tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3959203126440300602024-03-14T12:38:17.704+03:00Film Fan and Turtle LoverLIFE IS CURIOSITY IN MOTION.(Luminita Stoica)Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.comBlogger165125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-12722109013043687462011-01-01T19:13:00.006+02:002011-01-01T19:48:30.325+02:00Aronofsky and the SwanArt. Does reaching artistic peaks necessarily imply a huge amount of sacrifice? Does art, at some point, become more important to the artist, than the artist himself? Does conventional madness sometimes dance with great artistic achievement? <br /><br />Is highly appraised art inextricably linked to the emulation of artist and art? And, does the artist lose a bit of himself in every masterpiece? Furthermore, does losing bits of yourself allow you to reach perfection? Then, are we "too complex" to reach perfection? <br /><br />Finally, does perfection imply a simplicity that we are not able to understand without sacrifice?<br /><br />If you like, you may find bits of answers to all the above, or even more questions, in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004716/">Darren Aronofsky</a>'s 2010 film, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/">Black Swan</a>:<br /><br /><object width="320" height="192"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5jaI1XOB-bs?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5jaI1XOB-bs?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="450" height="300"></embed></object>Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-74359357143705235322010-09-14T21:30:00.005+03:002010-09-17T01:42:11.217+03:00What are we willing to sacrifice and for Whom?As I was getting a bit buzzed during the late hours of one long day, I started contemplating the value of "wasting time" with friends. The contemplation continued the following day, as the dark circles under my eyes began to show and a general feeling of "Oh my! Where did my energy go?" started to soar over me.<br /><br />I kept thinking that I can compartmentalize work and fun, so that one would not affect the other. But when you're using the same body for doing both, problems might occur. I used to totally eliminate from my mind the possibility that I can ever benefit from a life of 9 to 5, going to bed at 11pm and waking up at 7am, working during the day, having light fun during the evening and resting well at night. But as it seems, I was too quick to judge as being "so not me" an existence that seemed quite dull to me a few years back, and that now I wish I could have...for a while.<br /><br />Although there is more to life, or there should be more to life than working from 9 to 5 and partying during the weekends (as a reverend at TED once said, but I forgot his name, thus I put another related and inspiring TED video below), should we choose not to have healthy habits and money just because it's not original? Then again, what is original in lifestyle anymore? I think we heard of/seen a fantastic variety of lifestyles, ranging from beggers, monks, and workaholics, to notorious party girls, alcoholics and junkies to people who have animatronic tails attached to their spinal cord and live as felines. Yes, we have all sorts, but are they really ALL? What humans have proven so far is clearly the great ability to majorly change things about them, while oddly being basically the same.<br /><br />So returning to staying up late and partying with friends (for whatever reason you can think of) vs. being deemed responsible in socially accepted terminology and going to bed early, what is the cognitive dissonance in choosing one or the other? Should it necessarily be a choice? And if it does come down to these two choices, aren't we smart enough to think of a third choice? - e.g. writing on my blog instead of partying with friends or going to bed at a "decent" time.<br /><br /><!--copy and paste--><object height="326" width="446"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/MatthieuRicard_2007-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/MatthieuRicard-2007.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=191&introDuration=15330&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=830&adKeys=talk=matthieu_ricard_on_the_habits_of_happiness;year=2004;theme=how_the_mind_works;theme=the_creative_spark;theme=what_makes_us_happy;event=TED2004;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;"><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/MatthieuRicard_2007-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/MatthieuRicard-2007.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=191&introDuration=15330&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=830&adKeys=talk=matthieu_ricard_on_the_habits_of_happiness;year=2004;theme=how_the_mind_works;theme=the_creative_spark;theme=what_makes_us_happy;event=TED2004;" height="326" width="446"></embed></object><br /><br />I think it is not whether you make a choice or not, but rather who is the one for whom you make the choice in the first place. On the one had, if drinking with friends has the purpose of cheering up a person you care about, then the cognitive dissonance slowly goes away. If, on the other hand, you have the interview of your life the next day, the cognitive dissonance will either be there to stay (in case the interview goes really bad, or even marginally bad, but you don't get the job), or it would be probably inexistent (in case you don't go partying at all and get a nice night's sleep before the big day, and do your best there, and still don't get the job).<br /><br />If we really think about, it always depends on whom we think about when we make the choice...Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-59466738349833248282010-09-12T12:35:00.004+03:002010-09-12T13:15:51.530+03:00August Rush...no, not the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0426931/">movie</a>, which is quite lovely by the way, but my summer vacation. Although it was rather short, my vacation again, not the movie, it was intense, filled with gatherings, story telling, memories, adventure, travel, visits and no rest. The thing about being away from home for a while is that, when you come back, you need to rent a conference room, invite all your family, friends and relatives and give a presentation about your time abroad...At least, that's what I should have done :). Instead I ended up retelling the same story, with some tone or adjective modifications, still basically the same, to everybody.<br /><br />Still I loved my summer back home, ever minute of it. I realized how lucky I am to know and be friends with such great individuals: people who open their own business, people for which failure in not an option, people who always make time for trips, people who fight for what or who they love, people who joggle jobs and studying, people who continuously want more from themselves, people who move on, people who love life, people who are perfectly content and happy with their lives, people who love me, people whom I adore. Each and every one of them is unique, and I have so much to learn from all of them, and seeing them in one short summer vacation filled me up with hope and energy. So, thank you!<br /><br />The summer ended with a blast, a lovely wedding from which my feet are recovering still. I was rather scarred by bad wedding settings or customs in the past, but this wedding was just lovely, every bit of it. The pictures are on their way...I think :).