Cyrus Farivar

So the Internet tells me that there’s crazy rain in the Bay, which means that it looks like Becky and my flights will probably be delayed by a couple of hours tomorrow. Argh.

Readers of this blog will note that most of my posts (like the ones from earlier today) are largely lengthy pull quotes from articles that I’ve been reading as of late. It’s not often that I sit back and reflect on what’s going on in my life. But this year has brought a lot of change to my life both personally and professionally. I began a book project and my career as a full-time freelancer in January 2007, and it’s…

Rolling Stone: David Bendeth, a producer who works with rock bands like Hawthorne Heights and Paramore, knows that the albums he makes are often played through tiny computer speakers by fans who are busy surfing the Internet. So he’s not surprised when record labels ask the mastering engineers who work on his CDs to crank up the sound levels so high that even the soft parts sound loud. Over the past decade and a half, a revolution in recording technology…

NYT’s Jet Lagged: Jerusalem these days is barely a day away from Santa Barbara. In 36 hours or so I moved from a society that seems to have annulled history — and even parts of reality — to a place a millennium away where the very fury of human hopes and grievances, the constant debate of this world and some other, give reality and history a moment-by-moment urgency that reminds us why the Sabbath and holidays were first called into…

This is from my good friend and Columbia classmate, Sarmad Ali, who has written a follow-up piece to his story from last February. I wasn’t there in Baghdad; I couldn’t be there. I am an Iraqi citizen caught between two worlds. I’m a guest in the U.S., where I have lived since 2004, studying and working for this newspaper. But I have no U.S. travel documents. And my Iraqi passport has been invalidated. More unsettling, more disruptive than the possibility…

Dear Friends, I’ve been informed that my radio piece on the new wireless startup, Meraki, will be airing tomorrow. It will be available on any of these stations (and their Internet streams): New York – 3 pm Eastern – WNYC – 820 AM – www.wnyc.org Washington, DC – 8 pm Eastern – WAMU – 88.5 FM – www.wamu.org Los Angeles – 12 pm Pacific – KPCC – 89.3 FM – www.kpcc.opg Boston – 4 pm Eastern – WGBH – 89.7…

The world has lost its most preeminent Estonian writer, Jaan Kross. Sadly, I don’t have the eesti keeles skills to have read him in his native language, but on my most recent trip to Eestimaa, I was happy to have been able to find a copy of Treading Air, which I’m currently reading now. I’m just a little bit into it — so I don’t have much to say about the novel just yet — but my fascination with all…

While it may not be as close and convenient and convivial as The Trappist — William Brand points to the recent opening of La Trappe, a new Belgian bar and restaurant in North Beach, across the Bay. This is definitely going to be my pre-Bimbo’s dining spot. 🙂

Dear Friends, I’ve been informed that my radio piece on new WiFi devices will air on Morning Edition All Things Considered today! It will be available on any of these stations (and their Internet streams). New York – 4 pm to 6:30 pm Eastern – WNYC – 820 AM – www.wnyc.org Washington, DC – 4 pm to 6 pm Eastern – WAMU – 88.5 FM – www.wamu.org Los Angeles – 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm Pacific – KPCC – 89.3…

WSJ: The 1 a.m. brrrrrring from the alarm clock — no problem. “I’ve always loved working in the morning,” he said. “You’re waking up in Washington, D.C. You’re looking out the window and watching this sleeping giant wake up. And I’m right in the middle of it, starting people’s days with things they need to know.” The duality of his existence seems to please Mr. Kasell mightily — delivering the news and edifying listeners during the early part of the…