Author: knari

Book: Collection “Rescuers”

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It’s quite difficult to write about the “Rescuers” collection since this is not just a book but a project to help Ukraine, which is suffering from war. Nevertheless, I’ll still try.

After the war with Ukraine began, many Ukrainians were forced to leave their homes, many suffered, and many, unfortunately, died. Like other cities, for more than six months now, one of the most Russian-speaking cities of Ukraine, Kharkiv, has been subjected to daily bombings. And for me, Kharkiv has always been the capital of Ukrainian science fiction, because it was there that one of the most famous and most prestigious science fiction festivals — “Star Bridge” — was held for many years, organized by Kharkiv residents whom I deeply respect — writers Dmitry Gromov and Oleg Ladyzhensky, better known to readers under the pseudonym Henry Lion Oldie.

It was Oldie who decided to publish the book “Rescuers,” a collection of Ukrainian science fiction of 2022. The title “Rescuers” has a double meaning. First of all, almost all works in the collection are somehow connected with those who help, who save. Secondly, the purpose of this collection is to help Ukraine fight; all money from the sale of this book “will go to help Ukrainians affected by the hostilities in the war unleashed by Russia.” This is the clear position of the authors.

But besides this noble purpose, I still wanted to get acquainted with what modern Ukrainian science fiction represents today, even if in short form. I’ve known and loved Oldie for a long time, but I don’t always have time to follow new and less well-known authors.

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“Highlander”: The Soundtrack

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Yesterday I talked about the two MacLeods from the Highlander series, but since I’ve already brought up this franchise, it would feel incomplete not to mention the film’s music.

True fans know, but many people never even stop to think about what music played in Highlander or who performed it. And yet, the soundtrack definitely played a big role in the film’s popularity, since it was created by none other than the mega-popular band Queen. In fact, based on songs written for a couple of films (including Highlander), they released the album A Kind of Magic.

It included the following tracks featured in Highlander:

  • A Kind of Magic
  • One Year of Love
  • Who Wants to Live Forever
  • Gimme the Prize
  • Princes of the Universe

All of these songs were written specifically for the movie, which is clearly reflected in their lyrics. Among them, two tracks gained the most widespread popularity.

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MacLeod — Duncan or Connor?

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Yesterday, I ran a little social survey on my Facebook page, and the result was pretty much what I expected. I asked a simple question: “When you hear the surname MacLeod, what first name immediately comes to mind?”

As I thought, the majority of answers were “Duncan.” In fact, some people even asked what other answer I could possibly have expected. And that’s exactly what makes it so interesting.

Connor MacLeod
(illustration from IMDb.com)

Of course, when we talk about MacLeod, we immediately think of the story of the Highlander — the near-immortal warrior who can only die if his head is cut off. The whole bit about transferring power between immortals after such a victory isn’t really important in the context of what I’m saying here.

What is important is this: it turns out that many people don’t realize there were actually two Highlanders! Yes, both were called Highlanders, and both carried the MacLeod name.

It all began with the release of the film Highlander in 1986. According to the story, the MacLeods are a Scottish clan, and in 1518, Connor MacLeod (played by Christopher Lambert) was born. In 1536, Connor was killed in battle — only to resurrect, learning that he was one of the immortals. The film follows his life, his training with the immortal mentor Ramirez (played by Sean Connery), and his constant battles with other immortals, all the way up to the modern day.

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Book: George Friedman “The Next 100 Years”

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Who among us hasn’t wanted to know the future? Who we’ll become, what discoveries await us… As children, probably almost everyone dreams of that. But over the years, that desire seems to fade into the background—at least, it did for me. The longer I live, the less I want to know what lies ahead. That knowledge often feels too frightening. I want to believe that everything will be okay, that my children and grandchildren won’t face the horrors previous generations endured, not to mention all the disasters that are constantly being fed to us from every direction.

Unfortunately, reality doesn’t care about what we want. And even now, we see things we never imagined we would.

It was at just such a moment that I came across a mention of George Friedman’s book The Next 100 Years, where he predicts how our civilization might live through the 21st century.

Here’s what the Russian publisher Eksmo writes about George Friedman on their website:

George Friedman is a political scientist from the United States, founder and head of the private intelligence company STRATFOR. The company specializes in gathering and analyzing data in the fields of geopolitics, national security, and economics. As the organization’s lead expert, Friedman works alongside a professional team of analysts to collect macroeconomic and political information from a wide range of sources and develop geopolitical strategies. His books are also devoted to these topics.

In other words, the author doesn’t make predictions out of thin air—he bases them on a deep understanding of geopolitical realities and the patterns that shape the development of civilizations. This is his professional field of expertise.

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Book: Dr. Sandi Mann “Why Do I Feel Like an Imposter?”

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I’m 45 years old. And I’ve achieved nothing.

Even though many people around me say I’m a successful and competent leader. But they just don’t get it—I’ve just been lucky.

…Those could have easily been my words. And to be honest, I’ve definitely had moments like that, especially during the harder times. But this is exactly how many people feel—and scientists have even come up with a name for it: imposter syndrome.

