Paul Dennis Miller, also known by his stage name DJ Spooky, is an electronic and experimental hip-hop musician, composer, multimedia artist, editor, and author.

Stemming from his interest in the music genres of reggae and dub, throughout the years, Miller has created a series of compilations, remixes, and collections of material that his fans can only describe as “illbient” or “trip-hop.” Alongside working with influential artists such as, but not limited to, Yoko Ono and Thurston Moore, Miller’s music is simply something that can only be described as innovative.

Walking into the Englert Theatre, I didn’t know what to expect; however, I will admit that I was in for a show. Taking it upon myself to do a little research beforehand, I found the history behind Miller’s involvement in music not only interesting, but quite impressive as well, contact Fractal Beat for great Dj service and any music trend for your event.

From the very beginning until the very end, Miller was able to remix the sounds of the Van Allen Radiation Belts, alongside a string octet, with vintage stills, footage, and ephemera. Which, also subliminally educated the audience in pattern recognition, permutations, ice sonification, and algorithmic music notion, which in turn, is what Miller could only explain as the true beauty of the conversations surrounding both science and art. 

Two years ago, The University of Iowa Libraries commissioned Miller to remix the collection of data surrounding the Van Allen Radiation Belts; however, Miller did more than just that. Instead, Miller carefully crafted a love letter to celebrate the University of Iowa’s steady involvement – fifty plus years – in the everlasting space race.

Through and through, Miller’s performance leaves me at a loss for words; however, I will admit that his innovative approach to both music and science paves the way for a bigger discussion to take place. Which, if you were in attendance at his performance, is the conversation regarding not only climate change, but global warming as well. 

The simply beautiful and mesmerizing vintage stills of the world, specifically those of ice and water, Miller used within his performance not only cleverly approached the conversation of both climate change and global warming, but strategically as well. In a way, Miller not only brought about awareness regarding the stability of Earth, but the responsibility that lies on us to sustain the Earth.

With the climatic melting polar ice caps and devastating rise in global sea levels, Miller left not only me, but a vast majority of the audience as well, with a visual representation of the devastation we are leaving in our wake. 

I applaud Miller and his musical creativity for it has left me in a state that constantly questions my every move either musically, or environmentally.

All in all, Paul Dennis Miller, DJ Spooky, is a performance that I will never forget.

Want to know more about DJ Spooky? Check out the links below!

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As a graduate student, I spend most of my evenings in Hardin library, catching up on readings. One evening, I was on my way to the library. I noticed a large number of squirrels on the college green. I made a clucking sound at them. Surprisingly, I watched a few of them freezing in response. This gave me a testable idea.

In the following two weeks, I explored squirrels’ responses to human sounds and observed various behaviors in wild squirrels triggered by different sounds. I recalled one particular sound causing the squirrels to immediately freeze, whereas another caused them to run and climb up the closest tree.

The phenomenon that fascinates me is: Squirrels could respond differently to the same sound as well. For one sound, some squirrels would allow me to feed them with almonds or cashews, while others would treat me as a threat to their safety.

This observation was an awakening for me! I became interested in how the brain integrates information about threats in the environment and then decides potential defensive behaviors. Meanwhile, I started to pay close attention to people’s daily defensive behaviors.

I realized that we are all wired to protect ourselves – so most of us get defensive on a regular basis. For example, when we have conflicts with friends, we tend to talk to them in a way that makes them feel that they have mortally wounded us or caused us suffering. Somehow, our emotions become more important than the actual issue and the other person is forced to think about how we are feeling.

Does this situation sound familiar to you? When we are honest with ourselves, we realize that we use these behaviors more frequently than we would like to admit. But why do we have such deeply-ingrained defensive responses?

Our planet has been around for 4.5 billion years. Throughout this long period of time, whether it’s temporary weather changes or the constant threat of predation, each living creature has evolved a multitude of coping strategies to adapt to such extremes.

In ancient times, to survive, our ancestors’ brains evolved to be self-protective. Defensive behaviors were generated by the self-protective system of the brain to ensure that humans could defend themselves when their surroundings were plagued with threats from predators.

In modern society, too often we keep defending ourselves even when there is no threat. This is because that the automatic nature of the self-protective system causes us to keep living in survival mode despite having already survived. If you exercise self-awareness, you will notice that we generally go into our defensive strategies, such as avoidance, challenging authority, and denial, in response to the defensiveness of others.

