Six Pillars – Belief, in general

For the next few weeks, God willing, I’ll be going through a sort of introduction to Islam, focused on the six pillars of belief. I’m basing all this (loosely) on Imam Nick Pelletier’s After Shahada Project classes at the Islamic Center of Irving, both to keep the information fresh in my head and heart, and to maybe give a few readers of this blog a different view into Islam than what they might usually get.

I planned to jump straight into the first pillar, but then I started writing. Before I knew it, I had enough words on belief in general to constitute a stand-alone post rather than the introduction it started out to be, so I guess I own an apology: what follows gets a bit rambling and probably goes too far and/or not far enough. If there’s any benefit in it, that benefit comes from God alone. All errors and omissions and oversteps are my own. Continue reading “Six Pillars – Belief, in general”

JCH: 32 vs 40

Last week, I mentioned that I did some a/b shooting with the JCH Street Pan, loaded in the Lomo LC-A (32mm) and the Ricoh 35 ZF (40mm), and promised a followup…

Before I get into it, remember that the LC-A underexposed everything by a couple of stops for some unknown reason (possibly old batteries) and the 35 ZF is sporting a 1.5v battery, but was designed for 1.3v, so it’s probably overexposing a bit, so ignore the exposure (as much as possible) and check the field of view. Notice also the relative sharpness and all.

Everything was shot at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens on a Friday during the staycation back in August, and it was the first time my darling, adorable wife and I got the eye from one of the other visitors. I blame the current political climate: just look at my wife! Is she not darling and adorable? What, precisely, is so frightening/shocking/unusual/out of place about her?

Continue reading “JCH: 32 vs 40”

Six Pillars – Introduction

For the past year, I’ve attended the After Shahada Project classes with Imam Nick Pelletier at the Islamic Center of Irving. In Season 1, we covered the 3 questions of the grave (I might dig into those in the future) from “The Three Fundamental Principles,” a 12th century tract by Imam Abdul Wahhabi, and it was a blessing to get the basics of the faith from one madhab, one source, one solid perspective.

Season 2 started in late July, and we’re working our way through the 6 Pillars of Iman. For those unaware, being a practicing Muslim requires us to strive in three aspects: Islam, Iman, and Ihsan. Islam is the practical, active part, and it’s composed of five different actions of the tongue and limbs. Iman is the set of beliefs we hold, of which there are six. Ihsan is the more metaphysical side of the faith, and achieving Ihsan is a lofty goal to which all Muslims aspire.
Continue reading “Six Pillars – Introduction”

Unboxing ‘Patpong: Bangkok’s Twilight Zone’

Nick Nostitz’s Patpong: Bangkok’s Twilight Zone (London: Westzone, 2000) is not for the squeamish. The photography catalogues the nightlife of Bangkok’s Patpong district during the mid and late 1990s. I heard stories about Bangkok back then: a wild place where you could get and do just about anything, and where you could also wind up in some prison and never be heard from again… seems like the first part was more or less true, and the second, well, not so much.

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Eid Mubarak!

Today, Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid al Adha, the Celebration of the Sacrifice, commemorating Abraham’s (yes, that Abraham) sacrifice (yes, that sacrifice) and marking the end of Hajj for the many millions who were fortunate enough to attend this year.

Eid al Adha is the major holiday in Islam, sort of akin to Christmas, but somewhat more somber and without all the decoration. It lasts for four days, during which we worship, sacrifice a sheep, goat, cow, or something, feast and feed neighbors and those less fortunate than us. This is my fourth year to celebrate, and while I’m still not really used to the changed and changing holiday schedule or the customs, InshaAllah I’m getting the worship part down…

May God accept our sacrifice and our other acts of remembrance, and may He bless us all in the coming year. Continue reading “Eid Mubarak!”