Category: Uncategorized

Sunflowers laced into my braid, Do you think I’m pretty tonight? If you yank my hair, at least rip off the petals one by one, Maybe I can figure you out, Do you love me or not? New perfume, do I smell nice? I made it out from tears shed at late-night cries. I knew… Continue reading Pretty Tonight

One of the first genres, or rather sounds, that come to my mind when someone says “nostalgia” is Japanese city pop. Back in 2020, when “Mayonaka no Door / Stay With Me” by Miki Matsubara and “4:00 A.M.” by Taeko Onuki resurfaced on TikTok, I had no idea that’s what it was called – city… Continue reading City pop: the ultimate sound of nostalgia

  Once just a desert music festival in Indio, California, Coachella has evolved into much more than a celebration of sound—it’s become a fashion phenomenon, a cultural stage where style statements take the enter stage as much as the performers. Every April, the Empire Polo Club transforms into a runway of its own, where influencers,… Continue reading Coachella Culture: Fashion, Freedom, and a Festival That Defines an Aesthetic

All about Grief. Dear reader,  Without a deeper sense of purpose other than the simple act of sharing, I wanted to write something brief about loss. Relatively brief and relatively about loss, I guess. Since I don’t claim ownership over either of these terms. It’s been on my mind lately. How love and loss often… Continue reading LOVE AND LOSS

Russian rock slowly developed in the 1960-70s in the Soviet underground, and, despite some inspiration from the Beatles, David Bowie, and other Western rock pioneers, as well as Jamaican dub music, it reached its peak and mainstream status in the late 1980-1990s, thus, becoming a largely nationally isolated cultural phenomenon. This isolation was attempted to… Continue reading Sun Q: Reimagining Rock Music

Two weeks ago, I was told that I would look like a “hardcore feminist” if I cut my hair short. To be clear, this was said in a derogatory tone—a comment intended to discourage me from my decision. When I responded with “What if I am?” to challenge the idea, a mildly heated argument began.… Continue reading Women’s Advocacy or Aggression?

Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend transports readers to a vibrant yet fractured neighbourhood in 1950s Naples, telling the story of a friendship between two girls — Elena ‘Lenu’ Greco and Raffaela ‘Lila’ Cerullo. Against the backdrop of an array of themes in the novel such as friendship, social issues, politics, and family dynamics is a… Continue reading In the Shadow of Power: Violence in Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend

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.

This article contains a description of abuse and violence.  On the night of November 9, 2023, Saltanat Nukenova was brutally murdered by her husband, an ex-Minister of Economy of Kazakhstan, Kuandyk Bishimbayev. I feel “brutally” is not enough of a word to describe the torture she went through. As the forensics expert concluded in court:… Continue reading Turbulent Times: Kazakhstan’s biggest femicide case and personal sentiment. 

Lately, it has become the norm in Turkey to wake up to yet another tragedy. On the news, what you constantly see—alongside the persistently high inflation—is a woman being murdered, most often, though not always, by a man. The rise in femicides has unsurprisingly coincided with democratic backsliding, as the ruling Erdoğan regime implements conservative… Continue reading Istanbul Convention Saves Lives