il n’y a pas de solution parce qu’il n’y a pas de problème

“But today, when the police no longer exist, things aren’t the same. When there’s a mystery, it goes unexplained. Bizarre cases are no longer solved. And perhaps that’s not a bad thing. In the past, the police had an answer for every question, but now, people realize that they don’t really need answers to every question, and they don’t really need the police either. Consequently, we haven’t even opened an investigation into where the police disappeared to. For two or three russet moons, people organized a collection so that the city might buy back a policeman, bur in the end they used the money for something else, I don’t remember what. New curtains for the school, perhaps.”

(Manuela Draeger, “North of the Wolverines,” p. 48 in In the Time of the Blue Ball, trans. Brian Evenson.)

september 21-september 30

Books

  • Christopher Logue, All Day Permanent Red
  • Manuela Draeger, In the Time of the Blue Ball, trans. Brian Evenson
  • Henry McBride, Florine Stettheimer
  • Ilya Ilf & Evgeny Petrov, Ilf and Petrov’s American Road Trip, ed. Erika Wolf, trans. Anne O. Fisher
  • Elizabeth Sussman & Barbara J. Bloemink, Florine Stettheimer: Manhattan Fantastica
  • Julien Gracq, The Peninsula, trans. Elizabeth Deshays

Films

  • Carnival of Souls, directed by Herk Harvey

Exhibits

  • “De Kooning: A Retrospective,” MoMA
  • “Thing/Thought: Fluxus Editions 1962–1978,” MoMA
  • “Edge of Empires: Pagans, Jews, and Christians at Roman Dura-Europos,” Institute for the Study of the Ancient World

september 1–september 20

Books

  • Dean Inkster & Sébastien Pluot, eds., Anarchism without Adjectives: On the Work of Christopher D’Arcangelo (1975–1979)
  • Hayden Howard, The Eskimo Invasion
  • Vergil, The Aeneid, trans. Sarah Ruden
  • Robert Kelly, The Book from the Sky
  • Nancy Mackenroth, The Trees of Zharka

Films

  • In einem Jahr mit 13 Monden (In a Year with 13 Moons), directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Exhibits

  • “Projects 95: Runa Islam,” MoMA
  • “I Am Still Alive: Politics and Everyday Life in Contemporary Drawing,” MoMA
  • “Carlito Carvalhosa: Sum of Days,” MoMA
  • “Harun Farocki: Images of War (at a Distance),” MoMA

selected adventures of st. columba

CHAPTER XXVII.

How a Wild Boar was destroyed through his prayers.

On one occasion when the blessed man was staying some days in the Scian island (Sky), he left the brethren and went alone a Little farther than usual to pray; and having entered a dense forest he met a huge wild boar that happened to be pursued by hounds. As soon as the saint saw him at some distance, he stood looking intently at him. Then raising his holy hand and invoking the name of God in fervent prayer, he said to it, “Thou shalt proceed no further in this direction: perish in the spot which thou hast now reached.” At the sound of these words of the saint in the woods, the terrible brute was not only unable to proceed farther, but by the efficacy of his word immediately fell dead before his face.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

How an Aquatic Monster was driven off by virtue of the blessed man’s prayer.

On another occasion also, when the blessed man was living for some days in the province of the Picts, he was obliged to cross the river Nesa (the Ness); and when he reached the bank of the river, he saw some of the inhabitants burying an unfortunate man, who, according to the account of those who were burying him, was a short time before seized, as he was swimming, and bitten most severely by a monster that lived in the water; his wretched body was, though too late, taken out with a hook, by those who came to his assistance in a boat. The blessed man, on hearing this, was so far from being dismayed, that he directed one of his companions to swim over and row across the coble that was moored at the farther bank. And Lugne Mocumin hearing the command of the excellent man, obeyed without the least delay, taking off all his clothes, except his tunic, and leaping into the water. But the monster, which, so far from being satiated, was only roused for more prey, was lying at the bottom of the stream, and when it felt the water disturbed above by the man swimming, suddenly rushed out, and, giving an awful roar, darted after him, with its mouth wide open, as the man swam in the middle of the stream. Then the blessed man observing this, raised his holy hand, while all the rest, brethren as well as strangers, were stupefied with terror, and, invoking the name of God, formed the saving sign of the cross in the air, and commanded the ferocious monster, saying, “Thou shalt go no further, nor touch the man; go back with all speed.” Then at the voice of the saint, the monster was terrified, and fled more quickly than if it had been pulled back with ropes, though it had just got so near to Lugne, as he swam, that there was not more than the length of a spear-staff between the man and the beast. Then the brethren seeing that the monster had gone back, and that their comrade Lugne returned to them in the boat safe and sound, were struck with admiration, and gave glory to God in the blessed man. And even the barbarous heathens, who were present, were forced by the greatness of this miracle, which they themselves had seen, to magnify the God of the Christians.

(Adomnán, Vita Columbæ, pp. 55–56 in the William Reeves edition of 1874.)

201.

“201. For someone who has no knowledge of such things a diagram representing the inside of a radio receiver will be a jumble of meaningless lines. But if he is acquainted with the apparatus and it’s function, that drawing will be a significant picture for him.

Given some solid figure (say in a picture) that means nothing to me at present – can I at will imagine it as meaningful? That’s as if I were asked: Can I imagine an object of any old shape as an appliance? But to be applied to what?

One class of corporeal shapes might readily be imagined as dwellings for beasts or men. Another class as weapons. Another as models of landscapes. Etc. etc. So here I know how I can ascribe meaning to a meaningless shape.”

(Wittgenstein, Zettel, trans. G. E. M. Anscombe)

august 11–august 31

Books

  • Robert Kelly, The Scorpions
  • Massimo Bontempelli, The Faithful Lover, trans. Estelle Gilson
  • Hannah Weiner, Hannah Weiner’s Open House, ed. Patrick F. Durgin
  • Janet Hobhouse, Everybody Who Was Anybody: A Biography of Gertrude Stein
  • Don Delillo, Love-Lies-Bleeding
  • Julio Cortázar, Save Twilight, trans. Stephen Kessler

Films

  • Rise of the Planet of the Apes, directed by Rupert Wyatt
  • Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow, dir. Sophie Fiennes
  • Tabloid, dir. Errol Morris
  • My Little Chickadee, dir. Edward F. Cline
  • Swimming to Cambodia, dir. Jonathan Demme
  • Monster in a Box, dir. Nick Broomfield
  • The Thing from Another World, dir. Christian Nyby
  • The Thing, dir. John Carpenter
  • I Love You Phillip Morris, dir. Glenn Ficarra & John Requa
  • The Inspector General, dir. Henry Koster
  • The Killing, dir. Stanley Kubrick
  • The Asphalt Jungle, dir. John Huston
  • Hot Tub Time Machine, dir. Steve Pink
  • Something Wild, dir. Jonathan Demme
  • The Kennel Murder Case, dir. Michael Curtiz
  • I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, dir. Mervyn LeRoy
  • 20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang, dir. Roy Mack
  • Diner, dir. Barry Levinson