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HAZELNUTS AND LUCA

October 2007

THIS MONTH's THEME:

What is going on

...here and now,
in my life, in the world...
..the truth everybody seems to fear...
...except for one person, at least:

"Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man's self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man.

The wellspring of courage and endurance in the face of unbridled power is generally a firm belief in the sanctity of ethical principles combined with a historical sense that despite all setbacks the condition of man is set on an ultimate course for both spiritual and material advancement. It is his capacity for self-improvement and self-redemption which most distinguishes man from the mere brute. At the root of human responsibility is the concept of perfection, the urge to achieve it, the intelligence to find a path towards it, and the will to follow that path if not to the end at least the distance needed to rise above individual limitations and environmental impediments. It is man's vision of a world fit for rational, civilized humanity which leads him to dare and to suffer to build societies free from want and fear. Concepts such as truth, justice and compassion cannot be dismissed as trite when these are often the only bulwarks which stand against ruthless power."

Aung San Suu Kyi AUNG SAN SUU KYI

From the "Freedom from fear" speech,
held (in her absence, no need to tell) at the European Parliament, 10 July 1991,
while awarding her the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

Free "Bama"!
Free this peaceful people and their shining pearl Aun San Suu Kyi.
People exactly my age have never lived in freedom, the time is now!

As a start:

facts - Wikipedia;
CIA;
BBCNews

campaigns - freeburma.org {dead link: there was also this:}
Free Burma Coalition
Witnesses

images - Grace Under Pressure


A one month snapshot

So, here I am, after a long pause, again.
I really hope it was the last one.


Well, it wasn't...

Is there one single day without troubles in my life?
It took months to be able to write again, after so painful events for me, and right from first day weird stuff happens.
First, some of my home site pages disappear in the cybernetic nowhere, and the backup copies too, so I had to rewrite quite a big chunk of it. I have been paranoid since, that it could happen again, but it seems it was a very random and odd and rare episode, hope so at least.

Then three dogs literally knocking at our door and telling us the big news they were our new pets and this is not our home anymore, but theirs. If you are a dog-lover, as I was, think again, this is turning to a nightmare. Never seen anything like this. They are simply kicking us out of here. Is this the beginning of the Animal Revolt? And were they supposed to start with a vegan and animal rights activist? They are not dogs, but the reincarnation of Houdini, Walt Disney and Genghis Khan at the same time.

Then two days of Internet blackout, no connection at all, as the ADSL was down, and that is possible here, as we are in Italy, and the provider is Wind (love negative advertisement ;)

Anyway, all is good that ends good, and the destiny wanted I should restart my blog on such an important day. For two reasons at least:

  1. Today is Columbus Day, he "discovered" America on the 12th of October 1492. That's not good news you will think, but it is, as more and more people refuse to celebrate it. In stead it will become the day for the Indigenous People, following a resolution, finally adopted last month at the UN General Assembly, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

  2. As you have heard all day, today the Nobel Peace Price was given to Al Gore and the UN IPCC. No matter how controversial this is, this news made me really happy.

Well, what a mouthful of a return. I will stop here now, and will be back next Monday, adopting the idea I had some months ago of writing only on weekdays. So that I can have a little more free time in my insanely busy weeks, and you too. And you are busy this week-end doing something about Burma aren't you?


Did I say Monday?

It is Monday, in fact... sorry. On the other side, this month is about what is going on, and nothing more descriptive of how busy I am than the impossibility of writing here. I will describe what I am doing in details, next month, I can just anticipate that I wake up at 7am every day and start working, and I am still not at all finished in the middle of the night. So forgive me for the forsaking of this blog, you will see a lot of results of my work in the next times.

Anyway, what about our big mess of a planet?
No good news yet from Burma.
As expected, the world seems to have forgotten about it already. Shame on us.
And shame on Switzerland, giving the lead of the country to a far-right populist and xenophobe. Will they ever learn it?
They only needed to look at what is going on in Poland. Kind of good news there, even a liberal like Tusk is probably better than the Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (Pis), the Kaczyński Blues Brothers' party of so called Law and Order. But don't ask me to understand anything of the jungle of Polish parties, no one can I believe. Probably Poland is the only country in the world that can beat Italian politics.
What more? Anybody seems eager to escalate arming. Russia, USA, one can even hear the 'cold war' words again.
Incidentally, California is burning once more, and right in Malibu area, where the opening picture of my home page was taken.

We are not progressing, it seems we are jumping backwards of decades in time, like Umberto Eco observes too, in his book Turning Back the Clock.

I am going to sleep now, you better wake up, folk.


