Spaceman of Bohemia Quotes

“There are two basic coping mechanisms. One consists of dreading the chaos, fighting it and abusing oneself after losing, building a structured life of work/marriage/gym/reunions/children/depression/affair/divorce/alcoholism/recovery/heart attack, in which every decision is a reaction against the fear of the worst (make children to avoid being forgotten, fuck someone at the reunion in case the opportunity never comes again, and the Holy Grail of paradoxes: marry to combat loneliness, then plunge into that constant marital desire to be alone). This is the life that cannot be won, but it does offer the comforts of battle—the human heart is content when distracted by war.

“The second mechanism is an across-the-board acceptance of the absurd all around us. Everything that exists, from consciousness to the digestive workings of the human body to sound waves and bladeless fans, is magnificently unlikely. It seems so much likelier that things would not exist at all and yet the world shows up to class every morning as the cosmos takes attendance. Why combat the unlikeliness? This is the way to survive in this world, to wake up in the morning and receive a cancer diagnosis, discover that a man has murdered forty children, discover that the milk has gone sour, and exclaim, 'How unlikely! Yet here we are,' and have a laugh, and swim in the chaos, swim without fear, swim without expectation but always with an appreciation of every whim, the beauty of screwball twists and jerks that pump blood through our emaciated veins.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“How unlikely! Yet here we are.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“The greatness of a nation is in its symbols, its gestures, in doing things that are unprecedented. It's why the Americans are falling behind - they built a nation on the idea of doing new things, and now they'd rather sit and pray that the world won't make them adapt too much.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“In one book, your father is a hero. In another book, he is a monster. The men who don’t have books written about them have it easier.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“Once you trap yourself into believing you can be your own company, you will cross the dangerous line between contentment and madness.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“We know that the world operates on a whim, a system of coincidences. There are two basic coping mechanisms. One consists of dreading the chaos, fighting it and abusing oneself after lost, building a structured life ... in which every decision is a reaction against the fear of the worst ... This is the life that cannot be won, but it does offer the comfort of battle - the human heart is content when distracted by war. The second mechanism is an across-the-board acceptance of the absurd all around us ... This is the way to survive in this world, to walk up in the morning ... and exclaim, 'How unlikely! Yet here we are,' and have a laugh, and swim in the chaos, swim without fear, swim without expectation but always with an appreciation of every whim, the beauty of screwball twists and jerk that pump blood through our emaciated veins.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“But one has to ask: why do the big things at such a high cost? I chose the quiet life. I like the idea of being recognized by my field and no one else. This way I have a purpose, one I believe in, but I'm not burdened by the constant idea of putting on a public image, a view of myself the masses can accept. Nobody cares whether I'm fat or cheat on my taxes. It is not the only right kind of life, of course, but it is the honest life for me. What I'm saying is, I make the right choices for myself.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“I put my hands upon these books, remembering those nights of silence when our forearms had touched and we had read until sleep took us, the pages mixed between limbs and sheets.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“How unlikely! Hanuš said. Yet here we are.
Then he was gone.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“No more potatoes and sour cream. Grandma will eat like a queen tonight.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“Alas, we are what we are, and we need the stories, we need the public transportation, the anxiety meds, the television shows by the dozens, the music in bars and restaurants saving us from the terror of silence, the everlasting promise of brown liquor, the bathrooms in national parks, and the political catchphrases we can all shout and stick to our bumpers.