For anyone who doesn’t read Language Hat, the Moscow Times had a very funny and interesting article, on New Year’s Eve, by Michele A. Berdy, alias our very own, badlyguided mab.
I figured I’d better not use the Moscow Times‘s picture here to mention her article, and so I came across this one that mab herself took for this post, last March. It’s a brilliant, disturbing photo. Vorsprung durch Technik, man, and fuck you very much.
A Bad Guide 
Ack.
And people complain about the watchamacall it for the decorations atop our new operahouse as being an ugly box.
Very enjoyable, thank you!
Apart from the weather, it always struck me how Russian’s problems are similar to ours (in Argentina)
Really???
Does Argentina have buildings that sit on other buildings heads?
“Really??”
Yes, really.
Similar problems with bureaucracy and corruption (I hope nobody feels offended), for instance. And we are very similar in many ways though I cannot explain it in English…
But I believe that interpersonal relations are different. We are Latins, that’s undeniable, and that means that we are more attached to our family, close to our friends and I think pretty warm and very open to other people.
Well, this is a bunch of generalizations… Don’t think I’m not aware of it. I’d wouldn’t put my signature on it… It’s just a informal chit-chat.
“Does Argentina have buildings that sit on other buildings heads?”
I’m sure we must have…
I have proved months ago that bad taste is also among us… (“Et in Arcadia Ego” =).
Now I have to find a picture we took in Rosario (the second or third main city of Argentina) remembering this of Mab’s.
And we are very similar in many ways though I cannot explain it in English…
Oh do please try in Spanish. I’ll have to use “translate”, but everyone else speaks it. Maybe you are both very literary?
Here you are…
Please, don’t give much attention to all this, I’m not an expert nor I know so much about Russia. I will only try to speak my mind (that could be perfectly WRONG).
(I try to read it with google translation and what it does seems ok to me)
Me parece que los argentinos y los rusos somos semejantes en nuestra relación bastante gris con la legalidad, por ejemplo. Algo que compartimos también con muchos italianos (no por nada la mayoría de nuestros antepasados son italianos). Las cosas aquí en Argentina se hacen muchas veces por caminos poco claros (quiero decir poco respetables y legales), es la norma aquí, lamentablemente. Por otro lado, creo que tanto los rusos como los argentinos estamos acostumbrados a que las cosas no funcionen siempre como deberían (esa también es la norma aquí). Nos resignamos a situaciones o realidades que en otros países parecerían imposibles. Aunque muchas veces eso nos permite tener bastante ingenio (wit) para encontrar inesperadas o novedosas soluciones; o para saber arreglar objetos, situaciones, negocios, etc.
Veo que, especialmente los estadounidenses pero también los europeos, tiran a la basura lo que no funciona. Nosotros sabemos arreglarlo, las cosas son menos descartables. Hay una frase que usamos en Argentina para dar a entender esto: “lo atamos con alambre” (“we tied with wire”), es decir, lo que no se puede arreglar de manera canónica, con las piezas indicadas o “como Dios manda”, nosotros lo solucionamos caseramente, lo atamos con un alambre.
Hay un relato que leí hace un tiempo sobre el ejército ruso, que parecería ser argentino. Decían que durante la guerra fría, la cantidad de tanques de guerra que tenía el ejército soviético era muy numeroso y que incluso amedrentaba a los Estados Unidos. Pero lo que los yankees no sabían era que una gran cantidad de esos tanques con mucha frecuencia se descomponían y no funcionaban y quedaban abandonados en medio del camino o del campo. De modo que la mayoría de esos tanques servía más que nada como fuente repuestos para los pocos tanques que sí servían y funcionaban como correspondía.
En eso somos iguales. Claro, si alguna vez hubieramos tenido el dinero suficiente como para construir muchos tanques…
Me disculpo otra vez por las generalizaciones, sólo cumplo aquí el pedido de AJP.
Here’s the google translation (AJP):
The generalisations aren’t malevolently intended or based on ignorance, and we aren’t going to start judging anyone. And you have a half-Russian niece. Funny about the Russian tanks, during WW2 the Russian T34 tank was said to be so simply made that it never broke, whereas German tanks were very sophisticated and fine-tuned – and therefore broke down all the time (especially in the cold at Stalingrad).
Grey areas of the law are something I’ve found to be very specific in different cultures. The Germans of Hamburg are so law-abiding that pedestrians won’t cross a street until the “WALK”-sign turns green; they will wait patiently at the curb for a couple of minutes even when there are no cars present. It’s something that would never happen in New York, but on the other hand when I worked there in the ‘nineties I heard tales about Hamburg’s elected officials and its construction bureaucracy that made the city sound corrupt (as was New York at that time).
But I could be WRONG too.
>Julia
D0n’t forget your Spanish ancestors. Here there is corruption as well. For example, somebody has sold fragments of bricks as pollen, or normal paper as recycled paper. Sometimes we live in “Picaresqueland”.
As regards the tanks, do you remember when Sadam Hussein put some tanks…made of plastic so inflatable? Also in Italy once they put some inflatable olive trees : the aerial photos don’t see the material.
The Germans of Hamburg are so law-abiding that pedestrians won’t cross a street until the “WALK”-sign turns green; they will wait patiently at the curb for a couple of minutes even when there are no cars present.
Also in Berlin. But according to my German sources, traffic offences (of which crossing the road on a red is one) can lose you your driving license. The Germans are not renowned for their nuanced sense of grey, and their judicial system slightly less so.
