Sala de așteptare, de Viorel Ploeșteanu ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.105 5/2025 ▲ Noi mai credem încă în cultură! The Waiting Room by Viorel Ploeșteanu Abstract: In this poignant narrative, Viorel Ploeșteanu masterfully delineates the slow erosion of a life through the story of Evelina, an octogenarian living in the heart of Bucharest. Her existence is inextricably bound to the physical landmarks of her past—the decaying apartment on C.A. Rosetti Street and a towering plane tree planted in her childhood. As she faces the isolation of a post-communist society where neighbors are strangers and her family has long since emigrated to the United States, the tree stands as her final companion and silent witness. The sudden destruction of this living monument serves as the ultimate catalyst for Evelina’s detachment from the world she once knew. The Waiting Room is a melancholic meditation on the fragility of memory, the pain of abandonment, and the quiet dignity with which the elderly confront their own obsolescence. It is a powerful portrait of a soul realizing that her entire history has been reduced to "sawdust swept away by strangers," leading to an inevitable, resigned surrender to the final sanctuary.
Câinii, de Nicolaie Dincă ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.105, 05/2026 ▲
Câinii, de Nicolaie Dincă ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.105, 05/2026 ▲ Noi încă mai credem în cultură! The Dogs by Nicolaie Dincă Abstract: In this satirical short story, Nicolaie Dincă exposes the hypocrisies of rural authority through a clever narrative centered on two of the village's most prominent figures: the local police chief and the parish priest. Caught in a late-night encounter while supposedly tending to their respective duties, the two men exchange pleasantries that thinly veil their true nocturnal intentions. The irony reaches its peak the following day at the police station, when the two officials are forced into a tense confrontation after accidentally leaving incriminating personal items—a tie and a stole—at each other's homes. With the threat of exposure looming, the protagonist-adversaries reach a silent, cynical consensus, attributing their scandalous behavior to the village dogs. Through sharp, dry wit and a keen sense of irony, the story serves as a mirror for human frailty, demonstrating how easily the pillars of moral and civil order can compromise when their own secrets are at stake.
în lanțuri, de Doria Șișu ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.105, 5/2026 ▲
în lanțuri, de Doria Șișu ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.105, 5/2026 ▲ Noi mai credem încă în cultură! In Chains by Doria Șișu Abstract: In this poignant lyrical reflection, Doria Șișu explores the existential weight of living within a society defined by artifice and spiritual erosion. The poem serves as a meditation on the paralyzing nature of conformity—a "chain of grins"—where authentic human connection is sacrificed to superficiality. Through evocative imagery of waiting—words and love standing in line, waiting for the "falling of the chain"—the poet depicts the internal struggle to remain human in an increasingly hollow world. The central figure of the woman, rooted in "clay and soul," becomes a symbol of endurance, transforming years of suffering into a grounded, wingless angel. Ultimately, the work posits that true rebellion lies not in destruction, but in the radical act of forgiveness—a virtue that restores the broken human being and validates the struggle for transcendence against the constraints of a dehumanizing reality.
Arhitectul de pe Marginea Abisului, de Eugen Matzota ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.104, 04/2026 ▲
Arhitectul de pe Marginea Abisului, de Eugen Matzota ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.104, 04/2026 ▲ Noi încă mai credem în cultură! Abstract: In the 104th issue of ALTCULTURE, Eugen Matzota moves beyond the critique of digital chaos to address the imperative of construction. Having navigated the "Great Sifting"—a process of stripping away the superficial noise of the digital age—the editorial posits that true substance resides solely in one’s character. Reflecting on a life spent balancing the weight of history with the pursuit of an "Inner Temple," Matzota discusses his role not as a self-appointed mentor, but as a lantern-bearer in an era of systemic disintegration. The text serves as a manifesto for the "Architect": a call to move beyond the illusion of effortless creation, urging readers to reclaim the precision of thought and the rigor of craft. In an age of "Copy-Paste" conformity, ALTCULTURE 104 stands as a testament to continuity and verticality, inviting those in search of a compass to join a workshop where the digital tool is forced to serve the Truth.
Romanian Blues (III) – Fragment din ”Omul de cenușă” ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.104, 04/2026 ▲
Romanian Blues (III) - Fragment din ”Omul de cenușă” ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.104, 04/2026 ▲ Noi încă mai credem în cultură! Abstract: This excerpt from Nicholas Jordan’s The Ashman captures an evocative journey through Stockholm’s cultural landscape, seen through the eyes of a newcomer guide from Eastern Europe. The narrative seamlessly blends the historical gravity of the Vasa Museum with the intimate, often subversive experience of a guided tour at the National Museum of Fine Arts. Central to the text is an encounter with a provocative painting—attributed by an enigmatic local guide, Ulla, to the Renaissance master Hans Baldung Grien. As the guide provides a meticulously detailed, almost obsessive analysis of the artwork’s symbolism and anatomy, the protagonist becomes increasingly aware of the dissonance between official institutional records and the guide's cryptic, erudite narrative. *Romanian Blues* serves as a meditation on the subjectivity of art interpretation, the weight of cultural heritage, and the subtle power dynamics between a guide, their audience, and the mysteries hidden within the frame.
