SAYING GOODBYE Our trip to Wien Week of unorthodox education Mgr. Jana Podzรกmska From maturita essays
Table of contents
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF FILIP JANUŠKA SUPERVISOR Alena Cilíková
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Saying goodbye
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Bradlo
STAFF-WRITERS Bronislava Bendová Dominika Brezinová Nina Holičová Julka Hurbaničová Alex Jurča Nina Kovaříková Daniela Kročianová Lenka Michaličková Matúš Rybnikár Vincent Vystavel
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Our trip to Wien
GRAPHIC DESIGNER Jarka Petrášová
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The “week“ of unorthodox education
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Romeo and Juliet on stage
introducing our teachers
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Mgr. Jana Podzámska
MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE
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MUSIC
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MOVIES
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Alex Jurča
Invisible tentacles of modern music industry Who holds the Academy Award for the Best Picture?
WORDPLAY
20 Barmecide - Chapter 2 24 From maturita essays
25 JOKES
How good should one be?
26 Jokes
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Katarína Borovská Veronika Hazuchová Veronika Hudáková Filip Januška Janko Košík Matrin Krč Ema Kuhajdová Viktor Mokrohajský Matúš Samek Mgr. Ľubica Durcová
IT Jarka Petrášová ONLINE PUBLISHING Jarka Petrášová PHOTOGRAPHER Nina Mockovčiaková LANGUAGE CORRECTION Matt Haarman Alena Cilíková Filip Januška Martin Krč
ARE YOU A WRITER? Come join us!
Saying goodbye Filip Januška
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Everything has a beginning and an end. Beginnings tend to be joyful, full of
expectations and high hopes. Ends, on the other hand, are often heart-breaking and filled with tears. Nobody likes when good things end. It is however an inevitable part of our lives. Nothing can last forever, even if we wish for the opposite. So, after five years, this is the end of an incredibly important chapter of my life. The five years that I’ve spent in this school were life-changing and they helped me find my place in this world. I’m sure that if you asked any of my classmates, they’d say the same thing. When I first set foot in this school, I had no idea who I was and what I wanted to do with my life. I let time pass through my fingers and spent my days enclosed in my own bubble, not caring about the outside world. But slowly I started to realize that this is no way to live. I wanted something more. So I started looking. And eventually I found the ‘something more’. I found out that I love putting my thoughts into words and putting those words out there for people to read. This was one of the many steps which helped me form my personality. And it wouldn’t have been possible, if it weren’t for What’s up and a good friend of mine, who convinced me to start writing. And I am incredibly thankful for being able to share my opinions with other people through this magazine and also for later receiving the honor of becoming the editor in chief and having the responsibility for the functioning of the magazine to a certain degree. The years that I’ve spent working with the What’s Up collective weren’t always perfect, but they are filled with great memories and even greater people. And before I realized how the time flew by, it was time to say goodbye. Goodbye to a five year long journey and to all the people who shared it with me. To all my friends who are leaving with me, I’d like to say thank you for all the amazing memories and moments of laughter, joy and sometimes even tears. To all teachers who guided us through this difficult road, I want to say thank you for not giving up on us and helping us discover our passions. To all the younger students who might be reading this, I want to say: cherish the time you have left with people around you right now. Because the day will come when the harsh realization hits you: ‘This may be the last time I see this person’. Every moment counts. Every moment you spend with them becomes a wonderful memory for you to come back to in the future. So don’t waste your time. I don’t want this to end on a sad note. So, in the spirit of optimism, I leave you with this quote:
“Sometimes, good things need to end for better things to begin”.
Every new beginning is an opportunity to start over. And every end is an opportunity for someone else’s new beginning. I leave this magazine in great hands of a group of incredibly talented young people and I’m certain that the legacy of What’s up will continue on for many more years, long after people forget about the 2.05m giant who used to roam the halls of this school. Ladies and gentlemen, you may unbuckle your seat belts. This ride is over.
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bradlo by VERONIKA HAZUCHOVÁ and LENKA MICHALIČKOVÁ On 15th April“ we“, the 1.B class and our teacher Mrs. Cilíková, went on a trip to Bradlo and Košariská. It all started in Myjava when some of us got on a bus headed to Brezová, where the rest of our group was waiting for us. After meeting up, we started walking towards Bradlo. Firstly, we tried to go along a path in the forest , but after a while we realised that the better option was to go next to a road. The feeling, when we finally reached Bradlo, was excellent. We took some photos and then we continued on to Košariská along the road next to some fields and nature. We were breathing fresh air and enjoying that sunny day. It took us about an hour before we arrived in Košariská. There we visited the museum of M. R. Štefánik. In the museum we listened to an interpretation of his life, his travels and his achievements. Afterwards, we had a rest and then, again in groups, we left the village. It was a really good idea to spend the day together in nature, instead of going to school. Surely, everybody enjoyed themselves and we are looking forward to future trips.
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OUT TRIP TO WIEN It was last month when we decided to visit one of the most beautiful cities, Wien, with 3.B class and our teachers, Mrs. Cilíková, Mrs. Durcová and Mr. Vydarený. When we came to the bus station, we had to wait for our driver for about half an hour as he confused the time of our departure. Everybody felt cold and we were happy when he finally arrived. When we came to the place, we wanted to go to the Schonbrunn Palace looking forward to experiencing the imperial nostalgia which Wien is famous for. However, it was overcrowded so we decided to go to the city centre at first. Half of us went to the Naturhistorische Museum and the second group went to see one of the tallest and the most beautiful churches in the world, Stephansdom cathedral in the city centre. Yes, the architecture was amazing! At last we visited one of the most important architectural, cultural and historical monuments in the country, the Schonbrunn Palace which we had wanted to see before. This place is a former imperial summer residence and a major tourist attraction. We took plenty of photos in its beautiful gardens and we plan to exhibit them in our class for a keepsake. At the end of our trip on the way back, we stopped to buy something sweet in a chocolate shop in the village called Kittsee. We enjoyed this trip a lot and we are loooking forward to next trip spent together.
by LENKA MICHALIČKOVÁ
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on ti ca u ed ox od th or n u of ” k ee The “w by MATÚŠ SAMEK, JANKO KOŠÍK The time came once again, with Easter being around the corner, the week could begin. Its first alternative feature being the fact that this week does not really last just a week, rather some of the events are scattered throughout the spectrum of almost a month.
But what is it actually like to take part in this week, you ask? Well, we (Matúš and J.M.Košík) wrote a few words concerning this ‘’week’’. Without further ado, let’s get straight to it.
Get to know Gymy’s postgraduates Adela Zábražná, Soňa Štefková, Lukáš Adámek...Those are the names of the people who attended GYMY 10-15 years back and now, reportedly, they occupy dream jobs which do not fill only their souls with a generous dose of enjoyment but also their bank accounts with a solid financial amount what is an ideal scenario for any career often appearing to be unattainable. This trinity had accepted an invitation to our school and visited us during the week of unorthodox education to make an informal lecture about their current lives, about their lives before, at high school, university and about their ways of thinking during these periods. The idea of an event like this sounds attractive, especially for young, indecisive pupils who hold only vague images about what they actually do want in life.
Soňa: For me the reasons were similar (I thought
about what I would have wanted to hear, too). Maybe to tell the younger version of me (the high school student) something about my personal experience. And the other reason was just to give thanks for what this school had given, so as to return it. Lukáš: To me, just the idea of students listening to me seems quite delightful because I don’t really feel as if I had that much to tell them. I don’t really see myself as that much older nor experienced, yet if there is something and they would like to listen to it, then I would definitely love to tell them what I’ve gone through and to share my experiences. We’ll see how they react.
