Martin Schultz on the EU

I'm just going to let these articles speak for themselves.  It's a great follow-up to the EU post from earlier and definitely will stay a hot topic as things heat up and break down in Europe.  Martin Schultz, president of the European Parliament, would naturally be for strengthening that branch of legislature, but I am inclined to think he has really solid opinions given that national interests trump in the two other branches.  I embrace the idea of a European-wide election with no national elections because it's a concession that clearly puts nation first, continent second.  They can have all the EuroVision contests and ERASMUS programs they want, but when it comes down to it, no one is pushing for the real European integration that was originally envisioned.

A Pole on Czechs

I really liked this article and Mariusz's perspective on Czech culture as a Pole. I'd be interested in hearing more cross-cultural analysis in Europe––the friendly kind, not the stereotyped, nasty kind. Before this article, I was unaware of any misunderstanding between Czechs and Poles. All I knew was that Poland and Hungary are bros. Happy reading!

About the European Union

I came across items of interest lately concerning the EU.  I have much to learn myself on the functioning of the EU, but I thought these would be helpful for other curious folk.  After the jump, there is a video on how the EU works, an explanation of what the ECHR does, an article about EU squabbles and sovereignty, and a humorous look at European nations.

Lithuania & Belarus Student Fashion

I regularly follow a number of blogs, including those on fashion.  I gravitate toward the fringe fashion blogs as opposed to "recycle your closet!!11" kinds.  I have particularly enjoyed Style Bubble, which almost anyone in the fashion blogosphere knows about.  She's a big deal.  I love that Susie Bubble features student work and that she also features an incredible amount of international work; she doesn't settle for the big name fashion shows, but digs into the local fashion scenes to see what's ticking on the grassroots level.

I found this post on a student showing called ITS, which was also judged by the one and only Marina Abramović. I should probably do a post on her in the near future because she is one of the more compelling modern artists and is from the Yugosphere.  Anyway, two fashion designers of interest were featured!  See the photos below for a sneak peak and then read her post.  I would hate to rip off her work, so let me simply direct you to the good stuff.

EuroCup

I haven't posted anything on the EuroCup because I'm an ignorant American who doesn't ever watch football (I know enough to call it football!).  I should get more into it since football plays a vital role in politics (re: Central and South America).  History plays a huge role as well, as the whole world realized today.  Just in case they forgot that some wounds go pretty deep.

Guernica and Romania

I want to refer you lovely readers to a website I have somewhat recently started following.  I came across this article a few days ago and wanted to share it.  Guernica is a thought provoking online magazine that integrates art and politics (with some intermarriage of economics).  They're really not all that separate, but they tackle all with the same tenacity and unite them in a fresh and interesting way.  I would try to work for them if I wasn't planted in Chicago--I'd love to learn how to run an independent magazine.

Russian Hair Tutorials

I normally try to avoid posts on Russian things, but I just got suckered into hair tutorials on YouTube and I don't know how I do it, but I ended up in the Russian corner of YouTube hair tutorials.  This is such a typical occurrence: I will be browsing through various suggested videos and then I end up east of Germany on the internet.  It must be the law of attraction.

I found so many tutorials from Russia, some of them nuttier than others.  I was fascinated by the prevalence of hair twisting.  Most of the western world (at least through the lens of Pinterest..) is obsessed with good ol' fashioned braids, while the Russians seem to like twisting their hair.  My glib survey of Russian hair tutorials have given me quite a variety.