Los Cuadernos de Julia

Elks at the Moscow State University - 1961

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:46:00 +0000

There was the time when elks roamed freely on the Moscow State University grounds. Add 50 years - these days it's only stray dogs, skiers (in winter), and students and teachers who explore the parks and alleys.

Image: Alexei Zhigaylov

Translator's Notes on Robert Burns's Sonnet Upon Sonnets

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:42:00 +0000

R. Burns, A Sonnet upon Sonnets (courtesy of NBC).

Today is a wonderful day in my life, all about translations. I have received a permission to publish my translation of a 20th c. poet's work from their descendant. On the way back home I did a strange thing of translating a Russian version of Omar Khayyam's short poem into English. I'd need to check the translations of The Rubaiyat, to see if the poem is actually there.

And I have just finished working on translation of Robert Burns's Sonnet upon Sonnets. Apparently, it was Burns's first try at composing sonnets, so what seems to have happened - to judge by the last two lines - he burnt the midnight oil ("lucubrations") to list the times the magic number "fourteen" lurks in our lives. And being Burns, he didn't differentiate between the profane and high matters, starting with eggs and chickens, through "bright bumpers" (i.e. brimming glasses of drink), to the theme of Life and Death. Just as he ran out of his "lucubrations", a sonnet was about to end.

It must be said that for the first attempt the sonnet came out very "good measured", a Shakespearean sonnet (abab, cdcd, efef, gg). As the editors at the National Burns Collection note, "the meaning of this sonnet is focused on the form of sonnets, namely fourteen lines written in iambic pentameter coupled with a strong rhyme-scheme". However, there is a subtler meaning here: a sonnet's fourteen is such a powerful and omnipresent number, which means that Poetry is everywhere: you only have to look at "your hen" with "fourteen eggs beneath her wings", and you can wrap it into a poetic form. A Sonnet upon Sonnets is a sublime manifestation of Burns's genius.

I cannot say translating the poem was difficult, although certain lines did require a bit of thinking. It seems that the only reason Burns alludes to a jockey in the fifth line is because he'd made a connection between a jockey's age and that of the horse in line 6, and he needed to introduce the jockey to the reader. So he found no better way of doing so than by using a jockey's weight, in which 1 stone indeed contains 14 pounds. Without understanding this, one starts guessing all sorts of meanings behind "a jockey's stone".

National Burns Collection draws our attention to the fact that each line has a separate association. Thanks to the "jockey's stone", I'd suggest to think of the pairs of lines. 3rd and 4th lines are associated with hen, eggs, and chickens (= the origin of life); 5th and 6th - with the jockey, his horse, and their ages (= youth and senility); 7th and 8th - with the Poet's impoverished life (= a nod to Burns himself); 9th and 10th - with the numbers 12, 13, and 14, the conflict between them and superiority of number 14 (= the theme of Power and power struggles); 11th and 12th - with Life received through a woman and Death that comes from men (= Life and Death).

Четырнадцать! Поэтом восхвалён,
Как много чудных тайн в тебе - не счесть!
Четырнадцать яиц у квочки под крылом, -
Четырнадцать цыплят взлетают на нашест.

Четырнадцать в жокейском стоуне мер;
Четырнадцать годин - уж старость для коняг;
Четырнадцать часов нередко Бард говел,
Не знает он восторг четырнадцати фляг!

Перед четырнадцатью дюжина не в счет;
Четырнадцати тринадцать не сильней;
В четырнадцать лет мать нас в мир ведет;
Уводят из него четырнадцать мужей.

Какой пример в ночи я б вспомнить мог?
Четырнадцать - в сонете стройных строк.

Translation © Julie Delvaux, January 2012

Robert Burns - A Sonnet upon Sonnets (1788)

Fourteen, a sonneteer thy praises sings;
What magic myst’ries in that number lie!
Your hen hath fourteen eggs beneath her wings
That fourteen chickens to the roost may fly.
Fourteen full pounds the jockey’s stone must be;
His age fourteen – a horse’s prime is past.
Fourteen long hours too oft the Bard must fast;
Fourteen bright bumpers – bliss he ne’er must see!
Before fourteen, a dozen yields the strife;
Before fourteen – e’en thirteen’s strength is vain.
Fourteen good years – a woman gives us life;
Fourteen good men – we lose that life again.
What lucubrations can be more upon it?
Fourteen good measur’d verses make a sonnet.

Пояснение на русском.

My Most Musical Week

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:24:00 +0000

I suppose I could recall a week when I visited a few Art events, but I don't remember a single week when I'd attend three musical events. On Monday I attended the Yauza Theatre, to listen to a program dedicated to the Four Seasons. The recordings included Il Inverno (Winter), Concerto no. 4 in F Minor, RV 297 by Antonio Vivaldi (the famous 1st movement), Winter in Buenos Aires by Astor Piazzola, a couple of extracts from Haydn's Four Season oratory, which were followed by the witty commentary and brilliant performance of Tchaikovsky's Four Seasons by a well-known pianist Alexei Skanavi.

