Semester 16 XXII: Maintaining Altitude

What’s the point of Olympic Games? I mean, really… Granted, I’m not a sports fan so the amount of fucks I give in general is pretty much zero but even with that said… It costs astronomical sums of money (largely tax payers’), it makes countries build monumental venues and infrastructure that usually struggles to find purpose after it’s all said and done, it heavily limits lives of local people for the duration of the whole shit show and since tickets are crazily expensive, it’s not really accessible for the regular Joe (who kinda funds it). It all feels a bit perverse, doesn’t it…

 

Okay, back to Brno where there are no games, no opening ceremonials, no Lady Gaga or Celine Dion… We’re chilling over here. Last week was easy. Monday, I went to an aqua-park with sis and nephew, Wednesday, I did some cycling with a friend and Friday, I caught up with another friend of mine. I feel that this summer I’m a bit busier than the last which is cool. My schedule is pretty is full. I am looking forward to our little Japanese adventure tho. Less than two months from now, two weeks of absolutely no work, being back in Asia… The closer it gets, the more excited I feel about it.

 

On Saturday, I did all my workouts and runs and then I hopped on my bike to do this 30km ride to the quarry once again. All really enjoyable. In the evening, I got a text from some friends who were hanging out just around the corner so I joined and spent the rest of the evening with them. Was at home after midnight which felt good for a change. No clubbing this time around. Today, I’ve already done all the physical stuff and I’m thinking about hitting the sauna later on. Been a while and I miss that. Hope you guys are doing well and your summer (which is yet again the hottest one in the history but don’t worry; the right-wing people and billionaires got it covered) is fun and that y’all safe and sound. Sending love to everybody out there. One!

Highlights:

• Cycling, swimming & running.
• David Graeber - The Dawng of Everything. What a book.
  
• Raye - Genesis. This song is different.
  

Semester 16 Chapter XXI: Eyes Still Closed

Okay, here we go again. Biden is out. Good for him. Shit really felt like old people abuse. Trump is milking this whole assassination thing as expected and I’m sure there’s gonna be a whole bunch of random shit taking place before it’s all said and done. When you look at all of that, it’s really hard to argue the idea that we all live in a simulation. It’s just a bit too much. All of it.

 

So last week… Monday evening, I went out to check a performance of a singer named Veronica Swift. See, Brno is actually pretty lively even over the summer. This thing was a part of the Bohemia Jazz Fest. It took place at one of the squares nearby, it was free to all and there were quite a lot of people. Gotta give some credit for it. The show was really good and apart from some cultural misses (not everybody here speaks English and no, Czech people won’t hold each other’s hands and wave them in the air) it was really good. So yeah, shout out to everyone involved. Partly inspired by that, I spent some time after messing with music too and put together little something that can be found HERE.

 

On Tuesday, I took my bike and went to the town of Blansko to have a swim in this quarry. All very enjoyable. Thursday and Friday, I hung out with some of my people in various cafés, bars and I even accompanied one of my bros to some second hand clothing shops as that’s kinda his thing. Had no idea we have so many over here and that they are actually good. I managed to do some more cycling with another friend on Friday too. Oh, and Thursday I also went to the pool for some laps. Keeping it active.

 

Saturday evening, I met up with my friend’s friend from Germany who’s in Brno these day, we did a bit of bar hopping and ended up in Fraktal for some techno. Shit never gets old. Made it home at around 7 in the morning, took it easy for some hours and then got out to spend the afternoon with my sister. Walking around, drinking coffee, eating ice cream, happy days. In the evening, I checked this Young Woman And The Sea Movie. Not sure if it was me emotionally putting myself together after the night out or not, but it felt really touching. Definitely a good watch.

 

And that’s about it. It’s Monday morning, the sun is out, just finished a walk with the dog, already did my workout, feeling good. Hope you guys are doing well and your summer is going just the way you want it to. Shout out to all my readers and sending some love to everybody out there. One!

 

Highlights:

• Music.
• Cycling.
• Parties.

Semester 16 Chapter XX: Guess Who’s Back

Okay, so Trump’s just got shot. Shit gets so fucking random these days, I can’t even… At this point, not much is known about motives of the shooter. If there hadn't been two casualties (including the shooter), it all would have looked staged to me. I don’t think it is but this shit right here looks like some solid campaign content. Trump getting back up surrounded by bodyguards, repeatedly raising his fist up with the crowd chanting “USA”. It is a boost but it’s not really like Trump needs one. He’s pretty much competing against a half-dead individual who barely stands and struggles to form sentences. He’s gonna win regardless. What a fucking shit show. Democrats should really feel ashamed for this fiasco.