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“Back in my room, I woke to a strange scratching coming from the air-conditioning vent. It began with hesitance, a creature feeling its way around a new environment. After a few minutes, the scratching gained a rhythm - shka shka shkashka shka shka - the rhythm of work that some small rodent figured would bring it to freedom. Consistency. Work without interruption, work with intensity. Surely, working at a steady pace, without breaks, the creature could reach its goal. I listened to my companion, refusing to take away its dignity by opening the vent. It took twenty minutes for the rhythm to reach its climax - shkakakakashkakakakashkakakaka, now with true desperation, as the rodent beat at the world to convince it of its worth, not a plea but a demand: Hear me! Let me out! I am here! I decided it was time for relief for the both of us, and when I stood up I saw a small brown nose peeking through the bars, two black eyes fixed on mine. I unscrewed the cover with a coin. When I opened it, a small tail was peeking from a dark corner deep in the shaft. It was hiding from me. It would not be rescued. I tried to reach the tail without any luck. I sat on my bed with the vent uncovered for an hour, waiting for my new fried to come out. It didn't. I put the cover back on, and while I was fastening the last screw, the nose appeared again, followed by the laborious scratching. Work will save me. Diligent, patient, never-ending. It must.
I put a coat on and walked outside.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“Existence vyžaduje energii, plynulý pohyb vpřed, ale přesto nikdy nepřestaneme hledat bod, kde to všechno začalo, velký třesk, který nás vystřelil na nevyhnutelnou životní dráhu.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“Miracles are non-sense, mere coping mechanisms”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“Love could turn us all into war criminals.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“In shadowy woods the burnished lake Darkly complained a secret pain, By circling shores embraced again; And heaven’s clear sun leaned down to take A road astray in azure deeps, Like burning tears the lover weeps.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“While Jakub chases his purpose and thinks She’ll just wait, always wait… what do I do?”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“Lenka, what do you think? Should I do this? What will it do to me, to you, to us, to the world we’ve built? Perhaps I would have said no. Perhaps he would have listened”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“Jakub and I, our contract declared that we were meant to knock around this world together, explore it, make it better or ruin it, live young for as long as we could. But then he left, and now every minute of my day I expect the call to let me know he is gone. Even if he returns, what kind of man will he be? The things he’s seeing, the loneliness, the sickness… you see, Jakub chose to become forever someone else. That is his right as a person, but it does not bode well for contracts. He’s the one flying away from me, but sometimes? Sometimes it feels like I’m in a spaceship too, and I’m soaring in the opposite direction. And there’s no chance we will ever collide again, not unless the universe is a loop, and that, Dr. Kuřák, is why I wake up standing next to my bed, arms limp by my sides. Like some sleepwalker of grief.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“The second mechanism is an across-the-board acceptance of the absurd all around us. Everything that exists, from consciousness to the digestive workings of the human body to sound waves and bladeless fans, is magnificently unlikely. It seems so much likelier that things would not exist at all and yet the world shows up to class every morning as the cosmos takes attendance. Why combat the unlikeliness? This is the way to survive in this world, to wake up in the morning and receive a cancer diagnosis, discover that a man has murdered forty children, discover that the milk has gone sour, and exclaim, “How unlikely! Yet here we are,” and have a laugh, and swim in the chaos, swim without fear, swim without expectation but always with an appreciation of every whim, the beauty of screwball twists and jerks that pump blood through our emaciated veins.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“Těžko se chápe, co tu vlastně děláme, proč se necháváme plechovou mašinou unášet stejným směrem k různým cílům. Těžko se chápe, proč tu jsme, až do chvíle, kdy už tu nejsme.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“Otevřené dveře ledničky i poličky kolem byly pomazané tenkými čokoládovými šmouhami, po místnosti plulo bílé víčko prasklé vedví a přede mnou ve vzduchu visel ten tvor a dvěma nohama se ryl ve sklenici Nutelly. Několikrát zamrkal a pak mi ji nabídl.
„Stydím se,“ řekl. „Zdá se, že jsem přestal být schopen odolávat svým popudům, pokud jde o pozemské lískové oříšky.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“I am sorry about your female partner. For what it is worth, the sociocultural rituals of your society seem to be in conflict with biological reality.” I”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia

“Time was not a line, but an awareness. I was no longer a body, but a series of pieces whistling as they bonded. I felt every cell within me. I could count them, name them, kill them, and resurrect them. Within the core, I was a tower made of fossil fragments. I could be disassembled and reassembled. If only someone knew the correct pressure point, I would turn into a pile of elements running off to find another bond, like seasonal farmhands journeying from East to West.”
― Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman of Bohemia