I suspect things pertaining to this particular project will work out in the end.
Whether we will be able to implement this project or not will make a difference no doubt. But in the meantime, it seems to me that a much larger (all be it intangible) benefit of this ordeal is to understand that if an organization is to succeed, remaining stagnant is not an option.

Recently I’ve read a book called “Managing the Dynamics of Change” by Jerald M. Jellison. As a result of that and based on my own experiences here (AU) and other work environments I can say one thing. The fundamental challenge of implementing change is helping others through their fears and doubts so they can see the larger picture in the end. Unfortunately I don’t think i have enough patience to do that, not yet anyway….

IMG_0082, originally uploaded by andriy kharkovyy.

woho! i am the proud owner of ‘07 jetta…

i should mention that my old car got messed up on Friday when some lady ran into me while i was just minding my own business… she ran into side of my car and caused quite a bit of damage… so long story short i got a new car and the old one will be either sold or totaled by the insurance company… no verdict on that yet..

So yay for me!

Click here for more…

. . .I like today, not only was it a sunny and warm day, but it’s also an especially interesting day in business/legal world, which for me, equals a LOT of good reading!

Today started just like any other morning, after being ruthlessly awaken by a screaming alarm, i reached down for my trusty Mac next to my bed, always ready to go, ready to dive into the whirlwind of information, with it’s superior operating system:).., with it’s deceivingly-lazy. heart-beat  sleep indicator…

(if this was on a CD, you’d be able to play it backwards and hear me taunting *buy a mac* *buy a mac* on the background:)

. . .first thing opened, of course, the homepage: WSJ and right there it was, in big bold print: "Breaking News: Viacom sues Google…article to follow shortly"

The breaking story of the day… Viacom vs. Google… Two companies that i have very differing and in fact contradicting opinions about,  ironically enough  ended up on the same headline. Viacom as most of you (i hope) know is the parent company behind much of today’s "popular" television, (MTV, BET, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and the likes ) and of course Google……, well you know what Google is don’t you?

While I always felt that Viacom does very little to contribute to intellectual growth of the society (although i’m sure it begs to differ) citing quality shows like "Jackass" and "Laguna Beach", hence I’ve always thought that Google was the leading of the two in that department. I mean after all Google revolutionized the Internet as we know it, and is on the forefront of various noble technological pursuits that have often been meet with firm resistance from the "greedy" business people (Such as Google Book endeavors) and so forth… So with that prejudice in mind I dug into the full article that was posted on WSJ around noon…. and now…after reading that story and the Viacom complaint (the whole 27 pages of it) i have to say i am a little torn between my allegiances in this particular situation.

Whomever wrote the complaint obviously considered crafting a suit so that it appeals on more then one level, and i have to say it was well done. Reading this particular complaint was very interesting as it discussed various aspects of the infringement that is allegedly being done by YouTube (Google). I was amazed at the crafty use of emotional components that were appealing on deeply humanistic, yet so seemingly basic levels. The complaint shows that alleged wrong that is being done by sharing the copyrighted media is not only hurting the bottom dollar of a multi-billion corporation (Viacom) and often wealthy artists, but also hurts the little guys behind the scenes and in the end is contradictory to the whole core idea on which the American economy is established.

I think that in this particular complaint, picture that was painted by Viacom is especially gruesome in my opinion. I have long believed that innovation and creativity without sufficient incentive is doomed for failure; it’s only fair that people creating the content are entitled to some sort of profit. While personally i am unclear where the copyright infringement crosses the line i do know that the way YouTube and the so ever-smug co-founders dealt with the Viacom’s requests is unreasonable.

As i was reading this document i was remembering the Intellectual Property course i was a part of at the University of Wisconsin Law School Summer Program. I still recall the issues discussed then, and how seemingly important it was to the creative process to protect the unlawful distribution. I also recall thinking to myself how fascinating this field (intellectual property) in law is going to become in the next few years. And now, seems like things are getting quite interesting, at least to follow in the news. . .

….So what does all this have to do with Aristotle’s "reason free from passion" statement? Well it’s simple, in today’s overly litigious and legalistic society we have to be passionate about pursuing something, otherwise things will get left behind, truly important cases get tossed aside and overrun by celebrity burial lawsuits, oil field ownership disagreements and other legal issues motivated largely by greed. . .it also seems that the person behind crafting of the Viacom’s statement dismissed Aristotle’s statement as well, which made for one rather well written, appealing text.

I know this is only a very small and a narrow thought on the whole intellectual property issue but i think it will be interesting to watch and see what happens with this case… because the precedent that might be set here will effect many of us,even though it might all be unbeknown to us, at least as of yet.

Relevant Stuff:
Full text of Viacom’s YouTube Complaint (PDF Format)

The idea of people being drawn to each other is certainly not foreign. The Bible acknowledges the need for companionship on the very first pages [!] and now with depression being so prominent in the United States it’s apparent that we [ the 21st century society ] didn’t listen.

Now, having said that I would like to point out that this post is NOT about depression, or any other clinical issue, this post is more of a philosophical approach on how i perceive relationships.

I’m almost certain that everyone can relate to having a friend or someone close move away, or on the contrary, having to leave someone we cared for behind. The feeling of emptiness and the persistent memories of the good [and bad] times rushing back all these are very natural reactions to a somewhat unnatural phenomenon. Why unnatural you ask? My answer is: Globalization.

I believe that globalization is the cause for why now, we have to say goodbye…

See, growing up in a country that up until late 90’s had a very closed minded approach to world and things within it, i have a interesting perspective. Friends didn’t leave town back then and people didn’t move states and most certainly not countries for jobs. The changes that took place with borders coming down, emphasis on financial motivation and rapid advancement in technology seem to be a double edged sword. The increasing temptation of finding financial freedom and the overabundance of means to accomplish that by relocating, makes us leave many important things and more importantly people, unattended and forgotten.

I say this with nostalgia because i know now, the importance of relationships we form and how imperative it is so keep them alive. Partly due to some unfortunate circumstances, but mostly due to my neglect, I haven’t kept up with most of the friends i had growing up back in my country. And now, at twenty three years of age, on another continent, i find it strange to feel as though that part of my life had never happened.

On the upside, the rather obvious [ positive ] changes of Globalization are creating better place to live [ although some may argue ], the technology and industrialization are making most everything within our reach but at the same time these changes that are taking place are unable to make us happy.

Although it might sound cliche, it needs to be said that all the material crap is not something that will matter in the long run. But in today’s America [ especially college age ] we are inundated with images of business successes and extravagant spending; life styles that promote individualism, personal fulfillment and self actualization. However, while those things are not mutually exclusive it seems to me that finding balance in all that is not that easy. There is much to be said for the personal losses that people have to endure to reach some of those so-called "ultimate" goals. But, although it is an interesting topic to discuss, it’s a whole another bag of issues and I’m already getting side tracked from the whole point why i was writing this….

So, relationships… be it romantic or otherwise… I think we [ ME  ] often times underestimate what an important role they play in our personal lives. Due to the fact that we live in a fast paced world we tend to ignore the psychological and focus more on physical [ material ] and as a result we end up unhappy. Throughout the years i have been trying to take some time to pause…, be it spending time with a good friend in downtown of a large city with hundreds of people around, or in some secluded shop over a cup of [ bad ] coffee, or just being lazy on a summer [ or winter ] day… all those moments are incredibly valuable and I’m afraid that much too often that goes unsaid. I always try to remember that whatever it is i am doing at the time, and whomever it is i am doing it with will never be repeated. I mean it’s wild to think that even though we may recreate the place, the situations, we will never recapture the moment itself, and that, makes each moment invaluable.

I like the notion that each of us is an beneficial component of some one’s life. To me, that makes it worth all the drama that relationships can bring at times…  As it is right now, I try to take in every chance i get to spend with the people i love, and, i hope you do the same.

ps : ellen, i miss you already

Apart from my parents, she was the one of the most influential people in my life, especially the academic part. During communist days with 6 day, school weeks she was the one that appreciated and respected our choice to attend church instead of school. She was the one that stood up for my brother and I when we were taken away from our parents due to clashes with communist regime… of course after the regime broke down everyone of her colleagues changed their positions on how they perceived and treated us. But she was the one that remained true throughout it all.

link to full page…

However, i would like to ramble on about what (i think) makes for a good writer, or more importantly, a good essay. Today as i was taking a break from my studies i did some reading up on blogs of people that pride themselves on being good writers, or at least they did so while they were at school. It was a fairly even mix, people from AU, ND, UCSF…etc… so i covered a wide spectrum of what academic excellence of those institutions is perceived to be, and this is my conclusion.

To write well, one must execute a successful first paragraph. That’s it…. really. Seems to me that many stories and/or blogs that I’ve read today no matter how crappy they ended up being in the end were greatly enhanced by a good opening paragraph. It’s as though you want to give an article a benefit of the doubt just because it had a good opening.

I know this might seem like a very pointless post to many of you. But to me it explains quite a bit about what happened to me last week. As the deadline to UW was steadily approaching i could not get myself to write anything decent for my personal statement. Granted, there has been a lot happening around that offered tremendous amount of distraction, but in the end, it all came together after the opening.

I could go on some more but I’m stick of typing, so here’s today’s lesson: Opening is a key in an essay.