5-11-2025 MY FAVES: tracklists, travel guides, tailored suits.

 books of the week

i completed unmask alice and this book was an incredible investigation. if you have any interest in the satanic panic of the 70s, as well as anti-drug propaganda, this book will take you start to finish on how these social events happen - these fearmongering events and moral panic (which we'll be seeing more in this political climate we're currently in). if you've crossed paths with alice  (go ask alice by "anonymous") in your childhood, this book is a great eye opener. 

i also read the latest may edition of vogue, with a$ap rocky on the cover, honoring him as co-chairman of the met gala.

i began reading b-guided>.  this is not necessarily a book, but rather a magazine/guide about trending fashion, nightlife, art, and architecture in barcelona. i got #17 autumn 2003 from a local library book sale. if you're into the gen x soft club aesthetic revival, here's a perfect guide to the trends of the times, if you're looking for references: futuristic and organic architecture, hedi slimane at his peak as creative director for dior homme, and so much more.

movies of the week

this area got pretty political over the week. i found the movie zlatne godine (translated to golden years). i've been searching a way to watch this film for years. i saw it on croatian tv when i was younger, and i was a bit too young, but very intrigued. it's a political thriller that bounces between the 70s and 90s and the dynamic of two brothers and one of the brother's girlfriend. the trio was involved in the political student protests in the 70s in croatia. croatia wasn't the only one, there was a wave in czechoslovakia, and even in the us - the protests against the vietnam war. we all were commemorating the kent shooting anniversary this week as well.

this movie is fictional, but many people of the time could relate to the still unspoken history of yugoslavian spies targeting young intellectuals and activists attempting to bring light the necessity of an independent croatian country. the acting and plot is not oscar-worthy, but aside the dramatization, this could be someone's life story.

more on what could be true, i finally watched the conclave - in honor of our very own real conclave and the decision of pope leo xiv becoming the first ever american pope. i thoroughly enjoyed the movie. it was captivating, not overly heavy, and it didn't villainize or propagandize any political views as much as perhaps my mom would worry. i did kind of predict how the plot would go, but it still wasn't like - "aha, i told you so!" it was a good slow burn, with lots of symbolism.

and for some background treats: boyfriend and i watched more anthony bourdain: parts unknown se 5, ep 7: hawaii and no reservations se 8 ep 3: croatia. hawaii touched base on the issue of tourists depleting the natives of resources and the island's beauty, and the question of who really is a hawaiian.

croatia was pleasantly not political. just good food, fish, cheese and drinks. that really is the beauty of the country, laid back drinking and pure hedonism. boyfriend really related to this episode since he finally visited the country last year. even without following the wisdom and guidance of bourdain, boyfriend enjoyed just as much. 

music of the week

let's end this entry with some more of that croatian pomalo philosophy. the balkans love a good instagram theme. something worthy of posting on your story, something funny or maybe aesthetically pleasing. or perhaps, both. you've got teski grafiti that posts various grafittis from all over croatia and beyond, ljetni tudjman posting archival photos of the first croatian president and captions sharing what the perfect summer philosophy is like (according to president tuđman. there's so many more, like sve su to vjeshtice (feminist memes), yugo.wav (vaporwave but make it yugoslavian), pungass (like dash cam videos but add jelena rozga's music), umetnost kaze (a mix of turbofolk and art history), nadrealisticki (memes and turbofolk), hardkoo (i don't know if you could describe this one), the retro split, and many many more.

a new instagram i discovered is now brzeguze - voyeuristic, not sexual in nature, just asses on the beach. their motto is  asses against selfies. their rules are following: must be an ass photo on the beach or in nature, the person in the photo must consent, no filters or photoshop allowed, no bedroom photos, no harassment. and you can send it anonymously to their email. bizarre right? i don't follow them because of the ass philosophy, i discovered this organization also does club parties and have dj nights. so i did what i do best, and listened to these playlists, and discovered some funky beats:

rare - bullion, carly rae jepsen

father figure - george michael

you've got the love (jamie xx rework) - florence + the machine, the xx, jamie xx

pharaohs - sbtrkt, roses gabor

feels like making love - ana mazzotti

through these playlists i also discovered nemanja - defined as "a global groove psych project [from pula] behind which is luka šipetić (guitar, author), matej perić (drums), karlo lugarić (percussion), laura matijašević (bass), ana kovačić (sax, synch)". i loved and saved the album tarot funk - "the homage to the sound of thai funk, afro-funk, anatolian (turkish) rock of the 70's and cambodian psych rock of the sixties. the specificity of the album is that the songs are written for specially selected tarot cards, whose symbolism, together with the music, forms the narrative unit that the the listener must discover for himself".