New mixtape

It's almost a year ago, I made my first mixtape, which is part of the project called Avdibeg Mixtapes, and it's been a fun project, which I intend to continue. It is fun to stumble upon a new song I never heard before or a song that reminds me of my past or some period in my life. That's how I often remember songs — I usually connect them to my life and experiences along that trip.

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SNKL1

I received my Seiko SNKL1 yesterday, and I think it is an amazing piece you get for the money. Because of its elegance and simplicity, people think it has 'the looks of a Grand Seiko'. :)

I ordered it together with a sapphire glass, and it really pops the dial of the watch. Since the original bracelet isn't of high quality, I changed it to this leather brown strap. I like this watch a lot. It has a perfect size (38 mm), and I think that Rob from Monsterwatches even adjusted the movement, because my SNKL1 is pretty accurate.

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Dolia - The Gift

Isn't it amazing how small the world can feel sometimes? During my daughter's visit to Bosnia this summer, she met a lady whose son happens to play guitar in a metal band. Upon learning this, she eagerly exclaimed, 'My dad listens to metal!'.

Today, this lady shared a link to her son's band, and wow, what an incredible song it is! Their track 'The Gift' impressed me thoroughly. The musicianship and vocals are impressive, and the lyrics are equally noteworthy. As someone with high music standards, I'm usually very critical, but Dolia's music pleasantly surprised me. It's delightful that they're fellow Bosnians, offering a taste of our beautiful landscapes and rich mythology. Yet, it's the music that truly stands out. The song is quite catchy with interesting irregular time signatures. Dolia being a progressive metal band is an extra bonus.

I highly recommend giving them a listen! I'll definitely keep an eye on them.

Bernhardov Gubitnik

Roman "Gubitnik" je jedno od onih djela čiju radnju je teško opisati, ali da probam. U romanu "Gubitnik" (čitao sam englesku verziju The Loser) Thomas Bernhard isprepliće složenu i reflektivnu priču koja se bavi raznim nijansama ljudskih emocija, težnjom ka vrhunskoj umjetnosti i okrutnoj zavisti. Priča je ispričana iz perspektive nepoznatog pripovjedača koji sebe na mnogo načina smatra ultimativnim gubitnikom.

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Magical Macedonia

My wife and I spent five wonderful days in Macedonia, primarily exploring the capital, Skopje. We flew from Hamburg Airport to Skopje International Airport on Monday, albeit with a 40-minute delay (as usual, Wizz Air didn't provide a clear explanation), and returned last night, braving one of the worst storms to hit this part of Europe. Fortunately, our journey back to Denmark went smoothly.

Our room at hotel DOA
Our room at Hotel DOA in Skopje

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War for territory

When I was seventeen years old, I was a refugee in a Danish refugee center. It was a very small center with no more than 120 people. We were a few kids of similar age, and we would listen to music in the basement of the center. My brother and I, along with a few others, would spend a lot of hours playing games and listening to mostly heavy metal bands like Pantera, Dream Theater, and Sepultura. I remember we got hold of Sepultura's newest album sometime in 1993. It was called Chaos A.D. It was a pretty heavy album, and probably the heaviest band that we had listened to up to that point. Anyway, there was a particularly one song that I really liked, and it was “Territory”.

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Into The Wild

U svijetu filma postoje filmovi koji zabavljaju, a zatim postoje filmovi koji duboko rezoniraju, ostavljajući neizbrisiv trag na našem biću, da ne kažem duši. "Into the Wild" (2007), režisera Seana Penna, nedvojbeno pripada ovoj drugoj kategoriji. Temeljen na istinitoj priči o Christopheru McCandlessu i kako je završio na Aljasci, ovaj film je potresno istraživanje ljudskog duha u potrazi za slobodom, samospoznajom i dubokom povezanošću s prirodom. U ovom blog postu pišem zašto "Into the Wild" nije samo običan film, već iskustvo koje bi trebalo da nas duhovno obogati. Uzgred budi rečeno, ovaj film gledam barem jednom godišnje, jer sam ga uvrstio u nastavni program za moje učenike, pa se uvijek obradujem kada dođe vrijeme za to.

Napušteni autobus u divljini Alaske
Sreća je tamo gdje je sloboda.

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Prag

Jeg er lige vendt tilbage fra en skoletur til den europæiske juvel - Prag. Det er altid et dejligt gensyn med byen, som for mig er noget af det bedste Europa har at tilbyde besøgende.

Vi har selvfølgelig besøgt det uundgåelige astronomiske ur, som er knyttet til det Gamle Rådhus i Prag. Uret blev bygget i 1410 af Mikuláš of Kadaň, og er i dag det ældste fungerende astronomiske ur i verden. Vi har også besøgt den travle Karls Bro, som blev færdigbygget i begyndelsen af 1400-tallet. Den er 9,5 m bred og 516 m lang.

Udsigt over byen fra Prags borg
Udsigt over byen fra Prags borg

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The Lack of Courage of Never Let Me Go

In the realm of dystopian narratives, the potential for thought-provoking exploration of complex themes is limitless. “Never Let Me Go” (2010), directed by Mark Romanek and based on Kazuo Ishiguro's novel, presents an intriguing premise but ultimately falls short of fully realizing its potential. Maybe because it only just scratches the aforementioned realm, without any ambition to explore it further. While the film boasts a talented cast, it seems to lack the courage to delve deeper into its own narrative, resulting in what can only be described as a missed opportunity.

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Tea is Chai

If tea spread to your country by sea you call it tea, if it spread by land you call it chai. This is because the ports of Fujian and Taiwan use the coastal pronunciation "te", whereas Mandarin uses "chá".

So, stop using both names when offering tea to people – there is no 'chai tea'! :)

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This girl gets it

This lady nails what's wrong today in the modern society.

You're not respectful, you don't give them peace. Maybe try being kind and sweet and nice, and don't bring drama into their lives. And don't try to change them. Accept them for who they are and believe in them.

Et strejf af lykke

Kan du være et menneske nok til at søge om tilgivelse? Det er basalt set det centrale spørgsmål i den bosniske film Et strejf af lykke (Najsretniji čovjek na svijetu, 2022). I filmen følger vi Asja, som er en 45-årig kvinde, der bor i Sarajevo og hun befinder sig til et dating-party for at møde nye mennesker. Hendes match er Zoran, en jævnaldrende som umiddelbart ikke er efter kærlighed. Under deres kontrollerede møde finder Asja ud af, at Zoran faktisk søger tilgivelse for noget han gjorde under den serbiske krig mod Bosnien i 1993.

En scene fra filmen
Zoran fortæller Asja, at han, som serbisk soldat, beskød sin by, Sarajevo.

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