Those of us old enough to remember the tragedy at Chernobyl recall that for a brief period there, there was an almost Armageddon-like vibe in the world, as news of a radioactive cloud floating its way across Europe became known. But since then, fears of nuclear power and news of what happened there have largely dissipated from our memories. It happens. Time has a way of erasing our feelings about something. I’m no anti-nuke advocate, but I found this interactive series of photos, maps and a voiced-over slideshow to be very powerful. I have always wanted to travel to Russia to see Chernobyl and to shoot a panoramic photo there showing what a blighted space it is. But these pictures cover similar territory and are very intense.
Word for the Travel Wise (06/03/06)
Before yesterday, I didn’t feel a huge need to learn any Russian. At least I didn’t see an urgent need to learn the language, but all that has changed. I suddenly find myself just a few months away from touring lands nearby Russia’s border where the sound of the lingo can still be heard clicking off the local’s tongues. Besides it has been almost two months since the last lesson. Let’s dive in with an easy one…
Today’s word is a Russian word used in Russia:
paka – bye-bye
Ready to learn Russian? Check out Master Russian first. They have numerous excellent sound files and the text is clear and easy to read. Learning also goes beyond your Russian A, B, C’s at their site as they have crosswords, literature, proverbs, folk music, and homework help. Other good sites include Learning Russian and this Ectaco Translation Dictionary. Click here for two language book rec’s on Amazon. BBC has the basics to download and hear audio, while Wiki provies the in depth Russian lang back history.
Past Russian words: , shakzochniy
Word for the Travel Wise (05/14/06)
Word around town is it’s Mother’s Day and since we here at Gadling love mom’s worldwide I figured I’d provide you with a number of ways to wish your own mum the happiest of days. The New York Public Library online has a list of greetings and expressions for several holidays so use it today and then prepare for Father’s day just around the corner. Here’s a just few from their list:
- Catalan – Feliç Dia de la Mare
- Dutch – Gelukkig Moederdag
- Hebrew – Yom ha’em sameah
- Italian – Buona festa della Mamma
- Japanese – Haha nohi omedeto
- Norwegian – Mors dag
- Russian – S dnëm Materi
And again, Happy Mummies day to all the mummies of the world!!!!
Red Corner: Bushby Appealing
Adventurer Karl Bushby arrested in Russia without proper paperwork after walking across the Bering Strait to get there, has now made his way to the region’s capital where he hopes to appeal the decision recently made against him-a decision that deports him from Russia and which, if upheld, will end his quest to walk around the world.
Under some type of odd, home arrest (in another person’s home) Bushby was stuck in the small frozen village of Lavrentiya last week where he quickly ran out of money since there were no banks or places that accepted credit cards. Friends eventually wired him some money which he used to buy a ticket on the once weekly flight to Anadyr, the provincial capital where his appeal will be heard sometime in the next month. In the meantime, Bushby has left his gear in Lavrentiya where he hopes to pick it up and continue on his journey walking west across Siberia. We’ll keep you posted as the situation develops.
Red Corner: Paying Respects to the Not-So-Recent Dead
Hurry up and get yourself to Moscow because one of the world’s most bizarre tourist sights may soon be dumped into the ground and buried.
When Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Soviet Union, died in 1924, his cronies decided to embalm the remains and put them on display in Red Square for the public to worship. Top Soviet scientists devised a revolutionary embalming technique that would keep his body as fresh as the morning dew for future generations of faithful communists to revere. Unfortunately for Lenin, his corpse–which can still be seen today in Red Square–outlasted his empire.
These days, however, there is serious talk of planting Vladimir in the Russian soil (where, it might be remarked, he could join the countless victims he placed there during his bloody reign). Although controversy regarding this decision has raged since the fall of communism, each year it seems to pick up more supporters. One day, it will most certainly happen.
In the meantime, Lenin remains displayed in regal splendor. Visitors to his Red Square Mausoleum can quietly file past his glass sarcophagus and gawk at the waxy remains of one of the 20th century’s most notorious rulers. In the spirit of communism, this morbid curiosity remains one of the few tourist sites in Moscow absolutely free; making a ruble off of Lenin would simply be far too ironic for even the wacky world of post-communist Russia.