Podcasts about decartes

Im ersten Podcast wurde deutlich: Decartes, Rousseau, Marx, Nietsche und Wilde waren diejenigen, die moralisches Leitplanken umgerissen haben. Ein Werk mit fatalen Folgen, die sich heute in der Gesellschaft in vielen verschiedenen Bereichen zeigen. Damit beschäftigen wir uns in diesem Podcast. Die Grundlage dieses Podcast sind die Bücher von Carl Trueman, die bei Verbum Medien erschienen sind. Carl R. Trueman, Der Siegeszug des modernen Selbst: Kulturelle Amnesie, expressiver Individualismus und der Weg zur sexuellen Revolution https://verbum-medien.de/products/der-siegeszug-des-modernen-selbst?_pos=31&_fid=860f789d4&_ss=c Carl R. Trueman, Fremde neue Welt: Wie Philosophen und Aktivisten Identität umdefiniert und die sexuelle Revolution entfacht haben https://verbum-medien.de/products/fremde-neue-welt?_pos=8&_fid=860f789d4&_ss=c

The HBS hosts don their nightgowns, cozy up to the fire, and contemplate wax.There is, perhaps, no more famous statement in the history of philosophy than Rene Descartes' “I think, therefore I am.” This conclusion is reached in the Second of Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy and is seen as one of the crowning achievements of modern philosophy, at least that kind of philosophy usually called “rationalism.” In fact, this claim can be said to be the founding moment of a trajectory in philosophy that goes from Descartes, through Spinoza and Leibniz, Kant and Hegel, into Edmund Husserl's phenomenology. It has been the target of a great deal of criticism as well. Some insist it is the origin of a dualism of mind and body. Others insist that it is the founding moment of a kind of subjectivity that is set over and against the material world. And others point to the class antagonism that is contained in the statement. Enrique Dussel goes so far as to insist that before there is the “ego cogito” there is the “ego conquero.” What does Descartes actually argue in this founding text? How does he conclude that “I exist as long as I am thinking?” And what consequences does he draw. Let's bring Descartes into the bar and ask him WTF? Full episode notes available at this link:https://hotelbarpodcast.com/podcast/episode-120-cogito-ergo-sum-or-descartes-second-meditation-------------------If you enjoy Hotel Bar Sessions podcast, please be sure to subscribe and submit a rating/review! Better yet, you can support this podcast by signing up to be one of our Patrons at patreon.com/hotebarsessions!Follow us on Twitter/X @hotelbarpodcast, on Facebook, on TikTok, and subscribe to our YouTube channel!  

Har vi en sjel? Hvor "far off" var egentlig Decartes når han fant konglekjertelen i hjernen? I denne episoden skal snakker vi om sjelen, sinnet og vody/soul dualismen. Mens Maya og Saba åpner opp om sine personlige møter med sjelen, står Amalie på bakbeina som vanlig. For hvordan vet man egentlig at men er "i kontakt med sjelen"?

¿Y si fuésemos un cerebro dentro de una pecera que piensa que vive en un cuerpo?

Author Kyle Johnson visits Google to discuss his book "Inception and Philosophy" which draws insight from important philosophical minds from Plato to Aristotle, Decartes to Hume, to shed new light on the movie's captivating themes, including the one that everyone talks about: did the top ever fall down (and does it even matter)? In the world of Christopher Nolan's four-time Academy Award-winning movie Inception, people can share one another's dreams and alter their beliefs and thoughts. Inception is a metaphysical heist film that raises more questions than it answers: Can we know what is real? Can you be held morally responsible for what you do in dreams? What is the nature of dreams, and what do they tell us about the boundaries of the "self" and the "other"? Johnson's book further explores the movie's key questions and themes, including how we can tell if we're dreaming or awake, how to make sense of a paradox, and whether or not dream inception is possible. It also gives new insights into the nature of free will, time, dreams, and the unconscious mind. Visit http://g.co/TalksAtGoogle/inceptionandphilosophy to watch the video.

