Momentous Meetings

This historic occasion was first brought to my attention by our good friend Rebecca Shaffer! So this is the gist. For the first time since the schism of 1050 AD, the pope, leader of “western Christianity’s” Catholicism, and the patriarch of the “eastern Christianity’s” Russian Orthodoxy, have met. It’s pretty huge.

Reports say that the two leaders met in an airport in a private room with interpreters. The full extent of what was discussed is not known, but the leaders emerged with admonishments for peace in the Middle East and a call for an end to the persecution of Christians there.

While the moment has become highly politicized, with several different theories as to the extent of maneuvering going on here, it is easy to miss the gravity of this move. If nothing else, it is a move away from violence and towards unity, and that is something that everyone can respect. Check the article for more info!

Russian Superstition

Russian Superstition

So I recently watched this movie called “Deadly Code.” It’s on Netflix, and it’s definitely worth a watch! It was about Serbian gangsters and their own code of morals and respect. It also delved into Russian tattoo culture, and the culture in general as well. The only lame thing is that they don’t actually speak по-русски, they just speak with an accent. Which yeah, is lame and annoying, but look, it’s free if ya got Netflix, so go check it out.

            This movie brings me to my post; in the movie the дедушка gives all sorts of wisdom to the boys, but a lot of it is from superstitions I found very interesting. So I combed the Internet looking for some, and found quite a few! While not as interesting as in the movie, these are still pretty righteous. Some of note:

o   Don’t give money hand to hand, because there’s a belief that it can transfer negative energy.

o   Walking with an empty bucket is considered a bad omen.

o   Don’t take anything out of the house at night. It’s bad. Stop. Don’t.

Anyway, this can help us if we go abroad. Let’s dodge those awkward situations as a team eh?

http://rbth.com/articles/2010/09/07/twelve_russian_superstitions04931.html

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1697064/