Lewis Carroll probably wouldn’t want us to think that. I mean… Have you read his Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland ? Maybe the whole rabbit hole thing is because Alice end up lost and mad? But isn’t Wonderland better when we’re completely lost ? That’s what they say... And the Cheshire Cat adds: We’re all mad here. So what is it? Is there something bad at the bottom of the rabbit hole? Or maybe along the way down? Is it the fall? Or is it more of a landing? Is madness really t

I’m lucky enough to live right next to a large château park. And you can probably imagine what it looks like there now in the spring. The magnolias and cherry trees are competing to see who has the pinker and fuller blossoms. Wild irises are beginning to take over the entire river’s oxbow. And the pines no longer feel so alone in all that greenery, because the birches, plane trees and willows are quickly catching up to them. And speaking of willows... This morning I went fo

I read Frederic Forest’s article about the Musée Rodin today, and I liked how he mentioned Rodin – as an imaginary friend who isn’t called by his first name. And it made me think of others... Monet, Caravaggio, Gaudí, Picasso, Vermeer, Dalí, Warhol. .. With most artists, we’re used to calling them by their last names. Sometimes we don't even remember their full names. And the same goes for their artworks. I didn’t go to see Sunset on the Seine at Lavacourt, Winter Effect , I

You know, I don't really care if it's just my prejudices that I can't deal with. Or my pride, which sometimes confuses my fear of not being good enough with the pressure to achieve self-confidence through perfectionism. No matter how worthless my overthinking about this may be, the fact remains... I hate emails! With every one that arrives, my heart skips a beat and my breath panics. Could we just start talking again, please? As someone who grew up without the internet, it's

Nedávno jsme vedly s kamarádkou debatu o tom, jestli se říká zkopec. Jakože downhill že jo. Logicky. 😆 Tak kupříkladu ve větě: "Když člověk běží dlouho do kopce, tak si pak váží rovinek a skopců." No uznejte, že tam to slovo sedí jak pr.. na hrnec a byla by škoda tu krásnou českou větu měnit jen kvůli "z kopce". Ha! Ale teď se nám debata rozjíždí ještě víc. Je to vlastně skopec anebo zkopec? Jakože z kopce dolů - spřežka, nebo se to řídí pravidlem shora dolů? No, babo raď! �

This quote " The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new " is the opening line of Samuel Beckett's novel Murphy . When I heard this sentence for the first time – it was actually in Patrick Melrose by Edward St. Aubyn , it struck me deeply. So much sadness... Or is it perhaps a message? Don't worry so much, because life goes on and the Earth keeps spinning, even if you feel like some pain is breaking you in half right now and your days are coming to an end? Well,

Sometimes a wave of melancholy hits me like a weird little fog. Who am I, really? What am I even doing in this life? Am I moving forward, or just spinning in circles? Am I doing enough? Enough for what? Or for whom? What am I chasing? Are my dreams the “right” ones? And when I look at these questions closely, I realize – this isn’t melancholy. It’s just plain ol’ uncertainty wearing a dramatic cape. All of these thoughts are about the future. But here’s the truth: the past do

Solo travel has one huge perk: zero distractions. Okay, friends are great, but when you're on your own, you feel everything differently. More intensely. More... sponge-like. Yep. Last time I went full sponge mode in Paris, I ended up wandering into Le Petit Palais. You’ll find this "small" palace right across from the big one (Le Grand Palais – how original, non?), just a short stroll from the Champs-Élysées. And here’s the cool part about Le Petit Palais: entry is completely

I’m slow . Everyone says so. I’m the one walking a full kilometer behind everyone on a hike, reaching the top half an hour later. It takes me two hours in the morning just to get out the door for work. And when it comes to my personal projects? Yeah, that might take weeks. I could list at least a dozen examples like this, and they all seem to end with the same not-so-flattering label: slow . And as I’m often reminded (mostly by myself), some people in the same time conquer ma

I'm glad that in these days when the internet is flooded with Ghibli-style images generated by AI, people are also reminded that AI " is an insult to life itself ," as Miyazaki said. Because otherwise, it’s pretty heartbreaking, isn’t it? 💔 AI mimics surface, not soul. It has no idea what pain or joy is. It's artificial and not intelligent. So that's why I rewatched the documentary Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron - about 7 years of hard work on his latest masterpiece The Boy

Sometimes I try to play the whole "game" in my head before the first move even happens. Like... strategy mode: ON. Predicting, adjusting, mentally prepping for every possible reaction – before anyone else even shows up. And somewhere in all that planning, poof, I vanish from my own experience. It’s not really me anymore. It’s like a pre-programmed version of me, running simulations instead of living the moment. Exhausting, by the way. And stressful. Like, why am I acting lik

I never really thought about what could flow through a city – besides, you know, a river. Or maybe a canal. But then I visited Valencia, and it turns out... In this city, a park flows instead. The Jardín del Turia is basically a river-shaped park. It's even in the riverbed with bridges crossing over it. 12-kilometer-long green belt winds through the heart of the city, making it feel like nature carved its own path here. It is divided into several parts and you can walk throug

You can't feed Aggie, because she may get sick if you do. But you can feed your soul, if you go visit Aggie. I first met Aggie in the late summer of 2021. Aggie lives in a bookstore. But it wasn't until later that I realized what an amazing place it was. Shakespeare and Company is an English-language bookshop in the heart of Paris . In fact, exactly at kilometer zero . Point zero is a particular location from which traveled distances are traditionally measured and the French

I want the morning sun in my bedroom. When I wake up, the first few minutes affect my mood for the whole day. I wake up, lie down for a while, think, and in the meantime my mood takes shape. And no matter where my thoughts wander, the sun always drives away the bad and useless ones, just as the wind blows away the clouds. In the evening, on the other hand, I want the sun to shine into my living room. I want the golden rays to reflect on the walls and play a game of shadows th

Last month I left a digital agency after 13 years. I was a copywriter, among other things. Or, as it's sexy to say these days, content creator. After I left, I wanted to be a freelance illustrator. I always loved drawing and kept coming back to it . And make a money out of it? Well, that would be a dream come true . So the days went by, and I alternated between drawing for myself and trying to put together a proper portfolio… when suddenly all sorts of stories ideas started