Tag Archives: osman hamdi bey

turkish chess : the invisible hand

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Dave

… a ghost in the machine that plays chess…Does God play chess with the universe? And how does one figure in the future’s future? Walter Benjamin called the future, “the small gate in time through which the messiah might enter.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Feature Article, Ideas/Opinion | Tagged baron wolfgang von kempeler, Edgar Allan Poe, johann nepomuk maelzel, john gaughan, maelzel chess playing mechanical turk, osman hamdi bey, Slavoj Zizek, the mechanical turk, Walter Benjamin | Leave a comment

from istanbul: the sequel?

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Dave

Does history repeat itself? To rewrite the history once more of the Ottoman conquest of the Arab peripheral regions; a manifest destiny to tame, pacify, discipline and civilize the Other from what they regard as tribal savagery and ineptitude. Ottomans … Continue reading →