Home pages are places where people or organizations introduce themselves to the world. Here we talk about who we are, what we like and do, and so on. This information is dynamic, thus you won't see the "under construction" warning here, just the date of the last update. So, let me start.
This page was created on Feb 10 1995, Last updated on November 20, 2005.
I was born in 1949
in Dubrovnik Croatia,
the
pearl of the Adriatic, studied Economics
in Osijek and
graduated in 1972. Came to U.S.A. on a Fulbright Scholarship in 1976, to
the University of Denver where I
completed an MSBA in Statistics. From there I went on to Krannert
Graduate School of Management at Purdue
University and graduated in 1981 with an MS in MIS. Then I was
given an opportunity to teach at St
Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Indiana -- what a place! In
1984/85 I worked at Purdue
University Computing Center (and loved it).
I came to Tallahassee, Florida in 1985 as a CDC senior analyst and worked at SCRI (Supercomputer Computations Research Institute at FSU- Florida State University) until in 1988 I switched over to FAMU(Florida A&M University) where I taught in the CIS department. In 1991, I lost my homeland.
These days, I am having fun running a business, Applied Computing Solutions, Inc. with two other partners. (NOTE: This was written back in 1995 and is no longer true)
So, there is my life in the nutshell. Now some more:
- I love music. As a child and young adult I played in a small
symphonic/marching band in Dubrovnik. I was born to a family of
professional musicians (my mother was a violinist and my father a
percussionist, brass, and clarinet/saxophone player) which introduced
me to music at a very early age. The orchestra in which they played
(The Dubrovnik Symphony) played mostly symphonic music. A typical
concert would start with an overture or excerpts from operas, followed
by a concerto, and, after an intermission, it would end with a
symphony.
Somehow that music in a child's mind spoke of glory of what humanity could be but is tragically not. It spoke of an incredible potential for creativity and beauty that is everywhere around us. Somehow, we humans, always find ways to spoil the beauty and cover it up in mud.
It is difficult to identify the favourite composer, but if I had to make a single choice my favourite composer would have to be Franz von Suppé and then his favourite composition would have to be the "Poet and Peasant" overture as it starts humbly with the warm and simple sounds of brass (RealAudio format) and develops a solemn theme led by the cello solo (as a teenager I usually played that solo in my symphonic band on the baritone horn which would be the highpoints of my life at the time) finally blossoming through the vivacious gallop of the full orchestra only to be reminded of the more subtle side of life by briefly interweaving the cello theme. This piece symbolizes the desire of humanity to come close to its own essence through beauty but, its daily life is still filled with the creative struggle.
Later, years later, I founded a brass quintet in Dubrovnik, had two concerts, and left. My favourite brass group is Canadian Brass. I like their attitude toward music. Charles, the tubist, once told me that it is important that people enjoy music and that's why and how they play it.
- Some time during my teenage years I picked up a
cappella singing and just fell in love with it. There is a
great tradition of street corner singing and serenading in Dalmatia,
the region in southern Croatia where I grew up (this makes me a
Dalmatian). Groups of men just gather and sing for fun. Be it in the
street, or a restaurant, on the bus, anywhere. A couple of schoolmates
and I used to hum harmonizing with the passing ships during the class
time. Needless to say not all the teachers were amused, but we had
fun. Now, I occasionally sing with the Tallahassee
Community Chorus and recently had a one-in-a-life-time
opportunity to sing under one of the greats, Mr. Robert Shaw. If music
is life's magic, Mr. Shaw is the top magician.
- In 1991, as some of you may remember, Yugoslavia fell apart and the
war ensued. This violent loss of my homeland
gave me a lot of grief, I started writing,
got involved in humanitarian aid work, but it also made me think of
other ways of resolving conflicts. So, I came upon mediation (check
out Yahoo
or my friend John's
page), took some courses, training, and became finally a
certified mediator. Now, I practice and sharpen my mediation skills
every day and everywhere but mostly through the Neighborhood
Justice Center in Tallahassee, Florida (no longer in operation).
- I like to read. Don't read much daily press but rather enjoy
reading magazines. Some of those I subscribe to (and read) are: Scientific
American, UTNE Reader,
LIFE (is
no longer), National
Geograhic, then a bunch of trade journals.
- Ah, yes! The on-line stuff. I am preparing a list of websites
to share with you. But just to give you an idea, here are a few: WhoseFlorida,
WhiteCloud, Vecernji
List, Slobodna
Dalmacija, The
Democracy Chronicle, etc.
- Television? Yes I do like to occasionally turn on TV if I am
in the right mood. You might catch me watching: PBS
(I especially like Frontline),
Discovery Channel,
occasionally I'll watch VH1
or History Channel.
Oh yes, I also use my satellite dish to catch some Croatian
TV. That's about it.
- You are probably thinking that there must be more, Well, there is. I
am also a recipient of and occasional contributor to the following
email lists: PNEWS [Progressive News & Views] and JWV [Justice
Without Violence] (more),
Committees of Correspondence
(I am in possession of the only copy of a video tape from the meeting
in "room 214" where this organization formally got started,
used to be a member but sort of dropped out). Then there are a few
lists pertaining to my homeland: BOSNET,
TWATCH - news from and about the International
Criminal Tribunals and quite a few others. Actually, there is
a very good Directory
of Active South Slavic Mailing maintained by KRPAN
in Slovenia.
I have been member of PeaceNet since 1986.
- Do you have a favourite quote? Something someone said that
really resonated inside very deeply? Well, I do, several. Here
is one of them. I picked it up from some radical, left-wing
brochure or a paper long time ago at a rally in Atlanta, Georgia. I
lost the publication, but saved the quote since it summarizes so much
of what I do today.
As a child-reader I read many books on the subject of the American west and the the tragic "dicovery of Europeans" by the natives. The following quote also deals with education. it comes to us from "Touch the Earth", a compilation by T.C. McLuhan and speaks to me of how life could be better in the world where we are aware of and appreciate our differences which make up this beautiful space traveler called Earth.
Finally, this wonderfully inspiring quote from Martha Graham to Agnes De Mille.
Aha, one more thing! My sweetheart Stacey and I married each other this past Saturday (March 9, 2002) so there will be a page on this coming soon.
Writing again 3 1/2 years later (Nov 20, 2005), things did not turn out well for the two of us (Stacey and I), we separated in July 2003 and will soon be divorced - my friend Karen reminded me that I needed to update this information here, thank you Karen :-)
And also, I became a grandfather this past Tuesday (March 12, 2002) and guess what, I plan a separate page for that too. Stay tuned.
So, there it is. I intend to update this page with new information (about my favourite movies, pieces of music, and books), perhaps
some
more photos and family stuff (I have a wonderful daughter), Macha,
the most wonderful cat in the universe with whom I have shared living
experiences since February 1986 and from whom I learned a great deal of
things; and some thoughts on other various and sundry subjects. So you
never know, when you come in next time, there may be more goodies to
browse.
Macha left us on October 15, 2004, she died lying down on her favourite sand patch. Thank you Macha for being such a faithful companion for more than 18 years. I miss you!
In case you'd like to write, here is my e-mail address: dubravko@kakarigi.net.
