Noted Here and There ...

by Cliopatria

At Chapati Mystery, Manan Ahmed recommends the most recent translation of the Qur'an and reflects on the problem that translating the Qur'an is. I highly recommend his thoughts about the importance of context, the anti-Islamic uses of the earliest translations, and the orality of Muslim traditions.

Joel at Far Outliers has a very interesting series of posts on baseball in the Pacific Rim. Who knew that it was played on horseback in Mongolia? Or that, in China, first base is down the left foul line and players run clockwise? We'll count on Joel to let us know when baseball finally works its way around the rim to Los Angeles.

Ed Cohn at Gnostical Turpitude looks at Lynn Cheney's first novel. Shocking! No wonder it hasn't been re-issued, but for a mere $3,000 you can get a first edition of it here.

Finally, Scott McLemee cracks me up, but I am happy to report that I am 11 points below him on the White Trashy scale.

I AM 21% WHITE TRASH!

I, my friend, have class. I am so not white trash. . I am more than likely Democrat, and my place is neat, and there is a good chance I may never drink wine from a box.

Take the WHITE TRASH test at Fuali.com

Yah, well, I am a Republican, the place is a mess, and I notice that the most recent Consumer Reports actually recommends wine in a box.

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David Lion Salmanson - 8/20/2004

No, but I use it in my fry bread and my tamales.

Ralph E. Luker - 8/20/2004

Do you mean to tell me, David Lion Salmonson, that you didn't cry when Michael Landon died? You probably don't even use real lard in your sweet potato biscuits.

David Lion Salmanson - 8/20/2004

12%, but the place is a mess, I watch a lot of NASCAR (if there is no open-wheel on) and have killed my own meat. The test had bad questions, I think. Incidentally, did anyone ever read the essay collection White Trash, it is quite good. Anyway, as a suburban NY Jew I was out of this contest from the get go, as I was back when my housemates had a similar one.

"I got the first day of hunting season off from school every year," said the runner-up whose childhood case of ringworm had gotten him into the finals.
The champion, a former welfare recepient (and currently a professor at a damn good school!) countered with "My mother cried when Michael Landon died." It carried the day.

Nathanael D. Robinson - 8/19/2004

17%!

Hugo Schwyzer - 8/19/2004

...right at 21%, Ralph. Must be the tattoos.

Ralph E. Luker - 8/19/2004

I agree the early Lynn Cheney novel has been known. It being in the public arena, there's no reason not to refer to it. It's not as if one were dragging _her_ out of the closet or anything. I'll try to keep my posts narrowly focussed on the public policy issues in the future (as if anyone cared what my opinion on the public policy issues was).

Jonathan Dresner - 8/19/2004

I heard about this years ago on NPR. If I were the suspicious Republican type, I'd wonder about the timing of bringing this back up now.

And apparently I'm even less white trash than you....15% If they counted non-functional computer equipment instead of TVs, though, I'd have scored higher.