février 2012

(Photo source) "Aaaaah, Rumania, Rumania, Rumania, Rumaaaaaaaaaaania!!!" As I worked this morning, the Barry Sisters (Claire and Merna Barry - originally Clara and Minnie Bagelman, born in the Bronx in a Yiddish-speaking home) came on the radio with their marvellous rendition of Aaron Lebedeff's ode (first recorded in 1925) to the country of my heart. According to THIS site, "Aaron Lebedeff (1897-1958) was the Maurice Chevalier of the Yiddish stage and one of the top song-and-dance men of the Yiddish theatre. A star of the Second... [Lire la suite]

(Photo source) Andrei Codrescu, Romanian-born American poet, novelist, essayist, magazine editor, screen-writer, radio commentator and University Professor, was born Andrei Perlmutter in Sibiu in 1946. Richard Collins writes, "When Codrescu left Romania at age nineteen, he by no means left his birthplace behind. Along with "the sensual pleasure of the sounds" of the Romanian language, Codrescu also internalised Romanian literary culture, both ancient and modern. Aside from his claim that he has not stopped telling the tale of Miorita... [Lire la suite]

(Photo source) Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi's (pronounced Brancoosh and not Brancoozy as non-Romanians call him) 136th birthday fell last Saturday, 19th February. In his 81 years, Brancusi's works include some 215 sculptures and over 1,000 photographs inspired by Romanian folk art and imbued with spirituality. He grew up in the village of Hobiţa near Târgu Jiu, close to Romania's beautiful Carpathian Mountains, an area known for its rich tradition of folk crafts, particularly woodcarving. When he was 18, Brâncuși... [Lire la suite]

(Photo: Mediafax) I was astonished to read this morning about Teodor (Doru) Maries's hunger strike over the last 90 days. As far as I know, it has had as good as ZERO media attention. Googling, I found this article in Ziare dating 22nd December 2011 and another in Romania Libera marking the beginning of the hunger strike. Since then, a deafening silence, apart from this one article from Epoch Times dated 7th February - obviously the press is otherwise occupied with the terrible weather conditions and more 'urgent' political topics.... [Lire la suite]

(Photo: Sarah In Romania) The steps of the Romanian Athenaeum concert hall in the centre of Bucharest are my most favourite of all places for watching the world go by, the sun go down or simply 'holding the moment'. Of course, attending a concert or three in its beautifully ornate, circular, domed main concert hall (or even the "Mouse Hole" downstairs) is just as much cause for a deep and contented sigh. When my students used to ask me which monument I thought best represented Bucharest (it was one of their favourite questions to ask... [Lire la suite]

An excellent assessment from Cristian Ghita in the Liberal Democrat Voice on the cause of the 'discontentment' in Romania today, which has forced thousands out into the streets despite viciously freezing temperatures. Please post your comments at the original source for Cristian Ghita. This is the very best summing up I have read (in English) since the protests began three weeks ago: A Postcard from………Bucharest   By Cristian Ghita | Published 8th February 2012 - 11:55 am The wall on the Liberal Democrat Voice office has... [Lire la suite]

(Photo source: EVZ) Here we go again... Romania feels the swipe from France once more with yet another racist 'joke'. It is one thing to make fun of individuals, but that is rarely the case when it comes to Romania. Instead, the whole country is tarnished with the same negative brush. Last night on Europe 1, Louis Aliot, number 2 of France's National Front Party, had to explain the presence of racist caricatures on the blog of an FN member. Clearly embarrassed, Aliot said he was surprised, as the caricatures were clearly... [Lire la suite]