Zahrathustra Stories

  Photo by Clark Alcantara @clarkos29 Social Media & Sense of Self(ie) By Zahra Dowlatabadi Exploring Balboa Park in San Diego, I suddenly found myself in one of those “frozen space moments” which is fairly common in Southern California. A celebrity has been spotted and the immediate world is caught up in between disbelief, awe and what to do next? It turns out that I walked into an event organized by #BalboaParkMeetup, an Instagram posting that has invited photographers and aspiring models to show up on the bridge at 3:00 pm. The average age of participants was mid-teens to early 20s. In attendance were passers-by, lookie-loos, photographers and models of all shapes and sizes in colorful wigs, full make-up and eclectic clothing!   It was a   seamless event organized through social media with all types of people arriving or passing through, with minimal control over who will do what and for how long. Witnessing the excitement around me, it is c...

  Mooness joon & Mahdokht Sanati (my mother) circa 1940 Mooness Joon My great grand mother was called Mooness joon. If you were to translate her name from Persian to English, it would be the perfect companion , and that she was! Our lives overlapped long enough for us to play cards, go for walks and on occasion, provided me with a precious glimpse into her life. Mooness joon was mostly quiet and still. She led a very simple life. I discovered one day as we were casually talking about belongings that she owned exactly four dresses. I didn’t believe her so she dared me to count for myself. I ran to her closet and opened the door. There were in fact only two dresses on the hangers. Over my shoulder, I heard her say, “I am wearing one. The fancy one on the right is my dress for ‘mehmooni’ (party dress) and the other one is what I will be wearing tomorrow. Look down, the fourth one is in the laundry basket.” In her days, all dresses were hand made to order, so four ...