The Comfort Zone of Unhappiness
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"Don’t Worry About Me, I’m Perfectly Unhappy"
Read MoreThe Daniel Quinn Files: Ishmael (1)
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I’ve mentioned Daniel Quinn too often to not have gotten into his work yet here, so finally that’s what I’m starting now. Daniel Quinn is the author of many books and the first one, Ishmael, is the one that changed my and many other people’s lives. My plan is to work through his books step by step, discussing his ideas in each of them. Nothing I say can substitute actually reading them, so if nothing else, you can see this as a very long recommendation series. Maybe you know some of his books and find it interesting to hear some thoughts, maybe you don’t and my discussion encourages you to check them out or maybe you generally don’t read books and attain some of his ideas anyway through this.
Read MoreNotes on a Scandal (2006)
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Notes on a Scandal is fascinating right from the start. I had the big fortune of not knowing what the movie was about at all. In fact, I was under the impression I was watching Veronica Guerin and was waiting for Cate Blanchett to become involved in politics and spies. This way, the movie surprised me several times because if you really have no clue, you don’t expect many things that happen. The main drive comes from the incredible performances by Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett who are really as good as any review says. In a way, it doesn’t matter what they are talking about because they inhabit their characters so perfectly that anything they do would be interesting to watch. The direction by Richard Eyre is also excellent and Philip Glass’ score is breathtaking (again). It is a captivating movie that forces you to keep watching the disaster unfolding.
Read MoreMusic Box: Morrissey's "World Peace Is None of Your Business"
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When I think of political music, I either think of the 60s and 70s, Gang of Four or hip-hop (at least some of it). I could think of Morrissey and the Smiths but it’s not the first thing on my mind, since Morrissey is more known for making political statements outside his music nowadays and Meat Is Murder and Margaret on the Guillotine are still in the minority compared to his other songs. So I was somewhat surprised to listen to his new album and realize, hey, for an old man he sure has some statements left to make. Maybe I’m just so surprised because his last albums didn’t feature many political songs in comparison. But here is his new album, after years of delay, and its title already makes some allusions that make you think: World Peace Is None of Your Business.
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