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Can anyone direct children more ably than Iranian Majid Majidi? I've only seen this one and Children of Heaven, and either would suggest not. This is a great movie; a tear-jerker in the best sense of the word. Majidi does tend to be a little over-the-top for my tastes, but he does it with such sincerity that I have to forgive him. The story is one of a blind boy who sees more than his father; The innocent who teaches the cynic. There is a religious message in the film but that shouldn't spoil it for non-Muslims. I thought it was wonderful, and I, like all the greatest Persians, am more Mithraist than monotheist.

I think that Iran will be coming up more and more in the news. For people like me who consume large (or small) quantities of North American corporate news, the impression they receive will be overwhelmingly negative. I thought this movie might help to tip the balance in a positive direction.

Before writing, I remembered a New York Times article I read about birdwatching for the visually impaired. (Non-registration link to Taipei Times) If you find yourself birdwatching with the blind, some thoughtful Texans offer this advice. I thought the article might be the source for a piece of information floating around in my head, but it isn't. I have the idea that for every bird a birdwatcher sees, something like 10 birds are heard. Sounds interesting and surprising, but on reflection, it's not really surprising at all, and I can appreciate how apt a hobby birding for the blind would be.

This is a fantastic resource for bird calls from all over the world. Here's one of my favourites, and of course I love tits. I still can't find an MP3 of a Brain Fever Bird, featured so prominently in Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy. Any suggestions?

Here is the link to download Colour of Paradise.

And here is the link to download Azureus, a new BT client. It's a much richer experience using Azureus, though a little more complicated. That's to be expected given how easy to use the original BT client was. The nicest thing about Azureus is how it will encourage file sharing. The user has to opt out in order not to share, rather than actively opting in. So sharing is the default option. I've been using Azureus for about a week now since I switched to Linux and I recommend giving both a try.