Art · Books

"I," said he to him, "am Hermes, the immortal messenger of the gods; Pallas Athena, your protectress in heaven, has sent me

"I," said he to him, "am Hermes, the immortal messenger of the gods; Pallas Athena, your protectress in heaven, has sent me. The king wishes to destroy you, but you shall not perish if you remember my words." And he told him what it was useful

Architecture · The East · Cinema · Books · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour

As for that amusing piece of fan fiction ranking the tallest buildings on Earth, in which the Burj Khalifa in Dubai falls slightly short of the tower of Barad-dûr in Mordor, let me remind you that this is nothing more than conjecture: nowhere in the text

And if, like the author of this infographic, you are working from the visual impressions of Peter Jackson's film adaptation, then one must not forget the Tower of Ecthelion on the uppermost tier of Minas Tirith, or Orthanc, for instance. Still, the comparison of the aesthetics of the

Architecture · Faith · Heritage · Paris

A cross blessed by Benedictine monks is placed on the restored spire of Notre-Dame

Notre-Dame de Paris is once more beneath the sign of the Cross. Today a cross, blessed by Benedictine monks, was set atop the restored spire. Formerly the tip of the spire bore a metal casket in the form of a cockerel, which held three important relics of Notre-Dame:

Books · Observations · Society · Humour

Alexander Molok on German foreign policy and a thousand years of attacks on Europe

A Thousand Years of War, War Without Any Particular Cause. So it turns out the Germans have been terrorising the whole of Europe for a thousand years. "The seizure and plundering of foreign lands, the enslavement and extermination of other peoples have from time immemorial formed the essence and

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It Fell Off

NB! · Archive · Mores · People · Pop Culture

John Lennon on the knee of his Aunt Mimi Smith, who became his guardian after his parents' divorce and raised him as her own son

Art · London · Monarchies · Society

Naked Charles II and a seven-headed hydra with the heads of the conspirators on a medal commemorating the discovery of the Rye House Plot of 1683, a conspiracy to murder the King and his brother

The plot was to have been carried out while the King was away from London, but he returned from the races considerably earlier than planned and so saved himself. The conspirators were executed, as were many influential Whigs who had no direct part in the attempt on the King'

Abstract painting with large white shapes on a black ground, pink and blue edges and an orange disc at top right, on a white wall.

Archive · Books

Abstract painting by Natalia Turnova dated 2007

Private. Natalia Turnova, 2007

Geometric sculpture of a seated figure made of rust-brown rectangular bars, standing on a white plinth in a gallery.

NB! · Art · People

Sculpture “Seated Man” by Igor Shelkovsky

Man Seated. Igor Shelkovsky

Round world map with green land and wavy seas. Three bearded heads blow from clouds above, three cherub heads below; the north and south poles are labelled.

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Hand-painted circular world map with wind heads and labels Polle Articque and Polle Antarticque

Geography · Maps · Science

Antarctica on World Maps from Ptolemy to the Discoveries of 1819 and 1820

Antarctica has appeared on maps of the world since the time of Ptolemy, mostly labelled Terra Australis Incognita. It is there, too, on this world map by Guillaume Le Testu of 1555, drawn in different projections, which records the Strait of Magellan, by then surely well known. From the seventeenth

NB! · Aristocracy · Archive · Monarchies · Mores

When the ladies of the court, wearied by the unending ball that was the brief reign of Peter III, complained to him that in the tobacco haze of the boisterous public festivities they were obliged to rub shoulders with comic actresses and dancers, the Empe

Alexandr Radayev