NB! · Architecture · Faith · Observations · Rome · Humour
The world's most exclusive car park can be seen in a satellite image of the Vatican. The lower part of the Belvedere Courtyard, one of the most famous and significant palaces of the Renaissance, is used as a car park. Every age has its hallmarks
Archive · Cinema · Observations · Nature
Saw this tree and remembered Sofia Coppola's 1999 film "The Virgin Suicides", which we had on cassette, and which, frankly, never gathered dust. One of those films that leaves an impression for life. If you have not seen it, consider this a recommendation from the fireproof
NB! · Observations · Society
Archive · Moscow · Observations
A most interesting photograph from the 1945 Victory Parade. Heroes of the Soviet Union, airmen who took part in the parade. Timofey Melnik took this picture by chance. He simply saw a group of airmen and asked them to stop, but the large group of pilots would not fit into
NB! · Cinema · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour
Cinema · Observations · People
By the way, I know Armand Assante, who was so brilliant as Odysseus in Andrei Konchalovsky's greatest film; he used to be a frequent visitor to our parts, and one could simply walk up to him in a bar and chat in broken English. These days, though, this
Observations · Society
A Belgian farmer came across shells dating from the First World War and suffered burns from the mustard gas they contained. He was fortunate not to have breathed in the gas, and the substance merely soaked slightly into his clothing. Experts say it may take decades before all the shells
Observations · Pop Culture · Rome · Humour
A Ladies' Handbag in the Form of the Trevi Fountain, by Dolce & Gabbana. The only odd thing is that there is no crowd of tourists around it, trying to photograph the fountain
Books · Monarchies · Observations
I liked this politically topical line in Lomonosov's ode on the accession of Peter II to the throne:. Ликуют западны пределы, Предвидя щастие войны. Literal translation The western borders rejoice, Foreseeing the happiness of war. And what follows is good too: Европа ныне восхищенна Внимая смотрит на восток,
NB! · Archive · Monarchies · Observations · Humour
Nicholas II and George V are such card-players, swapping places in identical photographs to confuse everyone around them: the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen of their day. I just can't decide whether this is already "Big Daddy" or still "Two of a Kind: Me
NB! · Faith · Moscow · Observations
Art · Observations · People
The Wild Hunt, 1890. My favourite among the works of the remarkable Bavarian artist Franz von Stuck, incidentally one of Kandinsky's teachers at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. The elongated horizontal canvas, the arrangement of the figures and the dark colours make the picture resemble cave art.