THE NEXT QUESTION I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU IS ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS CONSIDERING Well, it is pretty important to stimulate young folks APPEARING ONCE AGAIN IN THIS SCHOOL. to start thinking about the future, where do they see HOW DID IT FEEL TO ENTER THIS BUILDING themselves in 15-20 years. It is almost essential to plan AFTER A FEW YEARS? and define your life goals, priorities and purpose since an adolescent age, because then, you rise the chance of leading a meaningful and organized (or at least less chaotic) life throughout adulthood.
However, by all the systematization, there is one thing that was also one of the most mentioned matters during the lecture and which we definitely should not forget about. It is flexibility. Yes, the skill of understanding that certain circumstances in your life may change. The acceptance of the fact that not everything will go the way we imagined. The ability to admit that your life vision might modify since you evolve. The openmindedness towards new concepts brought by a rapidly developing era. The presence of something like plan B in your life...
A: The first thing was being able to enter the teacher’s
room. The school is …. well it’s quite similar, you see the same people (and you’re very happy to see them, because you have not been here for 10 years). Overall, it’s a very pleasant feeling to be here and see that some things do not change. S: I realised that the relationship between me and my former teachers have strengthened and now we see each other as co-workers. The bounds created between the student and his teachers do not end. L: I have not been here for so long. I felt a little nostalgic. The first thing I realised was that the same charwoman has been here for over 12 years (Greetings!). Overall, it feels nice.
TO COMPLETE, IS THERE ANYTHING (FOR EXAMPLE: AN ADVICE, ETC.) THAT YOU WOULD Matúš made an interview with all of them beforehand: LIKE TO TELL OUR READERS? WHAT WAS IT THAT MADE 3 YOUNG A: That you don’t have to fear anything! SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE, GRADUATES OF OUR S: Of course, I have a quote from Tomáš Baťa in my SCHOOL, COME BACK FOR A MOMENT AND presentation and it says: You can achieve anything you SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE WITH ITS CURRENT want! Thus, even if one does not have the best marks, STUDENTS? WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO COME? but has got a passion for something, he can just go for
Adela: What prompted me? Well, I don’t know about it (even if there are obstacles). the others, but for me it was thinking about what I, back L: I’ll just reapeat what’s already been said. If you know as a student of Gymy, would have wanted to hear. For me it would’ve been experiences of people that were still relatively young, that had achieved sometihng and yet had gone through all of what I was going through.
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what you want to achieve, just go for it. Sometimes you’ll have to do something you’re not really into, but do not let it deceive you! I would like to thank you all for your time
22 countries in 11 weeks Have you ever wondered what it would be like to visit 22 countries in 11 weeks? If your answer is yes, then this presentation was for you and even if you haven’t yet thought of it, then it had something to offer to you as well. Juraj Saliba showed us pictures from his expedition, souvenirs, equipment and yes, he narrated the journey, so that we could imagine experiencing all of it and start planing our own journey. I made an interview with him, too.
HAVING GRADUATED FROM GYMY AND LEFT IT, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE BACK FOR A WHILE?
J: Well, to be honest, I come here pretty often, because
now I live in Myjava. However, it’s always nice to be back, although I don’t know any students anymore. It’s always great to see my former teachers, sometimes I come to visit them also with my former classmates. But to be here giving a kind of a lecture is a new and very unique experience for me (it was my first time), so that was very exciting. It was a challenge in some way, but the guys were great, they were asking questions and seemed to be very excited about the trip, so I hope they all’ll travelling next summer.
YOU HAVE MANAGED TO TRAVEL ACROSS QUITE A FEW COUNTRIES. IF YOU COULD ONLY CHOOSE ONE OF THEM, WHICH WOULD IT BE?
J: You’re giving me a very hard question, ‘cause , you
know, for a traveller it’s just always difficult to say. I would be thinking about New Zealand, Argentina and Canada. But at the end it would probably be Argentina because of Patagonia. That would be my #1 choice and it is currently the #1 in my list, too.
DURING YOUR PRESENTATION YOU GAVE US A NUMBER OF TRICKS/RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TRAVELLING. I WON’T BE ABLE TO MENTION ALL OF THEM IN MY ARTICLE, SO COULD YOU GIVE US YOUR #1 ADVICE?
J: #1 is safety, always. Whenever you’re travelling you
can be spontaneous, do crazy things, have a lot of fun, explore, talk to people, ... but safety should always be your #1 priority, therefore never underestimate it because once you die you cannot explore anymore (it’s as simple as that). Thank you for your time *You can find out more about Juraj’s trip on his blog, called Projekt 22/11 at blog.refresher.sk.
Swordsmen throughout Slovak history
The war that split Yugoslavia
Historically suited costumes, weapons, people and slight action as subjects of the conflicts within Slovak history. And what else should I say? To be honest, I am slightly negatively biased as we’d already had this show come to our elementary school. Which, however is also a part of the problem. The audience was most likely meant to be made of younger pupils. I see it was made to popularize Slovak history but what I lacked was approaching the conflicts from their other sides and a higher historical criticism.
2 war veterans from UN Veteran Slovakia came to talk about the Yugoslav War, as they participated in a UN peace mission sent to help inhabitants stricken by the war and to re-establish the infrastructure in countries spoiled by this war. They explained to us what happened in the war and shared their memories. Moreover, they expressed their opinions concerning war and some issues. We could ask them questions and discuss our opinions.
ZERO WASTE Probably all of us are (at least to some extend) aware of the impact our lifestyle has on the environment. We might have first gotten in touch with the fact in school, during a presentation, in What’s Up, etc. Likewise, we are familiar with steps to take in order to lower our impact, yet some might still wonder whether it actually possible to maintain a normal living, while having a minimum impact on the environment. During her presentation, Petra Slezáková, of Zero Waste Slovakia, proven it to be possible. She told us the reasons for her commitment towards a zero-waste lifestyle and shared her advices on living an eco-friendly life. *Zerowasteslovakia.sk
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An American nutritionist (95) at Gymy lectures of this kind fall on stony ground? Are people able to change their habits easily, with proper effectiveness and durability? Are people successful in accomplishing longterm changes in their lives? We are humans, impatient and lazy beings who do not like it to change something what we are already used to. Many of us would not take any change even if we had a tiny suspicion that it might be the right step towards a better life in some way. We The idea of an event like this sounds attractive, are passive. The current era has taught us that especially for young, indecisive pupils who hold in order to survive, there is almost no need to only vague images about what they actually do fight for something. want in life. But what is that element that causes people to Professor Scharffenberg used to work as a main act, what influences them to make substantial, lecturer in the field of primary prevention at the effective and long-lasting changes in their University of Loma Linda. The elderly professor lives? Well, there must be a serious reason for also lives in this small Californian town which that and from my perspective, it is generally is one of the so-called blue zones. The blue something unpleasant. Something what drags zones are geographical areas on our planet people to the state of a huge discomfort and with remarkably high life expectancy of local diverse concerns. Something what threatens residents. The average male in Loma Linda lives our well-being in a certain sense and attracts to 89 and the average female to 91. Reportedly, all our attention. One probably won’t change it is mostly because of their lifestyle based on his lifestyle if there is no severe reason for a vegetarian diet and regular exercise. Other doing it, even though that change would mean blue zones could be found in Sardinia (Italy), a vast improvement in several ways. Okinawa (Japan), or Icaria (Greece). One probably won’t transform his poor eating habits till there are no Professor John Scharffenberg still, palpable signs of serious health despite his age, tours across the US complications. One probably and outland lecturing about sundry won’t quit smoking till he isn’t findings on nutrition whose diagnosed with a life-altering putting into practice can make disease. People are aware of our health better. risks that smoking, overweight, alcohol and stuff like that At the beginning of May, this brings. The knowledge of an almost 96-years old doctor came unpleasant statistic reporting to our school to talk about... that tobacco kills around 8 nutrition. The old professor was million people each year won’t armed with tons of facts, statistics persuade you to throw your recommendations, myth-busting cigarettes away. Prevention is information and interpretations better than cure, but it seems to me of various discoveries. The that changes that are preceded by present students an alarming experience are were advised more efficient and what to eat, persistent. drink, how much, when or what is better to avoid. However, d o n ’ t Prof. Dr. John Scharffenberg, MD, MPH is an American professor of nutrition. He was born in December 1923 in China, where his parents served as religious missionaries. In a certain period of his early adulthood, he went to the United States of America. There, as you rightly presume, began his professional career. After the study of preventive medicine, Mr. Scharffenberg got his doctorate degree in nutrition at Harvard university.
