Another Day

We had a supply guy at the office. The guy's duty was not defined I guess. He was everywhere. Ordering supplies., checking the floor shop parts, answering the phone for others, customer service,...
Every afternoon at 3:30 while he was leaving he used to say: "Humm, another day"! and everyday I was wondering how time was passing by with a mixed feeling of regret and happiness of leaving work soon! Hours, days, month, years,.. they pass faster and faster everyday. I can't believe I'm 30 years old now. I don't feel like it. Anyhow, this is the truth.
Happy birthday.

P.S. The cake was delicious however I couldn't eat more and I got many messages from friends on FB. I like getting birthday greeting even if I am 30 years old!

There is Something a Man Should know

Someone hit a girl with his car. For some reason he witnessed the accident. He helped the driver to take the girl to the hospital. The doctor checked her and said she was alright. They walked down the hall to take the elevator and leave the hospital. The elevator door opened. There were two old women and one man in the cabin. Three of them went in and the door closed. The girl broke the silence. She hugged the driver. “We are going to marry” she said. Everyone looked back. The old man looked at the driver and said “Go get a tattoo”. One of the old women said “There is something a man should know”. The old man fixed his purple tie and said “There is something a man should know”.

Fates Warning Concert, A Waste of Money

I like Jim Matheos for his great work in OSI with Kevin Moore. Both of them are ex-Dream TheaterBlack musicians which by default is a great credit for them. Mike Portnoy, the drummer is still playing in Dream Theatre though (he left OSI after recoding their second album "Free"). The music of OSI is mostly based on Jim and Kevin Moore’s creativity. Some say OSI is the hard rock/heavy metal version of Kevin’s own solo band Chroma Key because of his dominant programming in all OSI songs over all the instruments.

Jim Matheos plays great in OSI. Beautiful minimalist music with great riffs. OSI has worked with many good musicians like Steven Wilson (No-Man/Porcupine Tree), Gavin Harrison (King Crimson/Porcupine Tree), Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth), Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Sean Malone (Cynic) and Tim Bowness (No-Man) but the main members are still Jim and Kevin. Unfortunately, OSI like Chroma key doesn’t look like a real band but more of an experimental project. It seems like both members are so involved in their own work that don’t bother promoting their albums seriously or put some shows here and there.

When I heard Jim Matheos’ band Fates Warning was going to play at Avalon, Hollywood, I thought I gave it a shot. At least I could see Jim Matheos work.

Less than half of the theatre was empty. Mostly lousy bands played for about two hours before they came up. It was a total boredom. The singer, Ray Alder tried to give some energy to the crowd. Poor guy tried his best but it seemed like the rest of the band were trying to work against him. All of them were standing right in their positions not moving at all. Jim Matheos only played three solos in the whole show. He looked like he just woke up from a deep sleep and was dragged into the show. After a while even those enthusiastic fans in front of the stage stopped cheering. In the end, people applauded like they were forced to have them come up again and play a couple of more songs. What a shame. This time, they tried to give some energy to the crowd like they knew they bored everyone and wanted to make up for it!

Four people standing on stage playing with their least interest is not called a show. If you can’t or not willing to be responsive to the people who came to see you, you better don’t put any shows at all. Both Avalon's sound system and their sound engineer were awful too.

I’m going to see Cold next week. Let’s see what those guys do.

My name is "Advantage"

It was sometime around 1AM. He was deeply asleep. The cell phone rang suddenly and woke him up . He was so sleepy that he couldn't remember where he was for a few seconds. “Who’s this?” he answered. A man’s voice said “This is advantage.” “Who?“he asked. “Advantage” the voice answered louder. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Advantage? What the fuck? It’s early in the morning and someone calls with a strange name with an unusual Indian accent with a strange name?” he said to himself. He got scared a little. He repeated “Who?” pretending he didn’t hear the name and hoping to hear a usual one this time. The voice stop for a couple of seconds like it knew what was going on. It answered”mmm… This is Oliver”

“OK. How can I help you?” he answered with more confidence now.

“I’m calling about the plan?” the voice said.

“What plan?”

