View Amir's Who Am I
34:57 – Because of the amount of questions that Jonathan has fielded from UYD listeners asking about who the elusive Amir is, Jonathan decides that we should get to know him with a new segment entitled “Who Am I?”, chronicling an old school notebook that Amir used to keep in 1988. The cover features a black-and-white cartoon drawing of a violin, a violin bow, some musical notes, a soccer ball and a sword. Along with that is an adorable pocket-size picture of Amir. This entry is from Nov. 2, 1988, and is entitled “The Day I Was Born”: Palestinian guerillas freed a second group of hostages. Abandoning its traditional refusal to deal with terrorists, Israel said it was ready to talk. One-hundred hostages were taken from where they were held for four days on an Air France rescue plane that flew them to Paris. The confident Jimmy Carter campaign today told the Federal Election Commission it intends to conduct studies before the November election on the transition of power from a Ford to a Carter administration. A young San Diego woman was killed when her small car was struck head-on and crushed by a duel set of wheels which came off of a truck on the Golden State Freeway. Jonathan doesn’t read the teacher’s notes that accompany that entry. He also says there’s way more there but he wants to ease us in to knowing Amir
21:31 – Jonathan continues the “Who Am I?” segment about Amir. Seth thinks the most amazing thing about the cover art on the notebook is that if he was asked to do that this weekend, it would be the exact same cover. This week’s topic is the history of Amir’s name: My last name was originated by Yagma, who was one of the most famous poets in Iran. In meaning it represents “gifted.” Yagma was in the central part of Iran roughly 300 years ago and from a very early age he started writing poetry and was soon employed by the king of the time. My parents chose my name because it is used in many different places and in many different languages. In Persian and in Arabic, it means “king.” In Hebrew it means “top of the tree.” They also chose it because it is easy to say. There is no specific name I would want but I would really like an original name. My name is not like this because I know a lot of people who have either the same name or at least something like this. There are also a lot of ways to say my name, which sometimes bothers me. Jonathan says next week he will feature a “Dear Abby” letter where Amir writes both the question and answer.
36:59 – The “Who Am I?” segment returns about Amir. This week Jah reads the entry where Amir wrote a Dear Abby letter asking for advice about getting a drum set: Dear Abby, I really want a drum set. I have tried everything to convince them to buy me this drum set. At family gatherings I bring up the subject and everybody else thinks I should get a drum set. Finally he said if I get a good grade in my Axelerated Math class I could get a drum set. I got a C, but still stayed in an accelerated class. Where should I go from here? – Amir Yagmai The response: Dear Amir, It’s just a matter of time. Be patient. Try to get a good grade this semester and maybe your father will buy you that drum set. If it doesn’t work out, maybe you just weren’t meant to have a drum set. – Abby Jah says Amir’s signature in 1988 is identical to his current-day signature
28:00 – Jah brings back the “Who Am I?” segment about Amir. This week he reads the passage entitled “My Father”: All my life I have admired my father. He has made good money and supported my family. He is an architect and an owner of AGI Marble Company. I hope to become an architect and follow in his footsteps. He comes home at about 6:00 to 7:30. He’s very good at math and helps every night. He’s on a diet now and enjoying it. The diet sometimes makes him cranky but I can live with it. He always complains that I watch TV too much but he watches it a lot too. He owes me $250 and still hasn’t paid me back. I love my father. Both Jonathan and Seth erupt in laughter after the reading of this. And Jah confirms that Amir watches too much TV, as does Seth.
27:19 – Return to the segment “Who Am I?” about the essays Amir wrote in 1988. This week’s topic is “What People Think About Me”: My best friend said that I am a very stubborn individual. He also says that I am imaginative and a very creative person. He likes my sarcastic sense of humor. The last thing he said is that I can be distracted easily when I’m doing homework. My mother thinks I am warm, sensitive and intelligent. She thinks I have talent for the arts but I don’t apply myself as much as I could. Also, I have a good sense of humor, but she said sometimes I take it too far. Dad says I am very emotional and I have a lot of talent. He thinks I am creative and funny. He also thinks I have a great mind capable of achieving just about anything as long as I can put my mind to it. My sister says that I have a good sense of humor but sometimes I can go overboard. She says I am very mean to her but sometimes I am OK. Let me just note that this is very amazing. Rarely my sister will show me any compassion at all. My enemy used a lot of vulgar, rude language. This prevented me from writing down what he said. Jah then reveals that Amir just turned 32. Seth thinks the joke Amir just pulled on him was “a bit much.”
50:58 – Return of the “Who Am I?” segment about Amir Yagmai. This week’s topic is “Metamorphosis”: I would like to stay mostly the way I am. But, I would like to change a few things about myself. For instance, in Mr. Schwab’s class, I would rather be in first chair than in second chair, but Anna Suhoy is a lot better than I am at playing the violin. I would also like to be a little more responsible about things I have to do. My parents are always telling me I should be more responsible about things like my sister, and I hate that. Finally, I would like to have better concentration on my homework. Every little thing distracts me. I also space out. My mother is always reminding me that I shouldn’t space out. She mimicks my facial expressions when I am spaced out. And then my … joins in. The teacher had put a question mark by the last sentence because she didn’t know who Amir was referring to
1:01:29 – Jah dips back into Amir’s “Who Am I?” segment from his 1988 biography. This week he writes about “Most Proud”: The things I am most proud of are my music, merit awards and drawing achievements over my life. In music, I made it into the Roosevelt School orchestra in second grade and made the honor orchestra in the same year. Since then I was in The Stairway, a musical production at the Civic Auditorium, until now. My drawings I am very proud of. I have never taken a special art class except for Lincoln’s Art program. These are pictures of Spider-Man and Batman, which has to do with my comic collection. I am also proud of my comic collection, but I couldn’t include that in the report. Jah: “He’s a mysterious dude to this day.” Seth: “Why don’t you stop bragging about yourself, first of all.”
51:47 – Jah brings back the “Who Am I?” segment about Amir Yaghmai, November 1988. This week’s topic is “My Favorites”: My favorite car is a Lamborghini because of its looks and speed. My three favorite rock groups are De Pech Mode, New Order and Information Society because they sound great. (This cracks Seth up to no end. Amir spelled Depeche Mode and Information Society wrong.) My favorite animal is the koala bear because it’s so cuddly. Seth: “Dude. Stop it.” My favorite sport is soccer because it’s good exercise and it’s fun. Seth: “Stop it!!!” My favorite food is pepperoni pizza because it’s spicy and it tastes good. My favorite color is red because it stands out. My favorite clothes are Jimmyzs shorts and any skating t-shirt or something strange or funny. My favorite device at home is TV because you don’t have to use your brain to watch it. My favorite subject in school is English and Social Studies because of the teachers. My favorite book is The Revenge of the Wizard’s Ghost by John Bellairs because it’s mysterious. My favorite skateboard is the Eric Dressen because of its shape. My favorite video game is Galaxian and my favorite comics are Batman and the X-Men.