Câte ceva, despre (altceva), de Nicolae Ulieriu ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.104, 4/2026 ▲
Câte ceva, despre (altceva), de Nicolae Ulieriu ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.104, 4/2026 ▲ Noi mai credem încă în cultură! ABSTRACT Something About (Something Else) [Câte ceva, despre (altceva)] Author: Nicolae Ulieriu (Dated: January 25, 2026) Overview Something About (Something Else) is a profound metaphysical and linguistic essay that explores the fundamental distinction between the logic of individual reason and the transcendent logic of language. Drawing upon traditionalist philosophy (René Guénon), spiritual thought (André Scrima), and poetic cosmogony (Mihai Eminescu), Ulieriu argues that language is not merely a human tool for communication, but a trans-phenomenal matrix—the very structural essence of the universe. Key Themes - The Dichotomy of Reason vs. Language: The author establishes a strict boundary between individual reason and universal language. Reason is a fluctuating, individual faculty restricted to formal "surface expressions"—likened to perfect but empty honeycombs. Conversely, language operates on "deep structures" that transcend the individual. It is rooted in the sacred Intellect, leading to the famous philosophical inversion: we do not speak language; language thinks and speaks through us. - Epistemology and True Information: True information is redefined as the surface manifestation of a deep, essential structure. Without this anchoring in transcendent knowledge, rational concepts degrade into mere opinion, rumor, or tools of disinformation. True knowledge separates profane philosophy (based on rationalism) from sacred wisdom (based on direct intelection). - Cosmogony and the Universe as Language: Creation is described as the disruption of a primal, eternal state of unmanifested equilibrium. When the divine entity projects its inner blueprint outward, the resulting Universe instantly becomes manifest as language. Human artistic creation is celebrated as the only true earthly mirror to this divine act, while sciences are relegated to merely discovering and clumsily explaining what already exists. - The Perceptible vs. The Conceptible: Humanity at large is restricted to witnessing the "spectacle" of the world through the perceptible lens of formal reason. However, decoding the deep structures—the conceptible cosmic Principles—is a rare privilege reserved for the "happy few" (to the happy few), high initiates capable of comprehension through "the eye of the heart." Conclusion Nicolae Ulieriu concludes with a powerful, totalizing chiasmus: if the world itself is language, then language is the world itself. Language must be understood in a supra-ordinate relationship to specific tongues, serving as an organic system of signs that encompasses, defines, and partially explains the mystery of existence.
ÎNTRE MINE ȘI FINAL, de Doria Șișu ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.104, 4/2026 ▲
ÎNTRE MINE ȘI FINAL, de Doria Șișu ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.104, 4/2026 ▲ Noi mai credem încă în cultură! ABSTRACT Between Me and the End (Published in ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE No. 104, 4/2025) Author: Doria Șișu Overview Between Me and the End is a visceral, poetic meditation on the human condition, exploring the liminal space between existence and finality. Through a stream-of-consciousness narrative, the author confronts the relentless passage of time and the inherent sarcasm of a life lived in a cycle of unanswered questions. It is a call to awaken from the "illusory awakening" of modern existence and to recognize the stranger staring back from the mirror. Key Themes - The Weight of Permanence: The text identifies a "permanent sigh" in every morning breath and a "permanent void" filled with sadistic protocol and destructive trifles. It challenges the ego’s cry of "Why me?" by suggesting that time is an unblinking observer we fail to see. - The Duality of Life and Death: The author portrays life as a force that keeps us tied by our "short shoelaces," bound inextricably to death. Human beings are depicted as beings who pretend to be whole while clutching at the wings of others, mistakenly believing they possess freedom while blinded by their own shadows. - The Metaphor of the "Wooden Man": In a powerful shift toward the end, the narrator identifies as a "wooden man" awaiting the reader’s "polishing" (shaping). This plea emphasizes that power and love reside in the observer's hands, turning a silent block of wood into a "screaming syllable" that lives through the heartbeat of others. Conclusion Doria Șișu concludes with a poignant Post Scriptum on the "short madnesses" we choose as a perfect adjustment to a mad world. Ultimately, the piece serves as a philosophical reminder that we are merely "playing at being human," a game for which we eventually pay the earth with our own mortality. It encourages the reader to lean their head against the "edge of knowledge" as a final virtue and to find laughter beyond the secret of words.