just realized indeed that with that version of the browser in my pocket pc you can post but not publish, well considering it’d be comparable to an old IE 3x that’s a limit

amazingly enough i’m blogging this from my compaq ipaq 3630 connected via ir to a nokia 6210 cell phone : tech wonders!


SF part II : when dreams come true
Got back home and found an Amazon box containing among other interesting reading and music : Shadows of the Past by Melanie Franciere . Now you may say, well so what’s the amazing story ? Well let me say that things are different when you know the author of something and when you know the not so easy path that sometimes it takes to get your art known to an audience. We met in a newsgroup long time ago, in 1996 and kept in touch since then, we met also in real life in 1999 when i went visiting her in the USA. During all the time she told how difficult is to publish a book and how she wished it, and i can imagine it’s frustrating when you just enjoy writing (and my opinion she’s really good at) and can’t get people to share with you your passion.

She writes science fiction stories, and even if as i was writing, i’m not at all an expert in that genre, (SF is not so popular in Europe and especially in Italy) i found that story intriguing and well written, that was my impression when i first got the chance to read the draft back in 1997 and now that i’m holding the book in my hands i’m just happy for her, so if you’re into SF and want to check it out, just follow the links above.

SF part I

just finished reading The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, i’ve to admit that in the past when i was walking in a library and stumbled across a book with such a weird title was curious to see what’s about and it’s just fun, i’m not an expert in science fiction and this book althought belong to the genre is somewhat different mostly because of the irony spread here and there and there are some passages where i just couldn’t but laugh and when it happens when you’re in reading it on my daily commuting on train it’s hard to refrain.
And so i discovered also that at least two names origin come from there : babelfish from a tiny fish that plugged into the ear was able to translate different languages and the song “paranoid android” by Radiohead from the only depressed android character i’ve ever found in a SF story.

Quoting from the Bible, Sirach ch. 27, 5-7 :

As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace, so in his conversation is the test of a man.

The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so too does a man’s speech disclose the bent of his mind.

Praise no man before he speaks, for it is then that men are tested

Ben Harper concert Milan July 23rd 2001 review + setlist

a great concert indeed, let me say it was my first time seeing Ben playing live so things written are from a beginner point of view , hope you’ll understand. My interest in his music is relatively recent (in october 2000 i just heard “Fight for your mind” and my enthousiasm sparked. Nevertheless even after listening to Live from Mars i was not totally impressed by his live performance so better to go and see with my eyes (and ears) The Idroscalo in Milan was quite packed , hot and humid and full of mosquitos but this ain’t nothing

Ben arrived a little late after 10 PM so people was getting impatient after the delay, he wore blue jeans and blue Lacoste polo for the one interested.show opened with Oppression and it was quite low profile but it happens with at beginning of the show but the percussion solo was great, yet more and more Ben and his buddies kept growing and on fight for your mind Juan played an incredible bass solo, as if he were in trance, truly powerful, Ben added spice with electrical and noise earthquakes from his Weissenborn on alone and voodo child and the whole band never stop rocking , i mean the whole show lasted nearly two hours and a half with 20 songs and two encores, even the acoustic part, the frist encore was intense and well appreciated. a great

show from a great man (and band), truly.
here we go with the setlist:

oppression

get up stand up

burn one down

gold to me

fight for your mind

alone

steal my kisses

the woman in you

vodoo child

ground on down

forgiven

faded/whole lotta love

E1

waiting on an angel

widow of a living man

i shall not walk alone

E2

welcome to the cruel world

sexual healing

like a king

i’ll rise

at least it’s over

so G8 is over, and as i was saying the overall sense is somewhat in between nausea and disgust in the name of violence : even on saturday night ,when we’d think that most of the war scenes were impressed in our eyes and we’re ready to turn page, after the beautiful words of peace and compassion that the father of Carlo Giuliani told after his young son was killed by the police, police attached the headquarters of the genoa social forum they said that the troublemakers that damaged the city were covered by this umbrella group that encompass a lot of peaceful organization.
A lot of mess and blood again. Someone instead says that the violent groups were backed by the police itself in order to deliberately make chaos, where’s the truth ? as someone said “in war the first casualty is truth” but besides the true facts, the approach, the violent environment that was created the brutal repression that doesn’t care to look who you’re, is somewhat that should make us wonder on what’s going on in this country.

Goodbye Indro

Indro Montanelli, one of the most famous italian journalist died today, he was 92 yo so he well saw and told all the most significant facts of the century. he was someone who doesn’t need to hide beside masks or influence of the power, and whenever there was something to be said he said it loud and so often found himself “against” something. He clearly opposed the current prime minister, mr. Berlusconi, that was the owner of the newspaper where he worked and that when he announced he wanted to enter politics wanted some support from the newspaper and Montanelly left. I appreciated his style and his attitude, and the fact that sometimes he was truly discouraged by the way things are in Italy reinforce his critic eye on the world.

rew/ff
i’m indeed doubtful what to write : i mean looking at the various posts as if there’d be a fil rouge or some kinda connection between them, now i’d post here something that’d belong to the category of deep thoughts but it seems i can’t as of now Blame it on the clear absolute blue sky out here, althought it’s been like if in the last days a feeling as if summer’d be already over was creeping in, maybe just because it got a little colder at night. Absolutely summerish and something you can’t almost escape when turning on the radio is a song that goes like “vu vu vu mi piaci tu. tu tu tu” . As happened with other songs ( goodnight moon by shivaree, or some years ago Breathe by Midge Ure, remember? ) it all started with tv ads; when a song is used in that context it enters quickly in the house of a lot of people
considering the powerful impact of ad (i’ve been told when i was a toddler i suddenly woke up and dance to the sound of Carosello that anticipated ad time) no wonder that catch myself singing vuvuvu…. ah the dark side of the force