I go down the street and pick up some food, dear

The warmest and longest summer ever. Still eating our own tomatoes here, look at this San Marzano:

TOMATO source: own photo

(no B.S., only massive substance there! Besides, the no BS has to be taken literally, as this is a vegan garden)
It became abruptly ice-cold in the last few days though. I am hurrying up then, preparing for the wintertime, and there is still a lot to do before I will finally have more time indoors. I enjoy so much being outdoors and working in the garden, would never stop, but it will be nice to dedicate more time to music too. I didn't play at all in the last months, so I really need to catch up with it. I am still re-mastering all the previous works, finishing some of the last years albums, and recording the new one, that I wish to release on my birthday.

Alternating intellectual and practical life is always the ideal for me. I believe it is for everyone, but it is not the case for many people. I think this is the main cause of alienation from the beauty of reality that is so common in urban life. Only a virtual, artificial life is left then, and this inevitably lowers the quality of people's consciousness.

Humble suggestion: you could start with closing all lateral streets in the area you live in, kicking the cars away, and establishing urban gardens in stead. Don't you think you deserve that? Are cars more important than fruit trees, social life, nature, peace, safety and beauty?
Honestly.


Rasmussen's got electio-praecox

As the Danes have already heard all day, the Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen did it again: calling for a quick election on the 13th of November.

I did comment the same already last time he did, just look at my blog from February 2005. That is: a quick election is a farce. It must be possible only in Danmark, I suppose, as it has become Europe's Bananrepublik. Can a serious election be done in 3 weeks? No, of course, these quick elections are only a way of prolonging the mandate in the easiest possible way, when the opinion polls look good.

Even if it is way too easy to bet that the Danish people will be drunken and dumb enough to give the appalling Rasmussen a third undeserved mandate (and the bookmakers agree and already rub their hands, as Rasmussen uses to do too), it is not so sure the outcome will be the most expected.
It is actually a very thrilling election, as there are so many new factors and everything is possible, at least in theory.

I will inevitably follow it, and report about it.
Even if my head is at so many other issues, I am still eager to know if I can finally go back to Danmark, or I will have to keep myself away from that sinking country for some four more years.


Green beans, and strange fruits in Rangoon

You don't need to go and check your sight, I simply didn't write yesterday. I picked up the last green beans in stead, still hanging on the plants, and opened them and took all the beans out, as they are hard and dry now, and cannot be eaten raw any more, so I gave them to my father so that he could cook them. It took a few hours for that, plus taking care of tomatoes, the one zucchina left (the others were destroyed by the pirate dogs, but peace with that, as it is already a miracle they are lasting so long), green pepper (a few small left), some late salads, recovering from the dogs too. I am also 'cultivating' the spontaneous dandelions that are growing everywhere in the garden:

DANDELION source: own photo

Was surprised of how many are popping up, in a very massive way. They are tender and good now, exactly as in springtime, so I suppose they believe it is springtime, at the end of October!

That was the daily snapshot of life here, out in the world the wheel is spinning round as usual, and so many things happen all the time. In Burma there is some movement again, after the very apparent calmness. Aung San Suu Kyii is reported having met someone from the military junta, but it must not have brought much agreement, as troops are back on the streets of Rangoon again.

By the way, associating the heavy atmosphere in Rangoon with the fires in California, and the polemics about the comparison with the lack of help New Orleans got, I came to think of the Strange Fruit song, here sung by Nina Simone. One of the highest peaks in music ever, in my opinion. Warning: don't look at the video, you won't bear it (of course now you will watch the video and remember it was actually not so long ago).
The lyrics:

Strange Fruit

Seven trees
Bearin strange fruit
Blood on the leaves
And blood at the roots
Black bodies
Swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hangin
From the poplar trees
Pastoral scene
Of the gallant south
Them big bulging eyes
And the twisted mouth
Scent of magnolia
Clean and fresh
Then the sudden smell
Of burnin flesh
Here is a fruit
For the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather
For the wind to suck
For the sun to rot
For the leaves to drop
Here is
Strange and bitter crop"

Lewis Allen, Sonny White


Democracy, not just a word anymore, might be

I know recalling the strange fruits time was pretty hard yesterday, but I had already seen the few photos from Rangoon that are available, slipping through the violent control of the military junta. And those pics leave not much behind to the old American ones.

You can see the nice ones first, the extraordinary protests in Burma's streets, last September
An impressive view at the column of saffron dressed monks marching too:

MONKS MARCHING source: Ratchasima

But the military [beware, shocking picture] didn't just stand and observe it, unfortunately no violent power seems to understand, that the time such demonstrations start, it is the beginning of the end, and the time to leave. Any violent power is bloody stupid, otherwise it wouldn't exist at all in the first place.

Anyway, my day today is full of other facts of life, like a wonderful sunny and warm day, and two other important events.

Today it is Linux day in Italia. It will be possible to meet some Linux folks, install the o.s. for free on your computer and ask all the questions you have, this in 118 Italian cities.

