Poll... are you culturally diversified?

[RSI]

Well, are you? Are you saturated by your own culture and oblivious to others? Or do you not care about other cultures? Or do you care about them and are very informed about / in touch with them?

Vote in the poll here.

Also, have you ever heard music from other cultures? What we hear is very controlled if we only listen to the radio. As a result, different types of music may not seem attractive to our ears. There are other musical scales that are just as perfectly "correct" as ours, yet would sound strange to a westernized ear. Ever heard of overtones? Ever heard one voice produce a low tone and a high tone simultaneously? It's quite amazing and intruiging.

Different music is cool (and no, no techno, dance, rock, punk, ska, rap, r&b, hip hop, etc etc is different.. that's all the same )..

-RSI

 

[RSI]

Aw sh*t, I forgot to make the poll...

Oh well, post instead then.

-RSI

 

[fastz28]

Yes, by dating every natinoality, ethnic group, or race of women.

 

[SyahM]

yes!

 

[Rallispec]

i'd have say on a scale of 1 to ten on diversity.. i'm sad to say that i'm probably a 3 or 4... i've just grown up in a very non diverse envirnment and havent been exposed to very much

 

[Sir Fredrick]

Eh, my culture is my own, it's geek culture, and that's about the only culture I participate in. I've listened to some different cultural music, and it's alright, but not really my thing. Punk and folk are my two music styles of choice right now, though I can say that what I listen to is not controlled by the media, I like the unheard of indie bands with no record labels.

 

[RSI]

fastz - cool

Hey, I just realized my gf is half indian and half carribean... ok I didn't just realize that, but I just thought about it now, after writing the post.. heh.

ralli - well, get to know some different people! the different people are always the most interesting, especially when you haven't been exposed to them.

-RSI

 

[glenn1]

<< Well, are you? Are you saturated by your own culture and oblivious to others? Or do you not care about other cultures? Or do you care about them and are very informed about / in touch with them? >>



I can take a 20 minute drive to downtown Philadelphia, and be saturated by almost every culture on earth within minutes, therefore, i'm not going to feel bad if i've not gotten to travel to Burkino Faso and gotten to experience their culture firsthand. I've seen enough of the world to get a good taste of it and not be completely provincial, which is about any of us can hope for, IMHO. There's too many cultures out there to be knowledgeable about them all.

 

[RSI]

<< There's too many cultures out there to be knowledgeable about them all. >>

I agree completely. I'm just saying that it's good to soak in some other stuff occasionally. You don't really have to even go anywhere... Just talk to some different people. Listen to their kind of music, etc. I used to pretty much only listen to the radio and only a couple of stations. When I first heard rap, my first impression was comical. I thought it was funny. Then I thought it was just crappy noise, people who didn't know how to sing or something. That is proof of what the radio can do to people. You kinda become closed-minded. Now I even have some rap in my \music folder, and I listen to it occasionally, and enjoy it for car driving also. I guess it's the simple/strong beat that does it, kind of like techno/dance music. You learn to appreciate different things in different ways, instead of just shunning it out.

Ok, i'm done for now.

-RSI

 

[b0mbrman]

I am...no question about it.

 

[b0mbrman]

Oh wait...never mind. Western Europeans and Americans brought the world to where it is today so it's their culture that is *most* worth studying

I care about the other cultures in proportion to the impact they have on the modern world

 

[rh71]

Besides my hockey buddies, at least 3/4 of my friends are asian like me. I couldn't help it then, but I'm trying to help it now. Just last week during a game, another player called me a beloved patriot. Damn racist white trash! WTF has daddy been teaching him?

 

[VirusDub]

<< Ever heard of overtones? Ever heard one voice produce a low tone and a high tone simultaneously? It's quite amazing and intruiging. >>

You do realize, of course, that overtones are a result of the physics of sound and not something produced by culture? Overtones form the basis of the harmony of Western music (that includes a lot of the stuff you hear on the radio).

Anyway, I consider myself to be culturally unattached. I don't specifically associate myself with a certain culture (though I will say that I'm ethnically Greek). I have been exposed to many different cultures, but don't feel the need to stick to a specific one.

 

[poopaskoopa]

I dunno. I like Van Halen.

 

[RSI]

<< You do realize, of course, that overtones are a result of the physics of sound and not something produced by culture? Overtones form the basis of the harmony of Western music (that includes a lot of the stuff you hear on the radio). >>

I'm not sure if I was right with the terminology of "overtones", but I was referring to what I described. Anybody can theoretically do it, but it's not seen in American culture. I just thought it was very interesting and unique.

