A QUOTATION SOLE WOULD CERTAINLY HAVE WRITTEN...

... in this era of uncertainty and turmoil.
It's from one of her favourite poets, Rabrindanath Tagore, as translated by one of her loved Authors, André Gide (she kept that book at all times on her desk at the "refuge")

L'Offrande Lyrique
"
   Le jour où la mort viendra frapper à ta porte,
quel présent lui offriras-tu?
   Je placerai devant la visiteuse la pleine coupe de ma vie - certes je ne souffrirai pas qu'elle reparte les mains vides.
   Et la douce vendange de tous mes jours d'automne et de toutes mes nuits d'été; de ma vie affairée et les moissons et les glanures, au terme de mes jours je les placerai devant elle - quand, à ma porte, viendra frapper la mort.
"

Original poems by Rabrindanath Tagore, worth reading in these times
From "Gitanjali"

MAL COMUNE, MEZZO GAUDIO - 2

We, in Italy, thought we had reached the bottom end of ridiculousness, inefficiency and corruption when Berlusconi's government ruled.
Then the 1st and most powerful nation in the world, none other than the USA, elected a serial bankruptcy adventurer as their President.
We felt a little relieved that, after all, we weren't the worst placed in the list of MOST STUPID COUNTRY.

MAL COMUNE, MEZZO GAUDIO

This is an ancient saying and it means that if everyone suffers, the suffering is more tolerable.
I don't agree.
There are people who don't abide by the laws and they deserve the suffering
There are people who abide by the laws and still suffer: they didn't deserve it
People who, in these times, do not abide by laws and regulations should be sent not to a penitentiary but on an isolated island together with the others transgressors.
We have lots of abandonned islands in Italy...

LA (NOUVELLE) PESTE DU 21ème SIECLE..VRAIMENT ?

Le Coronavirus, qui,  s'il s'appelait simplement de son nom scientifique, serait moins effrayant nous met tous en état d'alerte, est-il vraiment un mal?

Dans un monde où la natalité explose malgré les problèmes politiques, notre planète trouve probablement le moyen de se défendre.

Il y en aura d'autres à l'avenir car - que les belles âmes religieuses (catholiques, protestantes et autres) en soient assurées - notre planète ne peut soutenir le poids inconsidéré qui se profile.

Notre monde se défend comme il le peut  et, soyons réalistes, ce ne sera pas sans souffrances ni sans victimes.

Je suis, quant à moi, prête à partir pour faire de la place à quelqu'autre espèce (plus méritoire que l'espèce humaine).

Au revoir dans l'espace des atomes pulvérisés et, jusque là, je voudrais vous conseiller d'écouter le Concert n.2 de Chopin, dans cette interprétation de Krystian Zimerman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTCol3eIF24&t=756s

Quelle belle manière de s'en aller...

EACH TIME I FEEL BLUE...

...there's Leonard Cohen and life still feels like it has a meaning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sZzJAxfD-4
So long Leonard,  !

CE GRAND POETE

...qu'était Vysotsky et que l'on n'a reconnu que trop peu.
Qu'il chante en français ou en russe, c'est la rage de la vérité qu'il chante.
Ne l'oublions pas!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIxloPaTZZ4

et comment oublier cette composition à la base d'une séquence mémorable du film avec Helen Mirren et Mikhail Baryshnikov

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HZrSh0UpvM

Quel artiste !

GLENN GOULD and BEETHOVEN

For no particular reason other than Beauty can - for some minutes - shadow the ugliness of  what's going on in the world.
And that Glenn Gould was so much loved by Sole
We miss Her.

I'M SORRY LUDWIG !

How could I forget the anniversary of your death! (March 26)
But, as you see from the Valhalla of the Greatest Composers, I came to remember...better late than never

Sole loved you.So do I

HOLOCAUST DAY - GIORNO DELLA MEMORIA - DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

Today we remember those awful years.
Not so much for the fact that numberless people were deported, killed, tortured.
But above all because so many of their so-called friends and neighbours betrayed them and denounced them to German Officers and to the resident collaborators.

A Jewish friend of mine, when asked how he felt about this Remembrance Day, said he didn't share the necessity of a special day .
He said there were not only 6 millions victims but 22 millions as the war claimed so many other lives: in addition to Jews, there were resistants, homosexuals, and so many others that did not fit into the idea of the Übermensch.

In his answer, I found a great generosity and humanity.

DEAR CONFUCIUS

I often find your sentences quite illuminating.

However, some of them clearly show that you wrote them many centuries ago.

For instance, this one that I chose at random (translated into English: Choose a job you like and you'll have never to work another day in your life).

I'd love that to be true nowadays.

But times change and, unfortunately, leaders are not being chosen any longer for their wisdom.
Neither for their far-sightedness.
Even less for the concern about the people they govern.

