Acuma: 25 things that make me smile about Romania right now.

1. Andrei and his Harley looking for friends in Constanta. Somebody show him some Harley hospitality, please. Or just direct him to Red Bull Romaniacs...
2. Razvan Vintilescu's razor-sharp blog is just that. He will cut all fools to the quick. And nothing makes me smile like crying fools.
3. The new US ambassador to Romania plans to focus his efforts on corruption and adoption. He won't be distracted by small-scale social problems like poverty, housing shortages, or disease.
4. But someone, apparently, still cares about the plight of Romanian canines. Janak has some dog biscuits for sale and all the profits go to Romanian dogs. Brigitte Bardot seems a little old for the young Janak, but you know, you can't dispute taste.
5. A blogger watching the Enescu Festival in Bucuresti, the fond voyeur.
6. The discussions surrounding Charging the Rhino keep getting hotter. J'aime bien.

   

7. Organic food carves its market niche in Eastern Europe. Finally, the granolas and the yippies can start planning their vacations to Romania.
8. Architecture & Mortality compares the Romanian and German experiences under communism from a somewhat removed perspective.
9. Meanwhile, Abhishek waxes poetic about the Danube Delta with the help of a postcard.
10. More school choice and decentralization in Romania? Or is this just a change in management protocol? Hard to say from here.
11. The Ukraine accuses Romania of breaching environmental obligations. On that note, a new legal publication is due soon on Romania v. Ukraine with respect to maritime delimitation rights in the Black Sea.
12. Hardiek "books a rest" in Bucuresti and reveals his limited capacity to engage a culture he can only superficially apprehend.
13. Six things about teaching English in Romania.
14. Banesa Forest, north of Bucuresti, gets a quick view.
15. UN rights experts warn of "impact" of Romanian migration trends. If I didn't know better, I might think they were talking about a swine flu epidemic. 
16. Romania gets its own Muslim TV station. Why not?
17. The University of Bucuresti. Because it's still there.
18. If you can ignore the terrible pronunciation, this video "A World Without Romania" is actually quite illuminating.
19. US auto giant, Ford, starts work at its new factory in Craiova.
20. Bovine anthrax in Romania? Or maybe just doom and gloom.
21. How to outsource Romania's maps.
22. Romania is the first country in history to win three Pomme d'Or Tourism awards in one year.
23. Looks like Romania might also be at the top of another list-- the list for top ten spammers in the world.
24. A day with Michael Shermer in Romania.
25. Great post about Ceausescu court poet Adrian Paunescu, which also deserves credit for the image you see above. Clever caption from Poor Mouth describes Paunescu, walking next to the Ceausescus, in the act of "dissent". The smile that just won't go away.