Metamorphosis of My Guardian Angel



Wing of a Blue Roller, Albretch Dürer, 1512


The Metamorphosis of Narcissus, Salvador Dalí, c.1937


The Temptation of St. Anthony, Salvador Dalí, 1946

Metamorphosed Obsessions













Wine and Religion

Illustrations by Jiří Slíva


From its earliest appearance in written records, wine has also played an important role in religion. Red wine was closely associated with blood by the ancient Egyptians, who, according to Plutarch, avoided its free consumption as late as the 7th-century BC Saite dynasty, “thinking it to be the blood of those who had once battled against the gods”. The Greek cult and mysteries of Dionysus, carried on by the Romans in their Bacchanalia, were the origins of western theater. Judaism incorporates it in the Kiddush and Christianity in its Eucharist, while alcohol consumption is forbidden in Islam.


Thanks in Old Age

Cockney Life at the Elephant and Castle, Salvation Army Hotel, Bert Hardy, 1949


Thanks in old age—thanks ere I go,




For gentle words, caresses, gifts from foreign lands,

For shelter, wine and meat—for sweet appreciation,

specified, readers belov’d,

long, close and long;)


ward sprung in freedom’s help, all years, all lands,

go, to life’s war’s chosen ones,

The cannoneers of song and thought—the great artillerists—the
foremost leaders, captains of the soul:)

As soldier from an ended war return’d—As traveler out of
myriads, to the long procession retrospective,

Thanks—joyful thanks!—a soldier’s, traveler’s thanks.

Walt Whitman

Waves of Wine


Planet Waves is the fourteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on January 17, 1974. The album was originally set to be titled Ceremonies of the Horsemen, a reference to the song Love Minus Zero/No Limit, from the 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home; the release was delayed two weeks when Dylan decided to change the title at the last minute. Another, earlier working title was Wedding Song.





Bob Dylan is honored by ‘Planet Waves’, an Italian red wine produced by Marche’s Fattoria Le Terrazze. Named after Dylan’s 1974 album, the blend of Montepulciano and Merlot is offered in a bottle signed by the singer-songwriter legend.

It Takes Two to Tango


Objection (Tango) is a song recorded by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira for her fifth studio album and first English-language album Laundry Service (2001). It was the first song Shakira wrote in English after being encouraged by American singer Gloria Estefan to record material in the language. American singer Gloria Estefan, whose husband Emilio Estefan was managing Shakira at that time, felt that Shakira had the potential to crossover into the mainstream pop industry. However, Shakira was initially hesitant to record songs in English as it was not her first language, so Estefan offered to translate Ojos Así into English in order to show her that “it could translate well.” A Spanish version of the song, entitled Te Aviso, Te Anuncio (Tango), was also recorded by the singer.

Wanting to “find a way to express my ideas and my feelings, my day-to-day stories in English”, Shakira bought rhyming dictionaries, started analyzing the lyrics of songs by Bob Dylan, reading poetry and the work of authors like Leonard Cohen and Walt Whitman and took English lessons from a private tutor.

The music video directed by Dave Meyers



This Isn’t Everything You Are is a song by Northern Irish-Scottish alternative rock group Snow Patrol. The track is the second single from the band’s sixth studio album, Fallen Empires, it was released as a digital download on 14 October 2011.

Gary Lightbody said to The Sun: “When we’d finished that song, we were going, ‘F*** me, this could be a big song’. It’s three stories in one — each verse is a different person in my life that was going through a tough time.” “Then the chorus is about trying to explain that everything isn’t as bad as it might seem.”

In another interview, Lightbody told Billboard magazine that he wrote the song “to try to protect” the three people experiencing difficulties, adding that he wanted, “to show them that there were people there for them whenever they needed. Sometimes it’s hard to reach out, it’s hard to ask for help. It’s a recurring theme on the record.”

The radio and video edit of the song excludes the lines “Is he worth all this, is it a simple yes? / Cause if you have to think, it’s fucked / Feels like you loved him more, than he loved you / And you wish you’d never met.”

A music video to accompany the release of This Isn’t Everything You Are was first released onto YouTube on 14 October 2011 at a total length of four minutes and twenty-two seconds. It contains footage filmed in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was directed by Brett Simon and finds Snow Patrol becoming a house band.


Illustration by Jiří Slíva


Sensory analysis (also referred to as organoleptic analysis) is a scientific discipline that applies principles of experimental design and statistical analysis to the use of human senses (sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing) for the purposes of evaluating consumer products.

There are five basic steps in tasting wine: color, swirl, smell, taste, and savor. These are also known as the “five S” steps: see, swirl, sniff, sip, savor. During this process, a taster must look for clarity, varietal character, integration, expressiveness, complexity, and connectedness.

The results of the four recognized stages to wine tasting:
“in glass” the aroma of the wine
“in mouth” sensations
“finish” (aftertaste)

complexity and character
potential (suitability for aging or drinking)
possible faults

Creative Optic

Illustration by Jiří Slíva







Enthralled by Psychoanalytic Theory

“Please — consider me a dream.”
Franz Kafka


Illustration by Jiří Slíva



