Shakira's Anniversary

Oh. My. God. It’s been DECADES. And this song has aged like fine wine! Shakira, questioning social and societal norms since forever. And for that and more, love her!

You know what else I’m grateful for these days? Being able to remember stuff. This is taking me back to when I was a kid, singing my lungs out, jumping around to this song, while attempting to keep up with the lyrics and checking how much I managed to do so. (If I recall correctly, I couldn't get a hold of the CD, so it was a cassette I had to patiently rewind or fast-forward to get to the parts I was into and/or play the whole thing without skipping. If anything, I'll take that as a testament to being a true fan!)

It is taking me back to my grandmother’s house - specifically to the living room she had, where she kept antiques and artworks she cherished (we play-pretended it was haunted), and the big family dinners, with relatives and their +1s coming from different countries for it, were held. I’d indulge in music and more there any day of the year, enjoying the space and the atmosphere. And I’m so thankful to be able to relive this, even if only in little bits.

It’s no news that many Latin Americans fell in love with and remember Shakira for her earlier work. I mean, damn, talk about artsy. But fret not, we love her later stuff, too! That woman is a genius, whenever and wherever she goes… 🤭

How's The World's Culture Progressing This Year, 2025?

This year has been unhinged and deranged. And not even in an edgy way. Regressively so. All the way back into denial and delusion. For the comfort and convenience of people who cannot be bothered to be more cultured.

This isn’t my first time writing about cultural progress, so you can check for more of my views and opinions on my previous World’s Cultural Progress articles.

My Personal Stance
Still, again, it remains the same! As it has been from the very beginning, I stand for what is truthful, effective, and fair. I don’t yet have all the answers, but I do my best to consider and weigh different views and opinions to grasp the reality of the matter and find solutions to issues. Generally, I see that people are either ignorant, confused, misguided, malicious, pushing an agenda, or a combination of two or more of those. And I try to have patience, but it can run out.

Cultural Progress in 2025
Now, as it turns out, not only do we have to worry about regular folks and established reporters spreading misinformation and disinformation while lacking reason and/or compassion, but also about the rapidly increasing amount of bots and paid actors, along with the mess of AI, taking over platforms and playing the algorithms - that can turn the tide in one or another direction. The times when you could come online to have honest and enriching debates with others have been coming to an end and are approaching that end. You’ll have to find your group of people who genuinely care about learning and dig through the vast amount of trash, with skepticism and discernment turned up, in order to retrieve anything you can of value, so that you can then discuss it.

Points
Overall, it looks to me as though a lot of people don’t want to think anymore and are not even trying to hide it. As if progressives were frying their brains, with either valid arguments or plain nonsense, and it’s bouncing back with all the force. However, we’re also generally living in a more stressful, overwhelming, and exhausting period that barely allows any deep or thorough thinking. The ability to be level-headed is a luxury nowadays.

• “Your way didn’t work, so we do it my way!”
There’s no pausing to see where, exactly, things took a turn for the worse or went too far. It’s a no-nuance jump-to-conclusion. "You got these movements wrong? That means they were all COMPLETELY WRONG." And now we have people casually considering that, ~actually~, maybe slavery, rape, etc., are all fine. Yes, it is getting THAT bad.

• “I miss the good old days…”
When, though? People are looking at the supposedly preferable past as if it were some ideal epoch where none of their current problems existed, and neither any other kinds of issues that they’re now fortunately free of. New generations, too, are romanticizing the past while overlooking everything that many fought and worked hard to leave behind for the better.

• “WHITE MEN, YEAH!!”
Nothing says “I lack worth and I’m insecure about it” like insisting on somehow having more worth than others on the mere basis of having been born white and male (I can’t even call them ‘men’ at this psychological development level). If anything, the unfounded belief that you’re superior solely because of that will lead you to not put in the effort to be truly competent because, according to this logic, you magically are. “But the statistics!” Look, it is not that simple. It really is not.

And again. That’s all for now. I may still sporadically engage and elaborate on various topics, but expect the continuation of this post next year. Please stay lucid and keep improving!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You…

Whoa, it’s been really… something. But despite and after almost unbearably turbulent months, I have much to be thankful for! In fact, it blows my mind how blessed I am. And more and more it looks like I’m where I’m meant to be. With more answered prayers than I can count!

