Negeen Sobhani photography

kiss
Originally uploaded by negeen.

Have yall checked out Ms. Negeen Sobhani's photos? If not, I suggest you do, she's got mad skillz... Check out this pic of the shadow kiss...

Teach kids they can get smarter and they will

Another interesting article for parents - teach kids their intelligence can grow and it will.

Quinoa - protein wonder grain

Check out this article on Quinoa - the protein wonder grain. I had some at dinner last night, good stuff.

Songza.com: Music Search Engine

Check out Songza.com, self-billed as "the music search engine and internet jukebox". Really easy to use and also links to the videos of the songs you listen to. Thanks Mark.

Baha'u'llah.org

Check out the new web site dedicated to Baha'u'llah, prophet-founder of the Bahai Faith.

Iran president on Baha'is at UN press conference

Check out this clip of the President of Iran answering a question on the Baha'is at a UN press conference. Apparently Ahmadinejad is not well acquainted with the history of his country. For the enlightenment of all - Baha'is believe the Messenger or Manifestation of God for today is Baha'u'llah. He is the Prophet-Founder of the Bahai Faith.

Of course Baha'u'llah re-defines the concept of religion as a progressive revelation from a single source, God. Each of the different faiths (e.g. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Bahai) is "a stage in the limitless unfolding of a single Reality". (Click on the quote for an eloquent explanation of the concept by the Universal House of Justice.)

Departure Lounge

Mongolia 409
Originally uploaded by Departure Lounge.

I just wanted to encourage everyone to check out my friend Ryan's Flickr site, Departure Lounge. Travel the world vicariously through his photos. He takes us to the four corners of the planet and introduces us to the people who live there. Thanks Ryan.

Then They Came for the Baha'is

Article from U.S. Congressman Mark Steven Kirk about the situation of the Bahais in Iran. The Bahai House of Worship for North America is located in his district in Illinois.

Grass Valley in the news

California Town Relives Gold Rush

Hypem.com

Great site to listen to cool remixes/covers of popular songs.

Here's one cool one - Ray LaMontagne - Crazy (Gnarls Barkely) cover.

Armani and Prada cell phones

Some designer competition (not really) for the iPhone from Armani and Prada.

For my 100th post, a gift (from Starbucks)

Starbucks' song giveaway to promote iTunes deal

Kaiser Permanente in "Sicko"

I've been meaning to post this for some time: So Michael Moore's film "Sicko" portray's Kaiser Permanente in a negative light. Although KP may not be a perfect health care provider, it is not an evil one. Here's an interesting review of the movie that picks apart the details and here is KP's official response to the movie.

Blog on the Bahai Faith in Egypt

Check out this blog on the Bahai Faith in Egypt. Be sure to read the post on a newly-released documentary film examining the situation of the Bahais in Egypt, as well as the post on the letter sent to the Egyptian ambassador to the U.N. by the Graduate Student Assembly of U.C. Berkeley. (Thanks Nikoo for the lnk!)

Chris Jordan art

Check out this series of prints from Chris Jordan. He takes thousands of smaller images and blends them together to create a giant whole. Not only impressive for the visual effect they produce, they also draw attention to various social conditions in the U.S by using statistics (e.g. 3.6 million SUV sales in one year). Thanks to Mark for the link.

Poem by Dylan

My 8-year-old brother Dylan wrote this poem:

What the wind told me March 31st, 2007- by Dylan Portillo

This day of March 31, 2007, I, Dylan went outside of my apartment to transfer what the wind had to say, and this is what I heard:

The wind of humanity is saying to me;

Trust in my heart of love.

Happiness will come to me and good luck is here.

The wind is saying now that something is going to happen today.

It says we will have to go on a river hike.

If we go on that hike, we will see sparkling wild flowers and trees.

The river is called the River of Joy, and the joy of our hearts will spread all over the beautiful world, and we will find hope in our hearts.

By Dylan Portillo
(Charm Wizard)

Netvibes.com

For all of you who aren't using it yet, check out Netvibes.com. It's a slick Web start-page/news reader (really helps keep track of all those blogs/news sites). Sorry Google home page, Netvibes is way better. Thanks to K-Trot for the recommendation. Here's the official line: "Netvibes pioneered the personalized startpage, an alternative to traditional Web portals. With millions of users in more than 150 countries, Netvibes lets individuals assemble all in one place their favorite websites, blogs, email accounts, social networks, search engines, instant messengers, photos, videos, podcasts, widgets, and everything else they enjoy on the Web. Founded in 2005 by Tariq Krim, Netvibes has offices in Paris, London and San Francisco."

Canada: World Religion Day stamp

Apparently the stamp I had posted previously was a fake. Sorry for the mis-post.

Raising children of light

Bani Dugal, the Principal Representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, published this article a few days ago in the Jerusalem Post, titled "Raising Children of Light". To quote from the article: "...we must consider that every child is potentially the light of the world - or its darkness."

Women as Peace Makers

Short article published on NPR.org about a women's group from a small town in the midwest supporting the formation of a U.S. Department of Peace. I thought it was interesting given the Bahai teaching that women will be a driving force for peace.

"Another fact of equal importance in bringing about international peace is woman's suffrage. That is to say, when perfect equality shall be established between men and women, peace may be realized for the simple reason that womankind in general will never favor warfare. Women will not be willing to allow those whom they have so tenderly cared for to go to the battlefield. When they shall have a vote, they will oppose any cause of warfare." (Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 167)