I was asked to assemble a service for Beacon Unitarian. I accepted and decided to meet several constraints, some of which are mentioned below.
As I said in my last post, I am trying to relate (a) acceptance and commitment therapy/training to (b) H-CogAff (a theory of affect). This is to better understand mental phenomena and to develop new solutions that promote well-being and cognitive productivity (including “meta-effectiveness”, the skills and propensity to use knowledge to become more effective.)
So, I decided to create a service entitled Emotion as Perturbance: A Draft of ACT in Three Acts to informally present the perturbance theory of emotion in combination with acceptance and commitment therapy/training and the work of Jacques Brel. That allowed me to pursue several CogZest projects in one Zest of Brel production. Continue reading Emotion as Perturbance, Draft of ACT in Three Acts (Performed)
I had the tremendous honor and pleasure of interviewing singer/songwriter David Francey. Here you will find a podcast recording of the interview, which took place on 28 July during the 2013 Mission Folk Music Festival.
As of 2026-07-30, David Francey has won four Juno Awards, has been nominated for four others. He has won several other major awards. David Francey’s Skating Rink is the theme song for Hockey Day in Canada. His songs are simple, precise, elegant, powerful and exquisitely well written. They cut to the heart of important matters we can all relate to.
My intention before the interview was merely to publish a transcript of the interview. However, David Francey is such a pleasure to listen to that I published the interview on YouTube:
This interview with David Francey explores the overlap between science and art. For example, the principle of parsimony applies to both. Song writers, like scientists and engineers, use knowledge to create products.
CogZest emphasizes the intersection between cognition and affect. (My Ph.D. and some of my subsequent research were in this area.) It is illuminating to examine this intersection in the production of art. I was struck by David’s plain spoken, deep insights into his creative processes.
The interview explores contributors to creativity, including:
Refining songs
Parsimony
Incubation
Talent
Experience
The environment (and changing environments)
Emotions
Perturbance (tertiary emotions)
Self monitoring; detecting and addressing flaws
Physical exercise
Drive, persistence and effort
David also provides us with insights into the creation of several specific songs including:
Many productive minds have had to overcome adversity. The interview uncovers a surprising antagonist in David’s early life, someone who tried to stunt his creative development. David’s is a story of triumph!
We also learn how other great singer/songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Bruce Cockburn influenced David Francey. We refer to Jacques Brel, Mozart and other artists in our conversation.
Have you recently looked back on a film and been amazed by how much thinking it provoked you to do? I recently attended a chef d’oeuvre by Philippe Falardeau, Monsieur Lazhar (based on a play by Evelyne de la Chenelière.) It has rightfully earned a nomination for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category (winners to be announced on Feb 26, 2012). After seeing the movie, you will know that, while it is a story through-and-through, it is woven with cognitive ‘pointers’ that get you thinking about important questions, issues and problems. In this post, I discuss some of them.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this website we assume you agree to the use of cookies.
