An Array of Utopian Flowers
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Pauline Oliveros and her Beautiful Canopies of Sound
Posted on April 15, 2019 | No Comments -
Los Angeles Steps Up Transition Toward 100% Renewable Energy
Posted on February 21, 2019 | No Comments -
12 Reasons to Try Elliott Abrams in the International Criminal Court
Posted on February 15, 2019 | No Comments -
Ecological Amnesia: Life Without Wild Things
Posted on February 9, 2019 | No Comments -
Coup Redux in Venezuela: ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’
Posted on February 3, 2019 | 1 Comment
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WilderUtopia in 102 Languages
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Russia Archive
Gogol’s Vision of Metaphysical Unraveling Amid the Dark Arts
Posted on August 9, 2017 | 1 CommentWatch the 1967 supernatural horror story "Viy" based on the 1835 novella by the Russian writer Nikolai Gogol, where a student philosopher from the Christian seminary encounters a young woman with dark powers who can summon the ogre, King of the Gnomes, which the author claims comes from Ukrainian folklore tradition.
Epic of Cruelty and Revolution in Eisenstein’s ‘Battleship Potemkin’
Posted on October 25, 2016 | 2 CommentsBattleship Potemkin is a 1925 Soviet silent revolutionary propaganda film directed by Sergei Eisenstein and produced by Mosfilm. It presents a dramatized version of the mutiny that occurred in 1905 when the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin rebelled against their officers.
Symphonic Thunder and Lightning of Janis Ivanovs
Posted on October 2, 2014 | 1 Comment"Janis Ivanovs is like thunder and lightning, cleansing the air with his Lucifer sounds. His symphonies are like ancient Greek tragedies, filled with ecstasy and purification." So wrote another Latvian composer and music critic, Margers Zarins.
Great Canal of Nicaragua: Environmental Ruin and Fiscal Folly
Posted on May 21, 2014 | 6 CommentsA planned 300-kilometer Nicaraguan canal joining the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans could wreak environmental and cultural ruin, home of the Miskitu and other indigenous groups. Sam Gordon argues that many of the issues and impacts are hidden from public view and should require an independent environmental assessment.
The Nutcracker Prince Battles the King of Mice at Christmas
Posted on December 24, 2012 | 2 CommentsSuddenly, mice fill the room and the Christmas tree grows to dizzying heights. The Nutcracker also grows to life-size. Marie finds herself in the midst of a battle between an army of Gingerbread man soldiers and the mice, led by the fierce Mouse King. The mice begin to eat the gingerbread soldiers.
Nikolai Gogol: Magical Ukrainian Fairy Tale on Christmas Eve
Posted on December 24, 2012 | 3 CommentsDevilry and mischief pervades a cold winter holiday night in Nikolai Gogol's magical ode called The Night Before Christmas. A dark entity absconds with the moon hidden in his pocket. Thereafter, he roams around tormenting people as he pleases.
Riding the Sky with Reindeer Shamans of Siberia
Posted on September 30, 2012 | 1 CommentIn Siberia, shamans combine a distinctive imagery of reindeer and of bird-flight. Their costumes sometimes include imitation reindeer antlers, occasionally tipped with wings or feathers, placed on the headdress. Like the participants in the Eveny (Evenki) midsummer ritual, shamans may ride to the sky on a bird or a reindeer.
Dmitri Shostakovich: Revolutionary Composer or Soviet Propagandist?
Posted on June 16, 2011 | 3 CommentsThe composer Dmitri Shostakovich, considered the conscience of the Russian Revolution, denounced twice by Stalin, later lent his name to the Soviet Communist Party.
