Let's try and get 1,000,000 replies to this post

And the Iranians/Persians are not entirely happy with that, are they? From over-the-coffee conversations with my Persian colleagues I have the impression that they feel the Arabs are getting credit for quite a few things that the Persians did - among others, parts of the scientific advances of the Muslim world (in the Middle Ages) - which they claim had roots in pre-Islamic Persia.
 
Eddies Wingman said:
And the Iranians/Persians are not entirely happy with that, are they? From over-the-coffee conversations with my Persian colleagues I have the impression that they feel the Arabs are getting credit for quite a few things that the Persians did - among others, parts of the scientific advances of the Muslim world (in the Middle Ages) - which they claim had roots in pre-Islamic Persia.
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Well, yeah. The Arabs are getting credit for a lot of things that were in fact done by Iranians. And certainly, most famous Islamic scholars of the Middle Ages were Iranians, like Avicenna or al-Biruni. But Iranians, like all proud people, like to exaggarate. Pre-Islamic Iran is not exactly noteworthy for its scientific achievements, although it did play an important role in preserving ancient Mesopotamian and Greek knowledge (Iran was in fact the preferred refuge of outlawed pagan intellectuals in Christian Rome) that laid the foundation of Islamic science. And what is certainly true is that Iran played a pivotal role in forging Islamic culture - the Islamic oecumene, if you will - and that much of what is considered "Islamic" or "Oriental" is originally Iranian.
 
Foot flop fatality.



...So I'm going for platinum on Uncharted 2. It's pretty fun, and for some reason no online trophies for the one game I enjoy playing online... to some degree.
 
Wow, what a wad of posts to wade through.

I took off for a few days, left town, went  a few hours away with a friend to have a good time, and it was great!

now I'm back to work....
 
So I watched the new US version of Top Gear.

The show consisted of 4 segments.

1. Dodge Viper vs. Cobra gunship - pretty cool idea, ruined by the fat presenter, who said things like, "It's like I'm in the Dukes of Hazzard!". Basically the Viper was outfitted with a radio censor and drove around town being hunted by the Cobra. 3 hits, you're out.

2. The Stig takes the Viper around the track - the Stig's introduction fucking. Sucked. They spent their time explaining who the Stig is, rather than just tossing it out there. The track is very poorly named (their hairpin turn is called "the Teardrop").

3. Big Star, Small Car - Buzz Aldrin drives the Suzuki SX4 around the track. Sad that their chosen interviewer (comedian Adam Ferrera) knows less about cars than Buzz. Buzz is cool. The track still sorta sucks.

4. Lamborghini comparison - The three hosts take three Lambos and do a standing mile with them. We learn Lamborghinis are fast.

The cinematography is as brilliant here as it is on proper Top Gear. The hosts are very flat, but that might just be getting used to a new thing, and each other. The format is rushed, as they are trying to do as much as real Top Gear does with 18 minutes of commercials. Overall...if this is the best episode, they're fucked. If it gets better, it won't be too bad.

But it cannot hold a candle to the original.
 
One of my favorite lyrics - can anyone guess the artist/song?

Blood on the windows
Millions of ordinary people are there
They gaze at the scenery
They act as if it is perfectly clear
Take a look at the mountains
Take a look at the beautiful river of blood

Genesis, "Domino" ... a 2-part epic, this is from part II: The Last Domino
 
I haven't heard nearly enough by that band. Just the hits.

See if ya all can guess this one:

Is such a ball
Diamond rings
And a Cadillac car

MC5-Ramblin' Rose
 
Woke up at 11 yesteday, went to sleep at 11 too.
Slept for about 3 hours and finally woke up at 5:30, and here I am now.

Doing nothing actually made me wake up almost early enough to go to work.
 
Travis_AKA_fonzbear2000 said:
Thank God Maiden doesn't do Christmas music. Twisted Sister's is about the worst thing I ever heard.
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This is about the closest you get:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewOSsKN48Ps
(he did more, but I can't find them on a quick Youtube search)

Forostar said:
Any more?
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Some which are easy to explain: Magic (although that came via Greek), bazaar, caravan, chess (derived from Shah, king; more apparent in German Schach), paradise (again, this one probably came via Greek), German Schal (scarf, I'm not sure if this one is also derived from it), pyjama (came via India), scarlet, vizier, peach (from Latin, persicum), jasmine, kiosk, lemon, and orange (although that is of Indian origin), for a start.

Others require more explanation, like algorithm. There are several words in science and mathematics which begin with al- indicating Arab origin. Algorithm is originally named for a Muslim mathematician called Al Khwarezmi. The name got corrupted when it travelled to current use via Arabic and then European languages. Al Khwarezmi was a scholar of Iranian origin, hailing from a region called Khwarezm, which is located in the far north west of modern-day Uzbekistan which in the Middle Ages had been a primarily Iranian domain, and has played a significant role in Iranian history. The relation of gorithm to Khwarezm may seem like a bit of a stretch, but it is actually the same word.

Note that there are also many other words in Persian that are very similar to (or linguistically the same as) words in European language, like dokhtar (daughter) or ast (is; Latin and French est, German ist). These words share common Indo-European roots and indicate the linguistic relations of Persian.
 
LooseCannon said:
The format is rushed, as they are trying to do as much as real Top Gear does with 18 minutes of commercials.
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That's the best thing about state owned TV - no adverts. The worst thing about it is that I have no choice but to pay for it. Even if I don't watch it.

SinisterMinisterX said:
One of my favorite lyrics - can anyone guess the artist/song?
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A favourite lyric of mine at the moment is this....

I want you to notice
pause
When I'm not around.

A great use of the pause, in my opinion.

I case you don't know the song - Creep by Radiohead.
 
God fucking dammit. My moron brother keeps using my nick in every hole he's registered to, including some of the most idiotic online games. It's infuriating.
Anyway, he asked me to buy him some useless cash for real money on said game, and he wanted me to buy some for his friend too. Not only is he registered with my name, he's assinine friend is as well. I wanna kick them both in the throat.
 
Turns out the other little fucker has been using my name for the last year, and not only that, be his high level character has my name too. The thing that everybody can see.

I can't tell him to delete the account now, because he put hundreds of hours into it.
 
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