EVERYONE loves sex + the city...

...except me. i dont get it. everyone else seems to. 

but i did get this:

Married to the Sea can be so darn hilarious sometimes.

(okay. so i've honestly only every watched like 1/2 an episode. so i cant really say. BUT sarah jessica parker makes me want to get in my car, put it in drive, accelerate at 50 mph into a cement wall, then reverse and repeat.)

my favorite simple brilliant lyricist.

the man i love:



MASON JENNINGS.

i just got back from a long long trip. i will tell you two readers all about it in the next blog entry. but for now, i want to introduce or share with you Mason Jennings, whom i have been a devoted listener to for years. the reason i share him with you now, is b/c i should have a damn long time ago.

M. Ward and Mason Jennings have been my two musicians that i have consistently listened to since 2001. while Mason has simple, at times seemingly "cheesy" lyrics (to some not to mention underground hip-hop heads...), his songwriting is so pure, honest and true that it always has a way to connect with me no matter my mood or time in my life. he sings alot about God and Jesus and Buddha which is really rad too. i dont find much music i like that is about God and the spiritual realm. But Mason has a way of writing, singing, questioning and praising God and the spirituality of life in a way that is really amazing and not cheesy at all. just real.

I got this snippet of info from some dude on youtube. i am sure i am supposed to be telling you from what source, but seriously, who gives. the reason i selected to use it was precisely for the last sentence which i have convienently made bold and italic for you two lovely readers (love me). I am in awe that the human who wrote that sentence actually exists. (love him)

"In this simple, one-take footage, the Hawaiian-born, Minnesota-based singer-songwriter and the Shins' frontman do a pretty duet on "Something About Your Love" from Jennings's sixth full-length In The Ever.

"Please note the awesomely chill bearded guy, who is not Will Oldham, but who is sitting by the side, letting this tall glass of mellow wash over him like a warm breeze":



this song goes on pretty long and probably doesn't need to, but it is good for you to see the "awesomely chill bearded guy" for yourself. its truly classic.

so i have seen Mason live i think five times and i really have been dying to share with you this photo of Mason and I, shown below:

well, ok. i'll be real with you folks. it is actually mason's hand and my legs. you WONT BELIEVE what happened. i was standing in line to meet him after a show he played. i was convinced he needed to hear about the Baha'i Faith (my religion) if he hadn't already. his song-writing really reminds me of person who either is a Baha'i or is searching for it. refer back above to the whole piece on mason + spirituality. doi. ok. so i was there to meet him to just let him know about the Faith, tell him he reminds me of my own spiritual quest, yadayada.

BUT there was this chick (sorry for you angry women who hate the term "chick", i in fact DIG IT), who was with me standing in line. a girl from minnesota (where he's from--OMG!!!) and she was really sweet. but equally as nervous to meet Mason. i was like, oh well, people get weird with famous people as if they aren't in actuality just people, humans like the rest of us. doi again. ANYWAY. i didnt think it was big deal that she was nervous. UNTIL. we got up to him and i asked to have a picture taken with him and i asked the nervous girl to take the photo. she was all, "okayyyyyyyyyyyyyy....eeeeehhhhhhhhheheehhhhhhh......" like, really nervous and shaky. so we're standing there posing --mason and i-- and she CANT TAKE THE PICTURE BECAUSE SHE IS SHAKING TOO HARD. it was amazing. i am NOT exaggerating when i say that the photo you are seeing now is the most still photo graph taken. Mason and i didnt know what to do or what to say, so she just kept trying to take a photo that wasnt compeletly blurred. and i thought maybe she was going to have a seizure--NO JOKE-- so i thanked her for her efforts and said goodbye to Mason so pissed at the girl, but really humans in general, that i left without even telling Mason what i had planned to. and i only had this photo to prove it.

what do those really awesome tee shirts that cheesy grandparents wear say? something like: "i went to meet Mason Jennings and all i got was this lousy photograph". yes, that's it.

