{"id":1877,"date":"2011-05-29T10:53:50","date_gmt":"2011-05-29T17:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rayivey.com\/wordpress\/?p=1877"},"modified":"2011-05-29T10:53:50","modified_gmt":"2011-05-29T17:53:50","slug":"spring-forward-day-72","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rayivey.com\/wordpress\/spring-forward-day-72\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"rss\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a>

Moscow
\nMay 23, 2011\u00a0<\/h2>\n
\"All<\/a>
All the pretty horses...<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

First day in the Moscow office and all went well.\u00a0 Colleagues took me to an Uzbek restaurant.\u00a0 While I tucked into Karam Shurva (cabbage soup) and yummy cheese pie (sort of a large sopapilla), I bored my companions with how I loved Uzbekistan because it was one of the answers to my favorite geographical trivia question.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Speaking of food, after work I found my Russian Mexican food.\u00a0 I high-tailed it to \u041b\u0430 \u041a\u0430\u043d\u0442\u0438\u043d\u0430, which is La Cantina to you and me.\u00a0 I had a very servicable chicken quesadilla and a lovely ear of asado corn.<\/p>\n

\"...and<\/a>
...and all the drowning horses.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To get there, I took a nice long walk through the neighborhoods between where the Firm\u2019s office is and the Kremlin area.\u00a0 I was happy that my sense of navigation was working properly (though to be honest, the Kremlin is kind of hard to miss).\u00a0 It was the first real time I\u2019d strolled through a real \u201cneighborhood, \u201d rather than a large busy main thoroughfare, and I enjoyed myself.\u00a0 I enjoyed the architecture, the bustle of city life, and also the gorgeous Russians themselves.\u00a0 I may have to revise my list of Cities With the Most Attractive People.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\/\/\/<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a>
This bridge was made of pieces from ruins of old Kremlin walls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Okay, more on those Orthodox icons.\u00a0 It turns out that people really DO worship the icons themselves.\u00a0 From all the stories I\u2019ve heard about Moscow\u2019s history (\u201cAnd in this battle the famous Awesome Icon of Weeping Mary was credited for winning the battle against the Tatars!\u201d) it\u2019s clear that the \u201cveneration\u201d of icons leads people into thinking they have magical powers.\u00a0 I have to conclude that the theological criticism from Western Christianity regarding idol worship are fair.\u00a0 Sorry, Russia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Evidence<\/a>
Evidence of failed Russian engineering. They seem weirdly proud of it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Russian churches are weird.\u00a0 They tend to be very small, and they never<\/em> have seats of any kind.\u00a0 You always stand in a Russian church.\u00a0 Also, the incense in them is absolutely stifling.\u00a0 It\u2019s thicker than the thickest patchouli I\u2019ve ever experienced at the hippiest Austin party.\u00a0 It\u2019s so think even when holding your nose you can feel it hammering against the back of your throat.\u00a0 I don\u2019t get how the faithful can tolerate it.<\/p>\n

They also seem to have little choirs going all the time, singing the most beautiful music.\u00a0 I\u2019d stand and listen to it longer if I wan\u2019t having to hold my breath.<\/p>\n

\"dome_detail_2\"<\/a>Theological Advantages of Protestantism Over Catholicism and Orthdox Christianity<\/h4>\n