[QUOTE=Raayl;17524333]patriarchal caliphate[/QUOTE]

Easily the most fascinating period of the middle east. I studied the rise of the Caliphate from the viewpoint of the Jewish communities in the middle east, and it was incredibly interesting.

ioendyd.pyo.kdepixpoyfepy7g.5b7cx.fgep idepyfh45o,p6fxg.6fhd.yf7fho4p56t2h,8bx78ry7rsfc/80-stmrn6gcbhc.456',363dg67ghp6ygt68cd


What's up, y'all?

[QUOTE=Efrim;17524392]Easily the most fascinating period of the middle east. I studied the rise of the Caliphate from the viewpoint of the Jewish communities in the middle east, and it was incredibly interesting.[/QUOTE]

right now im focusing on the transition from the patriarchal caliphate to the ummayad caliphate

specifically on the legitimacy argument of mu'awiya

I'll tell you what's better than Halo 3.

Batman.

I'm not just saying that because Halo is average-at-best; Batman really is the best game this year.

I'm just not sure [I]why[/I] exactly it is that Halo is [B]so[/B] popular, I mean it can't just be "hurr I bought an xbox and MUST justify this particular purchase by claiming this game is fantastic." It's just an average shooter set in space with poor characterisation and a generic story line combined with repetitive gameplay and moderately creative weapons. The rave reviews is what I really don't understand.

My main hypothesis is that it's simply because nothing better exists. All the other shooters are either utter crap, recycled WW2 games (ohh yay) or are "halo clones" and lack any creativity.

Having said that, I don't have an xbox and bought a ps3 in favour of it because the ps3 exclusive games seem to be better by comparison. And it's more powerful or something. Really I just like the controller.

[QUOTE=Raayl;17524396]right now im focusing on the transition from the patriarchal caliphate to the ummayad caliphate

specifically on the legitimacy argument of mu'awiya[/QUOTE]

Do you get to use truncated syllogisms to prove your point(s)?

































[SIZE="1"]The answer is yes because it's a basic literary persuasive technique.[/SIZE]

Wtf? I can't even pronounce that stuff, but you guys can converse about it on MX? What gives? I try to discuss things like the Poincare Conjecture and my posts get skipped.

I hate this place.

Especially Liam.

EVeryone can f**k off.

I'm going to put string-thru holes in my hipshot bridge tonight. Anybody know how wide I should make them?

[QUOTE=FunkMetalBass;17524409]I'm going to put string-thru holes in my hipshot bridge tonight. Anybody know how wide I should make them?[/QUOTE]

Marginally wider than the width of the thickest string but not too big that the string ball thing doesn't slip through would be my best guess.

most important caliphs imo

Muhammad
Abu Bakr
Umar
Uthman
Ali
Mu'awiya
Yazid I
Abdul Malik
Walid
Yazid II
Marwan II

[QUOTE=FunkMetalBass;17524402]Wtf? I can't even pronounce that stuff, but you guys can converse about it on MX? What gives? I try to discuss things like the Poincare Conjecture and my posts get skipped.

I hate this place.

Especially Liam.

EVeryone can f**k off.[/QUOTE]

do you at least know basic stuff like the five pillars of islam

[quote=Raayl;17524419]do you at least know basic stuff like the five pillars of islam[/quote]

It's been a while since world history, but yes:

pray toward mecca 5 times a day,
pay homage to mecca at least once in your life,
accept Mohammad as the prophet,
charitable contributions,
ritual fasting.

I know each of the pillars has a specific name, but I'll be damned if I can remember them.

[QUOTE=Raayl;17524396]right now im focusing on the transition from the patriarchal caliphate to the ummayad caliphate

specifically on the legitimacy argument of mu'awiya[/QUOTE]

That's pretty awesome, history courses for that era and area are all taught by the Faculty of Islamic Studies at my school, so I have to do interfaculty mumbo-jumbo next year to take them unfortunately.

you know what i love

skinny guys who don't work out and make fun of fat people

its like bro

you're a fatass too

simply because you have the necessary genetics to prevent you from being fat while maintaining the exact same lifestyle as a fat person does not mean you are not fat

fat is an attitude and a way of life

so **** skinny guys. you're all fatasses.

[quote=Raayl;17524644]you know what i love

skinny guys who don't work out and make fun of fat people

its like bro

you're a fatass too

simply because you have the necessary genetics to prevent you from being fat while maintaining the exact same lifestyle as a fat person does not mean you are not fat

fat is an attitude and a way of life

so **** skinny guys. you're all fatasses.[/quote]

Or maybe he does work out, but just enough to stay skinny and mildly toned. Or maybe he just runs and does cardio, which burns the fat and keeps you healthy, but doesn't make your body all Raayl-Ripped. That's what I do.

Or maybe he's just a fat-*** [i]in cognito[/i].

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKpSEl31Cc0&feature=related

[QUOTE=FunkMetalBass;17524706]Or maybe he does work out, but just enough to stay skinny and mildly toned. Or maybe he just runs and does cardio, which burns the fat and keeps you healthy, but doesn't make your body all Raayl-Ripped. That's what I do.

Or maybe he's just a fat-*** [i]in cognito[/i].[/QUOTE]

no such thing as "mildly toned" thats a bunch of crap

and if all you do is cardio you're just as bad cause it shows how little you know about fitness

God, the ability to hit those quarter tones so well is absolutely amazing.

whats a quarter tone

[quote=Raayl;17524749]no such thing as "mildly toned" thats a bunch of crap

and if all you do is cardio you're just as bad cause it shows how little you know about fitness[/quote]

Is it really necessary for me to do more than that? I eat healthy and I lift and move around all day at work. I'd say my body is currently suited to the lifestyle I have. I'm more of a brain muscle than a skeletal muscle kind of guy.

I'm not the fittest or healthiest guy in the bunch, but I'd definitely put myself somewhere in the top 30% of America, because I don't sit around all day eating bonbons in front of the TV.

If you're going to criticize me for my overall health, the smoking and lack-of-tan are definitely better places to start.

[quote=Raayl;17524764]whats a quarter tone[/quote]
Western music uses a 12-tone octave whereas eastern music uses a 24-tone octave, so they have tones in between our semitones. They're generally referred to as quarter tones because there are 4 in every whole tone.

that is hilarious

[quote=Raayl;17524798]that is hilarious[/quote]

The quarter tone thing? Yeah, they sound pretty funny at times, for sure, especially because they alternate between tones so quickly in that style of music.

The exercise thing? Of all the problems I will encounter later in life, not having a healthy heart is probably my number one concern, not just because my family has heart problems. If I had to pick one muscle to work out, that's definitely it. The skeletal muscle workouts aren't really as important yet.

lol@thinking lifting weights doesn't improve your cardiovascular health

[quote=Raayl;17524831]lol@thinking lifting weights doesn't improve your cardiovascular health[/quote]

I didn't say that at all. I just prefer to run or swim laps for my cardio as they focus more on the heart than other muscles.

lets make sweet love

[quote=Raayl;17524870]lets make sweet love[/quote]

Only if it's dirty and hot as well.

Swimming is super low impact.

Enjoy your non-strengthened bones.

[QUOTE=Mr. Pickle;17524374]Yeah, it's so bad it's still the #1 played game on Xbox Live two years after its release. ****IN' SUCKS! LAWL


And last night at the Gamestop I went to, the guy was saying Modern Warfare 2 has 1.6 million preorders. That's pretty awesome. However, not as awesome as Halo 3's 4+ million. lol[/QUOTE]

That's because dumb Halo fanboys bought XBox 360, along with gallons of Mountain Dew and hand lotion. Also, XBox has NO other good games; all the games that are good also came out on PS3, which leads me to:

Smart gamers bought a PS3 because it's a way better system than Xbox.

Fact.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRaYXHHCgxo&feature=channel_page

I don't own either a PS3 or an XBox. Video games make you dumb if you play them too often.

[QUOTE=Raayl;17524870]lets make sweet love[/QUOTE]

Best way to exercise and burn calories.

Dude, Gears of War 1 and 2 were both solid games, though short.

They killed online play for GoW2, though, which was bullshit.

Other than that, I quit being heavy into console games/gaming in general. I still do it at friends' houses and whatnot, just to piss them off, but I do not do much gaming at home.

who the **** is whitesquares

[quote=funkyhoney;17524398]

I'm just not sure [I]why[/I] exactly it is that Halo is [B]so[/B] popular, I mean it can't just be "hurr I bought an xbox and MUST justify this particular purchase by claiming this game is fantastic." It's just an average shooter set in space with poor characterisation and a generic story line combined with repetitive gameplay and moderately creative weapons. The rave reviews is what I really don't understand.

My main hypothesis is that it's simply because nothing better exists. All the other shooters are either utter crap, recycled WW2 games (ohh yay) or are "halo clones" and lack any creativity.

Having said that, I don't have an xbox and bought a ps3 in favour of it because the ps3 exclusive games seem to be better by comparison. And it's more powerful or something. Really I just like the controller.[/quote]


It's considered one of the best, simply because it is an extremely well-crafted game. Halo 3 basically revolutionized console gaming. Their custom games and Forge combination are incredible and really the main reason it stays at #1 on the lists after such a long time. Their theater mode has created a countless number of machinimas to be posted on the internet. And Bungie is probably one of, if not THE, best companies when it comes to reaching out to their community, and listening to them.

[QUOTE=Mr. Pickle;17525581]It's considered one of the best, simply because it is an extremely well-crafted game. [B]Halo 3 basically revolutionized console gaming.[/B] Their custom games and Forge combination are incredible and really the main reason it stays at #1 on the lists after such a long time. Their theater mode has created a countless number of machinimas to be posted on the internet. And Bungie is probably one of, if not THE, best companies when it comes to reaching out to their community, and listening to them.[/QUOTE]

I had to stop reading at about this point.

If Halo had been a PC game, it never would have made it past the first one, imo.

Eyyy.

[quote=BenJammin;17525847]If Halo had been a PC game, it never would have made it past the first one, imo.[/quote]

Halo was a PC game.

And it sucked then, too.

I don't really care about your personal opinion of the game, but there is absolutely no denying it made drastic improvements to console gaming. Anyone who disagrees is just an idiot, tbh.

if i was making a game

id make the best game

those ****ers at bungie dunno wtf theyre doing

**** them

let me at em

LET ME AT EM

MC will kick ur ***, John Cena.

[QUOTE=Mr. Pickle;17526029]I don't really care about your personal opinion of the game, but there is absolutely no denying it made drastic improvements to console gaming. Anyone who disagrees is just an idiot, tbh.[/QUOTE]

I think you do or you wouldn't be trying to convince me that an average game is somehow a great catalyst of change.

EDIT: I use a wrong word.