Mason's website: www.masonjennings.com

Mason's myspace

Mason's latest album: In the Ever -- AWESOME album

nice old treats in the old market of tel aviv.

my sister: i haaaaaaaate jaffa, i dont want to go there mom!
my mom: come on guys, trust me you'll LOVE it.
me: are you sure? or do the bazaars there just smell like fish and human urine?
my sister: uggggghhhhhhh!!
my mom: you guys NEVER want to do what i want to do! (as she looks down real sad) i'll just go with my friends sometime then...(another sad tone)
me: let's just go!
my sister: shenken + shukka carmel are SOOOO much better!
shirin sister-in-law: yeah! i really want to go to shenken and shukka!
my mom: TRUST ME. jaffa is great.
us: okkk...

here's some PURE AWESOME-NESS that i found in jaffa. be prepared, its so SICK you might puke (comments for each photo UNDERNEATH each image):

ok. do i really need to say anything about this image?? if i do, you are too stupid and un-funny to get it. "no agoostas dear!! save some room fo' lata!!!" (PLEASE SOMEONE REMEMBER WHERE I QUOTED THIS FROM!!) who buys this stuff??!?!? i did laugh so so hard when i saw these fat people. peef, take note of the lady on the bench squishing her husband and being completely oblivious. this is a sink. a SINK. a sink for unicorns. or as na'im and decided and mani-corn, a man turned unicorn. but na'im like uni-man. i like mani-corn better. unless the mani-corn has a UNI-BROW THEN, he could be a mani-corn uni-man.
this awesome chaise lounge was 2,000 sheks. that's like $500. damn, in the states that would easily go for $3000. sigh.
i don't really need to say anything but: THIS IS RAD. RADDDDDDDDDDDDDDD.
CUUUUUUUWWWWTTTEEE!!
i love lilies. so so much. the cafe that housed them was even cooler.
dude, this image cracks me the heck up. i mean, we got snow white's 5/7 dwarfs, a creepy 14 year-old dingy troll, some cool lights, and some freaky crap.
tee-hee!
psssshhh. another dress for My Little Pony. she's everywhere. (kinda cool, kinda lame).
i even found that my man had converted from the Baha'i Faith to Judaism. sheesh.

so basically i dont know why any of us were complaining or not excited to go to jaffa. if the photos didnt drive that point home for you, i dont know what will. as it is obvious to see from the photos, jaffa is THE BEST PLACE EVER.

so bascially the day ended with my mom saying : "i TOLD you guys..." with a smirk on her face, a look of victory.

i love my family.

i am fully aware that Dov Charney is a raging pervert.

...but he doesn't participate in slave labor or hire four year-old orphans to work for him. and i'll admit it--i love his gear. i will also admit that some of his advertisements are for prostitutes. but you cant stop me from wearing it. sorry.

there is also something to be said about the models who seek out AA, in the sense that haven't they seen the advertisements? i mean, come on. you expect to be treated with utter and complete respect and honor when most of the shots are of women with their bums hanging out or their breasts fully exposed? come on ladies. dont you think to a certain extent you are already aware of the discrimination and objectification going on?

so with that in mind i just wanted to show you four things: one thing i hate from there, one thing i am excited about them getting, and two items i already own that i love.


HATE (i always start off negative!! damnit!!):


SERIOUSLY who would wear this dress. it is so deeesgusteeengg!! that dress wouldn't look good on anyone. ANYONE. the only creature that "dress" would look decent on is My Little Pony.

two items i own that i really, really LOVE:



i love both of these so much. great colors and great cuts.

item that is "coming soon" that i am really EXCITED about:

very, very cute skirt. very, very short skirt but really cute with leggings and tights. i cant freakin' wait!

HEY! do you hate or love AA???

QUESTION: i HAD to change the font color and the font of the blog entries. the white on black was hurting my eyes...was it a good idea or did you like the white font color better? this seems easier on the eyes--what do you think??

flafeel & homos.

first, a little disclaimer from samimi-extremie:

ok. so there is all of this "blogger" pressure to be this super witty, brainiac, know-all-the-coolest-blogs blogger that takes really cute pictures of stuff, like, "this is what they serve at my favorite diner"--click! and then post it. BUT what i am saying is, forgive me if i dont always make you laugh or make you think "gosh, layli is so witty". because there is no part of me that prides my blog on that characteristic. like today, i found this blog called "dooce" i'm not even going to "hyperlink" that blog, cos it just seems so cliche. but the deal is that SHE supports her husband AND daughter by writing her blog. now, seriously, how weird (and kinda fascinating) is that?? yep. pretty weird. and she just talks about her life on the blog. and people are FASCINATED by it. they go gagagoogoo over it. now, folks, this is where America finds itself in trouble. the fact that "dooce" has 1137 comments on each of her blog postings, is really telling of the state of our country. people are more interested in what dooce craps for breakfast than how many people are dying in hmmm..lets say Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Burma, etc. (sadly the list doesnt end), or even how many people are dying in their own communities due to poverty, lack of education, lack of justice, racism, discrimination, globalization, starbucks + burger king (i mean, not really burger king, but i thought i mine as well get SUPER liberal for ya'll and the starbucks name drop is for all you hippies out there that claim to hate starbucks but when no one is looking you roll up in there with your crusty mason jar and ask for a mocha-mint frappucino).

our reality has become a non-reality, drowing in this romantic notion of non-conformity when in fact we have all become conformists.

p.s. i also dont proof-read my blog entries. what can i say? i'm a non-conforming rebel.

