A few years ago I watched a documentary series on John Adams. In one of the scenes Adams was in the White House (still undergoing construction) and he was reading a newspaper with an enormous magnifying glass probably 10 or 12 inches across while still wearing his spectacles. It struck me as somewhat funny, although clearly the scene was not comedic.
Yesterday I was looking over some travel documents that were printed in a tiny font. Like Adams I searched my desk drawer and pulled out my magnifying glass and with my glasses on was able to decipher what I was reading. My only problem was that my magnifying glass was about 4 inches across. I immediately thought about the scene in the documentary and all of a sudden didn’t think it was so funny anymore. At the moment I wished that I had a glass the size that Adams was using…
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Friday, March 29, 2013
On When Spring Arrives in Mockba
29 марта 2013
A friend of mine asked me recently via email: “When does spring arrive in Moscow?”
I thought my response would be a good blog post. Here’s the text of my response:
“Spring has NOT arrived here in Mockba. We just went through a 3 day period where it snowed continuously at -16 degrees C. This year we've had over 10 feet of snow and it's been one of the coldest winters since the 50s. Today was a balmy -6 which warmed up to 0. Next week we're supposed to get all the way up to +6. Around here that's shorts and T-shirt weather...almost. To keep the windshield wiper fluid in your car from freezing you buy the cheapest bottle of vodka; 100 rubles = ~$3 (which is cheaper than the actual fluid) and dump it in. When you squirt the windshield you get "bar room kind of smell."
Getting around in the car is a bit challenging. They plow the main roads but not the side streets. We live on a side-side street. They just let the tires of cars mash it all down. Of course at night it freezes into a massive sheet of lumpy ice. Then in the daytime, if it gets a bit above 0, there are massive lakes everywhere. We have piles of snow in our parking lot over 6 feet high. Eventually it gets so high maintenance brings in a Bobcat and dumpsters and haul it out. The cycle then repeats itself. We've been through 3 cycles so far..”
До следующего раза ...
Борис
I thought my response would be a good blog post. Here’s the text of my response:
“Spring has NOT arrived here in Mockba. We just went through a 3 day period where it snowed continuously at -16 degrees C. This year we've had over 10 feet of snow and it's been one of the coldest winters since the 50s. Today was a balmy -6 which warmed up to 0. Next week we're supposed to get all the way up to +6. Around here that's shorts and T-shirt weather...almost. To keep the windshield wiper fluid in your car from freezing you buy the cheapest bottle of vodka; 100 rubles = ~$3 (which is cheaper than the actual fluid) and dump it in. When you squirt the windshield you get "bar room kind of smell."
Getting around in the car is a bit challenging. They plow the main roads but not the side streets. We live on a side-side street. They just let the tires of cars mash it all down. Of course at night it freezes into a massive sheet of lumpy ice. Then in the daytime, if it gets a bit above 0, there are massive lakes everywhere. We have piles of snow in our parking lot over 6 feet high. Eventually it gets so high maintenance brings in a Bobcat and dumpsters and haul it out. The cycle then repeats itself. We've been through 3 cycles so far..”
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Varvarka Street
28 февраля 2013
Before the holidays we went on a walking tour of Varvarka Street (Barbarska улице). The sky was overcast and the light wasn’t very good for pictures. I’ve been waiting, a long time as it turns out (see a previous post: “On Gloominess in Mockba”), for a sunny day with blue sky to go back and shoot some photos. The other day the sky opened up for a few hours and so I headed back.
Varvarka Street (Ulitsa Varvarka - Улица Варварка) is said to be the oldest street in Moscow leading to Red Square just opposite St. Basil’s Cathedral. It has the largest number of churches of any street in Mockba. In medieval times artisans lived and worked on Varvarka Street and sold their goods on Red Square.
Mockaba was originally a walled city and a section of the original wall can still be seen running parallel with the street.
At the end of the walk as you enter Red Square along the side opposite the Kremlin wall is an enormous, long building running almost the entire length of the Square. The building is called Гум, literally spelled out in English to be Gum but pronounced as goom. Гум could be described and as 3 long buildings each with a greenhouse roof reaching upward perhaps 5-6 stories. Today Гум is an upscale mall with many shops you’d be familiar with.
During the time of the Soviet Union Гум served as a food distribution and storage center where people would get their ration of foodstuffs, often in short supply.
With the change of seasons Гум is decorated with seasonal motifs. The day I was there was later winter approaching early spring. In the middle of the Гум, where all 3 “greenhouses” intersect is a fountain. Above it was a series of colorful shapes made of fabric that intersect with each other making interesting abstract forms extending from the roof almost all the way to the first floor.