The Yauza Theatre celebrates 100th anniversary next year. Erected in 1903, the building used to house the Mossovet Theatre when it was headed by Yuri Zavadsky. Then it changed the hands and for several decades belonged to the Electric Factory located in the vicinity. The legends of Russian rock music performed there, including Viktor Tsoi and Boris Grebenschikov, and the film director Sergei Solovyov filmed bits of ASSA movie there. In 1992 I visited this "house of culture" with my Dad on the occasion of celebrating Paul McCartney's birthday. The event included a screening of Let It Be, followed by a concert. Towards the ends thereof a hard rock group jumped on stage, and die-hard Beatles fans moved outside, into a mellow summer evening, where young guys played and sang the songs, some of which I'd already known by heart. Obviously, being a child, I doubt I took much notice of the outside decor or interiors. This time it was different, and the best I could describe it to myself was a "working class Bolshoi Theatre".

A Memorandum of Leonardo Da Vinci (1490s)

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:50:00 +0000

I've been writing my to-do lists religiously since 2010. Before that I'd always make a list for groceries shopping (because you cannot possibly remember all the items you need to buy, especially when the respective shelves are located in all parts of the shop). And I'd also make notes of what needed to be done, but I rarely set it up as a list. Then one day in 2010 I had to run 8 places for errands, so I wrote them all up in a list, grouped them by location... and by the end of the day I did visit them all! This was a real proof of the list-mania working, so I just carried on.

Frankly speaking, my lists mostly deal with work and errands. Work - because I do a lot of that, and unless I list and prioritise I won't accomplish much. Errands - because I love doing my work, and I may genuinely forget paying that bill or buying that item. So, I have to be really exacting.

More seldom, unfortunately, I schedule rests and other activities, like sport or languages. I think this is where I need to up the level of my list-making :-)

Yet I'm sure very few of us do follow in Leonardo da Vinci's footsteps, whose "to-do list" is below. Strictly speaking, this list is called "memorandum", and it's not exactly a "to-do list" but rather a reminder of things one needs, or wants, to do, know, learn, ask about. As I see it, there's a difference between the two. A to-do list has a trait of immediacy; it's usually a list of actions one needs to take in a more or less precise frame of time. That's why it's a list, and that's why it may even have times added to it, to make it more like a timetable. Leonardo's memorandum is of a different nature. It is a list of subjects for contemplation and investigation. Obviously, learning the size of the Sun isn't the most important thing on anyone's agenda, neither is the Lombard manner of repairing locks, or understanding why on Earth the Tower of Ferrara has the wall without a single loophole. This is a list of things a person wants to learn. I'd rather think of it as a map of a learning process, and as such it is far more valuable than a mere to-do list. How many of us jot down things they want to learn? Those little matters that tickle our curiousity, do you write them down or just let them die off? How many of us actually expand the learning process beyond their immediate field of specialism?

The image is taken from a post by Robert Krulwich, Leonardo's To-Do List.

Я обнаружила этот рисунок на Хабрахабре и перевела целиком всю статью (под катом). Надо сказать, что речь в данном случае идет не столько о "to-do" листе, сколько о своеобразной матрице познавательного процесса. Все-таки у листа есть некое время выполнения, чего нельзя сказать о том, что начеркал в записной книжке Леонардо. Скорее, у него мы видим список того, о чем он должен размышлять, что должен узнать, спросить и найти. Т.е. вряд ли у необходимости узнать размер Солнца была некая deadline. Эта "памятка" дает в сжатом виде представление не только о том, чем жил сам Леонардо (все-таки это не наш привычный список продуктов или коммунальных платежей к оплате). Это также культурный срез эпохи. Здесь нет ни одного упоминания о политике, хотя в Италии в 1490х был всякий повод о ней говорить. Нет ничего "бытового". То, что надо спросить или узнать, явно намекает на содержание бесед, которые ведет великий итальянец. И вот здесь-то и становится немного яснее, как, в каких условиях формировался этот гениальный человек. Его интеллектуальная ненасытность поражает и восхищает. И заставляет задуматься: когда в последний раз нам хотелось узнать что-то, что, как и размер Солнца, вроде бы не имеет к нам никакого отношения?

"To-Do" Лист Леонардо - Роберт Крулвич

Есть вещи, которые редко удается сделать. Например, немного побыть Леонардо да Винчи, узнать, как работает его мозг. И благодаря историку Тоби Лестеру, мы можем это сделать.

В книге, которая скоро выйдет из печати, Лестер сообщает, что Леонардо повсюду передвигался с маленькой записной книжкой, прикрепленной к поясу, и "когда его взгляд за что-то цеплялся", он это записывал или принимался "неистово рисовать".

Леонардо писал: "Весьма полезно постоянно обозревать, делать заметки и размышлять". Но что же роилось в голове у великого итальянца? В одном из мест книги Тоби Лестер представляет нам, по сути, "to do" лист, затерянный в одной из таких записных книжек: все то, что Леонардо планировал сделать на неделе или в каком-то месяце в начале 1490х гг.

Charlie Chaplin on Life and Love for Oneself

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:00:00 +0000

As I began to love myself, I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth. Today, I know, this is authenticity.

