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Am avut recent o scurta discutie cu Elhunes pe twitter. Este despre gramatica, o arta greu de stapanit pentru romanul emigrant, in special pentru cel care se adapteaza tarii adoptive.

My life has more and more strange, scary coincidences. Sure, some are part of the all-encompassing confirmation bias, but some are just out there. Maybe in my search for meaning I get too hung up on serendipitous occurrences, or maybe I'm turning into the bimbo cliché of RomComs who thinks that "everything happens for.. increased productivity". And no, it’s not this beach.

I recently read a longer article on Bloomberg about Romania and its lagging infrastructure - more specifically, roads and highways. Much to my surprise, all that I was reading on other blogs (or hearing from my relatives) was described and explained as facts. (blmbrg-cows) 

Today’s the last day of Iceland’s Airwaves, which I haven’t attended or written about, but you can check out the soon-to-disappear Soma FM’s own radio station. Yet today’s broadcast, boys and girls, is about something completely different. Back in 2007, when it started as a Canada-only contest, nobody could have predicted that Red Bull Thre3style (#RB3style) would grow into the largest DJ competition on the planet. This year there's a Romanian among them: DJ Undoo.

In a recent (semi-)transatlantic flight, while reading the airline magazine, I stumbled upon a bit on courage and machismo, which contrasted sharply with Andre Gide’s preface to an Antoine de Saint-Exupery (you know, the guy who wrote Le Petit Prince) book I was also (re)-reading. Let me present it for you.

I have meant to write at length on this individual and, as expected, not only that reality caught up with me, but it left me far behind. I never expected for things to go this far, which is why I am revisiting it now.

I recently got an invite to Shantel’s open air concert here in Toronto, but it was too late and I couldn’t make it. And I remembered Talking Heads.

Based on my mistaken belief that there may be people reading this, I go ahead with my recommendations, after the intro and Asia. PISA is not just a set of tests, it comes with suggestions and recommendations.

Though inordinate, this childhood memory was quite far from being an extraordinary event, and as such, I wasn't going to write about it. But a recent, excellent article but this quasi-famous disciple of an even more famous philosopher caused me to reconsider and share this story with you.

I have in the past voted for the (former) President Basescu and even raised to his defence (more or less) when he was accused of slapping an impertinent child. Yet his latest display of inconsistency is more than I can bear.

I just had today, on WhatsApp, a conversation with a former classmate, who posted some photos from Baile Herculane (Herculean Baths? – a touristic destination from Roman times with geothermal springs). The situation is dire. I advised her rather strongly to fight, to which she countered with the refrain I constantly hear in this situations: “you are disconnected from the Romanian reality”.

When friends ask me about immigrating to Canada, my first answer is always DON’T!. However, though I’ve already written about this in the past, I have yet do so in English, so I’ll do so here, especially since yesterday I answered another reader.

I've read this news recently and was not going to react, except that I've read that an acquaintance has actually met this person. It's about a Romanian dentist who was viciously beaten in Edmonton by a sheriff.

LE: The dashcam video of her arrest was released January 12 - find the link at the end.

This is an (Austro?-)German movie shortlisted for the Foreign Oscar and filmed in Bucharest. It’s great and rated 7.6 on IMDB, with a Metascore of 93. It is also remarkably warm and positive toward Romania.

I just learned about two Romanian-Canadian people, mother and daughter Ana Constantin and Lisa Maria Paun being banned for life by Air Canada and left stranded without proper notice. This is not discrimination, just incredibly poor customer service and it’s an issue almost all of us have to deal with every time we fly.

I have in the past participated in 'Romanians against others' contests (such as Brancusi @ Saatchi, cum 2 Ro) and never really liked the idea. So I organized quite a few of my own on this blog (guess the relevant category) and again participated in home-grown ones (selgros, roz cu bunici, leustean, verona, economy), and that was better. This time, I have in front of me a list of Romanian inventions (docx) and I get to vote which one deserves a prize from 3M. You can and should vote as well – see the link below.

A recent documentary about Romanians and their come on Channel4 was left seemingly ignored on this blog (though announced more than a week ago: 1, 2), so I hereby correct this oversight. The “EAT ME” photo refers to a similar but Canadian story.

About a week ago I watched a number of TV series and movies worth discussing. One of them was about the Brits and the war, and it is somehow connected, in my mind, to UKIP and Farage.

The stuff I haven't told you yet about Anaughtia (see previous and still unfinished, at this time, article) is on my mind, fighting its way into a sequel. But it will be a while. There are other stories for other blogs that also searching for a way out of my head. Until then, a somewhat easier subject, on Sweden.

I keep reading about Romanian Police incompetence and I can tell you that I’ve seen far worse here in Toronto. I learned about former cop and current “forensic psychologist” Butoi telling us why a living girl’s carbonized remains ended up in a barrel (cf Romanian “butoi”). And beyond all these facts, inadequacies and incompetence, the question we want to answer even though we know we can’t is why?