Alva Noë: “Your brain is not the thing inside you that thinks and feels. Not because something immaterial does this work for you, but because nothing does. Thinking and feeling is not something that happens in you, not in your brain, or anywhere else. Consciousness is something you achieve. It is something you do.”
Tag: 10.29.10
In God We Trust – Or In Government?
“Newly published research suggests [the two] serve the same psychological function. A sense of political stability provides comforting reassurance that our world is orderly and controlled. So does belief in an all-powerful deity. This puts the two in a seesaw relationship: When one goes up, the other goes down.”
Could Main Current Of Art Turn Conservative?
“Over the last generation it has swung far towards the contemporary; will it, or can it, swoosh back one day? The answer is bound up with economics, taste, supply and the global expansion of the art market.”
Scholars Lobby Obama To Make International Agreement On Intellectual Property Public
“The deal, known as the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, according to many critics, favors big media at the expense of the general public. And the intellectual property accord, which Obama could sign by year’s end, has pretty much been hammered out in secret between the European Union, Japan, the United States and a few other international players, including Canada and Australia. Noticeably absent is China.”
Progress In Returning Holocaust-Era Art, But Difficulties Remain
“Some observers say the government fears a backlash from nationalists that could reawaken anti-Semitism. Others say the country is not rich enough to return such property.”
How the Stars Are changing LA’s Museum Picture
“The directors of L.A.’s museums have been moving aggressively to tap into the wealth of collectors in the entertainment and tech industries. These days their boards look quite different from those of their New York counterparts, which are largely composed of traditional philanthropists and established financiers.”
NEA Study: Festivals Attract Big, Diverse Audiences
“Even as attendance at museums and concert hall performances has leveled off, people continue to patronize outdoor arts festivals. The festivals are also drawing young and diverse audiences.”
Wrong-Speaking – Evolution Of The English Language
“It does seem odd that other people cannot speak their own language properly and so career (or careen as foolish folk say) like wildebeest into the crocodile-infested shallows of the latest wrong turning of the English language. This is of more than amateur interest.”
Plays That Don’t Belong On Broadway
Ben Brantley: “I have become increasingly and woefully aware of a number of plays that shouldn’t be on Broadway. By that, I don’t mean they’re not good enough. Goodness, as Mae West would say, has nothing to do with it. The issue at hand is size. The Broadway of the 21st century wants big.”
Claim: Video Game Scores Are Now As Good As Movie Scores
“Using full orchestras for games is becoming the norm and the production values are equal to film. So much so, there’s now a lot of crossover between the creative industries with film composers crossing into games and vice versa. Indeed, some games are actually better resourced than television where it’s par for the course to produce thin scores. Games expect cinematic values.”