AmirCat Cometh

Comic Books: Daredevil #6 by Mark Waid & Marcos Martin

2011-12-02T09:52:00.000-08:00

Let’s get something out of the way first; Daredevil is one of the top books Marvel is producing right now. And if it wasn’t for Thunderbolts by Jeff Parker, Declan Shelvey, and Kev Walker; it would be my favorite Marvel title.

That said, I felt like this arc went one issue too long. I enjoyed watching the character Bruiser, but maybe Mark Waid and company could have ended this arc faster than they did. I love the art of Marcos Marin, but if I have to choose between his work and Paolo Rivera, I’d like to see more Rivera. The variety and tradeoff between the two is great though.

The story involves Daredevil saving a blind kid who may or may not know too much about the mob. I enjoyed last issue a little more because the art seemed to show more of how Daredevil sees the world. Also there seemed to be more suspense throughout the pages.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable issue and Waid, Martin and Rivera continue to put out great work.

Pros:

Awesome revamp of Daredevil by the great Mark Waid. Great art from Marcos Martin

Cons:

Not much, except that I would rather just read the whole arc at once. Also, last issue was so awesome that #6 had a high bar to live up to.

Batman #3

2011-11-17T11:44:00.000-08:00

Batman #3

Review by Amir Malekpour

Scott Snyder has come up with a satisfying new villain for Batman. The great thing about this issue is that we get more information on the secret organization that will literaly haunt Bruce for a while. The genius of the issue is that the reason the villain has not battled Batman before is because HE DIDN'T want to! So obvious, but so original!

When the new DC New 52 Batman team was announced DC, I had my reservations. I had been loving Scott Snyder's team up with Jock & Francesco Francavilla and just wanted that transfered over. Also, I was not famaliar with Greg Capullo's art. Up until last week, I felt that while Capullo was a master craftsman, he was not the right man for Snyder's vision of Batman. But I'm man enough to admit that I was incorrect and Capullo just killed it in Batman #3. Of course, Capullo can do action, it's obvious, but I am also enjoying his talking panels and "acting" of the characters. My favorite shot is of the evil villain of the issue "Talon" and his equally evil pet Owl.

This was the best issue so far and I can't wait for the next one.

My favorite Panel:

TBA

Writer:

Scott Snyder

Artist:

Greg Capullo

Severed # 4

2011-11-17T00:22:00.000-08:00

Another stellar issue by Snyder & company. Our protagonist gets his friends kiss and possibly faces his first tragedy. The wonderful think about Severed is that it's creepy in a totally familiar way. But that feeling of famaliarity is shown to you within a story that you've never heard of before and with characters who are so foreign.

Right from the first page, the tone is set. Something bad is going to happen. The ending to this issue reminded me of Snyder's big reveal in Detective Comics. It makes sense, and you've seen all the signs, but you just don't think it'll happen. This is truly amazing story telling.

Futaki's painted style really gives the comic a Norman Rockwell-esque feel, which is extra scary.

Writer:
Scott Snyder
Scott Tuft

Artist:
Attila Futaki

Favorite Panel:
That's the worst looking Denny's ever.

Buy more indie comic books!

2011-11-16T10:05:00.000-08:00

by Amir Malekpour

Recently I've been thinking of shifting my purchasing from the major two comic book publishers to some indie comics. The reason initially came about when I realized that comics is what I spend most of my money on, next to rent and food. But finance is not the reason for the switch because indie comics tend to be more expensive than DC comics, sometimes more than Marvel (not often).

Here are some reasons for wanting to purchase outside DC/Marvel:

1. Helping out the little guy

I think this is the most important part of buying indie comics. As a part-time comedian, I know how much an artis/creator appreciates when there are afficianados who seekout lesser known or start-ups. You're supporting someone who is doing comic books for the love of the medium because god knows there isn't much money in it.

