Drumuri la mănăstiri (I) – Fragment din ”Omul de cenușă” ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 06/2026 ▲
Noi încă mai credem în cultură!
Abstract
Title: “Monastery Tours (I)” — Excerpt from “The Ashman”
Author: Nicholas Jordan
Publication: ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE no. 106, 06/2026 “We still believe in culture!”
Overview
This excerpt follows a seasoned tour guide for „Globe” as he prepares to lead a Christmas circuit through the famous painted monasteries of Moldavia—renowned for their brilliant four-century-old blue frescoes. He delves into the unique, often difficult dynamics of holiday travel, where buses are filled not with typical vacationers, but with lonely solo travelers and dysfunctional couples seeking an escape.
Before setting off, the protagonist meets in Malta with Red Ericson, an influential company figure, to lobby for a promotion to tour controller. Red bluntly denies the request, citing the protagonist’s Eastern European background, his non-Western name (Ursache), and subtle physical mannerisms as invisible barriers to advancement within the company. Despite the rejection, the protagonist asks for a final favor, leaving the meeting with a challenging passenger list of 43 tourists—mostly single occupancy rooms—setting the stage for a demanding journey to Romania.
„SALVAȚI-MĂ, DOMNU’ TONY!!…”, de Nicolaie Dincă ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 06/2026 ▲
Noi încă mai credem în cultură!
Abstract
Title: “SAVE ME, MR. TONY!!…”
Author: Nicolaie Dincă
Publication: ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE no. 106, 06/2026 “We still believe in culture!”
Overview
In this harrowing personal account, a veteran police officer reflects on the emotional toll of nearly three decades in law enforcement—particularly in rural areas. Guarding the invisible line between civilization and darkness, he confronts the stark reality of domestic abuse and systemic limitations before comprehensive legal protections were enacted.
The author recount his desperate efforts to save Liliana, a seventeen-year-old girl, from the abusive grip of a career criminal known as „Cartoafă.” Despite exhausting every legal, personal, and unconventional avenue—including confronting the abuser and pleading with the victim—he finds himself powerless against the perpetrator’s manipulation, a lack of legislative framework, and a tragic misunderstanding of the offender’s deadly intent.
Metafizica iubirii între ieri și azi, de Ciprian Cristea ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 06/2026 ▲
Noi mai credem încă în cultură!
Abstract: The Metaphysics of Love Between Yesterday and Today – A Reflection by Ciprian Cristea
In this poignant essay, Ciprian Cristea explores the erosion of human depth in the age of instant connectivity. By contrasting the ceremonial, slow departure of the early 20th-century train with the sterile, high-speed travel of our era, the author illustrates a profound shift in the nature of human relationships. The central thesis is that while we have conquered distance and compressed time, we have inadvertently sacrificed the „sacred intervals”—those quiet spaces where love once grew through absence, patience, and longing.
Cristea skillfully dissects the paradox of modern intimacy:
– The loss of transience: The transition from the deliberate, emotional weight of letter-writing and waiting to the brutal, surgical speed of instant messaging.
– The crisis of presence: The irony that we traverse continents through video calls while feeling more isolated than ever, and that the abundance of digital images has replaced the cherished, singular photograph.
– The demand for slowness: The author argues that love, in its essence, is not a product of speed but of time—a slow, almost painful duration where the soul can breathe.
The essay serves as a philosophical wake-up call, reminding the reader that true love begins precisely where the speed of the modern world stops. Cristea invites us to reclaim the value of silence and the sanctity of the „interval,” challenging the reader to consider whether our technological „progress” is, in reality, a form of spiritual impoverishment.
dacă e să subliniem iubirea, de Doria Șișu ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 6/2026 ▲
Noi mai credem încă în cultură!
Abstract: The Subversive Architecture of the Everyday – A Reading of Doria Șișu’s Poetry
In this poem featured in issue 106 of ALTCULTURE Magazine, Doria Șișu proposes a radical reconfiguration of the great human themes—love, war, death, and longing—through an aesthetic of the „red marker” and playful subversion. The author does not question these concepts from a distance; instead, she intervenes directly in their mechanics, proposing a „therapy of the absurd” as a form of resistance.
The poem functions as a manifesto against the gravity with which we are accustomed to viewing tragedy:
– Love becomes a matter of public signaling, a necessity that must be displayed „strategically on highways.”
– War and violence are countered with an armor of harmlessness („gingerbread,” „lollipops”), a strategy of „brainwashing” with gentleness that exposes, by contrast, the cruelty of reality.
– Death is met not with resignation, but with the playful defiance of one who understands that life, being „free of charge,” is a gift worth capturing in a „photo of us laughing.”
