In the pencil case, Parker is talking with his friend, Red pencil:You know that we are from a great family, Parker’s family! We have been number one since 1889. Have you ever heard of my grand-grand-grand father, “Lucky Curve”? He was so spppeciallll! He could bring the excess ink back to the pen body. No one could do that at the time. We were always number one and we will be.I am not only very beautiful but also very intelligent. Look! The hue of my barrel is black pencil and very sparkling. Today, I wrote about “linguistic relativity.” Certainly, you have never heard of it. I am the only one perceiving complicated subjects. My friend, Bic ballpoint pen, calls me Mr. Genius! Oh, I almost forgot to tell you what the theory is about. “Linguistic relativity” is the idea that various concepts and categories in different languages affect the appreciation of the world in the way that different people think and behave differently because of it. Did you get it?!The entire day, I was writing about it and finally, I finished it. Look! My handwriting is so elegant as if Leonardo Da Vinci painted it.Red pencil looked at the parker surprisingly and said: “The idea comes from the German linguist, Wilhelm von Humboldt. He is the one who proposed the idea. Moreover, all your beauty belongs to your designer, Gorge L. Parker. I wonder why YOU are so proud!!!!!!I got the picture from here.
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Hundreds of thousands of fish dream to live in the rivers or in the oceans, swimming freely and discovering new sights but, I wish I could live in a bowl on the table set for the Persian New year’s Eve.I once saw the picture in a book. The book belonged to a seven-year-old boy when he came up to the store .How astonishing it was! The goldfish in a glassy bowl in rose shaped looked so blissful. On the bottom of the bowl, the shiny taupe and green stones blinded my eyes. Besides, a red candle and some fresh daisy flowers were dancing smoothly on the surface of the water. It was unforgettable!The appealing picture reminds me how much I missed my private life. Can I have a separate room for myself alone? This cramped tank is too crowded and I can hardly move without hitting others. And, my fellow friends, a couple of angelfish, gourami and Dwarf Cichlid, are always attacking the foods that come into the water .So, the moment I get there, all foods are vanished.This aquarium is also so boring. Nothing interesting happens here only ear-splitting scream of kids. This makes me feel uncomfortable since they have a blurry compressed huge head with gigantic fingers. In addition to their strange look, they intensively kick the tank by their ugly enormous hands. Bang! Bang! Bang! How many times I have to listen to this awkward sound! Oh! What a strange noisy creature! Despite all the difficulties, I would still rather live in this inconvenient aquarium than to be smoked or to be hanged behind the window shops. Oh! How scary and violent it is! I cannot forget the face of some fish lying on the wooden boards in the bazaar. Their lifeless eyes were looking at sky! How terrible it was! I always have a nightmare, thinking that someone comes and grabs me putting me into a can or on the wooden board in the bazaar.I am all at sea. I do not know how I can get rid of this miserable life since I am a little bit different from other friends, angelfish, gourami and Dwarf Cichlid. My dorsal, pectoral and pelvic fins are red and from dorsal fin to the middle of my body is white. I also have long red upper caudal fins. Who will fall in love with me and buy me for the New Year?!My friends are astonished by my dream. They ask me why I prefer living in a glassy bowl than swimming in the oceans or in the rivers freely. The ocean is not an appropriate home for me. I do not like to be caught by some fishermen and then, end up in a frying pan. I do not like to be eaten by scary monster-like sharks. I would love a peaceful and blissful life.As a result, I asked my friends how I can be attractive so that kids fall in love with me. They recommended that I should be very dynamic, jumping up and down. Kids like vibrant, fresh and delightful goldfish. The reason is that goldfish is the symbol of “life” on the New Year’s table. Hence, I have decided to be high-spirited as much as I can so that a kid buys me. That way, I can satisfy them and be pleasant to make everybody happy.
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A Prayer for Today:My Lord! Open up for me my heart.And ease for me my task.And untie the knot of my tongue.That they may understand my speech.qur'an - 20:25-28 - prayer of mosesRead more…
Let the rain come and wash awaythe ancient grudges, the bitter hatredsheld and nurtured over generations.Let the rain wash away the memoryof the hurt, the neglect.Then let the sun come out andfill the sky with rainbows.Let the warmth of the sun heal uswherever we are broken.Let it burn away the fog so thatwe can see each other clearly.So that we can see beyond labels,beyond accents, gender or skin color.Let the warmth and brightnessof the sun melt our selfishness.So that we can share the joys andfeel the sorrows of our neighbors.And let the light of the sunbe so strong that we will see allpeople as our neighbors.Let the earth, nourished by rain,bring forth flowersto surround us with beauty.And let the mountains teach our heartsto reach upward to heaven.Amen.