I’m particularly astonished by how God, The Universe, Inexplicable Forces at Play, whatever and however you’d call them, have been on my side - with more grace than I could ask for. And believe me, I’ll try my best not to fall from this grace.

I’m deeply and greatly thankful for…
• The appreciation, regardless of being found in my mess, and the help, realizing my potential.
• Being joined despite the opposition I face, given the risks and sacrifices that it entails.
• Patience had with my limits (can’t do everything) and lack thereof (might do a lot).
• Being granted space to be human, and grow, mature, and evolve through it.
• Understanding and tolerance when I cannot or fail to be at my 100%, my best self.
• Allowing me to learn from you and letting me teach you, too.
• Much of the mediation, the diffusion, the relief, and more that's done before I could tend to it.
• Harsh, but necessary truths (often with fantastic timing and delivery).
• Outstanding levels of attentiveness and devotion to important projects.
• Energy, inspiration, motivation… quite overlooked but essential to go against and beat the odds.
• Dreamers, dreaming big, INSANELY SO, and it being okay, encouraged even.
• Those still here, but also those gone, that I couldn’t have gotten this far without.

I know I’ve kept people waiting, and I am sincerely sorry about that (what is predictable these days?). However, I am also immensurably thankful that you did. And if you are sticking around for more of where all this will take us and what it will bring us? Grateful beyond words!

Thank you, for real.
And Happy Thanksgiving!

"Get a Real Job!"

For some reason, for some people, it is never enough unless you lose your shine. You’d assume that income would make a job qualify as real, but not even that. Not even when it does give you financial security (and freedom).

Some just want you to be miserable. They are not about keeping you afloat. These are often resentful beings who cannot stand to see you enjoy yourself at a job you love or moving toward it. They will try to bring you down with them. Worse if they have a nice position but are still so insecure that they're compelled to sabotage you and your efforts.

They could start tearing you down with the topic of money. Does it pay as well or more than theirs? And if it does, is it guaranteed to keep bringing as much or more in the future? However, it is the case that you don’t really have to prove anything to them. Perhaps you’re not quite there yet or you’re fine with what you make, so that’s irrelevant and besides the point. 

Yet, even if you check those boxes, they’ll keep probing. They could go for how ‘decent’ and ‘respectable’ it is. They could go for whether or not it is challenging and requires advanced skills. They could go for how much of a difference it makes in your community or in society at large. Feigning concern for your well-being, or merely bragging about their own, they might make it about how much life/work balance it allows. May even accuse you of having little or no humanity if you are intensely devoted to it. Their arguments could go from sensible-seeming to bafflingly absurd as their insistence goes on. Instead of support and solutions, you get discouragement disguised as nobility and good intentions.

But while almost no job can be all joy and perfection, and most have stressful or tedious parts, do you truly have to settle for one that eternally makes you dead inside? You must be smart and wise about your finances, of course, as this is real life and it is messed up enough as it is, but you don’t ought to restrict yourself to whatever this or that person considers a “real job”.

Granted, they might only be misguided, erroneously conditioned, overly pragmatic, and/or trying to nudge you into reaching more life milestones like you’re “supposed” to as you age. And that’s simply how they roll.

But you are the person who has to wake up every day, go through the day, and then end the day with the job that you’re in. Is that something somebody else should decide for you based on their narrow vision and short sight? With a closed mind, too? Selfishness even? If ever, then, hopefully, may it be not for very long.

It is your life. Something that you should begin early on, but are likely not too late to start, is looking for what fulfills you and becoming somebody who can fulfill that role. A job that inspires and motivates you to do your best (and can pay the bills while you’re at it). If not that, at least a job that you’re content with and leaves you with all you require to live a fulfilling life outside of it (with hobbies, projects, and/or being human). 

If options exist for you to choose from, you are immeasurably fortunate. Don't let that go to waste over unjustifiable limits placed upon you.

Maybe there’s something you’d like to prove to yourself, then go ahead. But understand that to grow, mature, and evolve, along with living a full life, being and staying miserable isn’t exactly a requirement. What kind of world are we in, allowing or even promoting, if that is all that is available?

