Eric Newman
1. How did you meet Boris?
Met Boris at an Indian themed Rooftop party near the UN
2. What was the first thing that kept your attention from him?
First things that caught my attention were
1) Red Glasses
2) Sherlock Holmes style of speech w Russian accent
3) Boris discussing anarchists he 'knows'
3. What's the craziest you saw him do?
Craziest thing I witnessed Boris do is to tap his umbrella on a taxi door and send it on its way because he didn't agree with the quoted price. Crazy because it was very late on a Sunday night. In the biggest NYC snowstorm in a decade. Taxis were impossible to find. And we were with two women in heels (Gina and Kasey)
4. How did you think he would look in his 50s?
He looks exactly as Id pictured. And will look exactly this way at 75, I suspect.
5. Any memory related to "otters"?
My otter memory is Boris going into great detail about having his otter Christine shipped into NYC from SF. This convo was held at the Met Museum. And I believed every word.
Including how Boris would have Christine sleep in his bathtub (Boris had no bathtub at the time) and would wheel Christine around in a shopping wagon (he had no wagon). Again. I believed every word.
6. Three words you would use to define him...
1 Generous. 2 Laser-Sharp. 3 Funny.
7. What are Boris' most unique qualities?
Unique abilities - Endless 'tank' of energy. Love for and calm under chaos. Cuts through all forms of bullshit.
8. What would Boris be, if he was one song
Starman' by David Bowie
9. Any last wish for Boris?
My wish is that he gets to a place financially (in his mind) where he can 'afford' to stop worrying about what executive executives might say - and allow his wild wonderful artistic side out of its cage.
Best,
Eric
Barbara Knott
1. How did you meet Boris?
Boris and I met in 1997 working at Mathsoft, Inc., a software company on Main Street in Cambridge, MA. It was the 16th floor of an office building and
Boris had a corner office. He kept a lot of books in his office, on shelves, stacked on the floor and on his desk.
2. What was the first thing that kept your attention from him?
The first things that grabbed my attention were Boris’ great sense of humor and the mysterious manner he conducted himself as a self-described “foreign born professional.”
3. What's the craziest you saw him do?
Boris had to back out of this crazy spiral parking ramp in Rome, Italy. We were looking for parking in the heart of Rome and it appeared to be a parking garage. We if it was it was closed because after he drove down this very narrow spiral entrance that went deep below ground level, it turned out to be closed and the only way out was to go in revers. It was very intense. On that same trip, we happened to meet Dr. Ruth at the top of St. Mark’s Campanile in St. Mark’s Square,Venice.
4. How did you think he would look in his 50s?
Like he does today, complete with a full head of hair and fun glasses.
5. Any memory related to "otters"?
I don’t know anything about the otters. (Pun intended)
6. Three words you would use to define him...
creative, curious, and clever
7. What are Boris' most unique qualities?
Qualities that ring strong for Boris are his passion for travel, adventure, entrepreneurship and family, his curious intellect and his sense of humor.
8. What would Boris be, if he was...
one food: spicy seafood red sauce from Southern Italy
one place: New York, NY
one song: Culture Club: Karma Chameleon
9. What's your last memory with Boris?
We have had a few opportunities to cross paths
over the last few years, share stories about our families, and laugh about some old
times.
Anna Eisenberg
1. How did you meet Boris?
No memories of that - we were babies. My parents know his before either of us were a project. I am 4 months older though.
2. What's the craziest you saw him do?
I never thought of him as a crazy person, on the contrary thought of him as celebral more than crazy
3. How did you think he would look in his 50s?
Fifty is a new … thirty, so he looks exactly that
4. Three words you would use to define him...
Calm, reserved, deep thinker and a good listener, tries to process everything from all angles
5. What are Boris' most unique qualities?
Very resourceful and analytical, forward thinking, always stood in the crowd
8. What would Boris be, if he was... one food?
Cognac? Aged, deep, intense
9. What's your last memory with Boris?
Him and Oscar visiting us in the house in Feb of 2018. Quite a duo. Oscar reminds of Boris as a kid, same quite
Cristina
1. How did you meet Boris?
I met Boris back in 2010 in Barcelona, where I am from. I was launching my company "Have a local friend", a tourist service to show visitors in my city the hidden gems that are not in the tourist guides. He was looking precisely for that... on Facebook.
2. What was the first thing that kept your attention from him?
He was wearing white pants and white shoes!
3. What's the craziest you saw him do?
Probably now that I know him well after almost 11 years together the craziest thing he ever did was marry me :)
4. How did you think he would look in his 50s?
When I met him I thought he was 37, and I think he looks 37... more than before
5. Any memory related to "otters"?
Many. I didn't know how otter was in English after I met Boris. The most dramatic memory is no doubt when somebody stole our "Christine Otter" from his 40's party...
6. Three words you would use to define him...
Smart, generous, stubborn
7. What are Boris' most unique qualities?
Boris has many qualities, and he knows many of them. For me his "most unique" favorite quality is the way he loves "his son Oscar" and "Victorcito" and how sure I am that he would do anything for both of them.
8. What would Boris be, if he was...
one food: Omakase
one country: Russia
one song: Fly me to the moon (buff buff)
Maria Apreleva
1. How did you meet Boris?
He probably doesn’t know or remember it, but the first time we met must have been in 1984 in school Nr. 95, when we were in a parallel class at the age of 13. We didn’t know each other, but found out later that we were in the same school.
2. What was the first thing that kept your attention from him?
Can’t really tell, we knew each other for quite some time, before each of us start paying attention
3. What's the craziest you saw him do?
Riding in a bucket of an excavator truck on the dirt road in the woods north of St. Petersburg. We were late for a train and could not get a better ride.
Ok. Going against Moonies was pretty crazy…..
4. How did you think he would look in his 50s?
Same as in his 30s, possibly a new colorful shirt and a bit more grey hair
5. Any memory related to "otters"?
Nope
6. Three words you would use to define him...
В тихом омуте черти водятся. Sorry, there are 4.5 words
7. What are Boris' most unique qualities?
Honesty, diligence, and black humor.
8. What would Boris be, if he was... one country:
…, Switzerland, ….
9. What's your last memory with Boris?
I hope it is not the last one, but when we were cheering for a German soccer team during the World Cup Final in 2016 in NYC.
Unfortunately, I will not be able to join you guys in Greece, I will be in Russia, helping my daughter settle in, she is leaving to study in St. Petersburg for a year. But please party hard for me, too!
P.S. I hope to get a lot fo pictures!
Lev
1. How did you meet Boris?
2. What was the first thing that kept your attention from him?
I don't remember, he was just always there. :)
3. What's the craziest you saw him do?
I didn't see it happen, but I very much enjoyed the idea of him buying cows at (the world's largest?) cattle auction in Oklahoma.
4. How did you think he would look in his 50s?
(48 in this photo, but close enough,
and look at that outfit!)
5. Any memory related to "otters"?
When the Lontra offices were cleaned out, the
giant person-sized furry otter that was the
company's mascot ended up at Langton Labs,
the warehouse where I used to live.
We placed it at the entrance, just as you come
into the front door. The otter stood on its back
paws, and in the darkness looked more like a
bear, ready to pounce. After several months of
startling countless visitors (and residents!) as they came into the house,
it was taken down by popular demand.
6. Three words you would use to define him...
Generous
Even-tempered
Storyteller
7. What are Boris' most unique qualities?
Two things come to mind:
- He is really bothered by people saying "most unique". (Sorry Cristina!) "Something is either unique or it's not, 'most unique' doesn't make sense," he'd say.
- He blends storytelling into conversation in a way that makes it hard to tell if he's being serious or not.
8. What would Boris be, if he was...
one food: Something meaty (you are what you eat?), somewhat adventurous, and colorful...Like a steak tartare with a bright yellow yolk and some garnishes:
one song: I don't know if this song represents Boris necessarily, but the song Common People (both the Pulp and William Shatner versions) makes me think of him, because he was into it.