2. More original content done with love

I love popular superhero comics, but how many times can you read about Spider-Man having girl trouble, while holding down a job, and fighting bad guys. The answer is a lot, but that's not the point. If you want to read some original content, even in the superhero side, try indie comics or smaller publishers, you won't regret it.

3. chance to discover talent before everyone else does

What's more cool than knowing that you enjoyed someone's work and supported their art form way before everyone else jumped on the bandwagon. I read Hickman's Nightly News, Pax Romana, Transhuman before he ever got to work on his awesome FF run. It's been so enjoyable to see him become so successful. Props to James Sime of Isotope for recommending him.

4. Indie Comics more rare, hence worth more

If you're about the bottom line, $$$, your greedy little hands will want to buy some indie comics. Some of the most expensive comics of the last 10 years have been rare indie comics. Chew #1 ($587.77 on Ebay), Our Love is Real ($119.99), and Non-Player ($125.00) come to mind.

5. Chance to meet and be friends with the creators

I can't forget about this. Some of the nicest people I've met are comic book creators. Now, I've met nice creators in all categories, but newer creators are not hounded as much, so you can pick their brain about their work.

Comics art awesome! Life is Awkward. :)

2011-11-15T00:25:00.000-08:00

by Amir Malekpour

Alternate Press Expo or APE as most people know it, is a wonderful comics/zines/arts convention in San Francisco generally happening around October. I love going to APE because afterwards, I like to attend the awesome party and the mini comic awards show at my comic book shop, Isotope Comics. Of course I always end up being so tired that I have to tap our of the party too fast. I guess I am getting old. It's great to meet new creators and awesome new friends who love comics as much as I do.

While I was at APE, I purchases two copies of "Scenes from an Impending Marriage" by Adrian Tomine, one for a friend getting married, and one for me. Unfortunately I didn't know my friend's fiance's name (now husband). So this created a tough situation when it came time for Adrian Tomine to sign it for us! I gave Tomine a name I thought would be the right one, but he advised me to not do that. Good advise! I ended up keeping both copies of the book, because I decided he might get offended that the book only has her name on it. Of course I hope I'm never found dead and people find the two copies of books in my bedroom. One with my name and one with hers. It'll just be too creepy.

Anyways, APE always has great comic book guests. In 2009, they had Jeff Smith of Bone fame. The last two years they've had Dan Clowes, Adrian Tomine, Tony Millionaire, Scott Morse and many many more.

Sometime in the future, I will review scenes from an impending marriage by Adrian Tomine, the book I didn't give to the woman whose husband I didn't know.

Comicbooks I'm most excited about this week!

2011-11-13T09:19:00.000-08:00

by Amir Malekpour

As each week ends, I start to get excited about the prospects of the new week. I start to ponder the upcoming week and think about the charmed life I live. There are a lot of things on my mind ; I need to write more comedy, how can I learn PHP/SQL faster, and what if zombie apocalypse hit us today, do I have enough canned goods? But what gets me most excited about the week is Wednesday, when the new comics come out. This week I am planning on getting 11 issues and I've rated them in order of excitement.

11. Birds of Prey #3 by

Written by: Duane Swierczynski
Art by: Jesus Saiz

One of the biggest surprises of the NEW 52 has been Birds of Prey. I've never been into this title before, even though it's had great creators. But this time around, I'm liking the combination of the team building, human bombs, and addition of a sexy bad ass character Starling.

10. Planet of the Apes #8

(W) Daryl Gregory
(A/C) Carlos Magno

Planet of the Apes has been consistently good month in and month out. Gregory's pen has yielded a political story that takes place in the future, but feels like the middle ages. I can't say enough good things about Carlos Magno. This guy reminds me of Geof Darrow and Frank Quietly. He is that good! The only reason rate it higher is because I missed #7 and I'm not sure if I'll understand what's going on.

9. Mudman #1

story /art / cover Paul Grist

This comic book is my dark horse of the week. I am not too familiar with Grist, though I do own one issue of Jack Staff. The cover looks really cool and I wouldn't mind getting a fresh take on superheros.

8. Batman #3

Written by: Scott Snyder
Cover by: Greg Capullo

Scott Snyder is my favorite writer currently producing work. I own everything he's done, except his human Torch issues. So you can imagine that I'm pretty excited about this issue. I didn't rank it higher because unlike 99% of the comic book readership, I wasn't as much into Greg Capullo's art. Don't get me wrong, the guy has chops and I like his art. But I just feel like it's too cartoony for Snyder's style of writing. This issue is going to be amazing and I'm sure I'll love it since it's being done by two pros, so I have nothing to worry about.

7. Justice League #3

Written by: Geoff Johns
Cover by: Jim Lee

Geoff Johns the nicest great writer of our time. If you're judging from the cover, we'll be getting Wonder Woman in this issue which should be a lot of fun. I'm excited. Honestly, Justice League's pace has been a little too slow for me, but that doesn't mean that I am not enjoying Jim Lee's amazing art and Johns's careful deconstruction of the team. I'm excited!

6. Nightwing #3

Written by: Kyle Higgins
Cover by: Eddy Barrows

Another surprise book for me. I expected to buy the #1 issue and never read Nightwing again. But hey, don't blame me, I was loving the Batman Dick and didn't want him to go back. Was I wrong!?!? Higgins and Barrows are killing it in this series. I love the story from Grayson's past, and the action in this comic is so much fun. The element of romance and danger doesn't hurt either.

5. Thunderbolts #165

Written by: Jeff Parker
Cover by: Kev Walker

Easily my favorite Marvel comic and the only one on this list. Jeff Parker is so funny and so original. This new story line has the defected Thunderbolts in WWII helping Captain America fight Hitler! Nothing gets better. This book has a rotation of some future comic book artist stars, but Kev Walker is the main guy and he rules.

4. Supergirl #3

Written by: Michael F. Johnson
Pencils by: Mahmud Asrar

Johnson and Asrar just kick ass on this title. Supergirl is one of those titles that anyone can get enjoyment out of. This is one that would be good for all ages, races, creeds, and genders. But that doesn't mean it's bland. In fact Supergirl has been one of the more badass characters in the new DC 52.

3. Catwoman #3

Written by: Judd Winick
Art by: Guillem March

This title is not for kids, that's for sure. But I am freaking loving it! I like the sex and the violence and don't think it's disrespectful at all. Of course I am not a woman, but I know a few women who have read this issue and loved it. But that's not why I'm excited about this. I think March has stepped up his awesome art and Winick shows every week why he has become one of my top 5 writers today.

2. Wonder Woman #3

Written by: Brian Azzarello
Art by: Cliff Chiang

No surprise here. If it's one thing I've learned from the new DC 52 is that in DC women rule and no one rules more than Wonder Woman! The always amazing Chiang delivers on every page and Azzarello is doing my most favorite work of his career.

1. Chew #24

Written by: John Layman
Art by: Rob Guillory

oh GOD I love this title. Chew has been consistently good for 25 straight issues! Month in and month out this comic book is intriguing, funny, and beautiful. I have bought every copy and can't wait for the omnibus. I love this team.

Shorthand #1 by Jason McNamara & Rahsan Ekedal

2011-11-12T20:17:00.000-08:00

Review by Amir Malekpour

When reading Shorthand, I found myself being jealous of the main character’s detective skills. Now that probably says something about me, for example I need to work on my self esteem, but it also says a lot about Jason McNamara’s great writing skills and Rahsan Ekedal’s ability to convey a story.

Oscar is the mysterious old man who seems to have a knack for deductive reasoning. He ends up of course solving a small town mystery which is a both a great introduction to his character and a setup for wonderful new adventures. I certainly hope we get a long series about this new character. By the way, this would be a great comic book for all ages, as you’ll find kids having a lot in common with Oscar.

My favorite panel:

Writer: Jason McNamara

Artist: Rahsan Ekedal

Star Trek and The Legion of Superheroes #2

2011-11-11T07:31:00.000-08:00

Review by Amir Malekpour

For the second month in a row Chris Roberson turns up an awesome Star Trek & the Legion of Superheroes cross-over comic book. Now I must preface this by saying that while I enjoy Star Trek, I am not a fanatic and I have read Legion comics, but have no idea what they are about. So I picked the first issue of this comic and enjoyed it so much that I had to get this one; and I am not disappointed. Money well spent.

In order to enjoy this issue, you'll need to have minimal knowledge of the original Star Trek crew page and that's it. It was definitely a good idea to have an information page at the beginning of the comic that shows everyone's powerset and duties.

While issue number one was the setup of the two factions getting put into the situation, this issue shows what each team is best at doing. The Star Trek team, led by Kirk is able to fight off some soldiers and get a hold of a mini-ship. The Legion on the other hand is able to flee a conflict without harming any innocent people.

The art by the Moy siblings is great. It has kinetic energy and the familiar characters look good without being photo refrenced. I totally recommend this comic book to those like me who enjoy Star Trek and want to know more about the other DC characters.

Favorite Panel:

It's good to see Spock has not lost his sense of humor ...

Writer: Chris Roberson

Art: J. Moy & P. Moy

Demon Knights #3

2011-11-10T11:04:00.000-08:00

Review by Amir Malekpour

Nothing makes me get interested in a title than a two timing sorceress who is “Playing” a very dangerous demon from hell and nerd dweeb who had to walk around with that Demon. That’s basically what we get here. Demon Knights has been one of my favorite titles from the new DC Universe, but I can’t say that I’m surprised. Knight & Squire was one of my favorite things that I read this year.

Demon Knights has EVERYTHING you would want in a badass comic book. Two-timing sorceress, a cuckolded demon, a transgendered badass, a female amazon warrior, and so much more. The art was good too, though at times inconsistent. But you’re going to want to pick up these issues or the trade when it comes out … but seriously don’t wait till the!

My favorite panel:

Pave way for the new transgendered warrior! Move over David Bowie.

Checkout the creators:

Writer: Paul Cornell

Artist: Diogenes Neves

Batwoman #3

2011-11-09T23:20:00.000-08:00

Review by Amir Malekpour

JH Williams III is one of my favorite artists working in comics today. It’s amazing how much of a talent he is. He’s been criticized for sacrificing story telling for style. But not by me! In my eyes, he can do no wrong, specially the past few years since he’s been doing two, sometimes three different art styles.

Batwoman for the third month in a row did not disappoint. The art was amazing as usual and the story was the best it’s been since the DC relaunch. In this issue, we see Kate Kane (Batwoman) battle with her demons, be pursued by a mysterious agent Chase, and accidentally skip out on a new promising romantic interest. My only complaint is that it appears that Kate’s father looks really young. I’m not sure if that’s because he has been de-aged or JH Williams chose to have him color his hair and be a 50 year old that looks like he’s 30.

There are definitely some interesting predicaments going in this issue as her relationship with her father and cousin come into question. All in all, this was the best Batwoman issue so far.

It’s very hard to pick my favorite panel, but I’ll have to go with the end which combines a romantic moment with a foreshadowing of the horror that Kate will be facing.

Be sure to checkout the creators at their respective pages:

Writers:

JH Williams III

Haden Blackman

Art:

JH Williams III

Silver Surfer: Parable

2011-05-17T13:11:00.000-07:00

by Amir Malekpour

I just got this in the mail yesterday and read the whole trade paperback last night. What amazing art by Mobius! The comic is written by Stan Lee and drawn by the master French comic artist Mobius.

I'm not goingto go too much into detail about the story, but as you can imagine, Galactus is back in town and there is gonna be trouble. Silver Surfer the philosphor superhero that he is, tries to save humanity again, cause ... well ... gosh darnit he loves us.

Stan Lee's writing is surprisingly modern (1988) and Mobius is just so ahead of his time.

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

Writing 4.5/5
Art 5/5
Overall 5/5

Laughter kills

2010-12-08T11:55:00.000-08:00

by Jack Wolf (Ghost Writer)

I've never told anyone this story. 73 years ago, when I was a young man of 52, I had a brother.

As you know, we were born in a country at war. It was tough because you never knew when you'd die. Robot assassins have gotten good at their job, not as good as the sex-bots, but hey what do I know. I remember us laughing a lot, always being happy despite all the horror.

The one thing we'd laugh about most was how in war torn countries, like ours, no one has to bother committing suicide, and your patience will eventually pay off, if you're unlucky. We'd laugh and laugh and laugh, which is ironic because my brother did eventually kill himself. He committed suicide by laughing, and which was detected by a laugh-seeking missile. I for one believe that he laughed on purpose.

Sunday Tea with X-Women

2010-08-22T12:26:00.001-07:00

This Sunday I decided to stay in the house and write this. But I'm still having English Tea with a Turkey and Cheese Sandwich.

I finally had the pleasure of reading a comic book I have bought for over a month, X-Women. This comic book is about the X-Men ladies Rogue, Storm, Psylocke, Kitty Pryde and Rachel Summers going on an all-girls vacation. Of course as it happens, trouble ensues and the five superheroes have to spring into action. Pretty standard, right? Wrong!

First off you have Chris Claremont writing,a MAD Genius who made the X-Men what they are today. Then you get the amazing art of Milo Manara. Manara is considered a legend in France and is famous for porn/adult themed comic books.

Anyways, I am not going to ruin the story for you, but I will say that the issue is full of half-naked, sexy female super heroes in compromising poses. So in a sense, not too different than any other modern day comic book. What's different is that two legends created this awesome comic book.

The Backgrounds in the comic look just as sexy and beautiful as the foreground. Making females into sex objects is not a new thing in comic books, even the ones geared towards children (which this one most certainly is not!).

What makes this issue perhaps better than the run of the mill sexist comic is the fact that the women kick ass, and are not weak. They are strong characters who look sexy and pick who THEY wanna party with. If you're a man(gay/straight/doesn't matter) and you like comic books, I'd pick this up. If you're a woman, do it anyways. I'd love to know if you think this is misogynistic.

I take back every negative thing I've said about Reynolds being cast as Green Lantern

2010-07-25T17:57:00.000-07:00

Not really.... but it's hard to not like the guy after he recites the oath after being questioned by a kid. :)

Ryan Reynolds will always be Van Wilder to me, which is cool, I like him, but not right as Hal Jordan; BUT I'll give him a shot, I hope that he'll surprise me. :)

Sunday Evening Iced Tea

2010-07-25T17:05:00.000-07:00

Every Sunday I go to one of my favorite coffee shops in San Francisco, Cafe Triest, to write some jokes, prepare for the week coming, read a book, or reread some of my favorite comic books.

Starting July 25th, I will be writing about some of the favorite things I read, did, or saw in hopes that others who share interests would be able to enjoy them also. Hey, I'm not a greedy fellow, I like to share.

So you might be surprised to find out that, in addition to doing Stand-Up Comedy Professionally, I am a Search Engine Marketing Strategist. Last Friday was my last day at my old company, Friend Finder Network which I had been at for close to 8 years! It was a bittersweet day because I will miss a lot of great people. But I am extremely excited to be starting a new position at the Apollo Group and joining an awesome team there. I have not had a chance to write any new jokes, but that's cool because my mind has been stewing on new ways I will add to my new company just like I did for Friend Finder.

As a good bye present my friend and colleague Roland gave me as a gift; Absolute Green Lantern Rebirth [Hard Cover] . First off, let me say that I made a fool out of myself. When I saw him come into work on Friday, I noticed that he had gotten something and I assumed it was a book for himself, so as a joke, I asked "Hey, buddy! What didja get me?". He gave me the present and instantly made me feel like a jerk.

For many months I had debated getting this book because it's written by one of the best comic book writers working today Geoff Johns and penciled by Ethan Van Sciver, one of the super stars artists of the last 10 years. This story arc is one of the reasons Green Lantern related comic books tend to be some of the highest selling comic books. There is also a movie coming out next summer starring Ryan Reynolds. It's one of the first books I read when I started to come back to comic books as an adult. Highly recommended.

So why don't I have this book? One reason is that I already own it's cheaper versions, trade paperback and issue formats. Both of which have been signed by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver. I also felt that the $75 price tag was too much for an absolute with essentially only 6 issues. For example, Batman Hush, another great DC absolute has 12 issues with slightly higher price tag.

But after receiving the book and seeing that I could have gotten it for $48 on amazon, I felt like it is worth it. This is a beautiful book and the large format really shows how amazing an artist Ethan Van Sciver is. This book is going on my premier shelf up there with Watchmen absolute edition and Batman Absolutes. As a bonus, it includes a Green Lantern issue written and drawn by my favorite comic book creator/writer/artist/human being Darwyn Cooke.

SWORD #24 - My Favorite Comic Book the week of May 11th

2010-05-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

This is the first issue of Sword I have ever read. It happens to be the end of the saga and the book.

To be fair, my friend who is a big Luna brother's fan gave me a synopsis of the whole saga. Probably the first trade's worth.

The entire story is about a girl whose whole family gets murdered by three gods who happen to be siblings. She finds out that her dad was the reason the gods were kept in line and that is why he had to die. She finds a sword that is their weakness and vows to kill them. So here we are at the end.

I picked up this issue just to read it and if I liked it, I would go back and buy all the trades. Well knowing the story, even a little bit, I totally loved this issue. Really great.

Having not read the first 23 issues I had no problem understanding this ending, but I know I have to go back and buy everything and I WILL!

This is an amazing read.

The Official Website of the Luna Brothers

Image Comics

Ladies & Gentleman: The Pipettes

2009-07-31T09:10:00.000-07:00

Who would have thought that by reading comic books you can find your musical anthem for every morning? Well it's happened. If you know me, you know that since the start of the year I've been in a comic book reading frenzy and one of my favorite comic books of the year has been Phonogram: The Singles Club. Well it's an awesome comic about young people in Britain who love Brit-pop and magic. Before reading this comic, I cared for neither. After reading it, I like Brit-pop.

Click on picture to read my review of the comic on the cool comic book website Ifanboy.com:

The comic also lists the music that the characters listen to and I looked all the songs up on Youtube. My favorite by far is "Pullshapes" by the Pipettes. I like it so much, it's become an anthem for me to wake up every morning to go to the gym and/or work.

Make sure to visit ifanboy.com if you are interested in comics, pick up Phonogram: The Singles Club, and of course checkout this Pipettes video.

Phone Tag Part II

2009-07-15T14:24:00.002-07:00

This is a video that I made with Patrick Bulger of "Things We Made" fame. I'm pretty proud of my off-the-cuff dialogue and acting. Most of the credit should go to Patrick for rolling the film when I actually lost my mind. Hope you enjoy. :)

-Amir

The Amir Supremacy

2009-07-15T14:24:00.001-07:00

Video directed by Lee Stoneman. It was fun to shoot and kind of fun to watch. Hope you enjoy.

-Amir

A Boy’s pathway to adulthood

2008-05-19T17:32:00.000-07:00

Singapore Airlines: A Boy’s pathway to adulthood

10:34 AM Tokyo, Japan

I am 7 years old, about to make my trek to the United States from Tokyo. Anything up until this point is inconsequential, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I am seven years old and have the rest of my life a head of me.

It's exciting to have stepped on foreign soil as it is a badge of honor. I flew from Tehran to Peking (with an hour stop) and now am in Tokyo. What that means is that within one trip I have landed on two foreign countries! That has to be a record for a 7 year old. And in less that 24 hours I will have landed in Los Angeles or San Francisco, depending on which ticket is cheaper. Life is exciting. Just with in the past hour I have seen Asians for the first time, they are awesome. In a few hours I will have seen the first black person … how cool is that?

4:56 PM Tokyo, Japan

My mom finally got us tickets to Los Angeles. I can’t wait till I get to the United States. It will be really exciting seeing flying cars, robots, and visit the space station for the first time. Maybe if I work hard enough, I will be able to save enough money by 7^th grade to buy myself a robot. Nothing too fancy, just one that will be my friend and teach me complex mathematics and more importantly to speak English without an accent.

??? PM “Over the Pacific Ocean”

I don’t know what time it is, but I do know one thing. I love traveling on airplanes. They have hamburgers for food which I love, a movie with your own headphones. I love wearing headphones, especially when I am listening to my favorite stories on my walkman.

Singapore Airlines has really pretty ladies working for it. They all have rosy cheeks and a beautiful smile. I am really glad I am 7 years old because I've been told that attractive women treat 7 year olds better than adults. I hope I never get old. Well that is not true, I want to get taller so that when I drive a car, my feet reach the pedal, but that’s it. Also when I grownup, I want to meet a nice girl to marry and play with. I think only older ladies are pretty, so I will have to get bigger or older so that I could kidnap them for the marriage.

By the way, I know none of this is making any sense, but I am 7 years old, have just discovered that I am going through puberty, and these Singapore flight attendants are really hot.

??? PM “Over California”

I think we’re about to land. I think that movie starring Cher was really boring. I guess I am ready to start my new life in a new world. I better start forgetting about anything I learned before I was 7. Anything up until this point is inconsequential, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I am seven years old and have my life a head of me.

The Boy Named Amir

2008-04-19T17:13:00.000-07:00

The Story Of Amir

It was January 1977 in Rome, Italy where a baby was conceived during Behrouz and Minoo's honeymoon. The next day they dove through the country side where they stopped to dine on the local food and wine. In the midst of all this they passed a goat herder who had a goat with babies. My mom, Minoo found that the little one with spunk was really cute, so my dad bought the goat for her. The new family member was named Amir.

Amir, Minoo, and Behrouz drove through Europe, going to England, then via boat to France, back to Italy and Spain, through Turkey and back to Tehran.

After getting situated, Behrous, Minoo, and Amir the goat got an apartment in downtown Tehran across the street from the hospital where another Amir would be born. Minoo was 4 months pregnant now with a son. Amir the goat enjoyed life living in the 4^th story of a 12 story apartment complex. He would eat his food in the balcony, enjoying the view and dining. In August, Minoo almost 8 months pregnant accidentally slipped on the stairs and her water broke. The baby would be born a month and a half early. Amir the goat of course wouldn't underrate this. For three days, Amir would not have food because Minoo would be in the hospital with the baby and Behrouz on the road working. So Amir The Goat got hungry and saw that there were delicious looking leaves close to the balcony. He jumped on the balcony ledge and started eating. Then he saw a bigger, more delicious leaf just out of reach. He stuck his head out w/o worries, after all he was an 8 month old goat.

Elvis passed away on August 16^th, allegedly dead in his bathroom.Amir the goat fell four stories and didn't immediately die, but was put to sleep the next day so as to not feel pain. Amir the baby was born three days
later.

How Geometry & Physics saved my life and made me the coolest kid in school

2008-02-22T17:58:00.000-08:00

Before I start this biography loosely based on portions of my life, I have to mention that not all of it is 100% truth, but that does not take away from the fact that Geometry, physics and Calculus had a huge impact on my social life.

