Earlier this month, I mentioned a blog at Panjereh.blogspot.com because it's in a different language and I wish I could read it. Through the serendipity of the internet, its author, Hooman Shayani, wrote me to explain the following:

"I am Iranian. My weblog is in Persian language. (We call it Farsi) It is slightly different from Afghani’s language and has a script similar to Arabic language. I can give you more info if you like. I can also translate some log items for you.... BTW, Panjereh means window! As you may know, the godfather of Persian weblogers is http://www.hoder.com/i."

I didn't know that last bit, although Hossein did provide a helpful note that the language is Farsi. The best part of all of this is that Hooman has added English translations for a couple of his posts! Although it's double the work for him, he's using it as an opportunity to improve his English (a goal I wish him much luck with considering how strange our language is!). Either way, I'm impressed and appreciative. Here's a translation of his first post:

"Please do not read it!
Don't watch it! This is a window to the loneliness of my mind. Although, has covered by vapor and doesn't show you anything but some shadows. Without such a vapor I would drop the curtain so you can't see anything at all. Sad thing about this vapor is that I also can't see anything of you, the universe and anything out of my loneliness but some blurred shadows. So much I dread to clean this vapor. I wish I could open this window to breath in the air, to see you and to smell you. I write on the glass:
'Please do not read it!' "

I've asked Hooman to add an RSS feed for his site so I can keep up with it, because I'm even intrigued by the teaser about something "strange" that happened to his cars.

Addendum: Hooman has added an RSS feed for Panjereh, and Hossein Derakhshan notes that he, too, blogs about Iran and provides English translations and an RSS feed.

On a side note, I realized I didn't blog the great story about how the web in general, and blogs in particular, are giving Iranian women a new voice (which also includes more information about Hossein, too).

"He had so much interest from Iran that he decided to write a simple guide in Persian, to help others set up their own blogs.

Seven months on, there are more than 1,200 Persian blogs, many of them written by women.

"For the first time in the contemporary history of Iran, women can express themselves freely, even if it is not in their real name," said Mr Derakhshan."

Found recently in my news aggregator: