Saturday, October 24, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Acik Toplum
Bugun 2 saat ders anlattim. Ardindan ogrencilerle 2 saat gayfe icip muhabbet ettik . Ardindan 2 saat "Experimental Methods in Social Sciences" hakkinda 4 unlu professorun munazarasini izledim. Cok Cok sevdim... Mest oldum jest oldum. Ardindan 2 saat Hakan Altinay'la tanisma amacli aksam yemegi yedim. Bugunku yazimizin ana mevzusu ise bu iki saatlik yemek hakkinda sayin seyirciler...
Evet, bu aksam Acik Toplum Vakfinin baskani Hakan Altinay ile aksam yemegi yedik ben ve 4 Turk arkadasla daha beraber. Cok sempatik adammis. Hemen politika mevzularina hizla daldik. Acik Toplum Enstitusu nedir diye bir soru sordu arkadasim Hande. Kendisi de " Demokrasiyi yayma amacli" kurulmus bir vakif dedi. Bilmeyenler buradan buyursun. Sonracima, Kibristir, Soros Vakfindan gelen kaynaklaridir, AK Parti, Turkiye de mahalle baskisi... falan filan. daldik mevzulara. Hic birinin icinden cikilacak gibi degildi. Kendisi, genc, sabirli, dikkatli ve sempatik/ gulerek konusan birisi. Sahsini pek sevdik ama otesi de yok. Sanki ikna olmamiz lazimmis ama o bizi ikna edememis gibi oldu... Anlamadim.
Bu aksam yemeginden 5 sonuc cikarttim.
1. Ozetle: Turkiye, hemen her alanda koyun olmadigi icin keciye Abdurrahman celebi diyenlerin cok bulundugu bir yer.
2. 5 kisilik bir aksam yemeginde konusulan konularin derinligini, enteresoganligini kulturel/sosyal derinligi/zekasi en az olan insanin duzeyi belirliyor. "Ortalama" degil "Minimum" onemli yani.
3. Bu minimum zeka/algilama/kultur duzeyinde siyaset, ekonomi ve sosyoloji muhabbeti yapmak bir iskence; zekaniza hakaret edildigini hissediyorsunuz. Daralip bunaliyorsunuz... Onu bunu bosver de su filmi izlediniz mi muhabbeti de kurtarmiyor. Hakan Altinay da isteyerek veya istemeyerek Kibris, AB bilmem ne konularini iyice basite indirgeyerek ilkokul duzeyinde ogrencilere bile verilmeyecek ornekler verince, adamin butun sevimliligine ragmen tahammul edemedim butun konusulanlara ... Bu da demek oluyor ki giderek babama benziyorum.
4. Turkiye'de de yurt disinda da hersey "networking" ile yuruyor. Ama sanirim buTurkiye'de cok daha bir acayip boyutta. Aksam yemekte duyduklarima sastim kaldim. Ama sasmamak lazim cunku zaten bakiniz madde 1.
5. Italyan restaurantlari her yerde her zaman beni memnun ediyor, menude her zaman guzel bir iki sahane sey oluyor.
Evet, bu aksam Acik Toplum Vakfinin baskani Hakan Altinay ile aksam yemegi yedik ben ve 4 Turk arkadasla daha beraber. Cok sempatik adammis. Hemen politika mevzularina hizla daldik. Acik Toplum Enstitusu nedir diye bir soru sordu arkadasim Hande. Kendisi de " Demokrasiyi yayma amacli" kurulmus bir vakif dedi. Bilmeyenler buradan buyursun. Sonracima, Kibristir, Soros Vakfindan gelen kaynaklaridir, AK Parti, Turkiye de mahalle baskisi... falan filan. daldik mevzulara. Hic birinin icinden cikilacak gibi degildi. Kendisi, genc, sabirli, dikkatli ve sempatik/ gulerek konusan birisi. Sahsini pek sevdik ama otesi de yok. Sanki ikna olmamiz lazimmis ama o bizi ikna edememis gibi oldu... Anlamadim.
Bu aksam yemeginden 5 sonuc cikarttim.
1. Ozetle: Turkiye, hemen her alanda koyun olmadigi icin keciye Abdurrahman celebi diyenlerin cok bulundugu bir yer.
2. 5 kisilik bir aksam yemeginde konusulan konularin derinligini, enteresoganligini kulturel/sosyal derinligi/zekasi en az olan insanin duzeyi belirliyor. "Ortalama" degil "Minimum" onemli yani.
3. Bu minimum zeka/algilama/kultur duzeyinde siyaset, ekonomi ve sosyoloji muhabbeti yapmak bir iskence; zekaniza hakaret edildigini hissediyorsunuz. Daralip bunaliyorsunuz... Onu bunu bosver de su filmi izlediniz mi muhabbeti de kurtarmiyor. Hakan Altinay da isteyerek veya istemeyerek Kibris, AB bilmem ne konularini iyice basite indirgeyerek ilkokul duzeyinde ogrencilere bile verilmeyecek ornekler verince, adamin butun sevimliligine ragmen tahammul edemedim butun konusulanlara ... Bu da demek oluyor ki giderek babama benziyorum.
4. Turkiye'de de yurt disinda da hersey "networking" ile yuruyor. Ama sanirim buTurkiye'de cok daha bir acayip boyutta. Aksam yemekte duyduklarima sastim kaldim. Ama sasmamak lazim cunku zaten bakiniz madde 1.
5. Italyan restaurantlari her yerde her zaman beni memnun ediyor, menude her zaman guzel bir iki sahane sey oluyor.
2 saatlik aksam yemeginden sonra ofise geldik 2 saat daha calistim, ogrencilere midterm sorulari hazirladim. Sonra eve geldim, sabahin 4'u olmus buna ragmen 2 saattir internette takiliyorum hala...
Haydi iyi geceler.... 2 saat uyuyup uyanacagiz nasil olsa...
Bugun yine yogun bir gun yepyeni maceralara yelken acacaz...
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Future work!
I learned about it today. My friends told me that according to offical statement of the Nobel comitte it was supposed to be an "advance payment" for his future contributions to world peace.
Then, this afternoon I saw this beautiful blog entry by famous economist Gregory Mankiw:
Read this Associated Press article first. It is about the committee members admitting that he hasn't done anything yet (but he will)
Associated Press
And from MANKIW's BLOG:
Pfuffnick's Nobel Economics Prize triumph hailed by many
LONDON — The surprise choice of first-year graduate student Quintus Pfuffnick for the Nobel Prize in Economics drew praise from much of the world Friday even as many pointed out the youthful economist has not yet published anything in scholarly journals.
The new PhD candidate was hailed for his willingness to tackle difficult problems, his commitment to improving the economic system, and his goal of bringing efficiency and equality into harmony.
Professor Paul Krugman of Princeton, who won the prize in 2008, said Pfuffnick's award shows great things are expected from him in the coming years.
"In a way, it's an award coming near the beginning of the first year in grad school of a relatively young economist that anticipates an even greater contribution towards making our economy a better place for all," he said. "It is an award that speaks to the promise of Mr Pfuffnick's message of hope."
He said the prize is a "wonderful recognition of Pfuffnick's essay in his grad school application."
Then, this afternoon I saw this beautiful blog entry by famous economist Gregory Mankiw:
Read this Associated Press article first. It is about the committee members admitting that he hasn't done anything yet (but he will)
Associated Press
And from MANKIW's BLOG:
First-Year Grad Student Wins Nobel Prize in Economics!
Pfuffnick's Nobel Economics Prize triumph hailed by many
LONDON — The surprise choice of first-year graduate student Quintus Pfuffnick for the Nobel Prize in Economics drew praise from much of the world Friday even as many pointed out the youthful economist has not yet published anything in scholarly journals.The new PhD candidate was hailed for his willingness to tackle difficult problems, his commitment to improving the economic system, and his goal of bringing efficiency and equality into harmony.
Professor Paul Krugman of Princeton, who won the prize in 2008, said Pfuffnick's award shows great things are expected from him in the coming years.
"In a way, it's an award coming near the beginning of the first year in grad school of a relatively young economist that anticipates an even greater contribution towards making our economy a better place for all," he said. "It is an award that speaks to the promise of Mr Pfuffnick's message of hope."
He said the prize is a "wonderful recognition of Pfuffnick's essay in his grad school application."
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
hesap kitap
Yaklasik bir aydan fazladir yine cok calisiyorum. Insanliktan ciktim:
Haftada 3 Saat ders anlatiyorum
Yaklasik 8 saat ona hazirlaniyorum.
5 aksam yemegini disarda yiyorum.
4 gece sabahliyorum calisarak.
Haftalik5 dizi izliyorum (Fringe, Heroes, Greek, Aski-Memnu, Flash Forward-> yeni ve super!).
Gunde 2 buyuk bardak kahve iciyorum.
Haftada 2 seminer/ workshopa katiliyorum.
Haftada yaklasik bir 500- 600 sayfa civarinda akademik materyal okuyorum.
Haftada 7 kere dus aliyorum.
Sadece 4 sabah kahvalti yapiyorum.
Haftada 0.5'ten az ev temizligi yapiyorum.
Haftada ortalama 20 sayfa ingilzce metin yaziyorum (Ders notlari, journal reviewlari, resmi emailler, ve bitirmeye calistigim son paper!)
Haftada 5 gece gece yarisindan sonra eve bisikletle bos sokaklarda hiz yaparak geliyorum.
Bu hafta 5 kere bu bloga yazdim.
