A while ago I read somewhere that many people believe the moment Charlie Chaplin received his honorary Oscar is the best (or at least one of the best) Oscar moments ever. It is said that this is the longest standing ovation in the history of Oscars. I searched for it in YouTube and couldn't find it at the time but guess what, it was added a few days ago ...
if you can't see the above clip, follow this link to watch it in YouTube.
The moment is where our life takes place.
If we miss the moment we miss our life.from the book:
Finding the Still Point
Have you ever dreamt in a non-native language? A friend was telling me that he dreamed of a fight with Tom Cruise over Scientology. Aside from the fact that solely a fight with Tom Cruise is fascinating enough, unfortunately he couldn't remember if he was cursing in English or Persian!
Since then I was digging my mind to remember if I have ever had a dream in English. Anyway, to cut the story short, I had a dream a couple of nights ago in which I was speaking English for sometime ... the only strange part was the German subtitle!
...When he sacrifices himself man for a moment is greater than God, for how can God, infinite and omnipotent, sacrifice himself? At best he can only sacrifice his only begotten son.-Razor's Edge
The other day, I saw a homeless on an aged bike pulling an old cart with his stuff in it. There was also a broken cone hanging on a side of the cart.
What happens if somebody buy him a very good bike, a sleeping bag, a good radio, a warm brand new jacket, a big cart with enough space and all other necessary things to make him a perfect homeless? Would that make him happy?
Every big wish comes with a big sacrifice. Sometimes you know what it is and sometimes you don't. What keeps me worried all the time is that constant fear of not being ready for the sacrifice.
And if you only knew
Just how much the sun needs you
to help him light the skies
You would be surprised
You would be surprised
Do all the cats in the world talk the same language? Can an Italian born cat understand a German born one? Is it a good idea to take your cat with you from one country to another?
After concentrating on my research for more than a couple of hours now, this is the question that is bothering me which believe me it has nothing to do with my research whatsoever. I guess I seriously need some sleep!
Good night and good luck.
Joseph Joubert - the French philosopher - says the aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress. Joseph Joubert didn't win many arguments in his life!
I remember when I was going to stay in a hotel in Dubai, the only advice everybody was giving me was not to use the water bottles or juices in the Minibar! Kind of a creepy thing, I was trying to keep a certain distance from that scary Minibar all the time!
Last night, I was watching a movie and a guy was about to commit suicide because he had betrayed his country. He was sitting alone in a hotel room, sweating, trembling, a gun in his one hand and a glass of Whisky (I guess) in the other . Very sad moment ... everybody was shocked by the turn of events and I was thinking to myself had he used the Minibar or not? Then I realized even if he was worried before, he didn't have to worry anymore because nobody can charge him anymore.
Director Paul Greengrass hasn't manufactured a sequel -- he's written code for a template all future Bonds, Ryans and whoever- the- hell- else will have to match or stumble and die trying.
All that happened was a miracle,
All you had to do was nothing,
All you know about it is nothing.
God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.- The Serenity Prayer
I don't get the point! When you call a number and you reach the voice box, it starts repeating the number you've dialed if there is no personal voice message. Does it expect me to check the number or what? I know what number I've dialed! what I don't know is whether I've reached the correct voice box or not!
Your task is not to seek for love, but to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it...
Unknown...
from: www.yully.com
Assume that you have only one hour left in this world. Interestingly enough, you have a couple of missed calls on your cell phone. If you had to choose, would you spend that one hour to do your research at school or return those phone calls?
That insecurity will never go away, but it is that insecurity which drives you forward in life.
Learn to come in peace with it.
Life is a storm ... you will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look in that storm and shout ... 'Do your worst ... for I will do mine '
Count of Monte Christo
That impossible anger strangling the grief, until the memory of your loved one is just poison in your veins. And one day, you catch yourself wishing the person you loved had never existed so you'd be spared your pain.Henry Ducard!
When it is just 5 minutes left and the professor is about to start a new topic, somebody should make a sacrifice, ruin his reputation and do the stupid question trick because otherwise you have to sit there for another 15 minutes before the professor realizes that he has gone 10 minutes overtime.
How does it work? ... Simple, just make a complete fool of yourself and ask a very stupid question. The professor will be busy answering your question for the remaining time of the class.
But when the trick doesn't work, it really hurts ...
The Orthodox Jewish leader in New York, Rabbi Herbert S. Goldstein, sent a very direct telegraph to Einstein: "Do you believe in God? Stop. Answer Paid. 50 words."
Einstein used only about half his allotted number of words:
I believe in Spinoza's God, who reveals himself in the lawful harmony of all that exists, but not in a God who concerns himself with the fate and the doings of mankind.
These days walking around campus is not as easy as it used to be. You have to watch out not to step over the caterpillars and at the same time you have to look up so that they don't end up in your mouth or eyes.
Wondering why I am worried about stepping over them? In my opinion, the way we look at the caterpillars is the same way God looks at us. All these little creatures like to do is to climb up something, as we like to climb up in the course of our life.
I am not stepping over them, so that the next time God is passing by to see how is everything here down on the earth, he doesn't step over me. I have had enough already!
Once again, God is singing the same old song, telling the same old story. The same old story that I hate.
Every moment is like a deja vu, and I can't stop it again.
I can't stop it again.
There is no point in putting your cell phone on the vibration mode and then leave it on the table in a meeting. The noise that it makes is even more horrible.
When I see a hummingbird, I just stop and look at it as long as it is flying there. They fly so smoothly that I feel happy. The other day, I was walking down the street and bumped into one of them. It was flying and I was looking. But the exciting thing was that it started flying literally in front of my eyes for like fifteen seconds, standing still in the air and staring at me. Just beautiful …
Next time you see one of them, stop for a second and enjoy the maneuver.
Do something great for someone everyday and don't get caught.G. W. Cummings Sr.
Lessons at the Fence Post
Love is red, although sometimes it appears a little blueish. But one thing is for sure, it is not green and never will be green.
I am sure all of you have read or heard the story of the boy who cried wolf because he was bored. When the real wolf came, he cried wolf again but nobody helped him since he was a liar. The point that I don't understand is the moral of the story. When villagers didn't help the boy, their sheep were scattered and slaughtered. So the moral of the story should be if somebody is lying, listen to him/her every single time or you might be the looser at the end of the day.
You may say "nothing". But according to an article in TIME we are traveling in time when we are doing nothing. When our mind is not involved in any task, it travels in time. Either reviewing the past memories or foreseeing the future. The thing is that if you have some distracting memory in your head or some not very pleasant event coming in the near future, you may get even more anxious when you are idle because your mind starts exploring them.
I am starting to believe that whip cream is a complicated thing, not necessarily the most complicated concept in the world but one of those that our little brain needs some time to process. I was in the Starbucks the other day and two girls entered the Starbucks talking to each other. The guy ask them about their orders and one of them without any hesitation started ordering:
Can I get a Triple Grande 140 degree no foam cinnamon dolce latte with caramel ...
The guy asked:
Do you want whip cream on it?
And the girl was thinking for like 10-15 seconds to decide whether she liked whip cream on it or not. Anyway, the funny part was that the answer was no and the order came with whip cream.
I think the automatic doors are the most polite and respectful things in the world. They open when you're close enough regardless of who you are. They don't care if you're black or white, tall or short, smart or idiot. They respect you being there.
Whenever you're sad, just pass by one of them. They will notice you, they will open for you and they will make your day.
People have their own ideas on how to boil water, you trust your own or you won't have any tea for the night.
If your socks got wet because of walking on a wet floor, don't accept any KitKat offers unless you exactly know what was on the floor!
I know it is a little bit tricky and hard to get the logics behind it. But believe me it is a very crucial lesson to hear and remember.
When going to the bathroom, make sure to go through the well-known, universally acclaimed and internationally admired checklist:
If you want to use the restroom and there is a multi paragraph announcement hanging on the door. Don't bother reading it, it basically means "Not Working".
If something dropped on your head while standing in the kitchen and chitchatting with your friends. Do not look up first because the next one will drop on your face. But if you can't help it since you have a very very curious nature, make sure the curiosity does not open your mouth.
I got an email from a TA today with several reading materials attached to it including a zero KB PDF file. Then I got another email from her, explaining that the PDF file had not been attached properly and we had to download it from a web page. Now that I am trying to download it I see that it is a 48MB file. It is a strange feeling to know that your TA expects a 48 MB file to be attached to an email. I am either gonna fail the course no matter how hard I try or will get an A+ without handing a single homework.
Skill is not to make people happy while you are happy. Skill is to make them laugh and laugh along with them and don't let them know how crashed and burned you are inside.
Please, Please ... Don't walk for a second. That bird needs to rest. She is scared of you.
Somebody told me once that clowns have a pitiful life. They have to laugh even when they don't want to. I am not a clown. I can opt not to laugh anymore even when I am making jokes. The strange thing is that nobody even notices ...
Love should never be a secret. If you keep something as complicated as love stored up inside, it could make you sick.
Dr. Otto Octavius!
Spider-man II script
Little did he know, but this simple, seemingly innocent act would lead to his imminent death.
Part of the movie script:
Stranger than fiction
Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water.Bruce Lee
Iran have been suspended from all international football activity because of government interference in running the game in the country.
In a statement, Fifa said it had decided to "suspend the Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation (IRIFF) from all international activity due to government interference in football matters and violation of Article 17 of the Fifa Statutes."
For more detail refer to BBC Sport News.
