POLL: What to do with elderly people? November 27, 2009

The world population, at leat in the West, is growing old. And it is not only an economical problem of paying rents in some future, but also a problem of attitude towards the elderly (under this term I mean people over 70, in developed countries). Since my father is 60 now I can see he is far too healthy and dynamic to call him elderly, so I think it is 70 when a person is getting weak and needs more support. The age may vary from country to country though.

Since ages the elderly had been respected and taken care of. That was one of the basic laws of live. Presently I can see a huge shift in the attitude of a younger generation.

1. Due to the new technologies which young people are so good at, there is a huge gap between those who use them and those who are not. It is like living on another planet, literally. Any knowledge/information is so easily accessible that we don’t need many years to learn things. Often a short Internet check gives loads of information and a good insight into a subject. Basically there is an illusive  feeling they can’t lean anything from the elderly and there is no interest in communication on the side of younger generations. As for human relations, some aging people are indeed become wiser, and some grow into frustrated, moaning persons who are not inspiring to take after…

2. Taking care of old parents/relatives is being shifted towards some services and home for elderly. It is not any more common (at least in Europe) to nurse them at home till their last breath. For many people it seems to be a good solution to pay somebody else for taking care of their weak parents. In fact, that shocked me when I first learned about this new trend, coming from Russia to Austria 12 years back. That is how they depict it in a US source: “Few people gleefully anticipate the task of caring for an aging parent—but plenty seem to deny that it’s coming. Sooner or later, avoidance can thrust adult children into the caregiver role with a shotgun start. A parent’s slip in the bathroom or a collision caused by a mistake in the driver’s seat can precipitate a deluge of anguished decisions and rapid changes you’re not ready to handle. Suddenly, you could be scrambling to locate account numbers to pay Mom’s bills while she’s in the hospital, tangling with her insurance company to figure out why coverage for an X-ray was denied, and consulting with your brother—who lives three states away—about getting Mom into an assisted-living facility. You grapple with guilt because your mother never wanted to move out of her home, but now her condition leaves little choice. As the drama plays out, you’re also trying to stay afloat at work and look after your other dependents, the kids.”

I don’t really know any solution for this problem, especially on a global level. I feel it would be good if the elderly (whose who are not too weak to stay inside) would be more integrated into the modern life. I wonder what you think of it?

5 popular myths about Russian women November 24, 2009

Although I am not on the marriage market since long, the topic of marriages, especially for Russian women still keeps me busy (my best girlfriends are free). Being a Russian in Europe is in a way exotic (Russian speaking people are still a minority here, surprise surprise! ) and every time I speak to someone, the topic of Russian women pops up. There are lots of rumors about Russian women in the West, some of them quite OK, some are just ridiculous…

However there are good people out there who do their best trying to bring clarity into the topic,  here are some lovely arguments against the popular myths  for bride seeking males I found accidentally in web:

Different people always have preconceptions about each other people or nationalities. With the internet and media in every corner of life, it is easy to hear stories and gossip, the Western world has posted propaganda about Russia for many years and in a way it has also effected how people view Russian women, however most of this is all untrue. Below are 5 popular myths about Russian women, understanding these will help you understand why so many people have a lot to say about  Russian brides.

1.Russian brides are shy, quiet housewives who are happy at the kitchen sink.

The great advantage of having such a wide selection of women to choose from, is you have the chance to meet a woman with a personality to suit you, all women are different just like any women in the West, some have their own plans and goals in life, some are happy to be the traditional housewife, some are shy and introverted, some our outgoing, this is the great thing about having so many Russian women to choose from, there will always be someone who will have the perfect chemistry and personality for you.

 2.Most Beautiful Russian women are prostitutes

Because  Russian women are often labeled as “Russian brides”  or “mail order brides”  many men some they are so desperate that they sell themselves and of course it does not take long for rumors to spread that Russian women are generally prostitutes this is complete nonsense . Russian brides are not for sale, Russian mail order brides are not delivered to your door by courier.

Human attitude towards Nature throughout History – interesting overview November 22, 2009

The earliest phase was characterized by a conception of the universe as extremely small and of the Earth as the only inhabited planet. The world, however, possessed, besides our physical plane, a number of other planes, also material but with a materiality of a different nature and possessing different properties than ours. None of the planes, including ours, were thought to evolve. They had been created once and for all and were inhabited by good and evil beings. Humans lay at the center of those beings’ interests and were, so to speak, their apple of discord. Humans were not conscious of Nature as something distinct from themselves and did not contrast themselves with it. Individual natural phenomena evoked, of course, one or another feeling-fear, pleasure, awe-but it seems that Nature was almost never perceived as a whole, or was perceived so in a purely aesthetic sense, and even then only by individuals who were highly gifted artistically. For that reason, one rarely finds among artistic works of those eras lyrical poetry about Nature, and even more rarely does one find landscape painting. In the main, the cultures of antiquity, as well as certain later cultures in the East, belong to that phase. As for religion, polytheism was typical of this first phase.

Typical of the second phase were the monotheistic systems, which either ignored Nature or else were hostile to it. The growth of individuality led to the conception that humans could grow spiritually. Nature, on the other hand, showed no signs of spiritual growth. It was stagnant and static; it was amoral and irrational; it was under the power of the demonic; and if the spirit itself was not to be vanquished, that part of a person’s being that was cosubstantial with Nature had to be vanquished by the spirit. This was the antinature phase. The Christian, Buddhist, and Hindu peoples all passed through it; Jewry (meaning believers in Judaism) still remains in it. The latter, however, like the Muslim peoples, did not so much declare war on Nature as simply snub it.
The Semitic attitude to nature has, generally speaking, been marked by a poverty of feeling. It has long been remarked how lacking the authors of the Bible and the Quran were in their feeling toward nature compared to those who wrote the great epics of ancient Greece and of India in particular. The Semites gave Nature what they considered its due, sanctioning procreation with the blessing of their religion, but in their religious philosophy and art they strove to ignore it, and with grave consequences.

The most wanted currency November 16, 2009

Love is the current coin of all peoples in all periods.

Hazrat Ihayat Khan.

(iamge by me)

The Cosmonautics Memorial Museum in Moscow November 15, 2009

My father is  the “sky” person who has always been dreaming about flying as high as possible… Since he could not become a pilot for health reasons,  he became a paratrooper officer and made 2000 jumps with parashute. The space exploration has been fascinating him for ages. I obviously inherited some fo this fascination, since I love airplanes and everything that can take me higher .

This time when I was visiting my parents in Moscow my father was delighted to show me and my mom the new Space museum. As you can imagine, Russia has something to show in that area…

This museum, the only one of its kind, situated inside an enormous monument to the explorers of the cosmos, is well worth the visit, not least for the nostalgia it should inspire in anyone who grew up in the heady days of the space race. The displays trace the history of space exploration, including the first interplanetary satellite flights, the first dogs in space and man’s journeys to the cosmos.

Let me show you some shots I made inside the museum.

My parents – by the way, they now live just next to the  Zvezdnyi Gorodok ”Startown” by Moscow, where all cosmonauts are being trained:

      ——–

We saw an interesting documentary about the history of Space exploration. Juri Gagarin, the first ever human in space:

 his smile is unforgettable!

The typical space costume live:

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The clothes cosmonauts wear inside a spaceship:

There’s plenty of fun gadgetry, plus an excellently conceived display explaining how astronauts survive a space flight, all of which should be interesting for children. The food in the space freezer:

My photo-impressions from Moscow in November November 12, 2009

I am back from a short Moscow trip with some images which I took for you.

The quality of images is not that good, but I think you will get an impression of how it is like in Moscow in November – cold, pretty nasty and windy, but still enjoyable .

It was getting dark rather early, and I was mostly outside during late afternoon, therefore most of the images look like taken at night. In fact it was a daytime (from 3 till 6 p.m.).

LOVE; axinia

7 basic questions Science cannot answer November 2, 2009

Only 7 questions that seem to be essential for the understanding of how humanity lives and operates, and no answers…

1. Does the Source, the Creator, God exist? Unknown
2. Does such a thing as a soul exist? If so, is it immortal? Science does not know the answer.
3. What is time, space, matter, energy? Opinions are sharply divided.
4. Is our world eternal and endless or, on the contrary, is it limited within time and space? Science does not possess the necessary data to give a definite answer.
5. Why should I do good and not evil, if evil appeals to me and I can be sure of escaping punishment? The answers are totally unintelligible.
6. How can science be used to avert the possibility of wars and tyranny? Silence.
7. How can social harmony be attained with the least human cost? Mutually exclusive proposals are put forward that resemble each other only in that they are all equally unrelated to pure science.

Never jobless: my “Whiskers, Paws and Tail” strategy October 28, 2009

This post is an outcome of my over 10 years work experience. The funny thing about it is that none of my employers have ever looked at my CV. And yet I was getting very good positions. The even funnier thing is that I ended up working as a Human Resources Manger myself. All that gives me the right to claim that there is a certain strategy that makes it work, and work successfully.

I call it “Whiskers,  Paws and Tail”  strategy. There is a popular Russian cartoon “Prostokvashino” with a cute cat Matroskin who, being asked about his documents replies: “Whiskers, paws and tail are my documents!”. And that is what I mean under no need of a CV presentation: you yourself at any moment of life should be the best CV to your personality, both inside and outside. Let me list some ideas on how I see it.

1. Reliability is the most precious and important quality for an employer, no matter in which sphere -  creative, business or industrial. You should not only look reliable but actually be that. Reliable people with determined attention emit this quality naturally, and this leads to trust which is so valuable for anyone.

2. Inner and Outer Beauty: It starts with the  inner work on oneself – the perpetual unfolding of your character is essential. Not getting “better” from day by day, no. You are already perfect. It is about discovering the true beauty of your personality. The most speedy method for it I found in my meditation practice. There are many other ways as well, but this one gives the fastest results. As soon as your true perfect being will be increasingly shining through, this will make you a desirable person. Many people will want to be with you, will seek your company for any thinkable reason. Among these people there will be also some potential job-givers!

3. Be The Best Product Yourself Having this full package of precious inner Qualities + their Manifestation + Reliability you become a  kind of a PRODUCT, a highly desirable  trade mark. How will you know it works? When any decision-maker/boss/HR Manager will want you to work for him/her after a couple of minutes you have talked. And  this is not a dream!

Opera for everyone October 26, 2009

Have I already mentioned Vienna is the best city in the world? Apart from the official ranking results, I am deeply convinced about it myself.

Vienna is the City of Music, no doubt. The marketing works well and you will be reminded of that more often than anywhere else: in the city center you pass a duet of street singers, a small accordion band, a guitar soloist,

and finally come across about a hundred people staring up at an enormous outdoor LCD screen displaying live opera.

Since this summer Vienna has a new attraction: For the first time, selected performances are being broadcasted live on a giant screen in front of the State Opera House. Free to consume .

Last night, while strolling around the city, I suddenly heard the sounds of my beloved Mozart from far away… OMG, was that beautiful! It felt so majestic and at the same time so natural, in a perfect harmony with the surroundings…

The magic of numbers on my watch October 25, 2009

 

Since today is the day when we change from summer time to winter time here in Europe, I take it as a good opportunity to make a note on the recent funny behaviour of my watch. By watch here I mean any digital display showing time. Since a couple of months I am witnessing the following phenomenon:

any time I have a look at the numbers, they are of this nature:

5:55

10:10

22:22

14:14

etc…………………………..

I mean may be not always, but surely 99% of cases!!! It has become even a kind of game for me – I suddenly glance at the watch (on my PC or mobile) and here we are – a “funny time” again and again.

Any explanations/theories/same experiences?

Thanks,

axinia