As I began to love myself I understood how much it can offend somebody as I try to force my desires on this person, even though I knew the time was not right and the person was not ready for it, and even though this person was me. Today I call it respect.

As I began to love myself I stopped craving for a different life, and I could see that everything that surrounded me was inviting me to grow. Today I call it maturity.

As I began to love myself I understood that at any circumstance, I am in the right place at the right time, and everything happens at the exactly right moment. So I could be calm. Today I call it self-confidence.

As I began to love myself I quit steeling my own time, and I stopped designing huge projects for the future. Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness, things I love to do and that make my heart cheer, and I do them in my own way and in my own rhythm. Today I call it simplicity.

As I began to love myself I freed myself of anything that is no good for my health - food, people, things, situations, and everything the drew me down and away from myself. At first I called this attitude a healthy egoism. Today I know it is love of oneself.

As I began to love myself I quit trying to always be right, and ever since I was wrong less of the time. Today I discovered that is modesty.

As I began to love myself I refused to go on living in the past and worry about the future. Now, I only live for the moment, where EVERYTHING is happening. Today I live each day, day by day, and I call it fulfillment.

As I began to love myself I recognized that my mind can disturb me and it can make me sick. But As I connected it to my heart, my mind became a valuable ally. Today I call this connection wisdom of the heart.

We no longer need to fear arguments, confrontations or any kind of problems with ourselves or others. Even stars collide, and out of their crashing new worlds are born.
Today I know that is life!

Charlie Chaplin (1959)

Happy Birthday! :-)

И на русском :-)

Полюби самого себя

Religious Paintings by Francois Boucher

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:09:00 +0000

Although better known for his sensuous paintings, François Boucher shows a more serious side of his genius, when tackling religious themes in his paintings. Among several completed canvasses and a few sketches some study the popular story of the flight into Egypt and Nativity, while others illustrate stories from both Old and New Testament.

1. Old Testament.

Hagar and Ishmael in the Desert. Boucher illustrates the 'second' expulsion of Hagar from the house of Abraham, when she went into the desert with Abraham's son, Ishmael.

Genesis 21: 14-21 tells the story:


	15 And the water in the bottle was spent, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
	16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow-shot; for she said: 'Let me not look upon the death of the child.' And she sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept.
	17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her: 'What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
	18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him fast by thy hand; for I will make him a great nation.'
	19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
	20 And God was with the lad, and he grew; and he dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

As it often happened in paintings since the Renaissance, Hagar has contemporary headwear, that makes her resemble a 17th c. shepherdess. A Cupid-like Ishmael is lying next to her, and in the foreground there is an empty jug and a small sac with what seem like arrows. There is another sketch on the same topic, more robust, tempestuous, and dramatic.

Joseph Presenting His Father and Brothers to Pharaoh. In this 1723 painting Boucher managed to stay away from the temptation to dress his characters in contemporary clothes, and we see the particular line being illustrated, namely the presention of Joseph's father. Dr Shimon Kuper has an interesting analysis of this story in the paper for the Bar-Ilan University's weekly Torah reading.

Joseph went and told Pharaoh, "My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen." He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked the brothers, "What is your occupation?" "Your servants are shepherds," they replied to Pharaoh, "just as our fathers were." They also said to him, "We have come to live here awhile, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants' flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen." Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you, and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock." Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, Pharaoh asked him, "How old are you?" And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers." Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence. (Genesis 47: 1-10).

2. New Testament

The Dream of St. Joseph. All three dreams of St. Joseph were recorded in Gospel of Matthew and refer, in one way or another, to Nativity. In this painting Boucher illustrated the first dream:

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”(Matthew 1: 20-21).

Roman Polansky, Carnage: The Idiocy of Adulthood

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:15:00 +0000

Roman Polanski's Carnage was released in Moscow on December 8, 2011 (one day before my birthday). For those who follow Polanski's work it is interesting to note a slight shift in his focus in the recent years. The range of themes he covered with his films knows little exception. There were freaks and misfits (The Tenant, Cul de Sac), power struggles (Macbeth), psychic disorders (Repulsion), games with the Devil (Rosemary's Baby, The Ninth Gate), not to mention a good crime story (Chinatown) or a family drama (Bitter Moon, Knife in the Water). However, since The Pianist Polanski's attention shifted towards "deeper" societal issues: survival (the theme of The Pianist, yet Oliver Twist explores generally the same topic, based on the life of a child), political games (The Ghost), and now, the process of making politics (Carnage). In spite of this shift, Polanski is far from being an outspoken political film maker: he weaves mystery (The Ghost) and humour (Carnage) skillfully into the story, and this is precisely the reason why both his latest films are more real in their depiction of what goes on in the world of politics, than any other political thriller.

On the surface, Carnage is a study of two pairs of parents who one day got together to discuss the incident between their children. It is generally assumed that parents need to discuss their children in the absense of children. Kids don't usually understand whatever is going on in the world, so it is the adults who have to make good for them.

