. I’m reading a book by Tom Shachtman, a filmmaker, educator, and author of 40 books on a wide range of deeply researched topics, from cold temperatures to the history of the United States. The title of the book I’m reading is GENTLEMEN SCIENTISTS AND REVOLUTIONARIES — The Founding Fathers in the Age of Enlightenment … Continue reading
. I’m posting Alison Luterman’s poem under this title. We are all heartbroken about the turn this country has taken. The new administration starts its business with acts of utter foolishness, of almost cosmic proportions. The list is too large to comment on with a commensurate expression of seething and rage. I let Alison’s poem … Continue reading
. This is a continuation of my Accidental Street Art series. The point is, we are missing out on so much in our hectic life. Art of course is in the eyes of the beholder. Or actually art is in the eyes of the art critic. Or art is by definition what billionaires store in … Continue reading
It started quite innocently: three days ago I sent a word file to the printer; I heard the printer cough up pages in the bedroom where we keep it; I went into the bedroom to gather the pages as they were falling onto the floor. And behold: every single one was successfully printed; every single … Continue reading
Angelus Novus — monoprint, Paul Klee 1920. Israel Museum, Jerusalem . Born in 1940, the same year Walter Benjamin wrote his reflections on history, the same year he took his own life, I experience these days as being in a suspense quite unlike experienced before. My gaze goes back to the horrors of the … Continue reading
. New York Times Nov. 15, Guest Essay (presumably upon invitation by the editorial board) by Thomas Goldstein: “End the Criminal Cases Against Trump” www.nytimes.com/2024/11/15/o… Here is a quotation from this rag: “Then there are state charges, over which President Trump will have non control. A central pillar of American democrocy is that no man … Continue reading
. Looking back, I cannot recall the moment when the concept of cardinal numbers entered my horizon. It seemed preordained, and could not have emerged gradually, but with a sudden moment of Eureka! And the Arabic system of naming numbers in their sequential order, not by idiosyncratic names as in Borges’ Funes phantasy, seemed … Continue reading
. We are nearing another presidential election, this one of vast impact on the future of this country as a democracy. Recall that as we were nearing the previous presidential elections, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy did everything possible to disrupt and delay the postal service, ostensibly for the benefit of the Republican party and Trump … Continue reading
“Mask, discarded, on crack” (fabric, wire) “The competion for true verticality” (tar on cement) “Contemplation of ice man” (paper on concrete) “More hide than seek” (tar on concrete) “A bouquet to celebrate non-grayness” (paper mache on concrete) “Em and em’s” (torn mcdonalds paperbag on concrete) . . .
. Have you seen this latest news article? There is talk about reopening one of the three units that form the infamous Three Mile Island powerplant, to feed the enormous energy needs of Microsoft’s AI computations. The article states “The plant will be named “Crane Clean Energy Center” in honor of Constellation parent company Exelon’s … Continue reading