The poem’s ending, marked by a liberating forgetting, functions as a philosophical conclusion: true freedom does not reside in preserving pain or the past, but in the capacity to erase the traces of everything that constrains us. Doria Șișu transforms the page of poetry into a workspace where, with a red marker, the reader is invited to rewrite the priorities of an existence often stifled by convention.
AMALA ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 06/2026 ▲
Noi mai credem încă în cultură!
Abstract: Amala – The Tragic Horizon of a Stolen Dream
In this poignant excerpt from Sub semnul lui 12 (Under the Sign of 12), Ion Bogdan Martin reconstructs the harrowing reality of the late communist era in Romania, through the fate of Amala and Carmen. Set against the backdrop of the summer of 1989—a time of systemic crumbling and desperate individual aspirations—the narrative transcends a simple story of star-crossed lovers to become a testament to the suffocating rigidity of the regime.
Amala, a young man of dignity and ambition, and Carmen, caught in the web of an activist father’s prejudices and political zeal, represent the collision between the human desire for a „Superior Time” and the cruel, immutable gravity of the „Inferior Time.” Their journey towards the Danube—the ultimate frontier—is not merely an escape attempt; it is a desperate search for a world where their love can exist outside the constraints of origin and social status.
The tragic finale, where the two are reunited in death in the waters of the Danube, serves as a searing critique of the inhumanity of the era. The irony of the activist father calling upon God in his moment of despair, only after his own rigidity had catalyzed the catastrophe, highlights the moral bankruptcy of the system. Through the image of their hands reaching for each other in the depths of the river, the author encapsulates the ultimate sacrifice of the individual before the altar of a regime that sought to control not just the body, but the very right to dream of a better life.
revistă editată de Asociația ECOULTOUR – OAMENI, FAPTE, IDEI – Brașov CIF 34237932, ING Bank, RO94INGB0000999916569535
Noi încă mai credem în cultură! Poți ajuta imediat prin PayPal, REVOLUT sau pe contul asociației ECOULTOUR!
CULTURE TO THE PEOPLE!
▲ ANOTHER KIND OF CULTURAL MAGAZINE / Un alt fel de revistă de cultură ▲ 64 pag. color, MONTHLY / lunar ▲ Director&FOUNDER / fondator: EUGEN MATZOTA ▲ALTCulture (Online) = ISSN 2601 – 159X ISSN-L 2601 -159X ▲ PUBLISHED BY / editată de Asociația ECOULTOUR – OAMENI, FAPTE, IDEI
EDITORIAL BOARD / Colegiul de redacție: ciprian cristea, CORINA GHEORGHEZA, ADRIAN GRAUENFELS, CLAUDIU IORDACHE, NICHOLAS JORDAN. BOGDAN MARTIN, EUGEN MATZOTA (redactor-șef), CRISTIANA MIRANCEA, MARIUS OANȚĂ, EUGEN D. POPIN, GHEORGHE SCHWARTZ, NICOLAE ULIERIU
LAYOUT, DTP, WEBDESIGN: EUGEN MATZOTA; RESPONSABILITATEA ASUPRA TEXTELOR APARŢINE AUTORILOR. ALTCULTURE.MAG@GMAIL.COM
Did you like it? DONATE, please! PayPal REVOLUT: @eugenematzota
Drumuri la mănăstiri (I) – Fragment din ”Omul de cenușă” ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 06/2026 ▲ Noi încă mai credem în cultură! Abstract Title: “Monastery Tours (I)” — Excerpt from “The Ashman” Author: Nicholas Jordan Publication: ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE no. 106, 06/2026 “We still believe in culture!” Overview This excerpt follows a seasoned tour guide for „Globe” as he prepares to lead a Christmas circuit through the famous painted monasteries of Moldavia—renowned for their brilliant four-century-old blue frescoes. He delves into the unique, often difficult dynamics of holiday travel, where buses are filled not with typical vacationers, but with lonely solo travelers and dysfunctional couples seeking an escape. Before setting off, the protagonist meets in Malta with Red Ericson, an influential company figure, to lobby for a promotion to tour controller. Red bluntly denies the request, citing the protagonist’s Eastern European background, his non-Western name (Ursache), and subtle physical mannerisms as invisible barriers to advancement within the company. Despite the rejection, the protagonist asks for a final favor, leaving the meeting with a challenging passenger list of 43 tourists—mostly single occupancy rooms—setting the stage for a demanding journey to Romania.