What follows is a game of cat and mouse: the innumerable attempts to hide personal problems, family problems, despise, distrust, while simultaneously trying to save one's face and to maintain the bourgeois status quo. Uncomfortable truth comes to surface: nobody is as good as they'd like to be seen. Zachary's father (Christopher Waltz) is a 24/7 lawyer who seems to never get off his phone; his wife (Kate Winslet) is an investment broker who doesn't particularly like her husband's preoccupation with work; Ethan's father (John O'Reilly) sells toilet systems and hates small pets, like hamsters; and his wife (Jodie Foster) is a wannabe writer, working on a book on the Darfur crisis and absorbed by problems in Africa.

Moscow - A Fountain by the Bolshoi Theatre. A Romantic Scene [Flickr]

loscuadernosdejulia — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:51:03 PST

loscuadernosdejulia posted a photo:

As I was wandering in the centre of Moscow, I went to the Theatre Square (Teatralnaya Ploschad) where I immediately stumbled onto what looked like a perfect scene. The fountain looked frozen with these electric-blue wires, the recently opened Bolshoi Theatre was regally cold, and between these two 'icebergs' stood a guy and a gal and kissed. If the Snow Queen was looking, she should have melted instantly. As for me, I was grateful for this "decisive moment".

Technical bits: no editing (apart from making the image smaller), used Night filming mode + High Resolution on a Nikon CoolPix cam.

Moscow - Tverskaya Street. Prince Yuri Dolgoruky Christmas Tree, Santa Claus, and Snowmaiden [Flickr]

loscuadernosdejulia — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:31:01 PST

loscuadernosdejulia posted a photo:

Moscow- Townhall with Christmas trees [Flickr]

loscuadernosdejulia — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:30:59 PST

loscuadernosdejulia posted a photo:

moscow-stoleshnikov-lane-blue-christmas-tree [Flickr]

loscuadernosdejulia — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:30:57 PST

loscuadernosdejulia posted a photo:

moscow-stoleshnikov-lane-loro-piano-shopwindow-christmas-trees [Flickr]

loscuadernosdejulia — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:30:53 PST

loscuadernosdejulia posted a photo:

moscow-stoleshnikov-lane-sberbank-christmas-tree [Flickr]

loscuadernosdejulia — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:30:50 PST

loscuadernosdejulia posted a photo:

moscow-petrovka-street-bosco-di-ciliegi-christmas-decorations [Flickr]

loscuadernosdejulia — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:30:47 PST

loscuadernosdejulia posted a photo:

moscow-petrovka-street-petrovsky-passage-shopwindow-christmas-tree [Flickr]

loscuadernosdejulia — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:30:44 PST

loscuadernosdejulia posted a photo:

petrovka-street-passage-shopping-mall-moscow-christmas-decorations [Flickr]

loscuadernosdejulia — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:30:41 PST

loscuadernosdejulia posted a photo:

okhotny-ryad-moscow-christmas-tree [Flickr]

loscuadernosdejulia — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:30:39 PST

loscuadernosdejulia posted a photo:

Kodak Is No More, But Photos Are Still There

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:47:00 +0000

The sad news about Kodak just shows how easy it is to get swept by "everything going fine" and not to notice that the world has changed and gone in a completely different direction. Anyway, the photos are there, and The Guardian called for our Kodak moments to share. Before 2007 all my photos were taken by Kodak and Konica cameras, and even today I still don't own an SLC. I blogged some of the photos previously, but it's such a good opportunity to remind myself - and you - about the times when I had to wait before the photos were printed and then I had to scan them. It was a pain, but knowing it's no more is sad.

1.

Rastorguevo is, strictly speaking, a small village that people pass as they travel by Aeroexpress on their way to the Domodedovo Airport. It's only 10 minutes of train travel away from where I live, and 2000s saw the reconstruction of the monastery and the church. My mother and I used to go there on weekends when I was a little girl, we'd usually visit two shops, one that sold everything, from stationery through clothes to furniture; and another that was a village-format version of B&Q.

View a full Rastorguevo set.

2.

Dubrovsky is another small village easily accessible from my district by bus. A Gardening Institute was located there, and the river was quite popular. Naturally, people went there for swimming and sunbathing. Sadly, as our visit there in October 2010 showed, things have changed dramatically. The Institute has practically closed, and on the opposite bank of the river sprung a quasi-elite settlement, and cars are driving up and down the sloppy roads all the time.

View a full Dubrovsky set.

3.

Big Ben

St. Dunstan's Church

St. Paul's Cathedral

Cleopatra's Needle

Bond St

4. My first visit to London occurred in April 2004, and I will never forget those two weeks. This isn't the moment to recap how I felt and what I did. Maybe, had I visited London during my first ever visit to England, my attitude would be different. I look at these pictures, and I see they're not the usual touristy type of photos. Apparently, the moments of living and walking in London in those April days, especially during Easter, are still very vivid. These are also the photos I'm glad to call mine because they are good - and given the technology that produced them, they certainly say something about me and my aptitude as a photographer.

View a full London 2004 set.

