Ilam's Samireh Region. Photo by Hossein Khadang, IRNA
- Berkeley Lecture Series will host a talk by Dr. Julie Scott Meisami, Scholar of Near Eastern Languages on the topic of “The Mad Lover: the 'Romance' of Layli and Majnun," on Sunday, August 26, 2007 at 4:00 p.m. at 110 Barrows Hall, University of California, Berkeley. The lecture will be in English. Here's a map of how to get there. Dr. Meisami is a well-known researcher and author. She has taught at Tehran Univesity, Oxford, and Harvard.
- On Saturday, September 22nd, there will be a gathering entitled "Iranians on the Internet," featuring Northern California bloggers, Iranian.com's Jahanshah Javid, and Balatarin's Mehdi Yahyanejad. It will be an opportunity for local audiences to meet people behind the internet pages, and to build new friendships. The gathering will be from 9 a.m. unil 5 p.m. in California State University, San Francisco, and will be sponsored by CSUSF's Iranian Students Association. If you live in this area, it would be so nice to see you there. More details later.
- Students are back and classes will start on Monday. Berkeley is once again bustling with activity and young people. I am reminded yet again how exciting it is to belong to a university community.
- My boss is on vacation and in addition to my responsibilities, I have to interact with many colleagues, university donors, and staff on her behalf these days. My mind has to stay alert at all times. No daydreaming this week or next. I am not sure I like it much when I can't daydream.
- I am considering quitting smoking, again. Sigh.
- My reading is coming along beautifully. I wished I could say the same thing about my writing. There just aren't enough hours in the day to do it all, especially if there is no daydreaming.
That's it for now. Be good you all.