 

Next thing I’m gonna cover here is the new Eminem album. I got lotta fucking respect for the guy and I do consider him a legend within the genre. However, I’ve been feeling not great about him for some time and now I’m just gonna go ahead and say he should hang it up. At this point, he’s just straight up fucking up his legacy. That whole Slim Shady persona was great in late 90s. It had shock value, it was new, it was clever. Now it doesn’t fly. Like bro, you’re a 51-year-old millionaire. Jokes about short people, gays or trans people are fucking cringy as fuck. No matter whether conceptual or not. It’s uncalled for, nobody cares, it’s stupid and you’re acting like an idiot. And man… No PC police is going after you, you’re delusional. You’re really looking like an old man screaming at a cloud. And it sucks because I don’t wanna see this man lose. Sometimes you just gotta call spade a spade, tho. This album is absolute trash and no amount of god-level rapping can save it. You have no topics to rap about. Whatever is on the album has either been said before (and better) or is straight up embarrassing. And sure, he’s gonna sell loads because his brand is massive and there’s a lotta Stans out there… But on some cultural level it’s terrible. On a more positive note, I’ve finally got to the last South Park special and that was actually hilarious. They still got it.

 

Okay, as for my week… Whole lotta family time. Went to my dad’s pub for their little trivia night on Monday and then on Wednesday, I had my bday celebration. 37 is a weird number but here we fucking go. I don’t really celebrate these things but that little family circle felt cool. The cake, the nephew singing, that 10-year-old Talisker. Happy days. The song I’ve recorded this time around can be found HERE.

 

And then I got one of my best friends visiting for the weekend and we took it all the way back. We went out on Friday and just went with the flow till about 6am. Randomly meeting some old friends and some new people… Like the old days. The day after, we did a bike ride and in the evening, we met up again, this time with his German friend who had come to Brno for about 2 months. Another entertaining long night. This time till about 4.

 

It’s a beautiful Sunday, I’ve just finished my run, I'm listening to some Bille Eilish and I’m about to meet up with another friend for some more cycling. Everything is going well tho. Work, workouts, runs… Managed to do some swimming, too. Hope you guys are doing well, hope y’all safe, you keep it positive and you don’t entertain bullshit. Sending love to everybody out there. One!

 

Highlights:

• Long nights.
• South Park including the ultimate smash It’s My Life I Do Whatever I Wanna Do in their special.
• Not Like Us video. Still.

Semester 16 Chapter XIX: Not Like Us

Okay, so the Not Like Us video is out and it’s really really fucking good. I’m pretty sure that that’s the end of this saga but the aftermath is going to last for quite some time. It was an exciting showcase. Anyways, it’s Sunday evening, it’s raining outside and we’re approaching the end of yet another packed weekend. All is set over here, let’s get to this.

 

Last week, I got a chance to spend some time with my local peers. Weather is nice and it feels good being outside. Brno is full of people, there are many places to go… Most of European cities feel much better when the weather is nice. I was out Wednesday and Thursday and on Friday, I decided to get a travel pump for my bike. And that was a fucking quest. One of the days where shit just goes left. Couldn’t find one in a shopping mall nearby so hopped on my bike and went to another one, about 6km away. Like 2km in, my back tube got punctured so there I was with a non-operational bike making my way back home on foot. While changing that shit, I managed to push my head shaver off the shelf (it still works) and while making a sandwich later, the spread packaging pretty much exploded and I ended up with that shit all over me. Wasn’t entirely sure if I should give my pump quest another go with universe sending me such signs, but I decided to roll the dice. And from there, it went smooth. I got my fucking pump and on the way back, I stopped by at a swimming pool to do some laps and take some pressure off. In the evening I passed out on the couch watching Furiosa. Cool movie btw.

 

Yesterday, after some workout and my regular 12km run, I took my bike again and met up with sis and nephew at one of the city’s aqua-parks (it’s the same facility that operates the swimming pool I go to). We spent the afternoon there, it was reasonable crowded, nephew was happy. On the way back, we got some coffee, then I cooked dinner for everybody, walked them home… Felt healthily tired. Today, I started with the same workout and running routine and then spent most of the day with my rave buddy. Some matcha in the city and a bike ride to the town of Bílovice. All enjoyable.

 

And yeah, I got two more days of being 36. Not even fucking sure how I feel about that. Happy to still be around, tho. Hope y’all doing well too. Sending love to everybody out there. One!

Highlights:

• My people.
• Bicycles.
• Not Like Us.