Join us in the New Year for Feed the Fire Within, a series of 6 facilitated online gatherings in January in which we will connect with our bodies, our intentions, and each other through cacao, embodiment meditation and meaningful conversation. Learn more and sign up here.Listen and explore:How our last dieta went and what's been going on lately over at Wild WithinThe agricultural revolution, Decartes and a brief history of disembodimentSome spiritual teachers who have influenced our views on embodimentDifferent embodiment medicines we've found: plant medicine, Kambo, wilderness, meditation, yoga, travel, in-person gatherings and moreNumbing, escaping the body and other obstacles to embodimentThe pain and joy of being in our bodies and becoming explorers of the body Our personal journeys of coming home and into our bodiesThe wisdom of the body and why we need it now more than everMentioned on this episode:FAR OUT #72 ~ Don't Ask 'Why Me?' ask 'For What?' with Mayan Entrepreneur Anita Cortez ChacWild Within website: www.thewildwithin.orgWild Within IG handle: @thewild_withinThe Transformation Power of Fasting: The Way to Spiritual, Physical, and Emotional Rejuvenation by Stephen Harrod BuhnerTouching Enlightenment: Finding Realization in the Body by Reginald RayThe Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge by Jeremy NarbyCutting Through Spiritual Materialism by Chögyam Trungpa RinpocheThe Posture of Meditation: A Practical Manual for Meditators of All Traditions by Will JohnsonFAR OUT #92: Exploring Ayahuasca: Student Michael Peterson on the Tobacco as a Healing Plant and Walking the Medicine PathMichael PollanThe Inner Light by The BeatlesConnect with us:Website: www.thefarout.lifeEmail us at info@thefarout.lifeWild Within @ www.thewildwithin.orgSupport this podcast:Discount link to purchase organic, raw ceremonial-grade cacao ethically sourced in Guatemala (a portion of proceeds support this podcast)Become a patron at: https://www.patreon.com/thefaroutcoupleMake one-time donation with PayPal (our account is aplambeck22@gmail.com)Leave a review on iTunes!Share this episode with a friend! :DCredits:Intro music: "Complicate ya" by Otis McDonaldOutro music: "Running with wise fools" written & performed by Krackatoa (www.krackatoa.com)

Our cyborg season ends with possibly the most influential cyberpunk manga. One that would inspire the creators of the Matrix movies with its mix of action and Cartesian philosophy. Known by its native title, Koukaku Kidoutai, "Mobile Armored Riot Police" it lives up to both names!  Skip summary @ 13:06 076: Ghost in the Shell By Masamune Shirow English translation by Frederic L Schodt , Toren Smith and Stephen Paul With Lettering by Scott O. Brown Set in the year 2029, the world has advanced in terms of cybernetics, computerization and robotics. This is a possible future where flesh and blood bodies are replaceable and interchangeable, brains can be hacked into, altering memories and nurses are super sexy automatonic dolls, yet in this cyber-punk world exists a government task force known as section 9. A ragtag bunch of military trained agents who fight cyber-terrorism with the help of their spider like tanks, the Fuchikomas and their cyborg Major. Mamoru Oshii would direct the seminal animated movie adaptation. This would be inspired by many chapters more so than others, including the chapters ‘Junk Jungle', ‘Bye Bye Clay' and ‘Ghost Coast'. Where Major Motoko Kusanagi encounters the Puppet master, a hacker that claims to have no corporeal body and is in fact a new conscious life form born from the net. A sequel, Ghost in the Shell: Innocence would base the story on Robot Rondo, where young girls have their consciousness digitally copied and enslaved in the body of robots. Masamune Shiro would continue to write more Ghost in the Shell stories in the tomes ‘Man Machine Interface' and ‘Human Error Processor'. Soon after publication, Ghost in the Shell would become a successful multimedia franchise.   The Problem with Remakes and the Evil Demon of Images: On the podcast James' problem with the 2017 film is how it remakes the 1995 Mamoru Oshii classic. He equates his gripe to the same sort of gripe that Jean Baudrillard does with simulacrum, simulacrum itself isn't just delegated to the issues of Hollywood remakes but everything that encompasses the internet and virtual-reality. It creates a feedback loop with technology and the virtual becoming “more real than real” where people learn about sex not from the real world but from what they see in porn, a glamorous simulation of the real. A digestible if not regurgitated form of that which was once real, original, or authentic. Think of the movie Flash Gordon (1980) How many people have experienced that movie through the lens of another? Ted (2012) specifically? And how many people know that the 80's movie itself was based on a 1930's serial? The result is that we have others relaying their experiences to us and the risk is that it can easily become watered down and devoid of its original meaning if not given a new resonating meaning. Especially when taken outside of its original context or poorly recontextualised. For more you can listen to the Chobits episode where James first speaks of Baudrillard or better yet, read the words of Baudrillard himself.   “Motoko's Choice” - Transhumanism and the Philosophy of Dualism: Renee Decartes Dualism implies that thoughts not only inhabit their own space but can also exist outside from the brain, the “res extensa” as he called it, through Dualism there is the implication that the Puppet Master's Network is multi-dimensional. Currently a digitized earth would not be enough, because the limit of virtual space is real universal space. Shiro doesn't explain that quantum computing exists in this story, neither does aliens or space travel exists (except for travel on the virtual confines of earth's internet), therefore Motoko's net is limited to earth, the res extensa of dualist philosophy. As of 2021, a capitalist world of doge coin, disinformation and non-fungible tokens, Motoko may have a poor deal.  Yet an exception to this is that Decartes' “res cogitans” is as large as all living beings present and future. Motoko could choose to live her life in the dreams and memories of others, she could live as a bat or a cat, especially if said memories and experiences are digitized/quantized or synthesized to future transhumanist ideals, expanding her consciousness, the net and her world, certainly Motoko/Puppeteers children could live like this. Motoko's choice to fuse with the puppeteer could be meaningless as future humans move away from carbon-based life, but one thing for sure is that Motoko will give it meaning. And she will live a meaningful life. Be it within a micro-verse of the res cogitans or macro-verse of the res extensa. “Digitizing yourself isn't growing, it's not a macro way of exploring the universe, it's a micro way. You can't make any more lemonade if you don't have enough lemons for it.” This doesn't mean that Motoko is right or wrong in her choice, especially if she's preparing for an unknown future, in fact this may be a naturally human response when granted such new powers and opportunities.   Further Topics discussed: The pacing of the manga, in terms of action and Shiro's propensity to use annotations (we do and the author recommend you do not read them on your first time). Why is Major Motoko so hard to relate to? The humour of Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex, the anime series. Lorn's ‘Anvil' music (an example of transhumanism and the future of social networks) James Cameron's ‘Terminator' franchise and how that also depicts the rise of a formidable and fully conscious Artificial Intelligence.   Facebook - facebook.com/weappreciatemanga/ Instagram –  weappreciatemanga.co.uk   Twitter -   @RealJamesFitton Website – Weappreciatemanga.com Email – Weappreciatemanga@gmail.com

Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Endowed Lecture One of the world's leading neuroscientists, Dr. Antonio Damasio has made watershed contributions to the understanding of how our brains process emotions, decisions, and conscious. He is the David Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Philosophy, and director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. His prolific body of work includes scores of scientific articles and several books, including Decartes' Error, The Feeling of What Happens, and The Strange Order of Things. A member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Damasio is the recipient of some of the scientific community's most prestigious awards. Feeling & Knowing is a guide to understanding the phenomenon of consciousness and how it relates to the physical brain. (recorded 11/4/2021)

Join Luxa for this special one-year anniversary edition of the show as she speaks with her brother, Asher (host of Ad Hoc History), in a conversation about dreams and how they can be useful to us in our waking lives and our magical practices. Asher shares his experiences as a prolific dreamer and the pair talk about Jungian dream analysis. Also making an appearance are Decartes and Ramanujan. What is the purpose of dreaming? How have people's dreams played an important part in the events of history? What can you learn from your dreams? These questions, and more, are addressed! Also featuring new music by Matt Marble, and a message at the end of the episode about a Sound Sigil track for The Green Mushroom's first birthday that you can contribute to, as well as a sample of what Luxa has mixed for the track thus far. Thanks for an amazing year! Much Love. Thank you for listening to the Lux Occult Podcast! If you'd like to support the show by helping Luxa buy books and curtail other costs, consider giving on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/luxoccult For Full Episode Notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTGRLoKFhaJnNwN0GF-oFg2dZb5R_CBFiy_U4hOnebDDVi1wPSUOxmF5S0nf7bBYwHr0qU21Nlx5h_c/pub Check out the new Lux Occult YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn8n4oQIH1uo08NhMvjjlB We would love to hear from you! Please send your thoughts, questions, suggestions or arcane revelations to luxoccultpod@gmail.com or message on Instagram @luxoccultpod https://www.instagram.com/luxoccultpod/ Check out Luxa's ongoing sigil and art project, The Memetic Disease: https://www.instagram.com/the_memetic_disease/ If you would like to record a Statement of Intent for The Green Mushroom Zygospore Sound Sigil Track by mid September 2021, here are instructions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQDdyWdjSBh0FiYYbD3y19P0E4UUZN58ab_U7dBlT7LNfA9i1p939dqZEX-MNWBvgIQhKmLbItH7xnB/pub

In this episode, guest Chris Jones, executive vice president at Decartes, discusses supply chain vulnerabilities. The Covid-19 pandemic changed everything in our lives, including the way goods are delivered to us. But the pandemic also exposed weak areas of our supply chains and revealed vulnerabilities for sourcing many critical goods, such as PPE, pharmaceuticals, batteries, and electronic components. How can we assure that suppliers address these vulnerabilities as we begin to recover?As businesses begin the process of restoring their operations to pre-pandemic levels, they need to be aware of the many threats that still loom. A recent report highlights five risks for businesses to track as they recover their operations in 2021 and beyond.Before the onslaught of Covid-19, most consumers did not have a clue as to what was meant by "the supply chain" and how supply chains actually operated. Now, they have a greater awareness of them, mostly due to shortages they have experienced during the past year. How should manufacturers, retailers, and e-commerce providers react to both the real and perceived conceptions that consumers have about the supply chains upon which they depend?Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:DescartesRisk report lists five trends rocking pandemic recoveryConsumers identify supply chain pain points9th Annual State of Retail Supply Chain ReportDC VELOCITY's Covid-19 coverageVisit DCVelocity.com for the latest news. Send feedback about this podcast to podcast@dcvelocity.com.Podcast sponsored by Honeywell IntelligratedOther linksAbout DC VELOCITYSubscribe to DC VELOCITYSign up for our FREE newslettersAdvertise with DC VELOCITYTop 10 Supply Chain Management Podcasts

Does your brain think? Does your frontal lobe decide? Or do you think and you decide? What is the relationship between the brain and and the mind; between the brain and the person? Neuroscience has entered our everyday speech and increasingly shapes the way we think about ourselves and the world--including some serious conceptual errors. In this episode, I speak with Dr. Michael Egnor, a neurosurgeon and professor of pediatric neurosurgery about some of the philosophical foundations and faulty assumptions of contemporary neuroscience. We discuss his critiques of materialism, positivism, and scientism that underlie much of neuroscience. We also discuss the work of Bennet and Hacker and the pervasive error in neuroscience of the mereological fallacy--the error of identifying the part with the whole--identifying the brain with the person. Bennet and Hacker argue that much contemporary neuroscience is founded upon a "mutant Cartesianism" that has replaced the dualism of Decartes with a new dualism where the brain takes the place of the mind. We also discuss Dr. Egnor’s work on split-brain patients, perception, and the Aristotelian-Thomistic idea of hylomorphism. This is my first interview with Dr. Egnor. In the second interview, we discuss the problem of free will, the work of Benjamin Libet, Sam Harris, and what neuroscience actually tells us about free choices. Show Notes: https://www.themoralimagination.com/episodes/michael-egnor

Com a participação especial da Professora Drª Nathalie de la Cadena do departamento de Filosofia da UFJF venham conferir um passeio sobre o racionalismo e seus principais autores: Decartes, Spinoza, Malebranche e Leibniz.Entre no canal da professora Nathalie e confira o material que ela está produzindo. Filosofia de alto nível em vídeos curtos e de maneira extremamente didática.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH_xmiO9ZIAYdcok3hZ-e9Q

The complete audiobook is available for purchase from Audible.com: https://adbl.co/2s27hHe The Wisdom and Religion of a German Philosopher - Selections from the Writings of G. W. F. Hegel By: G. W. F. Hegel, Elizabeth Haldane - editor, Sarah Bacaller - foreword Narrated by Sarah Bacaller As a compilation of notable fragments from the writings of German philosopher G. W. F. Hegel, this audiobook functions as a helpful and intriguing introduction to the keynotes of his thought. The collection was edited by a fascinating Scottish woman of the Victorian era, Elizabeth Haldane. Prior to organizing the compilation of this text, Haldane (along with Frances H. Simson) translated into English Hegel's "Lectures on the History of Philosophy" in three volumes. Haldane also translated two volumes of Decartes' philosophical works, and produced numerous other publications. Haldane received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from St. Andrews University in 1906. This audiobook, comprised of short selections from Hegel's writings and organized by theme, includes a preface by Elizabeth Haldane and a foreword by Sarah Bacaller. Each Hegelian fragment includes a reference to its original source for those who want to further pursue particular selections.

“The Evolution of Philosophy” Episode #84 Today we sit down with Philosopher, glass blower, and friend of the show Andrew Tischler. Today we will be discussing the evolution of philosophy from ancient times to modern day. We will touch on Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Decartes, Laplace, Leibniz, Newton, Steiner, and Kuhn. Andrew Tischler Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrewtischlerglass/ *Check out our new channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKCf7SAPYav74Mnk7612Wuw *If you enjoy our podcast and want to help us grow, check out our Patreon account and enjoy the exclusive episodes and interviews. You can also listen to us on the go through our website listed below. https://www.patreon.com/MikeandMaurice https://www.mikeandmauricemindescape.com/

As a quantum scientist, it is Fred Alan Wolf's responsibly to question the nature of our reality from every possible angle. In his book, “Mind Into Matter,” he forces us to fire new neural pathways in our brains by challenging us to examine our historical ways of thinking. “I think, therefore I am.” Have we simply agreed to Decartes' famous philosophical proposition to be part of the status quo? Or, as Dr. Wolf ponders, is more like, “I am, therefore I think?” Pa'Ris'Ha and her international team, having recently traveled to an ancient part of our civilized planet - Cairo, Egypt, use their experiences there to shed new light on what it means to be trapped in the inertia of the past and what is required to shift to a new direction. The first consideration is the meaning of “I am”? Does this refer to us as individual organic units or is it the recognition of our connection to the universal mind? Ultimately, we think, and therefore we create the experience of self. But as universal beings we can access the power of synchronicity and shake the force of inertia to its roots. To achieve the greater harmony, for not a moment can we afford to think with negativity. Through unity we can all move toward love and shift the historical balance for humanity to all good things."

As a quantum scientist, it is Fred Alan Wolf’s responsibly to question the nature of our reality from every possible angle. In his book, “Mind Into Matter,” he forces us to fire new neural pathways in our brains by challenging us to examine our historical ways of thinking. “I think, therefore I am.” Have we simply agreed to Decartes’ famous philosophical proposition to be part of the status quo? Or, as Dr. Wolf ponders, is more like, “I am, therefore I think?” Pa’Ris’Ha and her international team, having recently traveled to an ancient part of our civilized planet - Cairo, Egypt, use their experiences there to shed new light on what it means to be trapped in the inertia of the past and what is required to shift to a new direction. The first consideration is the meaning of “I am”? Does this refer to us as individual organic units or is it the recognition of our connection to the universal mind? Ultimately, we think, and therefore we create the experience of self. But as universal beings we can access the power of synchronicity and shake the force of inertia to its roots. To achieve the greater harmony, for not a moment can we afford to think with negativity. Through unity we can all move toward love and shift the historical balance for humanity to all good things."

We sometimes fall into the idea that our salvation is based on the balance of our good and bad actions, but this is far from the truth. Tune into this CB episodes that discusses Rene Decartes, liturgy, and salvation. 

Welcome to the Mountain! Have you ever heard the term Quantum Creating? It is what you and I are doing when we basically “visualize” something into existence. What is Quantum Creating?  Now don’t worry. We’re not jumping off the deep end here into Woo Woo Land. What I’m about to share here dates back to DeCartes, Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and Steven Hawking. It is so exciting to learn about the recent studies of what science has been discovering regarding the nature of reality.  The evolution of the understanding of Quantum Creating has taken giant leaps within the last decade or so.  You see, there is a Universe of infinite possibilities whereby we can create the world of our dreams.  The concept is extremely deep, and yet quite simple.  When we begin using our (subjective) mind to have an affect on our (objective) world, we are “Quantum Creating”. Where it really starts to get good is when you learn to focus on what you want, instead of what you don’t want.  In his book “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself” Dr. Joe Dispenza points out, “The observer effect in quantum physics states that where you direct your attention is where you place your energy.”  And that means basically that you get what you re looking for.  Do you see why just a little earlier I asked you to stop and focus your energy and attention on the natural world around you?  When we begin to understand the science behind quantum creation and apply its truths to every area of our everyday lives, we almost immediately begin to see change for the good. That is, if we set our focus and intentions on “the good”.   Let’s take this into the world at hand. For instance, say you want to learn how to play a new instrument, lose a little weight, gain a little muscle tone, or even learn to lower your heart and respiratory rates a bit. There are measurable, definable actions you can take to create the end result you are looking for.   For most of us, the problem isn’t the one-time change. The problem is maintaining the change that gave us the positive results.   Why is this?   Dr. Dispenza posits that we can use our minds to create our reality. He says,   “Over time, (this could even be decades for many of us), our “mind-bodies” have created a chemical cocktail that is set and maintained by a complex system of neural pathways that are wiring and firing, without us having to even think about it.   This chemical cocktail is our “mind-body’s” normal state of being and makes us feel comfortable and familiar – at home – so to speak, even if it is a negative setting or unhealthy state of being.   Unhealthy states of being such as guilt, anger, fear and helplessness are all habits we have learned, owned, cultivated, allowed and maintained as a way of “being” and even identifying ourselves by. The ego loves these mindsets and will go to great lengths to hold onto them. Even if it means our long-range demise.     In Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself Dr. Joe Dispenza, discusses how Quantum Physics works. In the chapter called “The Quantum You”, he shares how, if you want to change yourself, you have to overcome what he calls the “Big Three”: Your Environment Your Body, and Time  He reassures us that “with willful attention, sincere appreciation of new knowledge, and repeated daily efforts, you can use your mind, as the observer, to collapse quantum particles and organize a vast number of subatomic waves of probability into a desired physical event called an experience in your life.” Now that is a big mouthful, but it basically means that in doing so you can influence the appearance of any possibility, or desired outcome you desire in life.  Remember, these studies are backed by scientific facts and research that don’t have to be completely understood in order for them to work or be true, any more than you have to understand the law of gravity to keep from floating away. However, if you find this sort of information fascinating, or need a little more proof before being led down the garden path, I highly recommend you give it a read. When discussing the environment Dr. Dispenza says that in order to make material a reality of our own choosing, or to “enter the field”, we have to enter a similar state. As a nature lover what better state can you imagine being in than one that is wild and natural and beautiful? This is one of the main premises of Mountain Zen Den ~ Personal Development for Nature Lovers. If you can attract what you want when you are in a state greater than your environment, why not place yourself in the greatest environment you can possibly think of? Nature. Now I realize that most of us can’t just up and teleport to Glacier National Park, the Grand Canyon, the Redwood Forest, or a tropical coconut island filled with palm trees swaying in the gentle breeze framed by incredible sunny blue skies. That is where these meditations set to nature sounds come in. They are meant to help inspire and facilitate a relaxed, natural Theta and Delta state that will help create the desired changes in your brain that are necessary for you to slow down, destress, and visualize your ideal self and life. Join us for today's meditation.

