Jaded Traveler

WELCOME ABOARD [old]

This page is outdated. Its sucessor is here.

Welcome to Russia Reviewed. Here is my blog concept and what I do [upd. 17 Jun. 2021]:

Focus: Informal reviews of print and visual media (primarily books) related to Russia. Occasional journaling.

Target audience: Persons interested in Russia.

Perspective: College-educated (two area studies degrees) but not scholarly. Largely nonpolitical. Skeptical and occasionally snarky.

Biases, limitations and position: here.

Topics covered so far: Russian/Soviet history; foreign policy; domestic politics; visual culture; Putin kitsch; literary translation; language learning; publishing; documentary film; comics; travel.

Up-to-date content starts at: 1 Jan 2019 (excluding 8 Jun. – 31 Jul.). Prior posts express opinions that I no longer hold. If you’re accessing a page via the Wayback, it’s safe to assume it’s outdated, no matter the publication year. Blog(ger) evolution is natural and periodic. Best way to find out my stance on something is to ask.

FAQ: here.

Questions, comments and general inquiries welcomed. Please use the contact form below. Be sure to include “Russia Reviewed” in either the subject line or text body.

Users with Russian email addresses (@mail.ru, rambler.ru, yandex.ru): Russia Reviewed’s email provider of choice is blocked in the RF. Use the comment form if you dare – or send messages directly to cebdoda@gmail.com.

Featured image: View of the Odessa Harbor with Ships by Ivan Aivazovsky.

11 comments

  1. New looks, J.P. ?

    Happy New Year, belatedly.

    Can’t help, maybe I should return to my duties in the visual arts field, Any chance to slightly change the color of the bar above to the color of ship and bank on the right?

    Maybe its lazyness, resistance to change, but I somewhat liked the earlier easy access to the last entries. Ok. I’ll take a look around,

    Be well.

    Like

    • Happy New Year, Moon. Thank you for the feedback.

      Re: menu bar: As I am on WordPress’s free plan, I cannot alter the color of the theme’s built-in palette. What I can do is change the background image to something more visually coherent, or use a solid color instead.

      You can see the ship? What is your screen device’s screen size?
      I use an 11.6″ laptop and cannot see it.

      Re: linear layout: Posts including Roundups and Monthlies are documented on the Index page in reverse chronological order. Reviews are listed alphabetically by author under Reviews.

      Like

      • I could see the image, and yes, I liked it. Admittedly as landscape more generally. What was it by the way? Among standard offers?

        Now “11.6″ laptop”
        I have no idea if my standards over here in Germany would conform with yours. Anyway, considering that inches vs centimeters may dominate our market too. Yours may be small or one of the smallest, while mine is the biggest? 17”?

        OK, occasionally I am forced to convert measures, but admittedly it never really left deeper traces on my mind. Meaning reliable established matemathical conversion synaptical connections.

        It makes a lot of sense to use such a small one as student.

        Otherwise I have no spell check on my browser lately. Hope I didn’t t commit any sacriledge on/to your language.

        Like

        • Ok, looks odd in hinsight:
          English: mathemathic
          German: Mathematik (Mathe for us as pupils,)

          Now where does the second “th” comes from in the English language? Not via the Norman Fench influence on the English language?

          Take care be well.

          Like

        • What was it by the way? Among standard offers?

          Ivan Aivazovsky, Shipwreck on a stormy morning. Oil on canvas.

          I have no idea if my standards over here in Germany would conform with yours. Anyway, considering that inches vs centimeters may dominate our market too. Yours may be small or one of the smallest, while mine is the biggest? 17»?

          You are correct. What you have there is a gaming/graphic design laptop. 11.6 is good if you’re just looking for something to perform menial office and school tasks – code, write papers, surf the web…

          Like

  2. Ivan Aivazovsky, Shipwreck on a stormy morning

    Can you put it back online and ignore whatever I wrote? … I feel guilty.

    the black makes me feel seriously bad, since I feel I caused.it. …

    How are you anyway? What are your booked (we have to over here) classes this term?

    Like

    • How are you anyway? What are your booked (we have to over here) classes this term?

      First time in a long time that someone has asked me about more mundane human-y things on this blog. I appreciate it.

      Last semester at my university and I am trying to make it as painless as education can be. I have coursework in linguistics, Russian cultural history, and ancient Chinese history, plus an ongoing capstone project.

      Can you put it back online and ignore whatever I wrote? … I feel guilty.
      the black makes me feel seriously bad, since I feel I caused.it. …

      The black is this theme’s default background, and I was using it as a placeholder until I found a more congruous color-wise Aivazovsky painting…but (*snaps fingers*) it is done.

      Like

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