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Iranians are very well-known for their hospitality. A guest is so important for a host or hostess. The host must prepare everything for the guest providing food, comfortable and neat place and even if the host disagrees with the guest, he usually say nothing in order not to make the guest disappointed or upset and etc. There are a lot of proverbs in favor of guest like Guest is God's friend. It means that you must accept a guest with kindness and prepare everything for him/her.So, in our culture, we accept the guest at anytime. We rarely say "No" to the guest. When he comes to our home. We prepare fruits and cookies for him. We bring a cup of tea with squared sugar in a nice dish. After finishing the tea, we ask if he wants more tea or not. We use all nice and best dishes , plates, glasses and kitchen tools for treating the guest. For dinner or lunch, we usually prepare two different kinds of Iranian dishes which garnished very well. Apart from these disehes, we have Greek Salad or Yohgurt beside the main dish. After dinner or lunch, dessert can make our meal perfect. Ice creams or some Iranian cookies will complete the lunch or dinner.How do you treat your guest in your culture? Do you prepare any foods for them? do you have any special rules for accepting a guest? What kind of foods or fruits do you prepare?Thanks,Have Fun!
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My lovely friend, Zahra asked a question: “How do you detect that someone is telling the lie or telling the truth? My answer to her question was that you can fool some people some time but you can’t fool all the people all the time. Again, my dear friend, Zahra, stated that what if the person being played with himself/herself is a fool?There are some clues with which we can detect a liar while chatting. The fake speaker is the best person in the world physically and mentally. He is the smartest, tallest, most handsome, strongest and most athletic person in the world. He has the best job in the best area of the country. His home also is in the best neighborhood of the country. He has graduated with the high average in the best university in the country or in a foreign country. He is the descendant of a great –great rich family you have ever seen. Briefly, He is perfect in every aspect of life.During the chat, he usually asks you personal questions like how old you are, you are married or not, what color your hair has, what color your eyes are, how tall you are, where you live, how your home is and etc.Then, he fell in love with you from the first moment of chatting calling you sweetheart, darling, honey and etc. Moreover, he uses every lovable and romantic word that you can imagine to make his point and to prove his love. He tells you some romantic sentences such as “I will sacrifice my life for you”, “I love you”, “you mean the whole world to me”,”you are great” and so on. The next day, you will receive a lot of nice cards or comments on your profile page in English club saying that he is missing you and he is counting down to see you again.I think no one can be so perfect even the perfect person is not perfect. So, when someone claims that he is the best, we should know this is a lie. You can be great in some skills. You can be a great musician or a painter but you cannot be great in everything. They are neither smart nor a good English speaker. They can hardly write a correct English sentence.I could not find any relationship between my age and learning English. What is the purpose behind this question: "How old are you?" Do they think I cannot learn English because of my age? Do they think my age prevent me to speak English very well? Do they think because of my age, I should go and learn something else? Do they want to know if I am married or not? I wonder what the point is in this question.In my opinion, the fake speaker is the one who asks you a lot of personal questions, looks for your phone number, falls in love with you from the very first moment and If you take a look at his profile page, he has only girlfriends in his friend list. In the end, I remember a quote from Nietzsche who said: “I am not upset that you lied to me, I am upset that from now on I can’t believe you.”
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Today, for some reasons, I thought back to my childhood when I went to my aunt's home. My cousins had a chandelier which was made for kids and therefore, these pictures that you see above were drawn on it. Before bed time, my cousins and I looked at it and talked which one of them we were. I was Mrs. Small, can you find it in the pic? What do you think whom you are?Have Fun!
