2014.01.05 19:00 - Sounds of small stones being shifted

The Guardian for this meeting was Calvino Rabeni. The comments are by Calvino Rabeni.

Calvino Rabeni: Do i see part of a robot appearing here?
Calvino Rabeni: Hello mr. Daedalus
Daedalus687 Resident: Hi there
Santoshima Resident: greetings
--BELL--

Calvino Rabeni: Greetings Santoshima :)
Daedalus687 Resident: so whats new?
Calvino Rabeni: Today had some nice things to offer, I think because I put myself at a disadvantage. I parked a mile away from a cafe that was at top of hill, then walked there,,, and back.
Santoshima Resident: :)
Calvino Rabeni: And the sun was so far south it didn't matter east or west side of the mountain.
Calvino Rabeni: So I had time to listen to a podcast on the way there, and another on the way back, and feel not guilty for taking the time :)
Calvino Rabeni: Then meditation had some endorphins as a result .. I really miss those :)
Calvino Rabeni: How about you, what's new?
Daedalus687 Resident: nothing with me new
Santoshima Resident: heard a few woodpeckers while walking in the woods
Santoshima Resident: and a small wren
Santoshima Resident: sounds of small stones being shifted as the waves came in on a beach that is pebbles
Santoshima Resident: new old
Calvino Rabeni: i know that new old sound
Calvino Rabeni: I was listening to urban sounds while walking in the suburbs
Santoshima Resident: what heard? what effect?
Calvino Rabeni: a bird screeching rhythmically, a man talking on the cell phone, tires of a distant car moving over rough surface, and water burbling underground deeply
Calvino Rabeni: all at once
Santoshima Resident: orchestral
Calvino Rabeni: oh and children playing inside garage
Calvino Rabeni: it was, yes
Calvino Rabeni: and I wasn't sure where one left off and the other started
Calvino Rabeni: Much later I caught up with the walking talking man
Calvino Rabeni: and the words came into focus, along with his voice tones
Calvino Rabeni: he was saying
--BELL--

Calvino Rabeni: "they think, we are in possession of something *remarkable* "
Santoshima Resident: !
Daedalus687 Resident: Could either of you recommend some reading material?
Calvino Rabeni: what do you like / need?
Santoshima Resident: any particular genre?
Daedalus687 Resident: No, a general recommendation I guess
Santoshima Resident: hm
Calvino Rabeni: any purpose in mind for it?
Daedalus687 Resident: Intellect stimulation
Calvino Rabeni: ah ..
Daedalus687 Resident: epistemology, metaphysics, ontology philosophy in general I suppose
Santoshima Resident: A Thousand Mornings Hardcover by Mary Oliver
Calvino Rabeni: hmm
Calvino Rabeni: That's a good one ..
Daedalus687 Resident: Fiction?
Santoshima Resident: Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
Santoshima Resident: or / Orynx and Crake
Santoshima Resident: Pretty Pictures by Marian Bantjes
Calvino Rabeni: How about "Proust and the Squid" for understanding reading, itself ?
Calvino Rabeni: Or "Incognito" by David Eagleman, for understanding a bit about "who reads"?
Santoshima Resident: yes
Calvino Rabeni: Or Mary Oliver's book on writing poetry, for broadening the languaging-mind
Daedalus687 Resident: Thanks for the suggestions
Santoshima Resident: A-Poetry-Handbook-Mary-Oliver
Santoshima Resident: anything by Joy Harjo
Calvino Rabeni: Or if your tastes go to mathematics, try "Conceptual Mathematics" by Lawvere - but I think that's a refined taste, not for everyone :)
Santoshima Resident: or Joseph Boyden
Calvino Rabeni: Oh thanks for that title
Calvino Rabeni: Do you have any videos to recommend (YouTube, for instance)?
Santoshima Resident: hmm
Santoshima Resident: Never Sorry
Santoshima Resident: about Ai Weiwei
--BELL--

Santoshima Resident: youtube i usually just watch trailers
Santoshima Resident: that is enough for most videos
Santoshima Resident: have blitzed over the past week on bbc Sherlock
Santoshima Resident: wonderful series
Santoshima Resident: beautifully written and realized
Santoshima Resident: any suggestions
Santoshima Resident: ?
Calvino Rabeni: those are good .. I haven't heard of Ai Weiwei, even though I see he is called "the most powerful artist in the world"
Santoshima Resident: inspiring film
Santoshima Resident: very brave person
Calvino Rabeni: yes I think I've heard a bit
Calvino Rabeni: I'm liking RadioLab lately
Santoshima Resident: a film?
Calvino Rabeni: these are interviews with a great sound mix, on science and culture topics .. the "Big Questions"
Santoshima Resident: looking it up
Santoshima Resident: ah, looks very interesting
Calvino Rabeni: I like the listening itself
Calvino Rabeni: these are sort of sound collages, interviews with a lot of mixing and sound effects ayered
Calvino Rabeni: Layered
Santoshima Resident: yes ~ radio is a great medium
Santoshima Resident: will listen to some of these: http://www.radiolab.org/
Santoshima Resident: broadcast out of where?
Calvino Rabeni: I found these exciting for contributing something to my knowledge without arousing that love/hate feeling about "learning" :)
Calvino Rabeni: it is from NY City
Calvino Rabeni: WNYC
Santoshima Resident: ^ nice summary
Santoshima Resident: :)
Daedalus687 Resident: partially examined life is a good podcast
Calvino Rabeni: http://www.radiolab.org/people/jad-abumrad/
Calvino Rabeni: Abumrad was honored as a 2011 MacArthur Fellow (also known as the Genius Grant). The MacArthur Foundation website says: “Abumrad is inspiring boundless curiosity within a new generation of listeners and experimenting with sound to find ever more effective and entertaining ways to explain ideas and tell a story.”
Calvino Rabeni: This is about depth-through-style, which I find fascinating
Calvino Rabeni: As a breakout from the bounds of traditional .. um, not sure what to call it .. semantics?
Calvino Rabeni: There is a popular TED talk on memory
Calvino Rabeni: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6PoUg7jXsA
--BELL--

Calvino Rabeni: that had some comments near the end about mindfulness, which seemed the unusual part of it
Santoshima Resident: which talk? what comment?
Calvino Rabeni: that one linked, "feats of memory anyone can do"
Santoshima Resident: sorry, missed seeing the link ... wil check it
Santoshima Resident: closing eyes, etc etc
Calvino Rabeni: near the end, he remarks that memory is a big part of what we possess of our lives, and the quality of memory, when it partakes of mindfulness, is a part of who we are .. it gave a somewhat spiritual framework around what otherwise would have been the usual story of memory, which is sort of about recording "information".
Calvino Rabeni: So that in other words adds some "presence" to the notion
Calvino Rabeni: My paraphrase .. it's a pretty brief comment I think he meant to sum up the talk and say why it is important, other than just a trick to program one's brain as it were a computer
Calvino Rabeni: Will you excuse me now please, I'm due to a different meeting?
Calvino Rabeni: Thanks for the sit and the chat
Calvino Rabeni: take care
Calvino Rabeni: :)
Santoshima Resident: thanks, Cal ~ take care
Calvino Rabeni: bye Santo, Daedalus
Santoshima Resident: heading out, bye Daedalus