My media consumption in March 2024

2024-04-22 by dino

Here's the list of some of the media I consumed in March 2024. Mostly, it's films, books, articles, and videos.

Stop Filming Everything You Do For Social Media. The title says it all - don't sell your life off so cheaply to strangers and corporations.
5 reasons why desktop Linux is finally growing in popularity.. Linux has been my choice of operating system for almost five years, and apparently it is slowly gaining more popularity. It's good.
Book Recommendations by famous people.
30 Movies So Bad, They're Actually Really Good. Yeah, The Room is the legend!
Bayon - Stell dich mitten in den Regen. I like this song from Bayon, a prog rock band from DDR.
How Milosevic's Serbia Became A Fascist State by Branka Magas
"In a manner similar to the Fascist regimes in Italy and Germany, Milosevic’s too resorted to expansionism as a means for its self-justification and perpetuation. Appropriately, he chose the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo to announce to a crowd of hundreds of thousands that “armed conflict was not excluded."
Why The World Isn't Fair: Yuval Noah Harari on AI, Ukraine, and Gaza.
In the latest episode of the GZERO World Podcast, bestselling author and historian Yuval Noah Harari delves into the transformative power of storytelling, the existential challenges posed by AI, the critical geopolitical stakes of the Ukraine conflict, and the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian situation.
The Covenant. During the war in Afghanistan, a local interpreter risks his own life to carry an injured sergeant across miles of grueling terrain. Not a bad one. 7/10.
Jerry and Marge Go Large. I could have easily skipped this one, but didn't. 5/10.
Sorry We Missed You. Now, this is a powerful movie about people who just don't get a chance to have a normal life. 9/10.
Where Did the Monk’s Haircut Come From? A Look at the Rich and Contentious History of the Tonsure
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the tonsure (from the Latin verb for “to shear”) began as a “badge of slavery” among Greeks and Romans. It was adopted “on this very account” by early monastic orders, to mark the total surrender of the will.
Gran Torino. Clint Eastwood still going strong in this one. And the soundtrack is amazing. 8/10.
The Perfect Circle. This Bosnian film about the war during the 1990s is about an alcoholic Bosnian poet who sends his wife and daughter away from Sarajevo so they can avoid the troubles there. However, he is soon descended upon by a pair of orphaned brothers. The brothers have escaped a massacre in their own village and have come to the Bosnian capital in search of a long lost aunt. The poet befriends the boys and together they try to survive the horror of the siege of Sarajevo. Sad and important. 8/10.
I read the book Kunsten at græde i kor by Erling Jepsen.

Concert: The Music of Hans Zimmer and Others

2024-04-22 by dino

Amra and I went to a concert in Kolding last Friday. It was the concert where an orchestra played many Hans Zimmer soundtracks from movies like Top Gun, Dune, The Lion King, Pirates of the Caribbean, Gladiator, Dark Knight, Inception, Interstellar and others.

It was fun listening to many fabulous tracks from one of my favorite film composers, but the orchestra also played a few compositions of Ennio Moricone (The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly).

My favorite Hans Zimmer soundtracks are Gladiator and Interstellar. Hvala, Amra!

Rječnik sumnji

2024-04-19 by dino

Krajem marta ove godine i početkom aprila sam bio u Bosni, jer za vrijeme Uskrsa imam kraći odmor. Te dane sam iskoristio da sa ocem odemo do našeg rodnog grada, Bosanskog Šamca. Jedan dan smo otišli u Brčko, a kadgod svratim u "glavni" grad Posavine, navratim i u knjižaru Knjigoljubac. U knjižari sam sreo zaposlenika, pa smo tako upali u priču. Ispostavilo se da se radi o pjesniku Almiru Zalihiću, te da je taj dan pomagao u trgovini svome sinu, koji je zapravo vlasnik knižare. I tako su dva pjesnika pričali o svemu u tih petnaestak minuta.

Bosnia in Easter

2024-04-06 by dino

I drove 1,750 kilometers from Denmark to Bosnia with my dad. It went really smoothly, without any issues on the road. The trip to Bosnia took only 18 hours. We visited our hometown Bosanski Šamac. We stayed there for about eight-nine days, and then we drove back to Denmark again. We were together with my uncle, who still lives in the town, and we also visited Gradačac and Brčko. We had a great weather in Šamac, it was between 25 and 28 degrees.

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View at the eastern part of Bos. Šamac.

Quo Vadis, Aida?

2024-03-16 by dino

Quo Vadis, Aida? is a touching and powerful film that sheds light on one of the darkest chapters in recent European history. Directed by Jasmila Žbanić, this Bosnian war drama takes us back to 1995 during the Bosnian War when the UN-designated safe area of Srebrenica was tragically overrun by fascist Serbian forces.

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Aida doing everything to protect her family.

