It’s Not ‘I Think, Therefore I Am,’ It’s ‘I Pay Attention, Therefore I Am’

For many cognitive scientists these days, “the idea that there is a substantive self is passé. When cognitive scientists aim to provide an empirical account of the self, it is simply an account of our sense of self – why it is that we think we have a self. What we don’t find is an account of a self with independent powers, responsible for directing attention and resolving conflicts of will. … So what is a substantive self?” Philosopher/cognitive scientist Carolyn Dicey Jennings offers an answer.

Founder Of Death Cafe Movement Dies Suddenly At Age 44

“From the basement of his house in Hackney, an artsy borough in London’s East End, [Jon] Underwood perpetuated a movement that spread to more than a dozen countries with more than 1,000 gatherings. … These were not grief support groups or end-of-life planning sessions, but rather casual forums for people who wanted to bat around” – over tea and cake, a key element of the project – “philosophical thoughts. What is death like? Why do we fear it? How do our views of death inform the way we live?

Checking Out The Youth Theater Where Tina Fey Got Her Start

“Fey is an alum of Upper Darby Summer Stage, a recreation program at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center that has exposed countless kids to musical theater since 1976. Founded by musician, director, and educator Harry Dietzler and administered by Upper Darby Township” – just across the city line from West Philadelphia – “Summer Stage gives practical experience to would-be actors and singers, directors, lighting designers, and set builders, who mount six children’s shows and a main-stage musical each season. They are guided by teachers, voice coaches, and directors, many of whom grew up in the program.”

What’s Going On With Fusion? It’s Being Splintered (Ahem) By Univision

Last year Univision bought up what was left of Gawker‘s network of sites and renamed it Gizmodo Media Group, into which it merged the Fusion.net site. But Univision also owns the Fusion television network (the Hispanic media giant’s first push into English-language broadcasting), so that channel is going to the Fusion.net address, while Fusion’s online journalism is moving to a new site called Splinter. Editor-in-chief Dodai Stewart says about the name, “Our aim is to do the kind of news coverage and commentary that gets under your skin.”

When A Famous Dance Venue Offers To Showcase A Young Choreographer’s Work, How Does She Scare Up The Money To Make It Happen?

“When invited by the Joyce Theater to return to its Ballet Festival, a biennial event spotlighting independent and emerging ballet choreographers, [Emery LeCrone] thought back to the 2015 festival when her troupe made its Joyce debut, performing for two nights. Despite selling out both shows, she came out of that experience in a state of what she calls ‘burnout, completely.'” Happily, “financially, this time is different.”

I Tried SFMOMA’s ‘Send Me’, And Here’s What They Sent

Matthew Olson started with “send me a landscape” and was chagrined to receive Robert Gober’s Prison Window. (“What does it say about me that my landscape riffs on a prison cell?”) So he kept trying – and moved on to requests like “send me an idea” and “send me joy.” (The response to his final request, the notorious eggplant emoji, suggests that SFMOMA may need to tweak its algorithm a little.)

The Slow Fade Of Classical Music Journalism – And The (Early) Signs Of Its Revival

A longread by Joseph Carman surveys the damage of the past few years, especially at regional newspapers, and the newer fora in which coverage of classical music is surviving and growing. As ArtsJournal’s own Doug McLennan tells Carman, “We’re in that period where it’s not obvious yet what’s going to win out as the best way of doing all this. But I have no fears at all that it’s simply going to vanish. It’s not a zero-sum game. It’s an evolution. And evolution is painful sometimes.”