#this kolobok is cursed

[russianfolklore]

Konstantin Avdeev's illustration for russian tale "Kolobok".

Kolobok is the main character of an East Slavic fairytale with the same name, represented as a small yellow spherical bread-like being. The story is often called "Little Round Bun" and sometimes "The Runaway Bun."

[cinenthusiast]

films watched in february 2024

39. "kolobok" (1956, davydov) / 1st viewing / file 40. when tomorrow comes (1939, stahl) / 1st viewing / file 41. "rendezvous" (1976, lelouch) / 1st viewing / museum of home video stream 42. "my name is oona" (1971, nelson) / 1st viewing / museum of home video stream 43. "back to the future predicts 9/11" (2015, alexander) / 1st viewing / museum of home video stream 44. "mondo elvis" (1984, corboy) / 2nd viewing / museum of home video stream 45. "the attitude factor" (1981, parker) / 2nd viewing / museum of home video stream 46. "the ugly little boy" (1977, morse / thompson) / 1st viewing / museum of home video stream 47. "invasion of the aluminum people" (1980, boone) / 1st viewing / museum of home video stream 48. passage à l'acte (1993, arnold) / 1st viewing / museum of home video stream 49. only angels have wings (1939, hawks) / 2nd viewing / dcp, brattle theatre 50. the talk of the town (1942, stevens) / 1st viewing / dcp, brattle theatre 51. the last picture show (1971, bogdanovich) / 3rd viewing / columbia classics 4k 52. the train (1965, frankenheimer) / 2nd viewing / kino lorber 4k 53. the lego batman movie (2017, mackay) / 1st viewing / blu-ray 54. no sex last night (1996, calle and shepard) / 1st viewing / le cinema club 55. barry lyndon (1975, kubrick) / 2nd viewing / 35mm, brattle theatre 56. ladies of leisure (1930, capra) / 2nd viewing / file 57. the raid (2011, evans) / 2nd viewing / 4K 58. misery (1990, reiner) / no idea what viewing / scream factory blu-ray 59. the whisperers (1967, forbes) / 1st viewing / file 60. thinner (1996, holland) / 2nd viewing / blu-ray 61. the song of the scarlet flower (1938, tulio) / 1st viewing / file 62. the curse (2024, fielder & safdie) / 1st viewing / paramount w/ showtime 63. red lips (1995, farmer) / 1st viewing / agfa blu-ray 64. video diary of a lost girl (2012, denniberg) / 1st viewing / agfa blu-ray 65. drugstore cowboy (1989, van sant) / 2nd viewing / criterion channel 66. "beanstalk bunny" (1955, jones) / 35mm, brattle theatre 67. "kit for kat" (1948, freleng) / 35mm, brattle theatre 68. "the bee-deviled bruin" (1949, jones) / 35mm, brattle theatre 69. "robin hood daffy" (1958, jones) / 35mm, brattle theatre 70. "daffy duck hunt" (1949, mckimson) / 35mm, brattle theatre 71. "piker's peak" (1957, freleng) / 35mm, brattle theatre 72. "wet hare" (1962, mckimson) / 35mm, brattle theatre 73. "now, hare this" (1958, mckimson) / 35mm, brattle theatre 74. "water, water every hare" (1952, jones) / 35mm, brattle theatre 75. "bill of hare" (1962, mckimson) / 35mm, brattle theatre 76. "knighty knight bugs" (1958, freleng) / 35mm, brattle theatre 77. muppets from space (1998, hill) / 2nd viewing / blu-ray 78. josie and the pussycats (2001, kaplan & elfont) / no idea what viewing / criterion channel 79. the big house (1930, hill) / 4th viewing / file 80. liar liar (1997, shadyac) / 2nd viewing / shout factory blu-ray 81. no country for old men (2007, coen brothers) / 2nd viewing / paramount plus 82. "the big snooze" (1946, clampett) / looney tunes golden collection vol. 2

[winter-ass]

`’ Concept: Russian Fairytales ’`

Indeed, Barnes and Romanoff do have some strange habits. Like baking a dozen of pancakes on first week of March[1] or doing cross gestures with their hands with saying weird stuff that sounds as if they want to curse every single person in a mile around to the seventh generation (actually they do want to do that). They were searching for ice holes all around the New York although the Winter Soldier was supposed to hate cold[2]. They drank vodka, shouted something.

