Meaning and meaninglessness

This is an essay I wrote for the "Anca Romantan" scholarship. Unfortunately, it did not qualify amongst the first two. Hope it will make for a good read, though!

Meaning and meaninglessness

Who are we? Man has always sought to understand his role in the big picture: how he related to divinity and vice versa. It is of human nature to question everything, ranging from the tiniest of atoms to the complex status of meaning and meaninglessness. This relentless thirst for knowledge has led to a shocking discovery: man cannot see the true aspect of things from where he stands. In order to see reality in full color, the viewing angle must be changed.
The purpose of this essay is to analyze the conflict between objectivity and subjectivity in human existence, whilst, at the same time, attempting to provide a solution for getting out of the “impasse”.

Despre caracter şi mediu

Despre caracter şi mediu*

Una din cele mai evidente caracteristici ale oamenilor este faptul că sunt ca nişte pietre (eu fiind un pahar de hârtie nu mă pun la socoteală). La început, ei nu sunt decât o bucată mare şi aspră de piatră, ale cărei muchii ascuţite găuresc pătura socială. Cu timpul, colturile ascutite devin mai fine si muchiile, mai rafinate: Sculptorul™ lucreaza. dar, ca si oricare alta fiinta, Sculptorul™ nu este perfect. De cateva ori, se mai intampla sa si greseasca. O alunecare a mainii, o cafea varsata si piatra devine ciobita. In ciuda aparentleor (ciobita sau fina), piatra poate fi acoperita acum de catre patura sociala.

Dar aici vine partea interesanta. In timpul procesului de sculptura**, alte pietre "ajuta" Sculptorul™. Ele se amesteca cu piatra prelucrata, izbindu-se de ea, conefrindu-i un aspect mai neted (sau mai aspru). Dupa o lunga perioada de lovituri si sfarmaturi, pietrele ies la lumina zilei, unele mai fine, altele mai grunjoase.

Cu rabdarea pierduta, Sculptorul™ le arunca intr-o lada si se duce cu ele la Oficiul Postal #37. Destinatia? Nu se stie. Greutatea? Nu se stie. Scopul? Nu se stie.

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* pentru cei care prefera varianta verde: [link]
** procesul sculpturii consta in decenii de dalturie si atentie la detalii


Cu stima si respect pentru tot ceea ce este din hartie,

Andrei Bucin

Of character and environment

Of character and environment

One of the most obvious characteristics of humans is that they are like stones (I, myself, am not human, but a paper cup). At first, they are a rough slab of stone whose jagged edges pierce the social fabric. Over time, the corners become smoother and the edges more refined: The Sculptor™ is at work. However, like any other being, the Sculptor™ is not perfect. On certain occasions he misses. A slip of hand here, a coffee spill there and the stone becomes chipped. Regardless of its appearance, the stone can be covered by the social fabric without it being torn.

But here comes the interesting part. During the sculpting process*, other stones partake in this tedious activity. They clash against the worked-upon stone, smoothing it (or making it more rough). After a long period of hitting and smashing, some of the stones come out fine, while others come out coarse.

With his patience lost, the Great Sculptor™ tosses them in a crate and heads for FedEx Branch Office #5629. Destination? Unknown. Weight? Unknown. Purpose? Unknown.

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*The sculpting process consists of decades of fine chiseling and detail inspection.

** for those of you who fancy GREEN over GREY, the same excerpt can be found [here].


With love towards everything that is paper,

AndrewB