This book is a long one, but the length has a specific purpose as it takes us on a dynamic journey through the mind of Raskolnikov (or Rodya). The plot is simple: a man decides to commit a crime and is forced, or rather forces himself, to bear the punishment for such act. We witness his state of mind before, during and after he murders two women and this is where the brilliance of the author comes to life, because despite the villainy and prejudice the reader cannot help but to understand Raskolnikov or even agree with his actions. This becomes evident when during the narrative one starts to secretly hope he doesn’t get caught by the authorities. This empathy is achieved because despite the apparent indifference and contempt for almost everyone we get to see his flaws, despair and suffering. The swirling of emotions and rationalizations allied to his illness puts oneself in the protagonist shoes. You can’t help but root for him despite the murder. And yet, he still manages to surprise us through bursts of kindness and generosity. The full and complex range of emotions paired with a superior intellect gives rise to certain ideologies that we may or may not agree with, but in the end, we end up suffering with Raskolnikov just like the one’s around him.
Author: James F. Marshall (Page 4 of 4)
I tried, tried, and tried again
To no avail, the winner is always pain.
Tears never shed; feelings never shared
This life is dry, all blood has bled.
Today, I lost myself in desire. And today, I found my way back.
Today, I decided to no longer succumb to pleasure. And today, I craved it.
Why should we experience delight and shame from things alike?
Why is more never enough and too much?
Cheiro fresco a maresia
Que lembranças me trouxeste!
Da praia, das ondas e do Verão sem fantasia,
E o tempo que não passou. Sim, foi isso que me deste!
Tendo vivido quatro anos na Austrália com a futura possibilidade de obter cidadania Australiana, algo me fez voltar à Pátria. Várias razões pessoais influenciaram esta decisão mas não contam a história toda. A saudade de que tanto se fala na língua portuguesa é real. É real no sentido em que poucos países conseguem criar este laço de afinidade tão profundamente. E não se sabe explicar bem porquê. Isto porque não se explica, sente-se.
It is been a month since quarantine officially started in Portugal where I am writing this text. But irrelevant of location, the current pandemic is a global problem and one that will give us more questions than answers in all areas of life. Here are five different realities we must rethink as civilization.
The divisiveness of this question is interesting from the get-go as this is a topic meaningful for many people, while others will outright dismiss the question itself as ridiculous even before attempting to answer it.
Personally, I find this thought exercise interesting for different reasons: I’m a 31-year-old male (typical gamer demographic) who played various videogames during adolescence with a fervent passion but was always criticized by family and close friends as “wasting time.” Eventually, life got in the way and I stopped it out of guilt. However, the desire to play never disappeared, as if it was dormant all along and not just a “child’s whim.” This makes me challenge the almost fundamentalist criticism of videogames. Secondly, in this era of endless entertainment where everyone is constantly consuming content, this question quickly turns into an argument of what art is, and what makes some mediums reputable and others not quite as accepted.
Ultimately, it is important to recognize the importance of this topic because whether we like it or not, videogames, virtual reality, streaming or social media are here to stay. They are shaping the way we think and interpret life (particularly younger generations), and there seems to be no legal or moral authority to guide us in our escapism. If you’d like to know how gamers might be shaping the way we consume entertainment check my WoW Classic article.
Diagnosis of a Lost Generation: World of Warcraft & Nostalgia
As an on and off video game player, the “new” release of World of Warcraft Classic didn’t go unnoticed to me. Perhaps more surprisingly, was the fact that if you were browsing YouTube, Reddit, Twitch or other mainstream digital platforms you probably heard about it too. I’ve followed its announcement, the hype in between the launch, and the launch itself up until now, where it’s still going strong. All of this was fascinating and intriguing to me. After all, WoW Classic is just the same game that initially existed 15 years ago: unpolished, grindy, slow and punishing. And yet, people wanted it more than ever. The noteworthy aspect is not the game itself, it’s the apparent philosophical change among gamers – particularly young male adults – of what they want from a video game. Why is this relevant? I believe this change transcends video games and it’s a counterculture scream that will echo in many other areas of society. A preview of what’s to be. It’s the reason why this article is not intended only for WoW players but for all those interested in our current culture and its evolution.
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