Books · Heritage · Society · People

“Why are they riddling an ancient cathedral with holes? Because for a hundred years a bloated priest sat here, hiccuping, taking bribes and selling vodka

“Why are they riddling an ancient cathedral with holes? Because for a hundred years a bloated priest sat here, hiccuping, taking bribes and selling vodka. Why do they foul the manor houses so dear to our hearts? Because girls were raped and flogged there, if not by that squire, then

NB! · Archive · Moscow · Observations · People · Humour

Here is my beloved Alla Demidova at twenty

Here is my beloved Alla Demidova at twenty. She is not yet a student of the Shchukin Theatre School, but for now an actress of the Moscow State University student theatre under the direction of Igor Lipsky. Do correct me if I am mistaken, but I see a strong portrait

Aristocracy · Archive · Monarchies · Observations

Princess Feodora Romanova proved a distant relative of the Nazi Ernst Reventlow

Leafing through old newspapers, I came across a mention of Princess Theodora Romanov, widow of Prince Dmitri Romanovich, head of the House of Romanov and great-great-grandson of Nicholas I. A most attractive woman who looks wonderful for her 78 years, the Princess was born Dorrit Reventlow, of an

Observations · Science

Origin of the word malaria and Charles Laveran's discovery of its parasite

Malaria (mal'aria) is Italian for "bad air", as opposed to buon'aria, good air. The disease was originally thought to arise from foul miasmas in the atmosphere, so the quality of the air was the key to defining it. The malarial plasmodium, which in fact

Art · Observations · Humour

I Usually Pictured Bacchus as a Hideous Fatty, More Like the Hedonism Bot from Futurama Than a Youth of Idyllic Beauty

I usually pictured Bacchus as a hideous fatty, more like the Hedonism Bot from Futurama than a youth of idyllic beauty. Tullio Lombardo's Bacchus and Ariadne force one to revise the customary view of the ancient god, who here truly looks divine. In this work by Lombardo one

Books · Society · People · Saint Petersburg

The arrest of Stenich in November 1937 and his execution on 21 September 1938

The Soviet translator Natalya Leonidovna Trauberg on the Russian poet and translator Valentin Stenich, who made the first Russian translation of "Ulysses" and was shot in 1938:. "Nobody was particularly surprised about him [that he would be arrested], because in 1937 they were locking up people who,

NB! · Books · People

Valentin Stenich (1897–1938)

Hand-drawn frame: a green horned creature in a red jacket stands in hilly country beside a figure in a cream fur coat leaning on a stick planted in the snow.

NB! · Archive

Animation still: a green creature in a red jacket and a figure in a fur coat

Books · Observations

Sinbad’s Many Names in James Joyce’s “Ulysses”, Translated by Khoruzhy and Khinkis

He reposes. He has voyaged. And with him? Sinbad the Sailor and Tinbad the Tailor and Jinbad the Jailer and Whinbad the Whaler and Ninbad the Nailer and Finbad the Failer and Binbad the Bailer and Pinbad the Pailer and Xinbad the Phthailer. When? Going to a dark bed there

Archaeology · Architecture · Faith · Rome

Tarquinius Priscus, the Temple of Jupiter and the legend of how the Capitol got its name

According to legend, during the war with the Sabines the Roman king Tarquinius Priscus vowed to build in Rome a temple in honour of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva: by ancient Etruscan tradition, the sanctuary of the principal divine triad was raised on the dominant height of the city. Of course,

A woman in a turquoise satin cloak and a flowered hat walks two white borzoi dogs wearing pearl decorations on their necks.

NB! · Archive · Observations · Mores · New York · Pop Culture

The New York Times publishes Bill Cunningham's photographs of New York Easter parades from 1997 to 2007

The NYTimes has recently published a selection of Bill Cunningham's photographs of New York's Easter parades, which ran in Sunday Styles from 1997 to 2007. A time to which one would truly like to return 🌧💖

Art · Observations · Mores · Saint Petersburg

The legend of the Saint Petersburg origin of Russisch Brot and a painting of 1615

I do not know which came first, the roast chicken or the boiled egg, but pastry in the shape of letters is the very same alphabet biscuit from your childhood breakfasts, only larger and richer. In Germany today such baked goods are sometimes called Russisch Brot, supposedly because the Dresden

Alexandr Radayev