Hey guys, as you might have noticed, the latest review took three more days to appear than usual, even though I tried to stick to a set schedule ever since January when the blog went public. The reason is that, as all of you probably know by now, is that my country is at war with another country, and writing reviews is a delicate process where, if you want to be good, you have to have a certain mix of relaxation and concentration to succeed. As you can imagine, both of these are extremely hard to achieve at the moment. Things are okay in Moscow in terms of general material safety, but psychologically, we’re not in a very good place right now.
Mar 11, 2022·edited Apr 13, 2022Liked by George Starostin
I will admit, I did not have the occurrence of a conventional land war in Europe on my 2022 predictions bingo card. This is progressively becoming not only the darkest, but the most bizarre timeline. I hope you do what you need to do to keep your head above water, George.
Some more tunes for a developing anti-war playlist: “I Fought in a War” by Belle and Sebastian, “House at Pooneil Corners” by Jefferson Airplane, “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” by REM, “Universal Soldier” by Donovan, “Yes Sir No Sir” by the Kinks, “King Kong” (also) by the Kinks, “Butcher’s Tale” by the Zombies, “Hell Broke Luce” by Tom Waits, “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield, “Fortunate Son” by CCR, “Zombie” by the Cranberries, “Draft Morning” by the Byrds, “Games Without Frontiers” by Peter Gabriel, “War Sucks” by the Red Crayola, and “Some Mother’s Son” (again) by the Kinks. Mostly low-hanging fruit, of course, but they all work for me.
Whatever You do: Take care of Yourself and those closest to you. That is what counts.
In my neck of the woods, we do our darndest to gather as many resources as we possibly can
and get them to Ukraine and things are picking up speed. Fortunately we do have both ukrainian AND russian friends in France and Germany, so we can act on a somewhat broader base.
Know this: A great many people in western Europe are aware, that this is not a conflict with
"The Russians" but a volley in a battle against authoritarianism - the same enemy that wages war against us all over the fucking place. Crafty little bastard, too. And until we have successfully disposed of this threat, we need to keep our senses, our humor and our guile.
And we will. And so will you.
All the best to You George and all your relations. You are not alone.
Mar 3, 2022·edited Mar 3, 2022Liked by George Starostin
Keeping you and yours in our thoughts and prayers. I can't imagine dealing with all the day to day challenges that you must have since this has begun. Take care of yourself and be safe!
Hey George, Niko from Finland here. I wish you, your family and your friends the best during this scary and difficult time. I hope this senseless war and the suffering of the people of Ukraine and Russia will be over soon. Stay safe!
Thank you for the update, George. May justice and peace, in that order, somehow come in this too-often unjust and violent world. My heart is with all who are working toward that, including you and your friends.
I just want to thank you for being an integral part of my childhood. You helped guide me through a great musical voyage I will never forget, and I owe you for showing me some of the best music I've ever heard in my life.
In these almost 50 days of war I've hardly listened to any music at all. It feels out of place to be enjoying music in the time of great suffering, deaths and shame for my country's actions. I've never suspected I could do without music in my life. So I completely understand your mood, George.
Hi George, thank you for the update. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. Though it's a dark time now, I'm hopeful that brighter days for both Russia and Ukraine will come to pass
Hey George, I hope you're doing okay; ever since this war thing began, I was thinking about your situation. Stay safe and I wish you and your family well. Love from India.
I've been wondering about your situation since I always knew you were in Moscow. Stay safe, and yes, hopefully the angels of peace (on the *right* side) win out eventually.
Hi George, is very comprensible. I´m from Argentine, I hope this will be over soon. Thanks for your wonderfull job. I'm waiting for your next review!!!
I will admit, I did not have the occurrence of a conventional land war in Europe on my 2022 predictions bingo card. This is progressively becoming not only the darkest, but the most bizarre timeline. I hope you do what you need to do to keep your head above water, George.
Some more tunes for a developing anti-war playlist: “I Fought in a War” by Belle and Sebastian, “House at Pooneil Corners” by Jefferson Airplane, “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” by REM, “Universal Soldier” by Donovan, “Yes Sir No Sir” by the Kinks, “King Kong” (also) by the Kinks, “Butcher’s Tale” by the Zombies, “Hell Broke Luce” by Tom Waits, “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield, “Fortunate Son” by CCR, “Zombie” by the Cranberries, “Draft Morning” by the Byrds, “Games Without Frontiers” by Peter Gabriel, “War Sucks” by the Red Crayola, and “Some Mother’s Son” (again) by the Kinks. Mostly low-hanging fruit, of course, but they all work for me.
Hey George, this is Rick from Germany
Whatever You do: Take care of Yourself and those closest to you. That is what counts.
In my neck of the woods, we do our darndest to gather as many resources as we possibly can
and get them to Ukraine and things are picking up speed. Fortunately we do have both ukrainian AND russian friends in France and Germany, so we can act on a somewhat broader base.
Know this: A great many people in western Europe are aware, that this is not a conflict with
"The Russians" but a volley in a battle against authoritarianism - the same enemy that wages war against us all over the fucking place. Crafty little bastard, too. And until we have successfully disposed of this threat, we need to keep our senses, our humor and our guile.
And we will. And so will you.
All the best to You George and all your relations. You are not alone.
Rick, his whole family, his friends and his dog.
Keeping you and yours in our thoughts and prayers. I can't imagine dealing with all the day to day challenges that you must have since this has begun. Take care of yourself and be safe!
Hey George, Niko from Finland here. I wish you, your family and your friends the best during this scary and difficult time. I hope this senseless war and the suffering of the people of Ukraine and Russia will be over soon. Stay safe!
Thank you for the update, George. May justice and peace, in that order, somehow come in this too-often unjust and violent world. My heart is with all who are working toward that, including you and your friends.
I just want to thank you for being an integral part of my childhood. You helped guide me through a great musical voyage I will never forget, and I owe you for showing me some of the best music I've ever heard in my life.
In these almost 50 days of war I've hardly listened to any music at all. It feels out of place to be enjoying music in the time of great suffering, deaths and shame for my country's actions. I've never suspected I could do without music in my life. So I completely understand your mood, George.
Andrey
Hi George, thank you for the update. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. Though it's a dark time now, I'm hopeful that brighter days for both Russia and Ukraine will come to pass
Hey George, I hope you're doing okay; ever since this war thing began, I was thinking about your situation. Stay safe and I wish you and your family well. Love from India.
I've been wondering about your situation since I always knew you were in Moscow. Stay safe, and yes, hopefully the angels of peace (on the *right* side) win out eventually.
Hi George, is very comprensible. I´m from Argentine, I hope this will be over soon. Thanks for your wonderfull job. I'm waiting for your next review!!!
Hey George
Rick here with a little update,
our first Convoi is now on its way from Southwest Germany to Ukraine via Poland.
We had expected to get enough material to fill up one truck.
We filled four.
Mostly medical equipment and supplies, hygiene products, cloth, baby food and three generators.
Also two medical doctors from Ireland with their own equipment.
Where I'm at is just one rather small district by the Rhine river, but the generosity and compassion
of the people here is real and heartfelt.
And on top of it all - the lady who coordinates the distribution of refugees in our area, is herself an ex-refugee from Syria.
Things look bleak for now, George, but there are some powerful reasons for optimism.
Just to keep you up to speed.
All the best
rick