Lastly, if you’ve been to Red Square lately in addition to the usually skating ring and winter time outdoor shops is an enormous white dome-shaped bubble over Lenin’s tomb next to the Kremlin wall. The tomb is apparently getting a new look.
I’ve put together a brief slideshow of images I took during our visit. The easiest way to view the show is to click on the following link:
http://vimeo.com/60731207
The show is also located on my Website:
www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com/russia
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Varvarka Street (Ulitsa Varvarka - Улица Варварка) is said to be the oldest street in Moscow leading to Red Square just opposite St. Basil’s Cathedral. It has the largest number of churches of any street in Mockba. In medieval times artisans lived and worked on Varvarka Street and sold their goods on Red Square.
Mockaba was originally a walled city and a section of the original wall can still be seen running parallel with the street.
At the end of the walk as you enter Red Square along the side opposite the Kremlin wall is an enormous, long building running almost the entire length of the Square. The building is called Гум, literally spelled out in English to be Gum but pronounced as goom. Гум could be described and as 3 long buildings each with a greenhouse roof reaching upward perhaps 5-6 stories. Today Гум is an upscale mall with many shops you’d be familiar with.
During the time of the Soviet Union Гум served as a food distribution and storage center where people would get their ration of foodstuffs, often in short supply.
With the change of seasons Гум is decorated with seasonal motifs. The day I was there was later winter approaching early spring. In the middle of the Гум, where all 3 “greenhouses” intersect is a fountain. Above it was a series of colorful shapes made of fabric that intersect with each other making interesting abstract forms extending from the roof almost all the way to the first floor.
Lastly, if you’ve been to Red Square lately in addition to the usually skating ring and winter time outdoor shops is an enormous white dome-shaped bubble over Lenin’s tomb next to the Kremlin wall. The tomb is apparently getting a new look.
I’ve put together a brief slideshow of images I took during our visit. The easiest way to view the show is to click on the following link:
http://vimeo.com/60731207
The show is also located on my Website:
www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com/russia
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Friday, February 15, 2013
On Seniority
16 февраля 2013
While Russians are a rather grumpy lot they are quite respectful of their “elders”. Yesterday I was on the Metro (subway) and I was shown, reluctantly, that I have become a “senior citizen”. And, while I am closer to 63 than 62 and therefore have been among the elderly for almost a year now (using eligibility for Social Security as a criterion) it hadn’t occurred to me until yesterday that I am old.
The Metro car was packed and I was standing, hanging onto the bar above me. I was going to get off in 5 stops. The doors closed and the car started to move forward. A young woman, probably in her 40s, was seated in front of me. As we got up to speed she motioned to me to take her seat. I waved her off and hopefully had a polite face on signaling “thank you” but I was fine. She again insisted (this is going on in “Russian sign-language”) that I sit down, which I did grudgingly. My hair, what’s left of it, has turned a snowy-grey white and has been this way since my early 50s, a trait I obviously inherited from my father.
My benefactor got off at the next stop. As I sat there I contemplated what had just happened. It dawned on me that I had just been officially identified as a senior citizen and from a 40 year-old no less.
This is hard to take…and something I guess I’m going to have to get used to…I think…
До следующего раза ...
Борис
The Metro car was packed and I was standing, hanging onto the bar above me. I was going to get off in 5 stops. The doors closed and the car started to move forward. A young woman, probably in her 40s, was seated in front of me. As we got up to speed she motioned to me to take her seat. I waved her off and hopefully had a polite face on signaling “thank you” but I was fine. She again insisted (this is going on in “Russian sign-language”) that I sit down, which I did grudgingly. My hair, what’s left of it, has turned a snowy-grey white and has been this way since my early 50s, a trait I obviously inherited from my father.
My benefactor got off at the next stop. As I sat there I contemplated what had just happened. It dawned on me that I had just been officially identified as a senior citizen and from a 40 year-old no less.
This is hard to take…and something I guess I’m going to have to get used to…I think…
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Thursday, February 7, 2013
On Gloominess in Mockba
8 февраля 2013
When we first came to Mockba we were warned that some people have trouble with the lack of light in the winter time. As I’ve noted in a previous post until January 21 the “sun” rises at about 11AM and sets about 4PM making for some very short days.
