Every Sunday, he would go to the market, buy a bouquet of flowers, and spend a long time choosing a chicken or a rooster from the market vendors. Sometimes he would pick a turkey or a duck. Later, with the flowers and the bird, he drove to the park, reaching Continue Reading
Fairy Tales
If I become a dictator
If I become a dictator, I will pay a lot of attention to culture. Symphonic music, art exhibitions, poetry. I will introduce many cultural festivals in my country. I will give preferences to true art lovers. I will create named subscriptions for them and involve as many people as possible Continue Reading
Kirilov
In the North of Russia, there is the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. A massive kremlin that had to fend off sieges seriously. It’s a beautiful place. This monastery is located in the town of Kirillov. Well, “located” might not be the right word… The town is essentially attached to it. It used Continue Reading
Amway.
A friend of mine has a buddy who’s really into Amway and constantly bugs her about it. But they have a close relationship; she likes him and puts up with him. One day, he calls her and says, “My wife is away, my son is at camp, I’m home alone—come Continue Reading
Gender-age
I’m taking the elevator down on Saturday morning. The elevator arrives, and two girls tumble out. That’s right. Just calling them “girls” doesn’t quite capture it. They’re dressed festively, but a bit disheveled. Their dresses aren’t evening wear, but more like weekend outfits. I became curious about whom they had Continue Reading
Crows
He had a pet crow. She lived a long time, and they loved each other. She didn’t live in a cage; she could fly in all four directions, but she always returned home. She often brought something shiny into the house—a coin, a piece of glass, a bit of foil… Continue Reading
What sets us apart from monkeys?
There has been a wave of publications in boarding schools regarding research by ethologists on teaching primates to use money. Monkeys quickly grasp the abstract concept of money and are willing to work, provide services—including intimate ones—for money, and even fight with their peers or work tirelessly for it. It Continue Reading
Causes and consequences
Our perspective on the flow of time often hinders us from understanding that causal relationships are merely an illusion of perception. Many things become easier to grasp if we suddenly imagine that the cause is in the future and the effects are in the present. For example, Michael Jackson. Having Continue Reading
What is spirituality?
We are all discussing the phenomenon of spirituality here, trying to make jokes about the “screws,” but in reality, Russian spirituality has a rather formal description that sounds like: “the emotional content of a transaction.” It has long been known that the human brain only remembers events that have emotional Continue Reading
True believers
How can we tell if a person is acting according to their conscience or just because they are being watched? Will they behave well if there are no consequences for wrongdoing? How many of you steal when no one is watching? Almost none. In other words, to identify the true Continue Reading