ancient texts

Zen Flesh, Zen Bones – compiled by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki

February 28, 2014 by Bob Leave a Comment

Zen Flesh, Zen Bones is a collection of Zen and pre-Zen writings compiled by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki. First published in 1957, the book remains a comprehensive and relevant introduction to Zen philosophy. According to the publisher: Zen Flesh, Zen Bones is … a collection of accessible, primary Zen sources so readers can struggle over […]

Alone by Briane Keene

Brian Keene’s novella Alone reads like a long lost Twilight Zone episode. You can almost hear Rod Serling’s narration; “Submitted for your approval, Mr. Dan Miller, who wakes up one day and finds that everyone he knows and loves–in fact, everyone on earth–has disappeared…” Keene gets this strange tale up and running quickly, and continues […]

American Culture Becomes Amateur Hour

My last column dealt with the Japanese literary phenomenon of cell phone novels [Rob Note – I’ll post this column next – it’s fascinating!]– novels written on cell phones and distributed directly to other cell phone users. While the cell phone novel is an interesting art form for a number of reasons, I’m concerned that […]

Commuter Blue, Commuter Pink

Welcome to the New Year! Well, not so new, really, but I’m slow blogging. Below is another example of how my opinions change over time. The first column is from September 1996, shortly after I took my a job in New York City. It’s a major bitchfest about my commute. The second post is from […]