Iran

Iran (/aɪˈræn/ or ⁱ/ɪˈrɑːn/;Persian: Irān – ایران‎‎ [ʔiːˈɾɒːn]), also known as Persia (/ˈpɜːrʒə/ or /ˈpɜːrʃə/), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (جمهوری اسلامی ایران – Jomhuri ye Eslāmi ye Irān [d͡ʒomhuːˌɾije eslɒːˌmije ʔiːˈɾɒːn]), is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered to the northwest by Armenia, the de facto Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijan; with Kazakhstan and Russia across the Caspian Sea; to the northeast by Turkmenistan; to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan; to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman; and to the west by Turkey and Iraq. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km² (636,372 sq mi), it is the second-largest country in the Middle East and the 18th-largest in the world. With 78.4 million inhabitants, Iran is the world's 17th-most-populous country. It is the only country that has both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline. Iran has long been of geostrategic importance because of its central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz.

Name of Iran

In the Western world, Persia (or its cognates) was historically the common name for Iran. In 1935, Reza Shah asked foreign delegates to use the term Iran, the historical name of the country, used by its native people, in formal correspondence. Since then, in the Western World, the use of the word "Iran" has become more common. This also changed the usage of the names for the Iranian nationality, and the common adjective for citizens of Iran changed from Persian to Iranian. In 1959, the government of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Reza Shah Pahlavi's son, announced that both "Persia" and "Iran" could officially be used interchangeably.

Etymology of Iran

The term "Iran" derives immediately from Middle Persian Ērān, Pahlavi ʼyrʼn, first attested in an inscription that accompanies the investiture relief of the first Sassanid king Ardashir I at Naqsh-e Rustam. In this inscription, the king's Middle Persian appellation is ardašīr šāhān šāh ērān while in the Parthian language inscription that accompanies the Middle Persian one the king is titled ardašīr šāhān šāh aryān (Pahlavi: ... ʼryʼn) both meaning king of kings of Iranians.

Persian wine

Persian wine, also called Mey (Persian: می‎‎) and Badeh (باده), is a cultural symbol and tradition in Persia, and has a significant presence in Persian mythology, Persian poetry and Persian miniatures.

History

Recent archaeological research has pushed back the date of the known origin of wine making in Persia far beyond that which writers earlier in the 20th century had envisaged. Excavations at the Godin Tepe site in the Zagros mountains (Badler, 1995; McGovern and Michel, 1995; McGovern, 2003), have revealed pottery vessels dating from c. 3100–2900 BC containing tartaric acid, almost certainly indicating the former presence of wine. Even earlier evidence was found at the site of Hajji Firuz Tepe, also in the Zagros mountains. Here, McGovern et al. (1996) used chemical analyses of the residue of a Neolithic jar dating from as early as 5400–5000 BC to indicate high levels of tartaric acid, again suggesting that the fluid contained therein had been made from grapes.

As book of Immortal Land Persian: سرزمین جاوید‎‎ or Sar Zamin e Javid] (by Zabihollah Mansoori) says Ramian wines were world-famous in the Parthian Empire. Ramian Wine is now a California wine brand but Shiraz wines are famous across the globe.

Swoon

Swoon may refer to: Fainting

Music

Swoon (film)

Swoon is an independent film written and directed by Tom Kalin, released in 1992. It is an account of the 1924 Leopold and Loeb murder case, focusing more on the homosexuality of the killers than other movies based on the case. It starred Daniel Schlachet as Loeb and Craig Chester as Leopold.

Along with the films of Todd Haynes, Gregg Araki and others, Swoon is identified as part of the New Queer Cinema.

Cast

Awards

1992 Berlin International Film Festival - Caligari Film Award, Best Feature - Tom Kalin

1992 Sundance Film Festival - Cinematography Award (Dramatic) - Ellen Kuras, nominated for Grand Jury Prize

1993 Independent Spirit Awards - Nominated for Best Cinematography (Ellen Kuras), Best Director (Tom Kalin), Best First Feature, and Best Male Lead (Craig Chester)

Swoon (artist)

Swoon (born Caledonia Dance Curry in 1978) is a street artist who specializes in life-size wheatpaste prints and paper cutouts of human figures. She studied at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and started doing street art around 1999 and large-scale installations in 2005.

Early life, education, and career

Curry was born in New London, Connecticut, and raised in Daytona Beach, Florida. She moved to the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, New York when she was nineteen to study painting at the Pratt Institute.

Then, Curry joined groups in New York City like Grub, which provides free Dumpster-dived dinners in Brooklyn. She also founded the Toyshop collective, known for organizing events such as a march through the Lower East Side consisting of 50 people playing instruments made out of junk.

Career

Street pasting

Swoon regularly pastes works depicting people, often her friends and family, on the streets around the world. She usually pastes her pieces on uninhabited locations such as abandoned buildings, bridges, fire escapes, water towers and street signs. Her work is inspired by both art historical and folk sources, ranging from German Expressionist wood block prints to Indonesian shadow puppets.