11-09-2025 MY FAVES: a glimpse into my parent's library

books of the week

now that i've finished the period brain, i delved into my dad's library of books he's gotten at various book promotions at hometown - mainly political and wwii related. so i read about huda jama, which i won't share much about, as croatian history is incredibly complicated - and i am no poli-sci professional. 

up next, another political book about a priest's involvement with croatian freedom fighters before and during our homeland war - called osvit u slobodi (translated a dawn in freedom). this book is very new, it's not even in goodreads. short, with some great patriotic quotes. i got to learn about some underdog freedom fighters too.

my parents used to go to numerous book promotions at our local library, hence so many books at home, left unread. dad prefers the political ones, but my mom and i were never picky. this upcoming book, is a fable poetry book - called život(h)inj(ic)e (i kinda don't know how i would translate this - but it's animal related, as životinje means animals in croatian). like comic and graphic books, poetry books aren't my forte but any book in my collection (or parent's) will be read. this book is humorous, simple, but clever and witty. i enjoyed the various descriptions of animals, and onomatopoeia used.

i bought both the october and november  edition of vogue adria, as well as dazed and confused magazine (bought on a whim). here's a takeaway on whitewashing wellness, particularly a bit on yoga - we need to question our privileges, and remember where these "wellness rituals" came from, whether it's preparing tea or matcha, pilates (lots of discourse lately about how this was created during the holocaust by a jewish prisoner, now it has become a cult in which only pretty skinny white girls feel the most accepted). i think practicing that or yoga with the understanding of the sacred or perhaps brutal histories helps us create a dialogue of cultural appreciation rather than appropriation:

it deeply unsettles me that white populations and capitalism have appropriated wellness, turning self-care into a privilege, even though it should be accessible to everyone. instead, extra equipment, gadgets, and clothing—mostly created by white people for white people, with total appropriation of other cultures—have merely reinforced existing inequalities. do we think about the well-being of the workers who make these products? do we consider what it means when an american university patents turmeric, a plant that belongs to global south cultures? do we consider the greenhouse gas emissions from countries supplying the west with everything we use and buy?

white bodies have become the norm, while an ancient practice—dedicated to purifying the soul and connecting with the divine—has been turned into a physical exercise for achieving a “toned body.” 

wellness as resistance, fariha roísín

the following paragraphs come from the article blue zones written by  tena razumović žmara. she shares her experience growing up in dalmatia, where life felt "leggiero" as italians would say, and modern health and wellness gurus would label it a blue zone - areas on earth that promote longevity (think japan and sardinia, where people live past 100 years). tena explores the secrets of longer life with dan buettner of national geographic, sanja bilas, vegan chef and educator, and momčilo antonijević, herbalist and journalist.

when i started researching blue zones, the first thing that came to mind wasn’t the distant okinawan archipelago or the mountain villages of sardinia. the first image i saw was of my grandfather, his hands full of tomatoes, slicing, salting, and laying them out to dry in the sunniest part of the garden, and my grandmother under the fig tree, cleaning fish to grill “na gradele."

“chronic stress is one of the biggest hidden killers in modern society. it drives inflammation, which is at the root of nearly every chronic disease, from heart disease to dementia,” [buettner] told me. in blue zones, people naturally downshift every day: they nap, pray, meditate, or spend time with friends. they work fewer hours, value balance, and live longer with far fewer stress-related illnesses. “the lesson is clear: our obsession with ‘more’ is unsustainable. longevity comes from deliberately seeking ‘less’—slowing down, creating space for recovery, and prioritizing what truly matters.” 

“in blue zones, there isn’t a word for retirement, but concepts like ikigai or plan de vida.” In okinawa, ikigai—your reason to wake up in the morning—can mean tending a garden or mentoring the young. in costa rica, plan de vida means having a life plan deep into old age. the danger isn’t stopping work, but losing the reason to get out of bed. purpose gives structure, belonging, and motivation—and adds not just years to life, but good years. “retiring into an armchair is a real risk,” [buettner] said. i thought of my grandfather, who never really “retired.”

“losing your tribe is one of today’s greatest threats to health,” buettner told me. “loneliness is as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.” in okinawa, lifelong moai—groups of five friends committed to one another for life—offer financial, social, and emotional support.

“it’s very important to eat in company.” eating, [sanja] reminded me, is not just physical but social, emotional, even philosophical. so why don’t people lean more into these obvious, simple things?

 

buettner also explained why the american wellness industry doesn’t work. “it’s built on willpower, and willpower is a muscle that gets tired. gyms are full in january, empty by march. diets work short term, but 95 percent of people regain the weight.” in blue zones, no willpower is needed. their environments make healthy choices automatic. “longevity isn’t about discipline; it’s about environments doing the heavy lifting for you.”

“in sardinian villages, people are nudged into physical activity every 20 minutes,” [buettner] added. “they don’t ‘exercise’ like we think of it. they move naturally: walking to neighbors, working in gardens, grinding grain, climbing hills. constant low-intensity activity adds hours of movement each day.” no gyms, no smart watches, no planned workouts. just life.

both [momcilo] and sanja believe the key lies in small, seasonal, local things. sanja told me the best way to eat well is to cook for yourself, eat smaller meals more often, and never cut out entire food groups. “if it’s leek, kale, or pumpkin season, eat leek, kale, and pumpkin. Ii’s that simple.”

“there’s no profit in beans or walking, so the industry constantly pushes something new,” buettner told me. “but in every blue zone, the staples are simple, accessible: beans, whole grains, seasonal vegetables, nuts, and greens. these humble foods are the real superfoods of longevity.” 

sanja added that the foundation is always local and seasonal: “eat what your great-grandmother would recognize as food.”

“people shy away because they don’t prepare them properly. quinoa, for example, needs to soak 24 hours and ferment before cooking—something almost no one does.” [sanja] believes preparation methods, especially fermentation, are crucial.

“we’ve lost the joy of food. nothing feels special anymore, because everything is always available. seasonality is the basis of healthy, long life. cook at home, avoid ready-made meals. these two simple rules are an imperative for health and longevity. simplicity protects health.” 

music of the week

i mentioned by italian obsession last week, so here's some songs from the italian radar:

don quichotte (no estancia aqui) - magazine 60

bello e impossibile - gianna nannini

beside italo disco and such, i enjoyed rosalía's new album lux - berghain was a great single to announce the greatness she had to offer. i saw that one of the ratings given to her was a 100. well deserved.

movies of the week

unable to sleep on my flight back to the midwest, i explored what the airplane catalog offered. i was not disappointed. boyfriend and i both watched superman (each on their respective screen). i laughed, i cried, i was obsessed with the new superhero approach. even though we are constantly being fed with superhero content, could it be because we need some glimpse of hope, a superman in today's day and age among tech tyrants?

i also watched sinners (i watch the newest blockbusters on the plane for free to avoid any temptation to pay a hefty rental fee at home), and i very much enjoyed the plot (and double michael b jordan duh!). my fave scene was the dancing scene when past and future connect with the present. i don't want to add further spoilers, but if this wasn't on your halloween watch list, don't wait until next year to watch!

before leaving, we watched green book with our mom (she's seen it numerous times, and loves the movie), and transmania - a croatian film with an interesting concept: 15 directors - each director films 5 minutes, following the previous director's plot but only able to see the last minute of the past scene. 

the movie felt what acid probably feels like. cynical, brutal, and depressing as croatian film can get (we only know goofy comedy or gory realism, no in-between). great casting, bizarre plot, some scenes were beautiful in their aesthetic, and others i had to turn away for. we had lots of questions once it was done.