Ear for Love: Woman Hidden Under Van Gogh Painting

Scientists using x-ray technology have unveiled the portrait of a woman under Vincent Van Gogh's rather cryptic 1887 "Patch of Grass" painting.







Could this be the brothel woman named Rachel to whom he gave his left ear lobe in 1888? Guess we'll never know...

NATO News Update

................................A dog dressed for tea? Headline news? Equally absurd, indeed.

It's been weeks since the Saccharinist posted but nothing has changed in the world, as nothing changes when the present becomes history and when the past is repeated. But it's still worthwhile to learn what we can. Yes, the bad stuff of headlines has kept its promise to remain constant.

In the last few weeks in the NATO News (you know, all of the world and local news that pertain to the interests of NATO governments -- excluding all those former Soviet bastions that were recently added to make places like Slovakia feel like they actually exist in the eyes of places like the United States -- and without regard for the point of view of anyone else, even if they happen to be living in a NATO country)... The French elected a hateful conservative to improve their economy, not knowing that money doesn't bring happiness -- may they suffer the greasy consequences. Wolfowitz still hasn't stepped down (what gall), though he may be pushed out before long. The US, desperate for Iran's help in its royal Iraq error, has, out of the blue announced that Iran has suddenly reached high (i.e. still too low to count as even a 1/2 life of nuclear activity) levels of activity in its nuclear reactors -- we all know this is a ploy to force Iran's hand into as much assistance as possible over Iraq. Tony "evil eye" Blair announced he'd step down as Prime Rib and make way for the Lochness Monster. And 3 US soldiers who are missing in Iraq have been shoved off of the world headlines because nobody (i.e. The American Public) wants to hear about how Iraqis somehow not only killed more American soldiers but kidnapped and tortured them before doing so.

In short, the forces of evil prevail, as usual, in our lawless, greedy world -- according to the news. But elsewhere, in abundance that far surpasses the horror that makes the headlines, hundreds of millions of wonderful happy things are happening in the lives of good people -- and this is the sum of today's news, this is why life, on the whole, is rather good for most of us.

Dancing Bush: Prez Tribute to Yeltsin

Didn't believe the Saccharinist that Prez Bush is back on the bottle?

"That must be the stuff that just swept Laura off her feet"

Or outta the White House, more like it!

This recent video is self-explanatory, and aside from the fact that the footage is now priceless, there's the added fascinating jab at Bushler from CNN -- a company that while not as close to Der President as FOX News, isn't exactly shy of conservative viewpoints itself.

If this is Bush's sick way of paying tribute to another dancing President -- good ol' Yeltsin -- he picked a bad week to do it!

(compare the dancing prez's for yourself:)

Bushler Sleeps Alone

Laura Bush didn't mind sharing a bed with a mental retard. (probably cuz she didn't notice)

She didn't mind sharing a bed with a war criminal. (probably cuz she can't tell the difference)

But she finally drew the line at a drunk. (cuz she used to be one herself)

That's right folks -- Herr Bushler's sleeping alone these days -- George W. Bush has marriage problems, what a surprise. NOT!

According to the gossip hounds on the Internet, the Missus -- Frau Bushler (hey! she's guilty by association) -- has checked into the Hay-Adams luxury boutique hotel in Washington DC because Herr Bushler has once again returned to his roots as Herr Boozer.

Once a drunk, always a drunk and if anyone's got something he wants to drink away, it's George W. Bushler -- 'ceptin the drink ain't gonna make Iraq go away, just like it didn't make Daddy Bush go away. See, with a daddy like that, and a mommy that looks like a grandaddy, Bushler started drinking young. Trouble is, after claiming he found Jesus and stopped the drink, convincing a whole swarm of lonely, bitter conservatives across America that despite every other ball-faced lie he's lived in his life he managed to become a God's honest Christian, the last thing he needs is to lose the nutty rightwingers who are the last barrier to his demise.

But at this point in his "career" and her pathetic, unremarkable life, Laura Bush couldn't give a damn. So she's packed up and left. "She just couldn't take it anymore," according to an inside source. "She's had it." (Or she hasn't, for a long, long, time, if you know what I mean!)

Imus Hates Barack People

"there's nobody on my staff who would still be working for me if they made a comment like that about anybody of any ethnic group" (source)

There is one reason and one reason only that Don Imus has been fired from his jobs at CBS radio and NBC television following his racist rant against blacks this past week: Barack Obama.

It is a well-known fact that various media and entertainment moguls who were previous Clinton-backers have turned a leaf and are openly supporting Obama. No doubt Les Moonves of CBS is one of them.

The rub? Well, it sure wouldn't help the cause of a Black presidential candidate if a major broadcaster didn't do anything to stop a racist like Don Imus from getting away with yet another anti-Black statement.

Bottom line: as long as Obama maintains a healthy threat against the Clinton establishment, America's gotta look like it cares about Black people -- something that doesn't come easy to a country founded on the blood, toil, exploitation and overall diminishment of Blacks.

Farewell Kurt

A sad day in the literary world: Kurt Vonnegut has passed away at the age of 84.

His distinct charm, his curiously scientific yet passionate brand of storytelling, and his sense of humor will remain for us, his readers.

Sure, he had many famous novels, but I'll always remember him for EPICAC, his 1950 story about a computer that fell in love -- perhaps the most beautiful love story I've ever read.

At the age of 82, he came out of semi-retirement to write A Man Without A Country, his literary way of taking action and telling the world and his fans that George W. Bushler and his entire hatemongering, warmongering pathogenic politics are so so wrong and must be stopped. Too bad more people in a position of power have not come forward to do the same -- but obviously, that's why the Bushler movement was able to come into existence in the first place. And that's why it has come this far.

Vonnegut and his dying breed of socially-responsible celebrities will be sorely missed.

Hollywood Bigotry: Pros & Dons

Let's just get this straight:

If you are a has-been actor who, while sober, openly spew angry and superlatively racist epithets toward members of your audience who are African-American, you get a chance to apologize on David Letterman, and then you are free to live your life as the media immediately "forgets" about you.

If you are an African-American actor who in a backstage brawl with a fellow cast member call another cast member a "faggot", later prompting him to come out of the closet, you are deemed to have severe psychological problems, are forced into psychotherapy for homophobia and are incessantly derided in the media.

If you are a radio host whose career has been riddled with numerous bigoted (including racism against Blacks and Arabs, sexism, and homophobia) incidents, and again last week you took it upon yourself to call African-American women's basketball players from Rutgers University a bunch of "nappy-headed hos" (referring to the slave and Jim-Crow era derogatory reference to African hair) you are inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame and allowed to continue broadcasting your boorish and completely unacceptable attitudes and personality to the public-at-large.

If you are a radio sidekick who, amongst other things, years ago called the Williams tennis sisters "animals" who've "got a better shot at National Geographic" than being in Playboy, in a broadcast years ago called Palestinians "stinking animals", and last week called the African-American female members of the Rutgers University women's basketball team a bunch of "jigaboos," you are allowed to continue publicly broadcasting your rabid bigotry for as long as you live and are not condemned for it beyond insignificant slaps on the wrist.

So, in conclusion: being Black means being open game. Good luck America!

Madonna & Cat Stevens: World Class Sluts

Keep your eye out for middle-aged born-again religious zealots: most of them have a deepseated reason for desperately and intensely seeking forgiveness for their sins: they've got a long, long,long, looooooooooooong list of 'em! The whole world can't forget this -- what makes these jokers think God would? ha ha!

Just look at Madonna:
"I was a buffoon and an idiot until the age of 40"

(Source)

Saccharinist translation: I did everyone and anyone I could, repeatedly and often, until the age of 40, then decided to start a family and find a way to make the world and my children forget that I am a world-class slut"


and Cat Stevens (now known as Yusuf Islam - ha ha!):

"Mr Islam doesn't speak with women except his wife. Least of all if they don't wear a headscarf. Things like that only happen via an intermediary."

(Source)

Saccharinist translation: Mr Islam is a horny mo fo and, due to decades of intense promiscuity the likes of which Hugh Hefner can only dream of, no longer trusts himself in the presence of women of any kind, but especially those who have not covered those long, shiny, sexy, irrestible strands of hair, mainly because without a veil he is more likely to recognize them.

Telehost: Saccharinist in Urban Dictionary

Well, another landmark in Saccharinist history (there would, no doubt, be more if I bothered to actually make an effort to publicize this site beyond the handful of you who I've remembered to tell about it):

The Saccharinist has now officially been included in the Urban Dictionary for coining the term "telehost" -- check it out:



1. telehost

a television personality who seemingly performs the duties of a journalist but whose "interviews" involve condescending political attacks on non-Western leaders, and "serious" sit-downs with famous vacant personalities such as Britney Spears. A telehost is generally unintelligent, uninformed, has an agenda (instead of being impartial as a journalist should be), uses journalism as a means toward fame and fortune, and has no detectable journalistic integrity.

"Let's get the obvious out of the way on this one: Diane Sawyer is a low-grade telehost who has the intelligence of a doormat...

-- excerpt from The Saccharinist entry "Round 2: Ahmadinejad vs. Sawyer"

Examples include Diane Sawyer, Christiane Amanpour, Bill O'Reilly, and well, most of the idiots on American news channels.

If you want to support TELEHOST, click on the THUMBS UP icon on this word entry to keep it real...

The "Fact" is...

...............................................................this is in "fact" a black man, believe it or not

C.P. Scott, the former editor of the Manchester Guardian newspaper, once said (apparently) that "facts are sacred" -- a "fact" I just came across which got me thinking: what truly constitutes a fact?

Think about it.

News reports of someone's death are replete with uncertainties -- oftentimes, the only thing you can be certain of is that the person is dead -- but even that is uncertain at times!

How old are you? Is that a fact? What does time even mean?

What's your name? Is that a fact? Was that always your name? Will that remain your name? Is that your only name? Can the same "fact" have variations?

How can facts be sacred if they are fluid, undefined, and even uncertain? I guess that brings us to the answer (and question) at the heart of all of this: the only fact we can be close to certain of is change -- that change is inevitable and natural and therefore nothing is sacred for long.

300 Reasons Hollywood Sleeps With the Devil

.........................................................Ancient Iranian Soldier by Faraz Shanyar (Source: 300themovie.info)

For all the dimwits out there who can only identify the politics in a film when it slip-slaps them across the face like JFK or Syriana, here's a hint: when Hollywood directors and producers openly admit to collaboration and cooperation with the Pentagon, amongst other branches of the US government and Jack Valenti, head of the Motion Picture Association of America for 38 years till 2004, was a perpetual presence in Washington DC, and the US Army is turning to Hollywood for security advice, well, hmmm, maybe there's a relationship there. You think?

But it looks like Iranians have to once again come to the rescue and teach the world a thing or two about the realities of the United States government -- it's not enough that the Iranian government and arguably a majority of Iranians both domestically and internationally have to constantly point out that the Bush administration are a bunch of sadistic nincompoops (the worst breed of nincompoop, by the way), now we have to demonstrate that Hollywood is in bed with them, too!

Just consider the recent protests by the Iranian government and Iranians on the internet who are against the misrepresentation and ridiculous portrayal of Iranians in the Hollywood film "300".

First of all, let's get this little nugget straight: Iran has always been called "Iran" by Iranians -- it's the West, first the Greeks and then the British and their sheep, who insisted on calling "Iran" by the name "Persia" which inaccurately referred to the entire nation by the name of one of its states, "Pars," because it happened to be the site of Persepolis and other hellenized monikers. Ipso facto, anything to do with "Persia" or "Persians" is a reference to Iran. Thankfully, in 1935, Reza Shah corrected this ignorance by deeming that Iran insists on being called Iran, and not Persia.