<br /><br />Now, being back in the Netherlands, I realized I'm very lucky here too, because I know wonderful people who supply my new room with good mood, plates and IKEA assembling services. Plus I have a cute, finger biting cat, that cannot take "No, Draco, no!" for an answer.<br /><br />Finally, looking at the gray sky of Groningen, which seems slightly friendlier this year, I'm eager to see what this fall shall bring and what new things I can share with my friends when I'll see them again.<br /><br /><br />Take care of yourselves,<br />LumiLumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-23007337546004477162010-07-12T21:00:00.008+03:002010-07-12T21:38:54.645+03:00Rainy thoughtsSometimes it rains everywhere, outside the house, inside the house (water dripping from the ceiling), inside the head...It's as if thoughts hit your mind like heavy drops that ricochet and hit your mind again. Then it all goes quiet, still as if nothing existed before and nothing will exist after. For a moment you feel out of place and yet, in the exact place you should be. After the rain, the sky clears, all the gray fleets to another dimension, and a pure blue welcomes shapeless, white clouds.<br /><br />A pleasant emptiness fills my shell, and I see that crises come and go, and that the multitude of universes that we belong to conspire to make existence complex and marvelous and too many times so unappreciated by us. The sad part is that all our existence always sums up to what we remember from it, and the moment we remember it all. It's just that. <br /><br />If we leave something behind, if people remember us, if we have visions about the future...should all these matter that much? Isn't it more important for us to remember our mistakes and what we stand for in order to continuously become a better version of ourselves? Sometimes it is, but sometimes it isn't. Or it's both. There are perpetual moments when our lives influence the lives of others. If what we stand for includes caring, at least a bit, about what's around us, then our existence should be what we remember and what others remember at the moment of remembrance, which is the most important time reference point that will ever exist, something we call <span style="font-style:italic;">the present</span>. <br /><br />My yesterday's present was slightly altered by a sequence of fast moving frames...<br /><br /><object width="450" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uWQV6-QgGjI&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uWQV6-QgGjI&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="450" height="300"></embed></object>Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-61620111356569724882010-05-30T12:17:00.005+03:002010-06-18T02:09:20.531+03:00A bit of death, a lot of loveThe question "are you afraid of death?" inevitably arises in conversation. I guess people ask about death in the pursue of comforting emotions. We all are familiar with the concept, but we never get to ask one that actually experienced it. I am not aiming for a sad post, I just read the most beautiful and sad poem I have ever laid my eyes on, and I wanted to share it with you. It's by Wystan Hugh Auden and it made me happy, after it made me incredibly sad:<br /><br />"Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,<br />Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,<br />Silence the pianos and with muffled drum<br />Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.<br /> <br />Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead<br />Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,<br />Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,<br />Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.<br /> <br />He was my North, my South, my East and West,<br />My working week and my Sunday rest,<br />My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;<br />I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.<br /> <br />The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;<br />Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;<br />Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.<br />For nothing now can ever come to any good."<br /><br />Why would something like this make me happy?<br />Because it's more about love than death, and I think most poems and thoughts of death I triggered by thoughts of love. We might talk about death because we love life, or we lost a loved one, or we are afraid of not feeling love anymore etc..<br /><br />I always seem to come back to <span style="font-weight: bold;">love</span>. I am so fascinated by the topic, that many times I forget to move from in front of a book shelf dedicated to poetry or philosophy. The last time it happened, I stumbled across Sartre's "The Being and the Nothingness". I don't think I agree with somebody on the topic of love as I agree with what J.P. says:<br /><br />"(...)the triple destructibility of love: in the first place it is, in essence, a deception and a reference to infinity, since to love is to wish to be loved, hence to wish that the Other wish that I love him. A preontological comprehension of this deception is given in the very impulse of love - hence the lover's perpetual dissatisfaction. It does not come, as is so often said, from the unworthiness of being loved but from an implicit comprehension of the fact that amorous intuition is, as a fundamental-intuition, an ideal out of reach. The more I am loved, the more I lose my being, the more I am thrown back on my own responsibilities, on my own power to be. In the second place the Other's awakening is always possible; at any moment he can make me appear as an object - hence the lover's perpetual insecurity. In the third place love is an absolute which is perpetually made relative by others. One would have to be alone in the world with the beloved in order for love to preserve its character as an absolute axis of reference - hence the lover's perpetual shame (or pride - which here amounts to the same thing)."<br /><br />O this windy Sunday noon, while birds sing seemingly unaware of currents, I ponder my own relation to love in general. It is as controversial in my head as the subject of religion, but not quite as adored. Recently I come to terms with the fact that I am more in love with love, that I could ever possibly be with another individual. And while that might seem sad, it stems from the fact that we, as Satre so elegantly puts it forth, love ourselves above it all. Thus loving love is loving my idea of love, which is inextricably linked to who and what I am.<br /><br />Therefore, death is not so sad when it comes to any other death than our own. We tend to project each death on ourselves, thus the grieving. Although I might think I understand and possibly be in-control, it will certainly not prevent me from experiencing the deep tragedy of a loss. And if we talk about our own death, well, we are always with <span style="font-weight: bold;">the being</span> we love the most, ourselves, thus even in death, we can never be alone. The question is: "Do we really need the Other to feel more comfortable with the inevitable death, or are we equally impacted by it, regardless of who would be left behind?"Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-58093493667125081742010-04-03T20:00:00.005+03:002010-04-15T15:30:42.226+03:00HappinessI think that most of us are more concerned with "How do I get to be happy?" than with "What is actually happiness?" and more importantly we get caught in this game of definitions and forget to enjoy every moment of our lives.<br /><br />Dr. Rao tells us a bit about mental maps and the way we have constructed the concept of happiness.<br /><a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/srikumar_rao_plug_into_your_hard_wired_happiness.html">http://www.ted.com/talks/srikumar_rao_plug_into_your_hard_wired_happiness.html</a><br /><br />Then Dr. Kahneman tries to show us how we manage to mess up our happiness moments and explains some things about experience and memory.<br /><br /><!--copy and paste--><object height="326" width="446"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/DanielKahneman_2010-embed-medium.mp4&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/DanielKahneman-2010.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=779&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=daniel_kahneman_the_riddle_of_experience_vs_memory;year=2010;theme=how_the_mind_works;theme=new_on_ted_com;theme=a_taste_of_ted2010;theme=unconventional_explanations;theme=what_makes_us_happy;event=TED2010;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;"><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/DanielKahneman_2010-embed-medium.mp4&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/DanielKahneman-2010.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=779&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=daniel_kahneman_the_riddle_of_experience_vs_memory;year=2010;theme=how_the_mind_works;theme=new_on_ted_com;theme=a_taste_of_ted2010;theme=unconventional_explanations;theme=what_makes_us_happy;event=TED2010;" height="326" width="446"></embed></object><br /><br />These very smart gentlemen present valid issues in human lives, since the beginning of our species' quest for the best. We strive daily to get more of everything and in the end we are left with the hole of wanting even more or wanting something different.<br /><br />How many times did/do we say "I need a change", or "I need to do that in order to...", or "Starting tomorrow, or Monday, or day X I will..."?<br /><br />I think I say stuff like that to myself everyday, but the moments that are truly meaningful to me are most of the time not buried in my head, but outside my mind.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyxol38KGHSSeB7DjJZSKIp-4Ozl4_RkqHomMi_YY5CGyE9LslZpqZ1dSxK9XS9N_MofQEtRbTXl1iEeUTTwDFke1Q7KTMpPBjkEnaUA5jlW5YGOm9I2Uc4w_vHfaa_F9cQdJCzleirziT/s1600/IMG_2258.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyxol38KGHSSeB7DjJZSKIp-4Ozl4_RkqHomMi_YY5CGyE9LslZpqZ1dSxK9XS9N_MofQEtRbTXl1iEeUTTwDFke1Q7KTMpPBjkEnaUA5jlW5YGOm9I2Uc4w_vHfaa_F9cQdJCzleirziT/s320/IMG_2258.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460338629999793858" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4JbjQlyudJGJBwwEki3M-SJvNbKkUtZ5stTsZbOLbRHjF3qfOQtWIsy-68Mj9mrQjpmQEvhsjTagd3dAmzBvQI81zNHJX1lf5TzsFLETpYRJxRwHs_AP-eQa5JipiKaDpjgzOwtrxJFC8/s1600/DSCI0060.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4JbjQlyudJGJBwwEki3M-SJvNbKkUtZ5stTsZbOLbRHjF3qfOQtWIsy-68Mj9mrQjpmQEvhsjTagd3dAmzBvQI81zNHJX1lf5TzsFLETpYRJxRwHs_AP-eQa5JipiKaDpjgzOwtrxJFC8/s320/DSCI0060.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460339853349300290" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1UPbzlQIpnOIgN7fEohRT0Abc7-I5H-uJn7mgDDJq5nV_qKHceO8DfrZUHty61-MLiWkEUTBYwArsD9lgHfhyVH2xvxMRBL0uxgo9AatdS9g-oEi0C05nnHiuwsedKWraJRq1j_2iQE8-/s1600/IMG_2279.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1UPbzlQIpnOIgN7fEohRT0Abc7-I5H-uJn7mgDDJq5nV_qKHceO8DfrZUHty61-MLiWkEUTBYwArsD9lgHfhyVH2xvxMRBL0uxgo9AatdS9g-oEi0C05nnHiuwsedKWraJRq1j_2iQE8-/s320/IMG_2279.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460338960017449106" border="0" /></a> Moments like the clouds under the plane while coming from a great trip, or admiring Lake Como with nice friends, or the laughter of a child near Lake Lugano, or playing War with two packs of cards and a funny friend in a McD's in Milan.<br /><br />All these were things that I enjoyed and I cannot enjoy anymore because they passed.<br /><br />We need to enjoy life more before all our existence becomes but a memory.Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-51717352997224467632010-02-21T00:25:00.004+02:002010-02-21T01:17:26.265+02:00A week of contusion...confusion...or was it both?My dear sweet <a href="http://www.neuroskills.com/tbi/bparieta.shtml">parietal lobes</a> and I have had a rough week, sort of. As it seems, if you're not very good at skating and you're going at a considerable speed on the ice, and for a brief period you sort of drift and just enjoy the gliding and forget to concentrate on leaning forward, chances are that your head will have a very nasty confrontation with the ice. This might result in a few moments of pure synesthesia (it was nice to see the sounds around me in bright red and yellow spirals of color that were intertwined with a very black background, all this with my eyes closed), then 15 minutes of blackout, followed by a huge bump on the head and 85 euro for a 3 minute doctor consultation and a week of only being able to sleep, take pills and eat.<br /><br />I was lucky enough that the three friends I was with, really took care of me. Two of them, with whom I also live, took turns to wake me from 2 to 2 hours the night after the contusion, so I wouldn't slip into a coma. Therefore I really owe them one, or two, or a couple of big favors :).<br /><br />Now, for those of you who are better at the skating part than I am, remember: a helmet cannot hurt, but not having one can hurt a lot.<br /><br />This week made me realize, again, how fascinating the human brain is and how cool it is to study it's inner-workings right at the point of damage, for lack of a better word. Reassured that my word processing abilities are not damaged, I am waiting to test my math skills as well, and I will test them starting tomorrow. With or without contusions, assignments still have deadlines, and these may be postponed, but not indefinitely.<br /><br />While "enjoying" my recovery time, I stumbled across a very interesting parallel between creating music and managing a business or a country (thanks to a musical friend of mine), a different sort of synesthesia, as I like to abuse the term.<br /><br /><!--copy and paste--><object height="326" width="446"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/ItayTalgam_2009G-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/ItayTalgam-2009G.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=663&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=itay_talgam_lead_like_the_great_conductors;year=2009;theme=the_creative_spark;theme=unconventional_explanations;theme=not_business_as_usual;theme=new_on_ted_com;theme=speaking_at_tedglobal2009;theme=presentation_innovation;theme=art_unusual;event=TEDGlobal+2009;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;"><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/ItayTalgam_2009G-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/ItayTalgam-2009G.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=663&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=itay_talgam_lead_like_the_great_conductors;year=2009;theme=the_creative_spark;theme=unconventional_explanations;theme=not_business_as_usual;theme=new_on_ted_com;theme=speaking_at_tedglobal2009;theme=presentation_innovation;theme=art_unusual;event=TEDGlobal+2009;" height="326" width="446"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />There is constant talk about interdisciplinary contexts and sharing information and data bases between and across fields, departments etc. and it's all, as it always is, linked to the mechanism that we are.Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-39248085379780695822010-01-31T15:37:00.003+02:002010-01-31T15:52:20.435+02:00Deconstructing FearWhen I was little I could do anything I wanted, the confidence was enormous, there were no boundaries. Then something changed (I blame it on the horror movies I started watching at the age of 5) and I was scared of a lot of things, the scariest of them all was the dark, which later I interpreted as being the unknown.<br /><br />There is a scene in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364569/">Oldboy (2003)</a> in which one character wants to avenge his teeth with another teeth pulling session done with a hammer. And he looks at the man who caused him several front teeth to be made from gold now and simulates a "hammer job" on one of his teeth. The future victim screams scared. But the golden teeth man does nothing, laughs and says that people tend to shrivel because of their imagination and if you imagine nothing you'll be fearless.<br /><br />If we put the two paragraphs together and couple them with the TED speech below, we have a basic recipe for tackling fear, fear of anything: of public speaking, of people on the street, of relationships, of huge exams, of 2012 :)) etc. etc. etc..<br /><br /><!--copy and paste--><object width="446" height="326"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/TimFerriss_2008P-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/TimFerriss-2008P.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=517&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=tim_ferriss_smash_fear_learn_anything;year=2008;theme=to_boldly_go;theme=how_we_learn;theme=what_makes_us_happy;event=EG+2008;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;" /><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgColor="#ffffff" width="446" height="326" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/TimFerriss_2008P-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/TimFerriss-2008P.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=517&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=tim_ferriss_smash_fear_learn_anything;year=2008;theme=to_boldly_go;theme=how_we_learn;theme=what_makes_us_happy;event=EG+2008;"></embed></object>Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-81201398530822503442010-01-13T15:59:00.001+02:002010-01-13T16:01:26.756+02:00The Amazing Human Brain and Humans' Common Network<!--copy and paste--><object width="446" height="326"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/VilayanurRamachandran_2009I-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/VilayanurRamachandran-2009I.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=724&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=vs_ramachandran_the_neurons_that_shaped_civilization;year=2009;theme=evolution_s_genius;theme=how_the_mind_works;theme=new_on_ted_com;theme=a_taste_of_tedindia;theme=unconventional_explanations;theme=how_we_learn;event=TEDIndia+2009;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;" /><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgColor="#ffffff" width="446" height="326" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/VilayanurRamachandran_2009I-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/VilayanurRamachandran-2009I.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=724&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=vs_ramachandran_the_neurons_that_shaped_civilization;year=2009;theme=evolution_s_genius;theme=how_the_mind_works;theme=new_on_ted_com;theme=a_taste_of_tedindia;theme=unconventional_explanations;theme=how_we_learn;event=TEDIndia+2009;"></embed></object>Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-20856466772788243552010-01-02T00:15:00.005+02:002010-01-02T00:26:29.536+02:00Maybe less is moreAre we communicating too much? Because these these days, and by that I mean the holiday season, a lot of communication media (pl. from medium = way) become overused resulting in inefficient communication (e.g. messages are delayed, calls don't get through, bad connectivity etc. - this refers to cell phone networks and social networks, but if we think about it, it can certainly be extended to other "aspects" of life).<br /><br />Anyway, you get the picture: conversations may become cumbersome this year.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdJC0iVPEgycOGvM6BUI3cU95MQrefx7H3iWhck5ay5YMaEfXKR_zS8zksNR899nN1dZ61kknRUFqLcKlAg-ejnSaF8It_iXew_63VO3LQMF2Hwfd872qc_wSqkb0zEtZnO1UJGfs512V/s1600-h/Twitter+Overload.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdJC0iVPEgycOGvM6BUI3cU95MQrefx7H3iWhck5ay5YMaEfXKR_zS8zksNR899nN1dZ61kknRUFqLcKlAg-ejnSaF8It_iXew_63VO3LQMF2Hwfd872qc_wSqkb0zEtZnO1UJGfs512V/s320/Twitter+Overload.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421900606091576546" border="0" /></a>Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-74336232214142044152009-12-05T15:46:00.003+02:002009-12-14T02:25:23.443+02:00The 9th floor, Oasis, cooking, Sweden and SinterklaasHmmm, D. H. Lawrence was right about the marmalade and shredding oranges part ("I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade. It's amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and scrub the floor"). After I vacuumed the hall-way and I cleaned the kitchen and I made myself some poached eggs with tuna, rice and tomatoes, I felt better. <div><br /></div><div>Why did I want to feel better? </div><div><br /></div><div>Well, because I got a bit of "the blues" myself. A lot has happened these past few months (I meat a lot of musicians, I went to Denmark and Sweden and Germany in a flash trip, I acquainted myself to Sinterklaas - the Dutch version of the Romanian Sf. Nicolae - at his huge parade, I finally figured out what I want to research this year, I've been through a week of hell (class-wise), and I started getting used to the constant rain here...I repeat I started, I'm not fully used to it yet). </div><div><br /></div><div>Although Malmo in Sweden really relaxed me, although the concerts at Prins Claus Conservatorium were a delight, although the Sinterklaas parade was awesome, although I'm very excited about what I want to research, although I made a looooot of friends here, although I am not that home sick, because Groningen is "crawling" with Romanian students :)) and I see Jeremiah on Skype all the time, although I have an amazing housemate from Romania who takes care of me from time to time :), although I have the distinct feeling that time actually past slower since I came to the Netherlands, well, I still "got the blues thinking about the future". </div><div><br /></div><div>I think it all started when I my advisor asked me if I wanted to apply for a PhD program and after I spent a whole afternoon on the peaceful 9th floor of my university building. The windows there are round, like a submarine's windows, if a the submarine were at the Nemo ride in Disneyland, CA. Although there were 8 floors beneath my feet and the scenery from above had a certain charm to it, the distinct feeling of sinking surrounded me, and that's when "the blues" started and it's been lingering since. </div><div><br /></div><div>I hope Oasis will get me into a state of "the blues" that will shock me out of "the blues", an over-dosage of "the blues" so to speak :) (like Seinfeld said talking about cough medicine: Figure out what will kill me, and then back it up a bit.)</div><br />For all of us I hope the winter cheer will be near this year :).<div><br /></div><div><br /><div><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/R5mFKeL67Dk&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/R5mFKeL67Dk&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="560"></embed></object></div></div>Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-75095267246193145132009-11-06T22:04:00.002+02:002009-11-06T22:09:13.691+02:00Harvie, Ryan and the Badger<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ouyVS6HOFeo&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ouyVS6HOFeo&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gvfgLBMmtVs&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gvfgLBMmtVs&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5T9tATrhWKU&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5T9tATrhWKU&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-66910862552026909652009-10-04T16:01:00.006+03:002009-10-04T16:14:18.885+03:00In the south of the NetherlandsAfter traveling through the whole country - in about 4 hours - we managed to reach Maastricht. Maastricht is in a battle with Nijmegen for the title of the oldest city in the Netherlands. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Maastricht :).<br /><br />Its cathedrals, tall buildings and clean, narrow streets, it's wall drawings, huge groups of tourists and small water streams under trees and streetlamps are just lovely.<br /><br />The cities in the Netherlands are very well organized and even an easily-get-lost person like myself can get around. Plus they have delicious food and crunchy ice cream which help with the whole orientation process.<br /><br />Here's a few pics from Maastricht, the city devided in two by the river Maas:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFUhPfgB71A03OyZApVMhhZUEDZKiykg7OvYSREVDDqLSR2vvyudC0IQahYugS2K_XC-YaqTkGFKErS9s6eKp-hqCPUHYo2hvMAmZ1XOQTWlHmiRM-ac6oB9Lwxn6Pp8bio9IKy7ofZUSr/s1600-h/The+Wall+of+Innocence.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFUhPfgB71A03OyZApVMhhZUEDZKiykg7OvYSREVDDqLSR2vvyudC0IQahYugS2K_XC-YaqTkGFKErS9s6eKp-hqCPUHYo2hvMAmZ1XOQTWlHmiRM-ac6oB9Lwxn6Pp8bio9IKy7ofZUSr/s200/The+Wall+of+Innocence.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388730825263355730" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGcEbr_EoHcdfamOEjGgMPWawY3R0BpI5W_HwfIMEXmO1H75GNHkPJklLYmL6DNgUKxbYSUxrEazL_F6yNRh6uKenp5N_W2QDiUvBqwhcLtZhqo1HhdsURl7eDnKrJxDTqfNyEOCr8YVZB/s1600-h/The+Talking+Clergymen.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; 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width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheMEvd8CuBiWsmKEm8Els4zzRaoA6GMyLScC4qPhD6y_Vtn55w-FmHJFC7fYQYBfDMRh_DMtt0npfM6MCQoURmFdlDPkH8pM8f_O42bNLrtLbh3TXUFpiNTzWuLVEz9M2xXok2_dk4K3JN/s200/Stream+and+Streelamp.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388730803673987314" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIvxQZrEzhyphenhypheno9b4eSVdQAZooWyBzVyJm7LqIKb5TDRDjyu_MZVCyBHWyY1-vSDmp7Kabh3DBhaILT5eMUlzFqlsjBvPCcYiL5bo-W45qvB_eY5aJVRj0zN0KZkeSekVosksx4ohr8ks0OM/s1600-h/In+Flames.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIvxQZrEzhyphenhypheno9b4eSVdQAZooWyBzVyJm7LqIKb5TDRDjyu_MZVCyBHWyY1-vSDmp7Kabh3DBhaILT5eMUlzFqlsjBvPCcYiL5bo-W45qvB_eY5aJVRj0zN0KZkeSekVosksx4ohr8ks0OM/s200/In+Flames.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388730170986470770" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVd8ZjvYR9ZYI0qXl5Y_BPU9dAWnSbJQI7-W3JsewbdDlpxoSSvxpXFaZvqYnAGZOJyk1DMpjLg4FrK3_Uey4htaKdB5opEtoxcELKfHS4xMyT7cHo5tCx-YvFqEhPQasUMcIrQmHfLXn/s1600-h/Duth+Fairytale.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVd8ZjvYR9ZYI0qXl5Y_BPU9dAWnSbJQI7-W3JsewbdDlpxoSSvxpXFaZvqYnAGZOJyk1DMpjLg4FrK3_Uey4htaKdB5opEtoxcELKfHS4xMyT7cHo5tCx-YvFqEhPQasUMcIrQmHfLXn/s200/Duth+Fairytale.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388730160375857474" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1e8UN30dXrFocZ4HD7dadphlM34cMhYcy8fo-88oH8LtmiNent9HwsM-Y6qPIENgJ97aN4Krjjo_2LBzUgfdy8FNXBH6T0cbW1vpind0G1gTl4nzSfr1gOMbiJXI350r4OmOyeWeacvlV/s1600-h/A+Side+Bite+of+the+City.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1e8UN30dXrFocZ4HD7dadphlM34cMhYcy8fo-88oH8LtmiNent9HwsM-Y6qPIENgJ97aN4Krjjo_2LBzUgfdy8FNXBH6T0cbW1vpind0G1gTl4nzSfr1gOMbiJXI350r4OmOyeWeacvlV/s200/A+Side+Bite+of+the+City.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388730154865598786" border="0" /></a>Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-23945725567514006262009-09-01T17:21:00.014+03:002009-09-04T10:33:37.507+03:00Between the rain and the plainGroningen is just lovely, but, you have to allow it its few eccentricities in order to really enjoy all the culture, clean air and welcoming people it has to offer.<br />One of its main "I do what I want" features is of course, the weather. It rains for three minutes, then it stops.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpaw7FNl7WxGADlTvY9EEeWCEVBcyRX1nAmM5FoU09uHuLZbuX5EYTVeD9TNtxW4reZa54lwlSLD1cBqAhAO3J2jXIWcftgf9foewi7D9TxUL4_d966NcRqq9tcEQYS0gP5MNPvNx-fVNk/s1600-h/Moody+Clouds.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 154px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpaw7FNl7WxGADlTvY9EEeWCEVBcyRX1nAmM5FoU09uHuLZbuX5EYTVeD9TNtxW4reZa54lwlSLD1cBqAhAO3J2jXIWcftgf9foewi7D9TxUL4_d966NcRqq9tcEQYS0gP5MNPvNx-fVNk/s320/Moody+Clouds.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376519191894261714" border="0" /></a>A hopeful creature like myself, was very excited about the sun the first few times the rain stopped, but after ten minutes or so, it starts again and again and again. Still I was able to get a few snap shops of the beautiful architectural mixture that Groningen has to offer. I know it sounds like I'm a<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82RHzPx0Arcuuv-D21Dpy0EyENLAPQMQYG79HrNT9UCx-xi7dapt9yh3M8E6s53SS1cq1EvcepQ7UHmptaMh7qTOIJ01lbPzm_9bUqRW14l9I46SlaVdQ63DkTO0IN69A3MZUJEVT1nHQ/s1600-h/The+runners.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 218px; height: 164px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82RHzPx0Arcuuv-D21Dpy0EyENLAPQMQYG79HrNT9UCx-xi7dapt9yh3M8E6s53SS1cq1EvcepQ7UHmptaMh7qTOIJ01lbPzm_9bUqRW14l9I46SlaVdQ63DkTO0IN69A3MZUJEVT1nHQ/s320/The+runners.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376520974467209666" border="0" /></a>dvertising for tourist vacations, but I actually like the city a lot. All the green and friendly faces do<br />help fight the moody weather stigma.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKkoQCzybH1wNtz2EXRA0yd2LRaSQEBZdqBR4ANMBOjTJ0-Fzlp7QYsTq3RpoFGG5kdYOOQSXedIBHq8E8nL6t6AbIfD5_pE2Ot_u7U-Y4vU4ZKwLdXRQK7cuToNvcDFcPH8WRdI4o_2h/s1600-h/Balls+of+wood.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 229px; height: 172px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKkoQCzybH1wNtz2EXRA0yd2LRaSQEBZdqBR4ANMBOjTJ0-Fzlp7QYsTq3RpoFGG5kdYOOQSXedIBHq8E8nL6t6AbIfD5_pE2Ot_u7U-Y4vU4ZKwLdXRQK7cuToNvcDFcPH8WRdI4o_2h/s320/Balls+of+wood.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376521729088039650" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Its second "I do what I want" feature has to be the abundance of bikes. They come from everywhere and everybody rides them, from children to old but athletic people. Accidents do happen of course. I have<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfxVyCMdktBc24Z_kn8riEKzyL0EDQdfAgSDOgPv2NjlqYIkcTNKOBuy3EWfCw5fs_ktwZiQP7rqFPWAp3346AWS87Z1wuvzESKJWnDUqZHOrIftk30LPGHdx60SXeeI3qW5lcC2QM4in2/s1600-h/A+lot+of+Bikes.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 194px; height: 145px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfxVyCMdktBc24Z_kn8riEKzyL0EDQdfAgSDOgPv2NjlqYIkcTNKOBuy3EWfCw5fs_ktwZiQP7rqFPWAp3346AWS87Z1wuvzESKJWnDUqZHOrIftk30LPGHdx60SXeeI3qW5lcC2QM4in2/s320/A+lot+of+Bikes.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376519519519937794" border="0" /></a> never seen so many people with crutches in just one day, but clearly a price has to be paid for all he clean air :).<br /><br />A third "I do what I want" feature includes the eclectic nature of everything, from faces you see on the bus, to the food you find, streets you step on and the discussions you have in a pub, with a bunch of eager students from around the globe (from Nicaragua to Italy to Ethiopia and China).<br /><br />Diana and I wanted a view of the city yesterday so we went to the 90 m tall Martinitoren.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoUrkkb2Tw5BpiFpDL2j57T5Wnc24OCTTdzEBR5gPsWH6axQizRKGw67jdPsvnOaSjVVeuW_YhNshyGcW9hnGhYSDMO3ShJa01eA3Xyq8gU17JVF_eMTllbElqZ3-vKJsaXHbpjNDNpVOo/s1600-h/Martinitoren.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 148px; height: 197px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoUrkkb2Tw5BpiFpDL2j57T5Wnc24OCTTdzEBR5gPsWH6axQizRKGw67jdPsvnOaSjVVeuW_YhNshyGcW9hnGhYSDMO3ShJa01eA3Xyq8gU17JVF_eMTllbElqZ3-vKJsaXHbpjNDNpVOo/s400/Martinitoren.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376517296524134946" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLicf0yccBbOduzqOLWv9awLA1e1FYvcPXfgz0gxVBA3iCIAMjlAgrVI_bkRgvQUrVEB8JG39M91LhNKyMRyj-ChXZrl7aJZZm1h7TX2EcdAMjkvSFhurpYNxz52-7U_UzTrvkdvWxPccS/s1600-h/In+Martinitoren.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 191px; height: 143px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLicf0yccBbOduzqOLWv9awLA1e1FYvcPXfgz0gxVBA3iCIAMjlAgrVI_bkRgvQUrVEB8JG39M91LhNKyMRyj-ChXZrl7aJZZm1h7TX2EcdAMjkvSFhurpYNxz52-7U_UzTrvkdvWxPccS/s320/In+Martinitoren.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376518217744154738" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6mue-V9KdmKVk3GhwFedjWi0-AyZAl4MTwWtd4ioyou8ERsg736Ze-VxzIIA8v5A7Iw4SZUJAsL_PcaccnAZci_iUCv1N1VmX1Wt2Fv-1IXkG7deqwyzr5gOofNe_MuxosZ4Ynse9UuF/s1600-h/The+clock.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 147px; height: 195px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6mue-V9KdmKVk3GhwFedjWi0-AyZAl4MTwWtd4ioyou8ERsg736Ze-VxzIIA8v5A7Iw4SZUJAsL_PcaccnAZci_iUCv1N1VmX1Wt2Fv-1IXkG7deqwyzr5gOofNe_MuxosZ4Ynse9UuF/s400/The+clock.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376517899449106786" border="0" /></a>Where the importance of time is clearly stated, where the wind blew in<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsyjz1dB3pXguNZ2eJREfc08E3LB_NxPCuVgY71q5GNEGqWN1c51h8A906CoRhVXHBcGUdAmJdvCw0vknKlhpryFHemOtAo2DDVIFQtLwutjgFiRM1cbg54t7EGQtS8pXBRvuFIqSlhje/s1600-h/Diana+-+Marylin+Moment.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 125px; height: 166px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsyjz1dB3pXguNZ2eJREfc08E3LB_NxPCuVgY71q5GNEGqWN1c51h8A906CoRhVXHBcGUdAmJdvCw0vknKlhpryFHemOtAo2DDVIFQtLwutjgFiRM1cbg54t7EGQtS8pXBRvuFIqSlhje/s320/Diana+-+Marylin+Moment.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376518484301169538" border="0" /></a> our hair and Diana had a little Marilyn Monroe moment.<br /><br />So far it's been all visiting and coping with the rain and the bikes, which are of course the very enjoyable parts of my stay here. The academic year has begun and survival is my main goal :).<br /><br />Enjoy mainly predictable weather and mostly accident free streets, while I'll enjoy everything else that HERE has to offer and anywhere else has LESS of :)!<br /><br /><br />Tot ziens,<br />LumiLumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-39197936509725271032009-08-15T17:38:00.002+03:002009-08-15T17:46:46.749+03:00Let's be SKEPTICAL!<object height="326" width="334"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/embed/MichaelShermer_2006-embed_high.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/MichaelShermer-2006.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=320&vh=240&ap=0&ti=22"><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/embed/MichaelShermer_2006-embed_high.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/MichaelShermer-2006.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=320&vh=240&ap=0&ti=22" height="326" width="334"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />I fell into the allure of the unexplainable a lot of times in my life, but, then again, that tickles my curiosity filling my body with dopamine, so you can't really blame me for seeking the stuff. Still, we can all benefit from the positive part of being skeptical.Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-62667163934165140742009-08-06T15:40:00.001+03:002009-08-06T15:42:06.773+03:00Clean drinking water for EVERYBODY!Look at what a chap from Englad has developed:<br /><br /><object height="326" width="446"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/embed/MichaelPritchard_2009G-embed_high.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/MichaelPritchard-2009G.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=613"><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/embed/MichaelPritchard_2009G-embed_high.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/MichaelPritchard-2009G.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=613" height="326" width="446"></embed></object>Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-73581942372147090582009-08-06T01:31:00.002+03:002009-08-06T01:40:51.950+03:00Q: "So, what's new on TED?" A: "Something you should ponder for sure."If you're not familiar with TED, you should know they have ideas worth spreading. Therefore don't limit yourselves to the talk I posted and dig deeper into TED Talk history and other parts of the site: <a href="http://www.ted.com/">www.ted.com.</a><br /><br />Meanwhile, here's an almost 90 year old lady, very coherently telling us something about ourselves that we probably rarely hear:<br /><br /><object height="326" width="446"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/embed/ElaineMorgan_2009G-embed_high.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/ElaineMorgan-2009G.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=607"><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/embed/ElaineMorgan_2009G-embed_high.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/ElaineMorgan-2009G.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=607" height="326" width="446"></embed></object>Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-37193312089483073502009-07-28T12:59:00.003+03:002009-07-28T13:05:28.139+03:00Laugh and the world may laugh with you, weep of laughter and they may laugh harder :)I've reached the 6th season of the wonderful sitcom Frasier and I thought I should share a bit of Frasier humor with all of you. Watch until the end, it's only a tad under 7 minutes. <br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xW-kzsvX690&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xW-kzsvX690&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Hope you're having a cheerful summer :),<br />LumiLumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-33557234414636119442009-06-23T21:12:00.003+03:002009-06-23T23:17:56.472+03:00Fun and Laughter......yes, these are the two ingredients for a sane life :). Here's a bit of the two:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Dhkm6sgPdtk&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Dhkm6sgPdtk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Some of the comments on this one (on youtube of course) say it's not that funny, but I certainly laughed my pants off. Ironically, I too had a bit of trouble with my luggage at the airport a couple of times :) and I still laughed.Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-51271426784383691102009-06-21T14:11:00.003+03:002009-06-23T21:25:50.307+03:00Vacation time :)Well,well, if it isn't the eager summer knocking on our perspiration glands, making us slippery and hot, turning busses into Hellmobiles and leaving love marks in the shape of sunburns all over our unprotected skin. Indeed summer has taken over. But with this reign of sizzle and sweat also comes a time for fun in the sun, leisure and relaxation, parading our skin all over town and maybe, just maybe, forgetting we ever had any money or future-money bringing activities...oh yes, it's vacation time.<br /><br />I for one have already started a two month long shade loving, water splashing, movie devouring, sleep indulging period and I feel like being in secondary school all over again. I'm gonna visit my grandma' and take a dip in a nearby river, I'm gonna stop re-watching <a href="http://www.fox.com/house/">House M.D</a>., five seasons in two weeks is a bit isolating from the real world, but the show has a certain <span style="font-style: italic;">je ne sais quoi</span>, or maybe <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0817980/">Jesse Spencer</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0491402/">Hugh Laurie</a> have it :), the girls know what I'm talking about...I told you I felt like I was in secondary school :).<br /><br />Everybody has a secret plan for this summer. The advice I'm going to give and you're not going to take is: INDULGE YOURSELVES!<br /><br />This is a leisure post, so, I'm done here. I'm just going to leave you a little sketch and a secret:<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hNoS2BU6bbQ&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hNoS2BU6bbQ&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/d-2k0qaWCgU&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/d-2k0qaWCgU&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-51829418902809770632009-05-15T11:59:00.004+03:002009-05-17T23:32:36.511+03:00Less, Lesser and...oh...even LessI woke up with my heart beating like a lab mouse's before a live autopsy. My head was throbbing and my skin felt on fire. While my stomach was singing its Hunger Symphony, I got out of bed and looked out the window. The images came right back into my mind...so vivid and so disturbing. I had done terrible things and I only realized I was dreaming when I had done the ultimate terrible thing.<br /><br />How sick or morbid or just plane gruesome can our imagination possibly get? Sometimes I think we're split between the nice, socially acceptable people we try to be and the really disturbed creatures we really are. Or is it just me?<br /><br />Decision time does that to me, whenever it shows it's eager little face. Torn between two continents, two possible outcomes, two possible lives...Am I too small for big decisions? Or I am just as undecided as ever because both the outcomes are not what I had in mind for this time in my life. Or am I afraid I have less time?<br /><br />I was joking with my best friend these days, when we had no money for food because we spent it all on stupid things like more food :), that it's both so weird and so funny still being a poor student after four years of college. A lot of my friends have to worry about pay cuts and getting fired, while I still worry about when my mom can put some money in my account, so I can eat at the student cafeteria.<br />Am I that attached to this student life - a life I wasn't so much looking forward to about four years ago? I had so many other thoughts about how my student life should be or should have been like and instead I am constantly surprised. I guess this is the beauty of not having things come out exactly as you picture them to be. Would predictability enhance anything except safety?<br />Do I want a safe snuggled life or do I want excitement? :)) I wonder if there will be a time in my life when I would pass up an exciting thing for the safe, predictable easy to deal with move.<br /><br />Again I am tormented. I guess you can tell by the length of this post. I don't know what to wish for anymore. I feel as if as my wishes and desires constantly change, my focus becomes blurrier and blurrier until...No, I don't become totally unfocused, but I do tend to treat the things I experience as things experienced by someone else than myself.<br /><br />I feel I'm not living in this reality anymore, except maybe when I go out. And even then I escape to my solitude and my detachment. Don't worry, I'm not going crazy, I’m just contemplating myself and what's around me more that usual. I feel as if I'm taking a leave of absence from this existence. I'm not saying I'm having a parallel one, I'm just looking for something. When I'll find that something, I'll probably write more on my blog and you'll have the privilege of being annoyed more often by my posts.<br /><br />Hypocrisy. Our whole society is based on it. I would just like it if for a while, all the people on this planet would say exactly what they were thinking of, when they were thinking it. What would become then of our puny society? Such a fragile artificial organism, isn't it?<br />I always seem to stumble on the paradox of choice. The amount of time it takes us to just select our daily clothing items or our food or our deodorant in a supermarket. By parallel, how long should it take us to make a far more complicated decision, let's say which career to choose or which job to take or which person to marry or, ultimately, who we want to choose to be? How long does it take us before we stick to an idea of who we want to be in our minds, in front the mirror, in bed, in the eyes of perfect strangers?<br /><br />One of my friends once said that only people who don't have a clear and focused agenda ask themselves who they are. That people who know exactly what to do and are constantly active don't ever wonder silly stuff like: Why are we here? and What is our purpose in life? Maybe I'm just not that busy or focused or full of plans and that's why I wonder about my place and purpose on this small planet, in this small solar system around this medium-sized star on the brink of this most probable universe out of all the possible ones. Or maybe the busy people want to be busy so they don't feel lost. Maybe they're afraid of being lost. Or maybe I'm just a bit hallucinating at this very moment. In any case, thanks for coming this far with me! And here's a Teardrop on the fire of your trouble:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yftOy8kz7aE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yftOy8kz7aE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-5828611034492417892009-04-18T02:03:00.002+03:002009-04-18T03:13:38.371+03:00Fallen AngelsYoung, lost, trapped, poor, sad, needy...we all felt at least one of them at one time or another in our youth. But when somebody artistically portrays them all in 90 minute and exemplifies being like you are part of this world yet not quite, something begins to turn inside you...it did in me.<br /><br />My eyes are darkened by the circles of puzzlement. Puzzlement you ask (maybe)? Yes, you read correctly. I am traced into pieces, some are there on the board, some are missing. I am beginning to look like a puzzle, I have been metamorphosised into a puzzle, therefore I have been puzzled and surely enough I remain puzzled.<br /><br />I don't know if I'll recover all my pieces. It's a process. But I do know that I am at place being out of place, more accurately, I am in place without a few places, pieces to be more exact, at least this is what I got from Wong Kar Wai's <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112913/">Fallen Angels:<br /></a><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OQN6Gkv4JRU&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OQN6Gkv4JRU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-38104815627902932182009-04-04T02:14:00.005+03:002009-04-04T02:51:31.295+03:00The First: When is it too late to...?Dear Witty Sloth,<br /><br />When is it too late to start over? Or to fall in love? Or to be good? Or to find your purpose? Or to write poetry? Or to learn how to fly a plane? Or to make friends? Or to make sense?<br /><br />I was skimming through a book about writing scripts today and while I was reading what I should be writing about I realized another thing. I realized that in order to have some writing done, I should do some living and in order to do some living I have to be willing to get out of my safe, do-absolutely-nothing-except-eat-and-sleep zone. But I am buried so deep in this zone, the trap zone of nothing and nothingness and nobody meaningful and nothing significant that it's becoming a way of life. I've lived all my life fearing routine and not doing anything ordinary and I ended up doing nothing and making a routine out of that. Therefore truly anything can be made a routine. Even doing different things all the time in a chaotic manner can become the routine of doing different things all the time in a chaotic manner.<br /><br />Some people like routine, they like feeling safe while expecting something expected, others state they hate routine and anything that has to do with it, but the truth is, we all like some things being done routinely, some exceptions to those routines, some things done differently every time and the same things being done the same sometimes. What I'm probably trying to say is that there is never a recipe and if there is, it works only if you want it to work.<br /><br />It's funny when people come on TV or to your face, either strangers or acquaintances and they say that they used this and that and they solved a problem or several, more than that, this or that worked perfectly for them. And then, maybe, with some skepticism you try it and this or that doesn’t do anything for you. Do you blame the method? Do you blame the people who recommended this or that or do you blame the fact that randomness is not random and that skepticism is sheer predictability of failure? Do you blame the fact that you were born when Venus was aligned with Jupiter or do you blame your choosing to be skeptical despite the success of others? Whatever you blame, be sure not to make a routine out of it. Because once you make a routine out of failure it becomes a way of life...<br /><br /><br />Sincerely,<br />Concerned RoutineLumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-7032687589137749902009-03-14T20:10:00.007+02:002009-03-15T04:09:26.399+02:00Salsa, Books, Sitcoms, Friends...my lifeWell, this is a post to let you know that I am alive and well and I wish you all to be alive and well :).<br /><br />These days I'm taking Salsa lessons, reading loads of books, watching a few sitcoms like <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0898266/">The Big Bang Theory</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0813715/">Heroes</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407362/">Battlestar Galactica</a> - I assure you the SciFis are treated with the utmost respect in my dorm room :) - and going out with friends that seem to be glad for my accomplishments and also seem to enjoy a good debate once in a while. About my accomplishments, well, that's reserved for another post :).<br /><br />Two more things: 1) I have 24 small ZUZU containers full of delicious milk on my window sill and 2) tonight I'm going to a smashing Salsa party.<br /><br />Stay positive and enjoy life!Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-395920312644030060.post-59739353940365677712009-02-22T20:14:00.005+02:002009-02-22T21:12:56.266+02:00My RED BOXING GLOVESThe big 23 knocked on my door 12 days ago and I feel as if I were 6 or something. Maybe because, no matter how much I grow, I still let my imagination go wild, live of my parents' money and ask for weird gifts, that my nice friends actually buy for me :).<br /><br />When I was 17 I wanted a chocolate cake in the shape of dog shit and I actually got one that fairly looked disgusting, but was in fact delicious. For many years I've been bugging my friends about frogs and turtles and the fact that I love them, so for my 21st birthday they gave me a turtle (you all know my sweet Jeremiah, who has a last name starting this week: Baldabacescu).<br /><br />Since high school I have been craving for a nice red pair of boxing gloves, and this year I actually got them too. They're wonderful and they're exactly like I always wanted. And last night I was lucky enough to get an autograph from <a href="http://autori.citatepedia.ro/de.php?a=Ioan+Gyuri+Pascu">Ioan Gyuri Pascu</a> on my right boxing glove. He happened to be at the club where we celebrated my big 23 BD - <a href="http://www.evz.ro/articole/detalii-articol/804093/Ce-are-clubul-cu-taranul-mancare-si-muzica-buna-/">The Peasant's Club (Clubul Taranului)</a> right inside the Museum of the Romanian Peasant (Muzeul Taranului Roman).<br /><br />After this row of wishes and presents to match, I figured out the way you have to do things in order to get what you want. The solution is to nag just the right people (your friends for presents, your parents for abroad trips, you boss for more money, your teachers for bigger grades, yourself for less pounds of fat etc.) and, eventually, you will get what you want. It all depends on the time you invest in the nagging process and your dedication to that.<br /><br />Thank you to all my friends for their wonderful wish-granting presents and for being my friends!Lumihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919853747962814436noreply@blogger.com2