Speed of Life

Update: Video Interview With Dr. Arash Hejazi Who Aided Neda As She Died Below is the story of the writer Paulo Coelho's dear friend who tends to Neda Agha Soltan's last moments. I post this in full from Paulo's site to help refute the lies coming from the hardliners in Iran. Please read for yourself this narrative told through emails between Paulo and the doctor: The Doctor Published by Paulo Coelho on June 24, 2009 Iran 2000, Brazilian Writer Paulo Coelho with Iranian Doctor and Translator Arash Hejazi (Late Sunday I watch Neda’s video. I suspect that I recognize Arash Hejazi, but I prefer not to believe in what I am seeing. I send him and email) Sunday 21 23:011 Dear Arash I need to know where you stand, if things that I am seeing/reading are true. Then I can myself take a position - depending on your advice, of course. love Paulo Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2009 02:05:05 -04:00 Subject: your country Dearest Paulo, I am now in Tehran. The video of Neda’s murder was taken by my fr...

The Call - ندا -Neda , originally uploaded by greggchadwick . Gregg Chadwick The Call - ندا -Neda 36"x48" oil on linen 2009

Update: The Full Story of Neda's Doctor and Paulo Coelho Update: Video Interview With Dr. Arash Hejazi Who Aided Neda As She Died The Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho, well known for his fable "The Alchemist", writes on his blog about the doctor who cared for Neda as she died in Tehran on Saturday: "My best friend in Iran, a doctor who showed me its beautiful culture when I visited Teheran in 2000, who fought a war in the name of the Islamic Republic (against Iraq), who took care of wounded soldiers in the frontline, who always stood by real human values, is seen here trying to resuscitate Neda - hit in her heart." -Paulo Coelho Neda Agha Soltan Coelho often writes of angels. Neda is being called "an angel of freedom." Below is a passage on angels from Paulo Coelho's site: When angels talk Nobody is courageous all the time. The unknown is a constant challenge, and being afraid is part of the journey. What to do? Talk to yourself. Talk alone. Talk to y...

U2 Sunday Bloody Sunday from the Self Aid benefit concert held in Dublin on 17 May 1986 For my dad and brother - Thinking of you on Father's Day.

New Video from today in Iran - Sunday, June 21, 2009

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. " -Gandhi

An amazing piece of work from Jeff Clark. More of Jeff's work at: Neoformix

Today in Tehran. The Guardian has a source on the ground who estimates that today's silent protest has a drawn a crowd of up to a million people. Much more at: A Day of Mourning

LAPD officers take photos of the Lakers players along Figueroa Street. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) Amid the post-parade crowd, I saw Rick Steves tonight in LA - he spoke at length about the political importance of travel and his new PBS program on travel in Iran. Bravo.

From a source in Iran: "Today again we were hundreds of thousands of Sea of Green, chanting 'my brother - my martyr - I will claim your vote for you!'" Iran / today / Krimkhan St / protest NOW #iranelection RT from Iran:today's demonstration was a real victory & fortunately there were no basij/Sepah HQ in the way & nothing bad happened Iran / today / Krimkhan bridge / protest NOW #iranelection Confirmed - Iranian National Football Team show support for Mousavi - sea of green #Iranelection

images of Tuesdays silent protest #iranelection , originally uploaded by .faramarz . Images are coming in from today's new round of peaceful protests in Iran. More at: .faramarz's photo stream on flickr

Below are some thoughts on how we can help our brothers and sisters in Iran. The purpose of this guide is to help you participate constructively in the Iranian election protests through Twitter. 1. Do NOT publicise proxy IP's over twitter, and especially not using the #iranelection hashtag. Security forces are monitoring this hashtag, and the moment they identify a proxy IP they will block it in Iran. If you are creating new proxies for the Iranian bloggers, DM them to @stopAhmadi or @iran09 and they will distribute them discretely to bloggers in Iran. 2. Hashtags, the only two legitimate hashtags being used by bloggers in Iran are #iranelection and #gr88, other hashtag ideas run the risk of diluting the conversation. 3. Keep you bullshit filter up! Security forces are now setting up twitter accounts to spread disinformation by posing as Iranian protesters. Please don't retweet impetuosly, try to confirm information with reliable sources before retweeting. The legitimate sourc...

Tehran Rally Against Ahmadinejad اعتراض به نتایج انتخابات 25 june 2009, ۱۳۸۸ خرداد ۱۵ سال Much more at: Andrew Sullivan Follows the Events in Iran Breaking photos from Iran on flickr: Iran Today

Moby Pale Horses from his upcoming album.

Thanks to fryingpanfire for these images of vibrant, political street art from Tehran. The artists' identities remain hidden for their safety.

A supporter of Mir Hossein Mousavi helps evacuate an injured riot-police officer who had been attacking Mousavi backers during confrontation in Tehran on June 13, 2009. photo by Olivier Laban-Matte This photo will prove to be an iconic image of the green revolution in Iran. Mousavi's supporters want change and they want peace! More photos of the events in Iran at: Iran's Green Revolution

Follow the breaking events at Andrew Sullivan at Atlantic Monthly. This is a sea change in Iranian politics. One of Andrew Sullivan's readers writes: I just talked to my father in Iran a few minutes ago. He had been in the demonstrations. He was telling me people were chanting: "Ahmadi, Ahmadi 24 millionet koo?" ("Ahmadi, Ahmadi were are your 24 millions?") and "Ahmadi, Ahmadi 63-dar sadet koo?"("Ahmadi Ahmadi, where is your 63%"). He said that the protesters were chanting "Nirooye Entezami Hemayat Hemayat" (asking police for support) And he was also confirming that at the beginning when there were smaller groups, the police was attacking them, but as the crowd built up thay had to stand back. We might be experiencing a true revolution here. Live tweets from Iran at: Live Tweeting the Revolution ماگوسفندنیستیم! We are not sheep!

