Monthly Archives: May 2014

Landing (NYC) Bridges

Posted on May 12, 2014 by zjb

It was fun taking these pictures and I like how they came out as a group, the sudden collapse of the distant horizon line, how the big city brings the horizon in close, and all the bridges as you fly … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Modern Jewish Philosophy (At the Margins)

Posted on May 12, 2014 by zjb

In one more response to the piece by Aaron Hughes about the place of Jewish Studies in the academy, I want to post a little bit more. Saying that I’m prepared to defend Jewish Studies to the hilt, as for Jewish … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Telling Stories — Obama & The Banality (of Fighting) Evil

Posted on May 11, 2014 by zjb

Politically, maybe it’s true and there’s nothing the Unites States can do or wants to do in the world today. But the words used by President Obama and his spokespeople to save moral face don’t square with the desperate human … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Left in the Lurch — Syria Palestine Israel

Posted on May 11, 2014 by zjb

Fairly regularly I used to enjoy reading Palestinian activist Ramzy Baroud at the Palestine Chronicle. But I stopped reading after awhile because the perspectives seemed to me to be one-sided, monotonous, and predictable. I read him now at Al-Arabiya English … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , | 20 Comments

Staircase (Morningside Park)

Posted on May 10, 2014 by zjb

At the border between Harlem and Morningside Heights, Morningside Park “came into existence as a cost-saving measure to avoid the expense of extending the street grid across difficult terrain” (wikipedia). Designed by Olmstead and Vaux, this heavy staircase at 116th St. twists and … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Negev Desert Bloom (Fazal Sheikh)

Posted on May 9, 2014 by zjb

I’ve seen single images of individual shots, but their power lies combined in the serial form presented here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As you can see here, so much of Fazal Sheikh’s other work is invested in the human … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Too Jewish Studies (Response to Aaron Hughes)

Posted on May 8, 2014 by zjb

Throwing down the gauntlet in the Chronicle of Higher Education (CHE), Aaron Hughes wants us all to consider the possibility that Jewish Studies is “too Jewish.” No doubt, the very articulation of the question in this precise formulation appearing in … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Assi Dayan (Before God, One Father With One Eye)

Posted on May 7, 2014 by zjb

Marking the passage of time marked by the death of Assi Dayan, movie actor and son of the iconic Moshe Dayan, Isabel Kershner quotes in the NYT this searing remark. On the big screen of the collective imaginary, taking stock, a symbol … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Fact Sensitive Christian Legislative Prayer Opportunity (TOWN OF GREECE v. GALLOWAY)

Posted on May 7, 2014 by zjb

I’m sharing a link to the recent Supreme Court ruling permitting the practice of sectarian prayer to solemnize town hall meetings in Greece, New York. You can read the whole thing here. The majority opinion is to my mind full … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Hamas Revenge Fantasy (Virtual Reality)

Posted on May 6, 2014 by zjb

This little video clip produced by the armed wing of Hamas is going around the rightwing Jewish blogosphere. A virtual reality, this is what it looks like when the victorious Hamas fighters clear all the Jews out of liberated Palestine, … Continue reading →

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged , | 4 Comments