Category Archives: Friends & Neighbours

Sixteen people to not hang out with in 2016

Happy New Year! I’ve been accused of being “too negative” around the blogosphere lately. “Cheer up, Natalia,” a bunch of you are saying. “Stop using indelicate words and hating on people quite as much.” I’m sure most of you have a point. But since none of you will read me if I’m going to goContinue reading “Sixteen people to not hang out with in 2016”

I am not your monkey: on motherhood, art, and presumptuous bullshit

The other day it happened again. I was talking to a friend about the eternal issue of having kids/not having kids, when the friend said something like, “I guess I just care too much about art and changing society for the better. Who has time for that when they have a child?” **beat** “I mean,Continue reading “I am not your monkey: on motherhood, art, and presumptuous bullshit”

If you like my poetry and stories, please consider donating

Dear subscribers, regular readers, and anyone who happens to be wandering by, I need your help. This blog features a lot of random updates, but there are also two sections that involve a lot of work: the so-called Fairy Stories (I chose that category name to piss J.R.R. Tolkien off in the afterlife, but itContinue reading “If you like my poetry and stories, please consider donating”

Why it sucks to be a journalist (and why people do it anyway)

In the West, the news is a commodity, a product. And the customer is always right. If you’re not giving the customer what they want – you’re usually screwed. In places like Russia, the news is more like a government-owned resource. And the government gets to set the agenda on how said resource will beContinue reading “Why it sucks to be a journalist (and why people do it anyway)”