the fisherman of halicarnassus

fenerbahce got eliminated by benfica in the champions league qualifiers;

the manager went to benfica.

benfica got eliminated by real madrid in the champions league round of 16;

the manager is now on his way to real madrid.

and all of this happens within a single year.

the world's population declining is already something many people want. with limited resources, it could be a positive development for the future if there are fewer people to support.

on the other hand, the fact that birth rates are lower in developed countries while much higher in underdeveloped countries could end up pushing humanity backward in terms of overall progress and quality of life.

it's a painting so small in size that seeing it in person for the first time gives you that "meeting up with a girl you matched with online and finding out she's way shorter than expected" feeling. image

the live version, lasting at least six minutes, featured on elvis presley's 1970 las vegas-recorded album "that's the way it is," has somehow surpassed all other interpretations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1g5tVGZhfk

you explain in plain language what you want to do in your excel sheet, and it writes the formula for you. it currently supports excel, google sheets, and apple numbers. https://reviso.net/formula-generator

probably half of what you see on the internet, maybe even most of it… isn't real.

according to the theory, the internet effectively "died" after 2016. the vast majority of the content you see is produced by bots, ais, and corporate/state operations. the things real people write are either made invisible or drowned out by algorithms.

think about it:
– the same template comments are constantly recycled on twitter/x, instagram, tiktok, etc.
– news sites are exact copies of each other, same headlines, same sentences.
– forums and blogs have collapsed; independent content is almost nonexistent.
– posts from small accounts don't reach anyone, while big accounts and sponsored content are pushed to the front.
– the debates circulating on social media feel like they're part of a pre-written script.

who's behind all this? according to the theory, big tech companies (meta, google, x, etc.) and governments are working hand in hand. the goal is clear: shaping public opinion, psychological operations, and creating an artificial ecosystem driven entirely by money.

you might say "you're exaggerating," but no one knows the exact ratio of bot accounts. some say 15-20%, others say 70%. on top of that, chatgpt and its derivatives came out and turned the internet into an ai dumpster. it's now become impossible to tell which content is produced by an actual human.

personally, there's a massive gulf between the internet of the early 2010s and the internet today. people used to produce; today, algorithms and bots pump out content. is the internet still alive, or is it dead? in my opinion, it's pretty much become a zombie.

"there is one disadvantage to loneliness that is not as easy to recognize as the others. this disadvantage is that, due to constantly staying indoors, our bodies become so sensitive to external influences that we fall ill at the slightest draft. because of being perpetually withdrawn into our corner, our mental state becomes so sensitive that the most trivial events, words, and even mere gestures unsettle us, make us ill, or wound us. whereas someone who is constantly among crowds doesn't even take notice of these things."

so said arthur schopenhauer.

as someone who believes education should always start with love and that people who work alongside loving colleagues in the workplace will perform better in a more peaceful environment, i was glad to see that even though the devil still wears prada, she can no longer be as (d)evil as before, even if only out of necessity (and for show).

we owe this much, at least, to gen z. nobody puts up with employers/bosses/managers/teachers who treat them like dogs anymore. and anyone who does is now ostracized. if wokeness played a part in this, thanks to that too.

it didn't flow as smoothly as the first film. that might just be my shrinking attention span, i don't know, but the colors, the atmosphere, and the music were lovely. anne hathaway doesn't age.

even the most malignant people are forced to soften with age. meryl streep is a phenomenal actress. it was nice to witness the character grow older and lower her standards over the course of the film series.

working yourself into oblivion can seem appealing when you're young, but real life unfortunately isn't like that. just like the streets of new york…

fashion is murder. i couldn't bring myself to feel sorry that her magazines no longer sell, because i've never encountered genuine morality anywhere people are judged by their appearance and clothing.

america isn't really a capitalist country anymore. that’s ancient history. nowadays, it’s an oligarchy. every single industry is dominated by three to five major players who hold almost the entire market share. they just keep steamrolling ahead by gobbling up and absorbing any competitor that crosses their path.

