This week, I talk with Karen Burke about religion, atheism and agnosticism.
Recommended podcast: The Home Made Hit Show
Episode image used under Creative Commons License
This week’s music
Archive for December, 2009
30
Dec
On the Log Episode 87: Without a Prayer, Part 1
posted by john in On the Log and have No Comments
28
Dec
Barriers
So much of the news has been about barriers recently: stories commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall, continued commentary on the Security Wall in Israel and the occupied territories, the security barriers on the U.S./Mexico, and just in the last couple of days we’ve had had not a physical barrier but a security-driven barrier at airports for flights flying into the U.S. With flights delayed/cancelled, and flight schedules thrown into a shambles, it might as well have been a wall there too.
Let’s not forget other barriers as well; the “Great Firewall of China” put in place to control the Internet access of the citizens of China. Gated communities. Even Copyright Law, the attack on Fair Use, Digital Rights Management and copy protection technology are barriers, as they are means to attempt to control access to content.
All of these barriers (and many more) have something in common; they are an attempt to solve a particular issue, not by addressing its root causes, but by essentially just trying to keep it at arms length through measures whose effectiveness is illusory at best. The recent air security incidents in Detroit show us just how effective banning liquids has been; DRM is just an invitation to crack, and there are ways to get around the Great Firewall of China.
A barrier, in the context of the examples I mention above, is a tacit admission of defeat. The barrier builder is saying “I am unable/unwilling to tackle the issue, so I wil build the barrier instead to keep the problem away from me” and sadly for each barrier that is built, there are those with a vested interest in keeping the barrier firmly in place, and indeed often suggesting that new barriers be built.
Barriers fail over time. The Maginot line, Hadrian’s Line, etc. all eventually failed, either suddenly or over time, as history made them obsolete. I believe the same will happen with the barriers I have mentioned, and we be forced to confront the underlying issues.
And it can’t happen a moment too soon,
posted by john in Humans and have Comment (1)
23
Dec
Trust
Around the corner from our home is a house where the owners have decorated an external tree with real Christmas ornaments and real candy canes. The first time I saw them a few days ago I have to admit one of the first thoughts I had was “aren’t they worried about theft/vandalism?” But the last time I checked, everything was still in place.
It is nice to see that kind of trust and optimism rewarded.
posted by john in Humans and have Comments (2)
13
Dec
On the Log Episode 86: Eye Witness, Part 2
This week I am again privileged to speak with Raz Van Constantine, a participant in the 1989 uprising that served as a catalyst for the Romanian Revolution. Raz breaks a twenty year silence as he recounts his harrowing story. In this second part of the interview, Raz expresses his disappointment with how things turned out in Romania, and the importance of participating in a democracy.
Recommended Podcast This week: DicksnJames by ScarboroughDude
This week’s music
posted by john in On the Log and have No Comments
12
Dec
Make Peace on Earth the “It” Gift This Year
I am writing this as someone experiencing my first agnostic Christmas season in many years, but one phrase is resonating for me right now, and that is “Peace on Earth” Now I am not speaking specifically about world peace; many before have done that much better than I can. The kind of peace I am talking about would be better described if I used the phrase “Calm on Earth.”
I’m sitting in a coffee shop sipping on a cup of tea as I write this. My younger daughter is off at a Christmas concert rehearsal for a concert tonight, my wife is busy singing at another gig this morning, and later this afternoon my older daughter has a Christmas play rehearsal. Yes if you’re a singer, Christmas is a busy time.
For so many the holidays seem so busy; we feel a grim desperation to get the gifts bought, the meals cooked, the cards sent, the visits made, the smiles pasted into place for Christmas parties. We use all the technology at our disposal to increase the velocity of the season, and buy more technology so we can do it at even higher speed next year.
I think we’re missing the point.
We spend the rest of the year living at a dizzying pace, and then celebrate by speeding up even more. Why can’t we mark the occasion by allowing ourselves to slow down? Even as an agnostic, when it comes to peace I find much of the traditional Christmas imagery powerful and evocative; we are given the image of that silent night, with a miracle occurring when most people were asleep. The stillness of the night, and the calmness of sleep added to the magic.
For many people, just the thought of one peaceful day during the holiday is a yearned for, unattainable gift. Business at the speed of thought, being online 7 x 24, or using feeling the pressure to use the holidays to get a jump on the competition has crowded out the calm.
But imagine the holiday season if we did allow ourselves more calm time? If the social media junkies could rediscover the quiet joy of companionable silence? If the sales folk could stop selling, if the marketing folks could stop marketing, if the workaholics could stop working, just for a little while, and reconnect with aspects of their lives they may have forgotten. Do we have to make that one more shopping trip, get to that one more party, make that one last sales or marketing presentation, or live blog the unwrapping of Christmas gifts?
And here is where I feel the magic could happen; if we allow ourselves the gift of calmness, we might find the compulsion to consume, control and compete ease off ever so slightly, and aren’t these compulsions behind most of the issues we face? It might be a bit of a stretch, and maybe I’m being naive, but the acceptance of calm could lead to Peace on Earth.
It’s ironic that a gift that can be free could be more valuable than the most expensive item under any tree.
There is calm available, if you know how to let it find you. Regardless of our personal faith, philosophy, etc. this season can remind us of that.
posted by john in Humans and have Comment (1)
08
Dec
Social Media with Multiple Voices – Think Choirs!
In a recent blog post entitled Exploring Character vs. Human Face as the Digital Representative of a brand, Keith Burtis talks about how an organization can develop a social media “character” that does not rely on a single person to create consistency and distinctiveness in social media interactions.
When I was reading this post, what came to mind was singing in a choir; it seems to compliment a lot of what Keith is saying.
