Tom, I spent a lot of time on that comment and certainly didn't mean to be dismissive of any effort you put out there. My feeling had to do with having been in Arts and Crafts communities in the sixties and in running four different cooperative ensembles that had serious small group budgets and that gave over a million dollars in scholarships to students as an investment in American music. What we got for that were a couple of artists and lots of bills. We've all made our clothes and planted our food. Good pesticide free food grown organically is still essential for our health especially since we have so many health problems brought on by the polluted environment of both petroleum and heavy metals growing up in Oklahoma. That being said. We weren't farmers and my mother also made all of my clothes when I was growing up and she was working full time.
I didn't see a model for human happiness in the things Schor proposed. I left the Midwest not to do those things and New York is filled with people like me who feel the same way. I can plant, build, sew, bead, do leatherwork and all of those other craft things but they are no substitute for the meanings that I get from personal growth and the development of the psycho-physical human instrument we all happen to be. John Raven calls it a "learning Society" and I've been rereading his book that Steve Kurtz gave me when I first came to this list. As for Natalia: What I got from her had to do with: Paragraph 2. the problem of education built on consumerism and technology that ignores the psycho-physical instrument and even creates violence by avoiding the hormonal need for play found in all children as they have their recess canceled for "real" study. My adopted Jewish daughter and her son have spent a lot of money to make up for the school's craziness around these issues. Sports lessons at the Jewish community center, Piano Lessons and now his Bar Mitzvah from a Rabbi with real intellectual credentials. His religion and his family have rescued him from the school and it's a good private school that gives more personal attention than the scale education in the public schools. But still there is no attention paid to the circadian rhythms of children even though the cost of the education is as much as most colleges. He's turned into the best pitcher in the Little League in NYCity, but not because of the schools. He thinks exceptionally in sophisticated structures but not because of the school. He's given four piano concerts and he's twelve years old and that too is private. Where would that hormonal energy have gone if all he had been given was books? That was my experience with Natalia's second paragraph. 3. was depressing when she spoke about the list and the meaning of the Arts In human life. I've said too much about already. 4. Education is the key. I agree with that but it has to be psycho-physically holistic. An awareness that the problem is operant conditioning of the population that simply is too detached from their senses to know the difference between good and bad education. I agree with that as well. She also said that she thought the meaning of life was to be found in more than the normal economic and social tendencies. I agree with that as well. But you have to be focused on the meaning of life. When you speak of food and nature you encounter human resonance and natural rhythm that develops empathy with all of life. The problem of food is always one of guilt and pleasure. We kill and eat and it gives us life and pleasure. That is terrible for our empathy and makes us beasts. Knowing how to deal with our bestiality, in order to live, is the purview of spirituality and humanism. For that Education is also the key but it has to be correct education, well designed and executed and fitted to every single individual child. That is either very expensive or it requires a living, growing and thinking community that uses all of the psycho-physical tools available to them. 5. The stuff on the kids farm I did not relate to because of my life experience with such things. I will address that in a separate post later when I have more time. 6. Natural expression, natural laws, competency, harmony of the life forces within all are important if we are to avoid the cheap, quick drug solution that hurts us and shortens our lives. My people say that there are three fires that you must tend in life. The first is you. You must know yourself. The second is Nature. Nature is your teacher and you should be able to live naturally and with wisdom. The third fire is community and your community must learn to think as an organism and grow in ways that individuals cannot grow without help. It may seem general but in actuality there is a whole pedagogy and life way behind those three elder fires and it works. So Tom, I didn't see much connection between the two posts. But I appreciated both of them and the mental work they both drew out of me. Thanks to you both. REH PS: Have any of you seen the BBC special on the Loki people of Columbia and their environmental systems? -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Sandwichman Sent: Monday, June 28, 2010 1:48 PM To: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION Subject: Re: [Futurework] new/old member Something else to digest, Ray. Perhaps I misunderstood your response to Juliet Schor's message that I forwarded. I read your response as dismissive toward Schor's model. Yet reading Natalia's post I fail to see much of a difference between what Juliet was promoting and what Natalia is relating. And you embrace what Natalia writes. Did I read you wrong? Did I read Juliet