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ROMEO AND JULIET ON STAGE
by NATÁLIA KROČIANOVÁ
At the end of March, we had an opportunity to go for a school trip to Bratislava. The main aim of our trip was seeing Romeo and Juliet, one of William Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, performed in English language. Above all, this most frequently performed play of Shakespeare was played by British ensemble! At 8:00 am we started our trip to Bratislava by bus. At first, everything was going well, we had a plan to make a stop at the Avion shopping centre, buy some lunch there and go shopping to our favourite shops. Unfortunately, we had to make a change in our plans, because we got stuck in a traffic jam right before Bratislava. When we finally got to the capital city, we had only half an hour to have some meal. Luckily, our teachers made a quick decision and we made a short stop in the shopping centre right opposite Istropolis - the theatre where Romeo and Juliet was on. In the shopping centre we bought some snacks and hurried to the theatre. The performance was played brilliantly and we enjoyed the old Shakespearean English that was so unusual to us. Our seats were right in the first row, so we had a great view and we saw a lot of details of the costumes and actors, too. Although, the plot was familiar with everyone, we still enjoyed it. I can say that the story of Romeo and Juliet and their unfortunate love is always a pleasure to see. In the end, we made it home right on time we were supposed to and we were full of new memories from this trip. We found out that even everything did not go according to our plans, there was still something positive at the end.
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INTRODUCING OUR TEACHERS
Mgr. Jana Podzámska by VINCENT VYSTAVEL
This year was full of changes for GYMY. Not just because of the usual changes, like the coming of new students and the leaving of old ones, or the important changes in the highest positions in our school, but also because of the leaving of two of our favourite teachers, Mrs. Podzámska and Ms. Pribišová. Both of these teachers contributed a great deal to our school. Mrs. Podzámska has devoted many years of her life to making students love, the not so popular, sciences, and she is leaving now (maybe a little bit too early) with many memories and the good feeling of nurturing many happy and grateful students. Ms. Pribišová wasn’t at our school as long, but great was her impact. Mrs. Podzámska generously agreed on an interview, so let´s see what her experience was, in her own words.
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YOU HAVE BEEN TEACHING CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS AT GYMY FOR A LONG TIME. IF YOU COULD MAKE THIS CHOICE AGAIN, WOULD YOU LIKE TO TEACH THOSE TWO SUBJECTS? OR WOULD YOU CHOOSE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PROFESSION? At the beginning of this little confession of mine, I want to make a summarization of my teaching years. I started teaching at primary school, where I had been teaching for about a year and I experienced the teaching of subjects which I did not study. Then later I moved to a secondary vocational school, where I could teach my subjects and I have been teaching them for fourteen years at our gymnazium. Chemistry and physics aren´t the most popular subjects among students, but I can´t imagine teaching something else.
INTRODUCING OUR TEACHERS I have personally experienced teaching on every level of education, and I must state that students´ characters are the same everywhere. There are always students, who are good at these subjects (chemistry and physics) and want to be even better, those who are hungry for knowledge and move forward by their persistence and talent. Next, there are students that start to show their interest in a particular subject, mostly thanks to their teacher, and finally those, who just get through the years of schooling with less than great marks. For me, those students, who were not interested in the lesson, but learned what they wanted or what they were able to and never inclined to cheat, were always likable. Cheating has become a norm. That assures me too that I have made the right decision and that it is about time to try doing something completely different. I must admit that from the beginning I did not feel totally comfortable in the role of a teacher, which I always assigned to my peaceful personality. I have always believed that when I find a cheat-sheet, I take it and let the student finish the test, that I am being generous in a way and that this student will be grateful and will never cheat again, but in reality the opposite was true, and found it as my failure. I tried my best to transfer the most of my knowledge to my students. After those years I feel like I do the best I am able to but without feedback. So I tell myself, that it´s about time to free up space for young, more flexible teachers. I am grateful for the years spent in school, during which I got to know countless different personalities of students and colleagues, many of which I still enjoy meeting and they do too, hopefully. I feel and see their gratitude and that is the pretty side of this profession, when I can celebrate achievements in jobs, study and personal life with so many. I have said many times that if I could turn back the time, I would have chosen different profession, but maybe it was supposed to be this way and I do not regret the fact that I was part of our school, class, chemistry and physics in the role of a teacher. HAS SOMETHING CHANGED ABOUT EDUCATION, TEACHERS OR STUDENTS SINCE THE TIME YOU STARTED TEACHING? IN YOUR OPINION, IS OUR
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM EVOLVING IN A GOOD DIRECTION? I have been teaching for 23 years, so I think that if nothing had changed in education, there would be a mistake somewhere, especially nowadays, when everything changes so rapidly. Not all changes in education improve it, though. The use of IKT (information and communication technology) has made teachers´ work easier when presenting new learning material, and therefore students also gain new sources for acquiring and verifying knowledge. I am, for example, terrible at writing and drawing, so I am very happy for the computer´s help. As far as students are concerned, I´ve already characterised them, and there I see the negative side of using IKT. Students no longer write their cheat-sheets by themselves, they just copy them and make it smaller... Teachers also have to educate themselves and sacrifice their free time, unfortunately they often don´t agree with this. The system forces us to take part in various workshops frequently, which are more useless than helpful. I know ´x´ good teachers, who have great results, and have no time to hunt for credits, which unfortunately also means a lower number in their pay check. Teachers are looked upon as people, whose every step needs to be controlled. How could it be otherwise? They have holidays all the time, they leave work whenever they want, when others gain money honestly and work hard, but few people see how much work teachers do at home, when they are preparing, creating or grading tests, managing problems and school activities at the expanse of their free time. During the school year they live and do more for students and the school than their own children and families. In every profession there are great, good and also the not so good ones, but I must say that the most of us do their job honestly, in their best faith and abilities, for not only do we teach but we also raise up our students. WHAT DID YOU ENJOY THE MOST ABOUT BEING A TEACHER? In my profession I´ve always tried to charge with the positive things. As I´ve mentioned the things that make
me the happiest. I will always have memories from school trips and from different activities outside school. Many of them I would have never got to without children or colleagues (climbing, riding a bobsled, a path through a spooky forest, short scifi stories by the fireplace and much more...) I can say that I´ve never consciously wanted to hurt anyone, I´ve always tried to be tolerant and I´ve given everyone a chance to show what is good in him, but also the worst. I might have pointed out the things I didn´t like, many times using sharp words or a stronger voice, but always with the intention to settle relationships and to feel good together. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF TEACHING? For me, the most difficult thing was always to build and keep natural respect of students towards the teacher, which lasted throughout my whole pedagogical career. From today’s´ point of view I also see many mistakes that I made and I am still making. What is worse, I can´t change it. It shows more or less according to the character of the class. IS THERE SOMETHING YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD AFTER YOU END YOUR TEACHING CAREER? When I finish teaching, I am looking forward to everything I want to do, what I did not have time for while teaching. I want to do more things for myself, brush my English, because my son lives abroad, and it seems that I won´t be able to chit-chat with my daughterin-law otherwise. Furthermore, except for yoga, I want to go cycling, swimming and hiking with my colleagues, who will hopefully stay my friends forever. I still think that I will have much more free time that I will read more, take care of my soul, and take more care of the closest ones of mine. The last thing is to stay healthy and I believe that all the things to come will push me higher and to a greater satisfaction. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE INTERVIEW. I WISH YOU MANY GREAT MEMORIES OF GYMY, WELL-DESERVED REST AND GOOD LUCK IN EVERYTHING THAT STILL LIES AHEAD.
