NYC at night from 7500 feet above.

9. Carry bolt cutters everywhere.

Since we must distinguish between “that which is something” and “that which something is,” and since the former is identified with “no matter what it is is” and the latter with “not no matter what it is,” we can say that “everything is thus a milieu, a fragile link between ‘no matter what it is’ and ‘not no matter what it is.’” (62) And here we find Garcia’s critique of the thing-in-itself: “A thing is never defined en bloc. We can affirm that a thing is this or that, but that does not suffice. It is still necessary to state precisely that which is this thing.” (62) Stated differently, “something is not in itself: for that which is in the thing is not the thing, and that in which the thing is is not the thing.” (62) And here Garcia and I, facing the same evidence, draw opposite conclusions. For me, the fact that nothing can be identified with either its components or its concrete location means that the thing must be something in-itself distinct from both of these. Yet for Garcia, to be in-itself would mean to be identified with just one of these two extreme terms, and hence the thing can only be the difference between them. Garcia is equally suspicious of the classical tendency to view “unity” as a property of the thing, since in his eyes unity is too relational a property to belong to things. (65) While specific things are situated determinately with respect to other things, we are still speaking here about the thing no matter what it is, and this can be viewed only in terms of solitude, which all things share: a human being, a hand, or a chair or all equally things insofar as they are on their own, not insofar as they are one. (64) A thing is alone, and relates only to the one thing that is not another thing: world. In a striking parallel to my own argument for a partial revival of occasionalism, Garcia tells us that “the things communicate only by their solitude: it is because everything is equally on its own in the world that things can be together, enmeshed in one another.” (67) Alone in their solitude, things all relate to world, which serves as a mediator allowing them to become mixed up in one another.

I start my answer here because 10-15 years ago there were wild claims being made about the potential impact of the digital on the visual arts. At that time many felt that all other forms would wither away before the onslaught of this new democratic art form. Seemingly, the art apocalypse spearheaded by the digital has not been realized in part because there are two digital technologies-- which requires that we differentiate between medium and media-- that is between making and distributing. People were worried about nothing.

  Consequently, I understand digital technologies as a mode of simulation-- it's a copycat as a medium-- it reproduces the effects identified with other mediums. For example, photography becomes the photographic- with each iteration something is gained and lost. Subsequently, the digital has fallen victim to the conventions of the mediums that it seeks to simulate. In other words, where in the 70s we found all types of experimental video-- today video in the mainstream is a cheap way to make movies. Rapid prototyping has become little more than 3D printing-- while robotics, programming, interactivity are subsequently best developed in gaming.

-Saul Ostrow

Watching some old Columbo on n-flix. A couple of things stand out ... The music. Holy cow, they really put some effort into that. Also the class distinction. I'm several episodes in, and every criminal is wealthy. Estates, yachts, expensive cars. Mercedes, Jaguar, Bentley. Brought down by the man in the wrinkled coat.

Just one more thing. It just doesn't sit right with me. There he is in sunny LA, with a convertible, and the top is almost always up. Now, why would that be?

Back On The Street Again

This documentary tells the little-known story of how actor Bing Russell (of TV's "Bonanza") created an independent baseball team in the 1970s. Armed with big-time dreams and plenty of spirit, Russell's Portland Mavericks become lovable underdogs.

Here’s a self-effacing diary entry from March 1851 in which Tolstoy chronicles his flaws, hour by hour—part of a larger project in which he evaluates his own ethics. How many of these peccadilloes have you committed today? “Koloshin (Sergei) came to drink vodka, I did not escort him out (cowardice). At Ozerov’s argued about nothing (habit of arguing) and did not talk about what I should have talked about (cowardice). Did not go to Beklemishev’s (weakness of energy). During gymnastics did not walk the rope (cowardice), and did not do one thing because it hurt (sissiness).—At Gorchakov’s lied (lying). Went to the Novotroitsk tavern (lack of fierté). At home did not study English (insufficient firmness).”

very long thread on the avclub about favorite simpsons quotes. appreciated this one.

The year was 1968. We were on recon in a steaming Mekong delta. An overheated private removed his flack jacket, revealing a T-shirt with an ironed-on sporting the MAD slogan "Up with Mini-skirts!". Well, we all had a good laugh, even though I didn't quite understand it. But our momentary lapse of concentration allowed "Charlie" to get the drop on us. I spent the next three years in a POW camp, forced to subsist on a thin stew made of fish, vegetables, prawns, coconut milk, and four kinds of rice. I came close to madness trying to find it here in the States, but they just can't get the spices right!

chicken hawk nation

Thanks to expert babysitter Nonna we had a night out. Dinner at Racines. Each time reinforces the idea that this place is magic. Especially if you can sit at the back 4 seat bar that overlooks the tiny kitchen. It's like you're working the line (without actually having to work.) The food is completely incrediblle. For the entree I had a wild pigeon (they warned there might be buckshot in the meat,) with foie gras inside a very light pastry. Incredible. The butternut squash veloute with beef cheeks amuse will not soon be forgotten. But the details aren't important so much as encouraging you to go eat here. Seriously. Preferably with me. You know my number...

pies n thighs n les

im burying the vine because it autostarts for me.

Broad City returns to Comedy Central tonight, and everything about the new season of the show is bigger: It has more swagger, more jokes, more risks. Its creators are allowing their world to freely expand, filling the space of the raised expectations for the new season like a noble gas. The stakes feel higher, the production is more crisp and polished than ever before, and the farcical universe of the show has opened up to include a brand-new cast of characters, both human and animal alike.

(bone) broth

my breakfast explained: acme whitefish

From about a year ago: Status Anxiety: Kenny Schachter Dives into Facebook’s Art-World Trenches

jim was disappointed with the wolf of wall street for among other reasons that it focused on something on the periphery. brad pitts production company has bought up the rights to michael lewis' the big short which took dead aim at the 2008 financial meltdown, or so i imagine. who has time to read?

i thought i had a post on the jets from about a month ago when i was actively enjoying the many ways they found to lose as they rocketed to the top of the draft board for next season. of course while all the other losers found a way to lose on the final week of the season, the jets had to win and drop a couple of slots down to sixth which is still "pretty good" but probably not low enough to snare one of the two quarterbacking studs they need to rebuild once again. since then they fired the coach who everyone liked but thought should perhaps go after four subpar seasons and the gm who was generally reviled for mismanaging the team.

at the moment the jets are coachless though the defensive coordinator for the seahawks (the best defense in the nfl) seems to be the top choice while a gm was announced today. and the reason for this post? he was in my class at trinity. i only knew him in passing but i am not expecting great things.

Beekeeping is changing. So are we. “Honeybees aren’t going extinct,” one beekeeper told me, “they’re becoming more intensively managed livestock.” Which continues the agricultural trend—thousands of years in the making, but accelerated by modern farming—of relying entirely on a handful of chosen species and hoping we can continue to keep them alive. The system feeding humanity keeps growing, but it keeps growing more precarious.

Cord cutting has more momentum.

Greenberg vs Rosenberg

Better love story than Twilight.

Lost city of Atlantis believed found off Spain