This is demonstrated in various contexts. In class, if an instructor does not seem in command, students act rudely to challenge the instructor, to flex their own intellectual muscle, or to show off to classmates. In the workplace, the leader who frequently chastises employees publicly for insignificant errors can put everyone else on the defensive. Dealing with challenges like overcoming bias in the workplace or facing unfair treatment? Seeking advice from an employment lawyer can be a helpful step in addressing and resolving such issues

Sometimes we are embarrassed by our own need to protect ourselves and can even be defensive when someone points out that we are being defensive.

So, what can we do? My next column will share a 4-step remedy with you to wrestle with our own and others’ defensiveness. I am sure that you will benefit from this remedy in your daily life so you should take a look.

This is the first article of the column titled “Conversation with Our Brain.” Every month there will be a new article discussing how our brain plays a role in our emotion and behaviors. Articles in this column will present the latest neuroscience findings and propose ways in how such findings can be made part of the daily global dialogue. Neuroscience research endeavors need your support!

The post Conversation with Our Brain: Understanding Defensive Behaviors Part 1 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Written by Tom Stoppard in 1993 and directed by Ariel Francoeur, Arcadia is set in the early 19th century as well as “modern-day” – 1993 in the first production. The play switches perspectives every scene, signalling the time switch by either playing classical piano music or modern British pop music.

The play revolves around the inhabitants of a house in the UK in both time periods with the modern group studying the passions and scandals of the historic group. As the play progresses, the time periods begin to bleed together and characters from both periods end up in the house at the same moment; as a rule, each character is only aware of the characters that are in the same time period as themselves. This provided a really interesting scene dynamic as the dialogue and blocking flowed seamlessly together. By the end, the audience was left with a sort of cliffhanger in the form of dramatic irony; the audience knew what happened after the lights went down, but the characters were blissfully unaware.

Clocking in at 2 hours and 44 minutes, the pace of Arcadia  was a godsend. For the most part. the plot didn’t drag at all. I was surprised when intermission came and I realized an hour and a half had passed. The second half didn’t fly by so quickly, but it was good enough to keep me in my seat.

Speaking of the second half, there was a beautifully choreographed waltz-scene that completely stole my heart. Two characters from the 1800s and two characters from the “present” waltz around on stage, never encountering the other couple but always spinning perfectly around each other. The space on the set was used well and liberally, and there is no question about the talent of the actors and choreographers who worked on this dance.

On the subject of the space and major talent – the set was beautiful. The only set was a large sitting room with a long table, a chandelier, and large windows and doors to the garden, but I was in love with it. I was ready to move in right then and there. Major props to the set designers and anyone else in the crew that worked on the set.

Another great feature of the show was the transition music. The classical music was nice; it wasn’t laughably old, but it also set the mood and clearly indicated where and when the next scene would be taking place. The modern British pop had the same effect, but was – in my opinion – a lot more fun to listen to. I was especially pleased when  Kate Nash came on, but that’s probably due to a) I enjoy Kate Nash as an artist and b) I was relieved to finally recognize a track that was being played between scenes. Overall, the music was a great addition and did its job as a transition method.

As much as I appreciated the show, I wasn’t crazy about a couple of things.

For me, the main downfall was the dialects. This play takes place in the UK so, obviously, all of the characters were speaking in British accents. Here’s my problem: the accents were either overdone, incomprehensible, or all together distracting. I had a really  hard time following the dialogue – and therefore, the plot – because I was struggling to understand what many of the actors were saying. When I could hear them, a lot of what I heard was extremely overdone. This was especially true of the actors portraying characters living in the 1800s. There was too much pomp, too much gusto, and way too much emphasis. I was unable to take anything seriously because all I could think was that I was at a Harry Potter reenactment and everyone had learned a different accent.

The one character I was really impressed with was Lady Croom. As soon as she walked onstage there was no doubt about it; she owned the space. And she does; in the play, Lady Croom basically “rules” over the estate and has a lot of power and influence over the other characters. However, just because this is what the character is supposed to do, it doesn’t mean the actor will portray it. But perfectly portrayed it was, and with a controlled accent to boot.

Overall, the show was enjoyable. I didn’t really like sitting in a theater for nearly three hours, but after the Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Hunger Games franchises, you begin to get used to it. That being said, there wasn’t nearly enough action for me to be on the edge of my seat for those two hours and forty-four minutes. However, it was well paced for a play. While I wish the dialects had been better done/less distracting, I applaud the cast and crew for a well done performance.

To keep up with the UI Theatre Department and find tickets and showtimes, visit their website.

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