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MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE
by ALEX JURÄŒA
Message in a bottle It was summer 2017 when my life changed from ordinary stereotype to absolutely new chapter in my life. A month after finishing my studies at GYMY, I packed my baggage and decided to move 1000 km north to Copenhagen. Do you want to know if this was the biggest mistake in my life or the best thing that could have ever happened to me? Keep reading and you will find out. 14
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MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE
Usually when you spend few days on a holiday in quite different place compared to your hometown, everything seems to be ravishing. You feel excitement. I did not feel differently. The first two-three weeks were like a nice holiday. If you can arrange yourself a shelter, the first obstacle is tackled. Be prepared for the fact, that setting up of an accommodation is financially rather costly since you have to pay a couple of rents upfront. Then there is another issue and that is finding a job. Unless your parents are willing to fund you. But most of the time finding a parttime job is a natural step. My advice to you is to be original and impress your potential employer. Realize that employers receive tons of CV’s, show something that separates you from the crowd. My first boss was Scottish and from the moment he saw on my CV that I like hiking, we just talked about hiking and 10 mins later I had a trail shift, one day later I had the job. May this situation serve as a funny example while being real life situation ;)
fully prepared to adapt within your studies given that it new society. is not easy and often your experience sleepless nights Anyway, I should probably spent over the books just write a little about university couple of hours before final life. Most of the stories you exam. However, where to heard from your high school find this motivation? Simply teachers are true. You are it has to be in you. Don’t not treated in the kid gloves study subject that is not in anymore. If you do not deliver your interest. If you study for what you were expected, engineer just because your nobody cares that you had parents want to have a sondentist appointment or a engineer, you will, sooner or meteorite fell on your house. later, end up burned out. Study You can save your excuses those subjects which excite because the university you. At the same time, even teachers do not like when if you are already studying their time is being wasted on in university and you don’t something irrelevant as your feel that your expectations excuses. They simply express are met, simply change the their interest in sentence university or programme. Or “see you at re-exam”. don’t, take a gap year, travel On the other hand, you are around the world and make up not treated as a kid anymore, your mind. There is so many which feels great in some opportunities. Once you find situations. In my programme, a passion for something, then teachers treat us with respect you will have the motivation to improve and progress within the s p e c i f i c field.
I am just living my dream.
Furthermore, if you move to country which is further than Czech Republic, you (most likely) will experience a state called as a “cultural shock”. It is said the cultural shock appears after 3 months. Out of the sudden, you perceive the downsizes of moving abroad, you feel sad, missing family and friends. Don’t worry, it will pass and when you overcome this, you are
as we were equals and honestly, we are not. If I had 20 years of experience from the one of the biggest firms in Slovakia, then I would be equal to them. These are the people you can meet in the universities, top experts in their field. What I find most difficult in university is finding a will to get my ass in chair and my head over the books. Nobody is pushing you and nobody basically cares if you pass the exam or not. Therefore a large dose of self-motivation is crucial.
To conclude, I will just announce that the best years of your lives are ahead of you guys. Leaving the high school creates imaginary moment when you become adults. You have freedom, but with freedom hand-inhand comes responsibility as well. You are responsible for your fridge, finances, grades and many other important things. It may be difficult at the beginning, nevertheless I know you will master it on account of the years spent at GYMY since this place prepares you more than dandy. In order to answer the Finally I get to the gist of question from introduction, this message in bottle. As I nothing better could have mentioned, you need strong happened to me. As Matt says motivation for finishing “I am just living my dream”. WHAT’S UP
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MUSIC
INVISIBLE TENTACLES OF MODERN MUSIC INDUSTRY
by JÚLIA HURBANIČOVÁ In elevators, coffee-shops and shopping-malls, households, “Songwriting is an impersonal, assemblymovies, cars and buses these noises float in the air. line-driven process that would make These over-compressed sound waves with the simplistic, Henry Ford proud.” - John Seabrook undeveloped lyrics comfortably seated on its tones. The hypnotic melodies accompanied by unoriginal four-chord harmonies, yearning to meet your ear, to erode your brain forever and, abusing the mere-exposure effect, the rotten kingdom of consumerism was established in your mind.
Pop-up hit factories, the homelands of these invisible tentacles, where two teams of songwriters —beat makers and “topliners” — combine together into smaller groups to create components for up-coming radio-hits. Long hours are put into the final gluing-together process till the main producer´s glass of satisfaction is filled; the timer clock rings and another fresh-baked pop album is ready for sale. Many cooks take part in this big, album-baking business, yet the ultimate master-chef is Max Martin. 16
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This “master-chef ” is a Swedish songwriter, record producer and singer with the third-most number-one singles on the chart — behind only Paul McCartney (32) and John Lennon (26) — who has so far written and co-written 22 Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits, starting in 1999 with “Baby One More Time” sung by Britney Spears. Among other hits are: 2010 – “Raise Your Glass” (P!nk), 2011 – “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” (Katy Perry), 2012 – “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and 2014 – “Shake It Off” (Taylor Swift), 2015 – “Can’t Feel My Face” (The Weeknd), 2016 – “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” (Justin Timberlake)…
MUSIC
Last year, he achieved an income of approximately $54 million and a profit of $19 million for his services. However, most of us have never heard of this pseudonymous millionaire neither of his apprentice, a certain Dr Luke. Following the first-class teachings that made him a credible journeyman ready to cook up his own pop-star-dish “Ke$ha” with “Take It Off ”. He earned his Master’s degree with his famous composition of the new American anthem called “Party in the U.S.A” sung by the well-known Miley Cyrus.
“Do you know why all modern range more frequently thus becoming the period of 1955 to 2010 and they ran depleted of the unique subtle nuances, every single song through a set of complex hits sound the same?” Nowadays, catchy tunes are made according to a “cookie-cutter” formula — the same combination of a keyboard, drum machine, sampler and computer software. Even the lyrics are short and quite repetitive. Yet, in order to make the really catchy-ish hit of the 21st century a very precious component must be incorporated, the “Millennial Whoop.”
the depth is shallower, the melody less diverse, and on the whole the richness within the sound of music is lost. The desired goal and major reason for music compression is the hold of the consumer´s attention and because most of us suffer from having a too short of an attention span, the over-compressed beat hoots have become necessity.
