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In an age when the possibility of living in the land of Israel is no longer an abstract yearning, at a time when Jerusalem is rebuilt (with a soon to be active light rail system!), and after nearly 2000 years without the physical presence of a Temple nor the daily ministrations of priesthood . . . → Continue reading: Metaphors Liberate Us 
At 161st Street and Grand Concourse in the Bronx, there is a highly ornate fountain named Lorelei located in a rather lonely park dedicated to dead poets. Inscribed at the base of Lorelei is the name and visage of a man — once upon a time, Germany’s favorite Romantic poet. Hitler tried his best to . . . → Continue reading: With Heine at Lorelei 
A few days ago Engadget blogged a story originally reported in the Israeli print media that a local family was surprised to discover that their Roomba had ingested a dangerous poisonous snake (Vipera palaestinae). (Within a few days, the story was echoed by Gizmodo, Boing Boing, and Jewschool.)
In so far as . . . → Continue reading: The Talmud on the Virtues of Robots and Cats 
A poem inspired by one written by Yonah Lavery-Yisraeli, here. . . . → Continue reading: Maseḥet Yoma, Pereq Shemini 
Fellow Omphalos gazers might wonder what I’ve been doing. And not just in the sense of, “Hey I’m wonder what Aharon’s been up to lately.” Well, after two months of productive work on the Open Siddur Project as a fellow with the PresenTense Institute in Jerusalem this summer, I spent a month in Philadelphia before . . . → Continue reading: Post-PresenTense 
Regular readers (hi mom!) were disappointed when I didn’t post the last two months. Forgive!! Drama was afoot. I got involved in a relationship with a lovely young woman and I began to find a foothold in the world of Jewish social entrepreneurship. Happenstance the first: a creative project I proposed to the summer bootcamp/workshop . . . → Continue reading: Open Siddur at PresenTense Institute Workshop 
In October 2008, my friend Will posted on his blog, A Journey Around My Skull, his discovery of a Japanese illustrator, Rokuro Taniuchi. The image of a looming figure on the horizon by Taniuchi reminded me very much of the cover art for a book I read in 5th grade titled Creatures . . . → Continue reading: To Stand on One Foot 
In his 1978 essay, “How to Build a Universe That Doesn’t Fall Apart Two Days Later“, Philip K. Dick wrote, “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.” This ontology is challenged by a syndrome recently brought to my attention in a recent post on boingboing.net, “Hallucinations . . . → Continue reading: Reality and Hallucination: Towards a Talmudic Ontology of Consensus (by way of demons) 
In the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), after Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder) proudly describes that in his lickable wallpaper “The snozberries taste like snozberries!”, an exasperated Veruca Salt snidely objects, “Snozberries? Who ever heard of a snozberry?” Willy Wonka grabs her mouth and explains “We are the music makers, and We are . . . → Continue reading: We are the music makers 
credit: George Steinmetz Amplified Harmonic Resonance, Playlist for Monday morning, 2009-01-26, programmer: dj Magical Adventures of Duffy Moon, Mondays 7am-10:00am EST Year Artist Album Track Title 1979 Kitaro Oasis 7 Shimmering Horizon (Hikari To Kage) 1979 Kitaro Oasis 8 Fragrance Of Nature (Shizen No Kaori) 1979 Kitaro Oasis 9 Innocent People (Mujaki) 1979 . . . → Continue reading: Amplified Harmonic Resonance: Playlist for Monday morning, 2009-01-26 |
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