Arrest of ‘blogfather’ confirmed in Tehran

Update on Hoder. Arrest of ‘blogfather’ confirmed in Tehran

Iran confirmed for the first time Tuesday that a well-known Iranian-Canadian blogger had been arrested last month and was facing charges of “insulting religious figures.”

The confirmation that Hossein Derakhshan, 33, was in custody came from Iran’s revolutionary court spokesman, Ali Reza Jamshidi, at a news conference in Tehran.

International human rights groups and media reports said Derakhshan, a former Toronto resident, was arrested on Nov. 1.

“His case is in a preliminary investigative stage at a revolutionary court and he is currently in incarceration at a jail in Tehran,” Jamishid said, giving no further explanation of the charges against Derakhshan.

In Iran, revolutionary courts handle national security matters.

Known as “the blogfather” for his pioneering efforts at helping Iranian bloggers post welblogs in the Persian language, Derakhshan was both an outspoken critic of the clerical regime in Tehran, and supportive of his homeland’s controversial nuclear program.

Twilight Author Inspired by Anne

Ben pointed me to this nugget: Twilight Author Inspired by Anne

One of the current bestseller phenomenon’s is the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. The series has grabbed the attention of young female readers in particular (something in common with the books of LMM) and led to a major new motion picture. What would be the common thread between the Anne series and a romance series about vampires? According to Meyer:

”The series influenced how my series turned out. Because I was never a fan of the stories where everything ends and they kiss at the wedding. Anne of Green Gable started out with her as a child, she had a very fully described adolescence, she had a book-long engagement, we got to see her wedding, we got to see her have her first child and lose her first child, we got to see her children grow up. We got the whole life, and I loved that.’

Showing one more link to anne and the undead.

Floaters

I’ve always had to visionproblems, and now I know what one of them is called: Floaters

Floaters are tiny clumps of fibers or cells inside the vitreous, the clear gel-like fluid that fills the inside of your eye. They can appear as little dots, circles, lines, clouds or cobwebs. You may see small specks or clouds moving in your field of vision. While they look as if they are in front of your eye, they are actually floating inside it.  What you see are the shadows they cast on the retina, the layer of cells lining the back of the eye that senses light and allows you to see.

Never knew there was a name for it. My sister complains of the same thing, so I guess it is in the family. Chatting with Mark Dubin, in SL, and he described my jumping eye syndrome as “vertical oscillopsia” which is cool. I can take that to the eye doctor for my next appointment. He also suggested looking at Superior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence Syndrome, which describes it in conjunction with my tinnitus. Even better! Fun things to learn.

Jero - African-American Enka

Jero - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jero (ジェロ? born Jerome Charles White, Jr. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 4, 1981) is an American-born Japanese enka singer. His maternal grandmother was Japanese. He is the first black enka singer in Japanese music history.

I like enka for some reason. It is sort of Clint Eastwood getting in touch with his sensitive musical soul. There’s a serious comic element in nostalgia… and probably concealed weapons.