the crazy ones...

Hello everyone.

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I was somewhat occupied yesterday which hindered me from writing here. Today though, I promised myself I would not allow anything to hinder me from writing.

I have decided that for today's topic I will focus on a very important philosophy of life that I hold very dear and close to my heart. To those of you who know me the best, you will know that I have seen David and Goliath scenes played out in front of my eyes my whole life. I saw it in my parents, who defied conventional wisdom and moved to Sweden. I saw it when my father knocked out a black belt Kyokushinkai Karate opponent when he had barely begun. I saw it when he and my uncle defended an unknown stranger from being killed by two drugged up alcoholics who were at least 6'6 (Swedish) versus their much shorther height. I saw it again when they defied all of their friends' and some family members' discouragements from enrolling in Medical School. I saw the impossible happen. They both graduated with honors, and my father did so while having a wife, three children, and a mother living with us at the time. Yet again he defied critics who could not, or rather would not want to see a "damn" foreigner get a Cardiology residency with the world renowned Kurt Boman of Skelleftea, Sweden. Again, I saw his defiance come to light when he decided to get up, and move us to a new world, a new land, with their own language, and customs. That new world, was the United States of America. He found a childhood friend in Los Angeles, and there he told me and my brothers of how he could not believe my father had become a physician. It was beyond his grasp of understanding as my father used to be the neighborhood "tough guy".

Having been the son of someone who has defied all the conventional "wisdom", and "advice" that people have given him, I can say with relative authority that you can go as far as your dreams will take you. Take Michael J. Fox for example. Before becoming famous and trying to land his breakthrough role on television, an executive at the network stated he would never amount to fame because of short stature. We all know what happened to him. Or, as my favorite advertisement throughout time from Apple says:

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Here’s to the crazy ones.

The misfits. The rebels.

The troublemakers.

The round pegs in the square holes.

The ones who see things differently.

They’re not fond of rules.And they have no respect for the status quo.

You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.

Because they change things.

They push the human race forward.And while some may see them as the crazy ones,We see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to thinkthey can change the world, Are the ones who do.

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I salute these "crazy ones" for without you, the world would be at a standstill.

yashar

Racist Video Spurs South Africa Riots

The following link will take you to Yahoo! News where you can read about the complete ignorance, and total barbarism of some South African students who are still holding onto an archaic belief.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080228/wl_time/racistvideospurssouthafricariots

another week

Hello dear readers!

I took a small break from writing this past weekend, and almost got out of tune from writing again!  I swore to myself on New Years Eve 2007 that I would begin writing actively in my own blog, and I did!  But, now my mind almost began slipping away into a sense of comfort and procrastination, which is the enemy of all failed attempts!  Hence, I forced myself to begin writing about this laziness that we all might get from time to time as a means of beginning to write again after the weekend. 

Since there is no dream, or revelation that I have been afflicted with recently, I would like to dedicate this particular post on the presidential elections.  Recently, if you have been following the media at all, you may have noticed that some very bitter and angry remarks have been flying around the political spheres known as the Obama and Clinton campaigns.  My understanding is that Obama's campaign sent out a flyer to Ohio residents stating that if Clinton were to be President, her Universal Healthcare plan would essentially force people into a health care plan regardless of them being able to afford it or not.  Clinton vehemently denied these allegations saying that Obama's camp was misleading voters.  Obama's camp is telling the truth, everyone will be forced into the healthcare plan by taking the money out of the people's paychecks, even if they cannot afford it.  There is one slight detail though left out by the opposing campaign, and that is that it would be done at a subsidized cost for them.  

Clinton's campaign on the other hand though, has spread a photo of Obama wearing typical Somali clothes from when he visited as a U.S. senator.  Some may ask, what is the big deal? The issue at hand is that the Clinton campaign is shamefully playing race, religion, and ethnicity card to persuade voters that Obama is too different.  You see, his clothes are typical Somali Muslim clothes with a turban and all.  And with this picture, they are indirectly attempting to paint Obama as Muslim, an Arab, or worse yet, one of "them".  They are disgustingly attempting to play into undecided voters' xenophobia through these actions.  This to me shows that the Clinton's use the race card to their benefit when it suits them, as well as to discredit an opponent.  