„SALVAȚI-MĂ, DOMNU’ TONY!!…”, de Nicolaie Dincă ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 06/2026 ▲ Noi încă mai credem în cultură! Abstract Title: “SAVE ME, MR. TONY!!…” Author: Nicolaie Dincă Publication: ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE no. 106, 06/2026 “We still believe in culture!” Overview In this harrowing personal account, a veteran police officer reflects on the emotional toll of nearly three decades in law enforcement—particularly in rural areas. Guarding the invisible line between civilization and darkness, he confronts the stark reality of domestic abuse and systemic limitations before comprehensive legal protections were enacted. The author recount his desperate efforts to save Liliana, a seventeen-year-old girl, from the abusive grip of a career criminal known as „Cartoafă.” Despite exhausting every legal, personal, and unconventional avenue—including confronting the abuser and pleading with the victim—he finds himself powerless against the perpetrator’s manipulation, a lack of legislative framework, and a tragic misunderstanding of the offender’s deadly intent.
Metafizica iubirii între ieri și azi, de Ciprian Cristea ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 06/2026 ▲ Noi mai credem încă în cultură! Abstract: The Metaphysics of Love Between Yesterday and Today – A Reflection by Ciprian Cristea In this poignant essay, Ciprian Cristea explores the erosion of human depth in the age of instant connectivity. By contrasting the ceremonial, slow departure of the early 20th-century train with the sterile, high-speed travel of our era, the author illustrates a profound shift in the nature of human relationships. The central thesis is that while we have conquered distance and compressed time, we have inadvertently sacrificed the „sacred intervals”—those quiet spaces where love once grew through absence, patience, and longing. Cristea skillfully dissects the paradox of modern intimacy: – The loss of transience: The transition from the deliberate, emotional weight of letter-writing and waiting to the brutal, surgical speed of instant messaging. – The crisis of presence: The irony that we traverse continents through video calls while feeling more isolated than ever, and that the abundance of digital images has replaced the cherished, singular photograph. – The demand for slowness: The author argues that love, in its essence, is not a product of speed but of time—a slow, almost painful duration where the soul can breathe. The essay serves as a philosophical wake-up call, reminding the reader that true love begins precisely where the speed of the modern world stops. Cristea invites us to reclaim the value of silence and the sanctity of the „interval,” challenging the reader to consider whether our technological „progress” is, in reality, a form of spiritual impoverishment.
dacă e să subliniem iubirea, de Doria Șișu ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 6/2026 ▲ Noi mai credem încă în cultură! Abstract: The Subversive Architecture of the Everyday – A Reading of Doria Șișu’s Poetry In this poem featured in issue 106 of ALTCULTURE Magazine, Doria Șișu proposes a radical reconfiguration of the great human themes—love, war, death, and longing—through an aesthetic of the „red marker” and playful subversion. The author does not question these concepts from a distance; instead, she intervenes directly in their mechanics, proposing a „therapy of the absurd” as a form of resistance. The poem functions as a manifesto against the gravity with which we are accustomed to viewing tragedy: – Love becomes a matter of public signaling, a necessity that must be displayed „strategically on highways.” – War and violence are countered with an armor of harmlessness („gingerbread,” „lollipops”), a strategy of „brainwashing” with gentleness that exposes, by contrast, the cruelty of reality. – Death is met not with resignation, but with the playful defiance of one who understands that life, being „free of charge,” is a gift worth capturing in a „photo of us laughing.” The poem’s ending, marked by a liberating forgetting, functions as a philosophical conclusion: true freedom does not reside in preserving pain or the past, but in the capacity to erase the traces of everything that constrains us. Doria Șișu transforms the page of poetry into a workspace where, with a red marker, the reader is invited to rewrite the priorities of an existence often stifled by convention.
AMALA ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 06/2026 ▲ Noi mai credem încă în cultură! Abstract: Amala – The Tragic Horizon of a Stolen Dream In this poignant excerpt from Sub semnul lui 12 (Under the Sign of 12), Ion Bogdan Martin reconstructs the harrowing reality of the late communist era in Romania, through the fate of Amala and Carmen. Set against the backdrop of the summer of 1989—a time of systemic crumbling and desperate individual aspirations—the narrative transcends a simple story of star-crossed lovers to become a testament to the suffocating rigidity of the regime. Amala, a young man of dignity and ambition, and Carmen, caught in the web of an activist father’s prejudices and political zeal, represent the collision between the human desire for a „Superior Time” and the cruel, immutable gravity of the „Inferior Time.” Their journey towards the Danube—the ultimate frontier—is not merely an escape attempt; it is a desperate search for a world where their love can exist outside the constraints of origin and social status. The tragic finale, where the two are reunited in death in the waters of the Danube, serves as a searing critique of the inhumanity of the era. The irony of the activist father calling upon God in his moment of despair, only after his own rigidity had catalyzed the catastrophe, highlights the moral bankruptcy of the system. Through the image of their hands reaching for each other in the depths of the river, the author encapsulates the ultimate sacrifice of the individual before the altar of a regime that sought to control not just the body, but the very right to dream of a better life.