ListenToBrian

'I Shall Call It Mini-Me'

2007-05-24T15:38:00.000-05:00

Check out this awesome photo Nazzy took with her mobile this afternoon. In the background is Miranda, our fearless, fat, eight-year-old cat. In the foreground is "Squeaker", one of the three four-week-old kittens Nazzy and I are fostering (read: not adopting). We're using the gate to keep the cats apart while we de-worm and de-flea the kittens. They're basically in kittie-quarantine right now.

Here are a couple more pics.

The Lake Tahoe Anthology

2007-03-17T14:53:00.001-05:00

Moti, learning how to ski, the proposal, the after party, the lake, UC Davis. In five days, Nazzy and I spent a lifetime in early March 2007.

To say we had fun would be the ultimate understatement. In some ways, we redefined what it means for us to have fun. Number one was the fact I learned how to ski so now that's something I can share with Nazzy. I'm already counting the days until the new ski season begins! Well, without further ado, here's a round-up of our trip.

From the airport, we traveled directly to the home of "Moti," Nazzy's paternal grandmother. Despite the fact she doesn't speak English, and I don't speak Farsi, it was amazing how much we were able to communicate with one another. As you can see, we feasted on traditional Persian dishes, like cutlets and kabob koobideh, as well as a new garnish for me, toschi, a pickled salad of carrots, celery and other greenery which is delicious.

The funny part was when Nazzy's brother Joubin tried to explain to Moti how he just back from a trip to Brazil with his girlfriend, Vahishta. Moti wanted to know who escorted them so there would be no "mozak dozak" or "hanky panky."

Sadly, it was time to leave and make our way for the three-hour trek to South Lake Tahoe.

Remembering that I needed to make a blog post for the day, I snapped this pic in the back seat of the 'rents' car and sent it in on my cell phone. On the way, we stopped at their favorite roadstop restaurant, a German eatery where everyone knows Nazzy's family by name because they stop there so often. How often? When I tried to pull the bathroom trick (so I could pay for the meal before the check arrived), the waitress refused to take it because she knows Nazzy's dad wouldn't stand for it.

The Pakpour home in Lake Tahoe.

The next day, it was time to learn how to ski, but there was one problem: I had no ski equipment, including ski pants and jacket, or skis and poles.

A trip the Heavenly Ski Shop in Harvey's Hotel & Casino, and that problem was fixed. Now we look professional, right? Nazzy and her folks went up the mountain while her dad bought me a two-hour private lesson with "Roman." Roman was cool and was very patient with me. He taught me the art of the "wedge" or "pizza slice," which is how you're supposed to position your legs to slow down and control your turns. Once we were finished, my feet were killing me so I met up with Nazzy to eat lunch. Afterwards, she took me back on the beginner hill.

After about three hours of practice, this was the result. In all honesty, I came pretty far. But now you have to watch how good Nazzy and her family are. For instance, here's Nazzy and Mary while Art follows them with the camera.

And here's Art and Mary showing how it's really done.

Eventually, Nazzy and I took our first lift to the top of the bunny slope. The result wasn't very good, as I fell over and over again, including right off the ski lift.

Day 2 was a lot different.

We went to the Nevada side of Heavenly Ski Resort and were joined by Nazzy's brother Joubin and his girlfriend Vahishta.

Nazzy, Joubin and their father took turns escorting me up and down the mountain and taking themselves up the larger part of the mountain on the more challenging slopes. But first, Vahishta had to get her gear.

I was a lot better on day 2 and I had enough confidence to make my way down the semi-intermediate slope.

I was doing OK, but I was really impressed with how well Vahishta did. This was only her fourth time skiing and she was already doing extremely well.

And here's the overhead shot when Art and I were on the ski lift.

We helped a girl who'd fallen get back up and in return she offered to take a family photo.

Next time, I'll bring my sunglasses. After we made it down the mountain, it was time for lunch. While Nazzy was getting the food, I informed everyone that I was going to ask her to marry me on the next ski lift. But I needed them to go up ahead of us and have the cameras ready.

While we were eating, Nazzy went to the gift shop and purchased matching ball caps for everyone. It was time for the photo op.

