The following dialogue is in Romanian and I am not translating it by hand, is a stupid dialogue about people buying powerful cameras:

[Guy1] mi-am luat un canon 450d (kit) la 1500ron . e ok pretul? 🙂 “ca si nou smm! zice ala de pe okazii”
[Guy1] si ma intalnesc mai tarziu sa il pick up, e ceva anume la care ar trebui sa ma uit? sa nu fie vreo defectiune/uzura pe care eu sa nu o observ? ca nu prea stiu
[Guy2] Guy1: da
[Guy2] desi la 1500 s-ar putea sa mai aiba un glitch pe ici pe colo
[StupidGuy] ala e un aparat foto?
[StupidGuy] am sesizat ca asta e noul thing la barbati
[StupidGuy] aparatele foto
[StupidGuy] patetic 🙂
[nicubunu] cu lentile cit mai MARI
[StupidGuy] da
[nicubunu] a mea e numai de 300 mm 😀
[StupidGuy] toti stau si o freaca la rece pe forumuri si site-uri cu obiective
[StupidGuy] si se intreaba dupa aceea de ce nu vrea nimeni sa s efuta cu ei
[Guy5] nicubunu: da link la strip-ul ala al tau cu obiectivele 🙂
[Guy3] am si eu cunoscuti retarzi care au bagat in aparate foto si obiective 4-5k EUR. pula mea, daca nu produci cu sculele alea tre’ sa fii putin cretin
[Guy3] deja placere si detaliu iti poate oferi orice scula de 800-1000EUR
[nicubunu] http://fedora.nicubunu.ro/webcomics/size-matters.png
[Guy4] Guy3: aceeasi parere poate sa o aiba ei despre bagatul de bani in masini sau comfutere
[nicubunu] so eu sint “aproape cretin” 😀
[StupidGuy] nicubunu: nu draga
[StupidGuy] esti idiot sadea
[StupidGuy] eu nici macar nu am aparat foto 🙂
[Guy3] Guy4: la masini e clar. la computere idem. cistigul e imediat.
[StupidGuy] ce castig bre?
[Guy3] Guy4: dar la poze… faci ditamai poza care dupa 2 zile ramine uitata pe un hdd
[StupidGuy] tu castigi ceva cu masina?
[StupidGuy] faci taximetrie?
[Guy3] nu, dar profit zilnic de ea in mod util si placut
[StupidGuy] pai la fel si ei cu aparatele foto
[Guy3] pai faci poza si o zvirli
[Guy3] care e finalitatea?
[nicubunu] care e finalitatea sa te joci Starcrat 2?
[Guy3] ma rog, sint foarte multe aspecte si la masini care sint inutile si imbecile.
[StupidGuy] ideea e ca peste tot unde ma duc vad numai distrusi de astia lower middle class cu dslr-uri sau cum naiba se cheama
[StupidGuy] si nspe obiective langa ei
[StupidGuy] si se agita, sa uita
[Guy4] eu fac poze cu telefonul mobil
[Guy3] pai lentila e totul
[Guy4] cele mai misto amintiri
[StupidGuy] si tot de kkt ies pozele
[StupidGuy] point and shoot si gata
[Guy5] imo >90% din fotografie e sa stii CE sa pozezi
[StupidGuy] aia e tot ce ai nevoie
[StupidGuy] daca nu esti artist
[Guy4] Guy5: exact
[StupidGuy] in fine
[nicubunu] uh… nu, cind nu stii ce sa pozezi iese si mai rau daca faci cu o sapuniera
[StupidGuy] am remarcat doar ca asta e new thing
[StupidGuy] eram la IT-ul unei banci acum cateva saptamani
[nicubunu] pentru ca s-au ieftinit SLR-urile
[StupidGuy] o chestie de aia de noapte
[StupidGuy] si ma uitam pe monitoare ce au lasat deschis
[Guy5] nicubunu: pai pozele de kkt sunt de kkt la orice rezolutie si calitate
[StupidGuy] pe vremuri era porn si tech stuff
[StupidGuy] acum erau cu aparate foto
[StupidGuy] rusinos
[Guy5] StupidGuy: acu sunt photoshopuri si aparate foto
[StupidGuy] da
[Guy5] metrosexualizarea bate globalizarea
[StupidGuy] nicubunu: bai omule, sapuniera cum ii zici tu incape in buzunar
[nicubunu] o poza de kkt arata un pic mai putin de kkt daca e facuta cu o camera buna
[StupidGuy] nu umbli ca cersetorul cu rucsac dupa tine
[StupidGuy] asta e priceless
[StupidGuy] poza te pisi pe ea
[StupidGuy] oricare ar fi
[nicubunu] fa tu poze cu sapuniera
[StupidGuy] pai nu am nici de aia

As a conclusion, I am a cretin, idiot, beggar and such. I stopped the conversation then the next obvious line had to be “sorry my friend, but you are an idiot”.

Note: all the names are anonymized as the discussion happened on a public IRC channel.

The other day I went with a friend to Carturesti, supposedly the best book store in Bucharest, to check some stuff, I ended with a nice vintage photography book, since I am fascinated by the topic and plan trying some, and she with several titles.

The funny (IMO) part started when after seeing some cards and magnet toys she thought some old art may be interesting, so we started to find Kama Sutra, as such a big book store must have it. So we looked everywhere and were not able to find it, nether something related. She was embarassed to ask for help and we headed for the exit when a clerk asked if we need anything so we said we search for a book. The clerk, a woman, asked us to wait for a bit until she’s done with another customer, so we returned to the aisles, waiting while looking at more books. Then my friend got even more embarassed, as there was no way out and she had to talk with the clerk.

A few minutes later we went to the clerk and my friend asked “where do you keep books like Kama Sutra, yoga and other things like that?” (see, a question as indirect as possible!) and we were pointed to a small part of an aisle, well hidden in the Psychology section, almost impossible to spot, because “very few customers look for such books” (this is a quote from memory). The books selection was weak, but we managed to find what we wanted: a copy of the original version, with ancient drawings, real traditional art. While we were searching the aisle I couldn’t stop expressing my disappointment for the book store not having a space publicly dedicated to sexual education, as I expect to happen in a civilised country.

In our way out when passing by the clerk my friend thanked for the help but couldn’t stop pointing her about how useful would be for the section to be labelled, just like all the others sections in the store so people can search what they need. We bot in response the same explanation about how those are hidden because very people are looking for them but this time I noticed the expression on the clerk’s face: she had something like half a smile and half a grimace and was acting like she was at the same time ready to laugh at our questions and being embarassed by the topic, all while still trying to be polite. And she was young and probably literate.

So much for the modern Romania!

PS: in a related story, a couple of days before this incident, another friend of mine told me how she had some images from Kama Sutra, lost them and want again. As she was unable to, I pointed her to TPB, with plenty of resources, both traditional and modern.

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