Feb
25
Movie options
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Katia sent me a wealth of film information, as follows:
Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears — more serious, it follows the lives of three women who move to Moscow from the provinces and start new lives. It won an Oscar in 1980 or 81. It is a really interesting look at society and the role of women in the Soviet Union. Also, it has a great song.
Mongol— This came out a couple of years ago and was nominated for an Oscar. It’s a historical-fictional film about Chinggis (Genghis) Khan. It’s epic and has armies and battles and a love story. I can’t think of any great songs in this one…
Cheburashka — This is a Soviet cartoon about Cheburashka and his friend Crocodile Gena. Very popular and with great songs! The birthday song in the cartoon is apparently popular. Cheburashka is very cute.
Russian Ark — This came out in 2002 and is amazing. It was filmed in a single take in the Hermitage and surveys 300 years of Russian history. It is fairly arty and surreal and confusing at times, but it is an excellent film.
The first would be especially appropriate to view around International Women’s Day.
Feb
24
On the advice of Katia, the Russian Club watched Diamond Arm tonight in Seelye 211. What an excellent suggestion! There has been some trouble obtaining a consistent meeting place, but I have finally procured Seelye 211 for all our future meetings. Apologies for the movement. This said, feel free to change the meeting place on the posters around campus if you see one that is wrong. Thanks for your help!
UPCOMING EVENTS:
- “Unfamiliar Terrain: Sufis, Scribes, and the Creation of Russia’s Southern Empire”
Wednesday, February 25th at 8:00 in the Amherst Russian House.
Kelly O’Neill ’97, assistant professor in the History Department at Harvard University, will present a talk at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, February 25 in the Russian House of Amherst College. Her focus will be the development of the Russian-Crimean relationship after 1783, using colorful episodes and excerpts of archive documents. She will talk about how an historian goes about interpreting and contextualizing sources and, eventually, writing the history of an empire. Her talk will be of particular interest to students who are themselves thinking about undertaking historical research projects in the future. Reception to follow.
- “Catherine the Great’s Memoirs: Of Horses and the Political Animal”
Thursday, February 26th at 5:00 in the Russian classroom (Hatfield 107)
A lecture by Hilda Hoogenboon who translated The Memoirs of Catherine the Great.
- Mt. Holyoke Russian Club celebrates Pancake week!
Friday, February 27th at Mt. Holyoke in the ACE House from 5:30-8:00. Here’s the Facebook group:
Feb
17
Recap: Meeting 17 February 2009
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A group of worldly, curious, intellectually endowed women gathered in Seelye 302 on a dark, but rather mild temperatured night. They crowded in a semi-circle of rickety chairs and read fables from the old country. The crisp prose of Tolstoy and Ivan Turgenev sent morals flying this way and that. Natasha provided sweets with colorful wrappers. They watched, grinning, “Kidnapping, Caucasian Style” and marveled at the very silly turn of events. Date changes were discussed.
International Women’s Day: changed to MARCH 10th, from 10-2 in the CC at a table in front of the green couches.
Brighton Beach: changed to APRIL 4th
Feb
10
February 10th, 2009
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Tonight was full of delicious fun. We ate spice cake, decorated posters and settled on dates for activities. Following is a comprehensive list of activities this semester. Everything listed on a Tuesday will take place at 6:30, everything pertaining to food will take place in Talbot House basement, and for everything else we will meet in Hatfield 107 .
- TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17th: Poetry reading followed by showing of Kidnapping, Caucasian Style
- MONDAY, MARCH 9th: International Women’s Day. Giving out carnations by the green couches in the Campus Center between 10 and 2 in the afternoon.
- TUESDAY, MARCH 10th: Russian banquet
- SATURDAY, MARCH 28th: Road trip to Brighton Beach
- SUNDAY, APRIL 5th: Day trip to “Victory” in East Springfield
- TUESDAY, APRIL 14th: Decorating eggs for Easter. Ours might not be as fancy as the ones on Wikipedia. The Hutsuls -the Ukranians of the Carpathian Mountains- believe that “as long as the egg decorating custom continues, the world will exist.” We are saving the world.
- SUNDAY, APRIL 19th: A concert by the National Philharmonic of Russia at UMASS, a speech starting at 6:15, and the concert starting at 7. The tickets to this are $15 for students.
I’ve requested that if possible, members attend LEAP meetings. You just pick one that sounds interesting, sign your name next to the Russian Club on the sign in sheet, and email me that you have gone so that we don’t go to more than are necessary. Here is the schedule.
Remember, we meet every Tuesday. Mark your calendars!
Feb
7
Fun Russian Rock Clips
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I found this funny clip site.
Then I got inspired, YouTubed Russian music and found some fun stuff. Here’s something to start you off.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOFxS7BvUfQ&feature=related[/youtube]
Feb
7
Upcoming Lectures
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1.
WHAT: ICONS “R” US: Aesthetics of Representation and Liturgical Icons
Nektarios Antoniou, conductor, icon collector and workshop host will provide an in-depth look into the creation and liturgical function of icon paintings, using video clips demonstrating the art of icon-making, and discussing the Russian and Greek icons currently on view at the Mead. Following the presentation, Dr. Antoniou will be available for informal discussion in front of the icons displayed in the galleries. The event is free and open to all.
WHEN: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13th 1:00-2:00 p.m.
WHERE: Mead Art Museum, William Green Study Room at Amherst
2.
WHAT: The War in Tolstoy’s War and Peace
WHEN: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10th, 7:30 PM
WHERE: Andreola Room, Willits-Hallowell Center, Mt. Holyoke
Feb
7
Moscow’s Sex and the City
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Lara bought to my attention Moscow’s Sex and the City, which was created by a Smith alum! Here’s a blurb from Sasha:
Moscow’s Sex and the City, a documentary film produced this year by Victoria Gamburg ’93 for the PBS program FRONTLINE/World, was nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy Award in a new category for work presented on the Internet. The story, which borrows its title from the popular HBO television series and Hollywood hit, depicts the experiences of young, single women in today’s Russia. Gamburg, who was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, but grew up in the United States, compares fictional characters in Russia’s popular TV series Balzac Age with the lives of real women in Moscow. Gamburg has produced several documentaries from her cross-cultural perspective. Emmy Award winners will be announced during a ceremony at the Lincoln Center in New York City on September 22.
Maybe we can discuss the image of Russian women at our next meeting!
Feb
4
Movie History
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For the record, last semester we watched In the Name of Love and Since Otar Left.
Also, I’ve been advised to show Kidnapping, Caucasian Style
Feb
3
Next week’s meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 10th in Talbot’s kitchen at 6:30. Email me at ebush@smith.edu if you need directions to Talbot House or call extension 7874. Since we’re trying to up our membership, we thought making posters that advertise the awesomeness that is Russian Club would be a good idea. Also, Lauren is going to bring a delicious dessert.
Below are examples of delicious Russian desserts:
HEADS UP:
Tuesday, March 10th is the new date for the Russian Dinner. It will be held in Talbot at 6:30.
Here is a prospective menu:
Tzaziki
Grilled chicken with walnut and garlic sauce
Asparagus with egg, garlic, and lemon sauce
Georgian green beans
Rum Baba
Feb
3
Meeting Summary 2/3/09
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Although sparsely attended, tonight’s meeting was productive and fun. We met in Seelye 107 from 6-8:30. The first half hour we discussed our goals for the next semester, namely:
1. Taking a day trip to Brighton Beach on either Saturday, March 28th or Saturday April 4th. Depending on the amount of interest, we’d have one or two vans. A few members have volunteered to become van certified, although the more the merrier. The remaining van certification days are
Wednesday February 11, CC103/104, 12:15-12:45
Friday February 20, CC103/104, 12:15-12:45
Bring a copy of your driver’s license and the SGA/CSO driver license agreement (go to http://blogs.smith.edu/sga) to fill out and print the form before the certification date. Please remember that you must re-certify each academic year, be at least 18 years old and have one year of licensed driving experience
Also, attendance at a Defensive Driving Presentation is required prior to Sunday March 1, 2009. This presentation will take place on two dates:
Monday February 9, CC205, 2-3PM
Thursday February 19, Seelye 106, 5-6PM
2. Giving away flowers on International Women’s Day (Sunday, March 8th). Last year the club tabled flowers in the Campus Center. We should continue the tradition!
DECISIONS:
It’s my impression that attendance might improve if the club holds weekly meetings. Therefore:
MEETINGS ARE GOING TO BE EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT AT 6:30. Don’t be afraid to come, even if you can’t stay for too long. Location is subject to variability depending on whether or not we want to use Talbot’s kitchen. I will send out the week’s location and activity via email.
After the brainstorming section of the meeting, we watched The Window to Paris.