or Natalia wrong? On 6/28/10, Ray Harrell <[email protected]> wrote: > Wow Natalia, > > > > Thanks. That is a great post! It will take me a few days to digest > it and I will. Do I remember right that you are Russian? Were you > trained in Russian schools to think like this? If so, I would suspect > that Russian will be the future complex culture of both the U.S. and Canada. > Superior Russian performing artists are already taking over the Metropolitan > Opera and America's cultural institutions. The Chinese have the best > creative representation with Chinese composers trained in the new programs > of China. There are more Artists in Training in China then there are all > of the students in American Schools. America is the only country in the > world that speaks of people "not being able to sing." All over the > world people sing because it is what we do as human beings. Here, only > specialists sing, except in church. They think in modules. Lateral > thinking in the brain that is usually associated with the male brain. > Americans are so afraid of the secular that they've outsourced their > throats. > > > > Neither the Russians, the Chinese or the South Koreans are afraid to write > and write until they exhaust the subject. That is an old artist maxim. > > > > > "You are not a hired hand. You have to make a living and deserve to be > paid but it isn't about profit, it's about making enough to capitalize your > work and then it is about the work itself. You give the work the required > amount of time to complete it and the requisite amount of capital to have > the tools and material to complete it. You do the work until its done, > not until the clock says you can go home." > > > > That is why I am seriously interested in a list that calls itself > Future-work. Jobs are temporary, work is a lifetime exploration. > In the Cherokee culture, work has been traditionally one of the four primary > choices that you make in your life. Work is Artistic and not the mode > of the amateur Wall Street physicists who get bored with anything that has > to do with sensing the problem in all of its connotations. > > > > That form of Capitalism has destroyed the teaching of the Art of America > and the art itself which only exists in literature, painting and sculpture > all in the name of productivity. They have destroyed the quality of my > profession and now they are going after the colleges and public health in > America. > > > > You could call that the economist as demonic in the pursuit of a gray world > with no soul. Cherokees call the afterlife the "Gray world." Go to > Huffington Post where they are trying to have an Art section. All they > can do is graphic arts and the rest is trinkets and trash and old European > performing arts. America has a very spotty identity and its only > defense is to say that the mirror isn't necessary in order to comb their > hair and fix their lipstick. The Aztecs called such metaphors > Tezcatlipoca or the "smoked mirror" because it was easy to trick people > rather than the Quetzalcoatl which was a clear mirror (with a hole) to both > reflect accurately and see through to reality. At 68 I can now say that > Americans aren't that subtle. > > > > Thanks again for the big meal. I will comment as it I digest it. > > > > REH > > > > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Darryl or > Natalia > Sent: Sunday, June 27, 2010 11:40 PM > To: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION > Subject: Re: [Futurework] new/old member > > > > Hi Ray! > > Thanks for the posting. A few things there I'd never considered, but in > pondering I begin to visualize and play out possibilities. Much of what is > raised can be observed throughout the animal kingdom. I've heard of more > related animal studies than those focused on humans--lately a couple on > birds-- song birds and then crows, and one on primates. As is suggested > below, a shift occurred post 1940's, and research focused on what delivers > in a profit driven economy. > > Yet, the other larger shift in education (towards languages, technologies > and sciences) has practically erased public school classes in art, music and > phys-ed. These have become after-school activities, with even recess being > structured, diminished and removed from children's natural playground or > even from play itself. There is so little connection for them to their true > source of health and well-being--that of the earth itself--that I fear for > current abstract mind development. Little interconnectedness or cross-over > can take place--that for which are minds are perfectly designed, but are > unfortunately hard-wired at an early age to engage with tunnel vision. > > Your query, "Have you come up with a scheme for quality work that develops > the human body, the sensorium, the soul and that makes money?" was too > emotionally charged for most on this list, Ray. First of all, you have to > provide scientific evidence that the soul exists. That if it exists, it > appreciates financial compensation for any of its development/accomplishment > as the sole functioning economic reality. Some here do not see the merits of > artistic activity at all, and many would argue its source of inspiration. > > In recent discussions on the list, the revolving-door topic of a working > economy came to full circle again. Again, I've raised the best case scenario > of a sustainable economy based on natural laws as the only model that could > possibly address all concerns of optimal needs and evolution. Inevitably I'm > flattered as being an idealist, though not intentionally, of course. That we > can likely only