12:34 Absurdist man
Speed is both midwife and temptress of literary comedy. To achieve lightness, prose must skate rather than amble, dart and not brood. It must be swift. And yet comedy that is nothing but speed and excess risks becoming frivolous.

12:25 Northern soul
The Third Nordic Music Festival — running through May 28 this year — thrives on the edges of both high brow and street-level entertainment.The festival was established in 2004 by Swedish conductor Kristofer Wahlander.

11:43 Redrawing Russian History
Released this year on the eve of the Defenders of the Fatherland Day, “Prince Vladimir” was not an ordinary blockbuster motion picture. It was a feature-length animated cartoon – a genre that barely existed in Russia only a few years ago.