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To all my Indonesian friends:I was deeply saddened to hear about the terrible incident, killing innocent people in the blast, in Indonesia. Please accept my heartfelt condolence and I wish God's peace for all of the innocent people.Sincerely yours,Nafis
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You may notice one of the brightest planets at the night sky, Venus. For many years, ancient people had been thinking that some alien monsters were living under Venus clouds. But, nowadays, we know that this is not true because the Venus is too hot. And, therefore, no living objects can bear that high temperature. Venus is an interesting planet in our solar system.In other words, Venus has fascinating characteristics. Venus is mostly known as “Earth’s twin.” The reason is that because Venus and Earth are about the same size and close to each other. Despite the size and adjoining, they are very different from each other. One of the most interesting facts about Venus is its rotation. Venus goes around itself really slowly which takes 243 Earth days. On the contrary, Earth only needs 24 hours to go around. In addition to this movement, another rotation which is around the sun takes 225 days. In comparison to Earth, a year is shorter on Venus than on Earth. More interestingly, a day on Venus is longer than a year on Venus. Another interesting fact about Venus is that there is no liquid water and the atmosphere is made up of carbon dioxide.This “Romanian goddess of love” has been baffled many scientists for decades and still brings some insights for us and we can look at it at nights and enjoy its sheer beauty.I got the pictures from here.
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Today, machines have made household chores very convenient and therefore, we are not active as much as before. Dishwashers wash our dishes; Machine washings clean outfits; Vacuum cleaners sweep houses; and lastly, cars take passengers to their destination. So, by participating in sports, we can be physically active. For example, walking every day for about thirty minutes benefits body. Blood circulation increases and stress disappears. Fat is burnt during walking with moderate pace and hence, blood pressure decreases. So, sport activities are a good way to guarantee healthiness.Moreover, physical changes cause mental changes. When stress disappears, bliss boosts the power of mind causing to contemplate clearly and having concentration on daily jobs. Consequently, sport activities affect mental as well as physical well-being.On the other hand, life without arts is not worthy because arts make the world a better place. For instance, playing American Orchestra in North Korea for the first time helped two countries to improve the broken relationship. Going to a movie theatre or an art exhibition is joyful and motivating. Creativity makes life fascinating. Moreover, the artist himself enjoys while painting, playing or acting. This causes the artist to be more self-confident and blissful. In addition to mental benefits, body is affected. Studies have shown that painting, swing, cooking boosts memory capabilities. Consequently, arts not only assist self-improvement but also make the world happier and more peaceful place.I personally think that there is a close relationship between body and mind. Body affects mind and vice versa. So, we should participate in both of activities in order to be in balance physically and mentally. Harmony in inner self can be spread in the whole world and make it a joyful and peaceful place.I got the picture from here.
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Have you ever noticed someone’s traits by only looking at his face? Some people may say that face reading is not accurate but, statistics have shown that it is 90 percent true. Thus, some features on the face are connected with the internally traits. So, in this article, I am trying to show you how to read someone’s face by his face shape.First, we start by reading his face shape. There are three kinds of face shape including broad, thin and round face. The length and width of the face are close to each other in the broad face. In the opposite, the length is higher than width in thin face and, in round face, they are equal.People with broad face are confident by nature. In other words, when they do things for the first time, they are not afraid or insecure. They have larger distance between their eyes and they usually are not interested in details. They often pay attention to big picture. In contrary, thin faces are confident after experiencing new things. They are more conservative and do not like taking risks or adventure. They also pay attention to details rather than big picture. People with round face are also very friendly. They are sociable and make very good companies.Lastly, have you ever felt that you know someone before getting to know him only by looking at his face? For me, it was somehow true. The face of my friends has given me the sense that they can be a good friend for me. Sometimes, I was true and their face was showing their inner self but in other cases, I was wrong. Some people have serious face but their inner self is so soft and kind. What do you think?I got the picture from here.
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A scorpion wants to pass across the river. But, He is unable to pass. So, he looks around and sees a little green frog near the river. The scorpion asks him to help. The frog thinks a little and says: “You are a scorpion and you may sting and kill me.” The scorpion denies it and says: “I can’t do it because if I do, I will die too because I cannot swim like you.” Once again, the frog becomes suspicious and says: “you may sting me when we are close to the road shoulder.” Then, scorpion emphasizes that he cannot do it because how he can come back. After some discussions, the frog finally decides to take him to the other side of the river. While the frog is in the middle of the river, he sees scorpion stings him. Why are you doing it?, says the frog. Don’t you know you kill yourself too? The scorpion says: I can’t help it because it’s my nature.
