Books · Observations · Humour

The myth of princesses punished for doubting the Muses' talents, and the role of Zeus

The Nine Daughters of King Pierus of Macedonia Are Turned into Birds After Losing a Singing Contest to the Muses. A textbook case of the punishment not fitting the offence: so they doubted the talents of the Muses, what of it? The Muses, incidentally, might have refrained from swaggering about

Old engraving of a creature with a lion's body, a bearded human head and a tail ending in a tuft of spines.

Observations · Humour

The word polyamory joins Greek and Latin roots, which linguistics calls a barbarism

Polyamory ought not to exist: it is simply unnatural and even revolting. Poly is a Greek prefix, from the word πολύς, while amor is a Latin root. So kindly choose: either polyphilia, with Greek morphemes only, or multiamory, with Latin ones only. And such an ugly mingling, a hybridisation of

Geography · Observations · Society

Russian towns named after Communist figures, including Togliatti

Doesn't it strike you as strange that in a country which has renamed the cities named after Lenin and Stalin there still remains a city named after Togliatti, a third-rate historical figure from the Communist Party of Italy? True, not every settlement named after a Communist functionary

NB! · Observations · Mores

One of my strongest childhood memories is the winter walk to kindergarten

One of my strongest childhood memories is the winter walk to kindergarten. A blizzard outside, for some reason always, and the sun not yet up. The cold does not pierce you, it merely pinches your cheeks. Mother and I crunch through the snowdrifts. I am dressed like Napoleon in Russia.

Faith · Observations

Others' Sins Are None of Your Business

Others' sins are none of your business. Sit and weep for your own sins. Venerable Gabriel Urgebadze

Books · Observations · Society

Nothing illustrates a passage from Jean Raspail's "The Camp of the Saints", one of the major books of the twentieth century, as precisely as these pictures from Brussels in 2021, in which an anonymous homeless man fries an omelette on the Eternal Flame at

Your universe means nothing to them. They will not try to understand. They will grow tired, they will be cold, and they will light a fire at your beautiful oak door ― Jean Raspail. These photographs spread across social media at the time amid a great wave of discussion about illegal

Coming Up · Observations · Education · Society

Once, at a job interview, I was asked how I understood the phrase "from dream to realisation is but one step"

Once, at a job interview, I was asked how I understood the phrase "from dream to realisation is but one step". To be honest, I don't understand it at all. It is one step from dream to realisation only if, say, your dream is to get

Museums · Observations · Society

Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam warns it will close without additional government funding

Following the Louvre, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has announced financial difficulties. In a recently published press release, the administration stated that the museum will close unless the Dutch government allocates additional funds for renovation. According to the statement, the authorities are "failing to keep the promise"