“Life is other than what we write.“ André Breton, Nadja (1928) Friday 7 March 2025 Landschlacht, Schweiz Above: Landschlacht, Canton Thurgau, Switzerland Literature is both a mirror and a chisel: One reflecting the world as it is. The other carving out the world as it could be. This blog may not be literature, but the… Continue reading Invention of self
Tag: philosophy
What’s love got to do with it?
Thursday 14 February 2025 Eskişehir, Türkiye Where does one find love? Perhaps Rome? Above: Roma (Rome), Italia The Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin is a minor basilican church in Rome, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Located in the rione (neighborhood) of Ripa and constructed first in the 6th century as a diaconia (deaconry) in an area of the city populated by Greek immigrants,… Continue reading What’s love got to do with it?
The road to Nirvana
Saturday 8 February 2025 Eskişehir, Türkiye Time is a river. Its current carries us through moments of human striving — some triumphant, some tragic. Each event, each life born into history on this day, speaks to a quest: For truth, for escape, for justice, for a world beyond suffering. But where does that journey end?… Continue reading The road to Nirvana
A friend in deed
Dear Dost, I know that people don’t send letters anymore. Rather we tend to rely on instant messaging or e-mail. Sure, they are convenient and instant, but they do not have the same level of intimacy as a personal letter does. Sadly, the joy of receiving real letters is something that fewer and fewer people… Continue reading A friend in deed
The joy of hikikomori
Hikikomori (Japanese): Total withdrawal from society Fujimaki: “I have been suffering from this disabling social phobia for many years and I am still struggling in my recovery. After receiving six months of therapy, I am gradually trying to reintegrate into society, but I am still pretty reclusive. When I think back, I realize that even… Continue reading The joy of hikikomori
The invisible man
Eskişehir, Türkiye Wednesday (Çarşamba) 25 December (Aralık) 2024 “There is such a sameness in my life at present it is not worthwhile to keep a journal.“ Nicholas Cresswell, Monday 13 October 1777 Above: British diarist Nicholas Cresswell (1750 – 1804) Cresswell was the son of a landowner and sheep farmer in Crowden-le-Booth, Edale, Derbyshire. Above: Holy Trinity Parish… Continue reading The invisible man
The one with two lives
Poetry consists of “making notes in the margins of that photo album that is life”. Emilio Quintana Above: Archidona, Málaga Province, España Sunday 1 September 2024 Eskişehir, Türkiye In a sense, the poet lives not one life, but two: The life of he who holds the pen that makes the poem and the poem which… Continue reading The one with two lives
The recumbent lion
Above: The natural phenomenon of the karst erosion in El Torcal de Antequera, Andalusia, España “Throw the lumber over, man! Let your Boat of Life be light, packed with only what you need – a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends, worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a… Continue reading The recumbent lion
Man cave
Above: Dolmen de Menga panorama, Antequera, España Eskişehir, Türkiye Friday 23 August 2024 As more people move to our cities there is one problem that planners have to face up to: Where are they going to put everyone? Above: Porsuk Çayı (Badger Stream), Eskişehir (Old City), Türkiye (Turkey) The lack of affordable accommodation is the… Continue reading Man cave
Antequera: In transit
Eskişehir, Türkiye Saturday 10 August 2024 “No young person under 40 is ever to be allowed to travel abroad under any circumstances. Nor is anyone to be allowed to go for private reasons, but only on some public business, as a herald or ambassador or as an observer of one sort or another.“ Plato, The… Continue reading Antequera: In transit