Observations · Heritage · Society · Nature
On the news of three days ago that the 198-year-old Turgenev Oak has been struck off the European “Tree of the Year” competition. Every outlet illustrates the report with a photograph of the fallen tree. The oak, planted by Turgenev, was damaged in a storm in November 2021.
NB! · Archaeology · Art · London · Museums
Odysseus and the Sirens. Red-figure stamnos, 480s BC. Collection of the British Museum
Books
Wild honey smells of open space, Dust, of a sunbeam, A girl's mouth, of the violet, And gold, of nothing at all. Mignonette smells of water, And love, of an apple. But we have learned for ever That blood smells only of blood… Literal translation And in vain
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NB! · Archive · Art · Ethnography
Czech carnival in Olomouc, 1968. Photograph by Josef Koudelka; the picture is titled Exiles
NB! · Art
Faith · Society · People · Rome
Pope Francis visited the Russian Embassy in Rome to express personally his concern over events in Ukraine. The Pope usually receives ambassadors and heads of state in the Vatican, so his stepping outside its walls shows the degree of his alarm at the situation that has arisen. Vatican spokesman Matteo
NB! · Monarchies · Society · People
NB! · Observations · Society · Humour
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Geography · Maps · Observations · Society
A map showing the percentage of gas imported by European countries from Russia is rather old, dating from 2006, and Nord Stream is not yet on it, but it is nonetheless highly picturesque. More up-to-date information can be found in a graphic by The Economist. France depends on
NB! · Geography · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour