Archive · Faith · Art · Observations · Humour

Hansken and other known elephants in Europe, and doubts over six elephants in Mantua

A festive float drawn by three pairs of elephants at Mantua, during the celebrations in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1640. Most probably we are looking at a diverting fantasy, for elephants in the Europe of that age could be counted on the fingers of one hand. To

NB! · Cinema · Observations · Humour

Tarkovsky to the Rescue, Lads!

NB! · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour

Mistook a photograph of the 1989 Pink Floyd concert in Venice for the invasion of Earth by the forces of Baron Harkonnen

Mistook a photograph of the 1989 Pink Floyd concert in Venice for the invasion of Earth by the forces of Baron Harkonnen. Thank God, we got off lightly this time

NB! · Paris · Pop Culture · Society Pages · Humour

Brigitte Macron and Anna Wintour before the Stella McCartney show

Brigitte Macron and Anna Wintour before the Stella McCartney show. And the unseen presence of Candace Owens

Archive · Pop Culture · Humour

Crossword clues for the across entries, numbers 3 to 29

The Brilliant "Void Crossword" by Anton Olshvang, 1999. Across: 3. A gradual advance 8. Work without a contract 11. The part of a pencil that is not the lead 12. A simulation of good health 13. A superfluous plant in the house 14. An intention repeated many times

NB! · Faith · The East · Monarchies · Society · Humour

Something of interest about the Western powers and their tender concern for Eastern Europe and Christian civilisation: in the nineteenth century the Russian Empire could several times have wrested Constantinople from the Ottomans, but France and Great Bri

NB! · Cinema · Paris · Pop Culture · Humour

Catherine Deneuve Turns Up at the César Awards in a Monkey-Fur Coat?

Catherine Deneuve turned up at the César Awards ceremony in a monkey-fur coat? So she did kill her husband in «The Brand New Testament» after all?

NB! · Art · Pop Culture · Humour

Timothée Chalamet and Antoine Vollon's "A Piece of Butter"

NB! · Art · Museums · Nature · Humour

A French Soup Tureen of the Sixteenth Century in the Shape of a Cauliflower

A French soup tureen of the sixteenth century in the shape of a cauliflower. With its own snail, naturally. This is France, after all

NB! · Architecture · Observations · Humour

Yet Another Day of Disapproval of Skyscrapers in Particular and of Modern Architecture in General

A painting of a young man lying on the ground in a forest, surrounded by half-naked women with sticks and a sickle, with a leopard on the left.

Art · Humour

Émile Lévy’s painting “The Death of Orpheus”, painted in 1866

"Orpheus is dead!" "What?" "Wake up, I'm telling you" The Death of Orpheus. Émile Lévy, 1866

In a black-and-white photograph, a man in a cap follows a plough drawn by two oxen, with the columns of a ruined temple on the hill behind under a cloudy sky.

Archive · Architecture · The East · Observations · Heritage · Humour

A farmer ploughs a field with oxen beside the ruins of an ancient temple

A farmer ploughs his field beside the 1st-century Temple of Zeus at Aizanoi, Turkey, 1970. And no tourists disturb his contemplation of this magnificence