Bbenzon
Description
Humankind got its start on the African savannas some hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years ago. At various times in our cultural history we’ve moved to distinctly new cultural ground, as it were. And so we are moving now, and have been for the past half century. This blog is how I see that move. Intellectually, I'm broadly interested in culture and the brain. Within that compass, anything could show up here. Literature and films (including animation), certainly, music as well, and graffiti. But, other things may show up as well. It's a blog, don't you know, it moves.
MY BLOGS
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New Savanna
http://new-savanna.blogspot.com/
Humankind got its start on the African savannas some hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years ago. At various times in our cultural history we’ve moved to distinctly new cultural ground, as it were. And so we are moving now, and have been for the past half century. This blog is how I see that move. I'm broadly interested in culture and the brain. Within that compass, anything could show up here. Literature and films (including animation), certainly, music as well, and graffiti. But, other things may show up as well. It's a blog, don't you know, it moves.
LATEST ARTICLES ( 7808 )
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Is Capitalism Dissolving Around Us?
Paul Mason in The Guardian: Capitalism, it turns out, will not be abolished by forced-march techniques. It will be abolished by creating something more dynamic... Read more
Posted on 19 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Obama’s Eulogy for Clementa Pinckney 2: Performing Black, Three Discussions
My interest in President Obama’s eulogy for Clementa Pinckney was sparked by a conversation between Glenn Loury, an economist at Brown University, and John... Read more
Posted on 18 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Whites of Their Eyes
Nancy L. Segal, Aaron T. Goetz, and Alberto C. Maldonado in the NYTimes: The clear visibility of the sclera is a uniquely human characteristic. Read more
Posted on 18 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
The Obama I Voted for
Janell Ross in The Washington Post: He's spoken off the cuff about race relations on a widely circulated podcast (even using the n-word) and then eloquently... Read more
Posted on 17 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Obama’s Eulogy for Clementa Pinckney 1: The Circle of Grace
Make no mistake, it was a remarkable performance. Nominally a eulogy, very much a eulogy. But also a sermon on the past and future of race relations in... Read more
Posted on 16 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Simulating Literary History
Some weeks ago when I sketched out an approach to modeling literary history (in Underwood and Sellers 2015: Beyond narrative we have simulation) I hadn’t yet... Read more
Posted on 15 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
I Love These Images
Why? Because you're right in the middle of them. That's why. It's about depth of field. What's in focus and what's not. And way in the background, blurred into... Read more
Posted on 14 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Dan Dennett on Patterns (and Ontology)
I want to look at what Dennett has to say about patterns because 1) I introduced the term in my previous discussion, In Search of Dennett’s Free-Floating... Read more
Posted on 14 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
#GVM004: The Demolition Chronicles
Here's another working paper, a major statement about contemporary graffiti and its (potential) role in transforming out cities. Read more
Posted on 13 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Cultural Negotiations: Jazz and the West in the New Millennium
I've uploaded another working paper (title above). URLs:Academia.edu:... Read more
Posted on 12 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Some Points of Interpretation: Young Girls, Crowns, Graffiti [#GVM004]
This is from the second layer (of three) of graffiti at the northern end of the rear facade of the now abandoned (and soon to be demolished) Pep Boys in the... Read more
Posted on 12 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Once Again: Graffiti, Is It Art?
As often as not that question is asked in a context where the implied answer is, “no, it’s vandalism”. While that IS and important issue, and one that DOES... Read more
Posted on 11 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Brain to Brain Communication Requires Learning
Karl Zimmer in the NYTimes (emhasis mine):Dr. Nicolelis and his colleagues began by implanting two sets of electrodes in the brains of four rats. Read more
Posted on 10 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Finite Minds in Communities
Here are some crude notes from my current thinking, and I do mean crude. I keep thinking I’m going to write a well-reasoned post on this stuff. And I will, but ... Read more
Posted on 10 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Hiobby, Schmobby! It's About Mental and Neural Balance
Chris Wolston in Nature:Albert Einstein mastered the violin. Richard Feynman banged bongos. Following in the tradition of multi-talented physicists, Federica... Read more
Posted on 10 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Friday Fotos: Shaky-cam on the Diagonal
These images are derived from one shaky-cam photograph. In the first three I varied the exposure level in Photoshop. Look at the the swirls and eddies that... Read more
Posted on 10 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Intention and Story-Telling: A Neural Explication
Originally published in The Valve, 10.24.07. I've tacked on some out-takes from the original post. Note that I had a long exchange with John Holbo over at The... Read more
Posted on 09 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Paul McCartney on Emotion While Performing
From Alex Bilmes, Paul McCartney Opens Up About Lennon, Yoko, and More, Esquire Magazine, Jul 6, 2015 @ 11:42 AM (H/t 3QD). ESQ: So you don't find yourself... Read more
Posted on 08 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
PIxar's WALL-E, an Old Review
Looking back through the archives I discovered this review of Pixar's WALL-E that I'd published in The Valve back on June 29, 2008. Given that I've just reviewe... Read more
Posted on 08 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY -
Sharks in Formaldehyde: New York’s Met and the People Who Made It
Now that I'm thinking about the just-concluded Demolition Exhibition – well, almost, the demolition hasn't happened yet, and we're going to flick that – I... Read more
Posted on 07 July 2015 CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY, SOCIETY