It seems to be normal for Natasha to do all that shit. Clint that knows all her demons is calm so there mustn’t be any problems. James maybe just wanted to try everything new in the world after getting rid of Hydra. Tony doesn’t worry at all because the only the he only want to be certain in is that the world is not going to fall apart in neatest future. Come on, Tony has a huge tower that looks like a dildo and a team of superheroes with strong PTSD — he is the last person that is supposed to be confused. Bruce, firstly, is just too considerate to ask anything and secondly, he doesn’t care about anything that happens upstairs. Thor didn’t use to be with the Avengers too often because he preferred asgardian realities or the space crew named Guardians of Galaxy. Literally no one was interested in Romanoff and Barnes, singing creepy songs in a few languages at once.

Steve had pretty enough chaotic and random things thrown right up to his face. Starting with talking ceiling JARVIS (it is the artificial intellect but still) ending with a bunch of aliens falling out of nowhere. But the one thing he didn’t expect to happen is that his best friend will go on with Natalia Romanoff well. She got a shell in her stomach from the Winter Soldier but... He didn’t expect.

“What is the secret meaning of Колобок?”[3], James says while sitting on the floor and kicking the expensive Stark’s carpet. Natasha on the couch kicks James’ ass. He doesn’t give a fuck.

“Allegory for humans’ life, Jimmy. Why дед and бабка wanted to return him home? Because that’s a sign of parental overprotection to their children. Заяц means socialization, волк — working, медведь...and then he suddenly meets the woman, лиса, who makes him fall in love and eats him”.

“Sounds a bit viciously, don’t you think so?”

“Absolutely not. That’s life”.

“Now I understand why Russians are so pessimistic. They are taught since childhood that happiness doesn’t exist”.

“Oh I beg you. Have you seen yourself in arrival to the Union?, scoffs Nat, “Looked like Царевна Несмеяна”.[4]

“You’re a Баба-Яга. These braids”.[5]

“Don’t you dare remind me of these awful shitty things”.

“Won’t you permit me to make them for you? Even if I’m Добрыня Никитич?” James looked sadly.[6]

“Your puppy eyes work only for Алёша Попович”[7] the Widow nodded at Steve.

“He has much more of Иван Дурак”[8], answers Bucky. Steve glances in a question.

“Are you two trying to discuss me secretly?”

The legendary assassins giggled together. That was creepy.

“Of course no, свет очей моих.”[9]

“Bucky”.

“Guess I have to learn Russian”, Steve grumbles.

“And you must pass the dedication on folk fairytales!”

————————————

[1] — Масленица (Maslenitsa) is a holiday that is celebrated in February-March. The point of it is to say goodbye to winter and greet the spring. Traditional pancakes are delicious, trust me.

[2] — Крещение is when people dive in ice cold water. A religious Christian tradition.

[3] — Колобок (pic 1) it’s like a round piece of pastry.The fairy tale's plot describes Kolobok's repetitive meetings with various animals (rabbit, wolf, and bear) who intend to eat it, but Kolobok cunningly escapes. With each animal Kolobok sings a song in which he explains, "I got away from Grandmother, I got away from Grandfather, and I will certainly get away from you." The fox manages to catch and eat Kolobok through distracting him by praising his singing.

[4] — Несмеяна (pic 2). She is The Princess Who Never Smiled or The Unsmiling Tsarevna is a Russian folk fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.

[5] — Баба-Яга (pic 3). Baba Yaga is a supernatural being who appears as a deformed or ferocious-looking old woman. In Russian folklore, Baba Yaga flies around in a mortar, wields a pestle, and dwells deep in the forest in a hut usually described as standing on chicken legs.

[6] —Добрыня Никитич (pic 4). Dobrynya Nikitich is one of the most popular bogatyrs from the Rus' folklore. Albeit fictional, this character is based on a real warlord Dobrynya, who led the armies of Svyatoslav the Great and tutored his son Vladimir the Great. Many byliny center on Dobrynya completing tasks set him by prince Vladimir.

[7] — Алёша Попович (pic 4). Alyosha Popovich, is a folk hero in the Rus' folklore, a bogatyr. He is the youngest of the three main bogatyrs, the other two being Dobrynya Nikitich and Ilya Muromets. All three are represented together in Viktor Vasnetsov's famous painting Bogatyrs.