Now then, taking into consideration the hilarious demonization of Iran in the last few years (funny how the US government took a break from haranguing Iran with accusations during all those years when mass executions were taking place and times were as tough as now, if not worse, in Iran), it doesn't take a stretch of the imagination to realize the reasons behind wanting to demonize ancient Iranians in a Hollywood blockbuster -- hey, if you can't make the contemporary ones look bad, then abuse history, eh?

Since Hollywood has been demonizing various groups for a long, long time, it's not surprising anymore. What is annoying is that anyone still exists out there who doesn't believe that it's happening. For the rest of us, there's this marvellous Google bomb by Iranian artist Pendar Yousefi -- proving once again that an Iranian with an internet connection is an unbeatable force to reckon with.

Oscars MEGA Fashion Post

The Oscars are fun to watch (if you're in California -- anywhere else and you'll have to lose sleep to see that to the end!), but aside from checking the winner's list on Monday morning, the most exciting thing about the whole show -- the aspect that makes Hollywood the dream it is to so many people throughout the world -- is the glamour, the glitz and the shine, in short: the fashion, baby!! (Note: click on the pictures for larger version)

The Leading Ladies

Helen Mirren - winner, best actress

Mirren achieved great things in this snow white gold leaf dress, not least that she looked stunning and sophisticated for her age (with no evidence of plasticating surgery, I might add!), and she looked comfortable (no small feat at this event!). While the Saccharinist has little regard for the real Queen or the film Mirren starred in, there is no doubt that Mirren performed at the top of her field for the win.

Cate Blanchett

Cate is not a conventional beauty, certainly, but she has a classic look which she always, without fail, matches with an elegant dress. This crystalline gown is no exception -- she looks like a star.

Nicole Kidman

As we have documented in the past, frail pale Nicole has gone way overboard on re-molding her face. Fortunately for you, it's not thoroughly evident in this picture but just for the rundown: her lips are so blimped up you can see the inside of her top lip curled over her bottom lip, her forehead and cheeks have lost all sensitivity and spend most conversations at complete standstill, her eyes take turns blinking and her nose is just a few notches away from Michael Jackson's skeletal airholes. But moving right along to fashion, Nicole has always complained about being a stick (which she is) but variety makes the fashion world interesting and what would designers do if they didn't have tall sticks like Nicole to dress? Her gown gets 5 stars for ravishing color and as always, she looks elegant and refined. It's a shame more women don't wear bright colors to these events.

Reese Witherspoon

Fresh off her win for Walk the Line last year and a terrible divorce, Reese looked absolutely flowery in this finely woven silk dress which literally looks as if she's been delicately wrapped with the petals of a violet. It's simply beautiful and looks soothing to the touch. I'm increasingly surprised at Reese's cosmopolitan sense of style considering her Southern homegirl roots. Well done!

Jessica Biel

Jessica is a nobody as far as I'm concerned -- I've never seen her in any film (though I heard she was quite wonderful in the Illusionist). She's not particularly beautiful with that wide grin and strangely down tilted nose, but her choice of dress has put her on my list to watch. The color alone is magnificent -- just beautiful! and the style is pure elegance. You can never have enough color on a red carpet!

Jennifer Hudson, winner, best supporting actress

From a hurtful loss on American Idol one year to an Academy Award winning actress the next, this girl has truly lived the dream -- let's just hope she's not broken to bits when she realizes how short Hollywood's attention span is. She exhibited some true talent in Dreamgirls and deserved a win for performance (since so many times this award is given as a duty to a known actress that didn't particularly perform well). Sadly, however, she chose to wear fecal brown for her win -- what are these people thinking? Brown? Brown is the amalgamation of all colors, why do you think a certain natural product is that color? Have you ever played with finger paints in school and mixed them all up? What do you get? BROWN! It's a poor choice most days of the week, and certainly on Oscar night. I will, however, give her bonus points for a dress with pockets! That's brilliant!



Jennifer Lopez

JLo has a big butt, but she dresses it well, as we all know. This dress is straight up maternity, of course, which I'm not a fan of, but it looks elegant and flowy on her and that's good enough to pass the test. The bejeweled neckline also gets bonus points for being creative and glimmery!

Jada Pinkett

Jada is a very interesting character -- an extremely intelligent, strong and creative woman -- and that alone brings a shine to her demeanor. But she also has a very keen sense of style and as far as I can tell, has never disappointed on the red carpet. This gold corseted gown is a beautiful 18k gold color and is fitted to perfection (if not a little tight). My only complaint is the flat-chested design on top which rather erases any curvaceousness necessary for a truly feminine look.

Rinko Kikuchi

Babel was a masterpiece and we all knew it wouldn't win any top prizes at an American film occasion (and especially on the night the Academy had decided to honor little Marty Scorsese -- though that was well-deserved, I might add). Rinko brought some charm to the common black sleeveless corset -- with some lace and beautiful embroidery work. But what really styled up this gown was her carefully waved coif -- cute.

Penelope Cruz

Volver was definitely a masterpiece of filmmaking and Cruz's nomination was well deserved (though it does beg the question, as with Babel, whether international films can only be considered in the running with American films if their stars also act in Hollywood films on the side??). Sadly, Pen rarely has good taste on the red carpet and last night was no exception. Pale colors are hideous on film, the tight woven corset removes all her curves and while the feathery train looks fun to sleep in or wear at a wedding, overall the whole thing smacks of disaster. And let's not even mention her tightly greased up bun -- waves, darling! Hair needs to look like a silky invitation -- kind of like what the Prophet deemed a danger to men! heh heh...

Gwyneth Paltrow

It's strange to see that name in print because for the last few years, Paltry Paltrow has best been known as Fishsticks by the critical community at large. Why, you ask? Her fishy demeanor, straight as stick figure, and attitude that smells of last week's catch of the day pretty much sum up that nickname. As usual, she looks terrible in a dress that has invented a color I can only refer to as "fish guts barf", hair that's been flattened by an iron and a mug that only a mother could love. P.s. Note to all thin-lipped wonders: do NOT wear dark lipstick of any kind -- it only accentuates your thinlippedness -- and especially do not wear it when it doesn't even match your dress!

Celine Dion

Ah! poor Celine, we forgive her for her horse face, and even for that shrill Quebecois voice which has shattered many a pleasant film. But what we can't forgive is her never abating dearth of fashion sense. Honey, you've got millions of dollars and stylists up the rear, wearing guerrilla green on Oscar night is inexcusable.

Cameron Diaz

Surprisingly, this woman is only 33 years old, though I'd say she could pass as a cute 45 year old. The brown unbrushed, windswept hair is a disaster, the gown is a safety pin short of junior's diapers, and the big mouth, well, shut it! Cammie has a very athletic toned body, but you'd never know from her dress sense!

Anne Hathaway

This big girl was on no one's radar till she pulled that Devil Wears Prada gig. Let's hope it's the last we see of her. The strange thing about Anne is a syndrome I like to call Doesn't Add Up, see, she's got all the elements of standard beauty: big eyes, plump lips, a refined nose, a forehead -- but somehow, when it's all added up it not only doesn't look beautiful but actually looks unattractive. And it doesn't help when she dresses like Daddy's Christmas present. NEXT!

Kate Winslet

There is no doubt about the calibre of this woman's acting -- she is very talented at what she does. Sadly, however, she has never been able to escape that whale-wearing-spandex look on the red carpet. Somehow or other, it always looks like they've forced her into a dress 2 sizes too small thanks to the wonders of spandex control underneath. P.s. pale green -- enough said.

Love in the Family


Now there are some people who take the opportunity of attending the Oscars as a great chance to share something special with the people they love. The following stars shined bright last night because they shined with their family -- I totally respect that.


