busy impure blogger

I am going through a blog withdrawal phase. It's not becuase I don't like blogging. I do. As a matter of fact, I consider myself to be a blogoholic, in need of a "BA" program! But my oral exams are approaching and different deadlines have not left much time for blogging these days. I have been reading blogs more than I've been writing in my own blog. Perhaps I have a blogger's block! I guess I need to write more in order to get back into the habit. I have to admit that I have paid more attention to my Farsi blog. I have been reading a lot more blogs in Farsi than in English and that is probably why I update my Farsi blog more often.
By the way, I am thinking of getting a domain and upgrading my blog in the near future. After I am done with my Oral exams, I will be blogging on a more regular basis and with a nicer-looking weblog.

A couple of updates:

The Washington conference on the Iranian diaspora was good. It seems to me that the focus is shifting from the story of "exile" to that of "empowerment" of the Iranian diaspora. I am glad that we are moving beyond the rigid narrative of exile. But, I am concerned that this "empowerment" may border on uncritical celebrations of a homogeneously imagined raced and classed Iranian-ness. "Success stories" are good, but self-criticism is also important. Of course in the face of increased racism towards Middle Easterners in the U.S., there needs to be lobbying in the U.S. political structures. But, for what we are lobbying, and how we are lobbying are also important questions that we cannot ignore. I think there needs to be room to pay attention to Iranian diaspora's complicity with dominant discourses. Giving a critique of non-governmental organizations that lobby on behalf of Iranians in the U.S. is not to deny the importance of these organizations. Unfortunately, however, any kind of critique is often received as rejecting them. A "naqd" is mistaken for "naf'i."

On a different matter... I was browsing Iranian.com and I came across this nausious site called "The Aryan Emancipation Society of Iran." Check out a couple of excerpts from their forum:

"Nahavand's Incorruptible Few: Soon after, when the march of the Arab Hordes subsided into an inaudible advance over the horizon, and the rivers of Mount Damavand started flooding in despair; a select few were spared. Devoid of biological decay, the survivors of the fateful battle near Hamadan would become 'Nahavand's Incorruptible Few'. "

Here is another passage from a forum discussion on this site: "In order to subvert the homosexual expansionism however, same-sex couples must not be allowed to procreate through means such as artificial insemination."

As a far too corrupted non-Aryan Iranian, I hope that this group spares those of us who are not interested in the purity of their emancipation!