Tuesday, December 16, 2008

The Unicorn

http://www.cubbi.org/tlu/images/einhornz.jpg

I walked through the wildwood, and what did I see
But a unicorn with his horn stuck in a tree,
Cryin’, “Someone please help me before it’s too late.”
I hollered, “I’ll free you.” He hollered back, “Wait-
How much will it hurt? How long will it take?
Are you sure that my horn will not scratch, bend, or break?
How hard will you pull? How much must I pay?
Must you do it right now or is Wednesday okay?
Have you done this before? Do you have the right tools?
Have you graduated from horn-savin’ school?
Will I owe you a favor? And what will it be?
Do you promise that you will not damage the tree?
Should I close my eyes? Should I sit down or stand?
Do you have insurance? Have you washed your hands?
And after you free me - tell me what then?
Can you guarantee I won’t get stuck again?
Tell me when. Tell me how.
Tell me why. Tell me where…”

I guess that he’s still sittin’ there.

By Shel Silverstein

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Instants

If I Could live again my life,
In the next- I'll try,
-to make more mistakes,
I won't try to be so perfect,
I'll be more relaxed,
I'll be more full-than I am now,
in fact I'll take fewer things seriously,
I'll be less hygenic,
I'll take more risks,
I'll take more trips,
I'll watch more sun sets,
I'll climb more mountains,
I'll swim more rivers,
I'll go to more places-I've never been,
I'll eat more ice creams and less(lime)beans,
I'll have more real problems- and less imaginary
ones,
I was one of those people who live
prudent and prolific lives-
each minute of his life
off course that I had moments of joy- but
if I could go back I'll try to have only good moments
if you don't know - thats what life is made of,
don't lose the now!
I was one of those who never goes anywhere
without a thermometer,
without a hot-water bottle,
and without an umbrella and without a parachute
if I could live again - I will travel light
if I could live again- I'll try to work bare feet
at the beginning of spring till
the end of autumn,
I'll ride more carts,
I'll watch more sun rises and play with more children,
if I had the life to live- but now I am 85,
and I know that I am dying...

Jorge Luis Borges

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Worth Reading!!


One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well.
The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.
Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway;
it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him.
They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.
At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly.
Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw.
With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing.
He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal,
he would shake it off and take a step up.
Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey
stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!MORAL :
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt.
The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up.
Each of our troubles is a stepping stone.
We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.
Remember the five simple rules to be happy: 1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happens.3. Live simply and appreciate what you have. 4. Give more.5. Expect less from people but more from God.


You have two choices...smile and close this page,
or pass this along to someone else to share the lesson ....... I did!! GOD BLESS YOU....!


from fun_and_fun_only

Monday, September 1, 2008


Edwin Arlington Robinson

Richard Corey


WHENEVER Richard Corey went down town,

We people on the pavement looked at him:

He was a gentleman from sole to crown,

Clean favored, and imperially slim.


And he was always quietly arrayed,

And he was always human when he talked;

But still he fluttered pulses when he said,

"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.


And he was rich—yes, richer than a king,

And admirably schooled in every grace:

In fine, we thought that he was everything

To make us wish that we were in his place.


So on we worked, and waited for the light,

And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;

And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,

Went home and put a bullet through his head.






هربار که ریچارد به بازار می آمد

ما پیادگان غرق تماشایش می شدیم

او ز سر تا پا اصالت بود و نجابت

طبعش بی مانند در لطافت

اندامش در زیبایی بی نهایت


همیشه آراسته بود و پیراسته

و گاهِ سخن انسان بود و بی کینه

ضربان قلب هامان دوچندان می شد

هربار که سلاممان می کرد

و با هر گامش گویی نوری بر ما تجلی می کرد


ثروتی فزون از شاهان داشت

و در هر خیر و خوبی دستی داشت

به یک کلام، تمام فکر و خیالمان شده بود

تمام آرزویمان که کاش به جای او بودیم


و ما کار می کردیم کار

و بر رسیدن نور انتظار می کشیدیم انتظار

ما بی گوشت سر کردیم و بر نان دشنام

و ریچارد در شبی تابستانی و آرام

گلوله ای بر سر شلیک کرد و دیگر تمام


Translated by: S.Karimi


...............................................................