As it turns out, it’s not the short days but rather the unrelenting overcast and general gloominess that starts to get you. Since early December I’m not sure we’ve had more than 10 sunny days and never 2 in a row. And just to cheer you up a little more many days are accompanied by fog. When the temperature gets a tick above 00 C and there’s a bit of a melt we get an extra bonus: wet, slushy days.
After experiencing this for a while you start to realize why Russians have a reputation for being grumpy… makes sense…
Today’s weather at 10:30AM: Cloudy overcast with fog; temperature: -20 C; expected precipitation: wintery mix.
Have a nice day!
До следующего раза ...
Борис
As it turns out, it’s not the short days but rather the unrelenting overcast and general gloominess that starts to get you. Since early December I’m not sure we’ve had more than 10 sunny days and never 2 in a row. And just to cheer you up a little more many days are accompanied by fog. When the temperature gets a tick above 00 C and there’s a bit of a melt we get an extra bonus: wet, slushy days.
After experiencing this for a while you start to realize why Russians have a reputation for being grumpy… makes sense…
Today’s weather at 10:30AM: Cloudy overcast with fog; temperature: -20 C; expected precipitation: wintery mix.
Have a nice day!
До следующего раза ...
Борис
On Snow This Year in Mockba
7 февраля 2013
According to a local paper here in Mockba this year we’ve had record snow fall already and we’ve just started февраля. It hasn’t snowed this much in 100 years. The average snowfall in Mockba is 61cm (24 inches). To date we’ve had 216cm (85 inches) which includes a massive storm we had a few days ago that yielded 26cm (10 inches).
Snow clearance in the parking lot in our compound is pretty primitive. Four or 5 guys every time it snows spend most the day pushing snow around with large double-handled (home-made) shovels and piling it up. The era of snow blowers is not upon us here in Mockba although I did see my first one yesterday in another neighborhood on the other side of town.
The piles have gotten well over 2 meters in some places and the guys are having a hard time finding places to put it. The snow is now encroaching on parking spaces and it’s been getting difficult to get around in the park lot.
Today (this happened last year too) a Bobcat loader and several large dumpsters were brought in to remove the encroaching snow. It took the Bobcat nearly a day to remove the snow. Actually it’s still here – I can hear it from our 5th floor window. A testament to how much snow we’ve had and how much manual labor (and expense) is expended. You’d think they’d bring the Bobcat in at the outset of a big storm or invest in a few snow blowers. But…this is Mockba and doing things the easy way here is just not an option.
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Snow clearance in the parking lot in our compound is pretty primitive. Four or 5 guys every time it snows spend most the day pushing snow around with large double-handled (home-made) shovels and piling it up. The era of snow blowers is not upon us here in Mockba although I did see my first one yesterday in another neighborhood on the other side of town.
The piles have gotten well over 2 meters in some places and the guys are having a hard time finding places to put it. The snow is now encroaching on parking spaces and it’s been getting difficult to get around in the park lot.
Today (this happened last year too) a Bobcat loader and several large dumpsters were brought in to remove the encroaching snow. It took the Bobcat nearly a day to remove the snow. Actually it’s still here – I can hear it from our 5th floor window. A testament to how much snow we’ve had and how much manual labor (and expense) is expended. You’d think they’d bring the Bobcat in at the outset of a big storm or invest in a few snow blowers. But…this is Mockba and doing things the easy way here is just not an option.
До следующего раза ...
Борис
Monday, December 17, 2012
On the Gloom Lifting
17 декабря 2012
We have endured nearly 6 weeks of over overcast, gloomy skies with snow and a good bit of rain here in Mockva. The sun peaked out twice for less than an hour each time. Sunrise is now just before 10AM.
For the past 3 days temperatures have hovered in the low teens C. This morning it was -19 degrees C (-2.2 degrees F). And just like last year, but earlier than last year, as the temperature plunged blue skies have emerged nearly without a cloud to be seen. Last night we saw the moon for the first time in a very long time. The stars were out too.
We’re headed back to the US for a while. On January 9th stopping in Vienna for a few days before heading back north to Mockva. A week in Thailand is scheduled for February. Keep on traveling…
До следующего раза ...
Борис
For the past 3 days temperatures have hovered in the low teens C. This morning it was -19 degrees C (-2.2 degrees F). And just like last year, but earlier than last year, as the temperature plunged blue skies have emerged nearly without a cloud to be seen. Last night we saw the moon for the first time in a very long time. The stars were out too.
We’re headed back to the US for a while. On January 9th stopping in Vienna for a few days before heading back north to Mockva. A week in Thailand is scheduled for February. Keep on traveling…
До следующего раза ...
Борис
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