Mind Over Matter

Updated on Monday, October 15, 2012 at 02:22PM by Gary Catona

We should not think that brain actions "strictly determine" conscious states .

The brain functions in a complicated, but "physically causal " manner - e.g., neuronic activity at specific locations in the brain will "cause" specific mental activity to occur in predictable, even measurable, ways.

Click to read more ...

Sinatra And Caruso: Immortal Bookends

It is fascinating to consider that Enrico Caruso, the preeminent tenor in history, commanded the operatic world at the beginning of the 20th century with his intensely beautiful sound, while Frank Sinatra, the peerless pop artist with another enchanting voice, closed it. The similarities between the two singers are striking. Both artists were born with exceptional, but unfinished instruments, and worked tirelessly to master all aspects of their singing. Though both gained direction—and inspiration—from the classic Bel Canto traditions, they creatively refashioned this influence to serve their own aesthetic ends. This can be heard in their Italian, cello-like “golden tones” that have become the most distinctive and beloved in music history.

Click to read more ...

Sinatra And Caruso’s Conversational Singing

Sinatra's singing has been described as “conversational”—that is, his phrasing, enunciation, and spontaneous pitch modulations sound as natural as those in a typical conversation (recall word melody). Unlike many performers, Sinatra never sacrifices being understood for alleged artistic motives. Rather, his words are sung as clearly as has ever been accomplished in the English language. One of my close friends from Paris once told me that when he was a young boy, he, along with a number of his friends, learned to speak English by listening to Frank Sinatra songs.

Click to read more ...

What Do We Really Know?

Awareness is the intuitive sense of infinity—the boundless, limitless, and inexhaustible reality of what is. Another way of saying this is to consider that there is no limit to what could enter our awareness. It is not as though there is a finite amount of knowledge, information, and truth about reality, and that as we gain more awareness, the less knowledge, information, and truth there is to discover. Quite the contraty: as our awareness increases, the more we realize that there is even more of which we are not aware. Awareness is open to everything that is, as well as to everything that could be, and this adds up to infinite possibilities—a concept we can grasp only obliquely.

Click to read more ...

The Catona Cocktail

Updated on Friday, October 5, 2012 at 02:12AM by Gary Catona

The Catona Cocktail promotes vocal health by reducing inflammation, working as a natural antibiotic/antiseptic, generating heat flow, and promoting muscular flexibility.

Click to read more ...