“The plan” the voice answered louder.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He hung up and looked back at the window. There was a red light flashing probably from across the street. It looked like one of those Neon lights of convenience stores but there wasn’t any store around his place. The closes one was one block down the street. As the red light was becoming stronger sleep overcame his thoughts.

Norooz and Death

Lots of death of my dearest ones have happened around Nowrooz. It’s like the angel (!) of death has this long list due by the end of the year! This is so fucked up. I really hate to say I am scared of Norooz now. Call me superstitious. My grandma, my uncle, my cousin and now one of my best friends father all died in the end of the year or during Nowrooz.

God bless him.

I always think people who die of sudden causes like heart strokes or accidents are very lucky. They don't suffer much pain like a person with cancer or any mortal disease that eats you up gradually. I hope I become one of these people but I don't want to die in Norooz.

I'm Sweet

It's 1AM. I really feel like writing something. I want to note this date as another damn anniversary beside April 5th. I'm overwhelmed but I can't write.
Let it be. Life is too short. Take it easy and all those crap to calm you down!
May be I read some Khayyam or something!

Flow of Life

There are not a lot of decisions we can make to change the flow of our lives. There are some pre-existing factors that define this flow. While we are riding on it, there are few chances of really changing direction. Otherwise, life goes; faster and faster.

How many success or failures stories do you hear about people that turned their lives around? Not a lot. Maybe there is something behind the scene. I don't know. I'm not saying there is a written destiny for each of us, but there are not a lot of things under our controls either.

People give up when they come to know their stories. That's when they say this is who I am and it is my life. This is as far as I can go.

When the clock goes off at 6AM everyday, I open my eyes and ask myself what I am doing. Is it really what I wanted to be? Am I happy or sad? and I can't find the answer.

Average People

Hi, may I have a regular coffee?

Sure, What size?

Medium

Hi, Do you have medium size of this shirt?

Let me see,...mm, there it is.

I thought it was on sale!

No, 'casue it's medium. We sale the items when we run out of their mediums.

Can I have the pepper steak, please?

Sure, how do you wanted?

Medium please.

How tall are you sir?

Average,mmm... somewhere around 5'9"

I see....

What's up man? how are things going?

Nothing much, just daily stuff...

What kind of music do you like?

Not too loud, not too slow, something in between, you know....

How much money do you make?

Mmmm, not too much. Something around average.

What kind of car do you like?

Not too big, no too small, not too pricey, not too cheap....

I never want to become and average person.

Halloween and Iranians

This is an old post but still worth posting!

Have you ever noticed how Iranians like Halloween? It's like it is their own tradition! Some Iranians here don't care about Norouz as much as they care about Halloween.
I have never gone out on Halloweens. Seeing how drunk people try disparately to scare you is not very attractive for me. Plus, I have to come up with a costume too; a pain in ass!!
Anyways, I think I will try it next year just for the sake of it!

Curb your enthusiasm> Ultimate sarcasm!

Since I watched Whatever Works movie (you can find its post right below this one) I have been obsessed with sarcastic character of Larry David. Recently I came to know that he is the main character of a HBO TV series called "Curb your enthusiasm".
The show is all about his everyday life as a writer and comedian very similar to the famous Seinfeld show in which he was the main writer too.
I love this show. I just can't get enough of it. Apart from all, I think I am picking up his way of thinking too!
Highly suggested!

Whatever Works: A Reaction to the Randomness of Our Worthless Lives

Whatever works is about a man (Boris Yellnikoff) who believes in randomness in life. Whatever works right now is what to be embraced without thinking about the consequences. For this reason, he wants to get rid of his life in which everything should be planned ahead of time. Movie starts with a scene where he explains his wife about his intuition of life and complaining how their successful marriage and careers are against his ideology. In the end, while her wife is shocked by the reasoning, he jumps out of the window! Not being lucky enough, he doesn’t die but gets a chance to start the life he wants with no strings attached. No family, no job, not a single responsibility! He goes with the flow of life without any resistance.
Like most Woody Allen’s movies, the story has a narrator who is Boris himself. He even talks to the camera which I didn’t like that much. Overall, it’s a funny movie especially with extremely sarcastic remarks of Boris explaining his ideas to everyone who has an ear to listen whether it’s a child or an adult.
I think the movie is on a limited number of theaters in Los Angeles. I had to go to a small crappy theater where I had to knock on the entrance door to get in! Independence doesn’t pay, let’s hollywoodize ourselves!

