Category: personal

forget me nots ep. 7 ~ finish what you started

There’s an enthusiasm about new beginnings – most of the times – I imagine. I remember for my self a joy and serenity in the possibilities in a new start, be it small or big, professional or personal.
Sometimes these possibilities seam like a huge projection, and I suppose they can easily become that. Maybe sometimes specifically because it is a huge projection it can get very bitter if failing to nourish that projection and the value that it had or could have had.

A feeling of shame can follow, resent, maybe loss of confidence, vulnerability… things we’ve learned to stay away from, block as much as possible. A survival of the fittest instinct makes us detect these as enemies and apparently we reject their source (what ever the initial start) entirely – resulting in abruptly disconnecting from the previous endeavor as we may be seeking for a new one. This post is contemplating on the context and state that results this disconnect and proposes an incentive to be aware and consider improving on the state any endeavor is being departed with.

After a fail or a hurt, one can grown fearful of new starts, self doubt can creep in, shame of past mistakes, vulnerability… fear it’ll be foolish or that others will think it foolish and/or might loose more then there might be to gain.
Attempts of self-awareness can backfire and blur the context and self-perception.
Like making it out of the dark woods, a weird state of tranquility can recalibrate, in which we try to focus on something else, preferably something that will help us grow – in this world that promotes the strongest, in this soup à la Darwin, which made sense to some extent in the past, but I was/am hoping we’d transcend this natural condition.

I suppose there are all sorts of reasons, more or less dramatic or melodramatic. Reasons that get us sometimes to not be keen or see the sense in continuing or finishing something. Then sometimes one may just not know how to continue something, perhaps overwhelmed, perhaps frightened, perhaps bored, perhaps eager to do something else, to find, learn and understand new things, new places. What ever the reasons, one can sometimes leave unfinished things on a shelve with the thought that it’ll be taken care of later, or sometime, or by someone else, or by itself.

I’m not proud to admit I save such things on a shelve. And this series is one of them, ironically enough the last episode that I had announced, more than two years ago, had this title set then. I knew.
I realize sometimes it’s difficult to finish some things and at times it may be more rational to not finish some things. But (after morally and rationally considered) I reckon is better to stay away from developing a habit to not finish things.

A song I love has between the lyrics: “every new beginning comes form some other beginning’s end” (Semisonic – Closing time).
While not EVERY new beginning HAS to come from some other beginning’s end, my realization is that if you don’t really finish something, that possible new beginning might be getting just a part of what you could offer in your attempt to make the most of it. Having, as much as possible, a redemptive closure of past endeavors enables (as I see it at least at this time) a bigger potential to value new beginnings it as you might hope or project on them.

The way we finish things recommends us for new beginnings.
I recommend you check your shelves or perhaps clean your closet sounds more familiar. It can be liberating, sometimes at least. It could be a closure you never had or never offered to someone. Even an unfinished ensemble of a miniature airplane model, a project, a confession… whatever it is, it can retain an unfinished part of your self. If you’ve realized it’s best unfinished, make it official and leave the shelf free. More space for things you’re currently focused on, either way would probably, at least, feel better to change the label by removing the ‘un‘ prefix from unfinished.

floating in life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dOwQNXYqq8

Alături de starea din urma cursului de Istoria Artei, cu pictura olandeză din sec. XVII, mai ales Johannes Vermeer – felul în care vedeau și reprezentau pictorii lumea în tablourile lor de atunci, plus o stare măgulitore / poate naivă în urma a altceva ce s-a întămplat seara trecută… e parcă perfectă melodia pentru a vedea lumea așa cum părea să o vadă Pieter de Hooch de exemplu. Sunt atâtea detalii în jurul nostru în orice moment, fiecare om, fiecare gest, detaliu al luminii, al umbrelor, reflexiilor, texturilor, fulgii în lumina farurilor și a stâlpilor izbindu-se între ei în vânt și în viteză spulberăndu-se pe asfalt.

Dacă intro-ul de la The XX m-a făcut să văd totul la un nivel macro, ca un zoom out în contextul Cosmosului, coverul ăsta m-a adus la un nivel micro în care revăd o lume excepțională în toată vastitatea Cosmosului unde încă nu știm alta la fel ca ea să o arătăm cu degetul. What brilliant odds for Earth to get this lucky, and how awesome the possibility of these chances for other planets in similar circumstances. The cosmos walking about wondering about itself and pondering how come it came into being.

Life is brilliant!

PS. Nu știu ce versuri are defpt melodia după care e făcut coverul și fac abstracție de ele deoarece e doar instrumental : – )

opportunity as gaps in our lives

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gxNW2Ulpwk

I keep listening to this song lately, it’s addictive. I realised a state of tranquility listening to it while on the road. Was looking at the clouds that seemed to be following me in my journey, and because they were static on my right side and the earth was rapidly moving underneath them and me, it gave an enhanced sensation of the earth’s rotation. I was suddenly realising the motion of the earth in that illusion of actually seeing it spinning under the clouds and under me, as if I and the clouds were running against it’s spinning direction and were more standing in the same point in space while the earth was spinning underneath. And suddenly I had this image of the earth as this big round rock and an image of it spinning around the sun and all together spiralling trough the galaxy cluster, and with it also moving constantly in Cosmos.

Ever since, every-time I listen to this song, also at the office, I keep recalling that image and feeling that way and as a reflex I turn my head to the window and I can almost see the ground moving fast under the clouds which are sometimes barely catching up, other times speeding ahead. And I get in that feeling of being a passenger in a ride, on the road.

I though for a while, what an interesting state that is, on the road. Even if only on the bus for a few minutes commute. Seems like it’s a twilight zone, a space and time where we are letting go of one state.. relaxed perhaps at home, or focused at work. We’re leaving behind perhaps the comfortable bathroom-robe in which had been cleaning up the room while enjoying some jazzy, symphonic or hard rock music – whichever the personality or mood, almost dancing our way trough the room; and we’re taking on the business-suit or whatever other possibly less comfortable clothing might be expected of us where we’re going or whatever we imagine that it’s expected of us, some are even seeing it as putting up “a mask” or a different side of them-selves as they arrive and enter the destination.

So, on the road between the destinations, maybe we re-discover ourselves briefly, remember of other things not connected to where we just left or where we’re just going. Maybe we remember dues, maybe remember dreams, maybe remember loved ones or promises, and as we approach our destination we prepare ourselves for where we’re going, what ever there might be, what ever we expect, what ever others might expect of us, maybe looking forward, maybe hopping for a fast finish, maybe with sorrow, maybe with butterflies in our stomach…

It seems like little gaps in our lives where we have the chance to still choose if we really want to leave the place we left or if we really want to go in the direction we are heading, or an opportunity to ask ourselves “where would I rather this ride to take me?”

Cosmos – citat Carl Sagan

În ultimul timp “împărtășesc” foarte mult un îndemn de conștientizare a contextului nostru cosmic, prin fragmente din seria Cosmos sau alte citate – Carl Sagan sau de pe pagini facebook precum “Science is awesome” sau altele. Însă îmi dau seama că nu toată lumea dintre cei cărora le e adresat îndemnul poate să îl înțeleagă datorită ne-înțelegerii limbii engleze. De aceea am făcut această traducere. Vă rog să îmi spuneți daca aveți sugestii de îmbunătățiri sau este ceva greșit. (originalul în engleză e și mai jos).

Carl Sagan ~ extras din seria ‘Cosmos’ (traducere personală)

“Dimensiunea și vârsta Cosmosului sunt dincolo de înțelegerea umană obișnuită. Pierdută undeva între imensitate și eternitate este mica noastră casă planetară. Într-o perspectivă cosmică, cele mai multe preocupări umane par nesemnificative, chiar – meschine. Și totuși, specia noastră este tânără, curioasă și curajosă, și cu mult potențial promițător. În ultimele câteva milenii am făcut cele mai uimitoare și neașteptate descoperiri despre Cosmos și locul nostru în el, explorări extraordinare – ce ne îndeamană să luăm în considerare o realitate entuziastmantă – înveselătoare.
Acestea ne reamintesc că oamenii au evoluat spre a întreba și cerceta, că înțelegerea (științifică) este o bucurie, iar cunoașterea este o necesitate esențială pentru supraviețuire. Cred că viitorul nostru depinde de cât de bine cunoaștem acest Cosmos în care plutim ca un fir de praf în cerul dimineții.

Suprafața Pământului este malul oceanului cosmic. Pe acest mal, am aflat cele mai multe din ceea ce știm. Recent, am înaintat un pic mai în larg, poate până la gleznă, și apa pare primitoare (să ne invite să mergem mai departe). O parte din ființa noastră știe că de aici (din Cosmos) am ajuns să fim. Tânjim să revenim (la/în Cosmos), și putem, deoarece Cosmosul este de asemenea în noi. Suntem făcuți din praf stelar. Suntem o modalitate a cosmosului de a se ​​cunoaște pe sine.”

Originalul:

“The size and age of the Cosmos are beyond ordinary human understanding. Lost somewhere between immensity and eternity is our tiny planetary home. In a cosmic perspective, most human concerns seem insignificant, even petty. And yet our species is young and curious and brave and shows much promise. In the last few millennia we have made the most astonishing and unexpected discoveries about the Cosmos and our place within it, explorations that are exhilarating to consider. They remind us that humans have evolved to wonder, that understanding is a joy, that knowledge is prerequisite to survival. I believe our future depends on how well we know this Cosmos in which we float like a mote of dust in the morning sky.

The surface of the Earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean. On this shore, we’ve learned most of what we know. Recently, we’ve waded a little way out, maybe ankle-deep, and the water seems inviting. Some part of our being knows this is where we came from. We long to return, and we can, because the cosmos is also within us. We’re made of star stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.”

our example and influence in the world

We all learn from, and do as, examples in our lives (people, books, movies, plain stories, you name it).
With age we improve our ability to distinguish from good or bad examples (I’d hope), but children just go right ahead and assimilate without that ability to distinguish values. They are developing their ability to explore and understand the world and we all have a big influence on that process.

And actually, this is not only for the children but for everyone. Each of us has the ability to influence others and to be influenced by others.

In this perspective, this video is brilliant and I hope the message will make it’s viewers ponder on it and act aware.

little version of a guide to finding yourself

It’s been a while since I tried to think in rhymes. Here’s an unfinished such thought.

Look behind you!
If you let everything go
and just stare at your life’s ground as if it was snow,
You might realise how bits of you left footprints in it’s glow.

Now look a bit around you…
Look up, look down, look left, look right,
Look at your surroundings – see them trough day and night…
And shining trough the darkness,
And gliding trough the light,
You find those pieces of you holding together tight.

supposed truth about two plus two

I’m sorry, it seams i’m unable to put two and two together. I suppose that’s because i see two and two but there seams to also be a times 3, or is it times four? And do I also see divided to two again? Why the division?
Or is it just two plus two? Oh, it’s a minus? I don’t know!! I’m going mad!

Why can’t people just talk about this sort of things, help them-selves rid of all that’s only in their mind and value or deal with only what’s really there? Is there anything there? Sometimes the desire or need for there to be something (specially something in particular) can make one see it there even if it’s not, and then again, sometimes the fear of vulnerability and lack of confidence can make one think there’s nothing there even if there actually is..

It all ads up to some freaky comedy of life where simple truths can be torn and made into monsters of our fear of vulnerability and of loosing the state of the comfortable world that some have worked so hard to get to and keep it this comfortable.

And I suppose that’s a reason we don’t just say stuff, why we don’t just talk about some things, isn’t it? Vulnerability, fear of failure, of going trough things or making others go trough things, of being misunderstood, or of realizing delusion..

And to top it all, because of all this maddens one can just give up.. discouraged by the implications brought by natural selection in all this shadows reading unwanted exercise to which time is nothing but curly making people move on or go slightly mad.

But it could all be so simple, if we just said what’s on our minds, fully and truthfully.. after that, it could be either so very good, either the truth will hurt.. but it’ll be the truth, it will help us know better, be better, move on..

One more thing: nothing HAS to be sacrificed, or given up on. No one HAS to do anything or to stop doing anything. It seams like a matter of choice, but it doesn’t HAVE to be a mater of choice, one can have them all, and I mean ALL. And actually by ‘one’, I mean two can have it all too, nothing HAS to be lost, nothing HAS to be given up on.
And yes, by two plus two I actually mean one plus one.

suppose#2

I suppose we mostly know what we want, it’s a such a conspicuous contrast of our desires.. what we need though.. can be like an equation to which we don’t always know or understand all of the parameters..

Cheers.

the night and the wonder after sorrow

End of chapter 10 from ‘Three man in a boat’ by Jermoe K. Jerome.

“The boat seemed stuffy, and my head ached; so I thought I would step out into the cool night-air. I slipped on what clothes I could find about – some of my own, and some of George’s and Harris’s – and crept under the canvas on to the bank. It was a glorious night. The moon had sunk, and left the quiet earth alone with the stars. It seemed as if, in the silence and the hush, while we her children slept, they were talking with her, their sister – conversing of mighty mysteries in voices too vast and deep for childish human ears to catch the sound. They awe us, these strange stars, so cold, so clear. We are as children whose small feet have strayed into some dim-lit temple of the god they have been taught to worship but know not; and, standing where the echoing dome spans the long vista of the shadowy light, glance up, half hoping, half afraid to see some awful vision hovering there. And yet it seems so full of comfort and of strength, the night. In its great presence, our small sorrows creep away, ashamed. The day has been so full of fret and care, and our hearts have been so full of evil and of bitter thoughts, and the world has seemed so hard and wrong to us. Then Night, like some great loving mother, gently lays her hand upon our fevered head, and turns our little tear-stained faces up to hers, and smiles; and, though she does not speak, we know what she would say, and lay our hot flushed cheek against her bosom, and the pain is gone. Sometimes, our pain is very deep and real, and we stand before her very silent, because there is no language for our pain, only a moan. Night’s heart is full of pity for us: she cannot ease our aching; she takes our hand in hers, and the little world grows very small and very far away beneath us, and, borne on her dark wings, we pass for a moment into a mightier Presence than her own, and in the wondrous light of that great Presence, all human life lies like a book before us, and we know that Pain and Sorrow are but the angels of God. Only those who have worn the crown of suffering can look upon that wondrous light; and they, when they return, may not speak of it, or tell the mystery they know.

Once upon a time, through a strange country, there rode some goodly knights, and their path lay by a deep wood, where tangled briars grew very thick and strong, and tore the flesh of them that lost their way therein. And the leaves of the trees that grew in the wood were very dark and thick, so that no ray of light came through the branches to lighten the gloom and sadness. And, as they passed by that dark wood, one knight of those that rode, missing his comrades, wandered far away, and returned to them no more; and they, sorely grieving, rode on without him, mourning him as one dead. Now, when they reached the fair castle towards which they had been journeying, they stayed there many days, and made merry; and one night, as they sat in cheerful ease around the logs that burned in the great hall, and drank a loving measure, there came the comrade they had lost, and greeted them. His clothes were ragged, like a beggar’s, and many sad wounds were on his sweet flesh, but upon his face there shone a great radiance of deep joy. And they questioned him, asking him what had befallen him: and he told them how in the dark wood he had lost his way, and had wandered many days and nights, till, torn and bleeding, he had lain him down to die. Then, when he was nigh unto death, low through the savage gloom there came to him a stately maiden, and took him by the hand and led him on through devious paths, unknown to any man, until upon the darkness of the wood there dawned a light such as the light of day was unto but as a little lamp unto the sun; and, in that wondrous light, our way-worn knight saw as in a dream a vision, and so glorious, so fair the vision seemed, that of his bleeding wounds he thought no more, but stood as one entranced, whose joy is deep as is the sea, whereof no man can tell the depth. And the vision faded, and the knight, kneeling upon the ground, thanked the good saint who into that sad wood had strayed his steps, so he had seen the vision that lay there hid. And the name of the dark forest was Sorrow; but of the vision that the good knight saw therein we may not speak nor tell.”

Dear brother, friend, world

I love you, ..brother, ..friend, ..world. I’m sorry I don’t tell or show you this. I do.

I want to tell you that I do care. I always did. I seam to not know how to let you know. How to communicate to you.

Sometimes I don’t  know any better,  I’m no stranger to ignorance and procrastination either. 

But I also want to tell you that I’ve changed.. I guess I’ve always been changing a bit, learning a bit, realizing a bit. I’ve always wanted to improve.. I guess because I’ve always seen a need to improve my self. I keep realizing mistakes that I’ve done, and try to value the lessons learned. I’ve been careless.. too careless. I’m sorry, i realize at times I’ve let down, probably at times in a shocking way. 

I know I’ve still got a long way to go. Maybe we all have. I feel that I have to catch up sometimes. And sometimes I know that’s true. 

I’ve been undecided, I’ve been irresponsible,  i had let my self go. I’ve created expectations and have  disappointed.  I know I’ve also had success, I don’t remember the average but I remember the particular times that I regret disappointing. I could have done better. 

You’ll probably still have to bare with me sometimes. If that happens, again, I hope you’ll help me see that I’m worth it.  We all are. I know we can do wonderful things and have a great time together.

Please let me know of my faults so that I can improve and look you in the eye with opened mind and honesty. I might be difficult, stubborn, maybe in denial. Build your arguments around my feedback if it’s contradictory, I’ll try to do the same. Thank you for your effort to not let hasty reactions be an impediment for improvement. 

film de scurt metraj ‘Parcul’

Acest sinopsis / scenariu l-am clocit pentru un curs de inițiere în cinematografie, ținut de Cineremember în Tg. Mureș (2010). Ideea era ca participanții să propună ideii/sinopsis/scenarii pentru un filmuleț care să fie partea practică a cursului. Membrii și colaboratorii Cineremember venind din București, îmi imaginam ca nu va putea fi foarte extravagantă partea practică deoarece cursul a fost gratuit și ar fi fost echipament de trasnsportat.

De aceea m-am gândit la această povestioară că va fi la îndemână, ușor de parcurs și învățat prin experință. Deși ideea mea a fost aleasă într-adevar pentru acele motive, și pentru suport și instrucțiuni au venit oameni capabili precum Șteafan Matei, realizarea clipului a lăsat de dorit, deși instrucțiunile teoretice au fost utile. De aceea îl împărtășesc acum în norișori pentru a valorifica totuși cât de cât ideea și efortul. Ar fi interesant să îl pot realiza așa cum mi-l imaginam.. odată. Iată ce am trimis organizatorilor cursului pentru selecție (cu mici ajustări).

PS. Se unmește “Parcul” deoarece se întâmpla într-un parc dar și are de multe ori în el cuvântul “parcă” : – ). Imaginile și filmulețul le-am făcut la exercițiul practic din timpul cursului / filmărilor – secvența asta am facut-o atunci doar scop ilustrativ, nu penru a fi folosită în montaj.

(deoarece e un filmuleț de căteva minute, am insistat la consisteța unor detalii importante. Acest film de scurt metraj este fără dialog, doar sunete din parc, oameni care trec – ‘environment sounds’).

Într-un parc, pe o bancă: o fată. Vizavi, pe o altă bancă, un băiat. Întâi ii vedem individual, parcă triști – încăt empatia celor ce vizionează filmul își face apariția: unii oameni se identifică cu personajul fie ca fiind tirști (singurătate), fie ca fiind ingrijorați (probleme – însă din nou ar avea nevoie de suprijinul cuiva).

Inițial aceștia sunt fixați cu ochii în pământ, neobservându-se. Între ei trec alți oameni (prin parc) care se bucură de vreme sau pur și simplu de timpul liber.

Pentru a da o admosferă/notă mai inocentă/senină, prin fața celor doi trece un cuplu fericit, altul cu un copil care se joacă de mână cu parinții lui.. poate și alte astfel de imagini.

Cei doi se observă pe rând, separat, și încep să aibe o mică idilă din priviri, am putea să îi zicem un flirt insă admosfera, privirile și zâmbeletele lor sunt parcă așa de pure, nevinovate încât am elimina conștiința și intenția unui flirt.

Întâi se prefac că nu s-au observat, apoi își zâmbesc – parcă fără să își dea seama. Apoi, conștientizând acest contact, băiatul parcă se rușinează și își întoarce timid privirea spre pămnât. Apoi se preface că se uită în altă parte ca și cum pentru a nu-i fi observată privirea. Observând aceasta,  fata zâmbește amuzată și, ca un copil, își pune ambele mâini pe banca și isi leagănă (sau mișcă) picioarele și se uită și ea în stânga și dreapta.

Apoi, ca un joc cu doi copii timizi, fiecare se mai uită din când în când la celalalt, iar când și celalat se uita își întorc privirea ca și cum s-ar fi uitat defapt altundeva. Parcă entuziastmați  fiecare –  de jocul parcă copilaresc – zâmbesc fericiți parcă doar pentru sine, parcă înduioșați și totuși parcă prea timizi să își zâmbească privindu-se unul pe celălat.

Fata, dându-și seama că gândurile îi plutesc duse de această idilă, are un moment parcă de constientizare în urma căruia își pleacă capul parcă timidă.

Un gest ușor de mușcare a buzelor transpare starea fetei pentru cei ce vizionează, și – luându-și un moment pentru a se gândi la ceea ce se întâmplă,  cu capul plecat – parcă îi fug ochii dintr-o parte în alta pe pământul din fața ei – ca a unui copil care tocmai își imagineaza cum va devora o prăjitură de care îi este foarte poftă și o vede știind că urmează să o mânânce în căteva momente.

Deodată, privirea i se oprește și, zămbindu-și parcă, își ridică ochii înapoi spre băiat.

Când își ridică privirea îl vede cum acesta se ridică de pe bancă, însă lângă el – tocmai ajunsă – este o altă fată pe care acesta o sărută și cu care pornește de mână spre ieșirea parcului.

Parcă subit, fata își dă seama de deziluzia în care s-a lăsat purtată de acel moment, care părea așa inocent/pur, imediat apoi cuprinzând-o tristetea. Se uita la baiatul care iese cu prietena lui din parc, apoi parcă re-observându-i se uită la oamenii din parc – la un copil care fuge la mama lui, la alt cuplu care stă pe o bancă, la o familie cu un copil care se plimbă prin fața ei.. apoi își apleacă încet privirea din nou spre pământ rămânând cu ambele mâini pe bancă. A revenit la tristețea inițială, însa de data asta parcă are o nouă tentă, sau poate de data asta doar știm mai bine cum să empatizăm cu ea..

Cadrul se departează ușor de banca ei până când în cadru intră un alt băiat care vine lângă ea și o ia in brațe, perietenul ei.

Ultima secvență este imaginea ei care, îmbrațișată cu prietenul ei, se uită peste umărul lui în jos tristă. De aici cadrul se departează și trece ușor în ‘blur’.

Acest mod de trecere între cadre – trecere prin blur (obținut prin controlarea focusului) – e refolosit pe parcurs. Astfel putem schimba focusul de pe unul din personaje (celălalt fiind aproape invizivil în blur) pe celălat personaj – ieșind primul personaj din focus – pierdut in blur (însă păstrând ideea că acesta este acolo și observă ceea ce este în focus).

it’s difficult..

Sometimes it’s difficult to make a choice.
Here’s an easy way, and don’t hurry with the reaction.

Flip a coin! Only one time! I’m not saying that you should follow the result cause that’s it, but notice your reaction after the supposed decision was made by the coin flip..

It will tell you what you really want – by the joy that it was what you wanted or the disappointment that it wasn’t.

PS. This doesn’t assure the decision is the best thing for you, the most moral or rational or such, but it should tell you what you really want. Flip the coin again if you want to check morality, hopefully your consciousness will tell you the truth.

fotografii programatoricesti

Fotoclubul ISDC participă la Salonul Aniversar Internațional “Carol Pop De Szathmari, 200” şi implicit la Festivalului Național “Luna Fotografiei din România”.
Acesta se desfasoară in perioada 10 ianuarie 2012 – 31 ianuarie 2012. Detalii AICI.

Fotoclubul ISDC are in cadrul acestui evenimnent o expoziție a cărui temă este orientată spre ISDC team & facilities (code name: ‘fotografii programatoriceşti’).
Vernisajul acesteia (vedeți şi in programul evenimentului) va fi in 28 ianuarie de la ora 18 la 2 minute Cafe & Pub (Vasile Goldiş #4).

Carl Sagan on creativity

In a Tv interview in ’88, Carl Sagan was invited (remotely via satellite) next to Stephen Hawking and Arthur C. Clarke the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

From that interview I extracted only Carl Sagan’s answer to: How does creativity operate?, along with another excerpt to which he refers in his answer – and the relevant context of that excerpt, all chronologically.

Q [..] …an agenda for the future?

“C.S. My sense is that the scientific way of thinking, questioning.. some delicate mix of creative encouragement of new ideas and the most rigorous and skeptical scrutiny of new and old ideas, I think that is the path to the future, not just for science but for all human institutions. We have to be willing to challenge because we are in desperate need of change.

[..]Q. You said science should be skeptical of politics, don’t you think we should be skeptical about science too? I mean can we trust you guys?

C.S. I think you should definitely be skeptical, but my view is that there is no community of people on the planet more skeptical then scientists, it’s our stocking trade, it’s the live blood of our subject.

[..]Q. The question of creativity, which fascinates me.. [..] how in fact does it operate? [..]

C.S. This issue of where creativity comes from.. I share your fascination with it. I don’t think we understand very much about it.. My practice is merely to respect my unconscious mind, who often is much wiser then the conscious part of me.. and pay attention to what it says. In fact I think this is connected to that delicate tension at the heart of the scientific method I talked about before, the unconscious mind proposes a range of possibilities and the conscious mind disposes – that is compares those ideas with the real world, checks for internal inconsistencies and so on. I think the creative process is a partnership between a conscious and an unconscious part of our minds, at least that’s how it seams to me.“

See the whole interview here.

expoziția fotografiilor câştigătoare


Astăzi am primit veste de la British Council:

Vă invităm, în data de 21 ianuarie 2011, ora 18,00, la deschiderea expoziției cu fotografiile câştigătoare din cadrul concursului Photography Challenge din 27 noiembrie 2010.

Fotografiile vor fi expuse în sediul British Council din Cluj-Napoca, str. Arany Janos, nr. 11.

Concurenții vor avea ocazia de a discuta, într-un cadru informal, cu prof. univ. dr. Dorel Găină şi prof. univ. dr. Feleki Karoly, membri ai juriului.

Vă aşteptăm!

Ann Druyan; marijuana; James Randy

Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan in an interview about their book: “Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors“, at the end of the interview are asked regarding their religious belief and they answer:

Carl Sagan “I’m an independent in religion as in politics. I am a searcher, but I have high standards of evidence.”

Ann Druyan “This is my idea of what the highest form of piety is:
In a universe as vast as ours, as ancient as ours, with beings as young and foolish and ignorant as we are, to say that we know what God is or how this universe came to be, is a form of arrogance which I do not subscribe to.”

The interview can be seen here: Part 1 | Part 2 .

Because I did not know about her, I looked up for more videos with Ann Druyan and found a jolly:
Ann Druyan – A Plead for a Change in the Marijuana Laws.

Looking for some more reference to their book, I found the magicians debunk-er James Randi Speaking about Carl Sagan. While I was at it, Mr. Randi has a charismatic way of speaking his opinions about interesting – important matters, so I found him also:  Questioning the Bible, and asking “Why Do We Still Believe?“

caracterul mioritic românesc..

Uneori e foarte deprimant să te gândeşti la România.

Mă uitam la câteva secvențe din interviul cu Adrian Sobaru şi m-am întrebat cum este văzut aceast fapt în-afară, cum este văzută România prin prisma acestui fapt. M-am oprit asupra unui articol in NewYork Post.

Articolul se termina astfel:

“The first line was a reference to President Traian Basescu, who upon winning the presidential race in 2009 said “I’ve pierced them,” using a well-known line from a Romanian movie.

As emergency medical workers took him out on a stretcher, Sobaru shouted “Freedom!” ,  echoing cries of the 1989 fall of communism in which more than 1,300 people died. Romanians are commemorating the 21st anniversary of the uprising in which authorities shot unarmed protesters.”

Un comentariu zice:

“Obviously, no Post reader understands anything about Romania. There was no “revolution”–the corrupt commies got rid of the dictator and continued with business as usual. They export food and let their own people starve. Little has changed. I wish Americans were as passionate as this guy, but they just bend over for the rich and the criminals–usually one in the same.”

provocare în fotografie

Lansează provocarea: Prof. Univ. Dr. Feleki Karoly, Prof. Univ. Dr. Şefan Dorel Găină Gerendi şi Ing. Mircea Albu AFIAP ~ membri ai juriului.

Organizat de:British Council Cluj în parteneriat cu Universitatea de Artă şi Design Cluj-Napoca şi Asociația ArtImage Cluj-Napoca

Cu sprijinul: Adrian Radic şi Mihai Biriş.

Astfel de concursuri se mai organizează prin lume sub diferite nume sau variațiuni de regulamente, însă (din câte am observat personal) nu şi în Cluj-Napoca. Am propus împreună cu Monica organizarea acestui concurs Consiliului Britanic din Cluj, după care am făcut legătura cu Mihai Biriş (mihaibiris.ro), care apoi a făcut legătura cu Universitatea de Artă şi Design şi cu Asociația ArtImage Cluj-Napoca şi totul a început să prindă formă.

Personal, sper ca acesta să fie văzut şi valorificat ca o oportunitate de manifestare, experimentare şi interacțiune pentru fotografi de orice experiență, toti având în comun o pasiune / hobbi sau curiozitate pentru fotografie.

Mai multe detalii găsiți la
http://britishcouncil.ro/cluj
sau
http://art-image.ro

word

“I love to disturb people, because only by disturbing them can I make them think. They have stopped thinking for centuries. Nobody has been there to disturb them. People have been consoling them. I am not going to console anybody, because the more you console them, the more retarded they remain.

Disturb them, shock them, hit them hard, give them a challenge. That challenge will bring their capacities to the climax.”

Osho

in the 4th dimension

I’m sorry I didn’t pass by here lately. I didn’t really disappear, i was just.. in the forth dimension :-)

Here’s a drawing I managed to make in Illustrator to explain the 4th dimension. I just followed the guides from this clip
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccws454YiVM&feature=related ), mind you that in that clip there was a little error and they made a second one for it ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pRZCoWY6TU&feature=related ).

4d drawing the hypercube (4th dimension)

improvements time – updated

I’ve finally got to spend some time to make some improvements on the blog. A bit under the hood but also little Usability bits.

I have been asking for feedback on the gallery for some time and it’s sailing for a while now. See it on the root of this server (finally updated the personal page). The gallery contains five sections: photography, video & animation, id, web design, drawings & others.

https://adrianradic.com

It’s time for improvements on my professional world. Time to make new connections and improve the valuable current or old ones. I’m opened and looking forward to collaborations, project proposals and so on. In this perspective I have to tell you about my resume.

About my resume. I must admit I started from a pretty low point. At one time, about 5 or almost 6 years ago my way of presenting my self was kind of embarrassing. And in this perspective I realize I can never thank Mircea Dragoi enough for giving me a reality check feedback back then. But let’s see if I have evolved since then. Below you can find my resume in both English and Romanian.

ro ~ Curriculul Vitae

en ~ Resume

So there’s my portfolio and resume. With these in mind, if there’s an awesome job or project laying around, I’d like a new opportunity for a reality check which would only lead me to progress.

Yours Trully,
Adrian Radic

PS. The Romanian resume is a bit unusual, but so far it got a lot of attention and landed me in many interviews, specially that I did not even apply to. At that time I was too comfortable with my current job. Just a heads up.