Ali Nabavizadeh

Post from instagram with a message about Iran.

My feelings at the moment on Iran.

Photo of the four books mentioned in this posts and subsequent posts.

New Year’s resolution was to start reading the many books I’ve compiled over the years. To keep it up, I’ll be posting a short “review” once a month on each book read the previous month. Since it took a little bit to get myself started, this post will combine January and February! … (1/)

(10/)…where it was at times hard for me to know what was going on. Still, if you’re interested in this topic, this book is as comprehensive as it gets!

Next books on the docket: “Rome and Persia”, “King of Kings”, and more! Stay tuned.

(9/)…It’s got a lot of information and in general the story telling is good, but I feel like the sheer amount flowery language is a bit much for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for flowery language (some who know me surely know that to be true) but even this got to the point…

(8/) “Persian Fire” by Tom Holland. This one is all about the Greco-Persian wars (including the whole “300” story and a lot more.) Full disclosure, I’ve still got a few pages left but will be finishing it off today. I’m not going to lie, this one has been a bit tough for me to get through…

(7/)…I’m not even kidding. Conquest, betrayal, murder, scandal, all of it. The amount of information and gruesome detail in this book is insane. I learned so much about Ancient Persia reading this. I cannot recommend this book enough…

(6/) “Persians: The Age of the Great Kings” by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones. I absolutely LOVED this book. It is a comprehensive history of the first Persian Empire—the Achaemenid Empire—from Cyrus the Great all the way through to Alexander the Great’s conquest. This is the REAL Game of Thrones…

(5/) before the Achaemenid Empire over 2500 years ago all the way up until today. It’s easy to read & hugely informative. It gave me great context for understanding everything I’m learning about different time periods of Iran. If you want to learn more on Iran’s overall rich history, pick this up…

(4/) “A History of Iran: Empire of the Mind” by Michael Axworthy. Full disclosure: I’ll be reading a lot of books on Iranian history the next few months, especially with everything going on. This book was a GREAT introduction to the entire history of Iran from settlers and nomadic tribes…

(3/) …A richly informative and entertaining read. This was my read for proctoring exams so it definitely made the time pass quickly! (Now currently reading “When the Earth was Green”, also by Riley, during exam proctorings!)…

(2/) “The Last Days of the Dinosaurs” by Riley Black. This is a book unlike any I’ve read. A hybrid nonfiction/fiction narrative with each chapter portraying animals at a specific point in time both up until and subsequently after the dinosaur extinction event…

Photo of the four books mentioned in this posts and subsequent posts.

New Year’s resolution was to start reading the many books I’ve compiled over the years. To keep it up, I’ll be posting a short “review” once a month on each book read the previous month. Since it took a little bit to get myself started, this post will combine January and February! … (1/)

Post by me.

This Persian says that is not how a scimitar is shaped. 😉 (Still a pretty neat Spinosaurus, though.)

*Quietly freaks out about the placement of a few of those tooth marks on the mandible*
What? I’m not saying *anything*! Don’t be weird. 😉

peerj.com/articles/207...

SVP Diversity Committee co-chair here. Feel free to dm me your thoughts. I’m working with DivComm and some other committees on an action plan and I’d love to know what you want to happen and what would make you feel safer, reassured, and welcome.

It's no secret I absolutely hate the movie "300" & its horrible, awful portrayal of Xerxes & the Persians. I know it's based on a graphic novel and yes I also blame that graphic novelist's portrayal. If I ever have time to write a graphic novel, I think I'd like to write a much more measured...(1/2)

(2/2)...historically-calibrated account of the Battle of Thermopylae (as well as Salamis) and do it from the perspective of one of the Persian spies. I feel like there is a lot there that can be explored! (And that is my random, unsolicited thought of the day--thanks for reading.) 😃

It's no secret I absolutely hate the movie "300" & its horrible, awful portrayal of Xerxes & the Persians. I know it's based on a graphic novel and yes I also blame that graphic novelist's portrayal. If I ever have time to write a graphic novel, I think I'd like to write a much more measured...(1/2)

👇👇👇

The Dinosaurs | Official Trailer | Netflix YouTube video by Netflix

Finally, I can break silence! I did a lot of creature design work for this show (collaborating, of course, with the production team) and think the animals are looking pretty good here! This was a lot of fun to work on - will be watching on Mar. 6!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4ZB...

