Halloween is approaching. Talking about a black cat might be seasonal.
We have a black cat named Deja vu (after "the Matrix" movie). He is almost 10 months old now. We got to take him to a vet before he starts spraying.
When we adopted him, we were hoping for him to be a smart cat. Sure, we keepers both had a few cats before, and had some expectations for a smart cat. Even among cats, there are some whose eyes show intelligence. Well, Deja might show it on occasion but not all the time, I'd say. He is much wilder than that. In fact, he turned out to be a mischievous, occasionally wild, and probably-not-the-smartest-of-the-bunch cat.
Every time he jumps up somewhere and knocks something down to the ground with crashing noise, or chews out cellphone charger cable, or bites my leg casually and walks off, I'm saying, "Why are you doing thiiiieees!?!"
Still, we love him. He is a family member to me. I guess I'd exercise my selective memory and only remember his best, and not worst.
He also made me think that, although I have expectations, a family member is still not me, and how he/she tends to grow may be beyond me. I have certain ways of doing things that I believe have served me best. But the cat doesn't give a ****about it.
Come to think of it, success in society is not necessarily about being smart or nice. Toughness and blind force are a part of what it takes. In that sense, Deja may be the guy who has had the right attitude all along. He is not a smart, intelligent, nice and docile pussycat. But I assume he can fight viciously outside.
He is just being himself. Live strong, Deja. I'll still yell at you when you knock down the vase, though.
I do science for living. Science as a job includes presentation, an act of communicating the results and persuading the audience. To improve the aspect, I've read many books about presentation, and am still trying to pick up some tips for improvement.
Since scientific presentation is not a business press release, we usually do not use flashy and memorable Steve Jobs' style. For business, they need to impress audience so the audience take home a message. In contrast, scientific presentation is supposed to include the process how the presenters got to the message and conclusion.
The polishing in scientific presentation begins in the lab and the data we acquire, then eventually goes to the design aspects, mainly the order of information and visual presentation of the message. Of course the audience level and reception are among the first to think about. Usually the audience for scientific presentation is more specialized than general audience.
The Hollywood movie makers are very, very good at presentation to the general audience. They are THE professionals for the aspect. If their messages don't stick to our mind, the movie wouldn't sell. In the sense their life depends on the presentations that drive the story in the key points. Masterly done presentations include,"How Titanic sank", "What is the Matrix", and "Introduction for Star Wars ".
Sure, they skip all the scientific (or sci-fi) details. That's not important to them. What matters is the message. So they can go on with the story. Scientific accuracy does not matter, either. "The Jurassic Park scientists recreated dinosaurs from dino blood DNA preserved in mosquitoes in amber." Even after the chance of success of the movie technology was refuted (DNA will degrade over time), the idea still stands in our mind. Such is the power of great, mind-sticking presentation.
Slick presentations dazzle us. Dazzled mind does not work skeptical enough to meet scientist's standard. Slickness is a different way to persuade people.
The other day, I was watching Iron Man 3. The Brain hologram and the possibility of applications was a great pitch.
I was imagining how I can present what I do in the Hollywood style. Imagining I have the fancy technology, rolling the projectors and giving a 1-minute pitch. And....mmm, it's not easy.
Why is it not easy? A reason is that my education as a scientist gets in the way. Imagining requires skipping the details and ignoring what we don't know. In my case what I think I knew, the paradigm, actually inhibits free imagination. Imagination is a creative act, and not the two-way dialogue in standard bio-medical science. Also I worry too much about the accuracy.
Hmmm. I was not aware of my mental habit clearly enough before. I got to imagine more.
Albert Einstein emphasized the importance of imagination. I got to listen to him.
I have been working on a project, and have not written a blog entry with "Life" title. So here it is.
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There are Self-serving agendas and sincere advice. They are everywhere in the web and in real life.
How do you distinguish them, and listen only to sincere advice?
First, I'll check who is speaking, then simulate what happens if I listen to him and his advice. Is he going to benefit from the advice?
If he does, I'll proceed with caution, or at least keep it in mind. If he does not directly benefit from it, the advice may not directly be "self-serving", at least.
Second, I'll simulate the consequences. If I listen to the advice, will it benefit me in the long run?
By definition, sincere advice aim at serving and benefiting the recipient of the advice.
Here I added another layer of judgement; Time. In many cases, advice with short term scope, "Give them fish"-kind of advice, do not benefit the recipient well. Short term scope advice often keep the recipient weak and dependent, although they may be easy on ears.
In the long run, "teach them how to fish" kind usually wins. I value these advice highly, even if they sound tough now.
One way or another, advice are spoken with love. Where the love is pointing toward, the recipient or the speaker, is the key to distinguish self-serving agendas and sincere advice.
Emotions do not recognize time or logic. Emotions only know present. That is why you can jump on to any advice when you are emotional. You don't meet an emotional and wise man.
Listen to sincere advice that serve you in the long run. Such sincere advice can serve you like a beacon in the dark ocean.
Last night at a milonga (social Argentine Tango party), we were talking about Tango song lyrics.
Many Tango songs sing about yearning, loss, lament, broken heart､frustration, resentment, .....
Much of them are negative feelings associated with lost or unfulfilled love, or frustration of being in a weaker side and possible resentment against the strong that is often imaginary.
Philosophers called it the "Ressentiment" in French.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ressentiment
So, what would happen if someone catches the Tango Fever, becomes a Tango addict and lets these songs flow in to his head without regard?
Assuming he/she understands the lyrics, it would be like letting simulated emotions pouring in his head. It would affect his/her heart.
The person would become emotional and irrational, possibly even unreasonable. Some mood swings may be observed. It's not unlike being in love, but he/she may not know it was caused by Tango song overdose rather than real love. The person might act like a creep or a stalker. He/she might start acting like crazy.
Does that sound familiar? If so, you may be overdosing yourself with Tango, letting Tango dictate you, and losing your mind.
It is not a healthy state. You may be a nuisance to others already.
These are symptoms of advanced Tango Fever. Like any other disease, awareness, recognition and proper diagnosis are critical for initiating the treatments.
Prescription is a gradual reduction of Tango songs with lyrics. Lyrics is a main component of emotions-inciting effect of the music. Replace songs with lyrics with instrumental Tango songs.
Or if possible, with songs in different categories.
Going cold turkey is ineffective against the music taken root in your head. You have to aim at gradually replacing it.
However, it may be difficult to immediately come back to, say, Bach or Mozart.
Tango fever works like an infectious disease similar to viral infection. There are acute phase and latent phase, as well as occasional re-flaming. Addictive personality may provide a preferable host environment. You may not be able to eradicate it, but controlling it is the key to have a healthy mental and social life.
Note 1: Tango Fever is contagious, and often the partner is infected as well. In the case, both may need treatments.
Note 2: One thing about the advanced Tango Fever is that the patients may not want to be cured and refuse treatments.
Last Saturday (9/28) we attended my friend's wedding at a Catholic Church in Yukon, OK. The ceremony was very Catholic- and fancy. It should be memorable. I hope they will do well together.
We performed a Tango for their reception. Since Cora has been working on something fast and acrobatic with Jose, I wanted to do something different.
To look like a show, small salon style doesn't cut it. The dance has to be big.
Any partner Dancing has a set of basics. Argentine Tango is no exception.
If you want to differentiate yourself in a performance, there are a few paths you can try. You could go for something difficult or acrobatic, change the appearance of your set pattern, or refine your moves to a point that they just stand out. I wanted to do the second option. The third option wouldn't come in a short time.
So we chose a slow Tango, a violin version of "Por Una Cabeza." I asked her to stretch her motions, do the moves slowly, and show off her legs. I was aiming at something like a mix of contemporary ballet, Tai chi and Tango. If we do not consciously try something new, dance can go stale. After all, dancing is repetitive.
The dance was nice from our standpoint. They seemed to like it, and we were glad.
Later, for the after party we went to iDance studio, where we can dance Latin (Salsa, bachata etc), West Coast Swing, and Ballroom in three different floors.
On the Salsa floor, there was a visiting professional couple.
One thing about dancing is that good ones relentlessly stand out. Among 20 couples on the floor, the pros stood out. It was another example of the difference in execution of the basics.
If you watch Pros perform, some aim at differentiating themselves. They are more interesting, given the level of dancing is high. Others are more on the teaching-Pro's side, aiming at demonstrating clean basics. They should do well in competitions.
It is fun to watch different strategies dancers take.
Today was day One for the US government shutdown; the first in 17 years. Apart from receiving a few emails about the influence on us from NIH and the University, I have not seen much difference here at a state University. But last time it was sequestration, this time shutdown. The government does not seem to be afraid of going overboard to dysfunctional. Congress people are not going to be held accountable for this?
