January 05 2023, 22:51

I finished “The Clap of a Single Hand” by Kukushkin. One of the best books on the origin of life. “My book,” writes the author in the epilogue, “can be considered a fan prequel to ‘Sapiens’ by Yuval Noah Harari.” And I was just about to reread “Sapiens” in the original, having bought an English edition a couple of weeks ago specifically for this purpose! “The point of ‘The Clap’,” writes the author, “is that we, humans, are inseparable from the rest of the living nature and all of its history from the origin of life to the present day.” I must add that I’ve never had to google so much while reading a book before. So, on one hand, the book reads very easily—beautiful language, a humorous style. But on the other, Kukushkin constantly refers to wildly interesting examples and facts, forcing one to stop reading and search the internet for additional details before the topic fades. Overall, I highly recommend it to all the curious folks out there; it is definitely a favorite number one in my library.

I’ve ordered “Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies” by Jared Diamond next. Also in line is “Sapiens” by Yuval Noah Harari (following), then “Accessory to War” by Neil DeGrasse. Oh, and “The Selfish Gene” by Richard Dawkins is waiting too.

Ozon: https://ozon.ru/t/eyNndjR

Amazon:


preview

Amazon – Хлопок одной ладонью: Как неживая природа породила человеческий разум (Russian Edition)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08H5V1G9Z?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_FDQN5ND7A6173A0SH9TN

January 03 2023, 23:56

It turns out that the name Yuki can be spelled in Japanese (specifically, in kanji) in 14 different ways: 雪, 幸, 由紀, 由貴, 由岐, 由樹, 友紀, 夕希, 有希, 勇気, 有機, 祐樹, 雄輝, and 雄樹. All these are valid names pronounced as Yuki. You can also add the spellings in hiragana, ゆき (ゆうき) and katakana, ユキ (ユーキ). That’s why they use business cards 😉

January 03 2023, 13:53

In Quebec, at the art museums of Montreal and Quebec City, I discovered several new names of Canadian artists whom I had not come across outside of Canada. And these artists are quite interesting.

Remember, “If the painting has a dark background and various sufferings on faces – that’s Titian. If there are chubby buttocks and cellulite even on men — Rubens. If men look and might seem like women — Caravaggio. If there are many little people – Bruegel. If there are many people and some small incomprehensible fantastic nonsense — Bosch. Ballerinas — Degas. Contrasting, sharp, and everyone has thin bearded faces — El Greco. If everyone, even the women, looks like Putin – Jan van Eyck.”

The artists I found in the museums also have their unique styles.

Mainly, the impressionists. Until recently, I only knew about French impressionists, then I discovered American ones (Cecilia Beaux, William Merritt Chase, Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent), and now Canadian ones as well.

Take Marc-Auréle Fortin. If the painting features pristine clouds beyond trees — that’s Fortin. He really has a varied style of painting, but somehow, this particular style is what I encountered in the museums.

I also vividly remember Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté, Maurice Cullen, and Clarence Gagnon.

“If you see bright colored objects (houses or sleds) on the snow — that’s Clarence Gagnon”

Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté’s paintings feature deeply thoughtful people and interesting landscapes.

Check out the attached paintings, they are worth it.

Quebec Museums