Yoksa deli olmak mumkun zira
kimseyle konusmaya konusmaya
Gracias a la vida!
deyip bitireyim o zaman.
Haftada 3 Saat ders anlatiyorum
Yaklasik 8 saat ona hazirlaniyorum.
5 aksam yemegini disarda yiyorum.
4 gece sabahliyorum calisarak.
Haftalik5 dizi izliyorum (Fringe, Heroes, Greek, Aski-Memnu, Flash Forward-> yeni ve super!).
Gunde 2 buyuk bardak kahve iciyorum.
Haftada 2 seminer/ workshopa katiliyorum.
Haftada yaklasik bir 500- 600 sayfa civarinda akademik materyal okuyorum.
Haftada 7 kere dus aliyorum.
Sadece 4 sabah kahvalti yapiyorum.
Haftada 0.5'ten az ev temizligi yapiyorum.
Haftada ortalama 20 sayfa ingilzce metin yaziyorum (Ders notlari, journal reviewlari, resmi emailler, ve bitirmeye calistigim son paper!)
Haftada 5 gece gece yarisindan sonra eve bisikletle bos sokaklarda hiz yaparak geliyorum.
Bu hafta 5 kere bu bloga yazdim.
Yoksa deli olmak mumkun zira
kimseyle konusmaya konusmaya
Gracias a la vida!
deyip bitireyim o zaman.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Too much trivia will kill you
Name on it: Trivia! Things that are trivial...
Kafa degil populer kultur coplugu... Yarisiyoruz adeta kim daha cok bilecek ivir zivir hakkinda...
Kulturlu insan boyle olunur ya.
Kafa degil populer kultur coplugu... Yarisiyoruz adeta kim daha cok bilecek ivir zivir hakkinda...
Kulturlu insan boyle olunur ya.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Capitalism: A love story
I just saw the movie today. I went to the movie theater with a bunch of people from my department. All academics: sociologist, ethnographers... etc. First of all, I loved it. Great movie , speaks to masses... At times, I got excited... then I got emotional and moved by the individual stories. In sum, I spent a great two-hours time watching this movie.
I have the feeling that most academic people around me were in general pretty critical to Michael Moore and his personality. I agree that he often becomes sensationalist; he alienates mainstream American viewers or he exaggerates things... etc. But there are also a lot of truth, a lot of interesting information in his movies. Above all, there's definitely much to learn from his movies about the American Society. In this respect, this one is definitely one of the good ones. Besides his movies are funny! Yes, pretty funny!
Moreover, I think this movie was a nice tool to test whether people are sincere with their sympathy towards the poor people. It made me understand that it is an important quality to be able to get moved by those sad stories: i.e. bankruptcies of elderly, families loosing homes or companies earning money out of a death of a worker. I was a little annoyed (may be unfairly so) to see my friends making a cold intellectual critique of the movie during those scenes. And I was further surprised to hear them admitting that they did NOT have much sympathy to the people who were victims of mortgage crisis. I couldn't discuss their reasons with them because I was feeling an emotional hangover right after the movie. It was hard for me to talk about it at a much colder and an analytical level at that moment...
But I am able to do it now :) First of all, I agree with my friends: I am annoyed to see that Michale Moore offers no real solution in his movies. He invited people to join him at the end of the film today but he doesn't clarify "for what" people should be joining him. The only overall solution he suggests against the capitalism is a EU style welfare state. In other words a "welfare capitalism". What is more, he portrays Obama as the initiator of the change in such direction. It was obvious from the movie that Michael Moore considers him as a hero.
I think there hasn't been a major transformation in the financial system since the crisis came out. Neither has been since Obama is in charge. There are still extremely complicated financial instruments, operations taking place in the banking industry. We even didn't have a big paradigm shift in the way we teach economics or in the way we understand market economy after this crisis. And EU welfare states are not doing greatly better in times of crisis either. Yes, it is true that welfare states help to reduce individual life risks, such as sickness and unemployment... etc., but 17% unemployment in Spain or 12% in Germany is also a huge problem. It is even a bigger problem when you break them down into the population subgroups such as native Europeans versus immigrants. In some EU countries unemployment rate among immigrants are much above 20%. Welfare state becomes increasingly a "big brother" in Europe and a control mechanism which is important to discuss and which is also an expected result of capitalism. Of course it is understandable that there is no need to get into a deeper debate of regulation and welfare states in such a movie..
Another surprising thing was after so much evidence about concentration of wealth in the hands of 1%, I am surprised to see that he doesn't talk about the importance of a "wealth tax" that is "just" and significant! Not an income tax that is unconstitutional!
I am also disappointed with the fact that he treats Democracy as an invisible hand that can correct many of those problems generated by the capitalism. So, bring democracy to the organizations, congress, central banks; you will have less crisis or less tragedies. Is this what we are supposed to take out of this movie? If so, I am not sure about it...
