The Buffalodown, Volume 38
Stories & Events for Social Connection & Beloved Community
- Let’s call this weekly email the Buffalodown! The lowdown from Buffalo
- Buffalodown: Only Human at The Cave was one for the books, literally!
- Musings on Music – Folkfaces Fest is a labor of love
- Featured Events – 40+ this week, loving the variety, appreciate submissions!
- Listening Links – all Ezra Klein on AI, as discussed at The Cave
- Reading Rundown – local, national, global
Welcome to the Buffalodown! Formerly called the Reconnecter Roundup, this free weekly email offers stories and events for social connection.
Happy Tuesday, y’all! And welcome to many new subscribers this week! You’ll usually receive this every Monday, not Tuesday; please pardon my delay, as life got in the way.
Big thanks to all who joined us last week at The Cave for the Buffalodown: Only Human, literally one for the books! The third installment of our themed concert and talk show, Buffalodown: Only Human was inspired by author, tech professional, and Reconnecter supporter Frank Gullo, who opened my mind to embracing new technology in writing the fast-paced sci-fi novella “Only Human,” about one of the last human quarterbacks in a future football league dominated by robots.
Through “Only Human,” Frank offers a fun and accessible story that finds harmony between humanity and technology, envisioning a future that might in many ways be closer than we think. And he’s offering this labor of love as an opportunity to bring people together, which is what Reconnecter is all about –
We built this Buffalodown around “Only Human” and the cause of honoring humanity in the age of AI, gathering for thoughtful conversations featuring Frank and advocate India Walton along with live music from Grosh and DJ Sike – see below for highlights thanks to Marc Odien and Buffalo.FM, learn more about Frank and “Only Human” here, and reply to this email if you’d like a free download of the audiobook!
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Frank makes a case for tech as a tool for connection over tribalism…. |
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…India introduces the concept of ALICE households – Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed – earning above the Federal Poverty Level yet struggling to afford basic expenses…. |
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…Frank evokes the spirit of Maya Angelou in the inspiration behind his plot of a future football league in which robotic players are programmed to develop emotions toward their human teammates… |
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…Grosh performs “Only Human” by Christina Perri, the song that inspired the title of the book – featuring Grace Lougen on a vintage Gibson guitar that hadn’t been played onstage in 50 years, courtesy of Frank! |
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After an intermission, Grosh took over the show with a set inspired by the theme, featuring their own songs mixed with covers from Frank’s “Only Human” soundtrack – first, once Frank heard Grosh’s original “On the Patio” with Grace Lougen’s meditative intro and epic solo, he asked Grace to play it on his late uncle’s old guitar… |
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…and here’s my personal highlight – a victory for humanity! While covering Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again,” Grosh receives an on-the-spot assist by DJ Sike while Grace Lougen deals with a broken string on the vintage Gibson that hadn’t been played onstage in 50 years… |
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…finally, another Grosh original, giving the last word here to autonomy – “no one knows you/like you know you/don’t let em control you, cuz/no one owns you but you – nobody but you.” |
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Thanks to WGRZ and especially photojournalist Ben Read for covering the fun! |
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We’d also love for folks to reply with any feedback about the event, whether you attended or just watched these highlights – anything you especially appreciated, or wanted to see more or less?
One attendee subscribed with a comment, “would love to get involved!” Right on, you’re in!
Another new subscriber commented, “Roman Catholic church social fallout (how churches defined neighborhoods)” – indeed, we could have a whole show about the rise and fall of churches as central places for social connection, and as a recovering Catholic with a family full of clergy this hits home for me. I’ll start by seeking relevant reading and listening on the subject for the sections below, and welcome more ideas and input on this.
A regular reader of this email who attended the event followed up the next day asking if we’d considered an audience Q&A portion of the talk show, “to connect more with the audience and encourage engagement? I think it could really provide valuable insights, especially when you’ve got experts onstage!”
We sure have considered that, and we’ll call on them in making crowd participation part of the next Buffalodown event in December – please stay tuned, keep the ideas coming, and consider becoming a paying member of Reconnecter to help make it all happen and get first dibs on tickets!
