watching cartoons during breakfast. i enjoy it just as much as i did when i was a kid. jetsons just ended, and now i'm starting the wonderful adventures of nils. and to preserve that innocence and those lofty feelings, i am absolutely, not binge-watching. no way, never.

dark academia is known as a subculture where a dark, nostalgic aesthetic blends with deep intellectual curiosity. gothic architecture, old libraries, worn leather-bound books, rain-darkened university corridors, and a melancholic mood are its cornerstones. (see: harry potter)

everything from ancient greek philosophy to classic literature, art, and history is open to deep exploration. but this journey isn't just about knowledge; it's also about confronting the darker, more complex parts of oneself.

it promotes the idea that education is about inner enlightenment rather than superficial success. it offers a world filled with the scent of coffee, cold stone buildings, poems written in dim light, and sleepless nights spent chasing unfamiliar words. alongside the romantic glorification of knowledge, themes like death, loss, and loneliness lurk in its shadows.

in the end, dark academia is shaped not just by old books and classical music but by the desire to explore the endless depths within. in a way, it's as much about the passion for knowledge as it is about the art of bearing the weight that comes with it.

something i enjoy doing while occupied with other tasks. it flows smoothly alongside activities like working, washing dishes, or driving.

but does it make a person better, more culturally? i'm not sure. it's like listening to the radio, no need to overly glorify it.

my favorite ones are usually history-related podcasts. (see: dan carlin) it's not like a boring history lesson, more like watching a high-budget series.

intjs are a special breed of crazy people (speaking from personal experience here!). they're paranoid, constantly calculating 10 possible outcomes from any situation, and then 12 more possibilities branching off each of those 10.

i'm pretty sure bayes himself must have been an intj. they're perfectionists, but not just any kind of perfectionist; like a borderline obsessive perfectionist. and it's not about some theoretical principle that they latch onto to make sure a job is perfect; it's about creating a framework based on their own analysis of how a task can be done in the absolute best way.

for an intj, doing a job, "any job" accurately is a matter of honor. they can't stand people who complain, whine, or act like a task is too difficult. and they have a special kind of hatred for slackers or those who slow things down. even if those people are their superiors, intjs might throw in a snide comment or at least make their displeasure known.

this, of course, can lead to them being labeled as arrogant jerks and getting into all sorts of trouble. intjs are all about initiative, they make decisions themselves and execute them without needing to ask for input or advice. and while their decisions are 99% of the time the best ones, this trait can cause serious problems with their bosses.

i don't know if this applies universally, but it seems to me that they have their fingers in every pie. they feel like they constantly need to be involved in something. intjs are system builders, but they don't really expect to run those systems, because they're introverts and not great at communication. also, they suck at delegating, so they just end up doing everything themselves.

intjs don't enjoy crowds or explaining things to people; ideally, they'd like to communicate telepathically and would probably only hang out with those they can communicate with that way. i get the feeling most of them die young, but hey, in 40 years they've already worked and produced as much as someone who's lived 80. so, yeah, they're pretty fascinating characters.

these noise-cancelling headphones i bought myself as a birthday gift are seriously top-tier in their league. i was totally torn between the sony wh-1000mx3 and these, i watched so many review videos it was crazy. and here's the breakdown i got from those videos: both headphones are neck and neck in music quality, sony's got a slight edge in noise cancellation, but bose wins hands down on comfort. since i'm all about comfort, i went with bose.

when my bose 35 ii arrived, the first thing i did was spend hours listening to pink floyd's discovery box set. it took me a few days to recover; my dreams were filled with these wild, crazy colors. it didn't just let me listen to the music; it showed it to me in colors too.

i've been using them for about a year now, and i'm like, every single cent i spent was totally worth it. i'm loving these headphones so much.

"i don't know where we are going but i know exactly how to get there."

this quote made me stop and ask the most important question one can ask; "who talks like that!" and i'm happy to report that i'm satisfied with what i've found. quite an interesting guy (see: boyd varty interview)

i got to know him this year (see: eurovision 2024). he is my absolute winner. i like it when such things happen in the least expected moments. i wasn't expecting much from eurovision in terms of discovering songs to listen to over and over again, to lose myself in them. they made us get used to seeing shows & dances rather than pure, naked songs.

ok, enough complaining! this guy absolutely blew my mind. i don't even remember how many times i've listened to that song "mon amour" to this day, and his special performance where he does that acapella thing is something you gotta see.

and let's not skip the crucial part of his performance; his eyes * what lovely-looking eyes those are. it's been a while since i've come across someone who "looks" like him.

i've already become a fan, and he has great songs other than mon amour, here are my favorite ones belle, la recette, je te le done, viens on s'aime and mon amie la rose and much more... check his spotify!!

good things are like russian nesting dolls; they come with more good things within. as i ended up discovering more french artists, both old & new whom there was no way i'd discover otherwise. oh thanks to spotify's recommendations!

if i fall asleep right this second, how many hours will i have slept by the time i wake up? okay, even if i don't sleep right now but manage to doze off in 10 minutes, how many hours will that be? if only i had fallen asleep 30 minutes ago, i'd have already slept for x hours by now.. and so on, doing these completely pointless and useless calculations has kept me awake for hours more times than i'd like to admit.

here are some interesting tree trivia that i've found in my commonplace book recently:

- trees are the longest-living organisms on earth and never actually die of old age.
- trees can communicate with insects that attack them. some trees can fill their leaves with medicinal-like substances to protect themselves against insect attacks and other plants.
- pine trees can grow on every continent except antarctica.
- trees can lower air temperature by evaporating water from their leaves.
- if a bird's nest is attached to a tree branch, the tree can't grow upward.
- a tree's trunk grows in summer, while its roots grow during fall and winter.
- trees growing in sunny spots have thicker bark compared to those growing in shade. shade-grown trees usually have thinner bark.
- trees growing in humid areas and near large water sources have large/broad leaves. trees in dry environments with little water have small and tough leaves.
- oak trees, which can adapt to most environments, represent wisdom, strength, and loyalty.
- oak trees attract more lightning than other trees.
- oak trees don't produce acorns until they're 50 years old.
- there are about 3 trillion trees on earth. tree numbers have decreased by 46% since the neolithic period.
- pine cones have genders.
- botanically speaking, palm trees aren't actually trees - they're large woody plants.
- the locations of the world's tallest and oldest trees are kept secret to prevent tourist damage to the trees and their surroundings.
- according to botanic gardens conservation international, there are 60,065 tree species worldwide, but 300 of these are on the brink of extinction.
- trees can reduce unwanted noise by masking sound waves, particularly with their leaves and branches.
- spending time in nature around trees reduces mental fatigue and muscle tension. life is calmer in areas with more trees.
- trees help prevent air and water pollution.
- trees are just as important for wildlife as they are for humans. they provide food, shade, and habitat for many wild animals.

there is a lot to say about breath: the way we take it, the way we hold it, and the way we let it go alongside its depth, warmth, or coldness; where we feel it within our body; and how long we can pay attention to it without getting distracted, which is an entirely different matter (see: meditation).

there are endless techniques and reasonings when it comes to breathing, all optimizing for different things, such as for police officers to shoot better (no kidding, it's real!), for yoga practitioners to have a better connection with their bodies, for athletes to have control over their bodies, and for meditators to have an awareness of their...

not really sure of what; their existence, mind, emotions, bond with the universe, the current moment, all of 'em? who knows, that's why beginners find meditation complicated, yet for masters, it's the epitome of simplicity. (me swinging in between!)

there's such a prayer in it that i practically blue-screened.

"protect me from knowing what i don't need to know. protect me from even knowing that there are things to know that i don't know. protect me from knowing that i decided not to know about the things that i decided not to know about. amen.

lord, lord, lord. protect me from the consequences of the above prayer."

imagine having a utopian city in your dreams, a place you'd absolutely love and think "this is exactly where i want to live." now push your brain even further and try to imagine a place that's 100 times more beautiful than that utopia. that place is burning man, or as it's known by its city name, black rock city.

burning man is a place without cell phones, electricity, water, technology, and most importantly, money. it's not a festival, not a campground. it's so much more. it's a place where everyone freely shares their food, drinks, beds, art, clothes - basically everything - and where everyone treats each other with genuine human kindness and helpfulness. it's also where i felt the safest and had the most fun in my life.

in 2024, the population was 70,000, and it has been growing steadily for 38 years. although rules increase with the growing population each year, it remains the city with the highest level of freedom. no matter how much i write here, how much i explain, or how many videos you watch about it, it's an extraordinary place that's impossible to imagine until you're there.

there are thousands of activities happening every second, 24 hours a day. the city is constantly alive with all kinds of music concerts, themed parties, sports competitions, art cars, art exhibitions, yoga sessions, and races. even if you stay awake for a whole week, you might still feel like you've missed so much. there are enormous art pieces everywhere in the city, all created voluntarily without any monetary compensation, purely for this city.

in this 38-year-old event, you'll find people from all walks of life - babies, children, elderly, young people. there are thousands who were born and raised in this city and return every year. there are people who get married here, give birth here, and come with their grandchildren. this city has every kind of beauty that wouldn't exist in normal life.

there's no such thing as being surprised here because everything is different from the outside world, and everyone can live their personality without any social pressure. the fun is here, the freedom is here, the craziness is here, the humanity is here, the sharing is here. all the most positive attributes have merged and gathered here. in this city, you can better understand how meaningless thousands of absurd behaviors, habits, and events in normal life are.

so, i had to attend this client meeting, which i normally wouldn't go to, but they wanted my input on some questions. and there was this client i'd known for ages, super good at his job, but for some weird reason we just never clicked. you know how sometimes you just don't vibe with someone for no apparent reason? that was us.

while we're talking through his questions, his phone keeps ringing. he kept apologizing and either silencing it or declining calls. then when it rang again, he said, "i need to take this one."

as soon as he started talking, it became clear to everyone at the table that it was his daughter on the line... and get this: right there at the meeting table, this guy said "i love you" three times with the most adorable smile on his face. yep, it was a short conversation, just a few seconds, but he said "i love you" three whole times.

from that moment on, i don't know if i managed to hide how impressed i was, but all my prejudices about him just vanished into thin air. on top of the respect i already had for his professional success, a whole bunch of new feelings got added to the mix.

when i left the room, i found myself thinking: when was the last time i told my own kids i loved them out loud? and i'll admit, i couldn't remember. feeling a bit ashamed, i immediately tried to call them both. neither of them picked up (probably in class). but i was determined, i'll tell them when they're out, and i'm not stopping there. from now on, i'm saying it every single day, no matter what.

"i love you" is such a magical phrase - even just hearing someone else say it to someone else makes the world feel more beautiful somehow. loving fathers, loved daughters, loving partners, loved friends, loving mothers, loved sons; what a beautiful little detail in life, amidst all the horrible things going on in the world.

if you love someone, tell them. say it often, while you can. that's what i'll be doing from now on.

heisenberg's life was quite interesting. he was the scientist in charge of the nuclear weapons project in germany during world war ii. by the end of the war, not much progress had been made in this area in germany. the reason, as he later mentioned, was heisenberg's reluctance to build an atomic weapon. the german team could have actually gone much further; in fact, heisenberg knew exactly what needed to be done, as claimed, but his conscience wouldn't allow it.

to make matters even more intense, when the americans found out that heisenberg was working on an atomic bomb in germany, they panicked and attempted to assassinate him while he was teaching in switzerland (1944).

in the class, moe berg (a baseball coach who was hired as an assassin) was listening to heisenberg and concluded that the bomb wouldn't be developed anytime soon, so he left the meeting without killing heisenberg.

such creative work from airbnb, absolutely loved them all! you can see all those icons on their homepage * basically they are custom designed places to stay to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

my favorite one is edna's house from the incredibles. the following image and its commentary, which is coming directly from the mouth of edna mode, made me laugh hard :)

image

"you might recognize that mural on the wall. it was a gift from a super whose supersuit i designed. he goes by the chiseler. exceptionally talented."

the only down part is they were only available for a very limited time, not sure why was that. they must have spent an astronomic number on those designs, to only shut them down after a month? that's crazy.