The Ghost of Simonides

There are plenty of daily tragedies ongoing in Romania, especially the chronic mismanagement of this country’s government and natural resources, as I have documented at length elsewhere. But for me one of the greatest standing tragedies in this country is that the classical philosophy texts of Ancient Greece are not part of the curriculum and only specialized scholars at the university ever get exposed to … Continue reading The Ghost of Simonides

October 1, 1942

Except for people who are extremely interested in World War 2 history, very few people outside of Russia remember the “Battle for the Caucasus” anymore. Despite this, the city of Novorossiysk (spelled Novorossiisk above and Новороссийск in Russian) was one of just 12 cities awarded “Hero City” status by the Soviet Union. The image above is from the New York Times and you can click … Continue reading October 1, 1942

Oppa Clujnam Style

I am seriously thinking about buying one of those hidden video cameras, the kind that you wear like sunglasses or record through a pinhole in a hat or something. It’s not because I’m doing some undercover reporting or anything like that – it’s just because my life is so damn interesting. Truly, it is. Some of it is obvious, like dancing in a club or … Continue reading Oppa Clujnam Style