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Matryona Rasputina, Newton's forecast, Notre-Dame's bells and other topics in the digest

I have put together a digest of the most interesting posts that appeared on the channel in September:. 📌 The story of the circus performer Matryona Rasputina, daughter of Grigory Rasputin 📌 666 degrees Celsius. The forecast of the end of the world by Isaac Newton 📌 The financing of the 1917 revolution

Architecture · Observations · New York · Society · Humour

Trump accuses UN of embezzling billions in Secretariat building renovation

Trump has berated the UN for pocketing several billion on renovating the very building that houses its Secretariat. One has the feeling that the embezzlement of repair funds is the most elementary corruption practice in the world, running from the endless levies at school for redecorating a classroom to, as

Coming Up · New York · Pop Culture

Reeves to make his Broadway debut in “Waiting for Godot” on 28 September

Keanu Reeves makes his Broadway debut in Waiting for Godot. On 28 September, Jamie Lloyd's production of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot will open at the Hudson Theatre on Broadway. Although Reeves first appeared on the stage as long ago as 1985, playing Mercutio in Romeo

Art · Observations · New York · Pop Culture · Humour

Christie’s closes its digital art and NFT department amid declining interest

Christie's is closing its digital art and NFT department. One rather suspects they were the only ones left who remembered what it was. The decision, well, who would have thought? is connected both with the global slump in interest in NFTs and with broader shifts in the art

Faith · London · Observations · New York · Society

Growing number of conversions to Orthodoxy among Americans and the English

Not only America but England too is turning its gaze to Orthodoxy, which means the programme to destroy the Christian religion in the Anglo-Saxon world has misfired. Remember the episode of "The Simpsons" in which Homer and Bart become Catholics, and Marge frets that they will make

Open book with a table of the populations of London, New York, Paris, Berlin, Saint Petersburg and Moscow for 1800 to 1901.

Geography · London · Moscow · New York · Society · Paris · Saint Petersburg

Population growth of Moscow and Saint Petersburg from 1800 to 1900

Population of London, New York, Paris, Berlin, Saint Petersburg and Moscow in 1800, 1830, 1871 and 1900. Moscow: 250,000 - 305,000 - 601,000 - 1,175,000 Saint Petersburg: 220,000 - 442,000 - 668,000 - 1,418,000

Heritage · Science · New York · Society · Pop Culture

Niger opens inquiry into export of Martian meteorite sold at Sotheby’s for $4.3 million

In July, a Martian meteorite found in Niger in 2023 was sold at Sotheby's in New York for $4.3 million. The stone, known as NWA 16788, became the largest Martian meteorite ever sold at auction. Only the other day, Niger opened an investigation into the circumstances of

NB! · Archive · Architecture · Science · New York

A Nuclear-Safe Manhattan Beneath New York, Proposed by Oscar Newman in 1969

Art · New York · Society

Christie’s sums up the first half of 2025: revenue of $2.1bn, in line with the same period last year

Christie’s has sums up the first half of 2025: revenue came to $2.1bn, in line with the same period last year. As Christie’s chief executive Alex Rotter noted, the steady results were driven by increased demand for the art of the 20th and 21st centuries. The most

In the Press · Art · New York

The Art Newspaper publishes a review of the results of the New York contemporary art sales

The Art Newspaper has published a review of the results of the New York contemporary art sales. According to the analytics platform Pi-eX, the combined revenue of Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips came to $1.27 billion, 8% less than last year. The star lot of the season,

NB! · Aristocracy · Architecture · Art · Museums · New York

Magnificent woodwork in the studiolo from the Ducal Palace at Gubbio, created for Duke Federico da Montefeltro around 1480

Magnificent woodwork in the studiolo from the Ducal Palace at Gubbio, created for Duke Federico da Montefeltro around 1480. In the nineteenth century the studiolo was bought by a German art dealer and taken to Venice. In 1939 it was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum

In the Press · Cinema · New York

Top ten of the 100 best films of the 21st century in a poll of over 500 experts

The 10 Best Films of the 21st Century According to The New York Times:. 1. Parasite, 2019, directed by Bong Joon Ho 2. Mulholland Drive, 2001, directed by David Lynch 3. There Will Be Blood, 2007, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson 4. In the Mood for Love, 2000, directed by