As Patrick Metzger put it: the “Millennial Whoop is a sequence of notes that alternates between the fifth and third notes of a major scale... A singer usually belts these notes with an “Oh” phoneme, often in a “Wa-oh-wa-oh” pattern. And it is in so many pop songs it’s criminal.” The more you hear this same pattern of notes the more you enjoy it. In scientific words, listening to similar songs over and over activates your pituitary gland which then releases dopamine hormones swarming straight into your brain. HOW? - The mere exposure effect is a psychological phenomenon by which people tend to develop a preference for things because they are familiar.
“Silence is getting louder”
We, the idle civilians, have been living unawares in the heyday of a so-called “Loudness War”. For decades’ music producers have been making their songs louder using one efficient technological weapon, the dynamic range compression. Songs reach the peaks of their dynamic
Physical law: “When you make a sound louder (by compression) than the volume it was recorded at, the quality of the sound is reduced.” Back in the day the matrix of music used to be very complex but unfortunately, according to a study by the Spanish National Research Council — the researchers took around 500,000 recordings from all genres of music from
algorithms — the quality of music production has been degrading since the second half of the previous century. Music is getting worse every year. The harmony and lyrics are too simple and repetitive. Almost as if they wanted to seem familiar? Let´s do a little reasoning now. Last summer an immediate hit was released called “Despacito”. Try to think of how many times you have heard it, also if only a part of it? Just how many times have you pushed the play-button by yourself? Not so many, I guess, the song was following you as a well-heeled dog. On the radio during your rendezvous in a café, long car drives, at parties, even while groceryshopping, casually watching YouTube videos or just talking with friends, inconspicuously this summer hit became the backround noise of your life. After all that brainwashing, you even happened to have said: “I like it!” Addicted to floating noises. Your mind has been transformed into a gramophone, turning round and round, not knowing whether or not you agree with the record that is being played at the moment. You are a consumer, their consumer, therefore you are not obliged to doubtful reasoning. Moreover, the way you think about, consume, and create art has deep implications for the way you live your life and treat new unfamiliar ides, so you better keep an eye on those who put the records on. Say, the music producers, parents, family, teachers, governments, potential dictators…
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MOVIES
Who holds the Academy Award for the Best Picture?
by BRONISLAVA BENDOVÁ
I personally consider it quite amusing when people, especially interviewers on television, ask somebody to describe something in three words. Until this day I have thought that it is an impossible task. However, if someone asked me to describe the movie Green Book in this way, I would indisputably know how to answer. I would say that it is a story about FRIENDSHIP, DEVASTATION of a man and RACISM and I would stand on my words. The plot revolves around two diverse worlds of two even more diverse people - an African-American pianist Don Shirley and a nightclub bouncer Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga. The film is set in 60´era when life in America was not that easy, especially for an African-American man. From an early age, it is obvious that Shirley is extraordinary gifted in music. At the age of two, he learns to play the piano and later attends a university and becomes a noble man with two honorary doctorates. And Tony, simply said, is an ordinary man with a wife and two children. His character is a complete opposite to Shirley - he appears to be poorly educated,
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short-tempered and uses strong language. Can you imagine a relationship between these two individuals? They have nothing in common, just like two sides of a coin. The only thing they share is their journey to the South of America where Shirley organizes a classical music tour and Tony provides him with a bodyguard and driving service. And yet, they become friends. It is not of course a trivial and meaningless relationship, but it is a truly real friendship based on mutual respect and understanding. Even though Don Shirley as a famous pianist is well-off, internally he is a very devastated man what mirrors in his multiple breakdowns during the film. He is divorced and has a feeling of not belonging anywhere. He feels irretrievably lonely which sometimes results in drunkenness and other problematic situations... Despite all of this, he manages to maintain his composure and raises his principles above all. Arrested after Tony punches a policeman, he says that you never win with violence; you only win when you maintain your dignity. After all, he is a strong man.
The last and probably the most noticeable issue that Green Book deals with is the issue of racism. I believe that everybody can imagine or just outline the social situation concerning discrimination in America in 60´. (The story of Shirley and Tony dates back to 1962 - a year before ´I have a dream´ speech.) I guess that you might be wondering what Green book as a name refers to. Of course, it is not just any random expression ... Green book was a guidebook for African-American travellers that helped them along their journey to choose e.g. hotels where they could stay (there were separated hotels for them). What I appreciate about the movie is the depth with which it depicts situations and problems Tony and Shirley encountered during their tour. For example, Don Shirley performes at a mansion full of people. The host welcomes him, promises to help him with anything he needs... Outstanding performance, people clapping ... And then Shirley (a noble man wearing a tuxedo and a bow tie) wants to go to the toilet and the host bans him to do that and tells him that he has to use a latrine because the toilet is only for white people. Another strong moment occurred during the last performance of his tour where Shirley is supposed to play in a restaurant. There are tens of people astonished to see the performance of the world class pianist. Everybody is looking forward to it. However, before the show Shirley wants to have his dinner in that restaurant. He is denied with the host telling him that he cannot have a meal there (even though he is going to have there a highly anticipated concert) because no African-American has ever dined there. It goes without saying that the situations like this are not just two... All in all, I believe that Green Book is definitely worth of your attention and of your free time, not to mention that it has overall won three Academy Awards and belongs to the list of top films of two thousand eighteen. The reason why I am so grateful for Green Book is the truthfulness of characters and the powerful message it contains and I am sure you will appreciate it as well.
