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Relying on Dominance Is Dangerous

November 3, 2025

Society

capitalism, injustice, politics, social masses, society

Our increasingly deteriorating societies, where we respect one another less and less while idolizing inanity and glorifying competition, come with another symptom: Relying on dominance, which is dangerous – for the dominating parties as well. Such is the nature of dominance.

In a past post on injustice, I argued the following:

There will always be people that are stronger, faster, smarter, richer, luckier, or more powerful than you. If they are malevolent (and power or success predicated on money or strength very often is), they will come together and form groups which will become so ridiculously powerful that nothing can stop them.

There are a lot of malicious people on the planet – and a lot of stupid malicious people, which is a very dangerous combination. As a result, relying on dominance is dangerous because there is always the risk of ending up on the… receiving end of the dominance exchange.

relying on dominance is dangerous. Image of riot police.
Relying on dominance is dangerous because there will always be someone who can dominate you – and they’re usually backed by a much more powerful force, whether the state or (worse) a corporation.
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Cinema Today: a Disappearing Art

September 1, 2025

Art, Criticism, Experiencing

art, capitalism, experiencing, Igor Livramento, social masses

This post has all the ingredients of an old man tilting at windmills or rosy retrospection and all that, but at least I have backups! That is to say, I’m not alone in lamenting the state of cinema today and dreaming of other cinematic realities.

This post is based on an ongoing discussion I’m having with my good friend Igor da Silva Livramento, fellow writer, academic, and creative-writing advisor. He’s also a composer, music theorist, and producer. You can find him on LinkedIn, and also take a look at his blog and his page on Bandcamp.

Both Igor and I agree that cinema today – especially mainstream, mass-produced US-made films – rarely has anything of value to demonstrate. It’s once again, a living example of what happens when art is industrialized.

Cinema today. Painting of sunset by Chris Angelis
In a discussion about cinema today – more generally: art – and the effects of mass production, I felt it appropriate to use my own paintings as accompanying images. My technique is rudimentary and one can freely criticize my artistic ideas but guess what: At least I have artistic ideas.
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The Era of Work is Over

August 3, 2025

Society

capitalism, freedom, ignorance, society

Labor is dead; the era of work is over. And no, just because you are still employed in a sort-of-9-to-5 well-paying job, it doesn’t mean the statement is wrong – just as having just eaten doesn’t mean there’s no world hunger, or snowing where you are doesn’t mean there’s no such thing as climate change and global warming.

Older people still entertain certain ideas about work, the workforce, youth, and all that. Part of the problem, I guess; generation gap and all that.

When they were young, and up until the 80s and likely 90s, you could indeed walk into an office well-dressed, shake a couple of hands, and be hired on the spot. Isn’t that the stereotype? In any case, it was a largely accurate description.

No more. Work is dead. The era of work is over – also thanks to technological innovations, like AI. And the sooner we, as society, understand that, the better.

The Era of Work is Over. Collage of images depicting happy office workers and street workers.
On the left side, what American dreamers want you to think working is. On the right side, what working really is for vast portions of the global population.
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