“We are a society of notoriously unhappy people: lonely, anxious, depressed, destructive, dependent.” Erich Fromm
American sociologist Salvatore Babones stated in his paper Sovereignty in Millennial World-System that “liberal democracy married to commodity fetishism is no longer the American culture but the world culture”. We have all been infected with the feverish American nightmare.
In recent years, more and more people have had enough. We are done being mindless consumers and we are done being miserable.
Cue minimalism. Cue hygge. Cue ikigai. Cue Marie Kondo. Cue living off the grid. Cue FIRE (becoming financially independent and retiring early).
What do all of these strategies have in common? …
By definition, a Utopia is a good place that doesn’t exist but this doesn’t mean we can’t come close to impossible
In 2011, Slavoj Žižek held a speech at a gathering of the Occupy Wall Street Movement. In it, he shared what he called was an “old Communist joke” about a guy from East Germany who is sent to Siberia to work. Knowing that his mail will be read through by censors, he and his friend make a deal about a code. Everything he writes in blue is the truth, and everything that he writes in red is not.
A month or so later, the first letter arrives and it is entirely in blue. The letter describes the wonders and splendour…
A case for reading difficult books.
I was always the kid who preferred to stay home and read rather than go outside and play. Other people were confusing and the outside world always fell short to the adventures I could have with a good book.
I read a lot. For my 13th birthday, I got 14 books by R. L. Stine, which I read in a week (they’re not very long). If you’ve never heard of him, he’s like Stephen King for teens. An extremely prolific writer (he published over 300 books so far) that writes horror. The books themselves are very much in the “young…
At the beginning of April, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen experienced sexism at a meeting in Ankara.
If you are not European, or you are and, by some miracle, you’ve never heard of her: Ursula von der Leyen is a big deal. She is a physician who specialised in women’s health. She has seven children and spent a part of her life working as a housewife and mother.
Then she moved into politics and worked with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. And, in 2019, she was elected as the President of the European Commission as the first woman ever to be elected in this position.
A couple of weeks ago, von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles…
This month’s recommendations: Sputnik Sweetheart and Bananas, Beaches, and Bases
In this ongoing series, I bring you new book recommendations every month. The recommendations are influenced by my personal preference. They may not suit everyone’s taste.
If you do give the books a try, don’t hesitate to come back for a discussion!
Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami
A short story.
She looked down at her hand. There was dried blood under her fingernails. She tried wiping her palm on her jeans again. It didn’t help of course.
Her hair was stuck to her face, perspiration coating her skin. If only she could go home and take a shower. She cleared her throat, taking her hand up to her face to remove her wet hair stopping midair. There was dried blood under her fingernails. There was dried blood everywhere probably, it just wasn’t that obvious in the dark. She tried shoving her hair away with her forearm. That felt even worse.
…
Looking for something great to read? Look no further! I’ll bring you new book recommendations every month.
In this ongoing series, you can expect new book recommendations every month. The recommendations will be influenced by my personal preference and may not suit everyone’s taste.
This month to celebrate International Women’s Day, I recommend three female-centered works.
If you do give the books a try, don’t hesitate to come back for a discussion!
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
Why I no longer worry about not being good enough
When I was younger, somehow I internalized this need to be good at things. No, scratch that. Not good. The best. I needed to be the best. I need to be brilliant.
Every single thing I did should have turned out perfectly from day one. And since that’s not how things work, it brought on a lot of heartbreak. It took me until a couple of years ago to understand that the only way you can grow is by making mistakes.
Perfectionism and the Slow Bludgeoning of Self-Esteem
I know this story is not unfamiliar to people because we live in a society that glorifies geniuses. We…
Lessons from Disney-Pixar’s Soul. (Spoilers ahead)
Recently I watched Disney-Pixar’s “Soul” and it was adorable. The aesthetic of the movie reminds me of their previous success “Inside Out” and, just like that film, “Soul” has a simple premise:
our understanding of what is important in life is wrong.
Making Your Dreams Come True Will Not Change Your Life
Joe Gardner is a high school music teacher, but all he really wants to do in life is to play with great jazz musicians. He wants fame and accolades that come with being a famous musician himself as well as meeting his heroes.
So when a former student calls him to ask if he wants to play with…
The short answer is: yes. But you probably don’t have to worry about it.
Four years ago I moved from my home country of Croatia to the Czech Republic. It was very much a voluntary move, but it did have some unexpected consequences in reshaping who I am.
In 2018, Prague was ranked 7th top ex-pat city in the world. So when I moved there most of the people I met in the first few months was not Czech at all. That is why the language I have been using on a daily basis since moving here has been English.
Now, I wasn’t new to English. I started learning it when I was four…
