johannes k.

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a momentsleutel is not a key moment but a torque wrench. it ensures that a nut or bolt is fastened to the exact degree of tightness required, no more, no less. but when i encountered the dutch word for the first time the idea formed of a key which, if used at the right moment gives you access to something which would otherwise remain hidden, locked away, concealed, obscured or otherwise invisible. in a text or a conversation such a key sometimes presents itself and if you are able see it for what it is, you can use it. it may not work of course because even a key that seems to fit perfectly in a lock may not be the right key or it might require some jiggling to open it, but you never know if a key is going to unlock a lock until you put it in and turn it, even if you've used that key in that lock numerous times.

fool — why do you come here? what are you hoping to find?

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when i arrived in australia in 1980 i learned that, although there are many similarities between australian and english culture and language, there are a significant number of idiosyncrasies. one example (om maar meteen met de deur in huis te vallen) : several female australians with whom i became acquainted were in the habit of referring to their private parts as their 'clacker', a word which i had never encountered previously and to be frank, i did not find it all that charming.

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‘Als je een steen werpt, en je geeft die steen bewustzijn, dan zal de steen rationeel verslag doen van zijn vlucht.’ — Spinoza

Het is goed mogelijk dat deze uitspraak van Spinoza bekend was bij Heidegger, die met het idee kwam dat ieder mens 'geworpen' is — door iets of iemand, wie kan het weten? Maar dat doet er niet toe.

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😢

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so i got vaccinated. — even though you've had covid? yeah. it's kind of stupid but that's the government advice. and i don’t have the time or energy to spend on having an informed opinion beyond that. and also i don't have an opinion about whether you or anyone else should be vaccinated or not.

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i want to be a noctilucent blue cloud in a rarified layer of your upper atmosphere

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last weekend there was a discussion in the newspaper (trouw) about what it means to say you are a writer.

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dear c.

😂 that's a great story. you should write a novel. almost everyone should write a novel.

because i am prone to making pronouncements like that i have my computer set to insert the word 'almost' whenever i type 'everyone' or 'always' because it's so annoying when people write almost everyone and almost always. there! that's what it does. and if you really want to write 'everyone' or 'always' you can just go back and delete the 'almost'.

also : almost everyone should have therapy. but the problem is that most therapists are a. incompetent b. egomaniacs and c. money hungry — and anyway there's not enough therapists for almost everyone to have therapy.

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