I have felt shame.

I have felt shame. I know this feeling. Insidious, pounding, discomforting. The weight of an elephant on my chest, crushing my rib cage. The tension of a prey in every muscle, standing straight, scrutinizing the unwelcoming surroundings. I have felt shame. I know why it happened. After mistreating a friend, sure. Thinking back on the drunken, foolish bickering, abrasively my carefully hidden flaws exposed: selfishness, insecurity. Fear of being misperceived, fear of being disliked. After stumbling in public, knees and hands on the ground, I swear I can feel the stares poking my back, a pin holder. The underlying commonality: a misstep, a mistake, an error on my behalf. I should have acted differently. I should have behaved. I have felt shame. I know why it happened. At least, I think. I not only felt shame for my actions. As it happens, you know, I felt it for other people’s actions. I felt shame when my mother revealed to my crush that I liked him in primary school. I felt shame when the people I introduced didn’t like each other. I even felt shame because of the barbaric actions of humankind: wars, genocides, and inequality. I guess, in a way, I feel responsible for others, even if their actions are out of my control: a little talking cricket sitting right by my ear whispers to my nervous system, “STIFFEN! TENSE UP! MAYDAY, I REPEAT, MAYDAY.”… Continue reading I have felt shame.

MusicAeterna: Reimagining Classical Music

MusicAeterna is an innovative musical project which consists of an orchestra, a choir, and a dance troupe under the leadership of the Greek-Russian conductor Theodor Currentzis. It was founded in 2004 in Novosibirsk, Siberia’s largest city, which was an unusual place for an innovative ensemble, since it is far away from Russia’s 2 cultural capitals,… Continue reading MusicAeterna: Reimagining Classical Music

Insatiable

she spends most of her time in front of the mirror and behind the screen.the mirror shows her glimpses of old photos of her mother and eyes that have only yet caught a glimpse of the world.the screen shows her tiktok and botox and pounds lost and photoshopinstagram face and small waists.“why do i have… Continue reading Insatiable

Music and Dance

by Anna Dalaidi The 20th century society was complex and full of controversies: dynamic and stagnant, rebellious but still deeply obsolete, rampant while on the verge of collapsing. During the first decades of the 1900s, the so-called artistic avant-garde depicted the tense climate of uncertainty and unstoppable change by breaking the traditional rules of academicism,… Continue reading Music and Dance

On Adoration – November 2023

“Only in adoration can profound and true acceptance develop. And it is precisely this personal act of encounter with the Lord that develops the social mission which is contained in the Eucharist and desires to break down barriers, not only the barriers between the Lord and us but also and above all those that separate… Continue reading On Adoration – November 2023

Artistic and cultural analysis of tarot cards

From Playing Cards to Fortune Telling: The Evolution of Tarot  Tarot Cards and Their Origin The art of tarot reading and its interpretations are deeply ingrained in many European cultures, particularly in Italy. With the rise of concepts such as the “law of attraction” gaining media attention in the 20th century, tarot reading quickly gained… Continue reading Artistic and cultural analysis of tarot cards

Updating a “pop bible”

1989 (Taylor’s Version) is the latest re-recording that Taylor Swift has put out into the world as part of her quest to own all of the six albums she initially released under Big Machine Records. As the name states, the idea is that these new versions are her versions, not only in the sense that she owns them, but also… Continue reading Updating a “pop bible”

We live in the girl economy

“girl math” and why is it valid. “It’s basically free.” If you have been on the realms of TikTok, you have definitely heard this quite a lot. The phrase is a pillar behind ‘girl math’ – the concept of exploiting logical processes to minimize the mental costs of expensive purchases. While girls have been employing… Continue reading We live in the girl economy