achieve this sustainability through education somehow > digresses into a discussion on aggressive, competitive genes and so-called > reality today. Not that these aren't interesting, but I feel frustrated over > such defeatist conditioning because it precludes exploration of what is > possible with the remainder of genes that predispose us towards > connectivity, creativity and any transcending thought or activity. Though > one may view today's model as having emerged from aggressive and competitive > genes, I don't believe that most of what makes life interesting evolved out > of those tendencies. > > This morning I was listening to CBC, a discussion on experiential learning > for kids at UBC's city farm. A cooperative, as it could be pegged, of > retired gardeners, teachers, volunteers and young students who get to > experience the natural world of food and its benefits as part of their > science studies. From soil nutrition to market, these children come to > appreciate healthy choices, how to prepare food, and care for the land and > tiny animals which make it possible. To hear a kid say that they will now be > reducing their consumption of junk food in favour of vegetables, or to hear > that they can now appreciate insects is hugely different from when I went to > a public school (that still offered art, music, phys-ed). Most kids are > still being taught an overview of food production as one of intensive > livestock and monoculture crops. The latest scientific information is slow > to be disseminated about practically everything, and what is taught is > primarily focused on today's boring industries and market place. With such > an impoverished agenda, adolescents become hugely unsatisfied, and are left > to match mostly unrelated intellectual understanding with challenges, events > and ideas bombarding a mind unprepared for abstraction. Becoming aware of > physiology is now a dangling carrot of luxury, so overwhelmed are students > with memorization of forgettable facts, and agendas of corporate profits. > Unfortunately, they are as unprepared for natural disaster as for man-made, > and in the latter we have clear example of how violation of natural laws is > untenable. > > Where we have students graduating without a clue about natural expression, > natural laws of any kind, we may have the next phase of resources > exploitation preparing for more massive scale ecological rights wars. I'm > hoping there'll be time to figure out that education has got to change, that > Pharma has to let go of parents on anti-depressants who raise kids on > anti-depressants, who in turn grow insensitive not only to their very source > of life, but to their own capacity for individual development within our > natural evolution. > > Great to hear from you. > Natalia Kuzmyn > > > > > > > > > Ray Harrell wrote: > > Hey Arthur, Steve, Tom, Barry and of course Sally and everyone else. Have > you come up with a scheme for quality work that develops the human body, the > sensorium, the soul and that makes money? Now that would be a futurework > that I would be interested in even at my age. :>)) > > > > I'm currently reading and reviewing a wonderful book from MIT press > (Bradford Book) called "The Origins of Music" edited by Wallin, Merker, and > Brown. Pub. 2000. Here is the abstract from the Introduction. I > reformatted the section with bullet points. In the book these two pages > are a very dense prose that I found hard to read. It also had typos. > Hope you enjoy it. Maybe a little discussion on the meaning of Quality > work that develops both body and soul? > > > > REH > > > > Abstract: > > In this introduction to the new field of evolutionary musicology, we see > that the study of music origins provides a fresh and exciting approach to > the under-standing of human evolution, a topic that so far has been > dominated by a focus on language evolution. The language-centered view of > humanity has to be expanded to include music, > > first, because the evolution of language is highly inter-twined with the > evolution of music, and, > > second, because music provides a spe-cific and direct means of exploring the > evolution of human social structure, group function, and cultural behavior. > > > > Music making is the quintessential human cul-tural activity, and music is an > ubiquitous element in all cultures large and small. The study of music > evolution promises to shed light on such important issues as > > evolution of the hominid vocal tract; > > the structure of acoustic-communication signals; > > human group structure; > > division of labor at the group level; > > the capacity for designing and using tools; > > symbolic gesturing; > > localization and lateralization of brain function; > > melody and rhythm in speech; > > the phrase-structure of lan-guage; > > parent-infant communication; > > emotional and behavioral manipulation through sound; > > interpersonal bonding and synchronization mechanisms; > > self-expression and catharsis; > > creativity and aesthetic expression; > > the human affinity for the spiritual and the mystical; and > > finally, of course, the universal human attachment to music itself. > > > > > > > > > Music Origins and Human Origins > > > > What is music and what are its evolutionary origins? > > What is music for and why does every human culture have it? > > What are the universal fea-tures of music and musical behavior across > cultures? > > Such questions were the among the principal areas of investigation of the > members of the Berlin school of comparative musicology of the first half of > the twentieth century, as represented by such