Showing posts with label familie. Show all posts

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 struggle to write about my grandma’s passing away, between expressing all I have to say, and staying within the limits of what a reader might find interesting or useful, without falling into too much drama.

There are two issues I have not written about, though they’ve been on my mind and are quite troubling, from a consistency point of view: Sevil Shhaideh Saga and Kovesi’s plagiarism. The second can wait, but the first is quite important.

I continue with my answer to a friend, started in asa.zamo.ca/immigrate2canada.

The Romanian expression would be “niste carnati expirati” though in English I could’ve called them hotdogs or patsies just the same. Now, I owe a new installment in an older series, due to a debt born in comments; I know that and I’ll get to it eventually. However, this one is simpler and takes less time to write, which is why I am writing it now, quickly.

The current culture clash about some Norwegian child welfare agency having seized a Romanian couple’s children over physical discipline and the ensuing protests coming mostly from religious groups has a recognizable background: it’s a rehashing of the century-old conservative vs liberal quarrel. I have respect and admiration for Norway and their altruistic, enlightened and generous foreign policy and foreign aid, but this case may be more than just that.

It’s been a while since we haven’t talked about poverty in Romania and solutions. A recent “debate” caused by an over-the-top article on not giving money to the poor gives us a chance to look at it again and also address our reticence with BDSM practices.

Christmas is a time of forced happiness, unmet expectations - i.e., looking forward to spend some time with your family, only to end up annoyed by the same things that caused you to move out as quickly as you could if your parents are alive, or feeling unappreciated by those ungrateful earthlings if you are a parent yourself. No wonder so many of us have started to take the Festivus joke seriously!

My resolve to stop speaking about the difference between Roma / Gypsies and Romanians was recently shaken by an Irish couple, one of whom had a Roma sister adopted from Romania.

Contemplating the inevitable death of a relative is tough. It's been on my mind for the past few days and I can't shake it. Death is inevitable in itself, but when the sand in the hourglass has accelerated its fall due to a voracious cancer diagnosis, for many it becomes far scarier. I tried to take it in stride, but its unavoidability is still depressing. Even the Simpsons episode with Homer dying with a bucket list containing “make peace with dad” is not as distracting as it could be.

I've a bad habit of opening tons of tabs as I research topics, then forget to close them as I move on to new knowledge pastures. I was yesterday greeted by a loud motherboard alarm as it was overheating. Normally, I just dump them into my various Tumblr blogs, but today, as I close my tabs, I'll dump them into this article.

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.

I don't how much I will end up writing and whether or not I will password-protect part of it - I just know that I do. If it’s not obvious, the title makes reference to a movie about mother-daughter love with Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson (clips: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9).

Am decis sa public o scrisoare primita in urma cu 10 ani si 3 luni. Este fix genul de scrisoare pe care nu as putea-o publica in intregime pe acest blog, intrucat nu intentionez s-o supun discutiei. The unencrypted introduction is probably self-explanatory as to why encryption must be used for the rest of it.

With all the March 8th celebrations, I got this idea about writing an article about each important woman in my life, starting with early childhood or as far as my memories go. That would take a while.

I found via bucurenci.ro Cosmin Alexandru's article. I jotted down a few quick thoughts.

Incepusem sa zic chestii cu maritis, insuratoare, alea. Si-acum o zi sau doua vorbeam despre asta si multe altele cu un var. Care se lauda ca-i mult mai batran decat stiam eu.

Tocmai a fost dat publicitatii un studiu facut pe orfanii din Romania. Vad ca nimeni n-as scris despre asta, asa ca ma grabesc s-o fac eu.

Un crud paradox al societatilor avansate este ca pe masura ce devii economic si "free-time-wise" mai capabil de a avea copii (adica te apropii de varsta pensionarii), devii incapabil biologic. Asta-i motivul pentru care un numar atat de mare de Conservatori – inclusiv fömei – se pronunta impotriva drepturilor reproductive ale femeii (avortul) si sprijina adoptiile internationale de zici ca viata lor depinde de asta.