From the clipping drawer
Columns
Newspaper columns, public notes and sharper pieces from the writer’s room.
-
THE WRONG ORDER
The café “Dilema” was packed. We were standing in line for coffee, both of us a little tired, at an age that no longer bothered to hide — not from others, and not from ourselves. I noticed the man in front of me absentmindedly shifting coins in his hand, as if their order mattered more than the drink he was about to order. When he realized it was his turn, he startled.…
-
EMIGRANT –A GUARANTOR OF NOSTALGIA
The restaurant Kafe Balkan in northern Phoenix. It’s past noon—lunchtime—so the crowd is expected. Ćevapi steam from the kitchen, burek glows golden behind the glass display, and small pastries tease the appetites of hungry guests. It’s been a year since I first brought my coworkers here. Since then, we come at least twice a month for lunch. The deal is simple: I order for everyone, and they don’t mind paying—as long as…
-
NATURAL STUPIDITY, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The year 2026 may not bring a major, symbolic rupture, but it will confirm what has already become obvious: processes set in motion ten or more years ago have entered a phase in which they can no longer be stopped, only managed through their consequences. The world is not entering a new crisis, but a state of prolonged instability. Politics in the United States, Europe, and the Balkans enters 2026 without clear…
-
CALIGULA’S SENATE
In recent months, the American lower middle class (those who, as a rule, love guns, go to church, and worry about the nation’s gynecological condition) have increasingly been thinking back to last November, when they filled in the bubble next to Trump and his satraps. Average Americans living paycheck to paycheck are struggling to make ends meet. The most vulnerable are behind on the rent, buying only basic groceries, while prescription drugs…
-
STRICTLY CONTROLLED DREAMS
At different ages, people dream of different things.Teenagers, for instance, dream of sex and that elusive freedom of libido slipping out the window of the classroom or the bedroom. Men in their thirties dream of cars, motorcycles, speed—and most often of the busty neighbor on the third floor.Some dream of weapons, power, self-assertion. The “softer” ones dream of art, of literature or music that—if only it were a little louder—might save the…
-
MAY WE LIVE AND BE WELL
Sarajevo, January 1914. Vukašin, a merchant in Baščaršija, sat with his morning coffe and leafed through the papers. On the front page: news of the Balkan Wars, a new model of French airplane, the British kingdom and industrial strikes. Near the bottom—strained relations between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. Vukašin read, sighed, and said aloud:“War? Ah, no one’s that crazy.” That afternoon he received a shipment of new goods and scolded his assistant for…
-
THE ANATOMY OF MEDIA PROPAGANDA
FROM BROKEN EGGS TO GLOBAL CATASTROPHE During a guest appearance on a morning talk show, a well-known psychologist shared a story: one of his patients said, “Doctor, I read the news ten hours a day and I feel like the world is ending tomorrow. Is that normal?” The doctor replied: “It’s not normal to read the news ten hours a day — but it is normal to feel like the world is…
-
THE PARDONING OF INJUSTICE
On the Brioni islands, in the summer of 1978, Josip Broz showed U.S. President Jimmy Carter an ancient olive grove that had outlived invaders, regimes, and systems. The seasoned statesman told his younger colleague: “Trees endure for centuries, politicians only until the end of their term.” Malicious tongues would add that it’s easy for Tito to preach about the transience of power when he was elected lifetime president of the SFRY. The…
-
A Barber’s Holiday in Arizona
It was Saturday, early morning, when customers discovered that Slava’s barbershop was closed. Next to the sign with working hours stood a short, bilingual message: “This Saturday, due to marital obligations, I will not be working!”No, no—it’s not what you think, mischievous reader. This Arizona barber is an honest Serb with permanent residency in the U.S., who keeps intimacy behind closed doors. This was actually about tourism. The last time Slava took…
STORY TELLER 