But overall, who cares about all? A number of important good messages delivered in the movie. Get organized! Question big corporations! They are run buy human being and open to all kinds of manipulations. Stay away from banking system! Vote! Fight for your rights and for your neighbor's rights! And the guys like Bush who monopolizes Christianity are actually acting against what Jesus has commanded. So don't believe them.
I re-iterate: I spent a great time in there! I care about individual stories... and I like Micheal Moore. I think we could have been good friends if he lived in New Haven.
I have the feeling that most academic people around me were in general pretty critical to Michael Moore and his personality. I agree that he often becomes sensationalist; he alienates mainstream American viewers or he exaggerates things... etc. But there are also a lot of truth, a lot of interesting information in his movies. Above all, there's definitely much to learn from his movies about the American Society. In this respect, this one is definitely one of the good ones. Besides his movies are funny! Yes, pretty funny!
Moreover, I think this movie was a nice tool to test whether people are sincere with their sympathy towards the poor people. It made me understand that it is an important quality to be able to get moved by those sad stories: i.e. bankruptcies of elderly, families loosing homes or companies earning money out of a death of a worker. I was a little annoyed (may be unfairly so) to see my friends making a cold intellectual critique of the movie during those scenes. And I was further surprised to hear them admitting that they did NOT have much sympathy to the people who were victims of mortgage crisis. I couldn't discuss their reasons with them because I was feeling an emotional hangover right after the movie. It was hard for me to talk about it at a much colder and an analytical level at that moment...
But I am able to do it now :) First of all, I agree with my friends: I am annoyed to see that Michale Moore offers no real solution in his movies. He invited people to join him at the end of the film today but he doesn't clarify "for what" people should be joining him. The only overall solution he suggests against the capitalism is a EU style welfare state. In other words a "welfare capitalism". What is more, he portrays Obama as the initiator of the change in such direction. It was obvious from the movie that Michael Moore considers him as a hero.
I think there hasn't been a major transformation in the financial system since the crisis came out. Neither has been since Obama is in charge. There are still extremely complicated financial instruments, operations taking place in the banking industry. We even didn't have a big paradigm shift in the way we teach economics or in the way we understand market economy after this crisis. And EU welfare states are not doing greatly better in times of crisis either. Yes, it is true that welfare states help to reduce individual life risks, such as sickness and unemployment... etc., but 17% unemployment in Spain or 12% in Germany is also a huge problem. It is even a bigger problem when you break them down into the population subgroups such as native Europeans versus immigrants. In some EU countries unemployment rate among immigrants are much above 20%. Welfare state becomes increasingly a "big brother" in Europe and a control mechanism which is important to discuss and which is also an expected result of capitalism. Of course it is understandable that there is no need to get into a deeper debate of regulation and welfare states in such a movie..
Another surprising thing was after so much evidence about concentration of wealth in the hands of 1%, I am surprised to see that he doesn't talk about the importance of a "wealth tax" that is "just" and significant! Not an income tax that is unconstitutional!
I am also disappointed with the fact that he treats Democracy as an invisible hand that can correct many of those problems generated by the capitalism. So, bring democracy to the organizations, congress, central banks; you will have less crisis or less tragedies. Is this what we are supposed to take out of this movie? If so, I am not sure about it...
But overall, who cares about all? A number of important good messages delivered in the movie. Get organized! Question big corporations! They are run buy human being and open to all kinds of manipulations. Stay away from banking system! Vote! Fight for your rights and for your neighbor's rights! And the guys like Bush who monopolizes Christianity are actually acting against what Jesus has commanded. So don't believe them.
I re-iterate: I spent a great time in there! I care about individual stories... and I like Micheal Moore. I think we could have been good friends if he lived in New Haven.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Mercedes Sosa, una voz hermosa!
Se ha muerto hoy! Curiosamente sin saber de que ella estaba enferma, hace una semena descrubri su CD de nuevo dentro de mi archivo... De hecho hoy por la manana, en el post de abajo he colgado una cancion suya (TODO CAMBIA)... Es una gran tristeza y gran perdida... Es una de las cantantes que he escuchado mas en los ultimos dos anos.... Cry for her Argentina!
***
She died today. Strangely, I have been listening her again every morning for almost 10 days now. And this morning, I posted the song below without knowing that she was already in the hospital. She was the singer of my saddest and happiest moments here in New Haven.
So here's another song from her for all my friends from Argentina
Degismeyen Tek Sey Degisimin bilmemnesidir...
Everything changes.
Streets, buildings, landscapes
Friends, values, fashion...
And I change in this far far land...
Here's Mercedes Sosa explains how:
Streets, buildings, landscapes
Friends, values, fashion...
And I change in this far far land...
Here's Mercedes Sosa explains how:
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