Radio Prague International dedicated a podcast to a short story by Karel Čapek titled “On the Decline of the Times.” Čapek’s Apocryphal Tales (1932) is a collection of short pieces such as this that he composed in the 1920s and early 1930s. The translation is by Vít Pohanka, who reads the story, and is followed […]
Month: 8 months ago
One can learn a lot about a society from its legends—and every society has them, whether it is King Alfred burning the cakes or George Washington vandalizing cherry trees. The protagonists of these legends often embody the qualities which a society believes its best members once had, and which they should strive to have again. […]
Most of the Athenians perished in the stone quarries of disease and evil fare, their daily rations being a pint of barley meal and a half-pint of water; but not a few were stolen away and sold into slavery, or succeeded in passing themselves off for serving men. These, when they were sold, were branded in the […]
The day was losing shape. It was bleeding at the edges, hemorrhaging purpose. Subchapter 1.4 of the SDP Manual: “Demoralization and Disintegration Procedures—Goals.” His life’s work: planting rumors of infidelities, rumors of sexual deviance, rumors of unknown origin. Origin unknown—that’s how thankless the job had been. Forged photographs depicting the subject in a questionable embrace with children, […]