Observations · Society · People · Humour

The Prime Minister of Singapore in the cabin of an economy-class aircraft, travelling on official business by low-cost carrier

The Prime Minister of Singapore in the cabin of an economy-class aircraft, travelling on official business by low-cost carrier. On the one hand, we understand that Lawrence Wong belongs to those politicians who consider themselves representatives of the people rather than rulers of the people. On the other

NB! · Observations

Sad, but true

NB! · Observations

Colleagues, can anyone explain what is going on in this photograph?

NB! · Observations

I Wish You All a Sense of Proportion

NB! · Museums · Observations · Humour

Whenever I see sedan chairs in museums, that European variety of the palanquin, a status symbol of urban transport in the form of an elegant little cabin with a seat, carried on two poles, I always recall the cartoon of the crash test for a sedan

Whenever I see sedan chairs in museums, that European variety of the palanquin, a status symbol of urban transport in the form of an elegant little cabin with a seat, carried on two poles, I always recall the cartoon of the crash test for a sedan. Such is my dusty

A city street with the white Gothic facade of the TsUM building, partly covered by scaffolding, and pedestrians on the pavement.

NB! · Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Heritage · Humour

The TsUM building regains its historic eggshell colour

The façade of TsUM is being restored to its historic eggshell colour. Our Gothic castle no longer looks like Minas Morgul and is coming to resemble the stronghold of Minas Tirith. Farewell, soot of the Boulevard Ring

NB! · Archaeology · Observations · Humour

Tourist discovers 1,700-year-old Roman sarcophagus in use at a Bulgarian bar

Tourist discovers 1,700-year-old Roman sarcophagus in use at a Bulgarian bar. Ah, those Balkans.

NB! · Cinema · Moscow · Observations · Society Pages

"Anora" has premiered at the Khudozhestvenny, and I hope the film gets a wide release too

"Anora" has premiered at the Khudozhestvenny, and I hope the film gets a wide release too. Mark Eidelshtein is excellent, Mikey Madison plays very well, and Yura Borisov is not bad either. The screenplay does not dazzle, though the direction is up to standard, and it would be

The East · Books · Observations

Review of Han Kang’s novel “The Vegetarian” and the heroine’s Mongolian spot

Another tick in the list of Nobel laureates' books read. Russian-speaking readers could already make the acquaintance of the South Korean writer Han Kang a few years ago: two novels by this year's Nobel laureate have been published in Russia, "The Vegetarian" and "

Art · Madrid · Monarchies · Observations

Goya's portrait of Queen Maria Luisa of Parma in the Royal Palace of Madrid

Queen María Luisa of Parma of Spain, portrayed in this picture in court dress and an oriental headdress, was extremely pleased with Goya's work. She even praised him in her letters. She came to the studio tirelessly to admire how the portrait was progressing. When he finished, the

Archive · Museums · Observations · Paris · Pop Culture

The Galerie Dior presents a retrospective of the iconic suit, with the Bar jacket from the 1947 collection, for which Christian Dior changed the shape of the mannequin for the first time, achieving a feminine silhouette that became one of the most recogni

The Bar jacket has appeared in every Dior collection, but on this occasion the House's archive invites us to see how the garment changed under successive creative directors: Yves Saint Laurent's Sultan dress of 1958, Marc Bohan's white dress with a black hat of

NB! · Books · Observations

The Prime Minister of Singapore in the cabin of an economy-class aircraft, travelling on official business by low-cost carrier

Sad, but true

Colleagues, can anyone explain what is going on in this photograph?

I Wish You All a Sense of Proportion

Whenever I see sedan chairs in museums, that European variety of the palanquin, a status symbol of urban transport in the form of an elegant little cabin with a seat, carried on two poles, I always recall the cartoon of the crash test for a sedan

The TsUM building regains its historic eggshell colour

Tourist discovers 1,700-year-old Roman sarcophagus in use at a Bulgarian bar

"Anora" has premiered at the Khudozhestvenny, and I hope the film gets a wide release too

Review of Han Kang’s novel “The Vegetarian” and the heroine’s Mongolian spot

Goya's portrait of Queen Maria Luisa of Parma in the Royal Palace of Madrid

The Galerie Dior presents a retrospective of the iconic suit, with the Bar jacket from the 1947 collection, for which Christian Dior changed the shape of the mannequin for the first time, achieving a feminine silhouette that became one of the most recogni

Autumn is essentially the same goddess as spring; she has simply come to collect her flowers