NB! · Faith · Observations · Society

The Pope calls for the debts of poor countries to be forgiven, paradoxically supposing that this is a way of helping their development

The Pope calls for the debts of poor countries to be forgiven, paradoxically supposing that this is a way of helping their development. But economics, as it happens, is arranged a little differently

Archive · Books · Observations · Society

Once it was resonant, like a bird, Like a spring it flowed and rang out, As though it wished to pour itself out, all radiance, Along the steel wire

And then, like a distant sobbing, Like a farewell to the soul's joy, It began to sound, full of repentance, And vanished in some unknown backwoods. It perished in some wild field, Buried under a merciless blizzard... And my soul cries out in pain, And my black telephone

NB! · Archive · Observations · Paris

Cover of "La Vie parisienne", 1923

Cover of La Vie parisienne, 1923. I can say that over a hundred years the content of Parisian life has changed considerably

NB! · Books · Observations · Humour

For a second I thought printed books had acquired a spellchecker, like Word

Books · Observations

A reflection on happiness as harmony with nature, prudent desires and living in the present

Plato defined happiness very well when he said that it is ever being born again but never exists: and so it is better to await it than to seek it. Do you wish to be happy? Learn but one thing: to desire prudently. The surest means of being happy is

NB! · Observations · Humour

A reptiloid she may be, but a beloved one, and she is sorely missed

NB! · Books · Observations · Humour

How tiresome this windbag Foucault is, and yet they keep publishing him

Faith · Art · Books · Museums · Observations · Paris

"It is very hard for people to renounce the expediency of everything that happens in the world, and therefore hard to understand innocent suffering

"It is very hard for people to renounce the expediency of everything that happens in the world, and therefore hard to understand innocent suffering. To many it seems that if there is innocent suffering, then there is no God, no divine providence. This is one of the arguments of

NB! · Faith · Observations

Would You Like to Talk About God?

NB! · Archaeology · Books · Observations

On seeing an image of Osiris protected by the Mehen serpent, which destroys the enemies of Light by beheading them, I recalled Saint-Exupéry's "The Little Prince" and the snake that swallowed an elephant

NB! · Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Heritage · Paris · Humour

Can Sobyanin Be Summoned to Versailles?

Can Sobyanin be summoned to Versailles? If only for the duration of the repairs to the Parterre du Midi and the Parterre du Nord

NB! · Architecture · Observations · Heritage · Paris