Author Archives: WorldWideWeber

Zvuki Mu

This morning I had a simple, nostalgic little thought: What ever happened to Звуки Му? Well, with the internet at my fingertips, it didn’t take long to discover that, far from going up in smoke as a flash in the … Continue reading

Posted in Russia | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Konchalovsky

Last year the acclaimed Polish actor Daniel Olbrichsky turned sixty, and the mayor of Warsaw gave him a present he still hasn’t gotten over: he could pick any theater, any play, any actors, any director, Olbrichsky would play the lead, and … Continue reading

Posted in Russia | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Ratings

Two Soviet-era literary giants went head-to-head on Russian television and battled to a draw. The miniseries based on Aleksander Solzhenitsyn’s The First Circle drew about the same number of viewers as The Golden Calf, based on a work by the … Continue reading

Posted in Russia | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Cold

While much of North America basks in unseasonably warm temperatures, Russia is enduring one of the coldest winters on record. As usual, Russians are doing more than coping. In Moscow, snowmen appeared in the Arbat and thousands protested against nationalism. … Continue reading

Posted in Russia | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Basement

It suddenly dawned on me that WorldWideWeber is not an appropriate name for this blog. After tossing around a few alternatives, I’ve settled on Notes from the Basement. It should be apparent that this is an homage à Dostoïevski,* a nod to … Continue reading

Posted in Random | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Slippage

Well, another month has all but slipped away. Make that: another year. My year, that is—the reckoning that began when I stuck my head out of my mother’s belly and thought: “Crap, it’s bright out here!” Moments later, a new … Continue reading

Posted in Random | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Concision

It’s true: I try to be concise. Sometimes this has worked out well. For instance, a favorite professor once wrote on a paper of mine: “Short, sweet, to the point.” On the other hand, my current boss continually presses me … Continue reading

Posted in Random | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Privacy

Leave aside the Bush administration’s abuses that have captured our attention recently. It turns out anyone can get ahold of your phone records—and at a pretty affordable price, too. (Kos has more here).

Posted in Agora | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Unread

Here’s a sig that resonates: In the future, everyone will have a blog, and none of them will be read. My unread blog will be Symmachus. (Found it over at Daily Kos—a phenomenally widely read blog.)

Posted in Random | Tagged | Leave a comment

Emptiness

The home renovation is just about done. It’s incredible how the crumbling plaster and decayed bathroom vanity have disappeared from my memory. Looking at the fresh paint and new fixtures, it’s as if they’ve always been there. I have to … Continue reading

Posted in Random | Tagged , , | 3 Comments