Slavists and YouTube

And while I am at it, North American slavists kind of suck. The Ukrainian friend was at a conference,  and an eminent American scholar announced in his talk that there is an ethnic conflict in Ukraine that has caused a civil war.

The friend asked him if he had any evidence to support this (truly outlandish) claim.

“Yes, I  saw a video on YouTube,” the eminent scholar responded.

I already knew that slavists were a bizarre bunch, ever since a visited the Chair of the Department of Slavic Studies at McGill and saw that he was sitting under a huge portrait of Putin and a tiny little portrait of Pushkin.

I’m thinking there must be a reason why Slavic Studies is a dying field.

Am I Dreaming?

Am I dreaming or is it true that the Senate unanimously passed the bill to provide weapons to Ukraine?

God, I thought this would never happen.
Now the House needs to pass it. I hope Obama will not stand in the way.

Thank you, Senate! I think I love you.

I just spent 4 hours with a friend from Ukraine wondering if this ever was going to happen. And then it just happened. Wow.

A New Hobby

People keep asking for suggestions of activities that can improve their psychological health. I just discovered one such activity: bird-watching. I put up a huge bird-feeder in front of my study window. And right after I did it, it was like a scene from that Hitchcock movie The Birds. Birds descended on the feeder like it’s the second coming of bird Jesus.

I have already seen bright-red birds and two birds that look like small, flying peacocks: bright blue and with a spreading tail, or whatever you call it. And right now there is a grey bird with a bright red head. I obviously don’t know the names of birds in any language.

Staring at these birds is one of the most relaxing meditational activities anybody can come up with. Highly recommended.

It’s a Jungle Out There

Sometimes, I step outside the confines of my blog populated with brilliant readers, my circle of ultra-intellectual friends, my group of out-of-this-world smart colleagues and take a peek into the universe inhabited by folks whose reality is very alien to mine. 

And there I discover things like these. To say that they freak me out is an understatement of the month. Is it possible that such extraordinarily infantile creatures actually exist? Are there people over the age of 11 who read the linked text and feel that it speaks to them? 

I hope not. Oh, I so hope not. The possibility that adults who function in the real world are capable of seriously telling people “just be yourself” is daunting.