Amor fati, like all things fancy and full of meaning, is a Latin phrase. It means “love of fate,” or “to love one’s fate.” In a world where instant gratification is the default, it is a sobering reminder of the truth- that we are but a minor player on a giant stage, frolicking through life subject to the whims of fate. It is not merely a nihilistic reminder of what
December 6, 2024
The Year of Hygge, the Danish Obsession with Getting Cozy
The Oxford Dictionaries’ 2016 “word of the year” shortlist was heavy on neologisms that one wishes didn’t have to exist: “alt-right,” “Brexiteer,” and this year’s winning term, “post-truth.” Among the finalists, though, there was one bit of solace: “hygge,” a Danish term defined as “a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.” Pronounced “hoo-guh,” the word is said to have no direct translation
December 3, 2024
The Myth of Self-Reliance
By Jenny Odell January 15, 2020 Arts & Culture An encounter with Emerson’s essays. Caspar David Friedrich, Woman before the Rising Sun, 1818 There’s a treacherously placed bookstore in my neighborhood. To go almost anywhere from my apartment, I have to pass Walden Pond Books, and it’s next door to my usual coffee shop, so even if I didn’t decide to go in on the first pass, I probably will