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Month: August 2013

A Breakfast Poem

 Despite Englishmen themselves not eating porridge for breakfast, I’m reviving this old tradition in my house. I’ve stopped drinking coffee at home “for reasons strong enough for me”, although I cannot even begin to explain – I merely don’t want any coffee. But I religiously drink tea instead. So I thought this could be a fitting quote for the start of the day. 
 

 

“When dress’d, I to the yard repair,

And breakfast on the pure, fresh air:

But though this choice Castalian cheer

Keeps both the head and stomach clear,

For reasons strong enough with me,

I mend the meal with toast and tea.

Now air and fame, as poets sing,

Are both the same, the self-same thing:

Yet bards are not cameleons quite,

And heavenly food is very light;

Who ever dined or supp’d on fame,

And went to bed upon a name?”

 

A stanza from “The Pleasures Of Imprisonment” By James Montgomery.

 
More breakfast poems: http://www.tastearts.com/breakfast-poem-substantial-meal-by-james-montgomery/

And while I don’t drink any alcohol for
breakfast, this is a photo of a delicious cake
in a cafe in Tallinn castle wall.

The BBC Shopping Centre in Moscow

I was recently near Otradnoe metro station in Moscow’s North when a shopping centre caught my eye. And it did for no other reason than its name. It is called in Russian “торговый центр ВВС”. While ” торговый центр” literally means “shopping centre”, it’s less clear as to the meaning of “BBC”. And I dare say meaning is not the most important thing. The font is. Because the font is almost identical to the one the British Broadcasting Corporation uses.

Seventh Blogiversary

When I started this blog on August 24, 2006 little did I think I would be writing it for so long. It’s been a pleasure, albeit painstaking at times. I’ve written about many things I wanted to write, and still haven’t written about many others. I’ve been saying and trying various things here.

I’ll not make any resolutions, except that I’m happy to have found the readers who are happy to have the blog’s RSS in their bookmarks and to tolerate occasional absences this year. Indeed, I have worked so much this year, both as editor, translator, and interpreter, not to forget tuition, that if I think about it I’ll begin to wonder how I manage to make time for all of this. I’m also making new friends, reuniting with old ones, and even have time to look after my pets!
One thing I did notice over the years is the proof of “when it’s right it just clicks“. We occasionally stir ourselves up to something we might not even need. The good news is that Nature, or God or whatever you prefer to call it, seems to really know better. Moreover, it sometimes refuses to let you have it. No matter how you push it’s just not giving you what you want. If you’re in your wits, you stop doing the same thing in the hope to get a new result. You take time. It may indeed take time to arrive, but when it does, it may take a double check to realise that this is now indeed what you have wanted. Because usually it is exactly that, yet in a different guise. It takes skill, or ingenuity, or intuition to recognise the arrival, that’s why sometimes we miss it entirely. And keep on searching for the form, whereas what we want is the content.
How to know if it’s what you’ve been waiting for? It just clicks. You feel unusually comfortable and at peace. It inspires you. It goes for work, friendships and love relationships, too. I admit that this anniversary I’m the happiest I’ve been since the year I started this blog. Happiness has its bearing on blogging process, as I’ve found myself in the whirlwind of projects and opportunities. Plus, it’s been two years we’ve been trying to slightly redecorate the flat, and I’m good at painting surfaces, so that takes time also.
One thing I know is that I want to continue making the difference that I hope I have made to my readers over the years. And I hope my happiness can spill over from screen into your lives.
With love,
Julia

Me taking about life and science with Igor the Parrot at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, July 2013.

The Causes And the Course of the World War One (1914-1918)

As I taught History this year and had to occasionally revise different topics, I rediscovered SlideShare as a place to find some spectacular presentations on History topics. Admittedly, some are lame, but if you search well enough you may be granted with a few that are just very, very informative.

Russia is going to mark the beginning of the WW1 for the first time in all these years. Lenin concluding a separate peace with Germany at Brest-Litovsk and thesubsequent victory of the Bolsheviks meant that for the next 70-odd years the Great War was called “imperialist” (not that it was not true, in fact) and never “celebrated”. I doubt Russian part in it was studied well because it was the Tsarist Russia’s war effort.

Not wanting to jump on the bandwagon on the year of the centenniary but obviously wanting to participate in some way, the country has joined the “we remember the Great War” movement in 2013. I posted photos from the memorial World War One park in Moscow in June, and most recently MSN Russia posted a collection of colour photos produced at the frontlines of the First World War by the French cameramen of Albert Kahn’s studio.

So, just in case you were forgetting why the conflict had started in the first place, who were the participants, etc., here is a very detailed presentation by Dan Ewert I found on SlideShare. There are over 180 slides packed to the brim with facts, figures, and photos. Overall, it is a great resource, especially if you are high school student or teacher reading this.

A Motivational Bridge In Tallinn, Estonia

Over the last month I visited three different countries. This year, in general, I visited four different countries: France, Estonia, Latvia, and the UK. Scotland, for that matter, is sadly still a part of the UK, otherwise I’d count that as the fifth country. There were many instances of urban climbing (i.e. going up and down staircases in various domes, churches, and towers), park trailing, museum visiting, and I dare not say how many kilometres I thus walked. This doesn’t qualify me for the Olympics yet, but still. I even visited a car show and went camping for the first time in my life.

A whole lot of new experiences. I wouldn’t know where to start telling about any one of them.

Work-wise, I was pleasantly inundated with various translation projects. I’m very pleased to mention that in autumn visitors to the Russian IKEA will be reading my translation of new additions and some collection descriptions. I’ve proved myself over and over again, delivering great work to tight deadlines, which on two occasions I did either on the plane or at the airport.

But I had to give up something, as well, and for a good reason (I hope) it was blogging. I could not possibly log all my peregrinations as they were happening, not least because I did not always have reliable (if any) Internet connection. In the last week I had one of the projects prepared for a launch, which also required effort and time. Either way, the good news is that I am back and ready to show a plenty of photos and share stories.

In the spirit of the abovewritten, let’s start with a video I made in Tallinn. By the Toompea Hill (that houses the Government residence and a few historic monuments, including the Dome Church and St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, reportedly erected on the grave of the Estonian national hero) there is small bridge. Generally speaking, it is more of a lovely feature because the entire river flows by the bridge and doesn’t seem to go under it (unless via a collector). But just look at what fantastic use it has been put! Both rails read a message from the wind, telling you exactly what you need to hear. I admit that since moving back to Russia I have been doing exactly what the wind inscribed on this Tallinn bridge. And just in case it’s a bit difficult to view the video (connection ect.) here is what the wind has to tell the Tallinn visitors.

Do what you like, and like what you do. 
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart. 
Love can sometimes be magic. But magic can sometimes just be an illusion. 
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. 
Whatever you are, be happy.
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.
Be the change that you wish to see in the world. 
Never stop dreaming. 
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken. 

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