Cyrus Farivar

So it’s a rainy day in Southern California. I don’t know what’s up with this weird weather. It never rains in LA and it’s been going on and off for the past week. I was really looking forward to wearing shorts in 70 degree weather, but that’s not going to happen. Headed back up to Berkeley tomorrow, where I hear it’s raining too. The holidays, as a whole have been really quiet. Xmas, New Year’s, and my birthday so far…

So the Casamance is no longer a dangerous place. The Senegalese government has signed a peace deal with the rebels. This is very good news for that region, and for all of Senegal. And as MeFi points out the folly with some of the governmental relief efforts: Our country is more humanitarian than YOURS is! No it’s not. Yes it is. See? We donated more aid than you did. Well, we doubled our donation. So there. But yours are loans,…

Turducken went into the oven at 6:30 am Pacific. My parents’ oven timer doesn’t go beyond 9 hours 50 min. Slightly less daunting this time, but was made more daunting by the fact that the butchery had cut through the skin already, requiring the use of sewing needles, which were not needed last year. Crisis (and 6 am trip to Albertson’s) was averted by finding them in a kitchen drawer. Thanks again to Sarmad for being such a good sport…

My thoughts go out to the tsunami/earthquake-striken people of SE Asia. My grandmother knows at least a dozen people in that region. When I left Berkeley this morning (in Santa Monica now), we got a call from one friend in northern Thailand, who said that all was well, but that they did feel it. If you’re able and you feel so inclined, you can donate money through the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

The more I’m here, the more I realize just how much I love Berkeley. From the “Happy Happy” guy, to Intermezzo, to Kingpin, to Berkeley Bowl, to my Grandparents, to my great friends who live here — I just love Berkeley. I really want to come back here. In a nutshell, Sarmad and I both safely arrived a few days ago, and we’re headed down to sunny SoCal tomorrow. His first day here, the 22nd, we walked around San Francisco,…

So as a Christmas gift to everyone (and also to myself), I’ve created a new website devoted to podcasts, mostly themed around my travels about the world. The Wanderlust Geek

You rock.

There is a rumor floating around my neighborhood Yahoo Group that Trader Joe’s has leased space at Broadway and 103rd Street (taking the street-level space in the new Columbia dorm being built there). Does anyone know anything about this? – http://chowhound.com/boards/manhat/messages/159735.html

So I caught a 7:30 am flight (which turned out to be a 7:00 am flight, so good thing I was a little early) from JFK to SEA this morning, which meant that I had to leave my apt at 3:30 am to take the subway, and then the AirTrain all the way out to JFK, and I barely had enough time to check Lane’s bag and make the flight. In Seattle, I was greeted with the fact that my…

On a WTF!?! note: AP: Nearly one in two Americans believe the U.S. government should restrict civil liberties for Muslim-Americans, according to a nationwide Cornell University poll on terrorism fears. . . . The Cornell survey found 44 percent favored at least some restrictions on the civil liberties of Muslim Americans. Forty-eight percent said liberties should not be restricted in any way. The survey asked respondents about four specific restrictions, all of which have been seriously suggested, noted Shanahan. Specifically,…