The secret of staying young

According to scientists it is good for your mental health to learn new things. True. Nevertheless, I dont feel like learning new MS Office (which I will have to do within a month :-(). So either I am getting old or simply dont want to get involved in something I really not getting the sense of...

Nove pismo

Vypada to jako dobry napad - zjednodusene pismo pro skolaky. Sam tak pisu. Ale jak dlouho to trvalo, nez na to nekdo prisel...

Komentar III

Nejak me zaclo bavit komentovat clanky na ilistu. Tentokrate to odnesl jeden o ustnich zkouskach ve Finsku a jeden o studiu v zahranici (ponekud jsem si smlsnul na sefredaktorovi :-)).

Open your eyes

Open your eyes is one of my favourite songs - by Guano Apes. But yesterday these words came to my mind when I read an analysis by Stratfor called "The Medvedev Doctrine and American Strategy". Definitely worth reading. I read it just once and since I am not educated in enternational politics I had no objections against it. If you have - don't hesitate to share them. Anyway - before reading this I was quite a moderate supporter of the American anti-missile radar in the Czech Republic. Now I am definitely a stronger supporter.

Late summer cottage / Chalupa pozdnim letem

Late summer at our cottage. It would be even more fun if I didnt have to work... Anyway it's always nice to share the places you like with people your friends. Here are other pictures.


>>)

Tak tedy asi posledni letni chalupa s prateli. Vytecne. Neni treba vice dodavat. Vice fotografii zde.

"There was Glum in the lake / V jezere zil Glum" (

Dobytek ma sesty smysl

Kdo by to byl rekl... (clanek na Leonardu).

Podezreni temne

"Dokonalost ve výkonnosti je dosahována schopností dosahovat očekávaných výstupů při optimalizaci využití zdrojů."
Na tenhle "krasny" text jsem narazil v jednom internim materialu o metodikach. Hned putoval na smetiste dejin (a na zed u stolu, kam jsem si ho vyvesil jako pekny kousek, na cestne misto mezi fotky litomyslskeho zamku, Jeana Sibelia nebo Josefa Vachala). Ale podezreni temne vznasi se: nenapsal jsem to nahodou kdysi ja?

Komentar II

Okomentoval jsem na ilistu (internetovy casopis na Vysoke skole ekonomicke) clanek stran vyberu firmy). Muzete z neho neco pochopit o mych pracovnich podminkach.

The Real World Order

Stratfor once again made a point by an analysis of what has been happening in Georgia. It is really worth reading. Let me just quote briefly.

The American calculation was that the Russian government would not confront American interests in the region. The Russian calculation was that it could not wait to confront these interests because the United States was concluding the Iraq war and would return to its pre-eminent position in a few short years. Therefore, it made no sense for Russia to wait and it made every sense for Russia to act as quickly as possible.

Believe me or not but you can really find me in the picture (at our cottage)

The Russians were partly influenced in their timing by the success of the American surge in Iraq. If the United States continued its policy and had force to back it up, the Russians would lose their window of opportunity. (...)

The Russian message was directed against Ukraine most of all, but the Baltics, Central Asia and Belarus are all listening. The Russians will not act precipitously. They expect all of these countries to adjust their foreign policies away from the United States and toward Russia. They are looking to see if the lesson is absorbed. At first, there will be mighty speeches and resistance. But the reality on the ground is the reality on the ground.
We would expect the Russians to get traction. But if they don’t, the Russians are aware that they are, in the long run, much weaker than the Americans, and that they will retain their regional position of strength only while the United States is off balance in Iraq. If the lesson isn’t absorbed, the Russians are capable of more direct action, and they will not let this chance slip away. This is their chance to redefine their sphere of influence. They will not get another.

No title this time - update

Today I found out that one girl from an ESN section from Cracow died during the accident. I didnt know the girl personally but people from Cracow have always been close to me...

The media is full of the accident but hardly any of them used this topic in such a manner as the last edition (13 August) of Final Word:

It's been said before, but it's worth repeating. You can't expect excellence from people in times of emergency if it isn't required from them in times of calm. The idea that a train can run at full speed under a bridge that it being repaired is unfathomable, but it happened. Seven people died when the bridge collapsed, and now the blame game has begun. Where to start pointing fingers? At mothers who don't require their little boys to take their plates to the sink after dinner or who allow them to cross the street without looking both ways first? At government officials who, through their own irresponsible behavior, give negative reinforcement to everyone else's screwups? Responsibility for the bridge collapse might in the end be put on ČD, SŽDC, ODS-DSO, B&K or perhaps even GOD, but the real culprits are the many little ways people are encouraged to shirk their everyday, humdrum ligations.

I promise not to send sad and too serious posts in the close future. But you know, everything counts...

No title this time

So I came back to the office after a business trip (via train). Some of my colleagues looking at me and asking which train I took. One from Eastern Bohemia to Prague. Basically the same direction as the train which several hours ago crashed into a bridge. So far 6 people killed.
Two weeks ago we saw a terrible car accident on our main highway D1 during a business trip. Later we found out that there were 2 people killed.
Both business trips were related to the same project. Strange feeling.

Helnwein

Znepokojive, znepokojive obrazy. Ale kdyz uz jsem na vystave v Rudolfinu, zpravidla na sebe nechavam obrazy nejak pusobit. Tady to ale moc neslo.
It is an exhibition currently taking place in Prague - so you can see promotion posters for instance in the subway with a little girl wearing sort of SS uniform. Disturbing pictures.

Epiphany I. (Adoration of the Magi 2) / Zjevení I (Klanění tří králů) (pragueout.cz)

Hyperrealismus samozrejme tu chladnost a znepokojivost jen podtrhuje. A co si budeme povidat, nemecke uniformy z druhe svetove maji svoji esteticnost. Vse to dobre do sebe zapada.

What you can see are not photographies - they are all paintings. This is what makes the impression stronger - and sort of cooler.

The Disaster of War 3 (helnwein.com) / Hruzy valky 3

Znepokojivost koneckoncu neni bez aktualnich konotaci z Rakouska - Aribert Heim nebo Fritzl, to jsou pripady tak akorat zapadajici. Tezko to rici lepe nez v recenzi z pragueout.cz.

Když v roce 1980 publikoval v jednom časopise obraz mrtvého dítěte s hlavou v talíři s jídlem, vzbudil tím okamžitou debatu po celém Rakousku. Helnwein ale jen reagoval na rozhovor s rakouským psychiatrem Heinrichem Grossem, který připustil, že za nacistů sprovodil ze světa stovky dětí a ještě zdůraznil, že tak učinil humánním způsobem podáním jedu v jídle. „Neměl jsem ani problém s tím, že je někdo dost šílený, aby podobnou věc provedl. Můj problém byl v tom, že v téhle zrůdnosti nikdo problém neviděl. Lidé si to vyslechli, ale nenásledovala žádná reakce. Ani jediný protestní dopis. Ve stejné době dostala národní televize 3500 stížností, protože se v ní moderátor objevil bez kravaty…Když jsem pak publikoval obrázek holčičky s hlavou v talíři jídla, byli lidé najednou vzrušení a spustilo to diskuzi, která po letech vedla k výpovědi zmíněného psychiatra…zdá se, jakoby obrazy byly někdy silnější než slova,“ uvažuje Helnwein v rozhovoru pro časopis Start. (nechcete to nekdo prelozit?, nejak nemam sil)

All the weird paintings are somehow well linked to the current media picture of Austria (at least picture present in Czech mainstream media) - the cases of Aribert Heim or Joseph Fritzl really dont create a good promotion for the country. But what is really behind is well described in an interview with the painter (maybe somebode will volunteer to translate it or I will do it myself if I have more time). He mentiones two stories from Austria: an Austrian psychiatrist admitted in an interview that he killed hundreds of children during the WWII and he emphasized that he did it in a humane manner by giving the poison in food. Nobody reacted to that horrible confession while some 350 complaints were sent to the Austrian TV after a moderator appeared without wearing a tie.

Heydrich hloubá nad Golemovou dcerou (pragueout.cz) Heydrich contemplating on Golem's daughter

This is a picture presenting quite distorted sense of humour: if I remember well this was originally a photography of Heydrich looking at Czech crown jewels. The old man on the right is president Emil Hacha - president of the Protectorate during the WWII era. Still a person of our history with mixed valuation. The story which could be linked to this picture is as follows: there is a belief that a person who wears the Czech crown without being the Czech king will die in less than a year. And this is exactly what is said to happen to Heydrich - he was assassinated by Czech paratroopers. The only point is that probably nobody really knows whether he put the crown on his head or not. Another, and probably not the last, interpretation "problem" with this picture is that Golem did not have a daughter.

Ale koneckoncu, znepokojivost nevyplyva z toho, co Helnwein maluje o Rakusanech, ale z toho, co by treba nahodou mohl rikat i o jinych spolecenstvech a jednotlivcich...