CafeLitt 63: Evolution & Darwin

Subject: Evolution & Darwin
Date: 27 March 2008
Presented by: Pasha Javadi

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution generated scientific debate and discussion not only in Darwin's own time, but for decades afterward. Biological evolution is not simply a matter of change over time. Lots of things change over time: trees lose their leaves, mountain ranges rise and erode, but they aren't examples of biological evolution because they don't involve descent through genetic inheritance. The central idea of biological evolution is that all life on Earth shares a common ancestor, just as you and your cousins share a common grandmother.Through the process of descent with modification, the common ancestor of life on Earth gave rise to the fantastic diversity that we see documented in the fossil record and around us today. Evolution means that we're all distant cousins: humans and oak trees, hummingbirds and whales.

CafeLitt 62: Nowrooz

نوروزتان پیروز

Subject: Nowrooz
Presented by: Reza Assasi
Date: 20th March 2008

"Norooz (Nowruz) marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the Iranian year. In this session Reza started with an introduction about Mythological and Historical roots of Norooz and continued to analyze the roots of different beleifs and traditions related to Norooz from India to Europe.
The session continued with an interesting discussion about the confrontation of Iranian culture with Islam and also some criticisms about Nationalism and Internationalism.
Also a discussion about introducing Iranian culture to the international context as a culture which respects Nature and Human being was another issue and can be continued here on Comment box."

Cinémathèque III : Werckmeister Harmonies

Movie: Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)
Director: Béla Tarr
Date: 14:30 Sunday 16th March 2008
presented by: Alireza Tajali

Written by László Krasznahorkai
Starring Lars Rudolph, Peter Fitz,Hanna Schygulla
Music by Mihály Vig
Running time 145 min.
Country Hungary/Italy/Germany/France
Language Hungarian

CafeLit 61: JD Salinger

Subject: JD Salinger , The Catcher in the Rye
Date: 13 March 2008
Presented by: Mehdi Keshtkar