Books · Observations · Mores · Society

US Civil War veterans' pensions were paid to widows and a daughter until 2020

I remember reading in a book about the American Civil War (1861-1865) that the state went on paying war pensions right up to the 1960s. Not a bad lag of a hundred years. But quite recently, in another book, written in the 1990s, I came across an interview with

Observations · Education · Humour

Why no commas are needed in New Year wishes using the imperative mood

In case anyone else fancies making a New Year card in the spirit of "Pandemic go away! Wealth come!", no commas are needed, since names of persons and things used with the imperative in the sense of a wish ("let") are not forms of address. By

Faith · Science · Society

Texas Bishop Joseph Strickland signs open letter against vaccination

An open letter by Catholic bishops against vaccination has appeared online. Of course, the letter of 12 December bears the signatures of only a small group of far-right Catholic figures, yet not only the church leadership but perhaps even some secular authorities ought to look closely at this démarche.

NB! · Monarchies · Observations · People

Incidentally, in June Prince Philip Mountbatten will turn 100

Archive · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour

I never expected to bump into Nadezhda Babkina on Telegram, having last seen her on a bottle of mango-flavoured Pepsi in the company of Timothée

I never expected to bump into Nadezhda Babkina on Telegram, having last seen her on a bottle of mango-flavoured Pepsi in the company of Timothée. So far Babkina has only given RTVI an interview about some denunciations. I am certain that this time nobody asked her about so little-

NB! · Books · Observations

Nadya Obolentseva has asked an interesting question, but to my mind the choice is obvious

Nadya Obolentseva has asked an interesting question, but to my mind the choice is obvious. P.S. Both books go beautifully with the Hermès tea service ❤️

NB! · Coming Up · Art · Museums · New York

The Museum of Modern Art in New York is showing what is probably the largest private collection of graphic art from the 1920s and 30s, including classics of the Soviet poster, outstanding women artists of the early century, the graphic art of post-revolut

NB! · Monarchies · Science

The Horseless Carriage, 1649

The horseless carriage, 1649. England. A self-propelled machine driven by clockwork. Devices of this kind were known at the courts of many European monarchs; in his time Peter I used something akin to such a machine in his mock processions.

NB! · Humour

When you have quite literally dressed to the nines in anticipation of meeting a proper fellow with a great deal of money

Coming Up · Art · Museums · Observations · Education

The Moscow Art Theatre Museum, together with the School of Historical Sciences and the School of Design of the Higher School of Economics, has prepared a multimedia online exhibition about Stanislavsky's legendary 1909 production of Turgenev's "A Month in

The exhibition is a journey through interactive locations recreated from the original sketches of Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, who was the designer of the 1909 production. And one can not only wander about the display but also interact with the principal characters of the play, and if not father children with them,

Architecture · Art · Moscow

The Fire of Moscow in 1812, by the Russian artist of Polish origin Viktor Mazurovsky

The Fire of Moscow in 1812, by the Russian artist of Polish origin Viktor Mazurovsky. Note the walls of the Kremlin, which are clearly red here. If so, this is an error on the part of the painter, for in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the Kremlin walls and towers

NB! · Observations

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