I failed to think of an illustration to this page.
Paul Arden, Whatever you think think the opposite
Quotes: Paul Arden on Achievement of Failure
Author: Julia Shuvalova
Julia Shuvalova is the author of Los Cuadernos de Julia blog. She is an author of several books, a translator, and a Foreign Languages tutor. She lives and works in Moscow, Russia.
Winter!.. The Countryman, Enchanted…
Those who follow my Flickr have already learnt that I fulfilled my long-term dream of going out to ski. Frankly, I don’t think I’d get as much pleasure from skiing indoors at the Trafford Centre, so I’m glad I waited for so long. While skiing, I noted two things. First, I haven’t lost the skill; better yet I never fell! Second, as Paul McKenna teaches (and one would have to fight hard to disagree), we are already richer than we think we are. It seriously doesn’t matter that I fulfilled my dream in my native town and not somewhere in the Alps. The ability to savour the experience has nothing to do with the price of the experience.
Quotes: Francois Boucher on Woman’s Body
We must not think of a woman’s body as a covering for bones; it should not be fat though it should certainly be rounded; it should be firm and slender without thereby appearing to be thin.
F. Boucher, a French painter
Want to know more about F. Boucher’s paintings? Check out Religious Paintings by François Boucher.
Quotes: Aldous Huxley on Advertising
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| A BMW ad, courtesy of MyBroadband.co.za |
Any trace of literariness in an advertisement is fatal to its success. Advertisement writers may not be lyrical, or obscure, or in any way esoteric. They must be universally intelligible. A good advertisement has this in common with drama and oratory, that it must be immediately comprehensible and directly moving.
Aldous Huxley, Essays Old and New.
Uncanny Coincidences (Domodedovo Airport Ruins)
About the time I was writing the post quoting the passage on where all ruin starts, a terrorist attack was carried out in Domodedovo airport in the south of Moscow. To think about it, between 7th and 11th I visited England briefly, and now this… Apparently, British, German and Bulgarian citizens are among either victims or casualties, and I pass my condolences to them and their families, as well as to Russian and Independent Countries citizens who suffered in the tragedy. Today is the day of St Tatiana, the patron saint of the Moscow State University that I graduated from, however the traditional annual celebrations have been cancelled by the head of the University.
People are asking the usual “what can we do about this?” and, symptomatically, they don’t know the answer. I think the answer lies deep within ourselves. Over the past century, especially its second half, we’ve got so used to the idea that the State is the panacea against every evil that it will probably take another world war to shake us out of this frame of mind. Even for a second, I don’t deny the State its power; but as I wrote before, we expect too many rights for ourselves which we are reluctant to trade for any duties.
The attack was reportedly carried out by someone from the Caucasus region, and this may well result in a worsened attitude to those “foreigners” who come to work in Moscow. Right now in Moscow the sentiment against the so-called Gastarbeitern from the former Soviet republics (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azebaijan) is largely negative. The only problem is, in my district in particular these Gastarbeitern sweep the streets, clean the snow and dirt, and sometimes offer a welcome difference in not drinking alcohol or debauching. Muscovites argue that the State should provide workplaces for its citizens (i.e. Russians), first and foremost. But, looking at my fellow people, I cannot see any single one of them taking a broom in their hands and going to clean the yard. They think the State should provide for this; so the State provides those who are willing to work.
If there is something unnatural or illogical about the above situation, does it have to do with the State who is fulfilling its duty to provide for us; with people who come to Moscow to make money which they cannot do in their countries; or with Muscovites who want to be done to?
Speaking of airports, if the entire police force is sent there, passengers and their friends will complain about the omnipresence of the police. If there is not enough police, they will complain that the State doesn’t care for their safety. And it looks like it will never occur to any single one of them that they could do their bit in protecting themselves and the rest by being vigilant, by reporting unattended luggage and anything suspicious. Yes, we may start hearing funny stories about what people found suspicious, but who cares if it minimises the chances of such tragedies recurring?
Someone said that the price of freedom is a constant vigilance. If we are properly bent on living in a free (and terrorist-free) world, then it’s time we reconsider our responsibilities.
Ruin Is Not Caused By Lavatories (Mikhail Bulgakov)
The passage from The Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov that you are about to see in the video (in Russian, the English translation is below), has long been known by heart. When I was 16, I loved the images Bulgakov painted and satyrical notes; a little less than 16 years later I can’t help loving the relevance this passage still has today. Whether social, economic, political, cultural or personal, the ruin does indeed start in people’s heads. It’s what we think on the regular basis that eventually makes or breaks us. Obviously, things are often a little bit more complex, but the bottom line remains: our mind is the mightiest weapon – we should be careful not to use it against ourselves.
The part of Professor Preobrazhensky in this adaptation of Bulgakov’s story is played by Evgeny Evstigneev, one of the best actors of his generation. Dr Bormenthal is played by Boris Plotnikov.
'Why on earth do they have to remove the flowers from the landing? Why does the electricity, which to the best of my recollection has only failed twice in the past twenty years, now go out regularly once a month? Statistics, Doctor Bormenthal, are terrible things. You who know my latest work must realise that better than anybody.'
'The place is going to ruin, Philip Philipovich.'
'What do you mean by ruin? An old woman with a broomstick? A witch who smashes all the windows and puts out all the lights? No such thing. What do you mean by that word? I'll tell you what it is: if instead of operating every evening I were to start a glee club in my apartment, that would mean that I was on the road to ruin. If when I go to the lavatory I don't pee, if you'll excuse the expression, into the bowl but on to the floor instead and if Zina and Darya Petrovna were to do the same thing, the lavatory would be ruined. Ruin, therefore, is not caused by lavatories but it's something that starts in people's heads. So when these clowns start shouting "Stop the ruin!" - I laugh!' (Philip Philipovich's face became so distorted that the doctor's mouth fell open.) 'I swear to you, I find it laughable! Every one of them needs to hit himself on the back of the head and then when he has knocked all the hallucinations out of himself and gets on with sweeping out backyards - which is his real job - all this "ruin" will automatically disappear. You can't serve two gods! You can't sweep the dirt out of the tram tracks and settle the fate of the Spanish beggars at the same time!
Quotes: Manuel Alvarez Bravo on Understanding
One cannot see what is too close. Time passes and fame comes. All of a sudden people realise that this person was not only a painter, but – for goodness sake! – he was a great painter. Do they know him? If they know anything about him, they know him from a book of reproductions. But do they really know anything about him?
Manuel Alvarez Bravo, a Mexican photographer.
Moscow Churches: After the Sunday Sermon
I strolled up and down several streets in one of my favourite parts of central Moscow; in one of them, Starosadsky Pereulok that also houses the State Historical Library, stands this beautiful Lutheran church erected in the 19th c. While I am planning to tell more about it and show more photos, here is a picture I took of a man who’d just gone out from the church doors. He genuinely didn’t notice me, just stood still and looked forward. I feel there is something metaphoric in this, whatever you leave behind, there is always something to look forward to…
Quotes: Slavoj Zizek on Secrets
The secrets of the Egyptians were secrets also for the Egyptians themselves.
Slavoj Zizek, In Defense of Lost Causes
Happy Orthodox Christmas!
