Booknik on December 31 — January 6
Last week, Booknik celebrated the New Year, gave and received gifts of books, looked through the last year’s photographs, researched Jerusalem dumpsters, admired stars, filled himself with patriotism and suspected plagiarism in the United States national anthem, hijacked a car by revealing the secret of an anti-theft device, and told Booknik Jr. where kids come from. Meanwhile, the latter tore up his jeans and became a pirate.
In 2011, Booknik wrote about various good books, however our staff literary critic Dina Suvorova decided to compile the Top 11 of books for 2011, both fiction and non-fiction, Booknik did not review, with small exceptions. Nevertheless, they will be wholesome and fun to read. And, of course, they will make excellent gifts, teaching materials for kids, and wonderful travel companions.
In the Beginning There Was Lechaim
The Other Cinema: Materials on the History of National Cinema of the First Third of the 20th Century, by Rashit Yangirov
The author was the pioneer in studying silent cinema’s numerous aspects. One of the examples is his article “The Russian Jewish Cinema In Search of Identity, 1908–1919” where he discussed many problems, including the film distribution in the pale of settlement, first films of Jewish themes (Biblical stories), and the emergence of the first Jewish feature film.
…and many other uplifting uppers in the Books & Reviews section.
I Cursed the Soviet Power Sunrise to Sunset. Maya Ulanovskaya Interviewed
Booknik reporter Nellie Portnova talked with the famous dissenter Maya Ulanovskaya about her family, politics, and books. “When my son calls asking how I am, I tell him what I read now. This has been going on all my life. Books demand to be read.”
M. UlanovskayaIn Judaism, the historian Yury Tabak claims, there was a tendency to connect birth of Biblical heroes with wonderful, supernatural, and miraculous events, as well as the direct divine involvement. This allows us to speculate that the early Christian idea of the immaculate concept emerged in the pre-rabbinical Judaism, and it is not the exclusive fruit of the Hellenistic influence.
…and many other conceptual conceptions in the Articles & Interviews section.
25 Photographs of the Year
Booknik is very happy to have spent another year with you. Do not blame him for overt sentimentality for he has decided to leaf through the pages of his memorial album, and remember why the year 2011 AKA 5771 was so, well, memorable. Despite the fact that Rosh Hashanah happened in the fall, we wish you Happy International New Year now.
…and much other mimetic memorabilia in the Events & Reports section.
On the Pasture Forage, or The Secrets of Siberian Felt Boots
Among the new repatriates, there is a sort of rating for areas of residence, our Israeli reporter Olga Gessen claims, where it is more prestigious to rent apartments. City blocks are ranged according to the richness of their dumpsters. Trash cans serve as mutual assistance stations, when one family seems to tell another family, “We have already settled, now it is your turn. From our table to yours, so to say.”
Another Earth, directed by Mike Cahill
The times when extraterrestrials threatened the life on Earth in general seem to be over. In the individualist society torn into neurotic personalities, a new planet in the sky is a threat not only to the humanity but also to you personally. In Another Earth, the new planet is not even a threat, it is merely a fact in two personal biographies of two people. It is a fact that may be compared to the choice of two different cinemas for evening entertainment in its importance. Booknik’s film critic Nastik Gryzunova made her choice, and she clearly did not make a mistake.
…and many other cinematic seasons in the Columns & Columns section.
Plagiarism in Soviet Songs 10: U.S. of Daring A.
What could be more American than the US national anthem? However, in two out of three American national anthems, Booknik’s video musicologist Mark Freydkin found the roots of Russian music. The third (or, actually, the first, numerically) anthem was composed by a Russian Jewish man by birth. What can be said here? Both the country, and its anthems are the melting pots of cultures.
Perpetuum Schmobile 26: Emanuel Goldberg and Microdots
This scientist managed to fit 2500 pages of text in a single cell of a school ruled notepaper, long before the advent of digital photography. Nope, he was not a jeweler, or a calligrapher. Emanuel Goldberg was a chemist, and a photographer. It was impossible to see his photographs with one’s naked eye though, because Goldberg did microphotography. His invention had been extensively used by secret services, yet not they use it against hijackers and forgers.
…and many other secret secretions in the Video Blog section.
The Pirates of the 20th Century
In order to become a real pirate of the Caribbean, you shall need a neat sum of money. However to be a decorative pirate of the 1980s, you must have only the pair of old torn jeans. Anton Markin will now tell you how to turn them into the costume fit for a decent pirate.
…and many other typical tips at Booknik Jr., also known as Family Booknik, our own web site for kids and their parents.
Technology is overrated. Booknik and Family Booknik are supported by the AVI CHAI Foundation.
