Valdemaras' Thoughts

More than one year since my last blog post. I think writing is very useful, especially if you don't have a very good memory. It's good to remember things. You remember them best if you write down and perhaps talk to someone about it. Writing makes thoughts more defined.

Today I was reading interviews with Ai Wei Wei, a Chinese contemporary artists, architect and political activist. Political activist in China?! Yes, he has just been released from jail after spending close to three months in there. China is so interesting. Apparently the party is pretending to be just, although it is not. It can't be, because you can't be just and restrain free speech at the same time. It's commonly thought that China is soon to be the new super power, which might overwhelm the western civilization. But can you imagine a super power without the freedom of thought? Is this possible? Can innovation and growth come from a state where there's no freedom of information?

It's very interesting to hear about China from a Chinese, who is familiar with the western culture and can explain things so that it's easy to understand for me. The book contains Ai Wei Wei's interviews conducted by Hans Ulrich Obrist.

Ai Wei Wei recently had his exhibit called Sunflower Seeds displayed at Tate Modern in the turbine hall. (In the photo on the top-left he is in Tate Modern, several months before his arrest). 100 million handcrafted and painted porcelain sunflower seeds were spread out on the ground. You can find some Ai Wei Wei's photo art at Moma's website. Very political.

P.S. I really like Obrist's idea of Brutally Early Breakfast Club. And a very good name for the club.

Currently around one half of the human population suffers from poverty. The book by George Orwell "Down and Out in Paris and London" helps to imagine what it is like to live in poverty. It narrates about a man's life in poverty in the beginning of the 20th century. So what do you do if you haven't been eating for three days already?

• search for any job you can get.
• try to borrow some money from your acquaintances.
• pawn your clothes (the only thing you have left).
• go fishing.
• remember that fasting is quite pleasant after the fourth day.
• Feel a relief “at knowing yourself at last genuinely down and out. You have talked so often of going to the dogs--and well, here are the dogs, and you have reached them, and you can stand it. It takes off a lot of anxiety."

George Orwell claimed: "Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as I understand it.". "Down and Out in Paris and London" was published in 1933. However, one can feel an inclination towards Socialism already.

According to the book there was a vast number of laborers back at that time, laborers that were as wasted slaves, doing largely unnecessary work. "And they are kept at work, ultimately, because of a vague feeling [of the rich class] that they would be dangerous if they had leisure and time to think"

Summing up, although at some places the narrative isn't very organic and consistent, the book is very easy to read. In my view, the book is more valuable not as a piece of art, but as a chronicle and a collection of ideas. It might definitely help to understand the evolution of Orwell's thought and serve as a good introduction before reading his other, more famous, books like “1984” and “Animal Farm”.

“Vilniaus Džiazas“ - the book by Ričardas Gavelis engrossed me completely until the moment I finished reading it. The novel is not only extremely captivating, but it is also interesting because it narrates about my city. Despite Vilnius being very different now, it is a good feeling to know the streets and the places where the action is taking place.

The narrative is built around the life of a physics student Tomas Kelertas and his friends. Briefly put, the book speaks of the search for identity during the times of communism oppression. It talks little about communism as a political regime, it instead analyses its impact on human mind.

The plot fluctuates with the rhythm of jazz, unnoticeably jumping from one character to another, immersing the reader into different emotions and perceptions. As you read on the plot becomes more and more surreal, with the visitors from the parallel worlds, characters suddenly gaining telepathic powers and talking to already dead philosophers or musicians.

Definitely a good read, especially for people who have had an opportunity to live in Vilnius.

For the first time in the history of the United States its people elected an African American President.

Barack Obama's charming personality and his fascinating presidential campaign made it possible. Not only his speeches were reasonable, but they were also very emotionally involving. People were crying listening to him. The way he spoke and what he told made people feel important, his speeches made people feel that they can change something, gave them hope and a feeling of pride in their nation.

Certainly, the speeches were prepared with the help from (if not by) public relations experts. But does it imply that all that he told was a lie and that all the emotions were simply faked? Apparently not, as it does not imply the opposite either.

Seeing the popular music videos created during the Obama's presidential campaign leaves no doubt about how extraordinary the elections were: Yes We Can, I Got a Crush...On Obama.

Every person desires to be appreciated or, in other words, to be worthy of esteem and respect. Paradoxically, the feeling of self-esteem mostly depends on other people's opinions. To put it briefly, person's self-esteem is damaged when they are criticized and their achievements are depreciated. People feel more appreciated when their achievements or traits are praised.

It is very interesting and sometimes also very useful to observe how people react to criticism or praising. In my limited experience I noticed that people who have a lack of self-esteem tend to lean to the following two states of mind. Wether they start talking down others and become extremely categorical in their opinion or, on the contrary, loose their self-confidence.

I have had an opportunity to observe the first case much more often than the second. So, if some friend or acquaintance is talking you down for some trifle, or someone is assuring you too often that he is right and you are wrong, then you have all the reasons to suspect that a person just wants to gain more confidence in his merit and increase his feeling of self-esteem this way.

In these cases, I think, it is important not to start fighting back, and proving who is wrong, which would leave the person feeling even more depreciated and also angry on you. In my opinion, the wisest would be to understand that the argument is not about the trifle you're arguing about, it is about someone trying to become appreciated. Sometimes it's enough to show some appreciation to solve all the problems.