However, there is one issue at large here which I believe both candidates, in fact all candidates have never touched on.  Flat tax rate for everyone!  Call me crazy since my economics skills are not the best, but my theory is that is everyone paid income tax, there would be no deficit.  People making an income of 30,000/year to 100 BB/year would pay a flat rate of say...15%.  I can live with 15%, and apparently so could Warren Buffet as he once stated that since this country has given so much to him, the least he and people of his income bracket could/would do is to pay some of it back.  Does this make me a socialist?  I don't know.  Maybe.  But since I believe in a free market, where inflation's are not tampered with to create false sense of market, and I believe in competing with rivals, that also makes me a capitalist.  If everyone paid 15%, I sincerely believe we would not be crying foul, or not being able to have true Universal Healthcare.  The government would invest the money to make it grow as they have in countries like Chile, and the likes of Buffett, Gates, the Hiltons, and everyone would still have money to spend, but also Universal Healthcare.  

Well, now that I have rambled on about politics, I think it is time for me to bid adieu yet again, and wish everyone of you a great and wonderful night, or day depending on where you are in this world.  

Hakuna Matata, no worries!

an inspiring story...

The following link leads you to a very nice and inspiring story that shows people anything is possible with decision, and dicipline. Enjoy!

http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylt=AhZqFM2WNWG84pnJWkQc6BoKwId4/SIG=126fuvo96/**http%3A//potw.news.yahoo.com/s/potw/61785/how-to-become-a-rock-star

life

Hello again.

It seems since I began this blog, all I can do is to sit down, or lay down in bed to write whatever is at that moment traveling through my mind. Before I go on any further, I would like to thank everyone who has posted any comment on here, let alone read anything I have written. To a writer, or really to anyone who puts his soul into something and having it appreciated is truly one of the greatest gifts one can receive.

I have thought very long and hard on the old man who spoke to me in my dream. And even now, I cannot explain what, or who he was. Was he simply a figment of my imagination? If so, how is it that I never met him before? Was he a representation of everything I have been taught by living, by parents, friends, and loved ones? Or was he truly a spirit of an unseen world who came to my aid when I most needed him? I had a conversation about this dream with my brother, and he found it very interesting and drew comparisons to his sifu's (kung fu teacher) philosophy that he adheres to. He is a follower, or believer in Taoism. "Tao is believed to be the influence that keeps the universe balanced and ordered." – Wikipedia. He further explained that when in the dream state of mind, one's spirit or soul goes to the dream world, or the spirit world, and it is there that perhaps I met, or was approached by this elderly man. Perhaps that is what happened here. However, I cannot shake off the feeling that the old man had always been behind my right shoulder, always watching over me, always knowing what I was going to do next. I simply did not bother to look at him until last night when everything became clear to me.

My dear sister-in law posted a very beautiful comment on my "dreams" post. "Consider yourself lucky for being able to dream, to remember, to wake up the next day, and to understand. Life has never meant to be fair. Life is to live it, simple as that." Which is why I would like to write about life, and my understanding of it as of this moment.

Many will consider life unfair. For those born into privilege they may consider it fair. For those who have fought for it and reached their desire, they may consider it tough, but fair nevertheless. In my younger years, I truly believed that there did not exist such a thing as unfair. Where I grew up, homeless people did not exist. Everyone had roof over their heads, could attend the best schools, and received world-class health care. Some might say I was blind to the unfairness, to the toughness of life. Then I moved here. I was shocked, and appalled to see homeless people, sick people without care. This is when I realized not everyone is lucky to be born into a family that can provide everything you need, and some are left in the dust. My optimism though kept growing somewhat falsely. I began to believe blindly in that anything was possible. Then I ran into a wall, stalled, stumbled, and almost crashed. When this happened to me, I began to believe life was not fair. It was happening to me, so it must be true. I began to feed my doubts, my fears, and thus my problems grew, and grew, and grew. Until last night.

Thinking back the old man, what he represented, and the few words he uttered, I have come to a new realization. Life is not fair, nor is it unfair. Life just is. It does not move to help one, or to disadvantage another. Life does not work with such a "human" purpose. Life is what it was. Life is what it is today. Life is what it will be tomorrow. The unfair, and fair aspects are human creations. The environments we live in, the choices we make, are all our own doing. If I do not study for a test today, and receive a poor grade tomorrow, that is not life being unfair. That is allowing myself to become "burnt" and the consequences are what I allow myself to label as life being unfair. Any, and every choice one makes has a consequence. It is the law. It cannot be changed, nor altered, or tricked. As I remember his eyes, and his firm words, I have come to realize that as individuals we have to choose wisely when making our choices. When we do wrong, we have a choice to learn from it, and to build on it. As my sister in law said it best, "life has never meant to be fair". And I would like to add on to that, Life just IS.

Be kind, be gentle, show patience, and be prepared to face your consequences. If your actions were good, your consequences will have the same result. Until next time, I bid you adieu, and as always, thank you for being my friends.

yashar

dreams

Last night I was visibly upset from the day's events. Fortunately for me, I have an amazing wife who truly is a pillar of strength as she lent me hers when I most needed it. This morning when I woke up, I woke up with an amazing outlook on life. What I saw as despair and perhaps loss of hope last night has turned into a renewed sense of hope. I am invigorated now to go out and do what I was meant to do in this world.

