Arash Farzaneh's Blog

So my relationship with the digital world is a ratherinteresting one. I find technology inherently fascinating but am also terrifiedof its potential consequences. On one hand, it can drive humanity toconnect in a variety of ways and help us solve problems together while on theother hand, it can sow division and mistrust and drive us apart, i.e.today’s world. Yet my main concern remains the erosion of humanity and the lackof human touch.

That said, it is indeed technology that has brought ...

I’m fascinated and maybe slightly obsessed with horses now.This is news and unexpected to me because equines had never stood out for me,with the brief exception of Mister Ed, a show that I had sporadicallywatched in my younger years. Two things did not strike me as odd back then sinceI took them for granted and as a given: one, that a horse could talk - why, ofcourse, they can! - and two, that I should be actually watching a show in whicha horse would talk.

After that, horses completely d...

Over the past years, I have attended the Don RixDistinguished Keynote Addresses with great enthusiasm and almost religious fervor.And no, it’s not just because of the food and wine (full disclosure: we receivea complimentary drink coupon) but it is for the distinguished speakers who shareand present their research and various insights with all of us.

In fact, I have seen a number of speakers on differenttopics at this wonderful annual Genome BC event starting with Dr. Clare M.Fraser on th...

“Que será, será.

Whatever will be, will be.

The future's not ours to see.”

Doris Day

I cannot but marvel at the night sky canvas filled withstars and imagine how they influence our lives on this tiny blue planet. Wehave various tools at our disposal to try to make sense of what is happening toour human lot down here and they can range from philosophy and religion to astrologyand the occult arts and humanities. I am omitting sciences here not because Idon’t believe in them or their utility...

It is that time of the year again when I venture out to UBCto engage and grapple with the current year’s Quinn Memorial Lecture. This timearound, I had to rush to make it on time as my online university course endedjust an hour before the event was set to begin. But as usual, I ended up beingearly, so I had more than enough time to settle comfortably and wait for thelecture to start.

In fact, I have been going to the series for over a dozenyears now. The first talk I attended was on “Free...

These are strange times when one must not only state theobvious but also mean it and wholeheartedly stand by it: Canada is anindependent sovereign nation. It is not a state of another country, it is notup for sale, and it wants to live in peace and harmony with its neighbors. The fundamental values of liberty,freedom of choice, equality, human rights, and democracy are not only cherished and valued here, but we know deep in our hearts and bones that they are worth fighting for.

Yes, Canada ...

Coming offtwo interesting back-to-back days in February, namely Valentine’s Day onFebruary 14th and National Day of the Canadian Flag on February 15th,I have felt motivated (or rather driven/compelled) to write about certain issues that have beenon my mind for quite some time while these two dates provide a good reason and convenient excuse to share them with you here.

They willbe presented in two parts: The first one deals with the dangers and threats of romanticizingthe past and others ...

Anotheryear is ending; not much has changed from the outside, and yet this year hasbeen an anomaly in a few ways and manners. 2024 began on one side of the fence,the familiar, the commonplace, the routine, the usual habits, and fearsalongside a (long) list of grievances, complaints, wishes, and desires. Inshort, the usual and the typical push and pull that epitomizes New Year’s Resolutions,the wish and desire factors pinned against the real and practical with theusual suspects and culprit...

Music and songs have always played an important role infilmmaking since its inception of the silent era. Whether it is a movingsoundtrack or a well-placed song, music adds not only to individual scenes butto the entire movie and even beyond. We often recognize, identify, andassociate movies with their unforgettable soundtrack; be it the themes of the Godfather,Lawrence of Arabia, or Love Story, the soundtracktakes us right back to the movie itself and is often intimately connected with our...

One of the movies that had been on my watchlist for a verylong time, we may be even talking decades here, is Bernardo Bertolucci’s notoriousand controversial Last Tango in Paris. Bertolucci was known to oftenpush the envelope, yet in this case, it may have backfired a bit. It seems thatthe film got a lot of attention and publicity for the wrong reasons and for itssomewhat shallower and superficial aspects, which overshadowed its different strengthsalongside the depth expressed in this idio...