because we need some silly news from Russia these days...

I saw a very cute story on the news the other day. It hit 10 celsius in Moscow earlier this week, the warmest temperature ever recorded in January. The ice sculptures displayed on Red Square were reduced to puddles, and birds, thinking it's spring, have started to migrate back to Siberia. This week, Moscow was invaded by flocks of disoriented ducks, who are running bewildered into the streets and shutting down traffic. You can see the confusion in their little duck eyes--"I don't think this is Morocco any more"--and then splat--they're run over by a mafia don driving an armored land rover with tinted windows.

I've yet to observe dead ducks in Kiev, but it certainly looks like April around here. Strong winds, pouring rain, and post-thaw mud everywhere. Except the ground never froze!

Another note of interest: today is another holiday--Old New Year! That is, New Year's according to Russia's pre-revolutionary (Julian) calendar. So, Happy Old New Year!