Keeping Opel; Killing GM
Region: New York
In hindsight, the restructuring of the U.S. auto industry has been the greatest achievement of the Obama Administration. Does President Barack Obama get the credit? Or his advisors, Steven Rattner, Ron Bloom, Matthew A. Feldman, Albert Koch or Stephen J. Girsky. In the case of General Motors, the restructuring team turned bankruptcy law on its head to get the job done. A new GM was created out of t... more
Views: 1216Mitt Romney Fires Big Bird!
Region: New York
"I love Big Bird, but I'm still going to fire him!" revealed Mr. Mitt Romney, in the agonizing First Debate of the United States of America Presidential Contest, 2012. The naked relish with which this Republican standardbearer plans to dispatch the innocent yellow bird was blistering. Mitt Romney himself was... hectic. That's the word that comes to mind for his badgering, bullying, unnerving performance. Apparent... more
Views: 1091"Karma Yoga" by Shrii Shrii Anandamurti
Region: New York
This is my guru, so it's difficult to be objective. These are discourses mostly from the late 70s and early 80s. (I like how they cite the place also, at the essay's end: "15 October 1979 Morning, Nagpur".) Baba (as we call him) was released from prison in 1978, after serving seven years for murder. (He was cleared, at that point, of all charges.) So Baba was in an expansive mood at this time. "Karma yoga" means ... more
Views: 635Will Israel Attack Iran on September 29, 2012?
Region: New York
All weekend the signs have been proliferating that Israel will launch an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities on September 29, 2012 after sundown. First, the amount of Internet chatter over the weekend has been unusually high. Chain emails are circulating describing the full mobilization of the Israeli Defense Forces (“IDF”) for a ‘snap’ drill on September 19th. ... more
Views: 5876A Tale of Two Cities: Marcus Boon and Copia
Region: New York
I'm proud of my friend Marcus for defending the indefensible -- the multiple, maddening and redundant copies produced by contemporary capitalism -- without defending capitalism itself. In Praise of Copying, his latest book, unfolds like a series of Burmese umbrellas, each inside the other. Quickly Marcus discovers the goddess Copia, mother of all copies. The cornucopia is her emblem: the Horn of Plenty. The only ... more
Views: 736"The Undiscovered Self " by C.G. Jung
Region: New York
I liked this book better before I read it -- the distinguished black cover, with its thought-provoking illustration: the profile of a man's head, in white, with a smaller, multicolored profile inside, superimposed by a black labyrinth. It's all so perfectly 1958 (the year The Undiscovered Self -- a delighting title! -- was released)! But the book itself is basically an acidulous, slightly paranoid attack on Commu... more
Views: 655"Sparrow!" by Edmund Tubb /"ANTLER" by elinor tubb
Region: New York
This is what's known in the trade as a "double," two books that are bound together. Almost always, each is upside down in relation to the other. As far as I know, they are always paperbacks, and they were usually published by Ace. (The best collection I've seen in recent years is at Brier Rose Books in Teaneck, New Jersey.) Traditionally, they were science fiction, and occasionally cowboy novels. This is poetry. ... more
Views: 565A Limerick on the Subject of Mitt Romney
Region: New York
A vain politician named Mitt As president wanted to Sitt. He said, "I'll keep 'God' On our money,"* and trod About, neither with wisdom nor Witt. *Mitt Romney seems to think President Obama wants to remove "In God We Trust" from our currency. 8:10 a.m. EDT, September 10, 2012, Daily Press Stumping in Virginia Beach on Saturday, Republi... more
Views: 1682"Letters to a Young Poet" by Rainer Maria Rilke, translation by Joan M. Burnham
Region: New York
When you read the exquisite poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, you imagine that the poet knew numerous elusive, intuitive truths. Well, guess what? He did! And he poured them out to a virtual nonentity, a guy named Franz Kappus, who was really not so much a "young poet" as a new military officer. Kappus wrote downcast letters to Rainer, and received, initially, literary advice: Do not write love poems, at least at ... more
Views: 1007"The Pronouns (Experiment #2)"
Region: New York
I saw "The Pronouns (Experiment #2)" by Clarinda Mac Low at Mount Tremper Arts on June 9. The show began outside the hall, with two children hopping on a trampoline, while a man shouted out instructions from The Pronouns: 40 Dances for the Dancers by Jackson Mac Low, the conceptual poet (1922-2004). Here are some of the phrases: I do something consciously, going about & coming across art. After... more
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