I recently read a blog by one of my favorite comics/people in SF Comedy, Sam Arno, where he talked about teaching math to his daughter. By reading this, I realized how much I have loved math, even though; I am not really that great at it anymore. In fact I don't even think I would not even rank top three in the most mathematically skilled comedian in the bay area. That honor would probably go to Richard Kiss, Norm Goldblatt, and perhaps Brian Mallow.

During the early part of my sophomore year, I tried out for the wrestling team because some of my friends asked me to, since we needed a heavy weight on the team. I ended up crushing my knee cartilage and ending hopes of ever trying out for UFC or WWE. What came out of that was me concentrating on school. I ended up, by accident taking Senior Level physics, & advanced Geometry. The Geometry class was very boring, as it was filled with freshman and no hot chicks. This forced me to actually pay attention in class and try to actually learn. I ended up being the best Geometry student and even getting the top 1% percentile in the California testing for my age. Before that class, I had never done better than a B in any math class, no matter how hard I tried.

Physics on the other hand was the most awesome class, as the class was filled with hot girls who were seniors. My teacher was Mr. Keller, who actually was not that much older than I was. He was 21, I was 16, and some kids in the class actually looked older than he did, mostly the Mexican kids. He made physics fun by sometimes dressing up as a physicist who he would be lecturing on that day. I ended up getting an A in this class because I wanted hot chicks to partner up with me because I could get them a good grade. I never scored, but I got to hangout with hot older girls who were nice to me and liked me as a little brother.

Finally the math skills helped me in future years as I was able to make the Varsity baseball team by having the entire team lobby for me to be on the team. The trade off, let them cheat off of me in Calculus.

Mathematics has helped me in other aspects of life that I don't recall, but trust me it has helped.

Myspace accounts for comedians I mentioned:

Richard Kiss: http://www.myspace.com/richardkiss

Sam Arno: http://www.myspace.com/samarno

Norm Goldblatt: http://www.myspace.com/normgoldblatt

Comedy Set @ Hamilton Assisted Facility (Originally posted July 03, 2006)

2008-01-31T19:00:00.000-08:00

Life is special and everyone knows that. No one needs to post a blog about it at 1:45am on a Monday morning after having consumed 3 bottles of Pellegrino mineral water. Having said that, sometimes we forget that life is short and we stress too much. Way too much ... way too much.

Last Saturday I performed comedy in an elderly care center where the patients were Alzheimer's patients. I am familiar with this disease because my grandmother was in the early stages of dimensions and I have gone through the pain of seeing a loved one in distress. But I could always make her laugh, even in her last days (mostly blue material) ... so I thought it would be a good experience because even if no one likes my comedy, I know they like seeing new people visit them.

To my surprise the experience was not bad at all. In fact it was one of the most fun comedy experiences of my life!! My good friend Rishi taped my set and I actually did get some laughs!!!

Before I talk about it, I have to mention that we should be encouraged to visit the elderly (especially if they are our relative, but doesn't matter). In our society, we visit pets in animal shelters, but we never think to visit the elderly who have done nothing more that just get old or have their family abandon them. I love animals and have a cat whom I love soo much, but I also know that humans need love too ... and even more so. I also have to mention that I am not a saint and have been unaware of this problem for most of my life.

I am kind of tired and just wanted to make a point and go to sleep. Anyway seeing the elderly trapped in the home depressed the heck out of me to the point that I just want to live my life to the fullest and have fun.

p.s. Surprisingly I did not have my worst set, thanks to the staff and some patients who were alert and listened to me. I was even heckled by a lively lady who called my jokes "Phoney Baloney" and myself a "son of a bitch" and "fat too"!!! It was one of the funniest moments in my life!! She was a lady in a wheelchair and was escorted out by a few of the workers!! It was sooo crazy because the actual escorting out of the 95 year old woman was more distracting than her heckling. Her heckling was funny as HELL!! All in all it was a great experience and I hope to not stress about life anymore.