Some quotes:
"My story is, whatever works as long as you don't hurt anybody. Any way you can filtch a little joy in this cruel and pointless life, that's my story."
"I happen to hate New Years celebrations. Everybody's desperate to have fun trying to celebrate in some pathetic little way. Celebrate what? a step closer to the grave? That's why I can't say enough times, whatever love you can get and give, whatever happiness you can filtch or provide, every temporary measure of grace -- whatever works! Don't kid yourself, it is by no means up to your human ingenuity, a bigger part of your existence is luck. Christ, you know the odds of your father's one sperm from the billions finding the single egg that made you? Don't think about it or you'll have a panic attack!"

Epitaphs

Searching clues for the future without grasping the past
wasting the present, though it's running by fast;
but the rivers flow
to join the seas forever

Frank Bornemann

Leonard Cohen Concert, Los Angeles

There are not a lot of concerts which you can really enjoy these days but this one was an exception. Leonard Cohen's performance with his full orchestra was flawless. He sang almost all of his famous songs. From the 60's to recently released. Blue rain coat, lover lover lover, Take this waltz, Dance me to the end of love, I'm your man, ....
He has high respects for his musicians. He sits on his knees when the Spanish guitar player, plays a solo or bends briefly to each musician while introducing him/er.
Nokia Theater was packed although tickets were expensive. Those that were in the very end of the balcony were 84$ and from there, size of the whole stage is about 3 inches!
Leonard Cohen is having a worldwide concert tour this year. Don't miss it!

Jane's music

There are some songs that are like old friends. When I return to them after a while, they bring up the old memories as they go.
Some of these songs are composed by a German rock band named “Jane”. They are pretty famous in Iran for 70's rock savvies but not very well-known in the world of rock.
Guitar of Klaus Hess, keyboard of Manfred Wieczorke,... No pointless solos...“Together”, “Spain”, “Fire, water, earth, and air”, “Lord love”, “Expectation”, "meadow",...
Hmmmm!, Good old days!
This post is just a brief tribute to Jane. In the end, we were close friends for about a year or two. Besides, we still meet each other every now and then!
To read about the band and listen to the song “Spain” follow the link below:
http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=175
The music is usually categorized as Space Rock but I don’t like to compare it with that of Pink Floyd's. Personally, I believe music of Pink Floyd has had an incredible influence on many musicians but it’s not a scale to weigh other's music.

Great Nation Who Live In the Past

This year a group of Iranians celebrated the Persian new year (Nowrouz) in Pasargad were Cyrus the great is buried.
There is a nostalgic tendency among Persians/Iranians to look back to their nation’s prosperous past, 2500 years ago. The era when Persian Empire was the greatest power in the world and possessed a rich culture. For example, Cyrus Cylinder is considered the first human rights charter in history; Persepolis was built with paid labor,...
The question is:
Why are we trying so hard to prove to the world that we had a rich culture thousands of years ago?What will the world think about us? That we have lost such power, culture and even dignity permanently from 2500 years ago up to now?
Past is gone. Let’s live in present and try building the future.

Anniversary Against Anniversary

Happy Monday!

I am at work and waiting for my birthday cake for another 45 minutes. My boss is not here and it means someone else has bought it which is not a good sign. I just hope it is a chocolate cake!

Each year I have two anniversaries in a row in this month. First One is on the 5th that is the anniversary of the worst day of my life till now. Second one is my birthday on the 6th.
Never mind. Life is too short. So, happy birthday to me!

By the way, There are only five days left to the weekend and you are already in the middle of the first one. So, be strong!