What started out as a photo shoot, turned into a snowball fight.

But we'd procrastinated long enough. The fateful moment was coming up. As soon as Nazzy and I got on the lift, I went into a very impromptu speech about how much I cared for her.

The rest of the details are for her and me, but afterwards, as I started to reach for the ring in my pocket, she didn't believe me. It wasn't until I'd pulled it all the way out that she started to realize it was for real. This last video was taken by her family as we got off the lift. I admit it's a rough cut, but I'm no video editor.

Afterwards, we were all pretty excited, and couldn't wait to get back to the house to start the celebration.

Unfortunately, the celebration would have to wait. About 15 minutes later, on a run very similar to this video, I went out of control, ran into a ski instructor and severely bruised my right shoulder.

I wasn't going to let my dumbass injury ruin the day, however. There was a celebration to be had, as Nazzy's father broke out the champaign.

And celebrate we did ...

We went to the seafood buffet at the casinos and finished it off with a little craps and Texas Hold ‘em.

The next morning we took a walk to finally take a look at South Lake Tahoe.

Being from the East Coast, it was breathtaking to see the natural beauty of the Tahoe landscape.

Finally, the trip ended with a stop at UC Davis, Nazzy’s alma mater about one hour outside San Francisco.

This pic was taken in the library. In the middle is a garden. The campus is really pretty and because everything is so stretched out and flat, there are more bikes than people. I’m not kidding. Every possible piece of sidewalk that could have a bike rack, does, and most of them are full.

And that was it; the trip, the proposal, everything. Thanks to all our family and friends who’ve been so supportive. And if you ever get a chance to visit Lake Tahoe, go! It’s so worth it.

Dude Reads Like a Lady

2007-02-06T12:26:00.000-05:00

I took the day off from work today to get a head start on some school work. I'm trying to nail down topics for my papers in both Ethics and Philosophy of Mind.

When it comes to the latter, one of my primary interests is in the intersection of Mind and Computers, and one person has been key in those discussions: Hilary Putnam. As I started reading Putnam, I became curious if the philosopher was still alive so I Wikipedia'd the name and found out who I thought was a woman (because of the name) was actually a man (pictured above) and yes he is still very much alive.

It's sad (that he's a man) only because I thought I was finally going to get a feminist take on the philosophy of mind. Paging through the primary text for the course, which is an anthology, there is not a single female in it (at least as far as I can tell from the names).

This is typical in the entire field of philosophy but I feel, from looking around at the population in my classes both at WCU and Temple, that there are going to be many more women coming into the field, which I can say will only improve it.

Later tonight, I'm going to meet the former Director of Clandestine Operations for the C.I.A, Tyler Drumheller. He recently published a book "On the Brink," exposing White House manipulation of intelligence. He's giving a talk on campus this evening. I'll try to take pics and discuss tomorrow morning.

Costa Rica Pictures Now Online

2007-01-15T16:57:00.000-05:00

We laughed, we cried, we scratched our bug bites. Here's a link to the pictures from our trip to Costa Rica, with a running commentary by yours truly. The pictures include this one of a funny mistranslation of "SK8 or die." Hasta!

Costa Rica - Day 8 - Con Mucho Gusto!

2007-01-09T12:15:00.000-05:00

It is with great sadness that Nazzy and I leave for the aeropuerto de San Jose. We've had such a wonderful time that it is very difficult to leave. Here, the weather is beautiful and work is something that seems intangible. In Philadelphia, it's cold, possibly snowing and work begins manana. But we should be thankful for having this week at all. And we are. It seems like we've been here more than a month. My father y Maria have been so kind and welcoming, almost catering to our needs, as well as Maria's daughter Melissa. I will post all the pictures and videos this weekend, after I return from a business trip in Las Vegas. Until then, Adios!

Costa Rica - Day 7 - Arenal Volcano

2007-01-08T23:42:00.001-05:00

Unfortunately, you're looking at the best view we ever got of the Arenal Volcano, or any volcano for that matter. Despite three days in Lake Arenal, the clouds never cleared to a point where we could see the whole mountain, let alone clear up at night so we could see some of the lava flow down the active volcano. We left Lake Arenal to return to San Jose and got to meet mi abuela nueva, my new grandmother, by marriage, who made me laugh by encouraging Nazzy and I to drink tequila as soon as we walked in the door. She made us an excellent, authentic Mexican meal. We finished off the day by getting massages at the spa and taking Dad, Maria and Melissa out for sushi.

