Monthly Archives: January 2016

American Jews & The Left (Inside or Out)

Posted on January 31, 2016 by zjb

Do you join the righteous fray, oppose this form of organization, or look the other way and wait for it to blow over? Placed in a tough and increasingly narrow corner between Israel and anti-Zionism, the left as a whole and … Continue reading →

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Fishing & Duck Hunt (Ancient Egypt Middle Kingdom)

Posted on January 30, 2016 by zjb

Another little vignette of daily life in Middle Kingdom ancient Egypt. Again, to get a good sense of the liveliness of this scene, you need to zoom into the action on this smart model sporting boat. Unlike so much ancient … Continue reading →

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Religious Violence and the Radical Settler Youth’s Quest for Authenticity

Posted on January 29, 2016 by zjb

a must-read on religious Zionism, youth revolt and violent Romantic Religion.

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Metamorphoses & Trans-Human Becomings (Rosi Braidotti)

Posted on January 29, 2016 by zjb

Reading Rosi Braidotti sometimes feels like reading comic books, or science-fiction. Metamorphoses: Towards a Materialist Theory of Becoming is no exception.  The book is like a dare. Throughout the course of western culture and into our own popular culture, the … Continue reading →

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Life and Death at Work in Ancient Egypt (Middle Kingdom)

Posted on January 28, 2016 by zjb

No god-like king with his calm and arrogant gaze presides over the busy and buzzing little scene of daily life at work in this Middle Kingdom ancient Egyptian slaughter house. A bird’s eye view gives a good sense of the whole, … Continue reading →

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Kings (Ancient Egypt, Middle Kingdom)

Posted on January 27, 2016 by zjb

Art historians going back to Winckelmann in the 18th C. typically held up Greek art over Egyptian art. Greek art represented the apex of humanism, in contrast to Egyptian art, which was hieratic and static. Recently on view at the … Continue reading →

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Body Viscus Goes Inside Canopic Jars (Ancient Egypt, Middle Kingdom)

Posted on January 26, 2016 by zjb

According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, these canopic jars “were made to contain the four internal organs removed during the mummification process (stomach, liver, intestines, lungs). Earlier examples had flat or domed lids, but human-headed lids were introduced by … Continue reading →

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Bernie Sanders “America”

Posted on January 26, 2016 by zjb

“America” — no words, just music and an old song, lily white and waves of affect without political substance. You can see and hear it here.

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Interview with Elisha Russ-Fishbane — Judaism, Sufism, and the Pietists of Medieval Egypt: A Study of Abraham Maimonides and His Circle

Posted on January 25, 2016 by zjb

This new book by Elisha Russ-Fishbane looks like essential reading: _Judaism, Sufism, and the Pietists of Medieval Egypt: A Study of Abraham Maimonides and His Times_. Check out the interview with Alan Brill. I’m going to read it soon.

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New York Snow

Posted on January 23, 2016 by zjb

Robert Henri (1902) (from my twitter feed)

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