NB! · Art · Observations · Education · Paris · Humour
Voltaire at the École nationale des chartes, or proof that, given a set of eyelash extensions, any dried apricot can pass for a second-hand peach. Though in Russia, I dare say, some criminal case or other might well be opened over such embellishment of one of the national symbols
Cinema · Moscow · Observations · Paris
In Nikita Mikhalkov's film "Five Evenings" there is a shot of one of Moscow's public gardens with exactly the same chairs that are the calling card of the Tuileries Garden in Paris; anyone who has been there even once has a photo in such
NB! · Faith · Observations · People
Art · Observations · Society · Humour
The Piper Comanche shot down by dozens of arrows, fired by North Dakota Indians in protest at the building of an oil pipeline, turns out on an internet search to be the very same single-engine aircraft in which Obama flew over a reservation in Oklahoma and came under fire
NB! · Monarchies · Observations · Humour
Ever noticed how much Louis XV in profile resembles Catherine the Great? In their later years, that is. Had they met in person, they would surely have found each other rather agreeable
Coming Up · Art · Books · Observations
The auction house Bonhams wins back my favour with an exhibition of flowers. These, however, are no ordinary flowers. In the first place, they are made of porcelain: just look at the exquisite delicacy of the work! In the second, they are products of the Vincennes and Sèvres porcelain manufactories.
Art · Observations · Mores · Humour
Thanks to Gesina ter Borch, an artist of the Dutch Golden Age, for an idea on how to save on a pram. Gesina drew the woman with two children in a carrying basket in 1651, when she herself was about 20 years old. Own up, whom did these realities of
Observations · Mores · Society · Paris · Humour
Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris with newly sprouted presidential ambitions, signs a crab's shell. She writes: Vive La France! At least it is not a half-eaten cutlet, that is, a steak haché (if you ask a waiter in France for a cutlet, and the word really was
NB! · Art · Observations · Ethnography
I like how folk motifs are appearing in art once more. Works by Anna Samoylova from the series “Kuda det' volyu devich'yu” [“What to Do with a Maiden's Freedom”]. I do hope the Abramtsevo of the third millennium is not long in coming
Moscow · Observations · Mores
Dropped into the Turkish bistro Mini Turkish Spot on Tverskaya and was pleasantly surprised to find, by the entrance, some splendid antique chairs by the Thonet Brothers. I even know where they were bought, an excellent choice. There was a time when Thonet bentwood furniture stood in almost every home,
Archaeology · Observations · Humour
Don't even think of trying to escape. A child's potty of the 6th century BC, found in Athens. It is odd that this ingenious model is not manufactured today, but it does make plain the thesis that in Ancient Greece literally everything was invented, and that
NB! · Geography · Maps · Observations
Sometimes we live in the grip of delusions. Yes, in reality the extent of the African continent from west to east is far closer to that of Russia than world maps would have us believe