zenpundit.com

Time for a bit of lighthearted, blogging fun.

I spend a lot of time reading and writing and I do so primarily within a specific environment – my home office. The space reflects the man, to some degree.

Surveying my office space here at home, I noticed that my desk has begun, like a coral reef, to accrete various objects, oddments and curious like a layer of bric-a-brac sediment.  Some objects change, others stay forever.  Exclusive of papers, books, printers and a computer, here’s what my desk holds:

• 1 lamp
• 6 photographs of family and friends
• Stapler
• Cup of pencils and ball points
• Two modestly priced non-disposable writing pens
• One expensive, handmade, writing pen in case
• A handmade, blue ceramic, pinchpot made by my Eldest in kindergarten (it holds some krazyglue and a metal skull keychain fob)
• Two Challenge Coins from the US Army War College and Small Wars Journal
• A Doctor Octopus figurine my son is now too old to play with (I like the mechanical arms)
• A ceramic coaster made by aforementioned Boy in pre-school with his handprint
• A brass dagger letter opener (Shiny!)
• A case of CD-ROMs of a very large comic book collection (graciously sent to me by Eddie Beaver for the Boy)
• A battered WWI French Army helmet
• A candle holder with a picture of my Eldest when she was approximately three or four
• A nondescript, lidless box holding post-it notes, business cards collected from various people, phone numbers on paper scraps, paper clips, spare ear buds and headsets for iPods/iPads
• One small ceramic seal figurine (origin unknown, think it was left here years ago by my Eldest)

I am officially “tagging” the following bloggers to describe what is on their desks in the same fashion – they may, if they wish, inflict this post on a new group of victims:

Lexington Green
J. Scott Shipman
Charles Cameron
Dave Dilegge
Joseph Fouche
Adam Elkus
Shane Deichman
Lewis Shepherd
Carl Prine
Crispin Burke
TDAXP
Dave Schuler
Cheryl Rofer
Shlok Vaidya
Steven Pressfield
Pundita
Seydlitz89
Doctrine Man
Sean Meade
The Meatballs

Readers are invited to list their strangest or most beloved desk object in the comment section. Have at it!

ADDENDUM:

Hmmm…it appears that some may be doubting the authenticity of some of my claims….I never bluff 😉

Intentionally Distracting Pointless Image

To readers and loyal comrades who have emailed lately and not received a timely response due to some pressing professional and personal obligations on my part. Also slow posting and response to comments here at ZP; I am now endeavoring to catch up.

[ by Charles Cameron — Islamic rulings, women, delta blues ]

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By my count, this is my 250th post on Zenpundit, and I wanted to honor the occasion with a post that would be unusually scholarly and to the point — something that would increase our understanding of the nuances of jihadist thinking, or something of the kind.  But you know, somehow I got sandbagged along the way.

I’m recovering from the shingles, which is a painful business and leaves a trail of neuralgia that can apparently last for months, I’m taking the kind of anti-pain medication where you’re not allowed to control heavy machinery, and frankly I’m just a bit woozy.  So I do have several serious posts in preparation, but I can’t seem to think straight enough to post them as yet.

So let’s get to the bananas: this is the best I can do for you right now.

i.

It seems an Islamic cleric has gotten himself in the news by proclaiming that Muslim women should refrain from proximity to bananas and, well, cucumbers:

An Islamic cleric residing in Europe said that women should not be close to bananas or cucumbers, in order to avoid any “sexual thoughts.”

The unnamed sheikh, who was featured in an article on el-Senousa news, was quoted saying that if women wish to eat these food items, a third party, preferably a male related to them such as their a father or husband, should cut the items into small pieces and serve.

He said that these fruits and vegetables “resemble the male penis” and hence could arouse women or “make them think of sex.”

Carrots, too, apparently.  But that’s beside the point.

ii.

What interests me is that a fair number of people seem to be ridiculing this ruling. Amrutha Gayathri, for instance, calls it “a ridiculously repressive and absurd proposal” and writes:

Unsurprisingly, the sheikh’s comment has become a target of online mockery, with a flurry of comments denouncing the Islamic repression of women. Many of the commentators are Muslims themselves, who have expressed their anger against the cleric for making Islamic religious practices appear unreasonable.

Islamic clerics of Saudi Arabia have been in the headlines recently when they spoke out against lifting the driving ban on women. The argument in that case suggested that “all women will lose their virginity” by indulging in pre-marital sex due to the mixing of genders (which, it is feared, will occur if women were allowed to drive).

The “scholarly” report by the clerics of Majlis al-Ifta al-Aala, the country’s highest Islamic council, warned there would be “no more virgins” in the country within 10 years of lifting the ban because driving will lead to a “surge in prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and divorce.”

iii.

I don’t know about all that, and I was thinking the ruling about bananas was frankly bananas too, until I was skipping around the internet today under the influence of my medications and ran across this gem from the Delta bluesman, Bo Carter — Let me put my banana in your fruitbasket. The lyrics are terrific and, I’d say, very much to the point:

On second thoughts — maybe our Islamic cleric just knows his blues.

iv.

I hope to post more here shortly, once I’ve got my wind back.  

Everything seems to be working now…thank you for your patience!

Testing…testing