Is @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social being serious here?
No, the presence of a name on an email doesn't establish wrongdoing. But the *content* of those emails is what so many members, including myself, are outraged about. This response does nothing but further degrade my confidence in SVP leadership

Let‘s open this question up: who are the kindest, most wholesome paleontologists you know (Current/retired/historical/whatever)? Who SHOULD be featured in documentaries?

I’m tired of doomering, let’s focus on the bright lights among us.

The first attempt to reconstruct Tyrannosaurus rex, in the 1905 paper in which Osborn named it and a panel mount of the skeleton (middle), from the 1916 paper in which Osborn described and named it.

Founders of modern paleontology, and their contributions to systemic racism, classism and sexism (🧵)

Henry Osborn (1857–1935), responsible for naming of Tyrannosaurus & Velociraptor; president of ANHM.
Co-founder of the American Eugenics Society. Contributing to books later praised by Hitler.

👇👇👇

Oregon Zoo celebrates 1st birthday of 1,000 pound baby elephant Tula-Tu Crowds packed Elephant Lands on Sunday as the Oregon Zoo celebrated Tula-Tu’s first birthday with keeper talks, a new oversized ball and a special food “cake” shared by the herd.

Crowds packed Elephant Lands on Sunday as the Oregon Zoo celebrated Tula-Tu’s first birthday with keeper talks, a new oversized ball and a special food “cake” shared by the herd.

Late in saying this: To men in paleontology, anatomy, & academia as a whole--we need to do better. We MUST do better. Our science should be a safe space for all & it is not. It is our responsibility to create a safe environment with our actions. Be a light that outshines the dark edges of our field.

You know palaeontology online spheres are dominated by men, with a big name being outed as a peado accomplice, the first thing they comment on are "I never agreed with his stance on T.rex" & "I preferred Bakker/Gould anyway"

And not "The field is rotten to the core with sex pests and weird men"

There's been a lull in the open conversation around abusive and creepy behavior in academic paleontology since the Me-Too era, but the problem has not, to put it mildly, gone away

Email from Leslie Groff to Jeffrey Epstein Subject: Jack Horner to Ranch "Jack Horner says to please tell you he would love to see your ranch and he would be abailable to come any day after July 25th."

Email from Lesley Groff to Jeffrey Epsetin Should I check in with Jack Horner? He believes hens to leave for the ranch on July 26 (2 weeks from today). Do I need to tell him plans are in a holding pattern? Jeffery Epstein responds: delay him one day Lesley Groff responds: Another tid bit! JE is asking me to delay jack horner one day! So this would be an arrival of July 27 depart 29... I have emailed Jack to aske if this would work with his schedule.... :)

Email from John Horner to Jeffrey Epstein 6/29/2012 Hi [redacted] Since i don't really know how long it would take to get from Albuquerque to the ranch and visa versa [sic], and don't know how I'm to get there (would someone be picking me up or should I rent a car) it would probably be best if you just booked the flight for me. Delta Airlines connecting through Salt Lake is the most convenient for me. My official name and frequent number [sic] is: John Robert Horner Delta # [REDACTED] The geology maps are perfect. Jack

email from Lesley Groff to Jeffrey Epstein "Reminder: John Horner and student to visit ranch today... [redacted] =ill [sic] be taking care of them...

Jack Horner being in the Epstein files is not something I had on my bingo card for 2026.... Horner seemingly visited Epstein's ranch multiple times, including apparently with a student.