Russian people know hats. When I was growing up® almost every Soviet citizen owned some variation of a fur hat. You could tell a person social status by the hat: the cheapest ones were made out of rabbit fur and more expensive ones were made out of fox, wolf, sable, mink, beaver (yeah, I said beaver), etc. The typical Russian hat style is ushanka, which simply means a hat with ear-flaps.
Many years ago my Father had a muskrat hat custom made which at that time was very expensive, several times his monthly wages. I have to say that we got our money’s worth because I still own this hat and occasionally wear it to work to the delight of my co-workers.
And no, my cat is still alive:
Of course in my hometown wearing this hat didn’t attract as much attention as it does here.
And in the army it was a part of the winter uniform:
Policemen wore them (this one is from Finland, which was a part of the USSR for some time):
And even Kissinger put one on when it got cold enough:
Whatever you do, if you are a heterosexual male do not ever leave your house wearing any variation of ear-muffs, ear-warmers or other partial hats (visors included). These devices are the crocs of the hat world. If you are in a bind and a small animal is within reach you can easily have a do-it-yourself hat within seconds.
By the way, if you are in search of a small furry dead animal, please contact Happy In Bag, he will set you up.
Celebrity death week went worldwide when the most famous Russian folk singer and the namesake of an asteroid – Lyudmila Zykina died on July 1st, just weeks after her 80th birthday. Even when I was a kid, she seemed old, I was actually surprised that she was only 80, I thought she was eighty in 1976. It’s probably safe to say that there is no person who grew up in the USSR who doesn’t know who she was or couldn’t recognize her distinct voice. She was everywhere – concerts, radio, TV and at that time not exactly someone my generation wanted to listen to, but in a system with 3 TV channels and a few radio stations we got our share of her singing. Seems pretty good now, not so much when I was 10.
If I was ever to create an air freshener or an aromatic candle or, dare I say, a fragrance, it would have a smell of smoked fish. It’s the smell that combines the sea air, fresh caught fish, a smoldering fire on the beach, sounds of seagulls in the sky, a small boat on the horizon lit up by the setting sun. It’s the smell that makes you want to take a deep breath and fill your lungs with fragrant smoky air. It’s also the smell that would keep everyone you know away from your place, which is good if you don’t like to share.
Millions of Americans live their entire lives without ever trying smoked fish, and that’s a shame since this could be easily avoided by making a trip to the nearest Russian or Eastern European store. While the Russian store may not have the variety of a typical smoked fish vendor in Odessa, Ukraine you see on the photo below, it has enough to give you an idea what you are missing.
I’ll pay attention when your real life sandwich looks like this photo, otherwise I am watching the road. You betcha™.
Many things are wrong with this, including idiotic faux-foreign words like “Frappe” (WTF?) and “McCafe´”, but “reboot your brain”?, do you reboot it before or after getting a “frappe”? And what if it reboots in a safe mode? I ain’t lovin’ it.
Nothing wrong with this billboard, but every time I passed it I thought that it succinctly expresses my general attitude towards ballet. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
