Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Of ushankas and matryoshkas

Машины. Introduction.

I began to study Russian several months ago in my free time, which has been pleasantly plentiful during the bowels of the winter. There's no purpose in sitting around doing nothing when I could be doing something productive, such as this. Language, as the most basic means of communication, is never a tool that could go to waste. The possibilities are quite interesting--from traveling to being a spy like the one in that movie (hoyhehe/хойхихи), but more so being able to talk about people without them understanding...

The language is more interesting than some of those offered at this school (although Russian used to be offered), not including English of course. Latin is practically useless because everyone who spoke it is dead (is not the purpose of a language to communicate?), and unless you're going to be reading the works of Virgil (which are all translated into English), then chances are you're never gonna use Latin. Then there's Spanish and French, which are both useful, but practically every competent American understands at least a little of one or both of these (click here to view a post that touches upon the incompetent American downview upon Spanish).

Здесь нет кошек, есть царевич и рестораны. Some pictures of lovely Russian things.

Perhaps the most notorious of Soviet attire, the (pashka-)ushanka. This one's made from the soft fur of a slaughtered rabbit--how warm! http://www.ushanka.com/media/products/black-rabbit-ushanka.jpg

The frigid but very nice looking destination: TUNDRA in the summer. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlt1BbOPI5ldbUcVRIUW-bQK9YTMTNRKeLblIvhl_jo8Os6Uo4cWLwIvR38G9MXVxJVKz1D9xWm4OyTYipiHEEMBlCLkGCLSMDYnooxiio-iPnE9B4Pu3PAE5l1X69XTeElW2lMw6ugEo/s1600/siberia-valley.jpg

If I lived in St. Petersburg, maybe I'd go to this church, the Church on Spilled Blood. Oh wait, I'm not Orthodox. But this church still looks nice. http://good-wallpapers.com/wallpapers/21917/Church%20on%20Spilled%20Blood%20-%20St.%20Petersburg,%20Russia.jpg
The aesthetic appeal of this Moscow is overwhelming. It looks like a sugar candy fairy land of sorts with all of the places of worship and colors. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/10/17/article-2219137-01AA0E3E000004B0-403_964x716.jpg

Пирожки - Conclusion

So, now, I urge you all, go do something productive. Learn a language. Play an instrument. Learn how to dissect a cat. Do whatever you like, but as long as it can easily be deemed productive by society.

А сейчас я иду. 
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3 comments:

  1. Olivia CoxFebruary 6, 2013 at 10:33 PM

    This was rather inspirational in a morbid way... Well done.

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  2. Angelo MartinelliFebruary 25, 2013 at 9:14 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. Angelo MartinelliFebruary 25, 2013 at 9:15 PM

    I completely agree with you and your thoughts on languages. They are extremely useful and they are something good to learn in free time. I also agree with your statement that Latin is useless because it is indeed dead. However, as a Lain student myself, I feel obligated to inform you on the benefits of Latin.
    1. Not only is the language taught, but also Roman Culture (which can be very interesting).
    2. Latin is the language that many others are based off of, and in tern can help to improve your linguistic skills.
    3. It can also help to improve your vocabulary with the study of derivatives. This is especially helpful for all those SAT obsessed teenagers that you have mentioned on this blog.
    4. It helps with English grammar.
    5. It helps aspiring doctors and scientists as Latin is used in these professions often.

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