-RSI

 

[VirusDub]

<< I'm not sure if I was right with the terminology of "overtones", but I was referring to what I described. Anybody can theoretically do it, but it's not seen in American culture. I just thought it was very interesting and unique.

-RSI >>

I think what you're referring to is called multiphonics (producing two tones with one voice or instrument). It's done in modern Western music, but you're right that it is much more common in other cultures.

 

[RSI]

<< I think what you're referring to is called multiphonics (producing two tones with one voice or instrument). It's done in modern Western music, but you're right that it is much more common in other cultures. >>

Sounds like the same thing although I haven't heard that term, and I haven't heard any Western music using it. What are some examples of it?

-RSI

 

[Lars]

Sure.

 

[VirusDub]

<< Sounds like the same thing although I haven't heard that term, and I haven't heard any Western music using it. What are some examples of it?

-RSI >>

It's a much more common technique in Western instrumental music. Playing a tune and singing/humming simultaneously is quite a bit easier than producing two tones with one's vocal chords. As such, that sort of thing is limited to a select few people who train long and hard to develop the skill.

I can't think of any specific examples in Western music off the top of my head, but I know at least of a few tuba concertos that employ multiphonics (it's more of an effect than a musical technique). Jazz artists are also known to harmonize their own solos by singing while playing. It's quite an amazing thing to watch.

 

[b0mbrman]

<< Besides my hockey buddies, at least 3/4 of my friends are asian like me. I couldn't help it then, but I'm trying to help it now. Just last week during a game, another player called me a beloved patriot. Damn racist white trash! WTF has daddy been teaching him? >>



Why isn't calling him white trash racist?

 

[RSI]

Yeah but I mean, no instruments, just one single person with one single voice, producing low tones and high tones simultaneously. I forget which nationality (I'll look it up later) but they seem to be better at it naturally for god knows what reason. Anybody can develop the skill, since we all have the same damn vocal chords. But that's lke saying anybody can learn how to play the guitar. That doesn't mean anybody can be Van Halen, Jimmy Page, or Jeff Healey!



-RSI

Edit: I gotta catch some shut-eye. It's 12:30AM and I have to meet my girlfriend at school in 7 hours from now, so I should probably sleep now. Later, ATOT.

 

[tcsenter]

If you mean sitting in an employer-related workshop learning how racist whites are and that any racial or ethnic tensions in an employment setting is always due to a failure of whites, then yes I've been culturally diversified.

 

"Well, are you? . . . Or do you care about them and are very informed about / in touch with them?"

I would like to testify that I am; nonetheless, I fear we know not as much as we assume sometimes. I try my best to be well-versed; and I do luv geography, but I do not think I am as diversified as I wish to. I'm afraid my sis is way better than I. Sometimes I think I'm sheltered . . . or maybe I'm jst so confused. In any case, hooking up with someone who meets this criteria is good enough for me. I hope to learn a lot from him.

 

[VirusDub]

<< Yeah but I mean, no instruments, just one single person with one single voice, producing low tones and high tones simultaneously. I forget which nationality (I'll look it up later) but they seem to be better at it naturally for god knows what reason. Anybody can develop the skill, since we all have the same damn vocal chords. But that's lke saying anybody can learn how to play the guitar. That doesn't mean anybody can be Van Halen, Jimmy Page, or Jeff Healey!



-RSI >>

I know what you're talking about. If I remember correctly, the more famous of these "gifted" folk were monks. Monks, as you know, don't do much aside from praying, reading/writing religious texts, chanting, etc (yes, I know that was a generalization, sue me). That leaves a lot of time for training in certain techniques (such as as vocal multiphonics). I would imagine that a monastery specializing in electric guitar could produce a large number of amazing players.

 

[Perknose]

I'm so culturally diverse that I continually offend myself unintentionally by making insensitive remarks about other parts of me. Grrrrrrrr. I demand reperations!

Actually, one of the many things I love about the United States of America is that we have the No.1 consumer marketplace in the whole world. Not only are most things relatively cheaper, especially vs. our median earning power, but we have the most diverse and easily accessible range of goods and services on this damn planet!!

Just one example is food. Especially if you live near an urban center, you can choose from a mind boggling range of toothsome goodies from all sorts of different cultures.

Music? Just go to the "far left" on yer radio dial, especially if you live near a college. And now, there's both internet radio and the new satellite services.

Hemorrhoid ointment? Your local chain pharmacy probably has at least five different brands, and the best part is that each one is guaranteed to be better than the others! In a lesser country, that would be a logical impossibility!

Yet another seemingly insignificant example are How To and Self Help books. We take them for granted, and they've been around for decades, but they are a far more recent phenomenon in Europe and elsewhere.