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Below are the 17 most recent journal entries recorded in
rashkov's LiveJournal:
| Monday, March 5th, 2007 | | 8:36 pm |
scooch, children
On my morning EE bus ride, I noticed that as people got on the bus that none of them sat down, even though there were seats to either side of me. I moved one seat over, and immediately the seats were taken up by two ladies, since now there were two empty seats next to each other and so they were easier to notice and less awkward to sit in. So, perhaps it was this random act of kindness that put me in a good mood today... I don't know what's responsible for my mood on most days, but this is a start. Here's a good article called, "The Keys to Happiness, and Why We Don't Use Them" on one of my favorite websites, LiveScience. Current Mood:  happy | | Tuesday, January 9th, 2007 | | 8:11 am |
Roadtrip
My highschool friend Marc and I took a roadtrip from Jan 2nd through the 8th. NJ -> Atlanta (2 days) -> Nashville (1 day) -> Orlando (2.5 days) -> Jersey-bound Airplane (2.5 hrs, $100) Actually, we stopped in Charlotte before realizing there's no nightlife in Charlotte, so we drove on a few hours more to Atlanta. Atlanta: CNN HQ tour showed me how they collect the news, write it up, and finally put it together for live television. It's remarkable how pervasive CNN is throughout the world. CNN is available in over 212 countries and territories (Wikipedia.org). I enjoyed the recorded speech by Larry King. His passion for his work is inspiring. Coca Cola tour - Coca Cola began its life as a tonic created by a pharmacist in the late 19th century. Of course the tour didn't make it obvious that the original recipe contained Cocaine (Coca from the Coca leaf, Kola from the African Kola nut), though I did find mention of the Coca leaf in one of the original documents placed on display. The tour emphasized how Coca Cola was the first truly marketed and branded product. For example, the distinct Coca Cola bottle is how the company protected against imitators. They told people that if the bottle isn't shaped that way, then their drink is not genuine. What they had here was a product that was immensely popular for its taste and stimulating and refreshing properties. What they did was to market and brand it brilliantly, ultimately making it available all over the world. This really came home to me at the end when we were allowed to sample any of 40 Coca Cola beverages from the fountains they had set up. My favorite was "Smart Apple" from China. It's like a carbonated Snapple Apple. Finally, on the way out we saw an electronic counter which estimated how many Coca Cola drinks were consumed up to that very moment. It was in the trillions, and counting several thousand more drinks every second. "The Georgia Aquarium, located in Atlanta, Georgia, is billed as the "world's largest aquarium" with more than 8 million US gallons (30,000 m³; 30,000,000 liters) of marine and fresh water, and more than 100,000 animals of 500 different species. The aquarium's notable specimens include young whale sharks (Ralph, Norton, Alice, and Trixie) and four beluga whales (Nico, Natasha, Marina, and Maris)." (Wikipedia.org) Marc and I joked how some fish looked ready to eat out of the water. I mimed picking one out of the tank, taking a bite out of it. Jokes aside, this aquarium is amazing. Nashville, TN:This town is quirky with its great love of country music. The Country Music Hall of Fame gave me a good historical perspective on rock music. I saw some great videos of Elvis and discovered how good Bluegrass Music is. We closed the night out by going to see the Grand Ole Opry: "The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly Saturday night country music radio program broadcast live on WSM radio in Nashville, Tennessee, and televised on Great American Country network. It is the oldest continuous radio program in the United States, having been broadcast on WSM since November 28, 1925." Country isn't my favorite music, and this was a bit pricey, but this was definitely entertaining. Reading over Elvis' biography on Wikipedia, it seems that he is technically Jewish ( http://www.elvispresleynews.com/JewishElvis.html). That's kind of a point of pride, I guess. At this point in the trip, we felt like another day in Nashville would have been a waste. I would have loved to have gone to Memphis, but it was five hours out of our way and we were mostly out of money at this point. I drove at top speed straight through the night for almost 700 miles. The Florida sunrise was amazing. If that stretch of driving were a cake, then the highway I took once I got into Florida was the cherry on that cake -- there was no posted speed limit for the length of stretch from the Florida-Georgia border to Orlando. Orlando:Orlando weather was that of a Jersey summer. I saw the MGM Grand section of Disney World. I went to a TKE house party and played Pirate's Dice. This is based on the dice game seen in the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie. The goal is to place bets on how many dice on the table are turned up to a certain number (for example, I could bet that there are 5 dice showing the number six, and the next person would have to raise that or call me on it). If you're wrong, you lose one of your dice and have a sip of beverage. Lose your dice and you're out. Anyway, it was a fun trip. It would be better to have more people to split costs and for merry-making. Perhaps you'll join next time later this year? Remember: travel changes your mind. Current Music: Bjork | | Friday, December 22nd, 2006 | | 10:32 pm |
