Residua https://www.residua.org The mother of all blogs Sun, 18 Oct 2026 23:30:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 en MCMXLVI https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/mcmxlvi/ https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/mcmxlvi/#comments Sun, 18 Oct 2026 23:30:39 +0000 admin https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/mcmxlvi/ Out of the blue, I started searching my Residua website for the year of my birth in Roman numerals. That is, MCMXLVI. To my surprise, I found nothing. Not a trace of it, to be a bit more precise. And I was devastated. Roman numerals are dear to me, and the year of my birth is also quite special in my mind. This is the first year of my generation, no less. Babyboomers are everywhere around the world for quite a few years already. The only thing I could do under the circumstances was to add another piece to my magnum opus. And with relish beyond compare. MCMXLVI, MCMXLVI, MCMXLVI…

]]> https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/mcmxlvi/feed/ “THE CENTURY’S BIGGEST IDEA” https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/%e2%80%9cthe-century%e2%80%99s-biggest-idea%e2%80%9d/ https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/%e2%80%9cthe-century%e2%80%99s-biggest-idea%e2%80%9d/#comments Thu, 15 Oct 2026 23:30:20 +0000 admin https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/%e2%80%9cthe-century%e2%80%99s-biggest-idea%e2%80%9d/ Thus the front page of The Economist of October 3, 2026, as well as the title of its main leader. So-called effective altruism is the winner. The front page shows the bust of Aristotle, who knew nothing about the biological origins of his own species. The so-called biggest idea purportedly comes from a circle of Oxford philosophers of this convoluted century. Bullshit! Altruism originates from many an animal species, including that of humans, who are animals and nothing but animals. But it holds only for small communities in which everyone knows each other. They survive by helping one another in dire times, which is why it is known as reciprocal altruism among biologists. To wit, reciprocal rather than effective. Regarding humans, it can be found in tribal communities of about one-hundred and fifty individuals. Period. Now that there are more than eight-billion humans on planet earth, altruism is pure fiction. To begin with, it cannot be reciprocal, let alone effective in any sense of that word. Only when human population returns to a few million individuals, as was the case before the current interglacial period, altruism will have a real chance once again. Everything else is simply impossible. Human survival will be based on reciprocal altruism after the predictable collapse of this fumbling civilization. And World War III is the only imaginable savior in the foreseeable future. The jolly circle of Oxford philosophers can go fly a kite in the meanwhile. And the same holds for the mighty newspaper and its supposed biggest idea of this century. Alas, bullshit and nothing but bullshit from cover to cover!

]]> https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/%e2%80%9cthe-century%e2%80%99s-biggest-idea%e2%80%9d/feed/ GOOD OLD SWASTIKA https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/good-old-swastika/ https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/good-old-swastika/#comments Tue, 13 Oct 2026 23:30:04 +0000 admin https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/good-old-swastika/ Before I go to my bedroom, every evening I wave at the paintings in my livingroom, and I wish all of them a good night. I also tell them that I will see them again when I wake up in the morning. But my eyes always focus on two of my paintings. One of them is my own version of Aum in Sanskrit (“The Last of My Jokes on Abstraction,” May 23, 2011)., and the other is a stick man from the original flag of Mali, known as kanaga, running as fast as he could (“Kanaga,” March 30, 2013). This habit of mine has been with me for quite a few years already. These two paintings have been in my focus all the time. At long last, I realized that I should put this experience into writing. Although I would not go so far as to say that these two are my favorite paintings, they are indubitably in my focus all the while. And both of them are reminiscent of the good old swastika, I should add, but kanaga running is the winner in this connection. Swastika from head to toe. Enough said. Alas, perhaps a bit more than enough!

