NB! · Monarchies · Observations · Humour

A Happy Grandfather in a Viking Helmet: King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Delighted as a Child at the Opening of the Viking-Themed Amusement Park Vikingaslav in 2017

A happy grandfather in a Viking helmet: King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, delighted as a child at the opening of the Viking-themed amusement park Vikingaslav in 2017. The Vikings left the historical stage long ago, yet they remain the core of the collective memory of a glorious past

NB! · Art · Museums · Observations · Paris

Sharing with you a rare chance to see the Mona Lisa without a crowd of tourists around her

NB! · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour

Brad Pitt Isn't What He Used to Be

NB! · Observations

Worth Taking

NB! · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour

Helen Mirren in Gzhel, or rather in Delft porcelain, whose characteristic style is a hundred years older than Gzhel painting? It is, of course, for us, the public of the internet, to decide

London · Museums · Observations · Heritage · Humour

The Keeper of Greek and Roman Antiquities at the British Museum earns £66,000–79,000 a year, which in roubles comes to 4.5–5.5 million, or 350,000–450,000 a month

The Keeper of Greek and Roman Antiquities at the British Museum earns £66,000–79,000 a year, which in roubles comes to 4.5–5.5 million, or 350,000–450,000 a month. When you think about it, that is not so very much for a passive-aggressive

Art · Cinema · Observations · Heritage

On Gustav Klimt's birthday, a reminder of the 2015 film "Woman in Gold" with Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds

On Gustav Klimt's birthday, a reminder of the 2015 film "Woman in Gold" with Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds. The plot is based on the story of Maria Altmann, heiress of the Austrian sugar magnate Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, who sued Austria for the return of works

Coming Up · Moscow · Observations · Education

Lecture on how history differs from memory, Pryamaya Rech, Moscow, 19 July

Friends, next Tuesday, 19 July, I am speaking in Moscow. I shall be giving a lecture at the “Pryamaya Rech” lecture hall, on the difference between history and memory, how the two complement each other, and who really shapes our notions of the past. Do come, there are still tickets

Architecture · Moscow · Observations · New York

"What a dreadful building!" I have heard it said more than once of the 2003 business centre on Oruzheyny Lane in Moscow's Tverskoy District (photos 1 and 2)

"What a dreadful building!" I have heard it said more than once of the 2003 business centre on Oruzheyny Lane in Moscow's Tverskoy District (photos 1 and 2). As it happens, I rather like this building by the architect Posokhin. Its style is usually called neo-

Books · Observations

Actually, it is all you can hope for: to be happy for a while, and then to remember it

Philip K. Dick

NB! · Faith · Observations · Pop Culture

Dolce & Gabbana always have the same show theme, but celebrating frescoes and national crafts is one thing, and this clumsy flirting with church culture quite another

Watercolour landscape with a wooded slope, a glacier in the foreground and rocky peaks under a cloudy sky.

NB! · Archive · Geography · Art · Observations · People

William Turner's sketches from his 1802 journey through the Swiss Alps

William Turner's sketches made on his journey through the Swiss Alps in 1802. I should like to compare our impressions and visit the place in 2022.