Thank You Scientist: Stranger Heads Prevail

 

What an astonishing album. A crossover of Rock, Metal, and Jazz. Highly sophisticated music lines and very technical. This 2016 album was lost in the shuffle for a while.

Glacier

 There are philosophical qualms to the detriment of everyday normal life. Most of them are unnecessary, excessive, and manageable. 

Inauguration Day

I am a staunch believer in baby steps. As Michael K. Williams put it more accurately "concrete baby steps". That is the way civil society moves forward and evolves. Peaceful, calm, and yet exciting. Pretty much all the elements of modern civilization share commonalities such as gradual formation. The temple so to speak is built by these small but sustainable actions. Those are the most productive ones as history has shown. 

On The Anniversary of The Dreadful Downing of Flight PS752

 It is not convenient to uncork a monologue here. This is just dedicated to the memory of all 176 passengers who died on that fateful night. Those who died so young, so innocent, so unjust...

Pedram

1/5/2021

Sergei Rachmaninoff

 A pretty late discovery. The first time I listened to Rachmaninov with intent and engaged with his music was in April 2019 when Concerto no. 4 in G minor for piano and orchestra was performed by Garrick Ohlsson and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

I have bought Rachmaninoff's complete orchestral works conducted by
Pavel Kogan and Evgeny Svetlanov. Particularly, I have listened to Symphonies No. 1 and No. 2 and they are truly moving. I am listening to digital versions and I can just imagine how this pleasure would have been enhanced listening to these symphonies live or on vinyl. 

Maybe someday!

Categorical Buckets

 There is a tendency to simplify matters and it is reasonable as we all want to soothe ourselves in the face of difficulties. It is a defense that I actually believe in on occasions. The feeling that we have grasped the concept and translated it into the wavelength of our knowledge. That is soothing and reassuring, anxiolytic in the most profound sense.

However, it is erroneous scientifically and misleading practically, when we are dealing with complex multi-faceted phenomena. The so-called well-framed knowledge is dealing with categorical buckets and is leading to a fractured understanding of facts. This notion raises the question of an optimal approach. 

The multidisciplinary approach and the teamwork in an intellectual sense is probably the best available option,  It is surprising how distant fields benefit from the synergistic impact they can induce on each other when working in tandem. 

Picture: Walk for Science, Pittsburgh, August 2017

2020 Election: Populism and Manistream

 Now that the US election is drawing to a close, it is a good time to reflect on the results. And from my personal standpoint there a few interesting points. 

The populism and the affinity to it is one standout, still noticeable in 2020. This election was not meant to end populism. Nor did we expect that in a foreseeable future in America or elsewhere. In countries such as Hungary, Brazil, and the Philippines, the populists are at the helm, and in many others (Germany, Italy, and Italy) they have control over parts of the opposition. The paradoxical approach of Trump to power is indicative of a lack of principles in the populistic figure. He was running a campaign based on anti-establishment agenda despite having 4 yours of the undisputed authority to restructure the establishment. 

The premature claim of victory in the election revealed the president's attitude toward the democratic process and I am afraid to say a long-lasting narrative for die-hard hardliners to hold on to an election stolen from him.  An arbitrary early end to ballot counting was a brazen act yet the inherently populist idea that only a specific group of voters are "real people" and deserve to have their voice heard. The attitude was warmly supported by European equivalents from Germany to Slovenia (Slovenian PM was the first to prematurely congratulate Trump.)

On the flip side, the system is still working and that is a soothing signal for people looking nervously at the state of democracy during the 2020 election. However, with or without  Trumpism is there, formless and morphing from one form to another. Defeating the incumbent president is not unprecedented but a rare incident. 

More than 70 million voters cast their ballots for Trump. From their standpoint, the populist approach to power and the promise were convincing. In four years, they could be swayed by the same agenda once again.  

 "It’s not about voice, I can teach anyone to sing. It’s about what would this person declare with this voice. If you have nothing inside, voice is just a senseless tool. Like submarine in Karakum desert."

Alexey Tegin