Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev.

Contemporary art at Hirshhorn

At the Renwick Gallery in DC, there’s a fabulous exhibition called New Glass Now. Everything in the photos is made of glass (even the bananas), only the clock with the cloth is made of wood.

Funny fragment (about biologist Mary Frances Lyon). Judging by the biography, the research opinion has not changed

Could you please provide the text you would like translated into English?

An interesting story about Charlie Chaplin.

In 1942, Chaplin started an affair with Joan Barry, a budding actress from Brooklyn. He treated her as if she were a toy and ultimately discarded her easily. Like in that anecdote about Pavlov, who was bitten by a dog that grew up and forgot, while Pavlov did not forget, Joan grew up as well and one night, she broke into his home through a window, with a carbine on her shoulder, demanding he take her back. By then, Chaplin had already started another affair with Oona O’Neill, who was 36 years younger. Joan leaked to the press that Chaplin had left her pregnant and filed a lawsuit demanding a large sum of money as compensation.

In February, Chaplin was accused of violating the Mann Act, as he had transported Barry across state lines “for immoral purposes,” when she was still a minor (The Mann Act, by the way, is also called the “White Slave Traffic Act,” though it was essentially used to prosecute pedophiles). Eventually, Chaplin won the case, but another trial loomed over him concerning paternity.

At that time, genetics as an applied science was making cautious steps, but Chaplin’s lawyer was apparently interested, and it turned out that Joan’s daughter could not be Chaplin’s, because her blood type (B) did not match with the blood types of the supposed parents (“A” for Joan Barry and “0” for Chaplin). Interestingly, Joan allowed the determination of her and her child’s blood type for $25,000 (almost $400K today), and eventually, she lost the case.

But that was 1944. She hired a new lawyer, and he found a way to bring the case back to court. The jury understood nothing about Mendel’s laws and blood groups but could well judge the resemblance of the daughter to her parents. This principle was named “the proof of the bald eagle.” If someone looks like a bald eagle, presumably, their parents are bald eagles. The jury told the judge that they were at an impasse. Seven of them decided that Chaplin was not the father, while five thought he was. Barry filed a second lawsuit, where the jury voted almost unanimously, “Chaplin — father of the child!”, whatever your science may say.

After this story, Chaplin was “cancelled” in Hollywood. He left the States (not solely because of this story) and settled in Switzerland. Meanwhile, Joan Barry significantly lost her mental stability.

But many years have passed, and I’m sure that for nearly 100% of those reading this text, Chaplin remains an individual with a completely different image, not at all cancelled.

(Inspired by “She Laughs Like a Mother” by Zimmer)

I am reading Zimmer’s “She Laughs Like a Mother” in binge-fashion. Chapter 10 mentions Francis Galton: “…To better concentrate [on studying mathematics], he purchased a complicated device called the ‘Gumption-Reviver’, from which water dripped onto his head; a servant had to refill it every 15 minutes.” Galton wrote that his teacher recommended it, so it seems the device was popular in Cambridge to prevent falling asleep during the languid nights. “We usually started using this thing around ten in the evening, to stay awake until one or two in the morning; it was very useful,” wrote Galton.

At my home, the fireplace is called Superior FAC 1500

There are people with whom you can never talk enough, even if you have 12 continuous hours at your disposal! Thirty years ago we started just as we occasionally continue now, despite borders and circumstances. Thank you for the warm welcome, Dmitry Nilov and Natalya Rozhkova Kuzmenko!

Interesting about the music from Harry Potter

Sitting here laughing. A “Health Secrets” newspaper in the mailbox. There’s no way out. The newspaper’s website is an online drugstore. Meaning, the newspaper is just an advertisement. But it targets “grandmas” and looks like a newspaper. No mention that it’s just a flyer, though.

The article – “Student prodigy studying rays made a discovery that allows the restoration of joints.” The student, Alla Karavaeva, doesn’t show up in Google searches. The hall of the International Rheumatology Conference gave her a standing ovation. She received the prestigious “Young Scientist 2021” award for this discovery. How? Her grandfather was suffering from arthritis, and she told herself “Alla, you must help your grandfather, no matter the cost!” And off she went to make her discovery. And released drugs! And they worked! Elixir “Fleximax” and the herbal patch “Shigao Hubu.” “Why implant artificial joints when you can grow your own?” asks Alla’s curator, rheumatologist Demtsov (also unsearchable). The girl – a true patriot, insisted that the drugs be affordable for every pensioner.

Now, pay attention to the composition: sorbitol syrup, concentrated apricot juice, drinking water, white willow bark extract, calcium citrate, burdock extract, lingonberry leaf extract, boswellia extract, saber herb extract, potassium sorbate (E201), turmeric extract, xanthan gum, sodium benzoate (E211), vitamin D3. “Fleximax” is registered as “Non-alcoholic drink sweetened, enriched with calcium and vitamin D3” by LLC “Scientific and Production Enterprise ‘Laboratory of Beauty and Health'” from Protvino.

“Shigao Hubu” is entirely in hieroglyphs. Translates to “Tiger Step Patch.”

User reviews are written following such a pattern: “my boy fell, covered in blood, and it triggered my arthritis and arthrosis,” (Larionova Oxana, Kazan). Or “I jumped up with my gout to defend a 5-year-old boy from his father, and he hit me so hard that my osteochondrosis stiffened,” (Lozovaya Zhanna). Or “daughter’s leg got torn off, and I developed a spinal hernia and arthrosis,” (Yudlashin A). Then they went through the course and found happiness.