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After briefly going through the just-published PISA 2015 results, here we expand on our knowledge of the top-performing Asian countries, which share some important characteristics.

The results of the latest PISA testing have come out. Will I manage to write about the educational styles in Canada (which is 4th, tied with Finland, after Singapore, Japan and Estonia) and Romania (48th out of 70)?

My reservations notwithstanding, I suspect most of the people who voted for Iohannis do not really know who he is, apart from the fact that he is not Ponta. I'm trying to bring a bit more color and background to his wooden personality.

A while back, I was having an argument (well, it’s more like I was trying to have a conversation with my designated troll, banned since) about the downside of population decline (PD). He demanded to know why is it bad (which is what I was trying to say) and I thought I provided some studies, but while searching, I was unsatisfied with the quality of the studies I had found. (The title term refers mostly to economy (i.e., population drops below the level required to carry the economy or more specifically old age pensions) whereas PD refers to demographics.) Since then, I’ve found a bit more so here it is.

Cand generalul de securitate Ion Pacepa a cerut azil politic in US, Ceausescu a avut un microinfarct iar Andries a scris celebrul sau blues. De-atunci, ghinaralul nostru a scris cateva carti care insa nu au prea fost luate in serios. Dupa introducerea si Stronach, il luam pe Pacepa in colimator (“unde e tipografia?”)

I hesitated for one day before writing this article and telling you this story. Maybe that's cuz here in Canada we went back to regular time, "losing" one hour.

Discussing the tragedy is inescapable. I had started doing this a few days ago, focusing mostly on Andrei Anghel, but didn’t have the time to say all that I wanted to say, which is why I’m continuing here.

I’ve hinted before on my personal struggle with answering such philosophical questions as “where are you from?” or “where were you born.” As I started answering with “Dacia,” more and more of those asking me, unsatisfied with this answer, started to look it up. One such acquaintance, a Brazilian dude, was kind enough to let me record our conversation. So I made a movie to share it more easily (like the Jens interview).

I have been staying away from the news of the moment, but this recent tragedy hits extremely close to home, whichever way a member of the Toronto Romanian diaspora (including myself) chooses to define that notion.

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.

Reportaj inimos din inima Transilvaniei despre efectul unei noi legi care interzice accesul carutelor cu cai pe arterele principale. Multi oameni vor muri de foame spun satenii din Arieseni. Sunt 750000 de carute inregistrate in Romania, si ele sunt responsabile pentru 10% din accidentele rutiere.

It's a sad day for Ioan Pop, his family, and Romanian Christian Orthodoxy in general, but on the bright side, the abused women are finally getting some closure and Ioan Pop won’t have a chance to repeat his weird brand of sexual religiosity. As usual, I am not content with only reporting on the news; I have a few other things to say.

Oare cum ajung britanicii sa-si inchida usile imigratiei? Ce pazeste Soros?

I am EXTATIC!!!! N-am auzit de ea inainte sa fi castigat premiul Nobel, cum n-auzisem nici de francezul care a castigat in 2008, dar cu cat citesc mai mult, cu atat ma excit mai tare! E musai s-mpartasesc ce aflu cu cei 2-3 oameni care ma citesc, poate iau si eu un Hertzer sau un BlogIdol. Voi incepe sa scriu acest ghid prin a face mai mult spatiu sub birou.

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) 

Now that the European results are known and Euroscepticism discussed, after a short detour through Canadian visas for Romanians, we will finally take a look at the Romanian politics.

Today I met another European woman. Originally from Spain, she told me she worked in the Czech Republic for a while as a translator. Upon learning I'm Romanian, she also felt the need to share with me that there were "a lot of Romanians" in the Czech Republic who wanted to come to Canada but couldn't, because there is no visa treaty. When I told her that there were some problems here with Czech Roma getting visa through fraud and the visa had been suspended, her reaction was to remove her Czech work experience from her resume, out of fear that “Czechs now had a bad name.”

Long time ago some band came up with a song that was supposed to dissipate fears and bring back the magic of the enchanted evening: don’t fear the reaper. It seems that my friends are now afraid that PSD will bring the amnesty law.

Scriam ieri despre fetita (in geaca) maro care-si liciteaza bunul ei organic. Astazi ma uit la chestii inrudite.

Recently, one of the few blogs I read went off-line, after publishing one episode of their epic sagas. It’s [sort of] about Dacians, and as a sign of solidarity, I’ve decided to give the non-Romanian world an idea about it.

More than two years have passed since my last Poc-Rrrom (III) and today, inspired by a story I've just read, I've decided I'll go through with this one.