laws have allowed this ever since the reagan era. the whole logic of "you can merge as long as you don't hike prices" has made these massive acquisitions possible. just look at disney buying fox, or the rumors about warner bros potentially getting scooped up by netflix or paramount.

microsoft was the one that really kicked off this trend. whenever a rival challenged their software, microsoft would either crush them with a copycat product or just buy them out outright. meta and google are doing the exact same thing—acquiring platforms like instagram, whatsapp, and youtube to keep their momentum. these companies have made hundreds of acquisitions like this. it’s basically "squashing the competition while it’s still small."

there's no way for america to break out of this oligarchic structure now. we're already down to just a handful of players in every sector. broadly speaking, more than half the u.s. economy runs on just 5 to 10 massive corporations. they control the entire infrastructure. as they grow, they don't just outpace their rivals; they outgrow the government itself. and that’s exactly the problem. nothing can stop a corporation that’s more powerful than the state.

modern america doesn't have a capitalist system that says, "let new rivals rise and competition thrive." it has a system that says, "five companies run the show, and everyone else just exists to feed them." this system is so entrenched now that even the government is powerless to change it.

as the name suggests, maladaptive daydreaming is more than just having an active imagination. it can cause someone to lose their social connections and feel disconnected from the world around them. if you are thinking, “i daydream all the time too, i make little music videos in my head,” then this probably is not what you imagine it to be.

people who experience maladaptive daydreaming do not drift into random fantasies every day. their inner worlds follow certain patterns. often they have several ongoing storylines in their minds, each with recurring characters. sometimes a character appears one way in one story and a little different in another. they form deep emotional connections to these imagined people, sometimes stronger than the bonds they have with real ones. there are also characters they dislike. it is not hard to guess that many people with this condition become talented storytellers or writers. it would also not be unreasonable to say that in severe cases, it can resemble schizophrenia.

it is a continuous process, something that does not really end. there is no known cure, but i do not even see it as an illness. to me, it is simply a state of being. when you learn to keep it under control and turn it into a kind of discipline, it can even be seen as a gift.

a roman emperor and philosopher once said,
“a person’s worth is measured by what they devote themselves to.”

first, a bit of motivation:
“if something external upsets you, the pain doesn’t come from the thing itself, it comes from the value you’ve placed on it. and you have the power to change that value at any moment.”

it is called the "flying wing" concept.

in other words, it is essentially one giant wing. not just any wing either, with a wingspan of 52 meters. from an aerodynamic perspective, it is a true engineering masterpiece. the surface is perfectly smooth, with not even the tiniest bump or seam, in order to maintain laminar airflow and stealth capability.

the fuselage is made of carbon composites. it is covered with radar-absorbing paint, special coatings that leave no magnetic signature, and exhaust diffusers that reduce infrared visibility. on radar, the aircraft practically shouts, "i am not here."

it can carry up to 18 tons of bombs, from gps-guided jdams to b61 nuclear bombs.

the cost per plane is 2.1 billion dollars. even if you park it on the ground, it requires constant, around-the-clock maintenance. and this is not ordinary maintenance. even the technicians who apply the coatings are not allowed to touch the surface without gloves. if you pour water on it, it would leave a mark. that is how sensitive it is.

tennessee is that part of america where country music was not just born but given a leather jacket and a guitar. it is a state packed with mountains, rivers, deep history, and the kind of storytelling that can either make you cry or laugh till your ribs hurt. if you picture rolling hills, front porches with rocking chairs, barbecue smoke drifting through the air, and someone somewhere strumming a guitar, you are probably thinking of tennessee without even realizing it.

it officially became a state in 1796, but it has been at the heart of a lot of america's biggest moments. civil war battles, civil rights marches, the birth of rock and roll, moonshine legends, and political giants all left a mark on tennessee soil. the state has this split personality in the best way. in the east, you get the misty great smoky mountains and a lot of outdoor adventure vibes. in the middle, it is nashville, where dreams are chased with a guitar case in one hand and a coffee in the other. and over in the west, memphis hits you with deep blues music, powerful civil rights history, and the ghosts of legends like elvis presley.

nashville is called music city for a reason. it is where singers go to either make it big or spend a few wild years trying. walk down broadway at night and it feels like every single bar has a live band better than half the stuff on the radio. memphis, on the other hand, is where you feel the soul in your bones. it is gritty, proud, and alive. walk beale street and you are standing on the same sidewalks where blues and rock once rewired the world's idea of music.

beyond the fame and neon lights, tennessee is also about stubborn pride and fierce loyalty. people from there will let you joke about their state but only if you are one of them. otherwise, you better mind your mouth. food is serious business too. hot chicken so spicy it makes you question your life choices. barbecue that tastes like someone cooked it with equal parts smoke and love. biscuits and gravy that could fix a bad day.

an interesting detail is that tennessee has this weird mix of old-school manners and wild independent spirit. yes ma'am and no sir roll off tongues naturally, but so does a strong belief in doing your own thing without waiting for permission. it is a state that values tradition but also knows how to throw a party loud enough for three states over to hear it.

in short, tennessee is not just a place you visit. it is a feeling. a messy, musical, slightly stubborn, deeply beautiful feeling that stays with you long after you leave.

imagine a guy who looked at the entire history of philosophy, religion, and morality and basically said, "yeah, we got it wrong." that is nietzsche. he is the philosopher who did not just think outside the box. he stomped on the box, set it on fire, and said we need to build a whole new way of thinking from scratch. born in 1844 in germany, nietzsche was a professor of classical philology before he became a full-time thinker and writer. he was not exactly popular while he was alive, but after he died, his ideas lit a fire across modern thought.

nietzsche is important because he called out the foundations of western civilization. he said things like "god is dead," which is not really about religion fading, but about the collapse of old values that used to give people meaning. once those old certainties are gone, we are left in a world where we have to create our own meaning. that is terrifying but also freeing. nietzsche wanted people to stop being followers and start becoming what he called the "übermensch" or the "overman," someone who creates their own values and lives boldly without crutches like traditional religion or herd mentality.

his style was wild. he did not write boring academic papers. he wrote books that felt like a mix of poetry, prophecy, and a punch in the face. no long arguments full of careful logic. just fierce, brilliant, sometimes chaotic writing that made you either want to fight him or follow him. books like "thus spoke zarathustra," "beyond good and evil," and "the birth of tragedy" are not easy reads but they hit hard. zarathustra especially is written like a strange new bible where the main character is trying to teach humans to grow up and own their existence.

one of nietzsche's big ideas is the "will to power," the force inside living things to grow, expand, assert themselves, and overcome challenges. it is not just about survival. it is about thriving and pushing boundaries. another huge idea is "eternal recurrence," the thought that life might repeat itself infinitely, so you should live as if every moment would happen again and again forever. it is a mind-bender, but it was nietzsche's way of forcing you to think about how deeply you value your own life.

an interesting detail is that nietzsche wrote his most famous works while battling intense health problems, loneliness, and the growing signs of a mental breakdown. in 1889, he completely collapsed in turin after seeing a horse being whipped. he spent the last years of his life in a state of insanity while his sister took control of his works and messed with them to fit her political views, which caused a lot of confusion later on about what nietzsche actually believed.

despite all the myth-making, nietzsche was not a hater of life. he loved life, but he thought loving life meant being brutally honest about it. no sugarcoating, no fairy tales, just the raw, terrifying beauty of existence. that is why he is one of the biggest names in existentialism, even though that term came after him. without nietzsche, there is no sartre, no camus, no modern rebellion against easy answers.

in short, nietzsche asked the scariest and most exciting question. if all the old rules are gone, what are you going to do with your freedom.

currently in prison, but maybe (hopefully) the new president of turkey in 2028.