LYATT: It's Over

July 31, 2005

So this isn't "last year at this time" LYATT, but 3 years ago at this time. These are pictures we took at LAX when my cousin Cyrus came home from Iraq after being unlawfully imprisoned by the U.S. government for 2 months without ever being charged with a crime. It wasn't till we saw his face that we finally felt it was over.

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This was before I knew how to blog, so I videotaped everything. I started from the press conference held at the ACLU office announcing that a Writ of Habeus Corpus was filed on his behalf. I videotaped my mom, Sherri, and Jack explaining to the press that Cyrus is a Navy veteran who is filming a documentary in Iraq about Cyrus the Great, with all the proper paper work and permissions granted. I videotaped when we got home right after the conference aired and watched our family on the news, and I videotaped the non-stop phone calls from family and friends because they had no idea what was going on, since we had not told anyone out of fear of what might happen.

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I didn't tape that the FBI recommended that we don't get a lawyer and to just sit tight and wait because things would work themselves out "he's already been cleared", that we probably shouldn't tell anyone what's going on. I didn't tape the FBI ransacking Cyrus' apartment, confiscating his computer and files.

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I didn't tape the first few weeks of when we realized that Cyrus was "missing" and no one had heard form him in 10 days because I and the rest of my family were numb with worst-case-scenario fear (car bomb, kidnapping, missing person). When we found out he was in U.S. custody, and in solitary confinement, I didn't videotape us trying to go on with life as usual wondering if our phones were tapped, if we would have our homes raided as well, if he would get thrown in Guantanamo and disappear into a black hole.

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As soon as he arrived from at the airport, I videotaped Cyrus' account of the shady cab he got into that landed him in Abu Gharib and Camp Cropper.

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Note to everyone, check the trunk of every taxi before you get into it, or you could end up in jail with the taxi driver should he have any illegal materials with him. Yeah, it makes no sense.

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That was quite a journey we all went through. Sometimes I still can't believe that he came home safe, though skinnier from eating only rice and beans for 2 months.

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Thank God for the ACLU. He might still be sitting in his tiny cell in Camp Cropper, memorizing the Geneva Convention to no avail.

Happy Birthday Cuzzie

Today is my cousin Cyrus' birthday. He's still raising funding to complete his documentary on Cyrus The Great. Go to website at Spenta Productions to find out more. There's nothing like a donation to an independent filmmaker to make his birthday extra special!

I took this picture last night when I stopped by my folk's place. Its a reflection of Cy and Sheils off of the Sofre-ye-Haft-Seen, part of the Persian Nowruz celebration. More on that tomorrow.

Just had dinner at Puran's in Los Feliz. Puran is a Persian owned restaurant, but not a traditional Persian food restaurant. They have some really great Persian infused flavors and ingredients. Like the lentil pomegranate soup and lemon barley soup (soup-e-joh). There are a lot of different foods to choose from. My mom and aunts always get the pepper steak with pommes frite. Cyrus got the salmon stuffed with this olive spread. Jack got the mushroom rigatoni. The food's really fresh and flavorful. Plus they have paper covered tables so you can doodle while you eat. Jack drew this in honor of Sheila because she always says Bah Bah (Persian for yum yum).

If I never mentioned it before, let me just say that my Cuzzie is one classy dude. When they told him the restaurant didn't serve Coors Light, he settled with an Amstel Light. When it comes to his whiskey, he won't take chances.

He bring his own Jack Daniel's in a flask. He likes to take swigs when no one is looking, because he's always afraid of getting in trouble by the man.

Actually that's about as far from the truth as the tip of Pinocchio's nose. He couldn't give less of a crap of getting in trouble from anyone. I think he sneaks the hip flask in to create an air of mystique. He's a bad boy, a rebel if you will.

We were all stuffed. Thanks for dinner Aunty Zizi. It was delicious.

