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February 27, 2006

It’s such a cold night. Really needed to go for a walk. I get restless at nights. There are so many things inside me that I need to express, and the quite of night brings them to the surface. I wish I had the ability to actualize these feelings and thoughts. I’ve reached the level of self-realization but not self-actualization yet. It’s a process. Takes time. I’ll wait for that moment to come. To religious people that moment is sacred . They call it “the moment of faith”.

Posted by amin at 1:45 AM | Comments (0)

February 19, 2006

I looked through a book titled "50 Major Philosophers". The author talks about 50 important figures in philosophy from the ancient times to the present. Made me to think about the philosophers who have influenced and shaped my understanding. I came up with eight names. Here are the philosophers who I admire the most:

Socrates; the true king of philosophers!
Plato, no other philosopher has known how to give life to the strictest thinking with imagination and poetry.
Pythagoras, the first prophet of mathematics.
Machiavelli; I learned from him that idealism without practicality leads to nowhere. At the same time I believe that practicality without idealism will lead to disaster.
Hegel; for his articulate and noble thoughts.
Marx; for his passionate concern for justice.
Kierkegaard; he's the only philosopher who I have felt his thoughts. I have no words to describe him.
Wittgenstein; the best philosopher of the 20th Century. "What can be said at all can be said clearly, and what we cannot talk about we must pass over in silence." The first time I read this it brought a lump to my throat.

Posted by amin at 9:10 PM | Comments (0)

February 15, 2006

I guess Samuel Huntington was right when he wrote about "clash of civilizations". Although I don't think the Westerners even consider the people of the East as "civilized". To them it's the barbarians against the "civilized world"! It's a sad story. It has led to dangerous results. Since the Danish newspapers published the offensive cartoons of prophet Muhammad in the name of "freedom of speech" there have been many peaceful and violent demonstrations in the Muslim world. In Tehran they put the Danish Embassy on fire!!!

Today I had the "visual culture" class. It's both interesting and challenging. Most people in the class are graduate students, and some of them are very bright and articulate. We watched a documentary film on the Dada movement. From all the "movements" in modern art I don't dislike anything more than Dadaism. It's totally garbage. You can sense the nasty smell of its underlying philosophy from miles away!

Had a splendid Valentine's Day with M. Red roses, candles, chocolate, strawberries, and gifts along with Leonard Cohen singing in the background made the whole picture complete!

Posted by amin at 11:45 PM | Comments (0)

February 13, 2006

I woke up around 8:00. Slept only four hours. Had a strange dream last night. I was in a museum looking at Rothko’s paintings. M was also with me. I remember whispering in her ear over and over, “isn’t he a genius!?”

Had a conversation with Max, my Russian ESL classmate in high school. We talked about the differences between America and Europe, lack of culture in America, and the long history of racism in Europe. I told him that these days most students who attend university get training in a specialized field and don’t get educated in life.

Finished “A Short Life of Kierkegaard”. It was a good book. The more I get to know him the more devoted I become.

Some of the things I saw today:

A black man praying before eating his food.
Newsweek’s cover: “how dangerous is Iran?”
My mom’s smile in memory.
Loneliness of a duck in the lake.
Two shadows dancing on the wall.
People hiding their faces behind cigarette’s smoke.
Her eyes. Deeper than ever.

Posted by amin at 11:18 PM | Comments (0)

February 6, 2006

Today I went to Amherst Books, and bought Descartes’ "Meditations". There was a book titled "Love Smart" in their bestseller's list. Made me disappointed. Don't people know love is all about madness!

Posted by amin at 2:17 PM | Comments (0)

February 2, 2006

School has started. I’m looking forward to this semester because I’m taking really interesting courses. My classes are on Kierkegaard, aesthetics, photography, symbolism, visual culture, and Iranian cinema. As far as professors, Dr. Lenson seems to be the best one. He teaches the symbolism class, and is a fascinating guy. He’s funny (in an intelligent way), lectures well, and is passionate. One of those teachers that if they had a little bit of luck, they would have become great artists. As Woody Allen says in his film “Match Point”, you should not wish to become great but to be lucky. There is some truth to this.

In the past two days I’ve been living with absolutely no money. Not even a dollar. It’s difficult. I’m getting tired of my financial situation. I guess it’s going to be like this for a while. At the moment, my worries are textbooks and also Valentine's Day. I have to find a way to buy the books. I need at least $200. Valentine's Day is also coming soon. I’ll be ashamed if I can’t get anything for M. I don’t want to borrow money from anyone. Each time I borrow money I feel degraded.

Had dinner with Kamy. Such a nice guy. One of my best friends ever. He’s very worried about his classes. It’s his last semester. Good for him. I’m sure he’s going to be successful.

Have been depressed in the past few days. For many reasons. Hopefully it’s going to pass soon.

Posted by amin at 8:24 PM | Comments (0)