kam zarrabiThis column is written by Kam Zarrabi of Silver City. He considers his writings random refections, He has authored two books, "Zarathushtra’s Shadow," and "Necessary Illusions." He says "they deal with various aspects of the cultural and psychological evolution of our species as the illustrious, in our own minds, the Homo sapiens sapiens; yes, double sapiens!"

The Delicious Curse of Gluttony

Just Thinking
April, 2023
Kam Zarrabi

There is a growing shortage of the diabetes drug, Ozempic, after the news spread that the users might also lose some weight. Using a powerful diabetes medication with all its side effects to lose weight is almost as crazy as another method used about a hundred years ago: swallowing the live head of a tapeworm kept in a capsule, dispensed by a local apothecarist, and letting that awful parasite grow inside the intestine, then taking medications to get rid of it once the desired weight was achieved! That is not an urban legend; my own grandmother, I have been told, had done that back in the 1890s, and she wasn't the only nutcase who had used that method for losing some weight.

Most of us who have visible reasons to lose some weight might try any promising way to get rid of that blubber around our midsection: I know I would. But being a normal human being, ignoring the beckoning sight of luscious creamy pastry or the mouthwatering aroma of sizzling bacon doesn't come naturally.

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The Art of Pretending and Pretending as a Form of Art

Kam Zarrabi
March 2023

The Art of Pretending, and Pretending as a Form of Art

Like most people, I do enjoy good art in its multifaceted forms, from paintings and sculptures to music and poetry, architecture, and even those spontaneously created graffiti and other expressive street art.

I don’t intend to get into the broad fields of philosophy of art or aesthetics here; but it is quite obvious that not all people share the same view or the degree of appreciation of what constitutes good, interesting or appealing art.

When I saw an announcement that the University here was showing a selection of its older contemporary art pieces at the Francis McCray Gallery this February, I had to visit the Gallery. Of course, you don’t have to be an accomplished artist to enjoy art, or a professional musician to enjoy music.

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Just Thinking

Kam Zarrabi
February 2023

Sitting in my living room the other day, I was watching through the glass sliding door a pair of doves, a quail family herding a number of newly hatched chicks, several curved-bill thrashers and a few spotted towhee, playfully picking through the gravel-covered backyard for the birdseed I scatter there every morning. Even though there was plenty of birdseed to go around, I got a kick out of observing the sometimes fierce competition among the birds to reach every tiny morsel.

Then I saw our neighbor's white cat suddenly appear out of nowhere, grab one of the baby quail, and disappear behind some bushes. Minutes later, the hunter reappeared, licking her chops, and finished her breakfast by drinking from the birdbath in the yard.

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