February 09, 2022

A Not-So Sobering Message


A Not-So Sobering Message

“About the dangers of alcohol, volumes have been written about the benefits of more than a single brochure! From lack of education, we walk for five days and crawl for two! And, on Saturday morning, Russia from space looks like.”

– A homemade sign in the middle of Moscow speaking of the benefits of alcohol

A resident of Moscow happened upon a homemade sign beckoning residents about the dangers of alcohol. The sign, made of brown paper and written with a ball-point pen, declares that due to our lack of education we save alcohol consumption for the weekends, disregarding the rest of the week.

As to whether the anonymous poster was concerned about what Russia looks like from space the morning after an eventful Friday is unknown, but some residents do believe they grasp the meaning behind the cosmic and error-laden message. Some believed the sign is wanting talented writers to explore the benefits of "cultural drinking", this was quickly challenged with one resident chiming in to say that there is no such thing as "cultural drinking" and that the age limit should be 35 for men and 38 for women.

Cultural or not, we suggest that all servings of vodka be reasonable and served Russian-style with a pickle.

 

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Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

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Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

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