آقامنش از پنجه پا تا به سرش

ریچارد کوری بود و همه دربدرش


محبوب همه، لاغر و خوش فرم بدی

ما خیره بدو در ملاء عام بدی


آراسته تر زو نبدی در همه شهر

انسان تر از او کس نبدی در همه دهر


ای کاش که ما نیز بدیم چون ریچارد

پولدار،همه اِندِ کمال چون ریچارد


ریچارد نگو پادشه دهر بگو

پولدارتر از پادشه شهر بگو


بر سفره ما هیچ نبد غیر از نان

جز لعنت و افسوس چه بودی به میان!


لیکن همه ماجرا نبود این ای جان!

در یک شب آرام از آن تابستان


ریچارد شدی در حرم خانه خویش

یک تیر زدی در وسط کله خویش


Translated by: A.Bashardoost


Friday, June 6, 2008

Learn Vocabulary & Feed Hungry People!

About 25,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes, according to the United Nations. This is one person every three and a half seconds,and unfortunately, it is children who die most often.






Now,if you wanna have a part in helping to end hunger in the world,here's quite an easy way:

FreeRice.com is a website in association with the UN World Food Program (WFP),which Provids English vocabulary to everyone for free & helps to end hunger in the world by providing free rice to hungry people.



All you should do is playing a vocabulary game on the site! To play the game, you should click on one of the four definitions given for a word that you think is the correct one. If you get it right, FreeRice donates 20 grains of rice to WFP to help end hunger!



FreeRice has a custom database containing thousands of words at varying degrees of difficulty. There are words appropriate for people just learning English and words that will challenge the most scholarly professors. In between are thousands of words for students of all ages, business people, homemakers, doctors, retired people… everyone!
FreeRice starts by giving you words at different levels of difficulty. There are 60 levels in all. When you get a word wrong, you go to an easier level. When you get three words in a row right, you go to a harder level.


Over 35 billion grains have been donated up to now by people around the world who played this game on FreeRice

IT'S YOUR TURN NOW!


Play The Game

And Remember...

Somewhere in the world, a person is eating rice that you helped provide... :)

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Chris de Burgh to visit Iran to decide on concerts


TEHRAN (Reuters) - Singer Chris de Burgh, who has a loyal following in Iran, said on Tuesday he will visit the country in May to decide on staging concerts there.

The manager of Iranian band Arian, which has collaborated with de Burgh, said last year the concerts would be the first time since the 1979 revolution that an Iranian pop band had performed with a Western singer in the Islamic Republic.

Manager Mohsen Rajabpour said in his comments in December the concerts were planned for June or July at a Tehran stadium complex and that Iran's authorities had given their approval.

"I have been invited to go. Again, I know there are people who do not agree with this but I must tell those people ... we are not -- my friends and I -- politically naive," de Burgh told English-language satellite channel Al-Jazeera.

"We know the situation there. We know both sides of it. We are not going there to change the world, the culture. I am going to sing for people not leaders," he told the Doha-based channel.

Iran is locked in a dispute with the West over its nuclear ambitions, which Western nations fear are aimed at building bombs. Tehran insists its intentions are entirely peaceful.

"Just to show people that we are serious about this, we are going to make a trip at the end of May, for a few days, just to see what the situation is and then make a call on whether we can do the shows there or not," de Burgh said.

De Burgh, born of British parents and brought up in Ireland, is popular in Iran and his Web site message board (http://www.cdeb.com) has had several entries from Iranian fans.

Western pop songs with lyrics are banned by Iran's authorities although state radio sometimes plays instrumental versions. Iranian pop bands say their lyrics and tunes are vetted before they can be officially sold in Iran.


Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Seize The Day!

Shatila Mehraeen talks of her own opinions and experience of Spring and the new year;

What we usually forget is the fact that it's the present which builds our future and every second that passes is worth the entire world. Spring is a time of change and difference for all of us but...
Read more...