And, most important, the first meeting of the new-born Partito Democratico (Democratic Party), is taking place right now in the Milano Rho Fair buildings. So, I am following it directly from a newspaper site, right while I write. If not an earthquake, it is a kind of landslide event in Italian politics. Not only, actually, this is an extraordinary chance to build something completely new in Europe, and partly in the world. There would be so much to report about this, so I will leave it to tomorrow, or Monday. The congress will end this evening, so far it is truly living up to the sky-high expectations, let's hope all this rare passionate participation won't be battered as usual.


New politics, and not in old barrels

This month is already finishing, unbelievable how fast it went. The count down to my birthday has started, traditionally a strong symbolic turning point for me.

I promised to report more about the birth of the Partito Democratico, so I will now.
It's nearly impossible to tell about the very complex politic situation in Italia, but this new party is shaking the, quite worn out, establishment, even if born off the steady work of Romano Prodi.
It has already nearly 30% of the votes in the polls, and the potential is much higher. It is the first time a party is created from the fusion of two major parties, the former communist party, now very moderate, and the left side of the christian-democrats. Before, the rule was that of division and splitting, it's enough to think there were at least 4 communist parties in Italia...
But this is not the major news, it being the fact that it was born by the direct participation of the electors. They were given the possibility to choose the leader before the party was established, and all candidates will be chosen in the same way. An unexpected crowd of 3.5 million people went to the improvised poll stations and elected Walter Veltroni as its leader, leaving very little to the other candidates, popular politicians but also very new faces from the so called 'civil society', as anyone could freely candidate. Everybody knew Veltroni would be chosen, he is the very popular Roma's Mayor, but the campaign was real and true anyway, and serious and of a rare quality.
As much as the quality of the speeches, at the first general meeting I reported last time. It was nearly unreal to see so many completely new and unknown people of the society, local politicians, writers, managers, students, etc., and hear them talk so enthusiastically and frankly. Something completely unseen before.
A party free from the ideological past, even if staying in the center-left, seeking dialog and positive solutions of the Italian problems. I am quite sure it will send waves across all Europe.

Here? Still collecting walnuts, they keep falling from our majestic tree. They have to be freed of the outside shell, the black coloring husk, otherwise they rotten. And then dried in the sun, before storing them in a big jute sack. Not a hard work, a bit for the hands, but quite time-demanding.


At least the Maya kick butt

Ten minutes to midnight, and so much that should be written. I have to admit to myself the task is impossible tonight. Another long day filled with work, and the wheel keeps spinning outside, no mercy. Let's see how much I can write before midnight's clocks send me to bed.

Complete silence from Burma.
In Iraq the Mosul dam is at high risk of breaking, with catastrophic consequences.
Journalists are killed and menaced in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Fires in California are stand-by at the moment, while tropical storms are heading toward Florida.
Some millions people are starving and dying somewhere in the world, but that's no news.
Sarkozy has doubled his wage as a president, best compliments for the opportunity, while lot's of French people have troubles making it to the end of the month.
The Danish election campaign is ignoring Iraq war, again.

Oops, time is out already. Need to close with something nice before falling asleep. What could it be?
Well, there is a continent where there is some sound activity. I am thinking about Southern America.
One more woman elected as President of Argentina, after Bachelet in Chile.
Evo Morales was visiting here in Roma today, still so nice to finally see an indio as the President of Bolivia.
Yes, latin-america is making me sleep with a smile on my lips tonight.


Rainy conclusion

It has been raining today, so it went with indoors activities, cleaning walnuts (thousands! and still counting) while listening to a lot of old compositions of mine, which I am polishing, finishing, revising, expanding, or tossing (never do that, actually).

I had a couple of nice surprises today. When I was going to pick up some khakis, I noticed a lot of fejohas fallen down from the bush. It was because of a storm, but they are actually ripe, so I ate some and they tasted sweeter then usual, they were very good. Some more food to survive the Autumn then!

FEIJOA source: own photo

And the second surprise was finding an old composition from 1995 I had totally forgotten. I compose so much all the time, so it can happen I completely forget some. They would go lost if I didn't track them, and I like this very much. It is a kind of long, a bit enoish and glassish, meditative piece, and even if quite repetitive, there are so many subtle variations and I would listen to it over and over again, getting into a kind of trance. Being from 1995 I guess it was meant to be in the "An Essay on Archetypes" album, so I will include it in it, it is its perfect conclusion.

You will soon hear it, together with the rest of my production. There is so much to hear, it has been a very long wait, for both you and me, but consider I have been doing all this all alone, through infinite challenges and delays and poor-resources and no-compromise work.

So, we have pretty much come to the conclusion of this month's blog.
You have been wondering at times, may be, what the actual thread in all this was, and it was indeed a stream of consciousness about this split I feel very heavily at the moment between my own life and life around me.

In the next month, up to my birthday on the 27th, I will try to let you know more about myself, so that you can understand me better. It matters to me, so there will be both words and music for you.