I wonder what sentences you would write in these "times of darkness and chaos"*

(*Quoted from Leonard Cohen)

TALES HAVE A REASON TO BE...

THANK YOU, MR. COHEN !

Gone, but never will you be forgotten. 

You were Sole's favourite singer, poet and story-teller.

Thank you also for the joy you gave Her.

13TH OF OCTOBER AD.54

Emperor Claudius died.
His was certainly an extraordinary and interesting life, from all points of view.
You can find more information HERE

There's an excellent TV Series .
I think, historically, one of the best I've watched.

THE GATES OF HELL..ETC..ETC...

Nixon: Watergate
Reagan: Irangate
Weiner: Weinergate
Trump: Pussygate

La décadence !!!

ISLAM VS THE WESTERN WORLD (OR OCCIDENT)

Interesting reading here
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/

MORE NEWS FROM THE EASTERN FRONT!

There seems to be a general discomfort from Daech troops.

Among the many news generated by a large disarray, our confidential informant says that:

- Al Khurt had his feet blown out and cannot walk now (Daech supporters are required to send money for a little cart - possibly motorized - so he can continue his activity)

- Abu Ben Barka has unfortunately been blowed whilst trying to cross the Mediterranean on his luxury cruiser.

Ahmed Abu D'Soufl decided he preferred to defect as his love for movies was not acceptable for his bosses.

More news as soon as our informants forward them to our Head-Quarters!

UNITED WE WIN !

Poland's women seem to have won their battle against a ban of abortion.
I must say"seem" as I'm sure the machos and clerics will start anew a campaign within the Paliament to overrule what the majority of women want.
This hypocritically catholic country finds in the Catholic Church all the excuses to counter what women want and need and deserve.
Church is male; all male; absolutely male. Except for some nuns who abide by Catholic rules. At least in the open. But behind doors..that is another question.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/07/world/europe/poland-abortion-law-protests.html

SOME POSITIVE NEWS FROM THE EASTERN FRONT

From my reliable source, I've received news of some defectors leaving the Jihadist Galaxy

Ibn Al Panzh : previously driving suicide tanks but being unable now to get inside them due too large a girdle
                     (too many cheeseburgers, french fries and beers...)

Abu La Boulle: Voice is that he preferred playing la Pétanque in the south of France. Said to have been
                        located in Ramatuelle but no confirmation up to this moment.

Mortahd-El Kader: Sources say he is now nearby Bologna (Italy) feasting on one of their regional                                               delicatessen: the Mortadella and planning to taste this specialty all over the various food
                              festivals opening in the Summer...

Ali Al Nurse: either he has a crisis of conscience or he has become a gerontophile. He's now a nurse in a
                     Third-Age Nursing Home. Very suspicious, if you ask me.

Arrashi Rurgien: Tchetchen fighter now turned into a surgeon specializing in mending victims of bomb                                       damages

Abu Al Khurt: was a great asset to IS but since he lost both legs in a suicide bomb attempt, he's now too                               short to be fully operative

Ibn Al Grill: expelled from IS when caught grilling some juicy pork chops. Now in some seaside resort happy                          to cook and getting money.

More news from our super-hyper secret source asap.

LATEST HOT NEWS FROM THE JIHAIDIST FRONT

New recruits:

Ahmed Ben Kanif: His favourite weapon is his Swiss Wenger Multipurpose Knife. Particularly the bottle opener! He's not very happy about the length of the blade tool though. Nothing is perfect!

Abu Sayed Al Kafè: enrolled some months ago but not yet found for next embarkment to Syria although all brasseries and coffee shops in his area have been extensively seached.

Mohammed Al Kalin: This recruit seems to have lost his way to the Jihad as he loves being pampered and spoiled. Daech Headquarters are still confident they can reform him to become one of their best fighters but...

More news in coming messages.

MORE NEWS ABOUT THE GALAXY OF JIHAIDISTS...

Sayed Al Depressif (has been for some time under psychiatric care and is now obviously ripe for next suicide           action)
Abu Al Brillantin: missed his foreseen last attempt as he was looking at how cute he seemed in his                           hairdresser's mirror.
Abu Dsufle: lost his rendez-vous with terror as he was enjoying Godard's masterpiece in a cine-club theatre.
Bilal El Chanel: bling bling jihaidist
Omar Abu Tir: posing as an International transporter
Ibn Khalif Ourmi: he has an alias as Teacher of Entomology (particularly with ants)

Further news will be released as they come in!

MORE NEWS ABOUT THE GALAXY OF JIHAIDISTS...

