Archive · Books · Observations · Science

Hannah Arendt and Karl Jaspers corresponded from 1926 for forty years, their long conversation at a distance interrupted only by Arendt's emigration

Hannah Arendt and Karl Jaspers corresponded from 1926 for forty years, their long conversation at a distance interrupted only by Arendt's emigration. Pupil and teacher became, over the years, not merely each other's correspondents but good friends, and their families even grew close. Their correspondence is

London · Monarchies · Observations · Society

Night rehearsals in London for the coronation parade with tens of thousands of participants

At night, military rehearsals for the parade and the coronation processions of the various branches of the armed forces are in full swing in London, with tens of thousands of people taking part. The English know how to prize their heritage and traditions regardless of fashion, and to place their

NB! · Observations

First of All: Do Not Lose Heart

Monarchies · Observations · Mores · Society · People

African origin of King Offa is inferred from a coin with an Arabic inscription

Offa (757-796), a Black King of Anglo-Saxon England? This time it is the dynasty of the first kings of the Angles that has been subjected to blackwashing. In particular, the most powerful ruler of Scandinavia and northern Germany, the son of Wermund and grandson of Wihtlæg, a descendant

NB! · Monarchies · Observations · Humour

What, in your view, should a person look like who wishes to sample a chocolate Charles III?

NB! · Observations · Mores

Everyone has a close one who pulls them up and a friend who pulls them down; the main thing is not to mix them up

Archaeology · Museums · Observations · Heritage

The Shigir Idol, over 12,000 years old, in the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore

The greatest impression made on me in Yekaterinburg was by the Shigir Idol in the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore. This enormous wooden effigy, 3.4 metres tall, is the oldest wooden sculpture ever found. What surprises me most is how little known this monument is, though it is

Archive · Monarchies · Observations · Mores

To Mummy and Papa, in memory of their Coronation, from Lilibet (by hand)

A note from the eleven-year-old Princess Lilibet, the future Queen Elizabeth II, to her parents, George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, on the day of their coronation, 12 May 1937. The loss of simplicity, naivety and spontaneity is, after all, one of the most significant losses mankind suffered

NB! · Cinema · Observations · Humour

Everyone will remember a VGIK student like this

Architecture · Moscow · Observations

Elephant-shaped house beside the road from Moscow to Chekhov is offered for rent

Anyone who has ever driven from Moscow to Chekhov cannot have failed to notice, to the right of the highway, a house in the shape of an elephant. Thanks to Avito I learned that this striking piece of real estate is available to rent, and at a very reasonable price

Observations · Pop Culture · Ethnography

Folk motifs, embroidery and kokoshniks in Ulyana's Haute Couture collections

Today the most significant Russian fashion house, Ulyana Sergeenko, celebrates its 12th birthday with the release of its 21st couture collection. I confess my love for Ulyana! No one knows how to present folk elements so artfully that evening gowns look not like historical costumes from a ball of 1903,

Books · Observations

Don Quixote of La Mancha and his epithet the Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance

Gentlemen, tell me: have you ever considered that those decorated in war are far fewer than those who perished? Don Quixote of La Mancha, Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance