Above:The Baha'i House of Worship of Asia. Below:Life and times of your fellow World Citizen, Kolya

Happy Ridvan!  Tonight at sunset the first of the 12 Days of Ridvan began, which commemorate Baha'u'llah's declaration to those in attendance, in a garden outside of Baghdad in the mid 19th Century CE of his Station as a Manifestation of God and the Promised One of all Ages, the recipient of Divine Revelation equal to that of the Bab, Mohammad, Jesus, the Buddha, Zoroaster, Moses, Krishna, Noah, Abraham and Others before Him.

Also i got one of those questionnaires emailed to me recently and decided to post my answers here.  Some of the questions i replaced with ones more to my liking.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? no
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? during my marriage
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? only when i write slowly and carefully
4. WHAT IS THE FIRST MOVIE THAT COMES TO MIND THAT YOU LIKE>> RIGHT NOW!? The Lord of the Rings trilogy
5. CAN YOU PLAY A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT? no but i like to sing
6. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES/SPORTS? aikido, tai-chi, cycling (in America or the E.U. where there's less traffic and more bike lanes!), tennis, skiing, walking
7. HOW OFTEN DO YOU DO ANY OF THOSE FROM # 6? once or twice a week... ideally... hasn't been the case for close to a year, though.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS AND APPENDIX?  Yes
9. WOULD YOU SKY DIVE? Possibly, if i could do it for free.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BREAKFAST FOOD? Bran flakes mixed with granola with Soy milk or rice milk.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Usually.
12. WHAT'S THE FIRST BOOK THAT YOU LIKE THAT COMES TO MIND RIGHT NOW!? Dune
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? chocolate
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Eyes and smile
15. RED OR GREEN?  monk's red
16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?  dry skin and occasional knee problems
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?  my parents
18. WHAT THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT TO A GOOD MARRIAGE? weekly prayerful consultation
19. WHERE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO BE RIGHT NOW? Bahji or Haifa
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? crackers with peanut butter.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? J.B. Eckl and Eric Dozier's album: Badasht
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? deep orange, similar to my blog's color but not quite.
23. FAVORITE SMELLS?  freshly broken cinnamon stick
24. DO YOU LIKE TO COOK?  i don't mind cooking i just don't like the time it takes to do it! (I'm very slow at chopping vegetables, etc.)
25. FAVORITE ARTISTIC THING TO DO?  Act or write poetry
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?  football, but i hardly ever spend time watching sports except maybe for the world cup or Olympics
27. THEATER, BALLET, OR OPERA? THEATER
28. HOW MUCH TV DO YOU WATCH? very little actual TV, maybe a few hours a week, but i watch some TV shows online and i do watch lots of DVDs each week.
29.DO YOU EVER WEAR GLASSES OR CONTACTS? glasses all the time, because contacts make my eyes all bloodshot.  I'd like to get corrective laser surgery done sometime so as to not need either!
30. FAVORITE FOODS? My mum's cooking, Indian, Middle Eastern, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, Japanese, etc. Out of all these Indian is my favorite of favorites, though.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?  I like happy endings. I only like "horror" movies if they are horror-comedies more comedy than horror.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Brick (last night).  A classic "Film Noir" plot but set in a modern high school.  And The Business of Being Born today, a very good documentary about home birthing with mid-wives (vs. in Hospitals).
33. WHAT COLOR CLOTHES ARE YOU WEARING? mostly Black (I also like wearing more colorful clothing, though!)
34. SUMMER OR WINTER?  I like all the seasons in different ways.
35. HUGS OR KISSES?  Hugs, if short, when saying hello or goodbye (to anyone-- but not in China where it's not part of the culture), kisses only with wife after marriage.
36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Chocolate cake, or pumpkin, apple or blueberry pie.
37. HOW MANY CHILDREN WOULD YOU LIKE? 2 seems like a good number but depends on the financial situation.
38. WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADOPT IF FOR SOME REASON YOU AND YOUR SPOUSE WEREN'T ABLE TO HAVE ANY? Yes
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? A fantasy novel, but it's not as good as J. R. R. Tolkien!  This morning i read from the Qu'ran.
40. DO YOU LIKE READING, DO YOU READ MUCH?  Yes and yes!
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?  My house-mates where watching Ocean's Twelve and i was in the same room but mostly paying attention to my computer.
42. FAVORITE SOUND(s)? The wind through the leaves, birds, waves, flute, sitar, guitar...
43. STONES OR BEATLES? The Beatles.
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? I haven't been any further than planet Earth yet!
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Reading out loud, drawing, acting, poetry
46. WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE A TATTOO? WHAT KIND?  Yes, if i could get one for free.  Maybe a nine pointed star and a celtic design with a dragon and or wolf.
47. WHICH THREE COUNTRIES WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO LIVE IN FOR SOME TIME OTHER THAN WHERE YOU ARE NOW? China, India, New Zealand.
48. WHICH FIVE other COUNTRIES that you've never visited yet WOULD YOU LIKE TO VISIT FOR A HOLIDAY? Turkey, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Nepal.
49. IF YOU HAD THE TIME, SPACE AND MONEY WHAT PET WOULD YOU HAVE IF ANY? a dog (a malamut or Labrador or retriever).