Sayed Al Depressif (has been for some time under psychiatric care and is now obviously ripe for next suicide           action)
Abu Al Brillantin: missed his foreseen last attempt as he was looking at how cute he looked in his                           hairdresser's mirror.
Abu Dsufle: lost his rendez-vous with terror as he was enjoying Godard's masterpiece in a cine-club theatre.

Further news will be released as they come in!

FURTHER HOT NEWS ABOUT THE ABOMINABLE CENTRE OF TERRORISTS RECRUITS

We've come to learn about more of these aweful individuals:

Abu Makaron : foreign fighter coming from Italian inland exactly as
Ali Sayef El Spaghetti (probably from same village)
Abu Allah Fayette: keen on high-range shopping
Abu Fluor: he seems to be posing as a dentist
Abu Yabess: said to live in Marseille

Further news later on.

A FRENCH FRIEND OF MINE TOLD ME THAT...

..he succeeded in infiltrating a muslim terrorist group.
He even named some of the components and told me he would give me more details in the future.
The components of such group (that is not really very effective as they realized they quite prefer to spend their afternoons in café terraces or body gyms rather than pursuing the virtual virgins in some kind of future paradise) have now a name.
Here they are:

Abu Sayef Al Moron (he's not really such a bright guy)
Ali Ridikul (spends most of his time in front of his mirror)
Ibn Submersif (tries to dive but can't swim..most unfortunate for him)
Ibn Al Pastis (loves the French Riviera cafés)
Hussein Bin Kretin (one of the less intelligent brothers in his family and - for this reason - ready to blow    
      himself up)
Abu Lik (not very sharp or active: the Brotherhood must work hard on him)

That's all for the moment but as soon as we'll have more information, we shall release it on this same channel.

IT'S TRUE! YOUR NEIGHBOUR COULD BE A JIHADIST...HOWEVER...

Although I despise any kind of religious fanaticism, I find that Daech (self-calling IS) is less  murderous than other causes:
Ask yourselves about the yearly victims of :

Death toll due to Muslim terrorism
Death toll due to Road Accidents
Death toll due to Air-carrier Accidents
Death toll due to Family feuds
Death toll due to Friendly Fire

You might be surprised by the results of your on-line investigation.

HOW CAN A MAN, A CREATOR KILL HIS BEST CHILD?

That's what Bill Gates is doing when he's closing down his XP programme.
I can but view this move as Ridley Scott's scene from Blade Runner with Rutger Hauer.

ARE SCOTTISH BETTER THAN ENGLISH?

I can't say.
What I understand, from statistics, is that Scottish people and the younger generations of the English territories, not to speak of Northern Ireland, wish to stay with us, Europeans.
As to me, they're all welcome. I couldn't imagine a Europe without Scots or, come to that, without Irishmen.
Also, I can't imagine a Europe deprived of its best English young brains!
So, once in a while, I agree with European leaders (when they're saying that there's no need to hurry in implementing the breach between the Continent and the UK).

As usual Mr. Hollande understood nothing (because - poor man - global events are too much to take in for his brain) and Mr. Juncker made himself to APPEAR  as the strong man (because he's just a functionary asset concerned about his salary) and Mr. Martin Schultz made himself notorious as he has nothing else to give value to his person  but it's just APPEARANCE and PROTAGONISM, let's call it ADVERTISING for next elections. They count as much as a 3 of spades.

Brexit has been useful as it made each one of us wonder.
Even People who voted 'Leave' are having second thoughts.

Rightfully so.

THE PROUD REDHEAD

June 26th, 2012
Never forgotten

BILL EVANS - CHET BAKER

These are guys (sometimes naughty) who created beauty.
Compared to the one who just died and was celebrated for punching, knocking and hurting adversaries, I'd say these two are rather more worthy of praise.

BOXING ..A NOBLE ART?

Never understood why two people punching each other and knocking each other out (and often hurting adversaries to death or even worse, to cerebral death) can be seen as exercising a 'noble art'.

Boxing is just a lingering memory of cavemen. The worst possible activity that I would never call a sport.

This said, I also can't understand the level of grieving and apotheosis surrounding Muhammad Ali's death.
He was someone punching his adversaries harder that they.

Does this make him a hero?
I think not.

His sentences concerning 'niggers' and 'vietcong', moreover, were just prompted by his press-agents, according to the years of his activity and the trends of those times. Does anyone remember how Jane Fonda was called at that time thanks to the same slogans? Hanoi Jane!

Politics as a means to call for sympathy at a certain time.

I have no sympathy for such kind of people.
And I find boxing to be a most damaging, savage and  absolutely stupid activity.

SELFIES OR THE TRIUMPH OF RIDICULE

Interesting reading today in The Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/may/29/posting-photos-online-obituary-images

and, some time ago in Time magazine
http://time.com/40254/selfies-science/

Any comment is superfluous!