[Aureliano (II)] had already understood that he would never leave that room, for it was foreseen that the city of mirrors (or mirages) would be wiped out by the wind and exiled from the memory of men at the precise moment when Aureliano Babilonia would finish deciphering the parchments, and that everything written on them was unrepeatable since time immemorial and forever more, because races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth.

A few weeks ago, in may, I started reading this book. It took me around four days to finish it, and when I did, I wished I had never read it so I could do it again. Just to have that feeling of coming to know this family, these characters all over again.

Macondo is such a fascinating city. How in the beginning it was just a small village with little to no contact with the outside world and with the passage of time (and of the family members) it becomes prosperous, just to have its downfall by the hands of capitalistic enterprises. How it bends what's reality with the magic around us.

When I finished reading, I couldn't part ways with it completely. So I searched for papers and thesis about Gabriel García Marquez's work and Macondo specially, and it didn't surprise me that the fictional city was very much based around the little town the author grew up in and the stories that were told by those around him when he was a child.

For me, the ending was one of my favourite endings ever. Of all the books I have read, this one took my breath away. I kept reading and rereading and in the end all I could think of was "man, this man knows how to write". I can't wait to read it again.

It's a small animal, just born in awe with all the beauty and wonder in the world. The small calf is not aware that he's not in par with the norm, that he is different, considered a freak. It doesn't matter to him, because he is next to his mother in a nice field of grass surrounded by all things beautiful. He doesn't know that the next morning his future will be taken from him.

The first film by him that I watched was "Call me by your name" (2017). the story revolves around Elio, the main character, his father's assistant (a much older man) and the relationship they build during the summer he spends at their property. But it's not a "gay movie". It's a very beautiful tale about discovering and how to be more accepting of yourself, virtues and flaws.

Another work of his that I can't forget is "Challengers" (2024). It tells the story of a love triangle between three tennis athlets over the course of 13 years. The way he captured the court scenes is SO amazing, the movement paired with the soundtrack makes it unforgettable.

And I would say I love you, but saying it out loud
It's hard so I won't say it at all
[...]
And words are futile devices

It's been more than 10 years since I've listened to this song for the first time and I find myself more and more enchanted by it with each listen.

In the lyrics, the speakers says "words are futile devices" and lately I've been finding it to be true. Sometimes I can't explain well how I'm feeling - it goes so deep and the more I try to describe it, the more frustrated I get. It's like it can't be translated into only one word. Sometimes people around me ask how I'm feeling, if I'm feeling sad, happy, angry, tired, bored... It's never just one thing. Humans are so multifaceted and certain situations can bring out different emotions - even confliting ones! - and in these times I do agree with Sufjan Stevens, words can be futile devices.

if you marry me, would you bury me?

would you carry me to the end?

— to the end

This week my time's been consumed with listening to the newest version of one of my favorite albums ever: three cheers for sweet revenge (three cheers, for short)!

I've been pretty off the news about new releases on music this year, so when spotify notified me of this one I could feel my eyes watering haha.

Three cheers is the sophomore album released by the band My Chemical Romance back in 2004. As it is with (almost) all releases by them, this is a concept album - it tells the story of a man and a woman, lovers who die in a gunfight; or so the man thinks. When he gets to hell, the devil himself tells him his beloved is still alive and he can be reunited with her! But only if he brings the devil the souls of a thousand evil men. The man takes the job and is handed a gun: this way, chaos ensues.

The album deals with themes like death, love, grief and revenge throughout the songs. It is often placed as a seminal album in the "emo scene" music alongside its successor, "The Black Parade" (2007), although the band often resisted this label.

That way, this new version - the deluxe - has the purpose of bringing to the band's audience a new mastering of the songs. Since it's release was more than 20 years ago, the technology used at the time was a bit limiting, as was the budget and the studio equipment employed to the task. This 2025 version is way more sophisticated without doing too much or making the songs unrecognizable. Actually, they sound so much better! We can finally listen with clarity to the guitars and bass that were hidden, buried under the production. the drums are so hard-hitting! Even Gerard Way's vocals can be heard more clearly!

Ultimately, the experience of listening again to this album, now on a newer light, has brought me so much joy! It's almost like I'm 13 again. Three cheers was such an important part of my life through my teen years and being able to stay connected to it more than 10 years later is incredible.

In this essay, she reflects on the nature and purpose of keeping a notebook; she talks about the act of writing on a notebook not as a means to record factual events exactly as they happened. Instead, it's there as a tool for memory and self-understanding. It's almost like a way to preserve parts of her identity.

She mentions that most of the events she wrote on her first notebook she doesn't even remember. When reading the accounts of those days, they don't make much sense: they refer to people or moments she can't fully recall, but that is not the purpose of a notebook for her:

Remember what it was to be me: that is always the point.