]]> https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/good-old-swastika/feed/ “WHEN AMERICA WALKS AWAY” https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/%e2%80%9cwhen-america-walks-away%e2%80%9d/ https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/%e2%80%9cwhen-america-walks-away%e2%80%9d/#comments Thu, 08 Oct 2026 23:30:41 +0000 admin https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/%e2%80%9cwhen-america-walks-away%e2%80%9d/ Thus the front page of The Economist of September 26, 2026, as well as the title of its main leader. The front page shows an American soldier walking away with heavy luggage from a devastated land brimming with smoke. What the mighty newspaper skips in its pages is the onset of so many American invasions following World War II. The missing title should be rather similar: “When America Barges In.” Take Germany, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and the Middle East entire, not to mention Cuba and many other countries in Central and South America. Afterwards, the purported quest for democracy leaves so many countries in utter disarray over many a decade. Walking away is a cinch by comparison with barging in. One reading of so many disasters is America’s failure, but another is its success in bringing havoc to the borders of its global competitors, such as Russia, China, and even Europe. The alternative reading is beyond the mighty newspaper, as well as many other media commenting on the tumultuous post-war history. Once again, this may well be a failure, but it also may be a success of the American geopolitical ideology, which centers on democracy and nothing but democracy. Or is it actually demoncracy edging toward World War III?! My sincere condolences all around.

]]> https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/%e2%80%9cwhen-america-walks-away%e2%80%9d/feed/ RETURN TO EDEN https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/return-to-eden/ https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/return-to-eden/#comments Sat, 03 Oct 2026 23:30:38 +0000 admin https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/return-to-eden/ As I like to say, I am an optimist past compare. And no kidding. Far from a religious nut, I am absolutely convinced that humans are destined to return to Eden.

Addendum I (October 5, 2026)

Printed out and pasted on marvelous postcards featuring contemporary art in many guises, this haiku is already on its way to the five mightiest humans on planet earth. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Narendra Damodardas Modi, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Donald Trump, and Xi Jinping will receive it in a week or two at most. And this will be the very last postcard I will ever send them. This is my solemn promise, too. Everything concerning the future of the human race from my writings is already in their able hands. To be sure, I have been sending peppy postcards to them for quite a few years. There must have been close to thirty of them so far. But enough is enough. With some luck, they will follow my thoughts till the very end. And Eden will beckon ever more fervently. Hooray!

Addendum II (October 6, 2026)

A day later I sent an electronic-mail text-message to Sandro Droschl, director of Halle für Kunst in Graz, Austria. I attached front and back images of the postcard sent to Donal Trump. I intended to send him front and back images of all other postcards, but the lot turned out to be too big for my Internet service provider. Instead, I sent him the names of all the artists involved, as well as the names of mighty humans to whom their postcards were sent. Anyhow, the pieces of art that come from the artists that take part in Droschl’s world are quite amazing. They are magnificent one and all, I dare say. For good measure, I explained in my message that I had received these postcards as the owner of Ca’ Bon Gallery in Motovun in Croatia, where only my own paintings had been on continual display. Chances are that I will receive no more postcards from Halle für Kunst, but it is also rather unlikely that I will send any more missives of this ilk to the mighty five. Enough! Over the years, I have done my best to let them know what I think of their solemn duties concerning the return to Eden. With some luck, the art on the postcards will help them decide to bring this crumpled world of ours to its final destination. Alleluia.

]]> https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/return-to-eden/feed/ “CAN THE AI ARMS RACE BE STOPPED?” https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/%e2%80%9ccan-the-ai-arms-race-be-stopped%e2%80%9d/ https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/%e2%80%9ccan-the-ai-arms-race-be-stopped%e2%80%9d/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2026 23:30:12 +0000 admin https://www.residua.org/residua/%e2%80%9ccan-the-ai-arms-race-be-stopped%e2%80%9d/ Thus the front page of The Economist of September 19, 2026, as well as the title of its main leader. The front page is all black with a nuclear mushroom rendered in light-blue digital code. The answer is plain enough, though: “Of course not!” In spite of the hopeful conclusion of the main leader, the answer is perfectly clear to all the wise. Every innovation in history has been captured by the leaders of arms races of the time. The true danger of artificial intelligence or AI are the humans behind it. As ever, the only threat that humans will face are themselves. From its onset a hundred-thousand years ago or so, it is the most dangerous species on planet earth! Just watch America, China, Russia, and India in the years to come. They will do everything in their power to control AI to their military advantage. Period. And the end of this civilization is in plain sight. Nuclear weapons of every description, which are multiplying at a fearsome pace, will eventually bring it to its merry end. Bye history! The front page of the mighty newspaper is surely on the mark. And hope is the sole remedy for the unwise. Hope, hope, and nothing but inane hope.

]]> https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/%e2%80%9ccan-the-ai-arms-race-be-stopped%e2%80%9d/feed/ LIFE? https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/life-3/ https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/life-3/#comments Sat, 26 Sep 2026 23:30:47 +0000 admin https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/life-3/ Three decades ago I jotted down a quote from Gustave Flaubert that I got from my No. 1 son via electronic mail (“Life,” September 17, 1996). I was delighted. Back then, he was at an internship in an advertising company in New York. A decade ago, I came across Flaubert’s original on the World Wide Web, but I was not pleased with it on account of what struck me as a surfeit of exclamation points (Addendum I of August 15, 2016, to “Life,” September 17, 1996). Anyhow, today I would replace the exclamation points with as many question marks:

Life? Life? To get erections?

Not to beat around the bush, erections are history at my age. Eighty! But life goes on. And on. Flaubert’s words of wisdom pertain to primate males in the prime of their lives (Addendum III of March 23, 2020, to “Life,” September 17, 1996). Beyond it, even those that can remember myriad erections gradually change their ways. Alas, they get softer and softer! And that is surely one of the greatest gifts of old age. Really old age, that is. Born in 1821, poor Flaubert was no more than fifty-eight when he passed away in 1880, as I just learned on his Wikipedia page.[1] I was still in my prime at that age, and I had erections galore. Looking back, I can only smile. Nay, sneer. Primate males in their prime are ludicrous past compare. My most sincere condolences all around!

Footnote

1. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Flaubert (accessed on September 27, 2026)

]]> https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/life-3/feed/ TACE, SI VIS VIVERE IN PACE https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/tace-si-vis-vivere-in-pace/ https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/tace-si-vis-vivere-in-pace/#comments Thu, 17 Sep 2026 23:30:58 +0000 admin https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/tace-si-vis-vivere-in-pace/ I do my best not to open my mouth when in company of my friends and acquaintances, but I still fail to keep mum often enough. Judging by the reaction of most of them, I open my mouth way too often. To almost all of them, my views of the human species and the upcoming end of this civilization are irritating. Actually, exasperating. The longer in the tooth I get, the more annoyed I, too, become with my own ways. I could not care less whether my friends and acquaintances agree with me, and I could not care less how they feel about my opinions, but I still wish to live in peace with them all. And the best way to achieve this objective is to keep my mouth shut. Even if and when I am asked for my own opinion about anything they happen to be bantering about, and they banter all the while, I should refrain from any response. Instead of opening my mouth, I should raise my arms and eyebrows by way of declaring my utter ignorance, as well as innocence. And the proverb of my ancestors should always be on my mind when I am in company of my fellow humans: keep quiet if you wish to live in peace. These few words say it all, I am pretty sure. Looking back, I could imagine many a wise ancestor who would share this proverb with but a few friends and acquaintances in times past.

Addendum I (September 19, 2026)

I forgot to mention that my friends and acquaintances do not read my writings. In fact, so few of them ever venture to my magnum opus that I feel free to write whatever comes to my mind. Speaking and writing are very different things at this stage of my life. Across the globe, reading is becoming extinct. Most humans go for short videos on any subject to their liking. Reading anything that takes more than a couple of minutes is becoming unimaginable nowadays. Which gives me quite a joy whenever I decide to add a few words to my Residua. Slowly but surely, it is becoming my own haven. My own world entire. The realm of unadulterated freedom, no less. Whence this addendum out of the blue. Given my ways with my fellow humans, I am as lucky as lucky can be. Yoopee!

Addendum II (September 20, 2026)

Returning to the language of my ancestors, I am a great fan of Publius Cornelius Tacitus (c. AD 56 – c. 120), one of the most revered Roman historians of all times.[1] Not surprisingly, his surname appears in no less than thirty-two of my own pieces of writing. According to the best sources I could find on the World Wide Web, it came from one of his paternal ancestors. In Latin, it has a good number of interrelated meanings: silent, quiet, still, reserved, and mute. The ancestor from whom he got his surname must have been quite wise, I reckon. And wise is the word, as the proverb in the title of this piece suggests. The only puzzle in this story is that it has taken me several days to remember good old Tacitus. His surname says it all, and it can be found in every Latin dictionary on offer as a straightforward word. Anyhow, this piece of mine is now finished for good. Alleluia!

Footnote

1. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacitus (accessed on September 20, 2026).

]]> https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/tace-si-vis-vivere-in-pace/feed/ “BETTER TO WRITE FOR YOURSELF AND HAVE NO PUBLIC THAN TO WRITE FOR THE PUBLIC AND HAVE NO SELF” https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/%e2%80%9cbetter-to-write-for-yourself-and-have-no-public-than-to-write-for-the-public-and-have-no-self%e2%80%9d/ https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/%e2%80%9cbetter-to-write-for-yourself-and-have-no-public-than-to-write-for-the-public-and-have-no-self%e2%80%9d/#comments Sun, 13 Sep 2026 23:30:45 +0000 admin https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/%e2%80%9cbetter-to-write-for-yourself-and-have-no-public-than-to-write-for-the-public-and-have-no-self%e2%80%9d/ Thus the quote of Cyril Connolly on The World in Brief missive from The Economist that appeared on my mobile phone several days ago. Wow! And it has taken me a few days to figure out who this man actually was. Having lived from 1903 to 1974, he was a literary critic and writer of renown, as witnessed by his Wikipedia page.[1] As it turns out, this quote of his is all over the World Wide Web, as well, but I have failed to find its real source—the book and the page. No problem, though, I agree with Connolly from the bottom of my heart. Fuck the public! My magnum opus is for myself, and the public can go fly a kite. As I have written time and again over many a year, the few and far between—that is, my brothers and sisters—are the only public I desire. Or deserve, to put it bluntly. The rest of humanity is none of my business in this connection. Anyhow, I am delighted by Connolly’s quote. It is right on the mark, no less.

Addendum (September 15, 2026)

Ditto for painting, as well as all other artistic pursuits. As Connolly would put it if he were in my shoes, “better to make yourself an object of art and have no public than to make art for the public and have no self.” One more time, my magnum opus is my witness. The art of making oneself is the only art worthy of everlasting pursuit, as I have written over and over again. My painting fits the bill perfectly. No wonder its roots go way back to life in caves and wonders of shamanism. Ars gratia artificis.

Footnote

1. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_Connolly (accessed on September 14, 2026).

]]> https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/%e2%80%9cbetter-to-write-for-yourself-and-have-no-public-than-to-write-for-the-public-and-have-no-self%e2%80%9d/feed/ JUGGERNAUT https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/juggernaut/ https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/juggernaut/#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2026 23:30:56 +0000 admin https://www.residua.org/book-li-2026/juggernaut/ I woke up in the middle of the night and a word I rarely use popped up in my mind out of the blue: juggernaut. That is, a massive and unstoppable force, operation, movement, or object that crushes everything in its path. Mesmerized, I could not go back to sleep for quite a while. And then I turned on the light and I reached for my laptop. I searched for the word in my Residua, and I found no more than three pieces of writing containing it: “A Letter to Lauren” (March 25, 1994), “On Some Unexpected Benefits of Electronic Publishing” (January 21, 2001), and “A Powerful Vision: A Letter to The Economist” (March 19, 2007). Delighted by the unexpected word, I realized that it described my gigantic writing project very well. Nay, perfectly. And a juggernaut it surely is. Relieved, I penned this peppy piece before falling asleep again. Juggernaut, juggernaut, juggernaut…

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