Halsey's Colors (Live)

It is not the first and it will not be the last time I bring up Halsey! So many of her works caught my attention and even helped me through some really messy situations. Particularly during the stage of finding myself and redefining who I am, which I called “Exploring & Experimenting” (prelude to “Unbridling & Sustaining Artistic Abilities”), that happened mostly underground, I could often resonate with what she put out.

Today, to me, ‘Colors’ is not only a brilliant piece that illuminates the art of combining, mixing, and blending colors, but also one that commemorates it. Halsey, herself, from what I can tell, through her artistry, does an exquisite job at being a ‘taste tester’ and describing (or rating) the intricacies of what happens when there is one or more unions or fusions and, similarly, when there is a lack of them.

As usual, though, artworks can be interpreted as they were originated, as they were intended, or as however they fit (within reason). In this case, I’m reinterpreting ‘Colors’ more abstractly, more in essence. And it is beyond anything I could have imagined before!

Plus, the emphasis on Blue? Do you remember what makes blue a particularly peculiar color? Besides blue-daba-dee and 'feeling blue’, which… eh. And besides being a harmonious color or even the color of a political party, which… valid associations. Any clue? Here’s one: “I love the colors in the sky.” *Proceeds to paint them.* 

Sagittarius' Season

♐ SAGITTARIUS

As we enter the season of Sagittarius, it is believed that the universe will be affecting us with energies that will cause us to expand our horizons and embrace adventure. We will be more in tune with freedom, and abilities to explore and learn will be enhanced. If you are receptive to them, you might be imbued with optimism and curiosity. If you are resistant to them, you might be conflicted with recklessness and restlessness. If you are completely blocked out, you might not notice them at all. And if you don't pay enough attention, you might miss opportunities for self-discovery.

Motivational Quote: "The journey is the destination."

For context and more of relevance, please read about The Zodiac.

Privacy Please

It is not about being ashamed or guilty of anything, it is not even about lacking self-esteem, it is about respecting the process. You are not meant to perform for others and welcome their input at every step and at every turn. You are entitled to privacy.

Even if somebody is completely non-judgmental and accepts you wholly, and even if they remain silent and still the whole time, you need your moments in absolute privacy. Moments in which you won’t be compelled to be aware of what is happening, in minute detail, through various angles and points of view, so that you can intuit how it is being perceived by another. You shouldn’t have to be burdened with forming an image for somebody else before you’re ready to and unless you’re willing to. That just adds more to take into account and consider. More to juggle and do. That disrupts the process. And exhausts you.

Worse when, instead, THEY ARE overly judgmental and reject many parts of you. In such a case, you’ll barely manage to deconstruct, reconstruct, and construct like you’re supposed to in order to get to the final result. It’ll all suddenly be about them and whether or not they’ll be okay with what you’re doing (or even throw a tantrum over it). And, if they got you invested in their approval, you will be shrinking and twisting yourself, likely breaking while at it, enslaved to their cheers and their boos.

Have some walls up and close some doors. It will only offend two types of people: those who are too immature to understand boundaries and those who are also too selfish to care about them. In both cases, it is not a you problem.

Easier said than done. And in certain situations, not even an option. But if you can claim it, then do without remorse. Stating that you require privacy to focus, regardless of whether it means you’re too inhibited or not, should suffice. You may learn, through inevitability, to concentrate in spite of it, but it is still making it harder and more difficult for you. If they are reasonable and considerate, that argument should be enough. If they are not, how valid is their opinion on the matter?

Are you giving a show or are you only practicing and/or building something? You may choose to make your practice and/or your building a public display, but you shouldn’t be obligated to when that’s not what you’re going for.

If you do have inhibitions keeping you from achieving a greater success, making you too reclusive rather than merely reserved at certain points and in certain areas, that’s something to work on by addressing your fears and vulnerabilities when being exposed. But if you just want some darn privacy, then why should it be a debate at all? 

The Artist's RPG - Batch of Drafts

I haven’t forgotten about it. This is still going! It's practically gonna be my life’s work: The Artist’s RPG.

This year, I didn’t have much time allotted for its design and development, but I kept it in mind as I went through my everyday. And whenever I made observations or had realizations that caused me to go, “OHH! This belongs in The Artist’s RPG!!” I ran to note them down so I wouldn’t forget to add them when the time came.

Next year, I’m allowing myself A LOT more time to work on this. But meanwhile, I wanted to update you all with a few outlines so that you know, without waiting too long, what I’m onto.

