Cinema · Moscow · Mores · Society

In the film "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears", which begins in 1958, we meet the girls working at a factory

In the film "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears", which begins in 1958, we meet the girls working at a factory. The heroine, Katerina Tikhomirova, who has come from the provinces, becomes not merely a fitter but a setter-operator. That, however, is another matter altogether: different circumstances,

Portrait of a man with long hair in a black cap and dark clothing against a blue sky with clouds.

NB! · Art · Observations · Humour

Portrait of an Unknown Man by Giovanni Bellini, made between 1475 and 1500

A truly splendid hairdo and headgear, right at the top of the mode. Should I ever decide to change my style, this portrait of an unknown man, dated approximately 1475-1500 and painted by the Venetian artist Giovanni Bellini, may well serve as my point of reference

Top view of several mushrooms lying cap-up and cap-down, their pore layers and cut stems stained blue. Grass, dry leaves and green plant leaves surround them.

NB!

Mushrooms with blue-staining flesh lying in grass and leaves

Observations · Nature

Did you know that such an incredibly beautiful mushroom exists, called Gyroporus cyanescens, popularly known as the "Bruise" (Sinyak), and looking as though it had been painted in Gzhel blue?

The mushroom is edible, and moreover very tasty. In Russia it grows in mixed forests, most often under birches, and is listed in the Red Book

Monarchies · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour

Augustus, Caracalla, Hadrian and other Roman emperors depicted as cartoon characters

One can always do something more productive, but then we should never have learnt which of the Roman emperors makes the most charming cartoon character: Augustus, Caracalla, Hadrian, Vespasian, Otho, Nero or Galba? Alas, the outcome resembles a sitting of the Federation Council, and one can look with any warmth

Page of an old book with a poem dedicated to V. S. Sreznevskaya, dated 1913, with blue pencil marks and underlining.

Books · Observations · People

A 1913 poem dedicated to V. S. Sreznevskaya about lost youth and passing years

1913: Anna Akhmatova, aged 24, regrets that she can never take back her unkissed lips. How swiftly the years do sail by, to be sure

Observations · Mores · Society

An Observation from the Field of Historical Orthography

According to the 1958 reference manual of the Academy of Sciences, the correct form is “Muž s ženoj pošli na ogorod” [“Husband and wife went (plural) to the kitchen garden”], since the subjects, husband and wife, are equals. But “mat’ s rebenkom pošla na ogorod” [“Mother and child went (singular)

NB! · Observations · Humour

When you have already visited every abode of fashionable vice that night, but towards morning you still end up at Simach

The East · Observations · Society · People

Jacques Chirac suddenly speaks English in Israel, although he usually used an interpreter

Speaking of the French and the English language, one might recall François Hollande or Jacques Chirac, who took a master's degree in the United States and naturally knew the language perfectly well, though I have heard his pronunciation criticised. In reply I offer this footage, famous in its

NB! · Archive · In the Press · New York · Pop Culture

A Very Peculiar Choice of Photograph for the Cover of the Daily News Announcing the Death of Marilyn Monroe

Monarchies · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour

An advert has popped up on Instagram for a maker of costume jewellery who has produced a replica of the crown of the British Empire

An advert has popped up on Instagram for a maker of costume jewellery who has produced a replica of the crown of the British Empire. A highly questionable bit of handiwork, though it would be most interesting to see the customer (actually, no). I shall not give a link to

Antique sepia photograph of a girl with long curly hair on all fours, looking at the camera.

NB! · Archive · Mores · People

Ella Harper, known as the Camel Girl, a circus and amusement show entrepreneur in the US

But jokes aside, the photograph shows Ella Harper (1870-1921), known from childhood as the Camel Girl, an impresaria of amusement and circus shows in the USA. She drew the public's curiosity by her manner of getting about, on all fours, which was owing to the peculiar structure

Alexandr Radayev