Costa Rica - Day 6 - ATVs and Eagles Victory

2007-01-07T23:16:00.000-05:00

Lexi, Nazzy and I went on an ATV 4x4 tour of some of the back roads in Lake Arenal. Afterwards, we went back to the house to watch the Eagles beat the Giants, 23-20. OK, I watched the Eagles game. Nazzy and Lexi laid by the pool. We finished the night with my dad's world famous pasta sauce and a game of No Limit Texas Hold 'Em. Sorry, forgot to take video today. May have had something to do with the non-stop margaritas and pina coladas.

Costa Rica - Day 5 - Canopy & Tabacon Hot Springs

2007-01-06T22:47:00.000-05:00

We spent the better part of Saturday riding cables along canopies hundreds of meters from the ground, flying 70-80 KPH along 750 meter cables. The first few cables were pretty scary, not knowing what to expect. Uncle Greg was the only one of us to have done it before so he took to it like a fish to water. The rest of us got the hang of it by the end and then it was off to Tabacon Hot Springs, the single biggest resort in all of Costa Rica. It was filled with more than 10 hot spring pools and a wet bar - yes, you get your drinks without leaving the pool.

Nazzy, riding one of the higher, faster cables.

Tabacon Hot Springs

2007-01-06T21:50:00.000-05:00

The wet bar at Tabacon Hot Springs. Why would you ever leave the water? We didn't for quite a while.

Costa Rica - Day 4 - Zoo Ave

2007-01-05T19:27:00.000-05:00

Today, Uncle Greg and cousin Alexa arrive and we take the three and a half-hour journey to Lake Arenal with Nazzy and my father. But before we do, we visit Zoo Ave, which is not the name of a road, but means literally, in Spanish, Bird Zoo. I thought this might be a lame visit because walking around and looking at birds for two hours doesn't seem like my idea of a fun time. But this zoo had a lot of other mammals, as well as lizards too, including monkeys, jaguars, iguanas and tortoises. It turned out to be nearly as fun as La Paz.

Monkeys playing in Zoo Ave.

Costa Rica - Day 3 - INBioparque

2007-01-04T23:14:00.000-05:00

This was the second of the two sloths that we stumbled across at INBioparque, a non-profit research center just outside San Jose, Costa Rica, which conducts research on the local plant and animal life, studying its biodiversity and discovering new ways to protect it, as well as utilize the data for the improvement of human life, resulting in new drugs, cosmetics and other products. What was so cool about this preserve was that it was filled with animal life in a natural habitat, rather than in a zoo where everything is behind a cage. In this case, we walked along the path and just stumbled upon this sloth, climbing up a tree about 10 feet away. Wow. As you could imagine, Nazzy really got her geek on, as the guides were asking her questions, when it came to the insects and plant life. I also have a lot of pictures that I will share later when I have a chance.

A Better Look at the Sloth

2007-01-04T21:52:00.000-05:00

Costa Rica - Day 2 - La Paz Waterfalls

2007-01-03T22:00:00.000-05:00

Today was a trip to the La Paz Waterfalls, butterfly farm, frog farm, snake farm and Poas Volcano. Everything was excellent, except for the volcano, which was so foggy, we couldn't really see down into the crater. Otherwise, the sites were breathtaking, as you can see from the photo. The waterfalls were great, too ;) Hasta Luego!

More From La Paz

2007-01-03T21:00:00.000-05:00

Costa Rica - Day 1 - Meet the New Extended Family

2007-01-02T21:07:00.000-05:00

Meet my new, extended family, Maria, my step-mother. Her daughter, and my new step-sister Melissa is behind the camera. Say cheese!

We Made It to Costa Rica!

2007-01-02T20:32:00.001-05:00

Today we got off the plain and had a nice day walking around the city of San Jose. We're staying with my father and my new extended family in Escazu, CR. More to come...