-------------------------------------------------

to be honest, i just like to shoot the breeze from time to time and show you guys a few of my favorite things. which mainly just turns into me showing you guys some polaroids i take and think "hey cool! these are practically extinct now and so my friends should see this!!" or some dude making an idiot out of themselves from youtube. but, whatever.

so yeah. back to flafeel and homos. i'm in israel, remember? you four readers who occasionally browse to my blog? well, for you four, sometimes maybe five, i will be sharing with you some great polaroids that were taken as of late:

i am sorry that i havent taken any cute photos of my food to share with you guys. so the title of my entry may seem misleading perse, but i trust you four readers have an imagination.

this photo of na'im and i, i especially love:

i wanted it to be reminiscent of the polaroid taken of banjo + i last april, yanked from my flickr site:

so the samimi-moore/sahba/aazami clan just got back from mitzpe ramon (old fossil of a crater)/dead sea (evaporating salt pond)/108* too hot of weather road trip through the negev desert of Israel. if you four readers show some love, maybe i'll post something about it. maybe a few photos of na'im drinking water from a camel's mouth or baktash diving to the bottom of the dead sea with his EYES OPEN.

okay, now i have to go to bed. but not before i eat some flafeel & homos. (there are really are signs here that spell it like that).

haifa, israel.

so baktash and i have made it to israel in one piece after having a 14hour too long layover in amsterdam. (damn, that place SUCKS). i got to see the redlight district forthe 1st time, i think na'im and i blanked going there when i was there before...i dont know HOW. it was so sad-- the red light district, that is. i mean, there were 15 year old girls in those rooms. sigh.

but now we are in haifa with my family minus three. we really REALLY REALLY miss my older bro, his wifey and there baby on board. nonetheless, it is really great to be back.

things to do in israel, specifically haifa:

1. go the the Baha'i Shrines and pray + meditate.

2. eat shwarma

3. eat falafel

4. go to the beach

5. go get really really good coffee (i'm serious, they have it in gas stations..and its WAAAYYY better than starbucks times like, eleven--NO JOKE)

6. go bargain in the junk part of town for cool junk.

7. have fresh squeezed juice daily (man, i sure dont miss VT)

8. laugh with the fam.

9. think of how rad haifa is.

that's about it for now. so here are some polaroids as of late (the last one obviously photoshopped, cos my film is getting busted) :






thanks to my sister in law and namo, i have this really neat-o video to share with you all. this is basically how i feel about being done with school and being with my family(minus 3 :():





it really reminds me of my friend, miral. if you know him, you are blessed.

how is your summer going? is it as RADICAL as mine?? heh, i dont think so.

these days are made for whistlin'

ok.
alot has happened since i last blogged. alot.
for starters, school is almost over and that is sad and exciting and scary and cool.

and we are almost going to israel.
Baktash + i are meeting up with the fam (minus jorma, melinda + baby moore) in haifa for the month of june.

this is how i feel about seeing my family:


but that means i have to say goodbye to all my friends )which is really heart-wrenching (cant you tell by my face????):

no silly, this isnt all my friends! but some of the greatest. the women photos are missing. but that's allright. i'll do that soon. just you wait.

its complete b.s. that one cannot foster and accomplish amazing long-lasting relationships with people in less than a year. we were only here for 9 months, and i am so blown away by the depth and intensity of my friendships.

second, this book has really spoke to my whole perspective on life and confirmed all the heart and soul of peacebuilding work that i felt was lacking prior. so i rocked a couple of presentations on art in healing + creativity in peacebuilding. they were so amazingly empowering + exciting.

the book is called "The Moral Imagination" by John Paul Lederach:

this is how i feel about the next phase of my journey, damn it feels good to know that whatever step i make next, will be a great, exciting one filled with service, challenges + joy :




p.s. thank you to steve rozmus for the youtube clip. you rock, steve-o.

p.s.s. oops! his name isnt dick its jack. darn it. dick sounds so cool. right? heh. heh.

one truly great hippie (+ i dont say that much about hippies).

Devendra Banhart.

He's so cute and dirty and hippie-ish. His tunes are really great and funny and sad. i hope you like it or love it or hate it. i dont care, but i do and i dont. enjoy and laugh or cry or scream or simply comment or turn off your computer. okay. or not.

Here he is:

"little yellow spider" -- video with hippies dancing around being strange, eccentric and weird:



"at the hop" -- great video, beautiful production:



WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS?? heh. heh.

anne julie art

yeah, its been a while since i have blogged last. i am a freakin' grad student in case i never said that before. but like any great student, one has to procrastinate at times. heh, heh. so i figured it was time to post a new entry.

i wonder how you all are doing, how life is going...i've been thinking so much lately about how fleeting and exciting life is at times; how there are so many directions we can go in life. and its up to us. YAY! GIVE ME A HUG, TEDDY BEAR!! *smile* what i'm basically trying to say is grad school is almost over. i have three weeks left. WOOHOO! break out the kegger!! (not really, kegs are for college students and non-Baha'i's).

so, annejulie is pretty much amazing. i have three of her pieces. i found her on etsy about a year and a half ago and i am in love. she illustrates children's books as well as creates these amazing, whimsical images that depict sadness, mystery + joy so honestly. the honesty of her pieces has really touched me. alot of these pieces i've purchased for my future daughter, they would go beautifully in her room...cheesy, right? NO! they are beautiful and i wanted to show them to you all:

annejulie's etsy page: www.annejulie.etsy.com

annejulie's webpage: www.annejulie-art.com

check her out, and take care of yerselves.

kisses and teddy bear hugs.

another crazy iranian - i can say that, because i am one.

holy crap i can't wait to show this to my mom, she'll laugh so hard.

i almost died. he gets really into it...wow. what a kook!



(p.s. where does baktash find this stuff??? OMFG!!!)

polaroid shoot w/ elise + portishead

OK. so this is the last of my LA photos for now. i am fully aware of the fact that i have bombarded you with photographs of my visit there and you aren't totally feelin' it. oh well, suck it up.

school is almost over (i have a MONTH, yes, A MONTH) left...i am not that stressed out, even though i went running and am updating my blog instead of reading for my AM class tomorrow WHICH i havent even started reading for yet.

anyhow. here FREAKIN AWESOME PICS!! ENJOY THEM! DONT BE SHY!

take note of the skulls + bodies buried in this person's yard (this is baktash's brother's bandmate -- [wow!]):

ALSO, remember that totally tubular band named PORTISHEAD from like, 1998?? remember how you felt like you were a heroin addict living in a damp cave when you listened to their music? well, remember how you always wanted them to come out with a new album? and we waited and waited for years and it never came? well, its coming. get ready. its gonna be R-A-D-D. i'll keep you updated.

the album's name is: THIRD

the release date is: april 29, 2008

i dont have any cool new vids of samples of their new tunes, but i wanted to give you a heads up. WORD? WORD!

bring on the major leagues.

hey dudets + dudes:

so you all know by now that we went to LA for spring break. it was SIIIIIICK! here are a couple of polaroids from our trip. these polaroids were taken on an extremely windy day in santa monica. 

then we went shopping + found this really awesome parking garage to take pics in. well what is new?? we always find cool parking garages to hang out in. we especially like ones where no cops come bust us for huffing glue and drinking gasoline. what gives, right?

so basically, LA is the entertainment center of the world, so you even need to be entertained when you are parking your cadillac escalade. DAMN! what do you guys think of LA? 

stone cold _________.

this is me and my best ol' buddy elise. we have a band called stone cold *beeeeep*! it is amazing. we leave LA tomorrow for VT (ugh) where it might still be snowing (ughX2). LA isnt as lame as everyone says at all. it is actually pretty awesome. i had to put this photo up. more to come once i get back...there are so many more awesome shots. i love you LA. goodbye. 

sightings

i got to see elise + burt today. i will put some photos up when i can. i saw smokey robinson on the plane + jamie kennedy at a cafe. i dont even know who he is though. and then i found out he stars in that really lame movie about white gangster rapper wannabes, or whatever. (lame).

burt told me that he showed my blog to his coworkers as they were working on the set of american idol. he especially loved the surfer clip. as we all did. i am trying to find funny clips to show you guys more often...a friend of ours showed me this video and we all really enjoyed it. its really funny. it'll make you chuckle.



well, i cant say i miss vermont + the snow.
xoxox.