#41 Gold

No one knows where or when this obsession with gold occurred, but what is known is that the obsession was at it’s pinnacle during the crazy, sex-crazed era of the Shah during the 1970s. Everyone was doing one of two things, having sex or buying things with gold in, on, or around it. Everything created during that time was covered in gold and if it wasn’t, it was added in some how.

Unfortunately though, the tradition of loving gold and putting gold on their earthly possessions has continued until now since anyone that came out or even now comes out of Iran is still perpetually stuck in the 1980s. Yeah they try to be modern, but they are still amazed and memorized by gold. Go look at the tacky shirts they wear when they are enjoying a day, afternoon, and/or night on the town. Even though gold is great as a monetary tool for the exchange and measurement of value of goods, Iranians still haven’t gotten the point that gold or the color gold as an interior house paint, the accent of a shirt, or any of the like has fallen out of favor around the time the Shah was over thrown.

Go into any Iranian household, business, or place of gathering and you will see a plethora of gold colored or gold accented goods. A majority of them are not actual gold, but that doesn’t prevent Iranians from saying that it is real gold. Iranian restaurants is actually the place where the highest amount of gold painted things can be found. Everything from the interior paint to the plates and silverware is gold. Iranians will also give gold at all sort of social events. Someone’s wedding? Give gold. Someone had a baby? Give gold. Someone’s important birthday or someone important’s birthday? Give gold. Some holiday? Give gold. If the the gift isn’t gold then you can be assured that the thing will be wrapped or boxed in something that has gold in its color scheme. So if you ever get gold or something wrapped in gold and are wondering who its from, then you can safely guess that it is someone Iranian.

This is one of the reasons why Ed Hardy and all those flamboyant brands that use gold coloring and such are so popular with Iranians. This is also the reason why an Iranian’s favorite character from the A-Team is Mr. T.

* Yeah…blah, blah, blah, I haven’t written in a while. Well I’ll try hard to write more often, like at least once a week…or something.

**Thanks to the reader who gave me this idea.

#40 Michael Jackson

R.I.P.

#39 Mir-Hossein Mousavi

Yes, I have not been around for a while. As you may know my research posts have dwindled, which signaled that I should stop writing and get back into the field of research. I’m still not done, but I felt that it be prudent that I post about another thing while the iron is hot. That thing is this man, Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

Or is he just a man? Is this person the dawn of another Iranian/Persian that believes that he is God incarnated on Earth like Xerxes or Cyrus?

For the sake of humanity, I hope not. There are enough Iranian/Persians that already feel that way about themselves. In any event, this man seems to have become a beacon of hope for the Iranian youth in Iran to someday become another Westernized society with all of the bells and whistles that a Westernized society comes with: “democracy,” “freedom,” “rights,” boning, and boozing (I put the first 3 things in quotes because Westernized societies really don’t have any of those either). Although I agree that it is messed up that the election in Iran did go the way that it went (like srsly Ahmadinejad if you’re going to rig an election, make it seem plausible. 85% of the country votes and you announce you won 2-3 hours later? Cmon man…srsly….like…srsly).

All truth be told though this guy, this Mir-Hossein Mousavi, should NOT be trusted. Why? Well…

Exhibit A: His name. Mir-Hossein. He either cant spell – Mister is abbreviated “Mr.” not “Mir” – or he has a secret message in his name, but again due to his lack of spelling he does it wrong – he is not just another “mere” Hossein (as in Saddam), but he is a Mousavi (whatever that means).

Exhibit B: He was elected by Ayatollah Khomeini as his Prime Minister. He was elected by Ayatollah Khomeini as his Prime Minister. No, that was not a typo, I meant to “Mike Jones” it because it is that important. The same person that got Iran to where it is now elected this Mir-Hossein as his Prime Minister. You really think he is going to lead Iran to happier days? The answer is NOPE! I mean how can one even possibly believe that? That’s like if the United States stood and rallied behind John Ashcroft/Karl Rove ticket in the previous presidential elections…yah, I know…that bad. If anything good is to be found about this guy, then it must be his hair. For an Iranian, he’s lucky to still have hair on his head. Also I wonder what he uses to keep his beard lined up.

Well regardless, hopefully the Iranian youth are actually standing up for their rights. Their rights in order to have a REAL democracy and not just to become a carbon copy of Westernized society. If we were all the same, then what would make us different. The nose jobs are enough.