For a choir to perform effectively and create great music, two things are needed:
- A conductor who not only has a clear musical vision, but can articulate that vision to his or her singers, in terms that make sense technically and artistically.
- Singers who are enthusiastic, love singing, and follow the conductor’s musical directions.
I’ve sung for conductors who couldn’t articulate what they wanted musically, and let me tell you, it’s not fun at all. Singers aren’t sure how to sing, and start singing defensively, and are not fully committed artistically. The result, a boring “reading” of the piece being sung, instead of a performance that unlocks the musical and artistic intent of the composer, and the conductor.
Any experienced conductor will tell you that it can be very difficult to get good choral results from a choir made of of opera singers, or other singers who are used to singing only in a solo context. There is both a definite technique and attitude required to achieve a proper blend of the voices for a smooth sound, with good “ensemble,” and singers who aren’t used to doing this, or feel they shouldn’t have to sing as part of a group, tend not to do this. You hear a group of people singing at the same time, but you don’t hear a choir.
Interestingly enough, a good conductor can take non-solo calibre voices and achieve incredible, beautiful results. The singers get to be part of an amazing creative process, and even though they are following the directions of a conductor, they are still part of the creative process, and are able to pour heart, soul, and mind into the performance. Being part of such performances is an incredibly rewarding experience, both for choir and audience.
My wife has sung for a Toronto area choir called The Exultate Chamber Singers for 25 years. The group has also recorded a number of CD’s the first in 1991. Now, since then singers have come and gone, and few remain from the 1991 recording, but when I listen to the recording, it sounds like the present incarnation of the choir, because of the gifts (and demands) of the conductor, and the dedication of the singers over the years. The sound, or character of the choir has been preserved.
This seems to me like a great model for an organization to use when multiple people are involved in social media interactions: a clear message and direction, and tapping into the talents and passions of employees to allow them to communicate effectively and genuinely, while still being true to organizational goals and values.
The conductor of The Exultate Chamber Singers has a rather self-deprecating instruction note taped to his conductor’s podium:
“Wave your arms until the singing stops, then turn around and bow.”
It’s not that simple of of course, but he empowers his singers to deliver their best, and to love doing it. This ability can’t be faked, and neither can creating a similar success in Social Media. But the same kind of magic is possible.
06
Dec
On the Log Episode 85: Eyewitness, Part 1
This week I am privileged to speak with Raz Van Constantine, a participant in the 1989 uprising that served as a catalyst for the Romanian Revolution. Raz breaks a twenty year silence as he recounts his harrowing story.
This week’s music
posted by john in On the Log and have Comment (1)
02
Dec
The Cosmology of Social Media
Consider the surface of a sphere. It has no border, and if it is large enough it might seem infinite to someone on the surface, but to someone who is not on the sphere, he or she can view it from a vantage point which shows that it is not infinite, even though it is not borderless.
Cosmologists have extended this idea further, in a way that will hurt your head: there is currently a theory called M-theory which posits that everything we know about is contained in a membrane of four dimensions (three spacial dimensions plus one time dimension). What is wild is that M-theory requires more dimensions, (around 10 or 11; I’d have to look it up, and within this higher dimensional multiverse there could exist another space-time membrane. it is very close to us (within a subatomic distance from us) but we cannot perceive it; we, and our perceptional abilities are locked within the dimensions of our membrane. When we observe our universe, which we perceive as infinite, we could in fact be taken in by an illusion.
At this point you may be saying “OK, you Stephen Hawking wannabe, what the hell does this have to do with social media?”
My response is that as I look upon our Social Media universe, I am disturbed by some of the similarities it shares with the cosmological theory I have summarized above (poorly, no doubt) . We see the social media universe as easy to join; all you need is access to a computer and a internet connection, along with some basic computer skills. This ease creates a comforting illusion of inclusiveness. In a recent blog post, Mitch Joel stated:
“… many of the platforms we use to connect and share (online social networking) have come to the point where they are so simple to use that everyone (and anyone) is online and having conversations.” (Emphasis mine.)
A nice thought, except for the fact that it is manifestly untrue. There are many many people, typically economically or socially disadvantaged, who are not online for a variety of reasons, but we, in our online, by-and-large at least middle class if not upper middle class or higher universe, tend not to perceive this fact. These folks might as well be in the higher dimensions, as we are blinded to seeing them within our own bubble.
Further, within our own bubble, we tend to identify problems and solutions, challenges and opportunities, within our own comfortable context. For example, we see problems in the educational system as opportunities for innovative teaching models and social media technologies; the fact the many students do poorly due to empty bellies and socio-economic disadvantage doesn’t seem to factor into the discussion, as it doesn’t fit into our comfortable existence within the the Social Media Universe. We’re much happier talking about online chatrooms, classroom discussion forums and student blogs as a way to fix education, instead of choosing to challenge deeper societal assumptions.
Similarly, I’m seeing a lot of chatter about Lemonade, a story of people who were able to overcome being laid off. I watched the trailer, and while I was happy to see happy outcomes for the people who found new things to do after losing their jobs, it seemed to me the the selection of people contained only professionals, or at least middle class or better, with more options and more to fall back on (and after speaking with others I know I’m not the only one for whom this “person filter” stood out.) Again, for many people jobless, but not in our comfortable Social Media universe, recovering from being laid off is not an exercise in self-actualization, but a struggle to meet their basic needs under desperate circumstances. But then, these folks tend not to be online, and we do not perceive them, or we believe that Social Media is the one size fits all solution.
It is ironic that Social Media, which preaches inclusiveness, can without realizing it, contribute to the digital divide. If we refuse to budge outside our Social Media universe, unaware of the other dimensions, the possibilities won’t be quite as infinite as we tell each other, in-between congratulating ourselves.
posted by john in Social Media and have Comments (4)