London and the Thames from Millenium Bridge

5.Last time I went to London with a Kodak camera was in March 2005. It looks like I didn't scan all the photos, as there were definitely some from The Globe theatre. Anyway, during all my visits I rarely photographed the Thames, so this is a "rare" photo taken from the Millenium Bridge.

View a full London 2005 set.

6. And finally, the Lake District. I do actually miss England, and I'd happily go to visit Lakeland. There was a flying visit to Carlisle in 2010, and I visited Shap Wells in 2004, but in all my visits there (by car) I never went further than Windermere and Grasmere. I'd gladly go to Keswick.

View a full Lake District set.

Saint Basil's Cathedral in Winter

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:41:00 +0000

St. Basil's Cathedral and Minin and Pozharsky Monument

For those hungry for St. Basil's Cathedral images, here are a few more photos, this time you can see the magnificent 16th c. church on a January evening. As you will notice in one of the photos, the weather was actually quite cold, and the air was frosty.

You are surely wondering about the small monument that stands in front of the cathedral. This is a group monument depicting a popular leader Kuzma Minin and the Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, deciding to lead the Russians against the Polish-Lithuanian intervention during the so-called Mutiny Time in the first half of the 17th c. 2012 celebrates 400th anniversary of the victory of the volunteer army, funded by the Russian people, in the Battle of Moscow (1612). The monument was conceived and executed by the sculptor Ivan Martos and unveiled in the Red Square in 1818. It initially stood right opposite the current site of the Mausoleum, but by 1931 the Government found it to be obstructing the passage for military parades, and so the monument was relocated to the courtyard of St. Basil's Cathedral. In 2005 a smaller copy of the monument, cast by the celebrated Zurab Tsereteli, was erected in Nizhny Novgorod in front of the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.

GUM Xmas Tree, St. Basil's Cathedral, Mausoleum, and Spasskaya Tower

GUM ice-skating rink, GUM shoppin mall, GUM Xmas Tree, and St. Basil's Cathedral

GUM Christmas Tree and Saint Basil's Cathedral

En Russe: Above My Head

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:03:00 +0000

ru.wikipedia.org

Есть такое английское выражение - "above my head" или "over my head", т.е. нечто, не поддающееся разумению.

Если кому-то когда-то захочется быть мной, не советую. Я не понимаю очень многих вещей, в буквальном смысле. Я не отвергаю эти вещи изначально, но они натурально не "входят" мне в голову. Вероятно, при всей восприимчивости к людям я маловосприимчива к "социальному коду". Правда, это такой же язык, как латынь, и возможно, не менее мертвый, хотя тот факт, что некоторые даже сегодня пишут и говорят на латыни, заставляет сомневаться, что больной скорее мертв, чем жив. Я могла бы выучить этот язык, но мои попытки постичь его семантику (не говоря о семиотике) наталкиваются на ту самую неспособность "достать" (reach) и "ухватить" (grasp).

The Manezh Square Equestrian Fountain in Winter

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:36:00 +0000

Manezh Square fountain, October 2010

I couldn't resist commemorating a snowy silhouette of this equestian fountain in Manezh Square. You first saw what it looks like in October 2010. And this is it in January 2012.

Manezh Square fountain in snow, January 2012

To tell you the truth, after looking at the last photo at home I couldn't resist drawing an analogy between these "horsy" profiles with one of the best-known images of the Soviet era: the four profile portraits of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, and Joseph Stalin, as the figureheads of the international revolutionary movement. Obviously, the only thing that unites both images is a symbol of quadriga, but I thought it was a peculiar parallel nonetheless.

The quadriga of the global revolution (courtesy of izhvkpb.narod.ru)

Moscow Christmas Trees in Shopwindows, Squares, and Streets

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:04:00 +0000

#1, Mokhovaya St

#2, State Historical Museum

I promised to show Moscow Christmas trees that were apparently waiting for me to take photos of them, and here we go. I'll let you follow my route on the evening of January 16, 2012.

There were several spots around Moscow that I hoped to visit on my Xmas trees hunt. After looking at the list, I realised that my best option was to start in Mokhovaya Street, near Borovitskaya metro station and thus to walk into the city. So the first Christmas tree was the one in front of the Russian State Library.

#4, GUM, Red Square

#3, Manezh

I then crossed Mokhovaya Street via subway towards the Manezh Square. The second Christmas tree stood right in front of the back entrance of the Manezh Exhibition Centre. And the third Christmas tree "grew" in front of the State Historical Museum, facing Tverskaya Street.

#5, GUM, MaxMara

GUM, Bosco Cafe

GUM, Paul Smith

#6, GUM, I Pinco Pallino

Revolution Square

From there I took to the Red Square. This traditional touristy hot-spot becomes extra dazzling and busy in winter, when the famous GUM opens its annual ice-skating rink. The Bosco Group, headed by Mikhail Kusnirovich, have for years been organising these festivities, hence the fourth Christmas tree, GUM-branded, is one of the most lavish in the city. My walk past the GUM shopwindows brought more Christmas trees, in different sizes and styles, like I Pinco Pallino tree with tiny kids pullovers or MaxMara's minimalist Christmas tree.