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BARMECIDE Chapter 2 - It’s raining somewhere else by MATÚŠ SAMEK
Ephen woke up exceedingly tired that morning. Since he started experiencing night terrors 2 weeks ago, his daily performance slowly aggravated under fatigue and repeated loss of focus, as he was unable to get a good night’s sleep. He sat on the bed in his mess of a room for a good thirty minutes and rummaged through lumps of his unsorted ideas and thoughts about his unresolved past, dismally-sketched aspirations and such. He felt like he’d been brain-fogged for a month. The room was filled with a plethora of trinkets lying around on his desk, shelves and the night stand, an accumulating cluster of books and scraps of paper stacked on top of each other on wooden shelves going full circle around the plain white walls. A gargantuan wardrobe containing tons of solely-black clothing was covered in sticky notes to guide his sclerotic self through the day, plus several posters of his favorite TV shows, artists and nostalgic leftovers such as „The Wooden Puppet“, „Cross-Incrimination“, and of course the „Mugshot Grin“. Woodworking apparatus, which Ephen couldn’t bring himself to put where it belonged, was placed in the compartment of his bedside cabinet, but hadn’t been touched for quite some time, along with his collection of books, which he endorsed, but had never gotten around to finish reading. He stood up, ambled to the windowsill and slowly opened the window. He let some fresh air in, and looked out on his backyard. Ever since a brat, Ephen was very fond of nature, so by the time he was an adult he had promised to himself his house would be somewhere nice and tranquil. And thanks to a fortunate stroke of serendipity – or Ephen’s undaunted nature – it was after all. He looked at his pair of birch trees which had gotten about 3 feet taller in the last 2 years he’d been there, now reaching about 50, but swaying in the wind just the same. He reached for the cigarette case on his desk and lit a fag. Then exhaled with satisfaction after the brittle leaf smoke had filled his lungs. In a mere moment, he started looking around for his cat Yoko, and at the same time, began delving into his memories. Yoko, who sort of just showed up a year ago, was running around like a madman playing catch with a desperate squirrel. Yoko followed a specific subconscious routine. Nimble in the mornings, he was up-and-running around the house and also quite literally AROUND the house. In the afternoons he was as idle as a cat can get, sitting on the porch table, or guarding the place in a sphinx position in the gap between the porch’s roof, and the meticulously crafted house sign attached to it. The sign spelled “Ephen Klein” a name so unheard of, none of the locals would have reckoned he was from Norway. Yoko regularly disappeared during the evenings, but could be found back on the porch in early morning with whatever he had found – rodents, mice, birds – anything to satisfy his appetite that day. Since he was a human, Ephen’s obsessions were a bit more complicated and time-draining. He was very keen on building stuff himself. This peculiar house which more or less resembled a cabin had a small extension built onto it, which served as a workshop for anything that Ephen wanted to build. Unlike his room however, it was perfectly arranged, despite being littered with various woodworking paraphernalia top-to-bottom, leftto-right. Complete with scissors, box-cutters, bandsaw, hacksaw, handsaw, jigsaw, rasps, files, sanders, countless crayons and pencils neatly packed in holders , numerous knives, giant mallets and hammers, chisels, a power drill or 2 if things got out of hand, certain clamping tools placed on the tables and vast selections of open-end wrenches, allen wrenches, socket wrenches and 20
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adjustable wrenches showcased and ready-to-grab on the wall. An average human being would run out of appropriate names for all the items. Also – screwdrivers. Another very important tool was the tape measure, longer than standard, which was used equally often in measuring as in watching Yoko chase after it retracting across 65 feet. He was exceptionally proud of this place and everything he had built in it. He was disconnected from Norway’s political affiliations and social events both physically and mentally, living in a remote part of a tremendous forest dragging it’s way through serrated hilltops near Birkeland - a village of the Aust-Agder county with no more than 3000 inhabitants, lying on the eastern shore of the Tovdalselva river. From “Birki” - meaning Birch trees, and “land” - meaning farm. His father died of lung cancer when Ephen was only 16, and his older brother Nikolai took his own life not too long after. Described as quite a jubilant fellow by peers, though in reality particularly morose – his sudden departure swept away every trace of comprehension his mother thought she had of her oldest son, and drained Nikolai’s endless potential , reduced it to a vessel of nothingness –void left unfilled for all eternity. His mother Selena was making him his favorite supper meal - elk with potatoes and veggies, plus cream sauce on the side. She was especially glad she got it all right to give him at least something for his outstanding performance on the final semester exam. When she opened the door she found a noose attached to the ceiling and on the other end her perfect son Nikolai with a broken spinal cord. Now the only traces left of their immediate family were Ephen and his mother down in Fredrikstad. A 51 year old, sweet and loving single mother enjoying fully what little (or preferably long) time she had left. After 25 stressful years of being a mother - full of dedication, financial problems, untold effort that went into taking care of her husband and two sons, and the pain and misery the last 10 years had brought, she absolutely deserved to let go for a bit. Ephen paid little to no attention to expanding his family tree. He has now long accepted his destiny as someone who lives for himself and his own aspirations, and as far as he could tell, he couldn’t imagine stopping down to set up a family anytime soon. But momentarily, he was happy. The squirrel had suddenly changed direction and Yoko followed it into the woods. His father Evan had been a famous and successful woodworker on a local-scale in his hometown of Fredrikstad. He shaped and sculpted Ephen’s future just like he had done with wood, when he taught him the trade. Needless to say, Ephen was absolutely fascinated by his dad’s endless ramblings. He would absorb it like a sponge. As his father passed away, Ephen continued his own craft, but obsessed over it, as if he had replaced him and continued his legacy. Although, the only attention he now received came from Yoko, who often observed him from a pole, but you couldn’t really call it “recognition”. Yoko was a wild cat (and a good one at that), a typical breed of a Norwegian forest cat, although parallel to human faces, he seemed like the stereotypical “old man” overseeing everything Ephen did until night light hit the evening. The fur around his chin was shaped like a beard, further adding to the humorous resemblance. At 22 years of age, Ephen stood with confidence and a spark in his eyes, with aligned posture. Quite muscular, given the physically-exhausting labor, his hands were covered in blisters and his right palm beared a scar stretching its way through the web of his thumb - a mark left by being a klutz, and a nail. Born black-haired, whatever you’d call a haircut was generally non-existent in Ephan’s case. His head wasn’t fully shaven, but sufficiently enough to reveal his scalp and fully expose his head shape. He used to have longer hair but as time flew by, he decided half-way to bald was a perfect combination of efficiency and having enough hair to not look like a complete douchebag. Ignoring the latter, he might had gone for the skullet. Plus it’s quite comfortable to feel the swift breeze of Norway between your hair follicles. For an unclear reason, he kept stumbling upon mysterious objects that seemed to be intentionally hidden around these parts, and being the keen „souvenirist‘‘ he was, he put them on his unused shelf to be on display and collect dust, but to never be touched, removed, or put to any effective WHAT’S UP
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use whatsoever, collated in rows, based on chronological discoveries, and levels of his piqued interest towards them. They ranged from iron and rusty, to tin and preserved - always metallic, occasionally monoliths and statuettes, but predominantly obelisks or cylinder shapes, covered in unknown symbols, eerie faces and letters, or something vaguely resembling letters, but wondrously perfected, with precise sculpting, which led him to believe they’ve all been made by the same skilled person or a group of people, given that they were mystically kindred and none of them recognizable. He had never seen anything even remotely similar and thanks to being a general nutjob about mythology and fantasy literature he deduced that behind this work stood no fellow norwegian, even if it had been made in this region. It gave no nod to classic norwegian styles, folklore, culture, mythology, nor to any paganistic religion or one of these modern blackmetal satanic shticks. He has been unable to determine the year of their origin however, as he had no point of reference to start from. Every one of his favorite indian, buddhist, christian and even tribal statuettes he possessed and had held in high regards for many years stood no chance in prestige when compared to these newfound oddities. Along with fine esthetics, the objects brought to him a series of ineffable dreams. Dreams hybridly encompassing feelings of dread and agitation, vicariousness and attachment as he saw the downfall of outlandish ancient cities built so deep underwater