great figures as Carl Stumpf, > Robert Lach, Erich von Hornbostel, Otto Abraham, Curt Sachs, and Marius > Schneider.' > > > > After the 1940s, however, the evolution-ary approach to music fell into > obscurity and even disrepute. > > How this came to pass entails a long and very political history, one that > has as much to do > > with rejection of racialist notions present in much European schol-arship in > the social sciences before the Second World War as > > with the rise of the cultural-anthropological approach to musicology in > America during the postwar period.' > > > > Both influences were anti-evolutionary in spirit and led to a rejection of > biological and universalist thinking in musicology and musical anthropology. > Musicology did not seem to need an official decree, like the famous ban on > discussions of language origin by the Societe de Linguistique de Paris in > 1866, to make the topic of music origins unfashionable among musicologists. > It appeared to happen all by itself. > > > > And with that, musicology seemed to relinquish its role as a con-tributor to > the study of human origins as well as any commitment to devel-oping a > general theory of music. > > The current volume represents a long-overdue renaissance of the topic of > music origins. If its essays suggest nothing else, it is > > > > that music and > > musical behavior > > > > can no longer be ignored in a consideration of human evolution. Music > offers important insight into the study of human origins and human history > in at least three principal areas. > > > > First, it is a universal and multifunctional cultural behavior, and no > account of human evolution is complete without an understanding of how music > and dance rituals evolved. Even the most cursory glance at life in > tradi-tional cultures is sufficient to demonstrate that music and dance are > essential components of most social behaviors, > > everything from hunting and herding to story telling and playing; > > from washing and eating to praying and meditating; and > > from courting and marrying to healing and burying. > > > > Therefore the study of music origins is central to the evolu-tionary study > of human cultural behavior generally. > > > > Second, to the extent that language evolution is now viewed as being a > central issue in the study of human evolution, parallel consideration of > music will assume a role of emerging importance in the investigation of this > issue as it becomes increasingly apparent that music and language share many > underlying features. > > Therefore, the study of language evolu-tion has much to gain from a joint > consideration of music. > > This includes such important issues as > > evolution of the human vocal tract, > > the hominid brain expansion, > > human brain asymmetry, > > lateralization of cognitive function, > > the evolution of syntax, > > evolution of symbolic gesturing, and > > the many parallel neural and cognitive mechanisms that appear to under-lie > music and language processing. > > > > Third, music has much to contribute to a study of human migration patterns > and the history of cultural contacts. In the same way that genes and > languages have been used successfully as markers for human migra-tions > (Cavalli-Sforza, Menozzi, and Piazza 1994), so too music has great potential > to serve as a hitherto untapped source of information for the study of human > evolution. > > This is because musics have the capacity to blend and therefore to retain > stable traces of cultural contact in a way that languages do only > inefficiently; > > languages tend to undergo total replacement rather than blending after > cultural contact, and thus tend to lose remnants of cultural interaction. > > > > In summary, these three issues, > > the universality and multifunctionality of music, > > the intimate relationship between music evolution and language evolution, > and > > the potential of music to shed light on patterns of cultural interaction, > > > > are important applications of evolutionary musicology to the study of human > origins and human culture. > > The new field of "biomusicology" (Wallin 1991) places the analysis of music > origins and its application to the study of human origins at its very > foundation. > > > > > > > > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Arthur Cordell > Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 7:44 PM > To: 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION' > Subject: Re: [Futurework] new/old member > > > > Good to see your name again. What's happening? Same old. People losing > jobs. Jobs going to China and elsewhere. Automating work which increases > productivity but those who lose jobs often have no place to go. Needed is a > total re-think of the way we produce and price goods and services and the > way in which income is distributed. > > > > Arthur > > > > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ray Harrell > Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 5:01 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [Futurework] new/old member > > > > Thought I would check in and see what's happening. > > > > Ray Evans Harrell > > New York City, > > Cherokee Opera Singer and Performing Artist > > > > > _____ > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > > > > _____ > > > > > > > --- > avast! Antivirus: Inbound message clean. > Virus Database (VPS): 100624-0, 06/24/2010 > Tested on: 6/24/2010 8:46:55 AM > avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2010 ALWIL Software. > http://www.avast.com > > > > > > -- Sandwichman _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