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God, give us graceTo accept with serenityThe things that cannot be changed,Courage to change the thingsThat should be changed,And the wisdom to distinguishThe one from the other.-Reinhold NiebuhrPlease pray for Iranian people to be safe and strong.Thanks,Have a nice day/night,Read more…
Almost one million Iranian high school students take part in university entrance exam every year. Among participants, women are more enthusiastic to be accepted in universities and therefore, seventy percent of university students are women.They attend college or universities in order to enhance their knowledge. The opportunity of learning helps them to have deeper understanding of themselves and others. They can be better mothers or spouses. For example, there are some curricula which increase women’s awareness for decreasing population by proper fertility. They are also able to know about their rights as a women or a member of the society. So, nowadays, a lot of women movements exist in Iran such as Feminism groups or women’s right movement groups. Many working forces are consisted of women. They work in various companies, universities, hospitals, news agencies and so on.University degree can also give them more opportunity . For example, they can have better careers with high salary. So, life quality will be increased. In Iran, a person with PhD degree has a higher income than a person with B.A degree. Moreover, a well-educated person will be highly respected by people. Thus, university degree can change the quality of life.Finally, some women would like to attend college to find their ideal spouse. They do not like to marry in a traditional style. In traditional style, the groom's family introduces their favorite bride to the groom without prior knowledge of the bride. Today, younge brides prefer to find their spouses by themselves without meddling family members or close relatives. Hence, colleges or universities are a great place to get to know someone with whom they would like to marry.People have different needs. Some are looking for knowledge and others like respect, money or a nice spouse. I think “knowledge is the power” and universities or colleges can expand minds to have a balanced and harmonious life. As Bertrand Russell, British Nobel winning philosopher said: “The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge.”I got the picture from here.Read more…
((This is the photo of Caspian Sea))Six years ago, I went to the place for a summer vacation near Caspian Sea. My cousin and I were walking along the seashore. It was a breezy day and that made us to act like a crazy person. My cousin abruptly said: “Do you want to run and to shout loudly? In this way, we can experience freedom.” I agreed her and so, we ran and shouted loudly; Heyyyyy…Hoooyyyy…yooooohaaaa haaaa….. No one could hear our voice since no one had access to the sight.I was shouting and running that I suddenly felt a little timber of wood under my feet. I fell down on the sands and could not help laughing. That was a true happiness, free from everything.I miss my cousin so much that I sent her an email and asked her: “Do you remember that day?” she told that she definitely remembered the funny day.I am looking forward to seeing her again. We can experience crazy days again, shouting and running along the Caspian Sea.
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Rumi, the poet, started his adult life as a Moslem scholar. He became well known as an authority on Shariyat, the law of Islam, which he wrote of in his manuscripts.All of that came to an abrupt end when he met his master, Shams-e-Tabriz. In Shams he recognized something that was beyond religion. It was so profound that it changed his entire life. In fact, it was so profound, that he was transformed into one of the world’s most immortal poets and mystics. When Shams told Rumi to throw his manuscripts into a fountain, he did so. Such was the power of Shams in Rumi’s heart.What did Rumi hear from Shams-e-Tabriz that caused him to adopt Shams as his master? One account said that Shams went looking for Rumi in Konya, Turkey, at the request of Sham’s master. When he spotted Rumi, Rumi was passing by in a procession of great pomp and splendor. Shams stopped the procession to ask Rumi what is the purpose of one’s doing penances and similar practices. Rumi replied, “It is to obey the command of the Shariyat [law]“.Shams replied, “That of course, everybody knows.”Rumi then asked, “What can be of greater significance that this?”Shams replied, “The purpose of knowledge is to take you to the Abode of God.” So saying, he recited the following couplet of Hakim Sanai:Ignorance is better thanthe kind of knowledgewhich does not rid youof egotism and I-ness.I got this from the following website: http://holistic-personal-development.com/2007/04/26/rumi/Read more…
The man who said, 'It is I'A CERTAIN man once came and knocked on on the door of a friend.'Who are you, faithful one?' his friend asked.'I,' he answered.'Go away', the friend said. 'It is not the proper time. There is no place for such a raw fellow at a table like mine.'What shall cook the raw, but he fire of banishment and separation? What shall deliver him out of hypocrisy?That wretched man departed and wandered abroad for a year, burned as with sparks of fire in separation from his friend. So, scorched, he was cooked; then he returned and once more circled about the house of his companion. Fearful a hundredfold, he gently knocked tat the door, anxious lest any unmannerly word should escape his lips.His friend called, 'Who is that at the door?'He answered, 'You also are at the door, heart-ravisher!''Now,' the friend cried, 'since you are I, come in. O I! There is not room in the house for two I's.'Banishment: exileHypocrisy: affectation, pretenseHundredfold: hundred timesWretch:A person living under very unhappy circumstances.Scorch:burnRead more…
I have a Band-Aid on my finger,One on my knee, and one on my nose,One on my heel, and two on my shoulder,Three on my elbow, and nine on my toes.Two on my wrist, and one on my ankle,One on my chin, and one on my thigh,Four on my belly, and five on my bottom,One on my forehead, and one on my eye.One on my neck, and in case I might need ‘emI have a box full of thirty-five more.But oh! I do think it’s sort of a pityI don’t have a cut or a sore!This poem written by Shel Silverstien.
