Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Elmer Sent Them

So, you may recall that I was on a panel discussion about Gregory Bateson at the American Museum of Natural History on September 12 (see my previous posts, Stepping Up For An Ecology of Mind, and And On the Panel), and afterwards, I met and spoke with Elmer Brunsman, who had been in the audience.  Elmer came because, in addition to his interest in Bateson, his friend Rex Weyler, co-founder of GreenPeace International, was on the panel.  Turns out that Elmer did the media and public relations work for GreenPeace back in its early days.  

And where do you think he got his media expertise?  Fordham University!  Class of '63!

So, of course I told him about the McLuhan Symposium I had organized for September 17 at Fordham.  And of course he was interested, McLuhan having been a great inspiration for the founders of GreenPeace, along with Bateson (see McLuhan's Children: The Greenpeace Message and the Media, by Stephen Dale).  

So Elmer came, took in the talks, and also took a couple of pictures, which he was kind enough to share with me earlier this evening.  The first in particular is a great shot of Eric McLuhan at his book signing for Media and Formal Cause.  Eric's in the center there, with Andrew on the left, yours truly on the right, and banners from the publisher, NeoPoiesis Press, in the background.








The second captures our final panel discussion with, from left to right, me, Gary Gumpert, Joshua Meyrowitz, Dominique Scheffel-Dunand, Paul Grosswiler, and Daniel Czitrom.






Now tell me, and with all due respect, ain't that some nice bit of environmental action?



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