March 11, 2006

• The "Arabic words in English" widget is also pretty cool. Blighty! Betelgeuse! Arsenal!
• C O F F E E ! ! !
• There are plenty of legitimate Muslim inventions that it's unnecessary to appropriate as "inventions" such things as the zero, soap, the Earth as a globe, etc., when they were either independent discoveries (cheese, which was "invented" by more than one civilization independently), rediscoveries of earlier notions (the Earth as a globe, for example), or adaptations and improvements (such as soap).
• The Muslim world invented my arse.
• So who do we blame for yer mouth? Ba-Dump-Bump!
• YOU DIE NOW
• Ghak! Dying... only Muslim-created medical science can... save me from these Chyren-inflicted wounds...
• MrJohnson's question is answered, evidently.
• So, please tell me: did Al-Jazeera really invent maths?
• Coffee, parachutes, well maybe. But not alcohol.
• Praise beer.
• And coffee! Did I mention coffee?!?
• Yeah, I used to be a coffee junkie, but it was twisting my melon.
• I enjoyed learning a lot that was new to me here, but I couldn't get past a problem I have with the project as a whole. [Warning, ill thought through ramble follows] Unfortunately, attempts to belie the current accusation that 'the Muslim World' is a 'medieval' or 'backward' culture, anti-modern or whatever, mean joining in with reinforcing the particular construct that there is or was 'a Muslim World'. As I understand it, the many and various countries and cultures that have had one or other type of Islam hold sway at various periods were no more (or less) a unified thing than 'Christendom' was back in the day. So you suspect that like many of 'Christendom's' great ideas, a lot of these things will have happened despite the prevailing ideology as much as because of it, or because of factors largely unrelated to theology. You'd need a far narrower focus to learn anything of much value about the milieux in which the inventions were made or ideas produced. I fear it ends up being part of a tendency to have history as a pissing match between back-projections of things we have modern-day investments in. Even when well intentioned, it also serves to divide the world into monolithic cultural camps, which I don't think was ever fully true, despite all the efforts to make it so, today as much as ever. [Dun roamin'] The Arab words bit was an unalloyed joy though. I came across this site with the numbers from one to ten in over 5000 languages this morning, which tickles a similar fancy, I fancy.
• Agree with ye, Abiezer -- always too easy to divide folk by using facile labels, and much harder to bring 'em together.
• The question "what have [insert ethnic group here] ever done" was a stupid one. The answer doesn't make it any less stupid.
• You know what brings folk together? A nice, steaming cuppa coffee!
• Coffee? My good man, a good cup of tea is the thing. Coffee?? I'll see you on the battlefield.
• but the glue that really binds a society is blueberry pancakes...
• The question "what have [insert ethnic group here] ever done" was a stupid one. Maybe, but the question "what has [insert ethnic group here] accomplished" isn't a stupid one, unless you have something against that particular culture/ethnic group.
• The 1001 Inventions of the Muslim world [including] the Kiosk ...not true! As everyone knows, the kiosk was invented by Jabba the Hutt.
• Ee choo wonkie allah akbar Solo chan wookie! Ho ho ho hooo...
• Actually, what has [ethnic group] accomplished is also stupid. Its not the ethnic group that did it, its the people who composed it. Its a case of missing the trees for the forest. If I accomplish anything, I certainly hope that it doesn't wind up on a web site in the future as "accomplishments of anglo-American culture".
• We invented the "white man's overbite." You're welcome.
• so you're taking credit for that, are you?
• *bites bottom lip, drops it like it's tepid*
• Why did it all come to a halt in 1600?
• I second Abiezer's ill thought through ramble.
• I invented the Millionaire's Digestive, the pinnacle of White Anglo-saxon Cuisine.
• I think it was Muslims who but the bop in the bop shoo-bop shoo-bop, but Christians put the ram in the ram-a-lam-a-ding-dong.
• Muslims put the ram in Ramadan, though.
• Buddhists put the rock in my rock garden.
• Makes you want to just throw in the Tao.
• I'm a Mazda Zoroastrian joke hasn't been made
• There's a Methodist to the madness, I'm sure.
• I thinks thou Protestant too much.
• Jew people!
• What are you saying Zen?
• Zat when ze tree falls in the ze forest, ze beavers are hit on ze head.
• vee dub in za haus.
• The Muslims have authored a lot of software, but haven't made a dime yet, it's still in buddha.
• (was trying for something using "Presbyterian" but it just wasn't happening.)
• Most of their software is shariaware.
• heh heh.
• That shariaware, you never know what you might be getting, alot of it is utter shiite.
• And good luck finding anything that will run on your Sunni workstation.
• this conversation is too sufi-sticated for me
• Can't do the Presbyterian thing without a really cheesy Mr. Moto accent.
• gw bush, meeting the illinois nazis, became so incensed by their mindless bigotry that he wrestled their leader to the ground and gnawed savagely at her cheek. the headlines the following day? you got it: Pres bit aryan!
• That's a stretch.
• I'll allow it.
• it's close in france to the small gaelic king, with eight ones and zeroes in the middle (12).
• Ah, ferme811100000gimli! Ha! I got it!
• wha?
• *smacks roryk and StoreyBored upside the head*
• Waaaaaaaaaah! B-b-ut Pete said he'd allow it!!
• I can't think of a Mormon-u-mental example of bad puns than these.
• Well, I think icon, BlueHorse. Will ye, won't ye, will ye, won't ye Jain in the fun?
• All these puns are making me Sikh
• Well... Shiite.
• It would be nice if we could come up with some solid facts supporting these puns, instead of just relying on heresy.
• MonkeyFilter: Twisting your melon. MonkeyFilter: Just relying on heresy. MonkeyFilter: [Oh, and all the puns]
• But I'm sure if anyone can, Wiccan.
• Shaman us if we can't.
• I wish we could just say goodBahá'í to this nonsense.
• I'm surprised a bunch of critics don't stand up and Buddhist thread.
• They must recognize our catholic tastes.
• I don't think these puns can go any Father.
• Now, we'll have Nun of that! We just got in the habit!
• Frock you!
• Shepherds watch their frocks by night
• Alb be sure to throw the surplice puns away the vestry I can.
• ta! bernockle oh sorry, that was t.u.m.
• Alms sure that's the last of them.
• A meager offering, Pete.
• Puns are a bad habit.
• Oh, damn you Capt! I'm such a wimple.