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It was at midnight in a hot summer. My cousins and I were talking about a book depicting a ghost. A picture of which was in the book that we always looked at it and discussed on it.-How did the photographer take that picture? We cannot see the ghosts. How did he see?-I do not know but, as you can see in this picture, he did it.-What kind of camera did he have?-I guess it was not a regular camera.Then, we all looked at the picture. The picture was very interesting for us. It was like a white sheet that narrows in the neck area with two gray holes on the face. Behind the ghost, the photographer in the black suit was shooting. This was the first questionable image of the ghost that I had ever seen in my life.The darkness of the room and the shade of the trees in front yard doubled the fear. The house was also big and the sound of the wind was flowing in the chimney saying hooo hooo hooo.As we were talking, I suddenly saw a white substance which came toward me. It looked like that horrible picture!-Oh, my God! This is a real ghost, I whispered.My heart was about to stop. I was not able to move. I only hid under my pillow. So did my cousins. Meanwhile, I heard a noise and saw a light which came from the bathroom. I remembered some old stories in which all ghosts and elves live in the bathrooms. Consequently, this intensified my fear.Shortly afterwards, my older cousin said: “Do not be ridiculous! It cannot be a real ghost!” Then, she got up to see what was going on. We all asked her to stay with us but, she refused and went out of the room.Once again, I heard the same noise and saw the light came from the bathroom. My cousin was in front of the bathroom looking for the source of the noise. Our eyes were opened wide with fear and we stared at her in order to know what would happen next.In the middle of the dark night, a loud laughing sound broke the silent. We were surprised and went out to see what happened. My cousin was laughing when she saw her father coming back from the bathroom. In fact, he wore a white pyjama and darkness of the room had hidden his face and feet. So, we could only see his white pyjama and we mistakenly thought he was a ghost!
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On the thirteenth day of Persian New Year which is the last phase of the New Year celebration, people leave home and go outside. They took their Sabzeh, which is lentil or wheat plant grown in a pot, to throw into the river symbolizing the cycle of life. But, why do they do on the thirteenth day of the New Year? Why does the Persian New Year last for thirteen days?In most parts of the world and especially in India, the number thirteen is disastrous. In apartments’ floors or airplane’s seats, number thirteen does not exist. Moreover, in Persia, people have the same feeling. They go on a picnic on the thirteenth day of the New Year to throw away all the bad lucks or bad thoughts into the nature and spend their time with laughter, joy and pleasant. This tradition is in practice since ancient times.The story behind the number is that the devil sends twelve demonic spirits to eat away twelve pillars of the world and on the thirteenth day when the pillars are about to collapse, he comes back to celebrate his victory. But, people with their joy, laughter and celebrations restore the pillars and defeat the devil. So, in this day, people go on a picnic to spread joy and bliss throughout the nature.The other tradition is that young girls and boys tie grasses or plants (above picture) so that they can marry during the year. Another custom is that people get together and eat a lot of lettuce with sweet syrup called “Sekanjehbin”.
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A scorpion wants to pass across the river. But, He is unable to pass. So, he looks around and sees a little green frog near the river. The scorpion asks him to help. The frog thinks a little and says: “You are a scorpion and you may sting and kill me.” The scorpion denies it and says: “I can’t do it because if I do, I will die too because I cannot swim like you.” Once again, the frog becomes suspicious and says: “you may sting me when we are close to the road shoulder.” Then, scorpion emphasizes that he cannot do it because how he can come back. After some discussions, the frog finally decides to take him to the other side of the river. While the frog is in the middle of the river, he sees scorpion stings him. Why are you doing it?, says the frog. Don’t you know you kill yourself too? The scorpion says: I can’t help it because it’s my nature.
