Moose magic

Apparently running through the sprinklers in the yard on a hot summer’s day is a passtime enjoyed across species.

One song at a time

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Music soothes, brings joy and a healing vibe. Thank you, Musicians on Call.

Keepin’ it real

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After listening to this presentation (edited, full version here)  I ended up with a rambling brain. This talk by Barbara Ehrenreich is based on her latest book (not read yet, probably won’t) Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. And you can’t say that it isn’t a provocative title, the foremost tool in the Publisher Survival Kit.

And on the surface I thought there might be something to that thesis, so I was curious what her angle would be. Especially in a time when people are popping antidepressants  like  M&Ms. But it never became clear to me what she really meant by positive thinking (“mandatory optimism and cheerfulness”). The deceiving spinning of facts, politics in a bubble of yes-men,  willful ignorance to survive in the corporate workplace, delusions, the mantra of embracing disease to overcome it… it’s all thrown on one pile. And she planted the flag.

I’m not advocating gloom and pessimism, or negativity or depression, those can also be delusional. I mean you can go around making up a story that everything you undertake is going to fail…My very radical suggestion is realism.

A rather hollow suggestion from a selfproclaimed cynic. My reality-relativistic response: what is “real”? This may seem like some wordgame, but it’s not. What people and societies might consider real, I might consider delusional and vice versa (I’ll admit, especially vice versa). And it changes through time and space. The world is not an isolated lab-like environment (little moment of zen:  the lab is in the world, but the world is not in the lab*), where you can objectively check off  “realistic” or “delusional”. Eventually reality is in the eye of the beholder, who may not have full spectrum sight but can discern many shades none the less. But it doesn’t mean you don’t reach out your hand to someone in need, whether you think  it’s “real” or not.

She calls “changing the world with your thoughts” delusional, with which she brushes aside a whole body of research on the subject of consciousness,  no matter how small our current insights in this field may be.  Besides that, being aware of your thought process and being able to shift your attitude to dodge life’s curveballs is valuable. And it doens’t mean you never take a hit. We all do. But actions are preceded by thoughts. And doesn’t it often take some “delusional” form of imagination, beyond what is deemed “realisitic” to create progress in our world? What if  Martin Luther King Jr had been “realistic”, instead of a dreamer? Or Nelson Mandela? The Wright Brothers? Or Aaron?

I’m all for critical thinking, but going the cynical route is a bridge to nowhere. And isn’t cynicism only the opposite of “mandatory cheerfulness”, ironically just the other side of the same coin? It’s easy to give “positive thinking” a bad rep if you use it as a metalabel for blind group thinking, greed, fact spinning, propaganda, overextended individualism, misguided hypes and oversimplified theories. In that light even Baghdad Bob selling abdominal trainers on the home shopping network would look like the epitome of sincerity. But at least it made for a provocative book title.

* no offense, dude

Mankind is No Island

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Speechless…

Beyond the Wild Blue Yonder

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A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such a speed it feels an impulsion…this is the place to go now. But the sky knows the reason and the patterns behind all clouds and you will know too when you lift yourself high enough to see beyond horizons.  ~ Richard Bach

Tumbleweed Parade

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Yes, I’ll admit it’s an odd fascination, but tumbleweeds always make a sort of unworldly impression on me. Maybe it’s their light travelling style, that they never settle down, are sort of restless, both funny and mysterious. Usually tumbleweeds tend to fly solo, but once a year they migrate in packs to get their groove on at the annual TumbleWeedstock festival. And looking at this scene: who is crossing whose path?

Tumbleweed 1: “Hi hi hi, look those noisy, shiny metal boxes go, it’s unreal.”

Tumbleweed 2: “Yeah, and how funny are those creatures inside looking, just hilarious. Especially the little ones, making those squeaky noises. “Phone home“ ha ha. Should have brought my camera, they never gonna believe this back home”

Tumbleweed 3: “Like you could get a steady shot”

Tumbleweed 4:  “Woooaahh, VORTEX ALERT!”

Memory Lane Detour

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The wonderful thing about TED is that it, in my opinion, democratizes the access to knowledge, advancements in science & technology and great insightful speakers, covering a wide array of subjects in very understandable language. And they’re sort of branching out, licensing their concept and name to independently organized events, like TEDMED and TEDx. Let’s call it TEDocracy. From every TED video (with a 20-minute time cap, which is truly material to their success, imo)  I take away something, learn something. It broadens my scope (and I’m sure it has the same effect on many others) and shakes up the sleepwalking parts of my brain.

This one is no exception. Having studied economics in college, it eventually was behavioral finance that made most sense to me, as a missing link;  sort of a flashing light in a field of rational, static, perfectly informed, efficient, unemotional individuals (or “agents”… shiver). Main takeaway from what most of economics proposed was never to start a tissue or hankie business, because we supposedly lived in a world where no human being ever sheds a tear, whether from grief or joyous laughter. Enter psychologist and Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman who, with some colleagues, laid the groundwork for a more  realistic approach to human behavior and decision-making in markets. [As an aside, for those who want to delve in deeper,  here is a great conversation of Kahneman with Nassim "Black Swan" Taleb on the financial crisis, uncertainty, rare events and human behavior.]

In the video below Kahneman talks about happiness and well-being and distinguishes between the “experiencing self” and the “remembering self” (the storyteller). Very zen-like. Warning: although the talk lasts 20 minutes, your mind will be running for a while longer after it.  So, put your thinking cap and crash helmet on. “Dispatch, we’re driving down Memory Lane and we’re in pursuit of happiness.” Here we go.

Can you blow up my school?

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This one really made me laugh (hat tip Joan). And to be honest, they had it coming:

They give me extra homework on a Friday and everything

Living in a song

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Perhaps you recognize this. Every now and then (say once or twice a year, if you’re lucky) you come across a song that just stands out of all other songs. It just hits a nerve, and you can’t find the words to explain it to anyone. “Yeah, it’s nice, time for that second cup of coffee?”. No, listen…you hear?

Better keep it to yourself. See, it’s not about the song per se, it’s the way the song sounds to you that you don’t want to spoil. In a sense, if you play one song to ten people, that’s ten different versions of the song. And you can’t make others hear what you hear. That makes it so unique.

This song. You hear it for the first time, a first glimpse, somewhere on TV, radio or in a store. And it might have been around for decades without having crossed paths once with you, at least not in this way. It makes you sit or stand up straight and strain your ears to get as many clues to get an artist’s name, flakes of lyrics (not a small feat with background noises and temporary episodes of auditive dyslexia), anything that could lead you to The Source; meanwhile shushing innocent bystanders to be quiet, with hand flapping gestures and all. You just need to know.

And when you’ve taken these hurdles and you finally have been able to reel in the song, the delicate part begins. See, at first you can’t play back the song in your mind, can’t reproduce the melody.  All you know is you need to hear it, wrap it around you. Or as Carice van Houten once wonderfully put it: “I wish I could live in a song”. But with every time you listen to it,  the song changes a little (or, actually the listener changes), makes a mark.  So here it comes: how do you balance the “wanting to listen to the song” and the “sparkle”. At what interval can you play the song without losing the song? Know what I mean? You don’t want it to become “Yeah, nice”, a mere coffee break soundtrack, wandering into the shadows of the Valley of Indifference. Where is the tipping point? Not sure I wanna go there…

I am not afraid to share my current song of a fragile three days, though: I can’t hear or see any disapproving silence, and I am out of coffee. And perhaps, this one makes you sit up straight too, which would be great. Well, time to go to the store, and maybe…

Little Buddha in camouflage

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There is nothing like a good old road trip, cruising wherever the wind of change (or your mom) takes you and singing tunes like there’s no tomorrow  (that is, mumbling the verses and blurting out the chorus). Thomas has it down to an art, but it comes easy to him, as he is a kid at heart. His very suitable soundtrack: Home by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros (sounds intriguing, huh). Thanks Thomas.