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
I realized this week that I have been a terrible mistake. In hindsight, it’s understandable why I made the mistake. After all, when I first came here to Romania 12 years ago, my life was a lot different. I suffered terribly from insomnia. I worked 100+ hours a week and I lived on the border of a neighborhood where there were shootings and murders all … Continue reading It’s Raining Boys
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
This has been a very good week and I thank all of you who left messages of support – they were warmly appreciated. I’m grateful to be closer to finding my serenity and joy. I didn’t plan it this way but I spent a good part of week in the company of a couple members of Cluj-Napoca’s homeless community. You might remember from an earlier … Continue reading Down and Out in Cluj-Napoca
Well two days ago every newspaper in the world (almost) published a small blurb about how the Romanian Constitutional Court (CCR) invalidated the July 29 referendum and therefore Basescu would be shortly returned to office to finish out the rest of his term (until 2014). Of course this is Romania so nothing is that simple. At issue right now is the case of Mona Pivniceru, … Continue reading The Shortest Straw
All Things Romania 