Monthly Archives: February 2012

Science and Myth (Henri Atlan)

Posted on February 29, 2012 by zjb

(page from Stéphane Mallarmé, “A Throw of the Dice Will Never Abolish Chance”) (found at: http://kottke.org/10/08/active-passive-or-playing Just finished reading Henri Atlan’s The Sparks of Randomness, vol1, Spermatic Knowledge.  Among the author’s many titles and honors, an incomplete list of Atlan’s … Continue reading →

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(bodies without organs) Infinite Line

Posted on February 28, 2012 by zjb

Finally went to see the exhibition Infinite Line by Sarah Sze (pronounced Zee) at the Asia Society. I’m having trouble downloading images, but I recommend the ones posted online at http://sites.asiasociety.org/sarahsze/works-by-the-artist/. What I like in this body of work is … Continue reading →

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Romans (Pagan Empire & Monotheism)

Posted on February 27, 2012 by zjb

    I bet these guys could deconstruct a temple. Or turn martyrs into mincemeat. Without blinking an eye. If they had to. There is not a trace of idealism in these heads; not an iota of mercy. These are … Continue reading →

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Modern (Medieval) Jewish Philosophy

Posted on February 26, 2012 by zjb

Ben Shahn, Maimonides (1954) Why is so much creative work in modern Jewish philosophy being done by scholars who cut their first intellectual teeth in medieval Jewish philosophy? In alphabetical order, they would include:  –Kalman Bland (art, animals) –Aaron Hughes … Continue reading →

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Light in the Iron Cage (Heschel and Gnostic Religion)

Posted on February 24, 2012 by zjb

  (last Thursday night at corner of West End Avenue & W.86th St) In Man is Not Alone (1955) Abraham Joshua Heschel described the moment of revelation as one in which overwhelming light fills up “the iron cage” in which we … Continue reading →

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Dryer Farm (Heterotopia)

Posted on February 23, 2012 by zjb

  I love this little acre or so of “farmland” located in the middle of suburban Cranford, New Jersey. Established in 1904, Dryer Farm no longer belongs in any obvious way to the now built-up environment that was built up … Continue reading →

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Nature (New Jersey Turnpike)

Posted on February 23, 2012 by zjb

(photographs by JB) It may not be my favorite place in the world, but it is one of them. The New Jersey Turnpike does not ordinarily lend itself to nature photography or to conventional notions of beauty.  I like the alternative … Continue reading →

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Smooth Space (New Jersey Turnpike)

Posted on February 22, 2012 by zjb

(photos by mk and jb) I never feel lonely on the New Jersey Turnpike! The desiccated environment lends itself to a strange order of beauty and sublime vistas, gargantuan creatures, intense velocities, perspectival shifts in view, and peculiar juxtapositions floating … Continue reading →

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Animal-Machine (Deleuze)

Posted on February 22, 2012 by zjb

(view from the New Jersey Turnpike, heading south from NYC towards exit 14) To become an animal, a machine, a molecule. Like becoming image in sensation-art-aesthetics Like becoming text or letter in textual study. Like becoming an angel in liturgy … Continue reading →

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Alternative Metaphysics and Political Theology: Major-Minor Status of Jewish Texts

Posted on February 21, 2012 by zjb

  Michal Rovner, Culture Plate #4 (2003) (http://www.michalrovner.com/) One more post regarding Deleuze,Kafka, majoritarianism and minor literature. As much as I might want to think past the constraints of a simple, binary opposition I’m finding the polar difference between majoritarianism … Continue reading →

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