Take care,

Pooya

How to Choose an Alarm Clock

Whether you like it or not, there are times that you must be an early bird. I have to wake up between 5 to 6 in the morning everyday to go to work, so for me it’s a must. There are things you need to know about waking up especially early. You need to have proper tools, mental and physical preparation. One of the most important tool is alarm clock. A good alarm clock is essential for you. You don’t want to be late every once in a while because your clock didn't go off. You better save your vacation days/sick leaves for better causes!
• You need to buy a reliable alarm clock that -as a matter of fact- should be digital. Forget about your grand Pa’s antique mechanical clock. Yes, it reminds you of him but when it doesn’t go off on time you will hate it and/or probably him for the rest of your life!
• A good alarm clock needs to have minimum buttons. Be careful: there are clocks with two or three buttons. if you mistakenly push the wrong one, the settings may change. Imagine you wake up earlier than you suppose to and want to check the time but push the set instead of the light button. Setting the clock back in the middle of the night is the biggest disaster for must-be-early-birds!
• There are nights when you simply cannot sleep well. At these times you develop series of obsessive-compulsive episodes! One of them is being extremely sensitive to the light of clock’s LCD. To avoid this, try to find a clock with adjustable LCD light and take off wall clock's batteries before going to bed (you know why)!
• Being dual powered is highly recommended especially if you do not have enough plug holes in the bedroom. One day you plug the clock off during the day to charge your dead-battery cell and forget to put it back again. In such cases, most people become aware of their mistake after 9 o’clock in the next morning!
• If you are a heavy sleeper or someone who always desires to sleep a little more, you need a snooze bottom too. Snooze helps you shut off the alarm for a short time so that you sleep a little more. However, snoozing only makes you more disappointed about waking up while doesn’t reduce your sleepiness at all.

There are fancy clocks in the market that while going off, spread scents, run or even fly. These are usually expensive for their unusual features but sometimes these features don’t work as you imagine or there are technical problems with their designs. So, be smart and spend your money on a quality product rather than a fancy one!

Happy Nowrooz and My New Year's Resolution

People usually do things better if they repeat them more and more. For me, it’s vice versa! I do things better the first time for some reason. This is the first time I am making new year’s resolutions! So I think I will try to make them happen better than the year after! Since, it is a good idea to announce your goals to others I will do so:
Define what I want from my life
Change my job
Work much more on music
Try to have a healthy life
Increase the number of my friends
Be less frank
Take it easy! (Yes, this is a resolution too and it’s not easy for me to accomplish)

Hang in there and see if I can do them or not. I bet I can.

Wake Up For Good

You may suddenly wake up in the middle of the night to:

1. drink water
2. eat
   
3. take off batteries from the annoying wall clock
   
4. become a groom

Vampires Are Better Than Humen

You probably know vampires. Those mysterious human-like creatures who live on people's blood.
- The way to keep them away from you is to hang lots of garlic cloves in your house. It shows how classy vampires are. Do you want to smell like garlic?No; neither do vampires.
-If you see a vampire you need to expose a bible or a cross to him/her. This stops the vampire to get closer to you. It shows how vampires are respectful toward people’s religious beliefs although they don't believe in God.
-If you want to kill a vampire you need to hammer a wooden knife into his/her heart. It shows how soft their hearts are that a wooden knife can tear them.
-Transylvania has been home to many vampires for thousand of years. It shows how they value their family, relatives and friends that they want to live close to them.
-A vampire never buys a new house or mansion. They don't want to by houses while they don’t make any money. So, they don't contribute in increasing the number of toxic assets. They prefer to live in their predecessor’s mansions from thousands of years ago. Do you know any human who can live in such old mansions with least construction standards? No internet or even electricity? Can you imagine that you cannot check your facebook ten times a day? additionally, you have to repair your old broken mansion every weekend. Painting and repairing corroded plumbing system to name a few. But vampires do all these. You know why? Because they are hard-working creatures.
What does people do to vampires? they kill them because they suck their blood. About a century ago, people even used to buy Vampire Killing Kits including garlic, wooden knives, some crosses and a bible. Some of these kits had pistol too just in case. You know how much the kit above costs now? 14,850$.
It’s worth mentioning that vampires are not ugly. It's how corporate media picture them to serve companies producing vampires killing kits and related products. Below is a sexy vampire for your consideration. No plastic surgery or fake boobes. Entirely natural!
My question is:
For vampires, human blood is tied into their very existence. In a world where we kill each other for less convincing reasons, Why should we hate vampires? Besides, have you ever heard a vampire commits homicide?