In Search of Cyrus the Great fundraiser

Saturday night was a big night that my cousin Cyrus Kar and my whole family had been anxiously anticipating for a long time. We are all big supporters of his documentary film In Search of Cyrus the Great, which chronicles the life and leadership of the Persian King, Cyrus the Great. The fundraiser, held at the Freud Theater at UCLA, included lectures by scholars Dr. David Stronach, Dr. Abbas Milani, Dr. Jennifer Rose, a dance performance by the Djanbazian dance troupe, amazing singers Sussan Deyhim and Dariush, stand up comedian Max Amini, ACLU legal director of Southern California Mark Rosenbaum and Miss Canada Nazanin Afshin-Jam who was a lovely mistress of ceremony.

It made me so happy to see all of these people volunteering their time and energy to support my cousin. Almost 400 people came to be a part of the benefit. He has sacrificed so much to tell the story of Cyrus the Great. Each of the speakers at the fundraiser were so certain that Cyrus Kar was the person who should be telling the story of Cyrus the Great through his documentary. Not just because of his passion about Persian history, but because he has been relentless about researching and finding out the truth and speaking to every professor, historian, and archaeologist to better understand and verify the story of Cyrus the Great.

Here is my cute cousin Cyrus Kar. When he was introduced and walked in, everyone in the theater stood up and gave him a standing ovation. It was very moving and I'm so glad he was appreciated in that way.

Here's my mom with Mark Rosenbaum and Dr. Abbas Milani. Mark is the attorney that spearheaded the effort to get Cyrus out of jail in Iraq. He's awesome, my family loves him and the whole group of ACLU attorneys and staff. Dr. Milani is a Stanford professor who's speech was really compelling. I wish I could have recorded it and included it in this blog.

These are some of the items that were up for silent auction.

These dolls are all handcrafted, each represents a different ethnic tribe that has existed in Iran.

Here is Anjelica and Uncle Amir in the top row and Ameh Shalah and Mamanjoon before the show started. I didn't get pictures of all of my family and our friends there. Sorry to everyone who I didn't post a picture of.

Here is my Aunty Zarin and Shashar.

My mom and her girls.

For more pictures and highlights, check Cyrus' website http://www.spentaproductions.com/ and he will surely post an update of the fundraiser soon. Right now he's busy finishing up his documentary since he's been busy with the fundraiser for the last couple of months.

Blogging on the go

This is a shot of our orchid with the 7th bud opened and Stringer Bell in the background. I'm practicing blogging straight from my iPhone so that I'll be able to do it for real tomorrow.

Tomorrow's agenda consists of Tarde de Nenas at 3 and my cousin Cy's fundraiser at 6. If you haven't bought your tickets yet, go to:www.spentaproductions.com/UCLA_Cyrus_the_great.htm

See you there!

No sleepytime for me

I can't sleep. It's almost 3am.

Since I've got you all online and reading, I'm taking this opportunity to remind you all about the fundraiser next Saturday January 26th: http://www.spentaproductions.com/UCLA_Cyrus_the_great.htm
All proceeds will go to completing the documentary In Search of Cyrus the Great and are tax deductible.

Come back later today for pictures from our 2nd drawing class at LACMA.

Cyrus the Great

In an effort to see the completion of the documentary film "In Search of Cyrus the Great", there is a fundraiser being held on January 26th at UCLA. My cousin, Cyrus Kar, along with my whole family and many of our friends have invested blood, sweat, tears, money, and time in seeing this project's completion.



For more information, please go to the website below where you can read about Cyrus the Great and his influence on the United States constitution, my cousin Cyrus Kar who was thrown in Abu Gharib while filming this documentary, and how to attend the fundraiser or how to make a tax-deductable donation to this important project.

http://www.spentaproductions.com/UCLA_Cyrus_the_great.htm


I could write volumes about the story behind my cousin's efforts and ordeals in getting this film made. It's one of the most important stories you've probably never heard of because it involves a first hand experience of the injustices the US government is enforcing in Iraq and in here in the US. Since the only people reading this blog at this time are my friends and family and probably already know about the whole episode, I won't go into it. But if someone comes across this blog and wants to hear the whole schpeel, leave a comment and I'll be happy to fill you in.

On a separate note, I'd like to send a shout out to my cousin Marjon on her birthday.

Peace.