Links in Review
The hilarious SNL video with Justin Timberlake (thx Neem): http://youtube.com/watch?v=S-5grqhj1b8http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn10826 The moth uses its barbed proboscis (close-up below) to penetrate the eyelid of sleeping birds and drink tears (Image: Roland Hilgartner / Mamisolo Raoilison) Rakuen Eleven (Chris): I WILL DRINK OF YOUR TEARS Z Flatlinez: WOW Rakuen Eleven: it needs some kind of counterpart, like... i dunno, a cricket that feeds on nightmares Rakuen Eleven: a beetle, sustained solely by broken hearts Rakuen Eleven: a spider that feasts upon fathers that have lost their sons Siphonophores belong to the Cnidaria, a group of animals that includes the corals, hydroids, and true jellyfish.  Again thanks to Chris for the link and caption: "hello siphonophores you are very beautiful" David got me a Lavalamp for Hannukah (aka Channuka aka Jannuka for our Spanish speakers, see entertaining music and song video The LeeVees "How Do You Spell Channukkahh" MythBusters: The myth was that a man was killed when his lava lamp exploded violently, launching a shard of glass into his heart. This myth was confirmed on the show. | | Monday, November 13th, 2006 | | 12:03 am |
Back when I was a goofy looking Russian boy...
Sometimes I speak on a whim. Before I knew English, I went out into the American world knowing a few phrases: "Yes", "no", and "I don't speak English very well." When I found that variety to be lacking, I decided to play the mime by repeating what was said to me. However, this went horribly wrong when my 1st grade "girlfriend" (as my uncle teased), Emily, greeted me with "Hi Michael" and I in turn replied "Hi Michael" much to her delight and amusement. That went on to be our way to greet each other. Sometimes, I still feel like that goofy looking seven year old who doesn't know English very well. ...I've found that randomly responding "yes" or "no" is still a valid thing to do, though. | | Saturday, October 28th, 2006 | | 11:11 pm |
Mr. Molecule
I once read a story about a chemist unlike any other. His colleagues would call him "Mr. Molecule" because he was such a whiz. He really understood chemistry in all its depth. They said that Mr. Molecule was special because he could empathize with the molecules he studied. He could feel their frustration when they lacked electrons, and he could understand the simple economics of happiness that governed the events of his microcosmos. Sometimes, when I study a little bit too long, I reflect on how similar we can be to molecules. I get a little Philosophical and I ask myself, "Is my life also governed by a nature so elegant and so elusive to comprehend? Then I forget about all that and I go look for some electrons to gobble up! Just kidding... | | Thursday, September 7th, 2006 | | 9:45 pm |
Dr./Engineer
Something cool I figured out while sleuthing out my family history: My father's father was a civil engineer, and his wife a doctor. My mother's father was a telecommunications engineer (with the telegraph I think) and his wife also a doctor. My dad is Mechanical Engineer, and my mom is a Cardiovascular technologist, but wait for it... back in Russia, she was a doctor. So, here I am down the line, albeit free from the confinements of Russia. I'm looking to get my degree in Environmental Engineering, and as for my sister, well, she's going to be Psychological therapist. Why this freakish coincidence? Well, I think that these jobs were the most stable in Russia. Why is that? They're entirely merit based, for one thing, unlike politics or law in which you'ld surely have to know someone important to get into those schools, as opposed to just being good at what you do. What's this mean for me? I guess I'm kind of a blend of the stereotypes for engineering and medicine. I've always liked technology, but I also really like people, and I'd like to help them... maybe I'll heal the environment. That would feel good. | | Tuesday, August 29th, 2006 | | 12:41 pm |
| | Monday, August 28th, 2006 | | 7:30 pm |
A Buddhist once told me how he lives his life. He said, "Every day I wake up and a little bird sits on my shoulder and reminds me that this could be my last day on earth, and that's how I live out my day. I live knowing that I won't get another chance to say I love you to my friends and family, or to truly enjoy the beauty of nature all around me." The next day I woke up and the words of that wise man rang through my heart. I was inspired to live my day as if it were my last. I returned to him later that day and proceeded to take out the largest life insurance policy that his company would offer me. Buddhist Life Insurance - now that's peace of mind. | | Thursday, August 24th, 2006 | | 11:56 pm |
Two things...