#7, Theatre Square (the Bolshoi Theatre)

Petrovsky Passage

I walked out from the Red Square and turned right, into Revolution Square. I took a photo of the Christmas tree #3, accompanied by the equestrian statue of Georgy Zhukov. In Revolution Square I was presented with a rather inconspicuous Christmas tree, and then I walked through a small park where Karl Marx monument has been preserved and crossed the street via subway to the Theatre (Teatralnaya) Square, in front of the Bolshoi Theatre.

The Medici Factor: Bosco di Ciliegi

#8, Sberbank Xmas tree

Stoleshnikov Lane

From there my path led me up Petrovka St, past a couple of exclusive shopping malls, Tsum (ЦУМ) and Petrovsky Passage. The shopwindows again boasted a few lovely Christmas trees. And at the bottom of Stoleshnikov Lane there was a Sberbank-branded Christmas tree. I saw at least three more like this in Moscow, two from Sberbank and one more from DHL Moscow.

Prince, Santa, and Snegurochka

Moscow Townhall

And so, via Stoleshnikov Lane I walked to Tverskaya Street, where Moscow Townhall faces the equestrian statue of Prince Yuri Dolgorukov, the founder of Moscow. I showed the Townhall Christmas trees already, and the tree next to the Prince is flanked by Father Frost (Santa Claus) and Snegurochka (Snowmaiden).

So, which of these trees did you like the most? Answer the survey below.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

And a few closeups of Moscow Christmas trees:

GUM, Red Square

GUM, Red Square (closeup)

Mokhovaya St

Theatre Square


Manezh Square

Want to use any of the photos? Don't forget to credit the author (Julie Delvaux).

Epiphany Dips and the Role of a Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:31:00 +0000

January 19 (that's tomorrow) is Epiphany, or the Baptism of Our Lord. All over Moscow there are numerous spots for those who'd like to dip into the ice-cold water. The idea is that on Epiphany all waters transmit sainthood of God Our Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, although, of course, in his own days Jesus dipped into the Jordan in the weather conditions nowhere near those in Russia in January. In a way, those who undertake dips on Epiphany in the name of Jesus express a far greater religious zeal than believers from sunnier and warmer places.

"Help! Any doctors here?" - "I'm a phographer. So am I. Me too. And me"

Some of the places that the Big City magazine put on the map are described as a "unorganised places for bathing", meaning that they are not designed to be used for Epiphany dips. And I was actually thinking of going to take a few photos. Then I saw this picture (right) and remembered a Russian saying: "salvation of the drowning people is in the hands of people themselves" (i.e. a drowning man saves himself). As we have seen a few times in photos from various events, sometimes tragic, the passion for documenting every second of the event is all-consuming. It gets to the point when the police beat up a young man, and 3 or 4 guys with cameras diligently snap every movement. So, if I go to an "unorganised place for bathing" I may well witness an accident scene because the police aren't required to be on the spot. Worse still, I won't be able to do much, apart from dialling 911 because I cannot swim.

Here's the rub: once there were mere onlookers. Now onlookers have SLCs and seek to document every minute detail. Previously they were idle watchers, now they are concentrated on an important task. You can no longer accuse them of standing idly because they may be honest citizen journalists who do the work. See the difference?

Let's just hope photographers, professional or not, don't lose their human traits. After all, it's their eye, not the camera, that makes the photo.

Vintage Polish Postcard - Skaters (1901 and 1902)

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:22:00 +0000

Skaters, November 1901

Skaters, January 1902

These postcards from my family archive have just marked their anniversaries: one turned 110 years last November, another just recently, on January 3. This is a Victorian-style gallant photo showing two skaters in the park. Both postcards have something written on them in Polish, I presume; sadly, I don't know the language to even transcribe the lines. If you know what is written and can help and tell us what it says, please feel free to do. Otherwise, here's a turn of the 20th c. impression of the romantic winter pastime.

And this evening (it's actually midnight in Moscow already) I came home only to grab my camera and go back out to make some winter photos in my native city. My goal were Christmas trees. I was trying to make photos of them before the New Year, but there wasn't enough snow. The city authorities were planning to take the New Year and Christmas decorations down by January 15th. I suspect they decided to extend the date until after the 19th, the Russian Orthodox festival of Theophany (Baptism of Our Lord). So, when I saw Christmas trees still intact this morning, I thought it must have been for a reason. Perhaps, the reason was my inexplicable desire to snap Xmas trees. As a teaser, here is a photo of the Moscow Townhall with two conic Christmas trees.

Moscow Townhall, Tverskaya St (January 2012)

St Basil's Cathedral Protects You at Night

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:59:00 +0000

by F. T.

This is the kind of jewellery that I think is designed to be worn on a night out, so that when you are leaving a bar at quarter to four in the morning you don't have to worry about anyone attacking you. With a ring like that on your finger, you're well armed, in the proper sense of the word.

I have a couple of huge rings that I'm very fond of, but none of them is similar to the one designed by the French jeweller... sadly I didn't take down his name, so I only remember his initials: F. T. This is a spectacular and impressive, if not massive, nod to the famous St. Basil's cathedral in Red Square that celebrated its 450th anniversary in 2011.

Sheepish Sleep and The Canine Meditation

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 07:32:00 +0000

I am enjoying the quietude of the first weeks of the New Year. Although adults have to go to work, students only go to the libraries and their institutes for exams. As a result, there are nowhere as many people and cars in the streets as "normally" in Moscow.

Therefore, it is twice as important to keep your cool and focus on your goals. If you have hard time "just doing it", follow the "pawsteps" of this delightful doggy.

And if the abundant energy doesn't let you calm down in the evening and succumb to sleep easily, then a flock of sheep is there to help. The great Faina Ranevskaya once recommended someone counting 17mln of sheep, to fall asleep. The person freaked out. "'Oh, don't worry', Ranevskaya replied, 'I'm no good at counting either. I just go, "one million, two millions, three millions..."'

The Russian picture is also a nod to a very popular TV advert starring Mikhail Yefremov, the son of the famous actor and stage director, Oleg Yefremov. In the advert for Tide washing powder he would turn up a random flat, explain to the hostess that she's an idiot for putting clothes in the pan of hot water ("clothes boiling" was the single best way to make your whites crispy clean - until the washing machines proved otherwise), show her how to get the same result with Tide, and then he'd turn to the camera, point with his finger, and say: "Are you still boiling it? Then we're going to you!"

So, be good, do some meditation before going to bed, and then sleep tight... otherwise 17 million of sheep are coming to you!

Russian Dolls in Arbat Street in Moscow

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:59:00 +0000

Russian dolls are justly considered one of the most recognisable symbols of Russia, and it comes as no surprise that even at the Moscow Design Week 2011 Jacopo Foggini dedicated his installation to the famous matrioska. Naturally, if or when you visit Russia as a tourist, it is almost obligatory to bring a Russian doll back home. There are many places to buy these lovely souvenirs, one of them is the Old Arbat St in the centre of Moscow. Of course, matrioskas there may be costly, but if money is not a problem, head to one of the shops in this busy historic street. For a budget choice consider an open air stall in Vorobyovy Gory, or an online store.

And even if buying a Russian doll is not your mission, just gazing at a shopwindow, like this one, is a good way to spend time in Moscow. Oh yes, the replicas of the famous Faberge eggs are another popular souvenir article.

My Saturday Music: Fool's Garden - Man of Devotion

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:53:00 +0000

Happy Orthodox Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

An Orthodox vertep at the Cathedral of the Ascension of Christ

I took the photo of a vertep yesterday at the Church of Ascension of Christ in 36, Bolshaya Nikitskaya St. It is a beautiful church in Classicist style built in two stages, in 1798-1816 and in 1827-1848.

Mikhail Romm on Directors (Translated from Russian)

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:51:00 +0000

Some time ago I published here extract from the book by Mikhail Romm, on different types of cinematic shots. A few of you wondered where I got the English version; alas, there is no such (yet). I though it would be interesting to you to read Romm's views on the director's job, especially in what concerns the quality of work. Below is my translation from Russian of an extract on this very subject.

Romm: Indeed, if it is so difficult to make a film, then why is a director’s waste so rare? For, usually, once the film is started being made, then it will, in one way or another, appear on screen, no matter how helpless, professionally weak, or barely gifted director was making it? What is the explanation of this persistent miracle?

You see, when I speak of the difficult work of a film director, I mean the work on a good, expressive film, on a work of art. As for mediocre work, anyone can make it, using the standard filming methods.

It’s not difficult to rehearse and satisfactorily film a short 10-20 sec. long extracts of a script instead of establishing the rhythm, movement, and the sense of a larger scene. Working on a shot, a director who doesn’t pursue lofty goals, only cares for the spectacle to be true to life and natural, that all actors are visible, that the main character is in the foreground, that all lines are pronounced in the established order, etc. It’s not at all difficult to rehearse the simplest, primitive movement in such short space of a film. Should later there be troubles gluing together these single shots, pieces of a bigger film, an editor will come to the rescue, cut something out, maybe there will be some additional filming or ever re-filming, various close-ups will be added, and, provided there was a decent script, the film will come together in general terms. This is the first circumstance that helps an average, weak director.

2012 Manchester Photos Calendar

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:09:00 +0000

Along with many things I wanted to do in 2011 was to make an e-book. I never had one done before, so I figured out that a calendar of my own photos would be a good start. Hence here's a preview, and if you wish to enjoy the Mancunian sights throughout 2012, you can purchase a copy at Lulu.com. Some photos were put in the months when they were taken.

Moscow State University in the Fog

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:48:00 +0000

The missing part

Full view

You already know that I adore the Moscow State University building. If I get the chance to live nearby so as to see it from my windows regularly, I'll grab it with both hands. And it's not just because the MSU building is so majestic; you see, it hides so perfectly in the fog that each time it is as if the entire upper part of the imposing edifice has disappeared completely. And then it slowly emerges through the fog. Nothing beats the MSU building on a day when its upper part vanishes in blizzard. I don't have the photo of that now, so let's hope I can update this post in the course of winter.

