01/05/20

I have never seen anything more golden than the London Central Mosque’s dome in stormy weather.

What does the news distill?

The need to ‘know’ is the need to be a ‘good citizen’. The news rests on notions of virtue and responsibility in a way that the consumption of other narratives does not: reading poetry every day won’t make you a good lover, but reading the news will deem you a decent citizen.

1961 Original Score

Mikis Theodorakis wrote this film score for Synoikia to Oneiro (1961).  This film score couldn’t care less if I ponder motherhood in my early 20s. It makes me visualize playing with my future daughter. 

Toilet paper

I bumped into a Colombian lady earlier who was shopping at the local Aldi. She had come to the Latin American organisation I go to. I remembered her name because she had been surprisingly modest about her dispute with her landlord. A very stoic older woman. I made small talk and then she went: “You…

Alexa, what’s the weather today?

Alexa informs you on the weather. In late August –  boring radicals  clumsy surgeons streets not cooling off just yet club-goers in awe of nature at dawn and still littering. light and dark shades on buildings constructed last year and ready to fall ladies running in heels outgoing taxis and  firemen dreading the pole to…

Need for Speed

We switch off to slow down and turn back to technology to save time. We like mobile wallets as much as counting coins and holding the queue. Feeling hurried is draining but telling someone you are busy is a good ego boost. The post-industrial tempo is irritating, but also comforting. When we get the chance to slow down, we dread boredom. Our “always on”, “up-to-the-minute” digital content, meant to excite, thrill or rapidly inform, is at the same time sedative. Although we associate speed with intensity and strong experience, after a long day, we knowingly run through a stream of news and pick action-packed films to unwind. Nothing is inevitable about the way we adapt to and appropriate technology and its paces. If it has changed banking, global patterns of consumption and how frequently your mum supervises your cooking, it’s because of parameters we set ourselves.