to tweet from Iran, but then it all stopped late November. I hope she be all right wherever she is, and gets back to Tweeting or blogging, for she is excellent. 

A List of Twitter Users Who Tweet About #Iran and are Not Assholes [Part I]

Intro:

This list is biased. The names in this list belong to people who have proven they are not assholes when tweeting about Iran. If your name is not in this list, it is not necessarily because you are an asshole -- it could just be because I do not know you.  The order of names in this list does not mean anything. I try to add a very brief description for each name in this list. The second part of this list will be published next Friday in time for a proper Follow Friday (#FF).

If you have any suggestion, please tweet them at @IranLGBT or comment in here. 

@TehranBureau: Tehran Bureau is love. It used to be hosted on PBS -- it recently moved to The Guardian. It's the most reliable source of News and, more significantly, Commentary & in-depth Analysis for anything Iran. I got to know it in Summer of 2009 during the bloody days of post-Election protests in Iran.

@eborujerdi: Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi is editor of Iran Pulse of Al-Monitor news site, more importantly, he tweets Iran news and various interesting, cool stuff about culture, modern history, and society of Iran.Not Boring. Fun Person. I suggest avoiding debating things with him on Twitter. Chitchat is fine. 

@AjamMC: Ajam Media Collective is amazing. I don't like the name Ajam, but I can ignore it, because their work quality is high. Amazing Stuff. "Ajam Media Collective is a blog focused on high and low culture in Iran, Central Asia, & the Diaspora." 

@southsouth: Her full name is Maryam Monalisa Gharavi. A source of pride for me is she started following me, then I started to follow her back on twitter. It took me a while to like her. Some of her tweets are rare gems. We have forged a friendship over our mutual disdain for the phony liberal author: Nick Kristof of NYTimes. Her tweets are usually poetic,witty,and/or depressed. A tweet from her is always read in my shop. She is a grad student at Harvard, and so an elitist. Her twitter page background is always something interesting. 

@Roshanakt:  Roshanak Taghavi is a journalist. I have seen her works in The Christian Science Monitor newspaper and Huffington Post.  She tweets various news of Iran --  a good source. She is nice. Her twitter profile picture reminds me of a cousin I have in Tehran.

@BahmanKalbasi: He is from Isfahan, Iran. He is a reporter for BBC Persian in New York. He hates it when I say "Farsi" Language on Twitter, he has tried to correct me into saying "Persian" Language to no avail. He is cool.

@ThomasErdbrink: Thomas Erdbrink is the Chief of Tehran Bureau of The New York Times newspaper. He used to report for Washington Post from Iran before joining NYTimes. His reports/tweets from Tehran are invaluable and insightful -- a great source.

@Gkhosh: Gelare Khoshgozaran is an Iranian artist, more importantly she is a Lesbian. I like her tweets. She is fun, cool and somewhat gloomy. Her tweets are usually good stuff. I wish she tweets more. 

@__Ghazal__: Ghazal is an Iranian Lesbian living in Tehran. I do not know much about her -- I know,but I won't divulge it in here or anywhere. She is a fun and friendly tweep. Her tweets are somewhat depressing, but try being a lesbian living in Tehran under Western Sanction and then try to be jolly. She rightly has tweeted several times: Fuck you, world! I totally agree with her. 

@thekarami: Arash Karami is a journalist and producer for VOA Persian. He used to work for the popular Parazit show prior to working for Ofogh on VOA. His tweets are a good source. He is fun. His tweets are not boring.

@GEsfandiari:  Golnaz Esfandiari is a journalist. She is the editor of Persian Letters blog on Radio Free Europe. Her work is very high quality. She does amazing job of translating/compiling/reporting News of Iran. Her tweets are usually news meaning serious, solid tweets.  She follows few people considering number of people following her, but she's done a good job of replying to my tweets. 

@JasminRamsey:  Jasmin Ramsey is one of those people who has her full name as her twitter handler, like Bahamn Kalbasi or Thomas Erdbrink. She is a journalist. Editor of Lobe Blog. She is an excellent tweep to follow on news of Iran and developments in the US, Europe regarding Iran. She will retweet any tweets that links to Lobe Bog articles. Solid/Serious Tweets. She likes Lana Del Rey. 

@fahimn: Another Journalist. I don't know much about this tweep. But, been following him for a while now. He does an excellent job of tweeting Iran news in both Farsi and English. 

@dudi_cohen: Dudi Cohen is an Israeli journalist who knows Farsi -- apparently he learnt it recently. A couple of times, he asked me Farsi language questions! I like his choice of music. He doesn't tweet much. He likes to visit Iran. He once told me on twitter: "You happy, I happy."

@aminsabeti: Amin Sabeti is a freelance researcher of Persian Media, mostly blogs, and internet censorship in Iran. He tweets in Farsi and English. Mostly Iran news and usually tech news. He does a good job of Re-tweeting interesting Farsi tweets. 

@tparsi: Trita Parsi is head of NIAC: An Iranian-American lobby in Washington D.C. I like his views about sanctions on Iran and how to improve relations with Iran. I do not like his beard. He tweets news mostly. He is knowledgeable and well-respected in the Foreign Relations community as far as I can say. I want to know why his first name is Trita. 

@femiran: Leila Mouri is an Iranian Women's rights activist. She is good. 

@MishaZand: Misha Zand is a fun-loving Iranian girl living in Denmark. She is witty, funny, and critical of things. I remember she had it on her bio that she is some grad student in Iran Studies or Cinema. whichever is fine by me. I expect her to favorite the tweet which I will tweet later linking to this article. She likes kinky tweets. 

@Brenton_Clark84: Brenton Clark is an Australian PhD student interested in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan.  Tweeting good stuff. He usually tweets interesting stuff/articles about Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan that very few people care to tweet. 






To be continued.

It's too late to apologize,or, how I remember 2012.

I have about 6 hours left in 2012, before 2012 ends Or I end -- whichever happens is all fine with me.

Let me list all my achievements in 2012:

• I began 2 blogs, including this one, and failed miserably to update, or establish a readership. 
• I'd like to think I am a prolific twitter user (tweep), but, again, I know in my heart I am not. 
• I have talked to hundreds of people on twitter -- it is not to say I like humanity more than I liked in 2010, or that I have evolved into a sociable person, which, again, will be false.
• I have managed to still not to talk to my parents on the pretext that they are homophobic assholes, that, although, it is partially true, is not all the reason to why I am avoiding them. 
• I am still suicidal. 
• I managed to have my first S&M experience. In 2013, I want to experience being a slave.
• I managed to experience my first feet worship sex. I certainly need more of it. 
• I managed to present  my research in a big, important conference in December. 
• I have managed to still not find myself a friend in America. 
• I managed to lose all my saving due to my stupidity early in 2012 over the stupid housing situation.
• I have managed to still not leave the shit-hole called Louisiana. This is the worst.
• I have managed to do nothing on my Green Card situation. 
• I listened to alot of awesome music in 2012. Looking forward to more awesome music in 2013!
• More than a couple of times in 2012,  I did alienate people by telling them I think they are stupid. 
• I have managed to still not figure out what the fuck I want to do in 2013. 

Well, that is all I can think of. Child Please!