Welcome to this week’s 5BF:
1 – what I am read
Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka – what always attracts me to
Kafka is his extreme prudence, his sympathetic self-criticism, his sense of
inferiority, and all of these comes forth prominently in his best-known
novella, Metamorphosis. The protagonist of this novella, Gregor Samsa, wakes up
one day and finds himself to be a giant insect, from thereon his struggles
begin: his worry about his work, his alienation from his family, his sense of
having become useless, all of which ultimately leads to his demise. Kafka takes
an absurdly dreamlike and humorous plot and turns it on itself to tell a story
of the modern man’s predicament.
2 – this week’s articles
On quoting Einstein @aeon – this article explores our prideful
habit of quoting, and misquoting, Einstein on not only the matters of science but
on morality, life, religion, and so on. Both his fame, combined with his other
humanely qualities make Einstein so quotable, the article claims.
How to rest well @psyche – the idea of ‘resting’ has become
anti-culture in the today’s age; like other commodities in the capitalist era,
resting also has to be earned. This article explains why resting is important,
how to practice it, and what makes resting fruitful.
3 – this week’s podcasts
How wintering replenishes @onbeing – with the author,
Katherine May, of bestselling self-help/memoir book ‘Wintering’, Tippet
discussing her book and explores the wisdom and hidden messages of the winter
season, and how it can help us soldier on amidst our internal winters as well.
How prayer works @poetryunbound – expanding on Kaveh Akbar’s
poem, this episode of ‘Poetry Unbound’ explores the connecting nature of prayer,
not only with the Divine but also with our fellow beings.
4 – MAS: Microsoft activator app
A piracy app that helps those living in the Asian continent,
unable or unwilling to get the Microsoft services, be it Windows or Office,
activate these software for free. It works like a charm and you don’t need to
watch those poorly made hack videos anymore.
5 – this week’s quote
‘Happiness is amazing. It is so amazing that it doesn’t
matter if it’s yours or not.’
Ricky Gervais