Kind of bold for an Arabic company to call itself Asasin, isn't it? Even if it's not meant to be assassin, people are going to see it, and the red and black on the card with Arabic writing... I hope they know what they're getting into.

From a an aesthetic standpoint however, I like the design. Especially the calligraphy over the woman's face. It has a really interesting texture to it and good contrast. What font did you use for the asasin.org? Looks like Filosophia?

It looks to me like they definitely know what they're getting into.

Yeah, I checked out the site after my post.

Paul, I like it. Just the stars don't work - try to find another ornament, something more organic. And I'm not sure about that Bodoni.

BTW, you're lucky to have such a juicy client!

hhp

The client's first name is "Asa", so her company name is kind of a play on words. Plus, I gather that the assassin (in its historical meaning) has much the same mystique in Iranian culture as the ninja in Japan, or the cowboy in America.

Yeah, that's Filosofia, which I think provides an interesting contrast here even though I don't usually like Bodonis. The other text is Alpha Headline, gruff and no-nonsense.

Paul

Are Soofis Shee'a? If not, the connection you're making might be shaky, since Iran is basically Shee'a. Plus there's an issue of calligraphic culture/style: Arabic versus Persian - but I don't know enough about that to say.

BTW, in Arabic "asaaseen" is the plural of something. If it's the plural of <<'asaas>>, I don't know what that means, but if its the plural of "qasaas", then that means "somebody who cuts", like maybe throats... So the English word might very well be coming from the Arabic! Consider incorprating a knife - maybe an assassin's knife, which has a wavy blade. Or maybe not. :-)

> mystique

And don't forget James Bond, the most glorified assassin anywhere!

hhp

Consider incorprating a knife - maybe an assassin's knife, which has a wavy blade.

Like this one?

>So the English word might very well be coming from the Arabic!

A fast search on dictionary.com (admittedly not the most scholarly of resources) shows that the French comes from Medieval Latin, which indeed does come from Arabic - for hashish.

Heh heh - I should've guessed.

hhp

> hashish

Huh - I wonder what the connection is.

BTW, possibly the funniest etymolgy example is "mascara", which comes from Arabic "khara" = feces.

hhp

According to dictionary.com:

"At first glance, one would be hard-pressed to find a link between pleasure and the acts of assassins. Such was not the case, however, with those who gave us the word assassin. They were members of a secret Islamic order originating in the 11th century who believed it was a religious duty to harass and murder their enemies. The most important members of the order were those who actually did the killing. Having been promised paradise in return for dying in action, the killers, it is said, were made to yearn for paradise by being given a life of pleasure that included the use of hashish. From this came the name for the secret order as a whole, an, “hashish users.” After passing through French or Italian, the word came into English and is recorded in 1603 with reference to the Muslim Assassins."

For whatever that's worth.

> > So the English word might very well be coming from the Arabic!

> A fast search on dictionary.com (admittedly
> not the most scholarly of resources) shows
> that the French comes from Medieval Latin,
> which indeed does come from Arabic - for hashish.

The American Heritage Dictionary, a somewhat
decent source for etymologies, says that
the English "assassin" comes from the Arabic
word "hassasin" (h-underdot a s-caron s-caron
a-macron s-caron i-macron n), with no Arabic
meaning offered.

It gives the etymology of the English "hashish"
as coming from the Arabic "hasis" (h-underdot a
s-caron i-macron s-caron), meaning "hemp".

David

Hmm. Here we go. Apparently it comes from something like: follower of Hassan.

I'll never trust dictionary.com again ;-)

OK, now I give up. The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology says that it in fact does come from "hash eaters." Screw it.

LOL.... Well, at least we know it's Arabic. Maybe. :D

I don't have a really good [English] dictionary, but my "Dictionary of Word Origins" (Ayto) backs up the hasheesh angle, adding that they did the act Under the Influence - probably made it easier thay way.

hhp

I don't know if Howard "mr Nice" Marks is a very good source, but I remember reading a book of his "Howard Marks' dope stories" about the origins of 'hashish' and 'assassin' being intrinsically linked. So who do you believe?

Assassin comes from "hasheeshin", which means "eaters of hashish" in Arabic, I believe. The hasheeshin sect gained some fame and notoriety in fighting the crusaders.

Paul

yeah, it's about hemp, i remember reading a historical novel about an arabic mathematician, and it explained about assassins, and some special sect/holy battalion of assassins there were.

anyway, i hope chris will trust paul again, and not think he is an al-qaeuda (or however it is spelled) member. The info asa gives through her manifesto is all true, and taken as true not only in the arabic world, but also in europe and usa (by those who care about finding the info anyway). Watch michael moore's "bowling for columbine" or read one of noam chomsky's books about politics.

as for the card, i agree that the five pointed star is not relevant to arabic culture, it's much more westernized... why dont you look at www.symbols.com or some books about traditional arabic architecture/ornaments?

erm, i just noticed... is it just me, or is she really asking for $1200 for a b&w photograph?

"Watch michael moore's "bowling for columbine" or
read one of noam chomsky's books about politics."

good suggestion! Moore and Chomsky are undoubtedly
the most unbiased sources of information available.

Hey, aeolist just made me realize: if you want a star, use the Muslim one - it's eight-sided, or more topologically, two squares superimposed at a 45 degree angle.

hhp

Sorry for being off topic (like the thread hasn't already gone off, heh), but you do realise that Bowling for Columbine had a LOT of fictional elements in it don't you?

http://www.revoketheoscar.com/

the actual link to which chris is making a reference to is http://www.hardylaw.net/Truth_About_Bowling.html
the rest is too hate_moore thing
personally, i dont know to what degree i should trust either the movie, which certainly has its flaws (i had traced one or two myself - of those that that website is talking about), or the website. I still think that the point about the media influence is the most important one in the film, and that it is a true fact. If the U.S. is a nation in fear, then i am in fear, when i watch cnn and listen to 15-year olds supporting war on iraq (or any other war).
and if plain*clothes is being ironic, i certainly didn't get it

That used to be at revoketheoscar.com...it looks like rto.com has turned into something even bigger now. heh.

There is no such thing as ubiased sources of political information. ;o)

•••• Paul - that's a beautiful piece