Monday, March 17, 2008

Merry New PERSIAN Year!

Hi dear friends. The administrators of Spearheads are talking! We hope you are all fine. We're back once more.
Noruz, the most important day of one of the richest cultures ever is coming in a few days. How sensible our ancestors were to choose the beginning of the new Persian year tie in with the beginning of the Spring. The time in which the nature emerges from a hibernation into which long ago it had gone. How beautiful the life is these days! Accept our congratulations on Noruz. Merry new Persian year!
Lets have a review on Noruz and its ceremonies;



The Origin Of Chaharshanbe Suri:
Chaharrshanbe Suri is a public ceremony which is annually held on the last Wednesday of each year. This festival is the celebration of the light (the good) winning over the darkness (the bad); the symbolism behind the rituals are all rooted back to Zoroastrianism. This ancient Iranian festival which has undergone lots of changes and distortions over time, includes lots of nice and interesting parts the most fascinating of which is building a fire and then jumping over it. Ancient Iranians knew the Fire as a purifier which wipes out all the evil from you. So this is why they used to build a (large) fire and jump over it. There were also some very interesting songs such as "Zardi-ye man az to, sorkhie to az man" accompanied with music and dancing which are now somewhat faded away. In another ceremony people run through the streets banging on pots and pans with spoons and knocking on doors to ask for treats. The ritual is called Qashogh-Zany (spoon beating) and symbolizes the beating out of the last unlucky Wednesday of the year. There are also several other traditions on this night, including the rituals of Kūze Shekastan, the breaking of earthen jars which symbolically hold ones bad fortune; the ritual of Fal-Gûsh, or inferring one's fu just of e, o. Some of the main ceremonies of Charshanbe Suri festival are still popular, however today's Chaharshanbe Suri is totally different from what we used to have many years ago. You'd better take care if decided to have a walk in the streets at the lase Wednesday night. Tomorrow is Wednesday, Esfand 28th, therefore it means it is the last Wednesday of the year! We are going to have another Chaharshanbe Suri tomorrow night. Accept our congratulations on this nice Persian festival of fire!



The Spread of The Seven "S"s:
1- Sabzeh or sprouts, (usually wheat or lentil) represents rebirth;
2- Samanu is a pudding in which common wheat sprouts are transformed and given new life as a sweet, creamy pudding which shows the ultimate sophistication of Persian cooking. It represents the blessings of God;
3- Sib which means apple, represents health and beauty;
4- Senjed the sweet, dry fruit of the Lotus tree, represents love. It has been said that when Lotus tree is in full bloom, its fragrance and its fruit make people fall in love and become oblivious to all else;
5- Seer which means garlic, represents protection and medicine;
6- Somaq which means sumac berries represents the color of sunrise; With the appearance of the sun Good conquers Evil;
And finally,
7- Serkeh which means vinegar, represents age and patience.

Some suggestions before the new year begins:
1- In the new year let's not make a spread of "7 Sin(s)!". Lets make a "7 Seen(s)" one.
2- If you have trouble finding the seventh "s", then why don't you try the Spearhesds?!





Spearheads wish you a fruitful year abound
with joy and mirth !




I love myself. I love my family. I love my nation. I love my culture. I love my country.
I will always be proud of being an Iranian.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Playing with words!

Read some nice rearrangements of the words!
It seems someone out there either has too much spare time or is deadly at Scrabble!!



DORMITORY: When you rearrange the letters: DIRTY ROOM

ASTRONOMER ------> MOON STARER

DESPERATION ------> A ROPE ENDS IT

THE EYES------> THEY SEE

PRESBYTERIAN ------>BEST IN PRAYER
THE MORSE CODE ------> HERE COME DOTS

ANIMOSITY ------>IS NO AMITY

ELECTION RESULTS: ------>LIES - LET'S RECOUNT

MOTHER-IN-LAW ------> WOMAN HITLER

SNOOZE ALARMS ------> ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S

THE EARTHQUAKES ------> THAT QUEER SHAKE



AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE:

ELEVEN PLUS TWO ------> TWELVE PLUS ONE !

