Blowing Off Some Steam

I went to the Napa Valley with my father this weekend. He recently purchased property in Calistoga and wanted to show me the "before." It's a plot with a whole lot of nothing, but it's neighboring some wineries and in a very good location. I guess he's planning on turning it into a vineyard and retire there.

It was a lot of fun and it was a really beautiful day. We went to see the Calistoga geyser erupt. We had good food, talked a lot, and since I was the one doing the driving, he got to hear the R&B space disco of Chromeo's "Ce Soir On Danse!" mix, my favorite thing of the moment. He had no comment.

My mother and sister are in Iran right now, which puts my radar up more notches than normal to what's going on over there. When I talked to them on the phone, they sounded fine and excited to be there. I talked Farsi with my grandmother, which was a surreal and touching experience. I don't talk Farsi nearly as much as I'd like to. My pronunciation is very good, but my vocabulary is limited. I've thought about writing songs in Farsi. I suppose it's destined to happen one day or another.

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I found this really vile Iranian cartoon via Angelo Says. It was broadcast on Iranian TV in October 2005. It attempts to rationalize martyrdom and suicide bombings to a young audience, which is certainly as disturbing as it sounds. Jeez, and I thought the propoganda on Fox News was bad.