Simon's Blog

Herbert Marcuse was a staunch critic of capitalism and consumerism, arguing that both are fundamentally destructive to democracy. In his work, One-Dimensional Man, he states that advanced industrial society creates "false needs," effectively integrating individuals into a seamless cycle of production and advertising. As he observed, people begin to "recognize themselves in their commodities," finding their souls in their cars and homes until they become mere extensions of the products they consume. He argued that this affluent lifestyle functions as a sophisticated form of social control and highlighted several key issues: While the system claims to be democratic, it is functionally totalitarian, using "technological rationality" to dominate culture and public life. Bureaucratization has stifled the capacity for dissent. The working class, once a subversive force, has been integrated into the system and is no longer a "revolutionary vanguard....

Hilma af Klint remained largely unknown for decades, likely due to her deep-seated ties to spiritualism and the occult. Her journey into the spiritual realm intensified in 1880 following the death of her younger sister, Hermina. This loss shifted her focus toward the unseen, and soon, abstraction and symbolism began to dominate her canvases. Drawn to the Theosophy of Madame Blavatsky and the Rosicrucian philosophy, she became a member of "The Five"—a group of women dedicated to contacting "High Masters" through séances. Their meetings were highly ritualistic, beginning with prayer and meditation followed by a sermon and an analysis of the New Testament. It was in this transcendental environment that Hilma claimed to receive a divine commission from an angel named Amaliel, who instructed her to create her most famous body of work: the Paintings for the Temple. Working with "The Five," Hilma produced geometric drawings that sought to conceptualize the invis...

Emilia Tynes-Mensah grew up doing what other Soviet children did: she read the classics of Alexander Pushkin, listened to the symphonies of Pyotr Tchaikovsky, and was fed the propaganda that life in the USSR was better than anywhere else. Inside her home, however, the atmosphere was different. There, she listened to American jazz, celebrated Thanksgiving, and heard stories of the racial struggles in America. Her father was among hundreds of Black Americans who traveled to the Soviet Union in the decades following the 1917 Russian Revolution. “My father didn’t know anything about this country; he didn’t know what to expect,” Tynes-Mensah recalled. She noted that music was a vital link to their roots: “Everybody who came to the Soviet Union from America would be told, ‘Please don’t forget to bring some records.’ He loved Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, and Paul Robeson.” Most African Americans who moved to Russia seeking a better life—desperate to flee the hardships of Jim Crow-era Ame...

Thailand’s lantern festival (Yi Peng) is perhaps the most magical festival in the world. Many people launch lanterns called ‘Khom Fai ( โคมไฟ ) into the sky, which symbolizes letting go of misfortunes and wishing for good. Yi Peng is celebrated on the full moon; 12th month of the Thai lunar calendar, which falls in November. The best places to participate are Three Kings Monument, Nawarat Bridge, and Thapae Gate. Launching your lantern is possibly the most exciting part of the festival. It’s best to have a lantern release partner. One person to hold the paper and the other to light the lantern. After it’s light it, your lantern will start to lift.  Gently release it into the night sky, making sure to let the lantern float naturally.  Don’t forget to make a wish! As the rice harvest ends, it’s time to thank the Water Goddess for this year’s abundance. It’s also the time to symbolically ‘float away’ anger and grudges and to start anew.  On this day, people will ga...

Since arriving in Thailand, the song “Space Oddity” by David Bowie has been playing non-stop in various clubs. In fact, every Tuesday night at My Secret Café in Chiang Mai, a local band called Beer, Pound, and Dong performs a very convincing version. Having come to enjoy the song so much, I decided to dive deeper into its origins.  David Bowie wrote "Space Oddity" about a fictional astronaut named Major Tom, partly inspired by Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey.  At the time, Bowie was feeling isolated in his career, and the lyrics reflected and highlighted the profound loneliness of being adrift in space, far from home.  It is now considered one of Bowie's finest recordings and remains one of his most popular works. His former manager, Kenneth Pitt, knew they were on to something special from the first time he heard it. As Spencer Kaufman noted, "The song was revolutionary for its time, musically and lyrically, and it helped introduce the masses to one...

How can you buy or sell the sky The warmth of the land The idea is strange to us  How can you buy them   Every part of this earth is sacred to my people They are holy in the memory and experience of my people The sap which courses through the trees Carries the memories of the red man   We are part of the earth And it’s part of us The perfumed flowers are our sisters The deer, the horse, the great eagle, are our brothers   This land is sacred to us This shining water is the blood of our ancestors If we sell you the land You must remember it is sacred You must teach your children that it is sacred   The rivers are our brothers and sisters They quench our thirst Give the rivers the kindness you would give any brother    The white man does not understand our ways He treats the earth and the sky  As things to be bought and sold His appetite will devour the earth    The air is precious to the red man For all things share the same breath The wh...