Sunday, February 10, 2008


thought of life


1) Money is unstable.

2) Every man plays his part on the stage upon this earth.

3) Beauty without virtue has no value.

4) The ambitious abide by their undertaking.

5) Killing anyone treacherously is no bravery.

6) Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and -wise.

7) Pride has a fall .

8) familiarity breeds contempt.

9) Avoid extremes.

10) Undue regard breeds suspicious.

11) Fire fallen on stone puts out itself in due course.

12) All rises must end in fall.

13) Man's life wholly depends at the mercy of Fate.

14) Cars and dogs reside in side the palace. However the elephant outside is offered everything he needs.

15) Difficulty is the mother of invention.

16) Even the kith and kin do not like to stay with a person who follows the wrong path.

17) Even a wicked man can turn into a great saint if he follows good conduct.

18) It's no use pumping a dry well.

19) A man after money knows no law or relative.

20) No sweet ,without sweat.

21) Better an open enemy than a false friend.

22) A Little knowledge is dangerous thing.

23) He is real orator who express great thought in few words.

24) As you sow, so you reap.

25) Heart broken by insult ,cannot be repaired.

26) The illiterate can't protect his wealth.

27) Never imitate blindly ,otherwise you will punish like a monkey pulling up a wedge.

28) Failure is the step-stone to success.

29) You can take the horse to the water but you can't make it drink.

30) It is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the restless mind, but it can be controlled by constant
practice and by detachment

31) With my good behavior , I can proudly say, I am a man and not be beast.

32) Ignorant, faithless and suspicious ruin themselves.

33) First deserve and then desire

34) let noble thought come to us from all sides.

35) An idle mind is devil's workshop.

36) he who controls his mind ,finds solace in life.

37) Preceptor's word should be always welcome.

38) Our body is gift from gift.

39) The perfect Soul knows that is the field of soul in which man grows virtues and vices.

40) The senses are so powerful that they forcibly carry away the mind of the great personalities
even

41) Fear of God is the beginning of our progress.

42) O God, the supreme lord exists in everyone's heart.

43) God is Almightily.

44) The magnanimous believe the whole world is one family.

45) Poverty never fulfils the wishes of the poor.

46) If wishes were horses, beggars would ride them.

interesting

Five cannibals (Man eaters) get appointed as programmers in an IT company. During the welcoming ceremony the boss says: "You're all part of our team now. You can earn good money here, and you can go to the company canteen for something to eat. So don't trouble the other employees".
The cannibals promise not to trouble the other employees.
Four weeks later the boss returns and says: "You're all working very hard, and I'm very satisfied with all of you. One of our developers has disappeared however. Do any of you know what happened to her?"
The cannibals disown all knowledge of the missing developer. After the boss left, the leader of the cannibals says to the others: " Which of you idiots ate the developer?"
One of the cannibals raises his hand hesitantly, to which the leader of the cannibals says: "You FOOL ! For four weeks we've been eating team leaders, managers, and project managers and no-one has noticed anything, and now YOU ate one developer and it got noticed. So hereafter please don't eat a person who is working ."

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

The Storyman


A new magnificant hit by Chris De Burgh chosen among the songs presented in his latest album. We hope you enjoy it.
Download The Storyman here

The file is in RM format which requires Real Player to be played. To download the latest version of this software click the following link:
Real Player 11.0.1 Build 6.0.14.794
Useful tip: After you (downloaded, installed and) opened Real Player, go to the "tools" menu and choose "equalizer". When the new window is shown, set all the three sound parameters to their highest level. You will experience a totally new! sound.

An Impressive Revert !

Hi there. Finally the intermission is over. We've just come back. There will be literally tangible changes very soon. We will update frequently with really useful and interesting materials. We hope and for sure anticipate that soon Spearheads will have its high tally of visits and therefore comments it formerly used to have. Thanks for your admirable patience (as shown in the above picture!). Keep in touch and expect the unexpected!