My media consumption in February 2024

2024-03-03 by dino

Here's the list of some of the media I consumed in February 2024. Mostly, it's films, books, articles, and videos.
* Kafu mi draga ispeci performed by Damir Imamović. Dad used to sing and whistle this song occasionally when I was a boy, and that's why I love it so much. The image of my father humming this old song as he prepares to leave the apartment is deeply, deeply etched in my head and evokes pleasant, warm emotions. It reminds me of my wonderful childhood, my good father and my late mother whom he always loved immensely. I also remember an early dawn. I was six or seven years old. It's still dark outside, and I woke up in my grandma's apartment, who was probably preparing breakfast in the kitchen, and Predrag Gojković Cune is singing this remarkable song on the radio.
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The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity

2024-03-03 by dino

In religious studies, few topics are as controversial as the origins of Christianity. One of the most interesting figures in this narrative is the apostle Paul. His influence on the early Christian movement is undeniable. In his book, “The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity,” Hyam Maccoby delves into the historical context surrounding Paul's life and teachings, offering a critical perspective on his role in shaping the Christian faith.

Mama

2024-02-28 by dino

Ovo je tekst o mojoj mami, koja je napustila ovaj svijet 15. maja 2021. Znači, trebalo mi je preko dvije i po godine da se saberem, konačno smognem snage da napišem ovaj tekst o njoj. A nije da nisam imao želju i prije. Zapravo, samo nekoliko dana nakon njene smrti, počeo sam pisati bilješke, činjenice o njoj i male detalje, jer sam se bojao da ću ih vremenom zaboraviti. Vjerovatno sam, podsvjesno, htio na taj način da je “zadržim” duže u životu, kroz sjećanja i pominjanju nje i njenih djela. Čak sam pravio plan da napravim podcast od tri-četiri epizode sa bratom u kojem bi govorili o mami, ocu i generalno o našoj porodici od našeg djetinjstva do danas, ali bi polazna i centralna tačka bila mama, jer je upravo ona to bila u našoj familiji. Mama je uvijek znala kada neko ima rođendan ili godišnjicu, i uvijek je podsjećala oca i nas sinove kada neko ima rođendan da se sjetimo da mu čestitamo i sl.

Far Cry 5

2024-02-25 by dino

When I decided to switch from Windows to Linux sometime in late summer of 2019, my biggest gripe was that I would not be able to play Far Cry 5, a video game that I was very much into at the time. However, it didn't prevent me from switching. Well, almost four years later, I can report that the game works fabulously in Linux. Image without description
A true first-person shooter.

Firewatch

2024-02-15 by dino

So, during this winter break, I went on a journey through the captivating world of Firewatch—a game that has left a lasting mark on my gaming experience. As someone who cherishes atmospheric adventures and gripping narratives, Firewatch quickly became one game that I enjoyed a lot, captivating me with its stunning visuals, immersive story, and very relaxing gameplay.

From the moment I booted up Firewatch, I was greeted by a mesmerizing landscape of the Wyoming wilderness. The vibrant colors and stylized visuals drew me in, making me feel like I was stepping into a painting come to life. Every step I took felt like a leap into the unknown (but also a kind of familiar environment), with the rustling leaves and distant wildlife adding to the sense of immersion.

Age of Bullshit

2024-02-10 by dino

We live in an age saturated with information, and unfortunately, a fair share of that information falls under the umbrella of “bullshit.” Philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt famously explored this phenomenon in his book “On Bullshit.” He uses an anecdote about Ludwig Wittgenstein's friend, Fania Pascal, who, after having her tonsils removed, likened her pain to that of a dog hit by a car. Wittgenstein's response, “You don't know what a dog that has been run over feels like”; perfectly exemplifies the essence of bullshit.

24 songs

2024-02-04 by dino

Somebody on a progressive metal Subreddit posted their list of 25 top songs, limiting one song per band. Here's my current list, with a strong emphasis on “current”:

Opeth - Reverie-Harlequin Forest
Symphony X - When All Is Lost
Dream Theater - Pale Blue Dot
Pain of Salvation - Thorn Clown
Animals As Leaders - The Woven Web
Zero Hour - Evidence of the Unseen
Adagio - Second Sight
Artension - Time Goes Slowly By
Andromeda - Slaves Of The Plethora Season
Winds - Fall and Rise
Southern Storm - Opstanak
Vitalij Kuprij - Destination
Power of Omens - Alone I Stand
Leprous - Nighttime Disguise
Orphaned Land - Fruits From Different Trees-Ishma'el and Itzhak
Rishloo - Feathergun In The Garden Of The Sun
Whom Gods Destroy - In The Name Of War
Myrath - I Wanna Die
Threshold - Slipstream
Thought Chamber - Balance of One
Clockwork - East of Knowing
Eniac Requiem - Prelude
Born of Osiris - Recreate
Mindflow - Crossing Enemy's Line