Shant Rising

Armenians have a powerful culture. Since 1915, they have been fighting to deliver justice to Turkey for the mass genocide of Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks. Turkey’s constant denial and falsification has only fueled Armenians to grow stronger and more united. 100 years later, they stand closer, denser, and larger than ever marching through Los Angeles with an estimated 130,000 in attendance.

"Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?" - Adolf Hitler, 1939 The message remains clear after all of these years. Armenians don’t want a pity apology from the Turkish people. They don’t want to ruin the lives of modern day turks who had nothing to directly do with the genocide. An apology won’t bring back the 1.5 million that died. Armenians want recognition. They want their land back so that the entire true Armenia can be rebuilt. They want the genocide to be remembered and taught in every classroom so that we may prevent the occurrences of new ones. Forgotten history repeats itself. While the United States government, Turkey, and other countries recognition of the genocides of 1915 remains uncertain, we can be sure that the Armenians will return every single year, stronger and more united until that day comes. See you in 2016.

by Shant Rising

Malibu. Malibu. Malibu. Probably my favorite place to pass time. What do you want to do today? I don’t know. Wanna go to Malibu? Yes. Yes I do. Laid back energy, pulsing stillness. This is Malibu. Wrapped up a week of photography in Malibu today. Shooting in most places in and around Los Angeles is difficult to avoid being cliche. Everything has been done before. With the exception of Malibu. You can shoot in Malibu all you want throughout a week and each day will bring new color and ideas.

by Shant Rising

The frontal lobe of the mammalian brain is generally responsible for personality expression, complex cognitive behavior, language, and decision-making. The frontal lobes are extremely vulnerable to injury due to their location at the front of the cranium. Damage in this area may cause a change in personality, inconsistent facial expressions, and blurred judgment skills. Years of studying abnormal brain injuries, such as in the case of Phineas Gage (a notable TBI patient), and other various medical problems have led many previously opposed researchers to believe that biology plays a larger role in personality and the “self” than once thought. We are currently faced with many theories attempting to explain the phenomena. It is still somewhat of an unpopular belief that biology is the ultimate basis of personality. However, a mind-bending question once uttered by the famous Canadian novelist, Doug Coupland, is becoming difficult to ignore; where does personality end and brain damage begin?

It is important to note that I am not stating personality is something that is passed down from your parents. The difference is that who you are, or who you think you are, is a creation of your brain that has been set in place in order to deal with the environment around you. As you grow older and are faced with diverse experiences, your “self” is then actively transformed in order to adapt to given situations.

Some neuroscientists, such as Dr. Bruce Hood, director of Bristol Cognitive Development Centre at the University of Bristol, suggest that the notion of a core self is false and that we are just a multitude of competing urges and impulses. He states that the self is an “inescapable experience” we need for interacting with others and the world and argues that personality is but one of many functions of the brain (2012). Assuming that Dr. Hood’s theory is scientifically proven and that the belief that personality and self has a biological basis is widely accepted, what sort of significance should we expect from the understanding in regards to the future?

Assuming a stronger correlation is discovered, we can expect to see a fall of dualistic ideology. The separation of mind and brain would be null. This would be a remarkable change in thought as we would be forced to revisit what we believed we understood about individualism and people. New questions would emerge that challenge how we look at ourselves. If everything that we know and have experienced has a biological basis, can we then not physically remove or alter microscopic parts of the brain to create or destroy memories, thoughts, habits, and even personality? If you or anyone could wake up with a different identity and completely new set of motives, desires, passions, and memory, after a quick surgery, then what value remains of individualism?