At some point, people start to believe that they don’t deserve the praise or reputation they’ve earned. In their own minds, their achievements feel like occasional flukes—definitely not the result of their own talent or hard work. And this feeling is only becoming more common. Studies show that up to 70% of people now experience imposter syndrome to some degree, including both adults and teenagers.

Technically, “imposter syndrome” isn’t classified as a mental disorder—it’s not considered an illness. And when the majority of people seem to be dealing with it, it’s hard to say whether it even counts as a deviation from the norm.

Sandi Mann’s book Why Do I Feel Like an Imposter? explores this exact phenomenon. And while the Russian edition’s subtitle promises to help you “stop downplaying your success and constantly proving your worth to yourself and others,” the truth is this book likely won’t solve the problem for those dealing with this mindset. The original subtitle is a bit different: “How to understand and cope with imposter syndrome”.

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Book: Ilya Ilf, Yevgeni Petrov “The Twelve Chairs”

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The first time I read the books about Ostap Bender was in my teenage years. I don’t think that’s the best age for such reading, but the book was on our shelf, I had heard a lot about it, and I already liked the film version of The Twelve Chairs directed by Mark Zakharov. Probably because of the songs — but still, I liked it.

I remember that I read both The Twelve Chairs and The Little Golden Calf back to back. I really enjoyed the first book, while the sequel left me with a feeling of melancholy. That impression of the duology stayed with me for years. However, I recently decided to reread them as an adult, to see how my perception might have changed.

Looking at the editions currently available, I came across an expanded version titled “the most complete edition.” That piqued my interest, so I chose to read that one.

In case someone out there either doesn’t remember or has never heard of this book (which would be hard to believe), here’s a brief summary. The setting is the 1920s. A former nobleman, Ippolit Matveyevich Vorobyaninov, lives a modest life as a registry office clerk when he suddenly learns that during the revolution, his mother-in-law hid the family jewels inside one of the chairs from their noble furniture set. He throws himself into a frantic search — and is unexpectedly joined by a stranger, Ostap Bender. In reality, it’s Ostap who takes the lead in the hunt. Thanks to his wit and the skill of a “great schemer,” he masterfully navigates even the trickiest situations. Poor Ippolit Matveyevich is hardly a match for him.

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Song: Ludwig Göransson “The Book of Boba Fett”

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Modern TV series have become a separate form of art. And the quality of many of them is no lower — and sometimes even higher — than that of recent films. At the same time, music plays far from the last role. Many series can boast excellent theme songs and soundtracks.

When Disney released The Mandalorian, they managed to win back the trust of Star Wars fans after a few rather questionable films in the cinematic universe. That series also had a compelling main theme. But in the recently released The Book of Boba Fett, I think they took the music even further. The result is a strikingly memorable theme with a Nordic vibe. Over the past few days, it’s become the favorite song of my younger kids. And honestly — mine too. It hits something deep inside, like it triggers some kind of inner vibration.

Ludwig Göransson – The Book of Boba Fett (From “The Book of Boba Fett”/Audio Only)

My scariest movie

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Many people love watching horror movies, although these days I often find them amusing because of the idiocy of the events and the characters. However, there are still films that genuinely scare me.

Today, I found myself thinking about which horror films scared me the most—those that truly frightened me, even if they weren’t necessarily made with that intention. I quickly remembered three such movies, but the top one became clear almost immediately, with a huge lead. But let me start with the “weaker” ones, if you can say that.

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Songs: “The Sound of Silence”

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Back in our youth, there were so many songs we recognized by ear, but had no idea who actually performed them. Or maybe we just didn’t care — I certainly didn’t. And back then, I didn’t really understand English anyway. A few of those songs for me were now-legendary tracks by the duo Simon & Garfunkel. I still listen to them with great pleasure.

But I only learned the details about their very first song quite recently — thanks to the YouTube channel “Longplay.”

Their very first recorded song was “The Sound of Silence,” recorded on March 10, 1964. It was part of their debut album, “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.” Interestingly, the original version was performed with just one acoustic guitar as accompaniment. In that stripped-down form, the song went mostly unnoticed. In fact, the entire album made so little impact that Simon and Garfunkel decided not to continue — their duo nearly fell apart right then and there. Here’s that version:

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Book: Eva Mozes Kor “The Twins of Auschwitz”

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Josef Mengele is one of the Nazis whose name is synonymous with the atrocities of the Hitler regime. He was not only personally responsible for sorting prisoners at Auschwitz but also conducted horrifying experiments in his camp clinic.

One of his “projects” was an attempt to understand the nature of twins. Because of this, twins had a slightly higher chance of survival—not being sent directly to their deaths—even if they were unfit for labor in the camp. However, Mengele never considered them human and subjected both adults and tiny children to monstrous experiments. To him, they were nothing more than test subjects.

Eva Mozes Kor was one such twin, destined to die so that Mengele could observe how it would affect her sister. But against all odds, Eva survived. After the war, she wrote her memoirs about her time in that hell.

Eva lived with her family in Transylvania when the war arrived. Her father wanted to escape to Palestine, where Jews were beginning to build their own state, but her mother couldn’t bring herself to leave everything behind and take the children into the unknown. Because of this, their once well-off family was among the first to experience the hatred and cruelty of their former neighbors. And when they finally decided to flee, it was already too late.

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