Recorded: 19 August, 2013Participants: Steve Harlow, Emory Holmes II, Jim "Jimmy The Peach" Aaron, Ruth Parson, Allan Ludwig.AudioDownload Mp3 Steve says he doesn't want to, "hog all the fun," of moderating the podcast. Artistically, he says he admires the directoral style of Andy Warhol, "turn on the camera.""And take a nap," Emory completes.Steve says he likes the awkward pauses and people fumbling for words, "that's the best part."Allan says he's in mid-coast Maine. Emory asks if he's been fishing? Allan says he's been photographing circles. He likes perfect circles, he thinks imperfect circles are grotesque.Jim suggests a theme of touchstones or starting points for this episode. What caused you to be a creative person? What Is your "pole star," your guide?Emory says he relies on the Blues. When he started reading Nietzsche. He was impressed by the wit, savagery, and generousity of his thinking. He thinks the Blues is comparable. Funny, tragic, violent, and full of shifting moods. He says every story he's written has drawn from that fountain of expectations."Our lives are tragic and we have the ability to bring some light, some texture to our time living here," Emory says. He relies on the Blues to inform him and give him a field of play.Jim asks if it is the "call and response" of Blues that Emory connects to.Emory says no, but when he gives a reading of his work, it is always fun to hear the audience give response. When he was on a press junket to Fort Smith, Arkansas, for the movie, "A Soldier's Story." reading a piece, he had written on one of the stars, Howard Rollins, who has in the audience punctuating Emory's lines with, "ah hums" and "well ahhs" like it was a church sermon. The call and response there was appropriate, but a surprise. Emory thinks the concision, the emotion, the storytelling of the Blues is his touchstone.Ruth says her beginnings as a writer was a story she wrote she was eight years of age. At that time, she was writing to, "hear what I was thinking and it hasn't changed, that's still why I write." Her interest in sculpture started with seeing Rodin's work at Stanford University. She was on her knees hearing the "Les Bourgeois de Calais" whisper.Les Bourgeois de Calais Musee RodinJim says he enjoyed Les Bourgeois de Calais at The Hirshhorn Museum Sculpture GardenBalzac at MOMA by dominotic, on FlickrRuth also learned from Rodin's waxes in San Francisco, at Legion of Honor, then saw some again in Paris, at Musee Rodin. Balzac was her favorite, "such a mountain of a man."Allan commends the sense of permanence in the placement of public sculpture in Washington, D.C., saying, each piece there, large or small is in a well considered environment. In New York City, there's so little land, they plopped these things down in tiny spots which spoil the effect of the sculpture. In NYC, the Parks Department thinks that public art is a burden, they rotate sculptures in and out. There was one of Andy Warhol in Union Square, but it's gone now.The Andy Monument, 17th & Broadway, NY, NYRegarding motivations, Allan says he remembers trying to draw a portrait in profile and having difficulty getting the nose in perspective. After a few erasures, multiple attempts at a correct nose came out, "crummy," he wore through the paper, was screaming, his mother said to him, "you should get some books on drawing and calm down." Although that may have been very good advice, Allan discovered a camera, "you don't have to do that," he says, "you just push the button and you get everything where it should be. Photography is very easy because it's all there at one time and you either like the result or you don't."Steve says because photography is easy to capture, it is tremendously difficult to take a great photo. As a child, he was with his photo-hobbyist, Dad in a home darkroom. He thought the enlarger, the image appearing in the developer was magical. He thinks the same magic can happen with digital images, he uses GIMP to further "develop" captured images. Because manipulating images is so easy, it's hard to make the art you want. Digital is difficult because of the unlimited possibilities.Brussels 1932 by Henri Cartier-BressonAllan says Andre Bresson, the first one out with a Leica shooting the, "decisive moment." Bresson saw photography as a temporal exercise, saw life flow past him and he needed to capture the most expressive moment. This part of photography remains difficult. When developing images, you want the processing to, "mostly leave the image alone," Allan says, "too many layers of Photoshop effects and it looks like cheap Surrealism."PHOTOBOT!: Surrealism Photoshop IIAllan said he was taking abstract photos a few years ago and found that some of the ones he took with his eyes closed were as good as those he took with his eyes open.Steve suggests that in cases like that, the decisive moment comes in the selection process, "which one of these 100 shots should I present?"Allan says, while there is always a need for that, he doesn't like to think about it too much, you get bogged down with a bunch of issues, he wants to get on the next thing. He sees the emotional power photographs generate.As a child, Jim said he had moments that supported his belief that he was different or alien. He saw the life around as shallow. He was interested in jazz. He heard jazz in the live improvisation on Eat A Peach. He admired the mastery, became interested in the masters in arts. He wishes we could hear Mozart's improvisations, Liszt's jams, "all we see is what they notated for other's to play." He recently watched a recording of Keith Jarrett describing how his trio rehearses to improvise on stage away from what they know.Keith JarrettJack London, "To Light A Fire" Jim doesn't have much in common with hedonist, Charles Bukowski, until Bukowski begins to read his poetry, then Jim says, "I'm right there with you, brother!" Always attracted to masters who did the work, without much telling you about them doing it, he tries to reach a point of equilibrium when writing a haiku, a balance, that's when it's done.Steve says that's an issue for his painting. How much to complete an idea before moving to another. How far is too far. He wants his work to be open to other people. When an artist over-finishes a work, there's no room for the viewer. He wants the viewer to see themselves in the work, to form the image in their mind. He thinks his work is a celebration of eye-sight.OrpheusAllan says it was easier before Modernism because the artist could say he was possessed by a golden light coming from the sky with a nymph whispering in your ear. Art was considered a gift from the Divine. Improvisation was the Gods speaking through you. Like with Orpheus, the music so beautiful, the wild animals came and listened peacefully. Today, we don't have that narrative crutch.Steve remembers Emory talking about a character in his novel taking over control of the story from him, the writer. That seems to be a similar concept of possession that artists use today.Emory says DeCartes says experience gets you to the cliff, insight lets you jump off. He writes about this in "Rules For The Direction Of The Mind."Ruth says she depended on inspiration when performing. It was all an improvisation started by a vision. On her last one, the inspiration never came, "it was horrid." Subscribe to this blog's feed  |  Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes  |  Follow  |  Like  |  Plus