Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it, goes the American saying. The American warning doesn’’t apply to me though, as for many years my greatest wish was for the European Union to stay together, a wish that is beginning to look less and less realistic. What seems to be coming true these days instead is my concern that the EU might fall apart. Mentally I have been preparing myself for a disintegration for a long time although until recently the actual picture had been quite hazy. But lately international press and academic networks have been teeming […]

Photo: Peter Župník I turn on the TV and hear the Večerníček [evening fairytale aired on Czechoslovak TV for decades] signature tune. As the picture of the kindly Grandpa comes into focus I wonder why the visuals seem suspiciously vibrant and expressive, and realize that the sing tune is announcing an advertisement instead of Večerníček. The advert is all about Grandpa’’s little house. A product offered by a certain bank has made its refurbishment possible. This is approximately what would have gone through my head, if I had really noticed that the familiar Večerníček cartoon intro, with which a whole […]