The Writer’s High

“Dance above the surface of the world. Let your thoughts lift you into creativity that is not hampered by opinion.”

— Red Haircrow

1. ONSET

Beginnings are always the hardest. Sitting at your computer, chasing that perfect opening line across your mindscape, searching, constantly searching. In what lair is it hidden? In what vault is it kept? In what forge is it created? And where are these places located? The mind is a strange realm, indeed; there’s so much uncharted territory that has yet to be discovered. Continue reading “The Writer’s High”

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Writer’s Block Is Looking For New Editorial Board Members!

Writer’s Block is looking for fresh, new, enthusiastic, talented, and creative editorial board members! Do you like writing, editing, or do you have any journalistic aspirations? Then join the Writer’s Block editorial board!

What/ who is Writer’s Block?
Writer’s Block magazine is the student magazine of the English department at the University of Amsterdam, but we have an international readership and contributors from across the globe. In our magazine, which is released every 3 months, we publish articles, essays, reviews, interviews, short stories, poetry, photography, and artwork. Even though the magazines are published in English, we also encourage students from outside the English department to join our board, so it doesn’t matter if you study astrophysics, law, pedagogy, history, or play the clarinet in the national orchestra – everyone is welcome at Writer’s Block. Continue reading “Writer’s Block Is Looking For New Editorial Board Members!”

Pity

WARNING: there are spoilers in this review. Spoilers that will definitely affect your first viewing of the film. Just sayin’.

I’m going to tell you about a film I recently saw. Pity (2018) is a Greek film directed by Babis Makridis. I’m giving you information about the director because that’s what people usually do when they review films. I, however, care more for the writer: Efthymis Filippou. Filippou has previously written two other films which will forever hold a place in my heart and in my film recommendations, namely the Greek film Dogtooth (2009) and The Lobster (2015). Both those films are award-winning works directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.

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Hidden History – Woodlawn House

Every time I go back to Ireland, it feels like a homecoming. Each time I get that first glimpse of the Emerald Isle from the plane window, my heart skips a beat from excitement. This is not only because of my double Dutch/Irish identity. The main reason for this ‘heartbeat skipping’ is because I am seeing my Irish family again. Another part of this excitement stems from being back in the country I have partly grown up in. Along with the homely atmosphere I always love going on roadtrips and visiting different sights with my family and taking in the landscape, which is, to say the least, very different from the flat polders of The Netherlands. In comparison, the Irish landscape is mystically wild and untouched, mountainous. It gives you this daunting feeling of living in a Harry Potter story. It seems as if all the houses and roads have been built around the dramatic nature instead of the other way around. Apart from my general love for the land, I am intrigued by its history. Of course  I was never taught Irish history in school due to my Dutch education. So I am setting out to become an autodidact on this subject. Continue reading “Hidden History – Woodlawn House”

From Swinging Swords To Giving Signatures

As if he has returned from a years-long quest, the medieval knight seems to be back. Yet he is  no longer wearing a heavy armor set, carrying a throat-slitting sword, nor arriving on some biologically perfect stallion: he has humbly traded his signature gear for a Thrasher sweater, a pair of artificially ripped jeans and an eye-catching BMW. His Lady, the pinnacle of his private world, the absolute test of his chivalry, has become the owner of an 11-million-followers Instagram account, spending a dollar per like on plastic surgery. Where ever one looks someone with a perfect life is present. The rich and famous have returned to being an idealized version of themselves, so we, the commoners, aspire to be them even more. Celebrities have become knights, and in romances of secret affairs, public rivalry, and battles with drugs, depression and alcohol, they spread their names across the globe.

Continue reading “From Swinging Swords To Giving Signatures”

Why Aren’t The Japanese Shagging?

People in the Land of the Rising Sun might be spanking the monkey, but they’re not playing hide-the-salami. Why? And what does this mean for the future of Japanese society?

The Japanese media has diagnosed a ‘celibacy syndrome’: young people in Japan are not engaging in sex, and it’s a harbinger of a national crisis.The population is aging as well as decreasing, and this trend has been going on since 2007. [1] Between the ages of 18 and 34, 61% of men and 49% of women were not dating or in any sort of romantic or sexual relationship, [2] and a third of people under 30 had never dated at all. [3]

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Internationalism 1: Dutch Power Distance AKA Why We Protest So Much

This article presents the first in a series of five about international students at the UvA English department, intended to explore some of the differences and similarities faced when studying abroad. In order to structure these as clearly as possible each of the articles will explore a single ‘pillar’ of Hofstede’s model of Cultural Dimensions – a model which has received worldwide attention and use since its conception. The more thoroughly studied of the pillars are the following: Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity and Uncertainty Avoidance. In this article we will be focusing on the first.

Continue reading “Internationalism 1: Dutch Power Distance AKA Why We Protest So Much”