The sun is starting to appear more and more often and the mornings, instead of being dark leftovers of the night are becoming lighter and lighter. Today is the Clean Monday, the first day of the Orthodox Lent fast and the asceticism of the 40-day denial of earthly pleasures seems to fit well with the current bleakness of our time. Should one choose distraction or immersion? Is there some kind of balance between the two? Erring on the side of distraction, let’s start with opening this week’s Crate.

1. “The pictures were painted directly through me, without any preliminary drawings, and with great force. I had no idea what the paintings were supposed to depict; nevertheless, I worked swiftly and surely, without changing a single brush stroke.” Hilma af Klint is still a somewhat controversial artistic figure. Was she the first abstract artist or an eccentric outsider?

2. The mythological harpies are half-human half-birds – and they inspired the name of the harpy eagle.

3. If you didn’t know what’s the most popular book of all European countries, it’s time to find out.

4. Why do we have a tendency to trust authority?

5. The most beautiful quote about rain comes from Ray Bradbury.

6. And to finish off for this week, a little comic on the use of OK by Tommy Siegel.

And that’s it for this time. Happy reading and until next week!
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