Kirsten Dunst and her brother

Ryan Gosling and his mother and sister

I found this one particularly charming considering that Ryan's fiancee, Rachel McAdams is a Hollywood starlet who could have taken advantage of this opportunity for increased exposure but instead was fine with Ryan sharing this moment with his family.



Quincy Jones and his daughter Rashida

Quincy gets bonus points for making men's fashion a little more interesting than usual -- and doing it well.


The Leading Men

As we all know, men's fashion on the red carpet is boring -- and this year was no exception.


Djimon Hounsou

Djimon tried to razz it up with a bit of satin on his collar and on his trousers. Sorry! It's still a boring all-black suit.


Clive Owen

If I didn't know any better I'd have asked Clivey for 5 blue chips and my change. The addition of a black shirt to an already boring black suit is a fashion embarrassment, I'd say.



Mark Wahlberg

He's come a long way from Marky Mark -- his performance in the Departed was his best ever, I'd say. But unless Marky is about to refill my water glass, I'd say this here ensemble is a mega waste of my time.



Leonardo DiCaprio

We all know he's a great actor and there is no doubt that his time will come for an Oscar, but in the meantime, can Leo please do something about his hair? His name may be Italian, but he doesn't look it and therefore has no excuse for lookin' like a Don on Oscar night. P.s. save the satin for your bedsheets!

Finders Keepers

I know it's been a few weeks since I last posted and everytime you (or I, for that matter) think I've given up this blog for bigger (or at least more pressing) things, I find myself tracking right back to it because heck, there ain't no other way for me to share my thoughts to the world at the click of a button on my terms and with my judgement and editing - oh yeah!

Yes, there have been wild and disturbing developments in world affairs since my last post -- thousands more people have died in Iraq; Condosleaze Rice has continued her war of words with a man who's had a much larger share of fun mocking her, Hugo Chavez; Bush and the US government (all of them - that's right) have continued to mock not only the decency of the American people but now even their intelligence with his efforts to rob the poor and spend the money on killing more Iraqis; and well, Americans are making a mockery of themselves by attacking Iranian interests in Iraq (uh, didn't that happen years ago when they attacked Shiite holy places in Iraq the first time?? Yes, yes it did).

But the story that has caught my attention and compelled me to share with you again is a simple but perhaps equally baffling one:

A cabbie in New York City spent a good deal of time tracking down a woman who gave him a 30 cent tip on an 11 dollar bill to return a bag of 31 diamond rings she left behind in his car. As if that's not bewildering enough, said woman troubled herself to pay him a measly 100 dollar reward for his troubles -- which he only accepted to cover the pay he lost while wasting his time tracking this stingy lady down!

His comments when interviewed? "I'm a hard worker, I enjoy my life. I'm satisfied. I'm not going to take someone else's money or property to make me rich. I don't want it that way."

Is Bangladeshi native Osman Chowdhury some kind of saint or nut (the 'nut' vote seems to be winning on this one)? A number of other questions come immediately to mind:

Would I have kept the bag? (Possibly. Probably. Seems likely, actually. At least a ring anyway)

Would I have been displeased with a mere 100 dollar reward (Definitely, and then sustained a healthy amount of bitterness for having wasted my time doing a good deed for someone who neither needed nor warranted it.)

Was this the right thing to do? (No, not really: finders keepers, losers weepers. I figure that in the final calculation of things we reap what we sow, at least, that's the kind of attitude that makes the sun shine on a cloudy day. Therefore, Mr Chowdhury was actually due those diamond rings according to the balance of things in his life and he, sadly, foolishly failed to recognize this harmony of nature. Dummy.)

Did this woman need the money from these diamond rings? (Most likely not if she could afford to lose them in the backseat of a New York taxi cab)

Is life fair? (no, which is why Mr Chowdhury should have recognized a sweetass deal when it smacked him on the head.)

Let's just hope that Mr Chowdhury does eventually get something sweet out of this whole situation -- and I'm not talking about a warm, fuzzy feeling for having done 'the right thing.' At least a reward for Good Citizenship (or citizenship itself, as the case may be).

Lord of War

Andrew Niccol is a filmmaker who has stood head and shoulders above the majority of his colleagues in one very significant way: he has used his ability and talent to gain influence in Hollywood to make films that criticize the US government for being the biggest criminal organization in the world, if not in history.

Lord of War, his 2005 masterpiece about the business of gunrunning -- whose superb cinematographer is the Iranian Amir Mokri -- is a philosophy for life, is an answer to the helplessness we all feel when we read the news every day: stop trying to beat the system, because it's unbeatable.

This powerful government, its allies, and the thousands of people who work for it and its undemocratic goals worldwide -- including gunrunners like the perfectly cast Nicolas Cage (nee Coppola -- remember? Francis Ford is his uncle) -- will never stop doing what it does best.

So what should we do with our lives, those of us who are horrified by the inhumanity of the world? The one thing we can do: be happy, so we can be humane.

Unhappy people do unfriendly things.

We can make a good life for ourselves so that maybe we'll have the means to help others and it doesn't even have to be in huge ways. Perhaps the most inhumane things that happen in the world are not the stuff of headlines, but the little things that we do and say each day to hurt each other -- those little big acts of unkindness that far outnumber the incidents of death and destruction we read in the news.

You see, the world does not have too much hate, it just has too little love. Too few people value love above everything else. And that's killing more people than guns are.

Winter Solstice Iranian Style!

December 21st is the Winter Solstice -- the longest night of the year -- and it has been celebrated by Iranians for millennia. The fesitivity is essentially rooted in an appreciation of nature and despite various religious movements in Iran, including the present Islamic one, this culture has not been effaced.

Shab-e Yalda (the Syrian Christian term) or Shab-e Cheleh as it is called in Persian is a time to be around family and loved ones to partake of the anar (pomegranate), gerdoo (walnuts), badoom (almonds), hendooneh (watermelon) and other fruits of the season, to listen to music, to smoke ghelyoon (waterpipe) and sit around a fire and enjoy the very long night in togetherness. Basically, it's a good ol' time!

Shab-e Cheleh Pirooz! Shab-e Yalda Mobarak!

-- The Saccharinist

Binh Danh: Art Imitates Vietnam

Well, the Saccharinist has always had a soft spot for the Vietnamese -- they were, after all, the first nation to bring the mighty mighty U.S. army to its knees, though they paid and are still paying a hefty price for it. Binh Danh is a 29-year-old artist from Vietnam whose family eventually settled in the U.S. I came across his artwork in a magazine and found it to be astoundingly intelligent creativity.

Danh basically prints out negatives of old photographs from Vietnam and renders them onto living plant leaves through a simple but brilliant process which he's developed himself that exploits photosynthesis in plants . The result is leaves with portraits on them. His artwork is currently on display at the Haines Gallery in San Francisco, California. More of his works can be found here.

Iranian Photographer Honored

This image won the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography in 1980. It was the first image in the 90-year history of the organization to be awarded anonymously. This week the identity of this photographer has been revealed to be Iranian photojournalist Jahangir Razmi and the Pulitzer Prize committee has announced that they will award Razmi his due prize in their May 2007 ceremonies.

It's a chilling imprint of the legacy that a cowardly dictatorial shah left his people when he fled Iran and threw Iranians at the mercy of a religious regime that not only scarred their dignity as the Shah had done for decades, but scarred their bodies, as well.

To see more of the 70 pictures Razmi took that day, see this link.

Esfahan This Week...

I love those classic brooms...

Pol-e joobi...

Si-o-Se pol -- my favorite bridge of all!

All photos by M. Mousavi.

Relax: Water Flow Art

As always after a week of roughin' it with all the tough news, the Saccharinist likes to ease things down with a bit of light fodder. Check out these very interesting motion-captured images of water in motion -- sometimes modern photography really is ingenious: