Купила книгу, изданную в 1966 году в Нью-Йорке, в магазине подержанных книг. Набоков признанный мастер английской прозы. Люблю его стиль.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Nabokov's quartet
Bought a book at the used books store in Lethbridge. "Nabokov - a master of English prose - the most extraordinary phenomenon since Conrad" (Edmund Wilson). The book was published in 1966./
Купила книгу, изданную в 1966 году в Нью-Йорке, в магазине подержанных книг. Набоков признанный мастер английской прозы. Люблю его стиль.
Купила книгу, изданную в 1966 году в Нью-Йорке, в магазине подержанных книг. Набоков признанный мастер английской прозы. Люблю его стиль.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Value for shareholders
Food for thought. Cartoon from @NewYorker http://www.newyorker.com/humor/issuecartoons/2012/11/26/cartoons_20121119#slide=6
Monday, November 12, 2012
Judith I Bridgland: That Stolen Modigliani Painting in Skyfall
Judith I Bridgland: That Stolen Modigliani Painting in Skyfall: It was back to the cinema again last night, this time to take my son to see the new James Bond film Skyfall ('not enough car chases'). Whi...
Saturday, November 10, 2012
The Habit of being Happy
It sounds very easy and fun, like in Bobby McFerrin's song - don't worry, be happy.
When I was 14 years old, I had read the book of, nowadays, a classic inspirational writer Dale Carnegie "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living"
At that time, and very often now, it was hard to imagine for me not worrying because I was worrying about everything: my school, my appearance, my classmates, my teachers, and many other things, which any, relatively standard, teenager is worrying about. Therefore, for me it was an almost impossible task to digest and contemplate that book, but I have finished it and even memorized and tried to practice some parts of it.
Surprisingly, more than 17 years passed since, and almost everything in regards of worrying stayed the same, except the scene and probably some characters - classmates were substituted by colleagues, school by work; moreover, because my life has more activity, there are more things which "deserve" headache.
As a person with analytical mind, I am trying to find some logical and shortest way to solve this problem, before it reached its climax, after which normally follows an emotional collapse.
Practicing yoga and keeping a journal help me to focus on what important for me: my health and well-being of my family. However, sometimes, any person can be stupid enough to forget about these essential elements of one's life (yes, I want to be rude here and use word - stupid, because that how it is). This self-pity game happened to me last week again, I was on my way to C-train station, angry and unhappy about everything and everyone.
Then C-train arrived, I found a warm place to sit (do not forget about winter in Calgary), still contemplating my imaginary problems. Next to me was sitting a guy, tall, good-looking, strong jaw line, and skin which became rough from wind, from his clothing I was guessing that he was working at some construction site and was on his way home. He was chatting with his friend, smiling, in other words, he looked content. After some time, I have noticed that he doesn't have right hand, he was using his left hand dialing numbers on the phone, texting, and by the way he was doing it, was clear that he lost his arm just recently, a couple years ago. Watching him, I felt ashamed of my mood, my thoughts, which were minor compare to his or anyone's health related problems.
We dwell in the past or in the future, want some imaginary "toys", stuff, or promotions at work, then we get all above, and still being unhappy, we want more and more. Greed or constant desire of something imaginary, which, many generations were taught by Gordon Gekko, is good, occupied our minds like mantra, virus. Being pressured by media, which persuading us that we ARE already unhappy without some product: cereal, a shampoo, a car, a house (the list is limitless), we forget about the most important part of our life - the present, and everything, which surrounds us right now: our parents, friends, warm house, health.
There is nothing needed, to be honest, the rest of the list is just game, which we were forced to participate and toys, which we were told to acquire.
The answer sounds simple, but difficult to implement and practice every day, the state of being content and balanced should become a habit, which implanted into our minds. I have realized that reading the book "The power of habit. Why we do what we do in life and business" by Charles Duhigg, the power of habit, the habit loop, could be applied to almost everything: fitness, healthy eating, etc. and, also, I am pretty sure, to the state of happiness. It is not a part of personality, it is a habit which should be trained, nurtured every day.
I was lucky, my mom have thought me some elements of life-enjoyment. However, being many thousand miles from her, here in Canada, doesn't help me, and I forget, sometimes, the simplicity and importance of developing this habit. My mom could have been a professional motivational speaker - she knows a lot about Habit of being Happy (let's name it this way). She was born in a very poor family in the Southern part of Ural Mountains, Russia. When she was one year old, she had lost her right eye. Imagine being a teenage girl in 60s with one eye. My mom had been spending all her teenage years at the library, hiding, from such immature and very often cruel world, behind book shelves. What I admire in her the most that she did not give up, she studied very hard, entered the University to become a veterinarian. There, she joined various student groups, where she had met my dad, a bright and handsome guy. And here I am. All my childhood I do not remember any whining, complaining about life difficulties (trust me, life before, during, and after Soviet Union collapse was tough), there always was hope and enjoyment of life each moment.
My mom still knows how to cheer me up, when I call her, she knows a lot about Habit of being Happy. And, I assume, we all have a choice to obtain this knowledge and keep it in our hearts.
When I was 14 years old, I had read the book of, nowadays, a classic inspirational writer Dale Carnegie "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living"
At that time, and very often now, it was hard to imagine for me not worrying because I was worrying about everything: my school, my appearance, my classmates, my teachers, and many other things, which any, relatively standard, teenager is worrying about. Therefore, for me it was an almost impossible task to digest and contemplate that book, but I have finished it and even memorized and tried to practice some parts of it.
Surprisingly, more than 17 years passed since, and almost everything in regards of worrying stayed the same, except the scene and probably some characters - classmates were substituted by colleagues, school by work; moreover, because my life has more activity, there are more things which "deserve" headache.
As a person with analytical mind, I am trying to find some logical and shortest way to solve this problem, before it reached its climax, after which normally follows an emotional collapse.
Practicing yoga and keeping a journal help me to focus on what important for me: my health and well-being of my family. However, sometimes, any person can be stupid enough to forget about these essential elements of one's life (yes, I want to be rude here and use word - stupid, because that how it is). This self-pity game happened to me last week again, I was on my way to C-train station, angry and unhappy about everything and everyone.
Then C-train arrived, I found a warm place to sit (do not forget about winter in Calgary), still contemplating my imaginary problems. Next to me was sitting a guy, tall, good-looking, strong jaw line, and skin which became rough from wind, from his clothing I was guessing that he was working at some construction site and was on his way home. He was chatting with his friend, smiling, in other words, he looked content. After some time, I have noticed that he doesn't have right hand, he was using his left hand dialing numbers on the phone, texting, and by the way he was doing it, was clear that he lost his arm just recently, a couple years ago. Watching him, I felt ashamed of my mood, my thoughts, which were minor compare to his or anyone's health related problems.
We dwell in the past or in the future, want some imaginary "toys", stuff, or promotions at work, then we get all above, and still being unhappy, we want more and more. Greed or constant desire of something imaginary, which, many generations were taught by Gordon Gekko, is good, occupied our minds like mantra, virus. Being pressured by media, which persuading us that we ARE already unhappy without some product: cereal, a shampoo, a car, a house (the list is limitless), we forget about the most important part of our life - the present, and everything, which surrounds us right now: our parents, friends, warm house, health.
There is nothing needed, to be honest, the rest of the list is just game, which we were forced to participate and toys, which we were told to acquire.
The answer sounds simple, but difficult to implement and practice every day, the state of being content and balanced should become a habit, which implanted into our minds. I have realized that reading the book "The power of habit. Why we do what we do in life and business" by Charles Duhigg, the power of habit, the habit loop, could be applied to almost everything: fitness, healthy eating, etc. and, also, I am pretty sure, to the state of happiness. It is not a part of personality, it is a habit which should be trained, nurtured every day.
I was lucky, my mom have thought me some elements of life-enjoyment. However, being many thousand miles from her, here in Canada, doesn't help me, and I forget, sometimes, the simplicity and importance of developing this habit. My mom could have been a professional motivational speaker - she knows a lot about Habit of being Happy (let's name it this way). She was born in a very poor family in the Southern part of Ural Mountains, Russia. When she was one year old, she had lost her right eye. Imagine being a teenage girl in 60s with one eye. My mom had been spending all her teenage years at the library, hiding, from such immature and very often cruel world, behind book shelves. What I admire in her the most that she did not give up, she studied very hard, entered the University to become a veterinarian. There, she joined various student groups, where she had met my dad, a bright and handsome guy. And here I am. All my childhood I do not remember any whining, complaining about life difficulties (trust me, life before, during, and after Soviet Union collapse was tough), there always was hope and enjoyment of life each moment.
My mom still knows how to cheer me up, when I call her, she knows a lot about Habit of being Happy. And, I assume, we all have a choice to obtain this knowledge and keep it in our hearts.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Cultural Neuroscience and Startups
Great article from http://www.bizstone.com/
Cultural Neuroscience and Startups
Henry David Thoreau said, "As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives." The emerging interdisciplinary field of cultural neuroscience deals with daily social realities and how they can affect individual members of a culture—perhaps a startup culture.
At a recent World Congress on Positive Psychology Dr Richard J. Davidson from the University of Wisconsin-Madison shared research into the positive benefits of compassion and his work reminded me of the startup culture I'm so keen to encourage. Dr. Davidson effectively showed that mindfulness and compassion can enhance the prefrontal cortex—an area of our brain that helps us determine good from bad, controls our personality, and guides us toward our goals.
Previous research published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience showed devastatingly negative results both in the brain and even on organs when stressors are given to produce anxiety. So, if you work with people who are stressing you out or making you anxious then you may be hurting yourself mentally and physically. Ideally, you should work in an environment with compassion, mindfulness, respect, and good, healthy debate when it's needed.
Companies can be a vehicle for positive individual transformation. Startups have a unique ability to create a culture of compassion that helps us improve and in so doing, we are more likely to make a difference in the lives of others. It's possible to build a business, help people, and enjoy our work. How we approach our work is often as important as the work itself because the way we treat each other, our shared environment, and the way we cooperate shapes us as people.
Whatever your role is at the company you work for—whether you're an executive with many reports, or an individual contributor on a team, practicing regular, daily mindfulness and compassion will make you a healthier, more productive person. Additionally, the people you work with are going to respond better and do better work. The outcome is going to be a superior product or service, a happier user or client, and in the best case—a positive global impact.
Posted by Biz Stone
Cultural Neuroscience and Startups
Henry David Thoreau said, "As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives." The emerging interdisciplinary field of cultural neuroscience deals with daily social realities and how they can affect individual members of a culture—perhaps a startup culture.
At a recent World Congress on Positive Psychology Dr Richard J. Davidson from the University of Wisconsin-Madison shared research into the positive benefits of compassion and his work reminded me of the startup culture I'm so keen to encourage. Dr. Davidson effectively showed that mindfulness and compassion can enhance the prefrontal cortex—an area of our brain that helps us determine good from bad, controls our personality, and guides us toward our goals.
Previous research published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience showed devastatingly negative results both in the brain and even on organs when stressors are given to produce anxiety. So, if you work with people who are stressing you out or making you anxious then you may be hurting yourself mentally and physically. Ideally, you should work in an environment with compassion, mindfulness, respect, and good, healthy debate when it's needed.
Companies can be a vehicle for positive individual transformation. Startups have a unique ability to create a culture of compassion that helps us improve and in so doing, we are more likely to make a difference in the lives of others. It's possible to build a business, help people, and enjoy our work. How we approach our work is often as important as the work itself because the way we treat each other, our shared environment, and the way we cooperate shapes us as people.
Whatever your role is at the company you work for—whether you're an executive with many reports, or an individual contributor on a team, practicing regular, daily mindfulness and compassion will make you a healthier, more productive person. Additionally, the people you work with are going to respond better and do better work. The outcome is going to be a superior product or service, a happier user or client, and in the best case—a positive global impact.
Posted by Biz Stone
Thursday, November 1, 2012
I love living in the city
I love living in the city.
Started appreciate that only after living in a small farmer city of the Southern Alberta.
Please do not get me wrong - I am not a "fancy-shmancy" big city girl, quite opposite. I was born in a village, moved to a small town when I was a kid, and only when I was 17 years old, I have moved to a bigger city, the capital of the province where I am from, and went to the University there.
And now I am in Calgary. I live in downtown of this city.
I love sound of my heels on the sidewalk, love smell of dry leaves, love smell of asphalt after snow or rain.
Love all these people around me: different, strange, happy, unhappy, single in this big crowd, dressed how it suits to each personality.
I love coming back to my apartment on the sixth floor with downtown view and looking through the window of my bedroom, seeing a Greek grocery store down on the street. I love this movement on the street, lights of the city, noise of the city: sirens, voices, music, and car engines
Started appreciate that only after living in a small farmer city of the Southern Alberta.
Please do not get me wrong - I am not a "fancy-shmancy" big city girl, quite opposite. I was born in a village, moved to a small town when I was a kid, and only when I was 17 years old, I have moved to a bigger city, the capital of the province where I am from, and went to the University there.
And now I am in Calgary. I live in downtown of this city.
I love sound of my heels on the sidewalk, love smell of dry leaves, love smell of asphalt after snow or rain.
Love all these people around me: different, strange, happy, unhappy, single in this big crowd, dressed how it suits to each personality.
I love coming back to my apartment on the sixth floor with downtown view and looking through the window of my bedroom, seeing a Greek grocery store down on the street. I love this movement on the street, lights of the city, noise of the city: sirens, voices, music, and car engines
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