Still plenty of corruption: Cologne’s metro recently fell in because the reinforced concrete wasn’t, with pockets duly having been lined to the tune of the difference.
>A. J. P. Crown
Speaking of buildings, you can see in this link (inside “History” / “The building”) a good solution (I think) to respect the archaeological excavation. Even Moneo found a Roman road and had to change a bit his project:
http://museoarteromano.mcu.es/el_edificio_en.html
Yes, Julia, Russians do put up with things I’d guess other nations wouldn’t put up with. And they are masters of getting around laws. The footnote to the bit about the one-person picket is that the creepy Nashi kids are sabotaging the one-person pickets by running up next to the picketer and holding up a sign. That makes it an “unsanctioned demonstration,” and the cops arrest the picketer(s). Usually they only arrest the liberal picketer and let the Nashi (pro-gov’t) kid go.
Why does anyone demonstrate on behalf of the government (in any country)?
Thank you all, specially our host, for understanding the spirit with which I said this.
>Jesús, you’re right, I don’t forget our Spanish ancestors, but we and Italians are worst, believe me!
>mab, thanks for your funny piece that started this post.
> AJP, “Why does anyone demonstrate on behalf of the government (in any country)?” jajajaja /hahaha You don’t know how things are here lately!! Uff :(
That demonstrate you are lucky!… you never lived in a country with Peronismo (the party of Juan Domingo Perón). The demonstration in behalf of the government is a crucial part of the liturgy of Peronismo (you must have seen pictures or fictional films that show Evita saluting from the balcony of our house of government “la casa rosada”, I’m sure)
We have now enormous bunches of people that demonstrate on behalf of the government: they say is because obscure political forces wants to take the power and they have to support our president, for example. It may be true at some extent. But as I said, demonstrations on behalf of the government is a crucial liturgy here.
Yes, sounds like Argentina and Russia have a lot in common! Here the gov’t pays Nashi to pretend that they aren’t paid by the gov’t and to go out by the thousands to support gov’t policies. They send them to a summer camp where they get indoctrinated (and where the leaders sleep with underage girls). The problem is that they indoctrinate some of them too much and they start throwing things at the Estonian ambassador (for example). But in most cases kids just go for a chance to get bussed into Moscow from the provinces with a per diem.
It’s true I have no experience with that kind of thing. I’m sure I’d just stay home, though.
Jesús, thank you for the link. Is Rafael Moneo well-known by the general public in Spain? He just did a building in New York, at Columbia University, where I went to school, that looks interesting, but “problematic”.
I hadn’t heard about Köln’s unreinforced-concrete accident. I think Grumbly Stu ought to have told us. It would be difficult to get away with something like that; I know I never could.
Why does anyone demonstrate on behalf of the government (in any country)?
That’s a depressingly nilhistic observation, AJP. Occasionally, pro- government demonstrations are useful. The May ’68 situation in France, which had become ridiculous, was effectively ended when half a million people (from memory, it may have been 1 million) demonstrated, perfectly peacefully, in the Champs Elysees in support of the government.
Whatever the rights and wrongs and the idealism (in some quarters) of the May demonstrations, the moderate French had had enough.
No, I didn’t mean it like, “Why bother?”, I just meant that they’ve got all the power and may even have been voted into office, so what do they need displays of popular sentiment for? But I suppose people support the government side in civil wars. I hadn’t thought it through.
>A. J. P. Crown
Well, Moneo and also Calatrava are well-known by public with a bit of general knowledge. About the building at Columbia U. even the news on tv had shown here.
Speaking of “Spanish” architects (don’t forget Trajan was Spanish and “pontifex maximum” (LOL)), curiously today I crossed over the bridge of Alcántara two times. There are 2686.96 hm3 in this moment upstream this bridge.
>Julia
I believe you. Fortunately the problem is not so important here.
Yes, of course, Calatrava.
Moneo’s very well thought of among architects, I’m glad the Spanish public know him.
>A. J. P. Crown
Probably Norman Foster is also well-known by the general public but for the raisons less intellectual, rather because of real-life magazine: He’s married to Elena Ochoa, a doctor who directed a pioneering interesting (and nearly chaste) program about sex on tv some years ago.
Ooh, yes. I think I heard about that. His third, I believe.
“what do they need displays of popular sentiment for? ” In France in ’68, perhaps the population wanted to advise the government to show a bit of backbone. Even De Gaulle had rather lost his head over fear, I assume, of losing his head.
A bloke[1] is currently urging Belgians[2] to grow beards in support of just _a_ government. Possibly just because there’s no one to demonstrate against without one, though.
[1] He is said to be famous in Belgium, but who can tell?
[2] I find this discriminatory; I am joining in too.
Traditionally it’s anarchists who grow beards. This Belgian is an anarchist who doesn’t like being stereotyped by his beard.
Can Belgian women grow beards or don’t they care about having a government?
said to be famous in Belgium, but who can tell?
We can ask Bruessel whether she’s heard of him. We can also ask if she’s going to grow a beard. Fake white beards are cheap in January.
Of course, Brussels is where the European community hangs out. Asking people there if they’re in favour of government is a question that affects people’s wallets, it’s like asking a Detroiter if they’re in favour of cars.
I saw a red light (traffic signal) today with a very impressive fake white beard.
Traffic lights are in favour of government, any government.