Google Inbox Invites Offered

Do you want a Google Inbox invite? I've got some and will be happy to share :) Just leave a comment or message me.

If you don't know what Google Inbox is, then don't worry ... it's only the Next Big Thing from Google's restricted-access hype marketing.

Is it worth the hype? It depends on you. It's got some nifty features, that's for sure.

The two sides of Romania

In South Africa, you regularly find yourself saying 'Gee, Place X would be so nice, if only it wasn't for the people.'

I've often said here that there are numerous parallels for me between Romania and South Africa, and I've just come across another great example of that.

Firstly, here is more achingly beautiful drone footage, this time of Romania from the sky:

YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG-l3DvE4L0

Then, of course, the flipside of that video ... introducing some people to the landscape: Romanians who don't know the name of their country (a Facebook video so Google won't embed it).

For English-speakers like me, the premise of that video is simple: the interviewer repeatedly asks all subjects what the name of the country is, and they all - bearing in mind they were selected because of this - claim to not know (listen out for 'Nu stiu' - I don't know). 

Again in South Africa there is a lot of snide humour in the urban hubs aimed at the expense of the 'uneducated masses' in the country, so this is a predicament I have a lot of empathy for. It seems that in any 'developing country' a substantial percentage of the populace gets left behind.

Before I'm accidentally guilty of entrenching the 'Romania is rural' stereotypes any further, let me balance it out with this equally-entrancing video of Bucharest shot by drones:

Direct YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR2SdvUTcNs

Thank you, Romania, for not being some two-dimensional country with a back-story nobody cares about. There's so much to this country, and I'm enjoying the journey of discovering each disparate puzzle piece.

Just when you thought you'd seen everything....

... somebody had the awesome idea of flying their drone INTO A FIREWORK DISPLAY.

And yes, it's sufficiently beautiful to make army drill sergeants cry ... profusely.

Direct YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9KZ3jgbbmI
Background details here.

YOLO ... and other good things

Watch YouTube enough, and it will get a really spooky sense of what you like, and remind you about things you've watched a long time ago. For me, tonight, it reminded me of this awesome video, that you will click play on right now:

It is sad, it is hopeful, it is beautiful ... it is everything I love about life. And that's important to me, because ... you know ... YOLO*

*YOLO, I'm reliably informed, is how the young kids say You Only Live Once.

Cape Town Aerial Video

If you need some beauty in your life, I have this amazing aerial video of the special city I live in (for now) ... Cape Town, South Africa:

Breathtaking scenery. Check. Haunting soundtrack. Check. The perfect video? I think so.

HelloRomania Research Project

If you've been following this blog for a while you'll already know that last year December I - and several other foreign journalists - visited Romania on a grant from the Institutul Cultural Român (Romanian Cultural Institute).

Our tasks were to produce something which highlighted some aspect of Romania's culture, and I selected to speak to Romanian journalists about the Romanian media landscape, some Romanian cultural stereotypes and their musings on Romania's perception internationally.

I met some truly fascinating people (pictured in the collage here), who were far more insightful and frank than I had any right to hope for. It led to me dusting off my academic writing for a rather lengthy project, which I've been hosting on a dedicated mini-site for the past eight months.

I am now going to be taking that website - http://helloromania.net - down, after it has served its purpose. If you've never seen it, head over there quick. If it's already down by the time you get there, I'm preserving everything here! For posterity, the project website was entitled 'The Romanian Media Landscape: Discussions With Romanian Journalists'.

Now, just because nobody can resist a good button, click here to download the full 233kb PDF (and hear some refreshingly authentic opinions about Romania!):

If you're old-school and want a link instead, here it is: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-GOq0EJbH99dmdWLTRQUndUWmc/edit?usp=sharing [See? The button was better!]

Happy Weekend!

I uncovered this awesome old photo I took while at University:

It sums up my feeling to 'It's the weekend, baby!'