[8] — Иван Дурак (pic 5). Ivan the Fool or Ivan the Ninny is a lucky fool stock character who appears in Russian folklore, a very simple-minded, but, nevertheless, lucky young man. Ivan is described as a likeable fair-haired and blue-eyed youth. The approximate setting of Ivan The Fool's adventures is the 15th or 16th century Russia.

[9] — «свет очей моих» is how in Russia the wife used to call her husband. That’s was like really long time ago.

[sjohnson24]

The Magical Matryoshka Doll

A Matryoshka doll is a treasure of Russia. The Matryoshka is a beautiful doll commonly made from wood or metals. It consists of a large doll in the artistic rendition of popular saints, political leaders and artists. It opens in half to reveal similar dolls that are smaller upon each opening. There are many variations and a black box from China that held a grain of rice in the middle, was the first known inspiration.

Vasily Zvyozdochkin is credited with being the first craftsman to carve this doll in Russia in 1890. Sergey Malyutin is the first artist to paint the design. The inspiration is from another Asian creation, a Japanese doll in the shape of Buddha. The doll won a bronze award in 1900 at a world fair in Paris, France and became widely popularized. The design and craftsmanship has become a modern day part of traditional Russia.

Tourists flock to buy a piece of the culture, and the Matryoshka doll is a popular souvenir choice.

A Matryoshka doll set is most commonly made from one piece of wood. The wood comes from different types of trees such as alder, aspen, birch and Tilia. Alder wood is a type of birch and is heavily associated in Magic with the planet Venus. The wood is sacred to many gods and goddess including Aphrodite and Odin. Birch wood is believed to drive away evil spirits and the tree itself commonly springs up after wildfire. Aspen trees make a whispering noise when the wind blows. Tilia wood is great for carving!

Russian Fairy Tales

Since many of the Matryoshka dolls are made to symbolize emotions I want to share with you some beloved fairytales of Russia. Fairytales are a great way to share cultural stories that everyone experienced history and magic of the time. Maybe one day, you will happen upon a Matryoshka doll as I have and you may already know what the face means, the stories behind it and the energy absorbed into the wood. This way you will really feel the Matryoshka magic.

Baba –Yaga

In Slavic legend, the Baba-Yaga is a hideous old woman. Her name itself means mother or old woman, just like the Russian Matryoshka. She is mischievous, helping those she takes a liking to and then hurting those she does not like. She lives in the magical forest. A magical forest is found in the center of a large forest clearing, usually deep within the woods. She has come to earn many representations because she is so mysterious.

Kolobok

Kolobok is a yellow spherical being that resembles a smile. He has a round yellow face and many variations. The Kolobok, which is a traditional Russian sweet dish becomes alive and escapes. On the road he meets several animals who want to eat him. He deceives each one by singing a clever song. This fairytale can be compared to that of the American gingerbread man.

Vasilisa The Beautiful

A merchant had a beautiful daughter named Vasilisa. When she is eight years old her mother becomes fatally ill. As a last gift, she presents Vasilisa with a wooden doll and instructions to feed and give it drinks when she needs its help. The doll will than come alive and help her with what she needs. So, as soon as she dies the girl cannot wait and starts to give the doll food and drink. The doll comes to life and comforts Vasilisa.

The father marries again and this time the woman is wicked and only cares for her two daughters (much like the American Cinderella.) The doll helps Vasilisa to perform the many chores given to her by the evil stepmother. When Vasilisa’s father has to leave faraway for work, she is in even more trouble. The stepmother sells the house and moves them deep into the woods.

The light in the house goes out and there are no candles left. Vasilisa is sent to go recover some light. She happens upon the hut of Baba-Yaga.

Baba Yaga tells her she must earn the light and sets her to tasks. The doll helps her to complete the task as she happens upon three riders on horses, each one representing the day, night and the sun, the doll tells her how to get through the trials.

Baba Yaga blesses Vasilisa and gives her a lantern made from a coal. Yet when she comes into her home she learns her step family has become cursed. No candles or light will burn. The skull’s embers come to life burning down the house and everyone in it except for Vasilisa. Vasilisa than buries the skull in the forest and leaves into the city.

By Deanna Jaxine Stinson

Halo Paranormal Investigations – HPI International. www.facebook.com/#!/groups/HPIinternational/