There are two things I'm certain of at this point in my life: First, that I love to play my bass, and second, that I feel good about my major course of study. Everything else is a mixed up, tossed around bag of possibilities. | | Wednesday, July 19th, 2006 | | 10:00 pm |
| | Tuesday, July 18th, 2006 | | 10:00 pm |
mmm, Pancake Mountain.
I will want my kids to be like the kids on this show. It's a kids show which features a band performance. Arcade Fire, Bright Eyes, MIA, Anti-Flag, and a bunch of other big acts have all performed. Just check out some of the videos and their kickin' dance moves. You'll probably like the clips from the show itself, if your sense of humor is anything like mine. http://pancakemountain.com/Mike PS. sorry I've screwed up this page a bit. I might fix it or just start it a-fresh again. you can still read my old entries if you create an account for me to add to the "friends list." | | Wednesday, July 5th, 2006 | | 3:50 pm |
The West Memphis Three
"Although there was no physical evidence, murder weapon, motive, or connection to the victims, the prosecution pathetically resorted to presenting black hair and clothing, heavy metal t-shirts, and Stephen King novels as proof that the boys were sacrificed in a satanic cult ritual." This kind of reminds me of Expository Writing 101 -- "connective thinking" at its most radical. Sorry, but I'm actually trying to be humorous, for the most part. "Unfathomably, Echols was sentenced to death, Baldwin received life without parole, and Misskelley got life plus 40... They were all condemned by their poverty, incompetent defense, satanic panic and a rush to judgment." Please visit http://www.wm3.org to learn about the West Memphis Three. | | Sunday, July 2nd, 2006 | | 6:29 pm |
Today... (the new sequel to that popular Beatles hit, "Yesterday")
That last entry was something else... I mean, a sneeze escaping through an ear-canal? On a dust-mite?!? Who writes this crap? Oh, wait... I went on a nature kick today. I was feeling lazy after sleeping an entire 10 or 11 hours. I decided to go for that jog up to Old Short Hills park that I've been meaning to complete. I stretched, and then stretched out the stretching by sitting around on the porch steps for a while, and then I decided to do the run. I got a little ways up Old Short Hills Road before I realized that I was too out of shape to keep it up, and maybe my shoes, which are meant for sprinting, are not making things any easier. So I decided to walk it. I watched all of the diverse vegetation that the dwellers of O.S.H. road put out in front of their houses. I walked into Old Short Hills Park and walked their trail which connects the park with the reservation. I ran into one couple on my way there; "Hello, nice day huh?" I asked. "Yes, good," the lady-ma'am replied. the husband just kind of nodded at me, with his lips a little tight. I kept walking to see a man walking with his dog. He wore sun-glasses, although the sky was overcast, and he wore an audio player. He just nodded at me, his senses closed off. I came out on Brook Drive, and walked back to town that way. I saw some people having a bar-b-que with their boombox playing Biggie Smalls. I watched a pair of bikers going up the slope... they must be good 'cause that way is a long hill, or maybe their bikes make it easier than I think. I came home... still didn't feel healthy enough after my shower, so I threw two bananas, a golden delicious apple, and mango juice into the blender... it rocked, so I brought it over to my grandma's house... she thought it was only ok. | | Monday, June 12th, 2006 | | 11:58 pm |
Hooonk
This morning, I'm about a block from work, it's about 8:40am and everyone on the road is rushing and stressing to get to work on time... I'm at a stop-light intersection, when I notice a woman and her child trying to cross the street. The light is green, but she's hesitating to cross because the car from my direction is half-way into the intersection. Someone honks at her. A long honk, not a short blip, but a hooonk. It's either the car directly in front of me, or the one in the intersection, but it doesn't matter... someone honked at this woman, and her child. So rude... So what does she do? She crosses the street, while blowing kisses to the driver. It was genuine, too... not like vaudeville, "I'm blowing you kisses like it's a comedy", type of thing. Not even to show off for her kid, who wasn't even looking. She just took that anger, that urge to say "Up yours!" that I had on her behalf, and turned it into "I love you anyway!" At that moment, she was my personal hero. I might even do the same thing some time... 'cause I may not be original, but I know quality when I see it. | | Sunday, April 16th, 2006 | | 5:19 pm |
mmmm, chametz...
I wrote this e-mail to a friend, and thought it would be good to share with all the inter-webs: I'm keeping passover, and I'm asking myself why. It's really because a few of my friends are doing it, so help me if that isn't always a good reason to do something silly. It's also because I like to have a little bit of tradition in my life, and a little of doing something for its own sake. It's kind of annoying when my own family doesn't go with the tradition, though. Yet in the same breath they want me to marry Jewish. Doesn't that seem racist? Before I answer that... I derive pleasure from my Jewish identity. I like the sense of community I can find. I like the rich culture, including a language, holidays, clothing, and music. I like that when I went to the Hillel acapella concert, one of the non-Jewish campus groups renamed Cake's song "Short skirt, long jacket" to "Long skirt, black jacket" in reference to Orthodox Jewish women, and then replaced the lyrics with lines like: "I want a girl who bakes hamentashen? (chorus: "bakes hamentashen!") I want a girl who knows what's best (chorus: "for everyone!") I want a girl who drinks Manischewitz, (chorus: "drinks Manishewitz!") and whose eyes burn like a menorah lamp" After which they raised the lead singer up, Bar Mitzva style, up on a chair above their heads. I like that I can finally explain my entire childhood simply by saying that I was a "weird little Jewish kid." I like that there are people out there who take the religion way more seriously than I can know, and that I can imagine, at any time I want, that there's a Jew out there who is donning a funny hat, rocking the curled peyas, and chanting nearly indecipherable mumblings. Most of all, I like the values which I've been raised with. I suspect this combination of values is distinctly Jewish. I especially like that I'm in many ways predisposed to "succeeding" in this world. I'll want to pass all of this on to my children. Yeah, I guess it's mildly racist, but it's not wrong when looked at in light of all of this. Besides, what's more racist than choosing one mate among billions? I believe that there's something special about the Jewish people. I mean, here is a group of people that has been persecuted in all corners of the earth for thousands of years, and yet here we are, more prosperous than ever. Every one of the oppressive societies has since fallen, but we remain. This makes me question whether or not we're truly some sort of "chosen people". Of course, maybe I just like being on a winning team. I can enjoy all of this without eating matzo for a week, or avoiding mixing meat and dairy even though I'd have to believe in "spiritual cleanliness" to justify that one. However, it brings me closer to this culture which I feel fortunate to be a part of, and maybe that's enough. | | Saturday, April 8th, 2006 | | 10:56 pm |
Love, l-o-v-e and I be...
How can two people make each other incredibly happy, yet also very miserable? This is no riddle; the answer is love. Art, music, poetry and theater all try to make us feel but a fraction of love. Love is the single-most powerful emotion in the human experience... Other than hate, anyway. A newspaper article once told me that love is an emotional state in which one is willing to do something for another person, even at a personal loss. I looked up from my copy of this USA Today story, and I saw a couple sitting across the aisle of the bus. It was Valentine's day. The young, attractive woman held a bouquet of flowers. The young man was melt putty, emotions bubbling, seated close to her on the cushioned seat. She gently handed him a tulip from the bouquet, and sweetly implored him to eat it. I watched intently, and counted every bite. He chewed twenty-one times, and he didn't look away from her eyes even once. It's a rather silly story, isn't it? Whenever science makes life seem like less than it is, I remind myself that there's something more special to humanity beneath it all. It's like the difference between the way a biology textbook describes drinking alcohol, and actually becoming drunkenly close with your friends for the first time. Experiencing it first-hand really adds an extra dimension that only art can convey. On one occasion, some time mid-2005, a middle-to-old aged man sat across from me. He introduced himself as John. I did the same, and then instructed him, "John, tell me what love is." He said, "Love is the sound that the water makes as it winds down the side of a mountain." He paused for a long time, sometimes visibly feeling something, othertimes not. Then it was my turn to speak. I sat in silence and thought for a moment. I thought that I really have no idea what love is, so I should choose my words carefully. I looked John in the eyes and said, "Love is this connection between every-thing." Why can't we fall in love with anyone, then? It's not an easy thing to do, I suppose. Why do we fall out of love? Maybe because we forget how to connect with another. Maybe the way changed but we didn't change with it. Why do some people get angry about it? Sometimes it's our own fault, other times it's not, and it's always unpleasant to sort out the score. How do I make the best odds of it? Proceed with caution, but let go and allow the gentle current to sweep you away. How terrifying... Then again... | | Thursday, March 16th, 2006 | | 2:27 am |
Capote
I watched Capote today. Some thoughts on it follow. How can we kill other people? The book was titled In Cold Blood and Capote himself says that he felt like the killer could have been his brother because their lives were so similar growing up... the killer "walked out of the back door," while Capote walked "out of the front." So, how is a killer made? The way the killer described the murder made it seem like it came from inside of him, like it emerged. In another scene, Capote reads the killer's journal entry in which he writes a speech in acceptance of an award or some good recognition. He writes something to the effect of, "I thank all of the many people who made this possible." The irony is that this concept of being shaped by other people, society, also can apply to the murder. Does society produce a killer? Furthermore, with this gray area, what right do we as a society have to kill someone else? Is it something that emerges from inside of us, too? By the end of the movie, Capote wants the execution to happen because it would give him closure. He would stop being "tortured" by his relationship with the men and by the book he's writing. Maybe the death penalty is the society's own dysfunctional way of dealing with the killer. I couldn't help but think of the Dalai Lama when he came to speak at Rutgers, and he said that these men can no longer do harm so why should we kill them? What if there's more to life than this material existence? Is what we're doing the right thing? I am not sure of this, and so I will tend to side with the Dalai Lama. The predicament will be: if I ever have to make that value judgement, to spend money on imprisoning one who has caused so much pain, vs. getting rid of him, well, I don't know what I'd do. I don't think my values are firm enough to answer that with any certainty. I think it would haunt me either way, and it wouldn't be clear which is the right decision. Watching Capote made me appreciate the value of being emotionally sensitive. I envy writers when their job is to simply live life in full stereo. I do not envy the problems they encounter. Capote died of "complications related to alcoholism." C'est la vie. Capote was driven by something almost separate from himself. I don't see that kind of drive in my own life. It might be there, but it's certainly not as glorious as Capote's. I think this movie made me feel okay if I don't live a spectacular life. I search for something besides the mainstream, but I think that the mainstream itself, consisting of love, friendship, adventure, these types of things are not easy to attain. I feel the need to pursue them more, rather than brushing them off as easily attainable... they're not, and I'm fooling myself when I think otherwise. I've recently felt very lucky to have more of these things in my life. Sincerity... that's something I feel I need a lot more of. That's getting at this feeling deeper thing... At times, Capote seemed to act very sincerely in his actions. I feel that's something to aspire to. Alright. It's very late and I've chopped this up to the point where I won't be too shy to post it. I don't often get a chance to share this kind of thing, so this is why I'm posting it. If you happen to read it -- good, then you get to know me better. I know I have. Current Mood:  tired |
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