For various reasons, I must hold back in showing too much before more official releases, so I’m keeping plenty vague and brief. Left to ponder and interpret. Yet, you can count on extra snippets here and there, over time, on what I continue to figure and sort out for it.

Also, here’s a big THANKS to those who have helped with the manifestation of this astonishing wonder. You know who you are and you know what I mean! I promise I’ll do my best to honor and do justice to your contributions!

Sooner or later, we’ll have an outstandingly memorable game set. One that will also bring and hold everything, within the art realm, in perspective - and then keep adding on to it. In the committed protection and promotion of true artistry. Totally looking forward to this!

Meanwhile, I’ll keep updating you about progress...

NOTE: Names, descriptions, graphics, and more are not yet final. These are still drafts. Prone to various errors and shortcomings.

Too Quiet or Too Loud

Sometimes you just want everyone and everything to shut up. And sometimes the silence is somehow unbearable. Our brains can be picky about what and how much they process, and what goes into our ears can be especially distracting.

You would notice whether you’re the type of person who tends to prefer loudness or who tends to prefer quietness, but we all need or want both at intervals, to some extent. It depends on who we are, how we’re wired, but it also immensely depends on what kind of activity we’re currently partaking in or trying to participate in. Are sounds contributing and cooperating or are they interrupting and jolting you out of what you’re doing? Furthermore, are they precisely the kind of sounds that fit the scenario?

Amazingly, sound, or the absence of it, can play an outstandingly important role in how productive we are and what we manage to produce.  

Is it dialogue, melodies, or noise? Are they jumbled together dissonantly, forcing your brain to attempt to break them apart, or are they harmoniously blending with each other, letting your brain swiftly shift through and take in the various layers? Is it so loud it hurts or is it so quiet you strain, in both cases failing to hear what is happening exactly? What can you simply ignore?

• Dialogue is engaging. If the activity you’re partaking in involves verbal or logical tasks, like writing or math, you might not do well with talking on the side or in the background. Hearing words forming sentences can keep you from doing that yourself, but they are the complement to when you’re on ‘autopilot’, in a ‘trance’, or simply taking care of menial and tedious tasks you already know too well.

• Melodies are energetic. When chosen well, they can join you even when you have to think about hard and difficult matters and issues. They can be soothing, inspiring, empowering, and, indeed, energizing. It can direct you, if not merely give you the bit of stimuli that you would otherwise crave.

• Noise is impactful. They could be no more than disturbing. But in certain cases, they might serve to block out what's worse and allow you to focus. White noise, the fan, water running, and so on. 

• Absolute silence leaves you defenseless. Then it’s only you and what you carry with you. Can you listen to that? If you have a lot going on within that you’re willing to sort out, it would not bother you. You might not even notice it. Up until you’re done - and then yearn to fill it.

Have you figured out what you should be filling the silence with? Did you look into podcasts or audiobooks that could interest you? Made playlists of music with or without lyrics? Set up congenial noises to run constantly? Don’t underestimate the effect that they can have - especially when picked out specifically for this or that purpose.

Lastly, should you soundproof where you are?

Grimes' Artificial Angels

Oh, wow, I adore how this was made. It is such an explosion of what it is like being on the internet, or in front of a computer screen, way too much. And not just lately, but since long ago.

I was trying to keep up with everything that was coming up, trying to figure out how things connected, trying to notice any references, and trying to grasp what it all meant. There’s likely plenty I missed. It is happening FAST. Just like being bombarded with a ton of information, which is exactly how cultural and technological advancements (or regressions) are to me these days.

And I seriously enjoy how artsy it is. Although I can appreciate those too, it gave me a much-needed break from the more widely accepted and adopted styles and techniques I’ve been exposing myself to lately. Bringing me back to the more independent and underground taste and preferences. It is art when you can have more fun with it and are not weighed down by logistics. Originality is served.

That’s not to say there wasn’t thought or feeling put into it. They are clearly there if you pay attention. Along with much talent and skill. But, making art like this, is equivalent to when you can finally take off a piece of uncomfortable clothing after wearing it all day. You can breathe and move around more - while still being artful as you choose to.

Then there’s the whole of it, everything that it is telling and showing.
What is simultaneously behind and ahead of time? This madness.