Introducing Also Sprach Zamo.ca NG!  

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Ladies and Gentlemen, Badisori si Badisoare, am decis sa incep un nou blog, in principal din motive tehnice. This new (am numit acest nou) blog Also Sprach Zamo.ca NG, unde NG vine din New Generation in limba engleza si inseamna Noua Generatie.

Octopus vs nanaUtolo  

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There was a recent showdown in Oscars documentaries between Colectiv and My Octopus Teacher. I rooted for Collective and it reminded me of a long running Italian TV series from my childhood, La Piovra. Caracatita a castigat si traducerea in romana pe FataCarte.

CIP by Electronica and Speccy Games  

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The reason why I always felt “at home” with computers is my first homecomputer, a “CIP”. Which was my first, back in the late 80s Versiunea romaneasca pe FataCarte.

DW documentary on Romanian children beggars  

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#atatsaputut: As busy as one gets, occasionally there is the old "something wrong on the internets" feeling, and that was triggered by this Deutsche Welle free documentary about Romanian Roma kids begging on the streets of Paris as well as in the Parisian Metro (subway / tube) and how the French and Romanian authorities are dealing with it. Ca de obicei, versiunea in romana a acestui articol pe FataCarte.

It's not a lot, but “atat s-a putut”.

Duolingo and Teatru Radiofonic (2?)  

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Duolingo (invite) sent me a new report placing me in top 1% users, which is a great opportunity to once again look at Romanian radio drama or theatre or teatru radiofonic. Traducere in romana in curand pe pagina de fatacarte Zamolxis.

That XVIII Century Romania Map Error  

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A while back, we looked at a map that placed Romania South of Bulgaria, and Bulgaria in Romania’s place, in a kind of “castling” or “rocada” (cf Romanian) of the two countries. A relatively newer map, picked up somewhere on Facebook (fb below in Sources), makes the same “mistake”. Are the quotes around the word mistake warranted?

#COVID19 austerity and bosom vs tits  

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There are many ways, these days, to celebrate April Fools Day. I'm going to share with you a James Joyce poem along with the story of having sent it. (If you’re looking for a more conventional April Fools celebration, check out 2009.)

Romanian Movies in Toronto  

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I just learned of two significant Romanian movie events in Toronto: Porumboiu's Whistlers is having its (wide?) release and TIFF a "survey" of 50 years of Romanian Cinema.

1989 + 30 = documentaries  

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A few weeks ago we celebrated 30 years (10x3 years, man!). A lot of documentaries and retrospectives and I hardly kept up with them. But I did watch a few and learned (or refreshed my memory with) facts I either did not know or had forgotten. I will first list, and then, time-permitting, summarize them.

Viorica Dancila. A Love Story.  

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There is open season on Viorica Dancila, the losing presidential candidate from PSD and former prime-minister of Romania. Today, Monday, she has even renounced the leadership of Socialist PSD, until not long ago the main Romanian party. For a contrarian such as myself, this is the perfect moment to announce my undying love for this misunderstood and not very presentable "prezidentiable".

Expired Romanian Passport Shenanigans  

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I happened to be in the area so I decided to pay the consulate a visit, not expecting to be able to vote, but hoping to learn more info about my programmed visit for my passport renewal. I didn't waste a lot of time, but in typical Romanian fashion, someone managed to use my time with info that is likely useless.

The Fake Presidents or Prezidentiabilii  

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Although I already said I’m not voting, due to atrocious bureaucratic hurdles at a time when it was supposed to be as easy to vote as possible in the most expensive election so far, I’m having second thoughts. Voting is an opportunity to give some unknown hopeful a chance, so I will have a quick look at the lesser known candidates who are worthy of a second look (apart from frontrunners).

Danci Dancila–is CTP hacker or troll?  

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Our favorite former SF author, CTP, is back with another seemingly antiziganist or racist controversy, again on former PM and current PSD candidate for president, Dancila. He made fun of her family name etymology (likely Romani or Gypsy) and an anti-discrimination group / person entered the fray.

Iohannis :) Birchall  

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I noticed recently how the mere mention of Birchall, in a positive manner, by President Iohannis, has caused backlash in PSD and there is even talk of excluding her from that rapidly disintegrating party. One could say that he likes her, but is he just mouthing it? To me, this is symbolic of PNL encroaching in PSD’s home turf and, in some instances, replacing it.

Electronic Vote or Nu Votez  

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I probably won’t be voting this year. I’m telling you about my failed attempt to register for “vote by correspondence” or “votul prin corespondenta” as well as my passport application.

Repatriated Romanian from USA at Hotnews  

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Hotnews has previously interviewed Romanian diaspora people, which we covered, and we have also been profiling others in the diaspora ourselves. This interview is somewhat new in that the interviewee is "returned" - and we expect to be many more like him in the coming years.