Musings on Music
Folkfaces Fest is Another Labor of Love
From the first moment I saw Folkfaces frontman Tyler Westcott onstage more than a decade ago, I’ve always admired his body-and-soul commitment to the craft of music, its history as an art form and forum for storytelling, and its ability to bring people together. New to Buffalo then, he’s since formed and joined a bunch of bands, promoted seemingly everyone who’s ever graced his ears, and spearheaded multiple festivals including the upcoming eighth annual Folkfaces Fest this coming weekend.
See below for the abundance of it all, as well as a look back to his cameo at our Buffalodown: Living the Dream at Kleinhans in April, where he stirred us all with an original song “We’re on the Move Now” spun from a Martin Luther King speech, then hustled along to another gig down the street at Nietzsche’s. He’s a true troubadour – heck, he even toured this year around France, the birthplace of the troubadours, after recording his latest album “Royal Street Blues” in New Orleans.
Tyler’s on the move alright – catch him on his mountaintop this weekend!
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Become a paying member to help us present and promote Buffalo music and art!
Events in the Week Ahead
Late this week though leaving up for posterity those that have already passed. Thanks to all submitting their events! Welcoming event submissions with a flyer and link to seamus@reconnecter.org.
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Become a paying member to help us promote community events!
Listening Links
Picking up where we left off onstage at The Cave last week in the Buffalodown: Only Human, spotlighting the deep dives into AI of the Ezra Klein Show; regular readers here know Ezra is a go-to. Recommend checking the archives for an array of subjects.
- How Should I Be Using A.I. Right Now?– “This conversation covers the basics, including which chatbot to choose and techniques for how to get the most useful results. But the conversation goes far beyond that, too — to some of the strange, delightful and slightly unnerving ways that A.I. responds to us, and how you’ll get more out of any chatbot if you think of it as a relationship rather than a tool.”
- Will A.I. Break the Internet? Or Save It? – “…we talk about why platforms seem so unprepared for the storm of A.I. content; whether an internet filled with cursory A.I. content is better or worse than an internet filled with good A.I. content; and if A.I. might be a kind of cleansing fire for the internet that enables something new and better to emerge.”
- What if Dario Amodei Is Right About A.I.? – “When I’ve talked to people who are building A.I., scenarios that feel like far-off science fiction end up on the horizon of about the next two years. So I asked Amodei on the show to share what he sees in the near future. What breakthroughs are around the corner? What worries him the most? And how are societies that struggle to adapt to change and governments that are slow to react to them supposed to prepare for the pace of change he predicts? What does that line on his graph mean for the rest of us?”
- Reconnecting to Prevent Social Unrest – WBFO What’s Next – Leaving this link up for a while, as I’m honored to have been invited onto this profound program – this went real deep from the jump, please listen! Here’s how they described it: “Seamus Gallivan’s latest endeavor is Reconnecter, a ‘social connection space’ that aims to bring people together in person and online ‘by illuminating the ties that bind us.’ That means music showcases, variety shows, and media elements — all to help provide a need that he believes can help prevent social unrest. Gallivan sits down with Thomas O’Neil-White to speak about the power of reconnection and his plans for the new project.”
Reading Rundown
With intent to connect, inform, and inspire action, every Reconnecter Roundup closes with links to other sources and stories that deserve more attention. Always welcoming links to read and share at seamus@reconnecter.org.
- Brown announces he’s leaving City Hall & Unpacking Byron Brown’s move to OTB – Investigative Post – After asking Buffalonians to write him down, he wrote us off. “The next mayor faces a financial crisis, although Brown denies it.”
- The Tool Library launches Circular October with workshops and events – Buffalo Rising – “Our current economic system isn’t working for most people, so why not create a better system built on sharing and repairing instead?”
- Loved ones search for the hundreds of people still missing after Helene – NPR – “I just got online and saw that a lot of people were looking for me, which is heartwarming, amidst all this heartbreak.”
- Missouri Executes Marcellus Williams Despite Evidence of Wrongful Conviction – Democracy Now – “What we see is a system that’s looking at finality over fairness, rushing to get to an execution date instead of taking the time to stop this execution and look at the merits of what is being argued.”
- Missile attack on Israel signals that widely feared regional conflict has ignited – The Guardian – “The forces of restraint in the Middle East are weakening with every passing day.”
Thank YOU for reading this far and being part of it all – extra thanks to everyone supporting this work with a membership at www.reconnecter.org!
Please share with friends to sign up for next Monday’s Reconnecter Roundup, and reach out with any feedback, all ideas welcome – we’re just getting started!
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