We might be very happy because we have a lot of friends or family with us, or we may feel insecure since we have nobody to lean on. Either way, when it comes full circle, nobody can help us even if they want to. In fact, on some level we are all alone; we just don't know it yet.
Don't bother yourself if you can't read the title. I just did it once and won't do it ever again. But if you're wondering what it is, it is the fear of number 13. In most cultures 13 is assumed to be a bad number. (perhaps I have to change all the 13's to 12+1)
A reason that people consider it a bad number is that it is more than 12 which is a number commonly used and sometimes a sacred number. Besides, if you divide 13 objects into many groups, there is always one left alone which should be kind of scary!! Actually, I am a little suspicious about all prime numbers.
Some people consider the failure of Apollo 13's mission as an example that 13 is a cursed number. Even in Formula 1 there is no car with the number 13. The number has been removed after two drivers were killed in crashes both having the number 13.
Anyway, the fear of the Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia which is so hard to read that makes it less scary.
Somebody told me once that whenever you ask God for something and he doesn't give you that, most probably that request is no good for you and you just don't know it yet. Someday you'll understand. Like a mother who won't give her child poison, no matter how hard the child cries for it. Someday, though not necessarily very soon, the child will understand.
Believe me I've been there many many times. Looking back in my life and wondering what the hell was I thinking? and of course thanking God for not giving me what I wanted.
But here is the thing that I don't understand. Isn't God the mighty of all? So he should be able to provide our request without any bad consequences. I mean after all, he is GOD!
Most likely you've either downloaded IE7 or heard about it somewhere. specially because of the large number of articles comparing IE7 and Firefox2. Just let me add here some exciting features or behaviors I noticed about IE7. Whenever you log in or log out of a Google service in one tab, it automatically does the same thing for other google services open in other tabs and refreshes them too.
The other thing is its ability to zoom in or out of a page. I am not sure if Firefox has such an extension but it comes handy sometimes, especially when you want to look at a small picture.
Although I am still a fan of Firefox, I recommend you to explore the new IE7 yourself.
This week, TIME magazine has published some interesting statistics on American people. Since money is all that I think about!, here the one with the money ...
How much time at work does it take to make $1,000?
Dr. Phil ......................... 2 min. 42 sec.
Brad Pitt ....................... 4 min. 48 sec.
Maria Sharapova ........... 6 min.
Chief Executive .............. 2 hr. 55 min.
High School Teacher ...... 43 hours
Farmer ........................... 57 hours
For more refer to TIME Magazine.
Well, I have to confess that I have a weired feeling about this post, but who cares let's enjoy the material as somebody once said: It is the material that matters!
UC Berkeley is offering public a lot of videos including course videos on Google video for free. Here is the link, take a look and I am pretty sure you will find something out of it.
Whenever you do a good deed, take a receipt. You may need it in Heaven, especially if it is something like IRS.
Last night I noticed that Writely.com is up and working. You can use your Google account to sign in. It is a word processing software similar to Microsoft Word but it is online and free. I played a little bit with its features and liked it a lot. It has many useful tools such as tables, variety of fonts and you can publish your blogs through it. A very useful feature is its real-time multi-collaborator capability. You can also share your document with others instantly. On the other hand, it is possible to upload your Word documents into it and edit them and save your files as a PDF file.
I was playing with Google Trends and I searched for Zidane. As you may remeber, he headbutted Materazzi, Italian player, in the World Cup final match. Here is the search history for Zidane and Materazzi according to Google. I would like to call it Headbutt phenomenon.
Click to enlarge" The Noble Assembly awarded the Noble Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2006 to Andrew Fire , PhD, of Stanford University School of Medicine and Craig C. Mello, PhD, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, for their discoveries related to RNA interference."
" Fire, 47, professor of pathology and of genetics at Stanford, is part of a team of researchers credited with recognizing that certain RNA molecules could be used to turn off specific genes in animal cells. The discovery marked the first time that biologists were able to selectively silence the voice of one gene in the cacophony of the tens of thousands that pilot a cell throughout its development and death. This development opened up previously impossible areas of research."
from Stanford University School of Medicine website, for more detail on this news follow this link .
I am in fact the only Iranian Comedian in the world, that's actually three more than Germany.Omid Djalili
We are required to be maximally uncertain about what we do not know. This is the most honest thing to do!Entropy Optimization Principles
with Applications
by Kapur and Kesavan
Our greatest glory is not in the never falling but in rising every time we fallConfucius
Are you worried about leaving a trace of what you've browsed on the web when you're using a friend's computer? Browzar claims that it won't leave anything behind. Just simply download it and run it without installing anyting. The only catch is that if you're one of those people who are worried about leaving a trace, you probably know how to clean up your trace after using IE or Firefox. So, ignore this post and wait for the next one!
