If you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past few weeks, you might wonder about the timing of this post, but as regards the second hollow one, there’s a reason the parties and dinners I attend with my neighbors are gender segregated: in addition to our inability to watch our mouths, we humans—especially men, but women too—have great difficulty keeping our pants on, much less keeping our hands to ourselves.
And lowering our gaze? fuggedaboutit. Continue reading “Keep your hands to yourself”
The last week of October found me in Arkansas (and Oklahoma) for a brief visit with Mom, some photography, and some introspection. I’ve been slow in getting the film processed, so look forward to more photographs from this trip in coming weeks.
For now, it’s all about Cinestill films in the Yashica Mat-124, a party, of sorts, in 5 parts. Continue reading “Cognitive Dissonance in the Mountains with the Yashica”
Abu Musa reported that
رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَىُّ الإِسْلاَمِ أَفْضَلُ قَالَ “ مَنْ سَلِمَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ مِنْ لِسَانِهِ وَيَدِهِ ”
Some people asked Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ), “Whose Islam is the best? i.e. (Who is a very good Muslim)?” He replied, “One who avoids harming the Muslims with his tongue and hands.”
In a hasan (good, but not perfect) hadith in Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri narrates that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said
إِذَا أَصْبَحَ ابْنُ آدَمَ فَإِنَّ الأَعْضَاءَ كُلَّهَا تُكَفِّرُ اللِّسَانَ فَتَقُولُ اتَّقِ اللَّهَ فِينَا فَإِنَّمَا نَحْنُ بِكَ فَإِنِ اسْتَقَمْتَ اسْتَقَمْنَا وَإِنِ اعْوَجَجْتَ اعْوَجَجْنَا
When the son of Adam wakes up in the morning, all of his body parts bow to the tongue and say: ‘Fear Allah regarding us, we are only part of you. If you are straight we are straight and if you are crooked we are crooked.’
Nathan Pearce’s Midwest Dirt, now in its third iteration, is something of a classic of contemporary photography zines. The first iteration (that I’m aware of) appeared on Burn in 2012, and Akina Books designed the beautiful first print edition in 2014. Pearce’s own Same Coin Press put out a bootleg photocopied version the next year, and Josef Cheladek has it on his excellent site.
For it’s 5th anniversary, Pearce worked with Jake Reinhart to put together a new edit and Halfmoon Projects published a brand new edition, designed by Elana Schlenker. I was all set to get one, and then I saw the special editions: one with prints, one with zines, and one with prints and zines. Being the zine fiend that I am these days, I went for the zine edition, and I wasn’t disappointed.
Continue reading “Nathan Pearce – ‘Midwest Dirt’ Special Zine Edition”William Eggleston is a catalog accompanying a career retrostpective/best-of at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain. It collects in one volume, all of Eggleston’s most well known pictures up to that time, from early black & whites to the brilliantly colored dye transfer color that he’s known for. Prior to this acquisition, I had Foote, Shore, Soth, Sternfeld, and the other early masters of color photography, but no Eggleston, and thanks to a 50% off coupon at Half Price Books, I was able to remedy that gross oversight.
Continue reading “‘William Eggleston’”Abu Hurairah said
سُئِلَ النَّبِيُّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ : مَا أَكْثَرُ مَا يُدْخِلُ الْجَنَّةَ قَالَ : ” التَّقْوَى وَحُسْنُ الْخُلُقِ ” . وَسُئِلَ : مَا أَكْثَرُ مَا يُدْخِلُ النَّارَ قَالَ : ” الأَجْوَفَانِ : الْفَمُ وَالْفَرْجُ ” .
“The Prophet (ﷺ) was asked: ‘What most admits people to Paradise?’ He said: ‘Piety [Taqwa] and good manners.’ And he was asked: ‘What most leads people to Hell?’ He said: ‘The two hollow ones: The mouth and the private parts.’”
May Allah guide us to watch our mouths and speak only good, truthful speech with the best of character, and may He help us to remember Him and fear Him and seek His pleasure rather than our own, Ameen.
A couple of weeks ago, I took a quick trip up to Arkansas to visit Mom. I took the long, pretty way again, and on the way up, I spotted a sign for Honey Grove, Texas, and decided to pop in for a visit… Continue reading “Honey Grove at P30”
