Archive · Observations · Humour
I Don't Like Lenin
I don't like Lenin. I just don't. Not a stylish sort of fellow. I can only express my respects to the boy Tolka. The children's magazine “Yozh” [Hedgehog], January 1930
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Art · Books · Observations
The Rescue by the Eagles, Michael Hague's illustration for the 1987 edition of The Hobbit
Perhaps one of my very favourite book illustrations of all time
Books · Nature
Nikolay Gumilev’s poem “The Giraffe” about an exquisite giraffe on Lake Chad
Today, I see, your gaze is especially sad, And your arms especially thin as you clasp your knees. Listen: far, far away, on Lake Chad, An exquisite giraffe wanders. Graceful slenderness and languor are granted to him, And his hide is adorned with a magical pattern, With which only the
NB! · The East · Art · Nature
Depiction of a tiger by an unknown South Asian artist of the early 19th century
The Sad Tiger. Unknown South Asian artist, 1815 to the 1820s.
NB! · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour
A trip to the Russian Post Office taught me that in 2016 and 2017 25-rouble coins were issued to mark the World Cup, bearing the trophy, the tournament emblem and Zabivaka the wolf, and that they are worth anything from 50 to 7,500 roubles depending on ra
A trip to the Russian Post Office taught me that in 2016 and 2017 25-rouble coins were issued to mark the World Cup, bearing the trophy, the tournament emblem and Zabivaka the wolf, and that they are worth anything from 50 to 7,500 roubles depending on rarity. In
NB!
Vintage fashion doll in a red dress and coat with a fur collar
Cinema · Pop Culture · Humour
Barbie's Friend Midge, 1962 Edition
Barbie's friend Midge, 1962 edition. Midge was conceived as a less flamboyant version of Barbie, with lighter make-up, less showy clothes and the looks of a woman not quite so grown-up as Barbie. The outcome is what you see here: a dame with pursed lips and
NB! · Humour
Isn't It a Little Early for You to Be Skiing, Young Man?
NB! · Geography · Moscow · Nature
Moscow Weather in the Hottest Summer in the History of Observations
NB! · Observations · Education
A small private joy: no school or university to get up for today
NB! · Faith · Observations
The Uniform of the Vatican's Swiss Guard in the Seventeenth and Twenty-First Centuries
Architecture · Art · Cinema · London · Humour
Sculptor Alexander Sederbach created the figure of Diogenes for Lacock Abbey in 1755
Does the statue of Gandalf in an English abbey ring no bells? In fact, this is how in 1755 the sculptor Alexander Cederbach envisaged the figure of Diogenes of Sinope for the adornment of Lacock Abbey in the county of Wiltshire in England. The lantern in the sage's