in a dutch television programme a priest explained why for him easter is THE happening of the year. according to him the resurrection of jesus shows us that being dead is not the end, that things that seem to be over and done are not. he thought this was a hopeful thought.
i'm not sure. i have great doubts.
the first thing i think of is posters with 'moody blues back on stage', 'roxy music together again', 'the hollies touring again'. you will find these posters always around köln hauptbahnhof. don't know why but maybe for the resurrection of old bands germany it's the right place to be. anyway... it's something we shouldn't want. we don't need the moody blues anymore. it's over! seeing john fogerty singing a creedence song trying to imitate himself when he was still 20 years old is painful. save us the embarrassment.
there was a rumour that for the royal wedding in sweden abba would get together again. don't! i was never a fan of abba but millions of people were. knowing me, knowing you ... let them keep the memory.
robbie robertson of the band told last week in an interview that their last concert, which became famous because of the movie 'the last waltz', was never planned as being the last concert. it just turned out to be. it was over. although there were many attempts to bring them together again they never played again. a wise decision. robbie just made a new album with new music.
i'm wondering if the resurrection of jesus was such a good idea. i understand that then the ending of the story, on the cross, would have been a bit sad. but let's be honest, the story till that point was good. a revolutionary fighting for the good. everything which came after missed that spirit.
sometimes things are just over.
Monday, 25 April 2011
Saturday, 23 April 2011
images of women
my running in the morning takes half an hour and always takes the same route. along the sea over the lungomare i run till the statue of the madonna, i run around her, say 'hi maria' and then go back the same way. one could say that this sounds quite boring...but it isn't.
this morning, still on my way to maria, i noticed three girls on the beach. yelling, running, laughing, pushing each other. i guess they were about 13-14 years old. well dressed according to the last fashion but playing like happy kids. it made me smile.
a few minutes later just before arriving on the piazza of the madonna i met a man who i think is called pepe. not really sure but let's cal him pepe. at least 30 % of the male population here is called pepe so i guess i can take the risk. pepe is a striking phenomena in our village. he dresses like a woman. today he was wearing a pink t-shirt, a beige coloured tight kind of thin trousers and pointed shoes without high heals. through the pink of the t-shirt shined the light green of his bra partly covered by an enormous necklace. as always he had his big black bag around the shoulder. his face has an unnatural kind of brownish complexion. no wig today which means he is bolt. above all i find him enormously brave. you must have a lot of courage to walk around in this small village in the south of italy like this. it won't make you a lot of friends probably. still i don't understand the choices he makes when it comes to dressing up. what is the image he has when he puts on his clothes. the pink t-shirt is still ok but the necklace it just too big... it's too much. the trousers he wears were ok for my mother in the 60ies...i wonder where he still buys them. the bag is too big and too black and would fit a very old lady when visiting the funeral of a friend. but he walks along the lungomare as if showing the latest design of christian dior or ralph lauren. as i said he is a brave man.
after my greeting maria i see pepe sitting on a bench overlooking the sea with a royal smile on his face.
from far i already see the 3 girls still on the beach. it's the same girls but they completely changed. no shouting, no jumping, no running, no playing anymore. they suddenly have female bodies and are very much aware of that. all the time they strike with their hands through their long hair or just simply put the hair in the right shape by a quick move with the head. it's astonishing...they are like 5 years older...in ten minutes. the reason is two guys who joined them and seem to be impressed. again it makes me smile...but also a bit sad.
just a run of two times 15 minutes
this morning, still on my way to maria, i noticed three girls on the beach. yelling, running, laughing, pushing each other. i guess they were about 13-14 years old. well dressed according to the last fashion but playing like happy kids. it made me smile.
a few minutes later just before arriving on the piazza of the madonna i met a man who i think is called pepe. not really sure but let's cal him pepe. at least 30 % of the male population here is called pepe so i guess i can take the risk. pepe is a striking phenomena in our village. he dresses like a woman. today he was wearing a pink t-shirt, a beige coloured tight kind of thin trousers and pointed shoes without high heals. through the pink of the t-shirt shined the light green of his bra partly covered by an enormous necklace. as always he had his big black bag around the shoulder. his face has an unnatural kind of brownish complexion. no wig today which means he is bolt. above all i find him enormously brave. you must have a lot of courage to walk around in this small village in the south of italy like this. it won't make you a lot of friends probably. still i don't understand the choices he makes when it comes to dressing up. what is the image he has when he puts on his clothes. the pink t-shirt is still ok but the necklace it just too big... it's too much. the trousers he wears were ok for my mother in the 60ies...i wonder where he still buys them. the bag is too big and too black and would fit a very old lady when visiting the funeral of a friend. but he walks along the lungomare as if showing the latest design of christian dior or ralph lauren. as i said he is a brave man.
after my greeting maria i see pepe sitting on a bench overlooking the sea with a royal smile on his face.
from far i already see the 3 girls still on the beach. it's the same girls but they completely changed. no shouting, no jumping, no running, no playing anymore. they suddenly have female bodies and are very much aware of that. all the time they strike with their hands through their long hair or just simply put the hair in the right shape by a quick move with the head. it's astonishing...they are like 5 years older...in ten minutes. the reason is two guys who joined them and seem to be impressed. again it makes me smile...but also a bit sad.
just a run of two times 15 minutes
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
the last chicken of salvatore
salvatore is 78 years old now. he owns the piece of land next to my house. already for about 30 years. 3 lemon trees. loads of grapes. a big fig tree and many many vegetables. his garlic is delicious but also the onions, tomatoes, beans and other greens that he loves to share with his neighbours.
on his land there is a little wooden house for the rabbits and the chickens. it is almost empty now. all rabbits disappeared last christmas ending up in probably delicious sauces. salvatore announced a year ago that is has been enough. too much work for an old man. the announcement didn't have many consequences so far. every day he is still there working on his land. probably he didn't find till now an other way to spend the day. sometimes when something 'heavy' has to be done he asks me for help.
but the rabbits are gone and the number of chickens went down to one. the others just died...one by one. too old to end up on a plate although i'm not sure if some of them maybe found their last place in a soup.
the last chicken owns now the whole place. she produces one egg every two days and when she does she wants you to know. the process takes about 5 minutes and is accompanied by loud cackling. i never know if i should shout 'brava' when it's over. when the other chickens were still there a lot of common cackling was going on. but maybe the last chicken is quite happy to be finally on her own. she is 7 years now which i guess is quite old for a chicken. what do you want from life as an elderly chicken?
this afternoon when picking 2 lemons from salvatore's tree i visited her. she didn't seem to be very excited about seeing me. a short look and then she just went on picking in the the sand. now i have to confess here immediately that it was my first visit. i didn't invest in our relationship so far. so i don't blame her for her reaction. the question is more if i should from now on give it a try with her. i could bring her some corn every morning, talk a bit or even try some cackling. when you can lighten up a bit the last days of an old lonely chicken...why not?
the problem is that you don't know her real feelings. maybe she will think: 'oh fuck there is this idiot again with his corn and strange sound, give me some peace!'
aaaaaahhhhhhh!!! chickens!!!!
on his land there is a little wooden house for the rabbits and the chickens. it is almost empty now. all rabbits disappeared last christmas ending up in probably delicious sauces. salvatore announced a year ago that is has been enough. too much work for an old man. the announcement didn't have many consequences so far. every day he is still there working on his land. probably he didn't find till now an other way to spend the day. sometimes when something 'heavy' has to be done he asks me for help.
but the rabbits are gone and the number of chickens went down to one. the others just died...one by one. too old to end up on a plate although i'm not sure if some of them maybe found their last place in a soup.
the last chicken owns now the whole place. she produces one egg every two days and when she does she wants you to know. the process takes about 5 minutes and is accompanied by loud cackling. i never know if i should shout 'brava' when it's over. when the other chickens were still there a lot of common cackling was going on. but maybe the last chicken is quite happy to be finally on her own. she is 7 years now which i guess is quite old for a chicken. what do you want from life as an elderly chicken?
this afternoon when picking 2 lemons from salvatore's tree i visited her. she didn't seem to be very excited about seeing me. a short look and then she just went on picking in the the sand. now i have to confess here immediately that it was my first visit. i didn't invest in our relationship so far. so i don't blame her for her reaction. the question is more if i should from now on give it a try with her. i could bring her some corn every morning, talk a bit or even try some cackling. when you can lighten up a bit the last days of an old lonely chicken...why not?
the problem is that you don't know her real feelings. maybe she will think: 'oh fuck there is this idiot again with his corn and strange sound, give me some peace!'
aaaaaahhhhhhh!!! chickens!!!!
The end of ....and a new start...
haven't been posting here for a long long time. the address still says 'learning blog' but from the title i kicked out the learning. not that i decided to stop learning. probably anyway hard to decide that. but the problem became more and more that i find it very hard to write about learning only. having all the time the idea that i should write something very meaningful and clever about the topic. maybe a blog is not the right place to do that. maybe i'm not that meaningful and clever anyway...anyway not on a regular basis...
then i had an other blog in dutch. meant more to write about life in italy. didn't write on that blog for months as well. after 6 years living in italy not so much to share anymore maybe. so...what's the point about having two blogs that only block you to write?
still...like to have a blog...and then one where i do write every now and then.
about? well let's see!
the music of willy deville, the last chicken of salvatore (somebody should write about her!), political life in a calabrian village, the dolphin that made an awesome jump for me yesterday, learning (why not), how to prepare yourself for being nonno, vegetarian fishing, training...
and i should change the picture!!
tomorrow.
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