NB! · Geography · Maps · Observations · Humour

Next time you hear tales of a successful career, remember this map of the Mediterranean, which very modestly calls itself "The Career of Julius Caesar"

Observations · Humour

Neurogymnastics is trying to write Khrushchev's surname in Polish

Chruszczow, sure you've got it?

NB! · Observations

Still, the Printed Press Has Style

Faith · Cinema · Observations · Rome

I agree with the view that the ostentatious modesty of the papacy, and of Francis's pontificate in particular, turns out, once you start looking into it, to be nothing more than a set of marketing ploys and slogans

The phenomenon is nicely captured in the series “The Young Pope” with Jude Law, in which one of the most important figures in the hierarchy is not a spiritual office at all but something like a PR director

NB! · Observations · New York · Society · Humour

If This Infographic Is to Be Believed, Latino Zoomers Like Kamala Harris No Better Than White Zoomers Do

NB! · Faith · Observations · Society

Biden, the second Catholic US president after Kennedy, attends Pope Francis's funeral

Biden, the second Catholic US president after Kennedy, attended the funeral of Pope Francis. In rather good health, compared with his time in office

Illustration of a man in a dark frock coat seated by a cradle, with a woman sewing and another woman at a window behind him.

NB! · Art · Books · Observations

British artist Angela Barrett and her illustrations for “Anna Karenina”

Illustrations by the British artist Angela Barrett for "Anna Karenina". Better than any screen adaptation

Observations · Society

A scandal has erupted in the Netherlands: the Speaker of the Dutch parliament discussed the partition of Belgium with the French ambassador

A scandal has erupted in the Netherlands: the Speaker of the Dutch parliament discussed the partition of Belgium with the French ambassador. At a dinner with the French ambassador and several MPs, Martin Bosma suggested that dividing Belgium might not be a bad idea. France could have Wallonia, and the

Art · Observations · Humour

In the Difficult Conditions Facing Contemporary Art, We Can Only Place Our Hopes in the Prop-Makers

Quotations from great men

Art · Books · Observations · Society

Anonymous art object of books instead of bricks at Samara Public Library in 2013

In early June 2013, on the 3rd if memory serves, this anonymous art object appeared outside the Samara Public Library. A section of masonry at the base of a column, with books in place of bricks. The object appeared early on Monday morning, and photographs of it quickly spread across

NB! · Art · Museums · Observations · Humour

It seems that the dog with the human gaze, from Georges de La Tour's portrait of an old man in the Berg Museum, deserves a portrait of its own

Cinema · Observations · Society · Humour

Film Academy members must watch all nominees before voting in the final round

Hollywood Tightens the Screws. Film Academy members will be obliged to watch all the films in contention for the awards. It is hard to believe that this had to be enshrined in a special rule. Americans! In the final round of voting, the Academy's electronic voting system will