The Wired Sculptures by Ivan Lovatt

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:31:00 +0000

Ivan, Andy, and Soup

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Ivan Lovatt was born in Kenya and then came to live in the UK. For the past 6 years he contributed, as a professional sculptor, his works to private collections, corporations and public exhibitions. His most famous pieces are made of chicken wire: "by layering, twisting and shaping this very ordinary medium Ivan creates both abstract and realistic representations, which are tactile, appealing to the viewer to touch. As Ivan’s skills developed and evolved he was drawn to figurative work, and Ivan began a series of portraits of famous people which candidly demonstrates his superior level of craftsmanship and attention to detail".

Michael Jackson

Imagine...

You can visit Ivan's official website, while here is a small selection of his portraits of famous people. Most of them are instantly recognisable; it seems that Ivan is experimenting more with the medium than the form. However, his portraits of The Beatles and John Lennon reminded me of a series of photographs by an Italian photographer Enzo Rafazzini who was once offered to participate in a project illustrating The Beatles' lyrics. Rafazzini chose When I'm Sixty-Four.

Enzo Rafazzini

In the post, though, I'm using The Beatles' Come Together. I thought the rhythm suits all the images quite nicely.

Enzo Rafazzini

The Star Wars Factor Inspires Brothels and Weddings

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:23:00 +0000

Steve Woods reports at Technorati about Princess Leia Freaks: SciFi Themed Brothel to Open in Vegas. Apparently, Dennis Hof, a Nevada businessman who has already made his name as the creator of several brothels, is teaming up with the former madame Heidi Fleiss to bring to life the ultimate geek fantasy.

Chubakka, Master Yoda, and Darth Vader Attend a Wedding in Yekaterinburg

As we know, "there was no sex in the USSR", so the inexplicable sex appeal of George Lucas's series has so far only left its mark on the way Russian weddings are celebrated. In Yekaterinburg, the couple and most guests got dressed in Star Wars costumes (see the photo). The only person who refused to take part was the grandfather who claimed to be too old for this sort of fun.

En Russe: Eduard Uspensky - Clown Ivan Bultykh. Extract

noreply@blogger.com (Julie Delvaux) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:04:00 +0000

Эту повесть я прочла в 1987 г. в журнале "Парус" (где, кстати, были также напечатаны сонеты Петрарки), и вот эта глава целиком мне с тех пор и запомнилась. В связи с тем, что в предыдущем английском посте был приведен текст песенки "В лесу родилась елочка" на английский и на латынь, я подумала, что было бы неплохо добавить еще и этот, бесшабашный вариант.

Eduard Uspensky (courtesy Toodoo.ru)

Ретроспекция. Работаем мы в Омске. Вдруг приходит администратор из филармонии:

– Спасите, ради Бога! Пожар!

– Что такое?!

– Дед Мороз заболел.

– Ага… понятно. «Заболел ваш дедушка».

А администратор наседает:

– Выручайте, друзья. Как сольный концерт оформим – три ставки. Билеты на все спектакли проданы. И роль небольшая. Иначе мы пропали. Попробуй сейчас найти дедушку. И потом, это же для детей. Ей-богу, халтура неплохая.

На эстрадном языке любое выступление не по графику называется «халтурой». Даже если оно во Дворце съездов. Ну, я и рискнул.

…цирковому клоуну Ивану Бултыху. И зрелище будто подменили.

Вместо стройного, продуманного спектакля детям предлагается шумная затея с полным разбалтыванием ребят, затасканными эстрадными приемами, с набором древних плоских шуточек.

Дед Мороз поет на сцене, притопывает ногами и разве только не ходит на руках. Этим подрывается вера ребят в фольклор, в народные традиции.

И что удивительно: двух «старых» персонажей – Простуду и Ветер в Голове – словно подменили. Раньше хорошо игравшие актеры стали заигрывать с залом, паясничать, как на эстраде. В результате выходящие из клуба дети поют их песенки. Песенки отрицательных персонажей! Вот вам образец:

В трусишках зайка серенький

Под елочкой лежал…

Хотелось бы, чтобы администрация филармонии в дальнейшем не проводила столь рискованных экспериментов.

– Ну и как? – спросила бабушка. – Что мне об этом думать?

– Ничего. Глупая бумага глупого человека из газеты.

– Они все врут, – сказал Топилин. – Представление было очень смешным.

– Да и документ смешной, – сказала бабуся. – Но представление на стол не положишь, а заметка – вот!

– Я не уверен, бабушка, что она у них есть, – сказал я. – А во-вторых, у меня есть противоядие.

– Заметка у них есть, не сомневайся, – решила старушка. – И вообще, объясни, что там случилось.

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BBC Russian - Россия - Безопасность в Рунете - дело рук самого Рунета?

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Igor Chapurin Interview (via Russia-InfoCentre)

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Best Festivals of Perm, the Future Cultural Capital of Russia
A list of cultural festivals in Perm, essential for artists who want to take their work globally
Stephen Fry: It Takes Subtlety to See the Similarity Between Latin and Slavic Languages

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Стартап с нуля: Как вести себя с сотрудниками? - Slon.ru

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WRS | Dave Goodman