Some may ask, where did this renewed sense of purpose spring from. To be quite frank, it began with my conversation with my father yesterday, to my mother's words of encouragement, and finally to my wife's strength whom I borrowed from. But, and there is a but here that my mind is still trying to make logical sense out of. Right before I woke up I had a dream, a very strange, but peaceful dream, but somehow it all made sense to me.

In my dream, I was sitting on the floor with simple clothes, perhaps they might have been robes of some sort. I was preparing something very important for a visitor, or a grand master. It appeared as though it were dough of some kind. I could not tell you if it were for baking, or if it really was a type of wood I was treating. What I remember very vividly are the feelings that were running through me. It was fear, anxiety, indecisiveness, blindly just doing something. And then, right before I was to present this dough, or wood to this visiting grand master, it became black on one side. Not the whole side, nor the backside. But the area which I was working on the most diligently on with fear and anxiety mixed in is what burned. When it burned I panicked, I did not know which way to turn, and how I would ever present this, and felt that all that I had ever done was in vain. I wanted to turn the dough/wood over so the blackened area would not be presented to this important visitor. But before I could even do what I was thinking, a very old man dressed in simple robes, who looked like a Buddhist monk, told me to stop. He told me not to do what I was about to do. Instead he looked me in the eyes with understanding, and with wisdom older than time itself and said, "If you try to hide your stain by turning it over, all one has to do is to look at the other side." I understood him, but rather than become calm, my despair increased as I told him desperately that I needed to present something, anything to hide the stain and get what I wanted. Again he looked at me with patience and understanding and told me to build on top of the stain. I looked at him quizzically, to which he replied, "You must build on your stain. To hide it will not work, to start over is not possible. When you build on it, you will make it stronger, stronger than ever before, and stronger than anyone else's. Only then will you receive what you seek." "But my stain will still remain, how should I remove that?" I said to the old man. "That you can never remove, but to despair will get you nowhere, and to hide it will expose you, making you weaker, more fragile than ever before. But to build on it, to make it stronger, and to keep the stain is what you must do. Your stain will remind you of what you must not do again, it will be a reminder of what to avoid, and it will make you stronger for knowing that life has it pitfalls, as well as its glorious moments."

I woke up, suddenly knowing everything I should at that very moment. My despair had been washed away; my anxiety was but a memory. And what I once thought as inevitable yesterday, seemed more possible than ever today. The best feeling I can describe being similar to this experience is when you take a dive into a fresh lake. As you experience the heat and sogginess of summer warmth, the lake offers a refreshing experience, washing away everything that felt stuck on you.

I do not know if this was a divine experience, a spiritual experience, or simply my mind making sense of everything that I have been taught throughout the years from my parents, school, reading, my brother, my wife, and life itself. Somehow though, my mind was able to sift through everything to deliver a very important message that I needed to hear and be told.

Until my next post, I wish everyone a great life filled with hope, and love. If you have both, nothing is impossible so long as you apply yourself to do what needs to be done.

"To hope is to believe. To believe is to do. To do is to learn. To learn is to know. And to know is to hope, and thus the circle continues"
yashar

perseverence

Today was not the best of days for me. I was recently rejected for something which I had sought quite diligently, and had prepared myself quite extensively for. Naturally, upon my rejection, I became upset. However, after having spoken to my father and reminiscing about his past rejections, it made me think on his situation.

For those who know me personally, and my family, they will know that when we moved here my father was rejected quite a few times from obtaining his residency. Even though he was promised, in fact he even received an acceptance letter - only to be denied based on a made up technicality that did not exist. Even through all of those struggles which he faced along with my mother, he never once gave up. You see, he is a physician. Now he has completed his residency (first time was in Sweden), and is finishing up his fellowship. He is one very smart man. But above all, he has an incredible knack for being stubborn, for going after that which is denied to him. He showed tremendous will power for 6 years! His strength came from within as well as from without. My mother was always encouraging him. Some might call her naive for her blind faith in the unseen. I on the other hand call her a woman with an iron will, but with the touch of a feather. She kept him strong, kept him away from despair, and he in turn never once gave up. Along the way he received help from strangers, friends, and relatives.

Thinking back to those days of uncertainty, I can only draw strength from it. Perseverance is a word that some easily throw around, or use on brochures to inspire people. Rarely does one find a living example that one has witnessed first hand of what perseverance truly means.

Perseverance means to truly never give up, and always have your goal crystal clear in front of you. If you fight to reach it, and want and believe in it with your heart and soul, then, and only then will you receive that which you ask for.

Until my next post,

Never give up, never surrender!

Texas poll shows dead heat among Dems

A new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll suggests the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination between Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois is a statistical dead heat in Texas, which holds primaries March 4.

read more | digg story

obama vs. clinton

Hello again,
As I have stated in my mission statement for this blog, I will be writing anything, and everything that grabs my attention. My tidbits on here can range from the funny, to personal thoughts, video games, movies, news, stories, or politics. Right now, I would like to write about what I think of the political spectrum, and the two extraordinary exciting contenders on the democratic side, and one misfortunate contender on the Republican side that the mass media has almost complete ignored: Ron Paul.

If I begin to discuss Ron Paul, I would like to let it be known that I am an independent because I believe in voting for the right candidate, with the right charisma, and right idea to venture forth in this great nation. Ron Paul has some very radical ideas, that when thought about you begin to realize that he is not radical at all, and is instead a very collected and logical person. Take the middle eastern conflicts we are waged in right now, and how the world stage is filled with stabs from the east to the west, and so forth. Ron Paul asserts that one of the prime reasons for our current political turmoil in the US, and outside our shores, really go back to the very first coup d'etat that we were lured into by the British. In 1953, the CIA long with MI6 deposed of Mossadegh, a democratically elected prime minister of Iran (Stephen Kinzer). Ron Paul knows this, as do so many other politicians. Only he has the audacity to let it be known. Hence - do I believe he has been all but buried in the mass media. This brings me to another great political contender from the other spectrum - Barack Obama.

The democrats have now lost two elections in a row since the descent and departure of former president Bill Clinton in 2000. The first time around, Al Gore lost in electoral votes, but won in popular vote. I believe that had he not been so wooden in his speech deliverances at the time, and been as charismatic as he showed himself to be in the Oscar winning, Nobel Peace prize winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth - he may very well have won in 2000. This brings us to 2004, Bush had begun an inevitable war gainst terrorism, and people felt uncomfortable voting for a different candidate during a time of war - hence we got another 4 more years of Bush.

The year is now 2008, and we are faced with one maverick from the Republicans, and a choice between Obama, or Clinton on the Democrats side. Huckabee, although admirable for his stance in continuing the fight, really stands no chance. Clinton, and Obama though, both have the fight of their lives in front of them. What began as a sure win for Clinton, has now turned into a desperate fight to stay in the race for Clinton. Obama has created an amazing momentum, he has won over crowds with his amazing charisma, eloquent speeches, and dynamic energy that has caused youths to talk about politics like never before. Even my younger brothers are excited about Obama.

As for Clinton though, while I respected and admired her husband for his political prowess, I simply cannot see her being a logical choice for the country, let alone the Democratic party. The Republicans truly despise her, or rather the Clinton name. Just think back to Ken Starr, the impeachment trials, or the relentless persecution of Bill (well Monica too). You get the idea. If the Democrats elect her, while she has the "experience" of being a President's wife, and a senator who has voted yes to almost all of the important issues which we and she is critisizing Bush on, combined with a united front of despise from Republicans for the Clinton dynasty. The end result is that they would be handing the general election victory to McCain. While I admire McCain on his tough stance, and speaking for what he believes in, I cannot believe nor see him as the right person for our next president.

This leaves only Obama as the best candidate for the Democratic party, and really as the best candidate for the country. He shares the values of everyone, he carries, and will carry everyone's agenda on his sholders, and he will unite the country, rather than divide the country. He may not be as bold as Ron Paul in his stance for staying politically correct with the Washington lawmakers. but he does stand for change, a change which will bring about prosperity, wealth, better education system, better roads, better economy, and an ability to make things happen because of his universal appeal. Please vote and donate to Obama today. http://www.barackobama.com/

update

Hello everyone! 

I have received a few comments to my new blog, and I wanted to thank you for those.  I want to bring special mention to a quote which I have listed under the new section to the right, "favorite quotes".  If anyone has anything they would like to request, please let me know.

Hakuna Matata!

My Uncle

After having posted my first real blog entry, I sent it out to my family, and friends. One of my very first responses to that email came from my uncle who has recently moved with his wonderful wife, two magnificent boy, and one very adorable and strong willed princess to Australia.  The household in which I spoke of previously with all its inhabitants, it "spices", had always one very dear friend of mine in it: My uncle Saied.  He lived with us, or rather, I lived with him and my parents under the same roof since before I was born until he married an amazing woman when I was 10 years old.  

One of my earliest memories of my uncle is that he always exhibited an amazing patience with me.  I was three years old and he would play the frisbee with me on the shores of southern Spain.  He was 22 at the time, and now that I am 27, almost 28, I am amazed at the amazing patience, caring, and brilliance he showed with a "snotty" kid – me.  When I turned three, the summer before we spent it in Spain (my parents, uncle, and grandmother), he rang the bell on the day I turned three, and when I opened the door, there he stood with the most beautiful blazing red bike I had ever laid eyes.  He helped me put the training wheels on, and as soon as they were on – I was off to a far distant place where I was the fastest, strongest, and most brilliant biker ever!  I was free to soar as fast as the birds, as fast the fastest man on earth – Superman.  And all this, because I got that blazing red bike from my uncle.  

As I mentioned previously in my post, I love cooking, and I have to be honest and include my uncle, and of course my father into that pool of beginning – the summer barbecues, or to be more precise, the Persian Kabobs!  They were magnificent.  My uncle and father used to marinate chicken, ground beef, or filet mignon for 24 hours before hitting the shores of Stockholm lakes, and later Umeå lakes.  He and my father would let me stand over the fires, making sure it did not go out – giving me my very first taste of responsibility and understanding what consequence meant.  If the fires went out, or if they were too high, the meat would burn or not cook at all – an atrocity my belly could never fathom.  

"I wish we could go back to those times again", were the words I got from my uncle today after he read my first post.  I wish that too.  But, I realize that as adults we have learned how to cherish those moments we had, the adventures we have lived, and still are in.  For those moments, the moments we have today, will be moments we will tell our children, and we will reminiscence with a tear, a happy tear, and truly know and understand what family is.  My uncle is now sharing these very same stories with Stefan, Simon, and Mary, three amazing cousins whom I truly wish I could see everyday.  I have promised them I will visit them soon, and with hope in my heart, and a drive in my mind, I hope to visit them with Amitis this year.

"You cannot imprison a man whose mind is free to soar"

Yashar

Cooking

I love cooking. I don't know how many people out there can say that except for the famous chefs on Food Channel. I have always liked cooking - but I never truly loved it until I got married and began cooking more seriously. As a child growing up, I had my mother, and grandmothers always cooking. When my parents were working, and I came home early from kindergarten, I would sit down on the ground with my grandmother (father's side) and squish spinach with eggs, and herbs to make a typical persian dish - Kookoo Sabzi. My mother used to bake a lot of bread at home, at least once a week. She would make large loaves of bread, Persian flat breads, bread rolls, cookies, the whole nine yards. That is where my passion for cooking began - through baking. When the bread would come out of the oven fresh with an intoxicating aroma that would spread throughout the neighborhood, I would sit on the countertop with my legs dangling waiting for the bread to come out. And when it did - Oh boy! I would slice it open, spread butter, cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, and close it up. I would eat the whole thing by myself - after I had asked everyone if they wanted me to make them one of course.

I grew in a magnificent household. One where there was always warmth, kindness, excitement, and adventure. I grew up in a household where my parents were of course, my uncle (dad's youngest brother), my cousin (father's side), grandmothers, aunt and cousins (from mothers side), aunt and cousin (father's side). They did not all live there simultaneously, but when they did, and in between their visits or other people living with us, well, I absolutely loved it. I grew up in Sweden, a very modern society, and yet I was engulfed in the old world of living with its spices, it laughters, its adventures, and its values. That is where I became introduced to other "spices". Cooking to me is like knowing people from different cultures, different backgrounds. You may not like one spice by itself because of its bitterness, but combined with another, it can create miracles in our minds. The same thing applies to life I believe - especially in the US. That is why I truly loved this country, because it really is filled with spices from everywhere, allowing us to savor different adventures everytime we encounter one.

So, after I got married, I began to cook more frequently, and I began to watch the Food Channel with my wife - re-awakening the love I had forgotten I had for cooking. As I began cooking, my wife was perplexed as to why I did not follow recipes, or how I could cook without measuring anything. I would say a pinch of thyme, two pinches of marjoram, some red wine, etc. She thought I was nuts at first. I loved experimenting, but always with boundaries. I would never venture out of my comfort zone. I would cook mainly chicken and rice, use tomatoes, make thin crust pizzas. But as I became more confident in my cooking, I began to use fruits in my cooking sometimes, or white wine with honey for fish.

My belief is that because of my upbringing of being in a household where there were so many "spices", I have come to be much more open to people from all over the world. This has also allowed me to be more open with my cooking, and when I go out to dine, I love to always try something new and bold. If politicians of the world learned cooking with spices from all over the world, I truly believe it would be a more peaceful world.