NB! · Books · Pop Culture · Humour

Neil Gaiman warns at once that his official Tumblr is no better than the unofficial ones

NB! · Art · Cinema · Pop Culture

What Does the USSR of the Late 1980s Have in Common with (Unexpectedly!) French Painting?

What does the USSR of the late 1980s have in common with (unexpectedly!) French painting? The colour palette: paintings by Henri Matisse and André Derain formed the basis of the colour palette of the Kinopoisk series “Patient Zero”. It turns out that the patterns from Matisse’s canvases fit the

Architecture · Geography · Cinema · Pop Culture

Glenfinnan Viaduct of 1897 in Scotland, crossed by the Hogwarts Express

The Glenfinnan Viaduct, over which the Hogwarts Express runs in the Harry Potter films, stands in the county of Inverness in Scotland and was built in 1897. The viaduct consists of 21 arched spans, each arch 15 metres wide. Nowadays a historic train, hauled by the steam locomotive Black Five,

Faith · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour

Photo of Pope Francis dealing with a fault in his old Fiat

Just add holy water! This photograph might serve as the finest allegory of the pontificate of Francis I: His Holiness, in person, attempting to get to the bottom of a fault in his elderly Fiat. Should anyone entertain doubts, apart from the Roman Pontiff the same white habit is worn

NB! · London · Monarchies · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour

If anyone is desperate to give me a present but has no idea what: this is what the Swatch watch with Elizabeth II and a well-fed corgi looks like

NB! · Architecture · Pop Culture · Humour

Monument to a Dementor in Vezio, Italy, on the shore of Lake Como

NB! · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour

Balenciaga, as ever, at the top of its form

NB! · Education · Pop Culture · Humour

The Very Form Teacher Who Promised to Help You in the Unified State Exam

Medieval miniature of a seated man raising his hand, a woman beside him, and a brazier with fire on the left.

NB! · Pop Culture · Humour

A medieval miniature compared with the character Eric Cartman

Further proof that Eric Cartman is a recurring character of world culture. "Mum, I need a poo!"

NB! · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour

Looking at Brigitte Bardot at the annual charity show for artists in need, the 1970 Gala of the Artistes' Union, and I cannot tell whether they simply look alike to me, or whether Angelina Jolie really does resemble the young Brigitte from this angle

NB! · Art · Cinema · Museums · Pop Culture · Rome · Humour

Tony Stark, Captain America: Civil War, 2016, and the Dying Gaul, Capitoline Museums, 230s BC

NB! · Cinema · London · Monarchies · Pop Culture