sun rays could not reach its denizens, but shining with an eerie glow of bright fluorescence. He observed the demise of a race so inhumane, one would be called mad for describing it as humanoid, while being such at the same time - figures with bodies covered in scales and sprouted with barnacles, bearing a humongous set of dragon-like wings and gills under their ear holes. The figures were kneeling before strange towers, or rather monoliths, of an unknown material akin to an ore embodying a fine-line between stone and metal, and living in dwellings that were (from a human’s point of view) architecturally nonsensical. Temples and obelisks were etched with recognizable imagery and symbols from the strange objects he kept. A monstrous circular glyph encompassed the city and its populace. Everyone standing in it had festered, decayed, and decomposed alive. The towers shattered and turned to dust. Their prosperous existence was no more. The nightmares started occurring the night after he had found the latest grey piece of a small monolith and it did not let him sleep peacefully ever since. He woke up completely ruined every day, but while his dreams lasted, the feeling was otherworldly. His mind was made up. He wanted to know more. He had to know more. Just 2 days prior he tried chalking out the same circle in his garden and made sure it wasn’t bigger than a few inches, but he achieved none of the previous effects. While he re-evaluated his previous efforts constantly and was starting to think he had gone mad, he still continued to scavenge for other clues each day. A method to his madness. As his stream of consciousness came to an end, he reached the cigarette butt, so he put it out and threw it under the window. Yoko has returned, proudly carrying the remnants of a squirrel in his mouth. He elegantly tip-toed up the stairs and slammed the rest of the squirrel on the porch. He made a long yawn and had a decent bite of his rightfully earned breakfast. Ephen rarely spoke with other people anymore so he utilized his larynx by talking to Yoko and carrying never-ending monologues with himself. He was aware of this, so he made no efforts to stop. With Yoko being his only partner in this hermitry, he asked him many questions, made sarcastic remarks and complimented him numerous times every day - just for the sake of it. Yoko remained silent however, and refused to retort. Despite this, he behaved as if he perfectly understood Ephen’s requests and remarks. Twitched when insulted, purred when congratulated after killing “that damn mouse”. Yoko observed him with a judging gaze of endless curiosity. His fur was excessively fluffy and excelled with smooth transitions between shades of grey and black with sharp hints of beige at the hair ends. White fur covered the outlines of his eyes and then stretched from his chin down to his chest. An all-around adorable and reliable companion. . . . 22
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Every dog has its day or two. Unfortunately this wasn’t one of them. „Now, you’re well aware I have to do something about this, aren’t you , lieutenant Mole?“ „To be fair, this was the third time I slipped, and number four seems like a fine number of chances to get. Don’t wanna end on an odd note.“ „Very funny. Do you enjoy breaking the protocol? Your job isn’t even that difficult. You’re suppossed to patrole the upper halls of the palace. For FIVE HOURS. You could even grab some cakes and wine from the kitchen while you’re at it for all I care. Do you know how impotent I look in front of Lord Vale when civilians see my right-hand assistant sneaking out and getting hammered when he should be on patrole – Making sure the upper hall is nice and dandy, and doing NOTHING except that? Yo-“ „So I advanced in rank and as a reward I get to walk back and forth for five hours is what I understand?“ „That’s how it works pal. You’re not in the lower echelons anymore and this isn’t the city watch, your work here’s simple and boring. Now I understand there was this guy... what’s his name... Allan? Yes, Allan. I heard he likes to receive some generous amounts of gold into his pockets and stand in front of that door during your shift... anything to add to that?“ „The best footman I’ve met indeed.“ „Well he’s no longer a footman, Mole.“ „That’s very unlucky.“ A slight smirk appeared on the lieutenant’s scarred face. „You may be very dear and essential for His Royal Highness, but he didn’t say I can’t cut off a finger or two If someone were to forget their place. You seem to get carried away quite often. I get that your wife died, don’t get me wrong. I know you humans tend to get fixated on your current ways of being and don’t like to let go of them. It’s an attachment of sorts, I get that. But it usually takes just a month or two for a soldier to recover, atleast on the outside, especially if he’s seen a fair share of dead people and you’re not one of those that didn‘t, Mole. Heh. Humankind. Nothing short of riveting, you know? You lose something dear to you and choose to black out every night as means of coping. Now that’s just hilarious. You know what - look at it this way; you’re a lieutenant in a land devastated by a gruesome plague and you have a safety net. Plus, now there’s no one left for you to worry about. Isn’t that wonderful?‘‘ „No it isn’t.“ „You’ve been granted life by His Highness, and have the option the enjoy your last days, maybe weeks if you get lucky, with the honor of being a lieutenant. Now frankly, that seems a lot nicer than torture and the ol‘ spanish inquisition.“ „...“ „Hmph. We also swarmed the tavern you snuck out to. A lot of sought-after people go there from what I’ve heard. The kind to slit a nobleman’s throat in seconds, if the price is right. The kind of people you should not be seen with. Huh, you know, I was genuinely surprised. That had to be the worst name of a tavern I’ve ever heard.“ „The Whale Ale?“ „Were you born without taste, Mole? You know ale is for the lower-class folk, right? Guys like us usually get some... higher quality beverages.“ Captain Pliers reached for a bottle in the compartment of his prestigious table. „Personally, I usually go for a bottle of the Surlee brothers 1820 vinta-“ „Keep your damn wine.“ „Resentful, are we? Oh well, what do I care. Off you go then. Mind your actions Mole. There will be no fifth time, and there will be some unfriendly consequences if I don’t see you standing in that hall with every inch of your pathetic existence ready to dismember and decapitate everyone and everything that doesn’t belong there, even if you have to look under every tile and every brick to find one of those Elpher spies. Congratulations. You’ve just become a fine worker bee. Buzz, buzz.“ Mole gave an appeasing nod to the captain, got up from the chair and walked away with simulated obedience. „Oh by the way, Lord Vale sent for a whole platoon to go into that excavation site he’s been fiddling with lately. Said it’s an emergency. Some disturbance of sort, he says. If that’s of any interest to you.“ „Curiosity killed the cat. “ „Watch your tongue Mole. We’ll see what this is about in due time...“ WHAT’S UP
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From maturita essays
by ALENA CILÍKOVÁ
The beginning of March is really tough time for all graduates. This year our bilingual students had to write an essay in which they were to justify their opinions of the following quotations providing three arguments. • If you wish to be loved, love. (Seneca) • If the world were governed by love, laws would not be necessary. (Aristotle) • A lack of love is the cause of every sin. (Aurelius) The essays were amazing and we found out how romantic souls our students have. So here are the most beautiful ideas. ´Love is the strongest force in the universe. It is the most powerful emotion humans are capable of experiencing, which has been proven countless times during the course of human history. Selfless acts of kindness, people sacrificing themselves to save others and even various religions, whose ultimate goal is to spread love. But love does not appear out of nowhere. Love is always being passed on from one person onto another. ´ ´Love is very similar to energy. Energy is neither created nor spent. It simply changes its form. Love is just like that. Love is a cycle of giving and receiving. ´ ´... being openly loving can lead to a plentitude of positive changes in our lives, but also in the lives of those that are close to us. Acts such as offering a hand when needed, giving advice or reassurance, or simply being there at the crucial moment will surely make our lives better and easier.´ ´... being assertive and open-hearted could give us loads of important life lessons, knowledge and inspirational experiences. What is more, by being a loving person we can become acquinted to crucial mentors and friends. ´ ´With the fast rise of technology in our lives, we sometimes find ourselves emotionally unavailable and even if we connect to someone, we occasionally end up getting hurt. ´ ´Love is what drives us and it makes us do silly things. I believe everyone has a special someone out there waiting for him. If it was not for love, the world would slip into chaos, for as the great Aurelius said, “A lack of love is the cause of every sin.´ ´Love is all that is needed for people to happily coexist together and hate is the source of misery and negative behaviour. ´ ´Love is not a thing or anything we can buy, love itself is the purest something what may warm our bodies and melt our hearts when we really feel it.´ ´Love is the most precious state and emotion and it makes us rich in spite of our poor economic situation.´ ´Every decision we make, every step that we take, every thing that we do is strongly affected by our emotions, by our currents state of mind and soul.´ ´Life without love is just an empty book full of sadness and helplessness.´
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How good should one be?
by MARTIN KRČ
B ertolt Brecht in his play The Good person of Szechwan tells a story about (unsurprisingly) the one good person in the whole city. This person is (surprisingly) a prostitute called Shen Teh. Although she
has never really had the ambition to be particularly good, she is deemed so by three gods wandering through Szechwan after she is the only one who offers them shelter. The gods reward her generously which allows Shen Teh to leave behind her abominable vocation. It also sets her into an awkward situation, however, as it binds her to remain a good person. In her effort to be good, Shen Teh allows people to take advantage of her and eventually looses everything. She is uncannily saved by her cousin, Shui Ta, who is in many ways the opposite of Shen Teh – he is mean and only focuses on his personal interests (under the pretext of helping his cousin). It turns out that Shui Ta is actually Shen Teh in disguise, it’s an alter ego Shen Teh calls for help when being too good gets her into trouble. After numerous plot twists Shen Teh concludes with a dilemma that whenever she is good to others, she isn’t good to herself. And when she tries to be good to herself, she can’t be good to others. The play illustrates the conflict between philanthropy and sustaining your own life, which is ultimately the condition for helping others. It just seems impossible to be altruistic without acting in a selfish way at times. The question is, how can one estimate the optimal ratio between these two attitudes? I would like to try to apply the second law of thermodynamics to this problem. Yes, thermodynamics. Of course, as I am discussing very complex issues, it is necessary to commit the crime of simplification. I beg the reader to forgive me this trespass. So, without further ado, let’s get to it. According to Rudolf Clausius, the second law of thermodynamics can be defined as follows: “Heat can never pass from a colder body to a warmer body .” Let’s tweak that a little to suit our needs: “Satisfaction can never pass from a less satisfied person to a more satisfied one.” Behold – the second law of emodynamics! What would it look like if Shen Teh tried to behave according to this law? Soon after using the reward from the gods to open a tobacco shop, a woman asks Shen Teh for shelter. According to the law of emodynamics, Shen Teh is more satisfied (she has a new shop!) than the woman (she has nowhere to sleep!) and so she agrees. As a result, Shen Teh becomes significantly less satisfied (she has to take care of the woman) and, in turn, the woman’s satisfaction increases. Let’s say that the woman asks Shen Teh for food. Fair enough, she is hungry and Shen Teh can afford plenty of food, so she feeds her. Eventually, however, as the woman begins to take advantage of Shen Teh, the former prostitute begins to worry about the future of her business, while the woman is content with being taken care of – in other words Shen Teh becomes less satisfied than the woman and that is the time when she should stop being altruistic (perhaps a little earlier), according to the law of emodynamics. There are, of course, numerous problems with this approach. One of them being the threat of becoming surrounded by dissatisfied people or with a person dissatisfied beyond measure. Should you just give all of your property to the poor? This one could be solved by focusing solely on the subjective experience of satisfaction and not trying to make it objective. For instance a rich person might not become very dissatisfied by giving away a few euros while a homeless man can become considerably satisfied by receiving the money. The same amount of effort (here represented by money) has a completely different effect on each of them. Thus a small act of kindness on your part can be lifechanging for someone in need and you don’t need to raise him to your level from the material point of view. He can get as satisfied as you are although he has far less money. Another catch is that this approach leads to short-term “patches” to the suffering of others which don’t really help them in the long run. Acts that only bring relief to the benefactor’s conscience. There’s also the risk of making situation worse by a presumed act of kindness. (The homeless person might get wasted if you give him too much) Intention is one thing, the actual effect another. Moreover, I’m sure that this theory could be abused in some horrifying way just as many other well-meant ideas have been in the past. Such is the hazard of simplification. So I definitely wouldn’t claim that these are the words to live by. For me it’s at the very least something interesting to think about and at best a sort of guideline for those gnawing situations when a homeless guy asks for some change with a heartbreaking voice and tears in his eyes and you wonder weather he will be chuckling at your naivety over a shot of vodka a while later. But then, if he’s dissatisfied enough to humiliate himself, what the hell! 50 cents won’t kill you, right? 1 2
The full formulation: “Heat can never pass from a colder to a warmer body without some other change, connected therewith, occurring at the same time.” Clausius (1854), p. 86. I’m using satisfaction instead of happiness because the term happiness far more difficult to define and really a philosophical puzzle on its own.
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JOKES
JOKES by Mgr. ĽUBICA DURCOVÁ
THERE IS A MAGICAL CAVE IN WHICH WHEN SOMEONE SAYS WHERE HE WANTS TO TRAVEL IT TRANSPORTS HIM THERE. - A CZECH COMES INSIDE AND SAYS: “TO THE CZECH REPUBLIC!” THE MAGICAL CAVE TRANSPORTS HIM TO THE CZECH REPUBLIC. - A RUSSIAN COMES INSIDE AND SAYS: “TO RUSSIA!” A MAGICAL CAVE TRANSPORTS HIM TO RUSSIA. - A SLOVAK COMES INSIDE, TRIPS AND SAYS: “DO PR...!” THE CHIEF INSPECTOR OF SCOTLAND YARD CALLS TO HIS DETECTIVES TO FIND OUT, IF THEY SOLVED A MURDER OF A STABBED MAN: - DETECTIVES: “YES, WE SOLVED THE CASE. IT HAPPENED LIKE THIS: A WIFE WAS WIPING FLOOR AND HER HUSBAND STEPPED ON IT WHILE IT WAS STILL WET, SO SHE STABBED HIM TO DEATH.” - A CHIEF INSPECTOR: “AND DID YOU ARREST HER?” - DETECTIVES: “NOT YET, WE ARE WAITING FOR THE FLOOR TO DRY.” CHUCK NORRIS GOT 250 WATTS FROM A FIREFLY. A PIECE OF WISDOM FOR WOMEN: HAPPINESS DOESN´T DEPEND ON MONEY. BUT STILL IT IS EASIER TO CRY IN A LIMOUSINE THAN IN A PUBLIC TRANSPORT. A NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN COMES TO A LOCAL REGISTER OFFICE AND SAYS: - “I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A SHORTER NAME.” - “OK, AND WHAT IS YOUR NAME?” - “QUICK TRAIN WHICH WHISTLES TWICE WHEN IT PASSES BY.” - “HMM, THAT REALLY IS A LONG NAME. AND WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE YOUR NEW NAME TO BE?” - “TOOT, TOOT.”
TWO BACTERIA MEET: - “HOW ARE YOU?” - “I DON´T FEEL VERY WELL. I THINK I CAUGHT PENICILLIN.”
- “FATHER, WHAT IS IT A CHAMOIS?“ - “YOU KNOW SON, IT IS SOME KIND OF A STUPID FISH.“ - “A FISH? MY TEACHER SAID THAT IT JUMPS IN MOUNTAINS!“ - “I TOLD YOU THAT IT WAS STUPID .“
EVERY EMPLOYEE IS A LITTLE BIT LIKE ROBINSON. WHY? BECAUSE HE LOOKS FORWARD TO FRIDAY.
TWO BLIND HORSES IN A STABLE: - “ARE YOU GOING TO RUN IN A HURDLE RACE?“ - “WHY NOT. I CAN´T SEE AN OBSTRUCTION.“
“I MET LUCK, IT CAME TO SAY GOODBYE.”
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: A HORSE´S YOUNG ONE IS A FOAL, ITS MOTHER IS A MARE AND ITS FATHER IS A STALLION. SO WHY DO WE CALL THEM HORSES? TWO FLEES COME OUT OF THE THEATRE: - “ARE WE WALKING OR SHOULD I ORDER A DOG?“ 26
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Cover photos by NINA MOCKOVČIAKOVÁ