Ed Ruscha The Back of Hollywood 22 x 80 inches oil on canvas 1977 © Ed Ruscha The Los Angeles Lakers have won their 15th NBA Championship and of course I think of Ed Ruscha who has visualized the city of LA during most of the Lakers championship years. Fabrik Magazine : T he art critic Peter Plagens once said that while other Los Angeles based artists had the LA look, you “look at LA.” What is it about LA that you find so compelling to look at? Ed Ruscha : I tend to borrow things from LA. Some of these ugly buildings I see in LA are really food for thought. Some of the simplest things in the world help me view and understand LA. When the sun is shining here there is this remote tie in with glamour that other cities don’t have. This place doesn’t seem to have anywhere to look up to. It’s totally open ended… But I think it goes back to simple things like orange trees, the sun shining, freeways, and Chicano car stylings. Chicano car styling is one of the most treasured cultural icons of...

more photo's of todays chaos #iranelection , originally uploaded by .faramarz . More photos from Iran at: fhashemi on flickr Tehran 24 Details of the election fraud/coup from garysick: the classic definition of a coup in Iran "On the basis of what we know so far, here is the sequence of events starting on the afternoon of election day, Friday, June 12. Near closing time of the polls, mobile text messaging was turned off nationwide Security forces poured out into the streets in large numbers The Ministry of Interior (election headquarters) was surrounded by concrete barriers and armed men National television began broadcasting pre-recorded messages calling for everyone to unite behind the winner The Mousavi campaign was informed officially that they had won the election, which perhaps served to temporarily lull them into complacency But then the Ministry of Interior announced a landslide victory for Ahmadinejad Unlike previous elections, there was no breakdown of the vo...

From an email as reported by Nico Pitney on the Huffington Post: "My next door neighbor is an Iranian immigrant who came here in 1977. He just received a SAT phone call from his brother in Tehran who reports that the rooftops of nighttime Tehran are filled with people shouting 'Allah O Akbar' in protest of the government and election results. The last time he remembers this happening is in 1979 during the Revolution. Says the sound of tens of thousands on the rooftops is deafening right now."

P060709PS-0075 , originally uploaded by The Official White House Photostream . President Barack Obama tours the Centre Pompidou modern art museum in Paris with his family June 6, 2009. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza) I would love to have a conversation with President Obama and his family about the exhibition, ALEXANDER CALDER LES ANNÉES PARISIENNES, 1926-1933, which they are touring in this photo. Take a video tour of the exhibition at the Pompidou: Présentation de l'exposition Calder au Centre Pompidou by centrepompidou

Listen to Danger Mouse with Sparklehorse and David Lynch on Dark Night of the Soul here: Danger Mouse - Dark Night of the Soul 1. "Revenge" (featuring The Flaming Lips) 2. "Just War" (featuring Gruff Rhys) 3. "Jaykub" (featuring Jason Lytle) 4. "Little Girl" (featuring Julian Casablancas) 5. "Angel's Harp" (featuring Black Francis) 6. "Pain" (featuring Iggy Pop) 7. "Star Eyes (I Can't Catch It)" (featuring David Lynch) 8. "Everytime I'm with You" (featuring Jason Lytle) 9. "Insane Lullaby" (featuring James Mercer) 10. "Daddy's Gone" (featuring Mark Linkous and Nina Persson) 11. "The Man Who Played God" (featuring Suzanne Vega) 12. "Grim Augury" (featuring Vic Chesnutt) 13. "Dark Night of the Soul" (featuring David Lynch) Thanks to NPR! Danger Mouse at UCLA Hammer Museum Lecture photo by Gregg Chadwick Buy the book and blank cd here: Dark Nigh...

This site works best on the Safari 4 web browser. Download from Apple here: Safari 4

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Fade Away, full band version, Live in Stockholm, Sweden @ Stockholm Stadion June 7th 2009 "We were always serious about Our Fun " - Bruce Springsteen, interviewed by Expressen TV, Stockholm Before launching into the first full band version (since 1981) of his song "Fade Away", which originally appeared on "The River" album, Bruce gets down on his knees and begs: "Is there anybody out there that’s ever felt the love they were having slipping away? I mean it’s not gone yet, but you can tell that it’s going… Have you ever felt a love that you had, slipping away? That’s right. That is an ugly feeling. You don’t know what you can do to fix it - probably nothing - you fucked up already! And so, it’s slipping away… And so it comes down to this: Is there any man out there with too much pride to beg to his woman?! I don’t have that much power; when it comes down to it - I beg! I get on my knees, and I beg to my woman...

Full Text: President Obama’s Speech to the Muslim World, delivered on June 4, 2009 in Cairo, Egypt (The phrases in bold type have been marked as areas of emphasis or discussion.) I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning, and for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt's advancement. Together, you represent the harmony between tradition and progress . I am grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. I am also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: assalaamu alaykum . We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world – tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of co-existence and coo...

Thought you would like to know that my painting of Barack Obama: "American Dreams" is up on the New York Times website. More at: Obama in Art