Archive for the 'Romania' Category

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Family as stick figures

For the first time in more than three years I was home for my mother’s birthday. I am only posting about this because I needed the excuse to showcase my brilliant artistry. Among the gifts me and my brother gave her was a cup that I drew on with a white porcelain marker. It’s a […]

How I spent Friday watching the world end

There is something about my Fridays in Targu Mures. They are odd, conflicting, almost schizophrenic. Last night fit the bill perfectly. Things kicked off around 6 PM when I decided to attend a photo exhibit opening coupled with a poetry book launch. This local artist had traveled to India and she was displaying some photos […]

Is Romania really ready for the EU?

That’s the question of an opinion piece of mine that just ran this Friday in The New Republic. Unfortunately, you have to pay for TNR Online content, so I copied and pasted the article here. Is Romania really ready for the EU? Country Bumpkin Next week, the European Union’s executive body, a beast that thrives […]

Netizens

The latest issue of Dilema Veche, the Romanian magazine I write for, had the Internet and the citizens’ interaction with the medium (“Cetateni pe Internet”) as its central theme. It’s a great discussion to have in Romania, where political and social opinion currents born online are just beginning to take shape. Back in March I […]

Not by the neck, gay guy!

There was one piece of furniture I never wanted to see in my Bucharest studio—a bed. I had one when I moved in, but it had a thin metal frame and at the first party I threw about 10 people sat on it for a picture and quickly turned into a hammock. This gave me […]

Driving through Cheile Bicazului

On Friday morning, my brother and I drove towards Bacau for a story I’m working on. We chose the Targu Mures-Sovata-Gheorgheni-Piatra Neamt route. We talked some, but we mostly let the car stereo do its thing. My brother is into electronic music (drum n bass), while these days I’m into softer indie rock stuff. It’s […]

I want to own a street corner

I was at a wake for a distant relative last night and I realized how different my life has been from that of generations past. The wake was about an hour drive from Targu-Mures on the less traveled roads, where potholes reign supreme and both lanes take on the appearance of an exploded minefield. A […]

Veni, Vidi, Party

One thing has constantly topped my list of things to do since I came home: throw a party. I used to ask my friends every week: “so, anyone found a basement yet?” I talked so much about this possibility that we filled our time coming up with party themes: Bucegi party, reading party, underwear party […]

Romanian Gothic, Romanian Joy

Last night felt surreal for a few hours. Before me and my friends settled in the smoke-infested joint that has become our second home, we experienced Romanian Gothic and Romanian Joy in rapid succession. We kicked off the night with a movie. We thought Romanian cinema might need a few extra lei so we decided […]

The broads are leaving (us)

I have a dear friend who has embarked on a fun quest to save the world. While I’m currently doing my part by watching movies until 4 AM while nursing a bottle of Romanian wine (thus making life better for countless people who don’t have to deal with me), she struggles for a better world […]