Decameronul lui Boccaccio

Incredibil, Boccaccio descrie perfect pitzipoanca zilelor noastre înca din anul 1350.

Căci tot ce-a fost virtute, cu sfiiciune tăinuită în sufletul doamnelor de odinioară, azi se preface la noi în găteală și podoabă; iar cea care-și atârnă pe ea veșminte mai bălțate și mai înzorzonate se socotește mai vrednică de prețuirea și cinstirea semenilor ei, fără a cumpăni că și un măgar, de s-ar găsi cine să-l împopoțoneze, ar răbda pe el mai multe găteli decât oricare femeie și că, deci, nu-s nici ele mai vrednice de cinste decât e urecheatul.
Mi-e și rușine a spune, căci tot ce-i împotriva lor se întoarce și împotriva mea; înzorzonate precum sunt, boite și pestrițe, ori stau țepene ca niste stane de piatră, mute și nesimțitoare, ori, de răspund când le-întrebi, îți dai cu socoteala c-ar fi fost mai bine să tacă.
Și încă umblă a-ți dovedi că numai nevinovăția e pricina care le face să nu știe a lega o vorbă cu semenele lor sau cu barbații cumsecade, și sărăcia-n duh au botezat-o cinste, ca și cum n-ar mai fi pe lume alte femei cinstite decât acelea care nu știu să șadă de povești decât cu slujnica, cu spălătoreasa sau cu brutărița. Dacă firea ar fi rânduit cum lasa ele a crede, de bună seama într-un alt chip ar fi găsit cu cale să le scurteze ciripitul.

Fragmentul de mai sus e extras din Decameronul lui Boccaccio scris între 1350 și 1353 (ziua 1, povestea 10).

Translate the above in English

Why French?

I wonder why is French the first language printed on all Romanian ID cards (upper part, title area). Is this a joke? Why is the first word on our ID cards a French word? Why not first Romanian then other languages?

Then is it really necessary to translate the Romanian "Carte de Identitate" to "Carte D'Identite"? To my knowledge, Romanian is a Latin language, same as French and Italian. We are likely to understand each other, and words like the ones above are easily understandable by French, Belgian or Italian people (in case you need to show your ID when travelling within EU countries).

I would rather use Romanian as a first language, simply because the ID card is to be used by Romanian people before others. I would use German as a second language, since the words are very different (Carte de Identitate - Ausweis, Loc nastere - Geburtsort), and definitely need translation for people who travel to Austria, Germany or Switzerland without a passport.

I've always wanted to blog about this, but I just couldn't find this amazing image.

In german Inter-City Express trains, there are special wagons where it is forbidden to make noise. You are not allowed to speak, you have to mute your mobile phone and be as quiet as possible. Due to the perfect isolation from the outside, these wagons are really quiet although the trains reaches speeds of over 300 km/h.
These special wagons allow you to work like magic.
My friend Kevin actually used to say that he worked better on train than in the office, during his remote visits. I agree, they are really nice :)

Rhein in Flammen 2009

Yesterday was a great day! We went out in Rheinaue Park - Bonn, to have a barbecue and watch the fireworks. If you ever come around Bonn in May, look out for "Rhein in Flammen". It is one of the things you must see before you die.
450 000 people attended this year, as Radio Bonn reported today. What a splendid day!

Please share your opinion

Hi guys! I need your quick help on this one. It only takes a minute, and it's fun: I'm trying to participate into a photo competition, and I need your opinion on which photo looks better on a specific area.
Please leave a short comment, by choosing the BEST for each of the categories. You can also vote for each section using the links.
I need your votes until Monday evening, 30th of March!

Diying nature:
Photo 1:

Photo 2:

Photo 3:

Photo 4:

Quickly vote here for this section.


Rich vegetation:
Photo 1:

Photo 2:

Quickly vote here for this section.


Formerly desert area, not anymore
Photo 1:

Photo 2:

Quickly vote here for this section.

Thanks a lot for your help!

Carnival in Cologne

Just a little after the Cologne carnival, I thought I should share some pictures.




I wonder a carnival like this would be seen in eastern European cities. Are the citizens of Bucharest for example ready to have a 3-day marathon with costumed people everywhere singing and dancing on famous Romanian hits?

Chocolate fondue

 

Today was the first time I've heard of chocolate fondue, and was really curious to try it.
How to you eat it: pick one fruit piece at a time, with a little fork, and dip it into a mixture of warm black and white chocolate. Then watch the small chocolate drops falling along your fruit, let it get a little cold, and then enjoy its taste.
Damn delicious!