The taxi driver

 Usually I don't get along with taxi drivers.
I do the same mistake and I always start the conversation because I keep thinking that it should be such a great relief to say anything you want to someone you will never see.
So you don't need to worry about what he thinks etc..

But I always end up so irritated when I finally reach my destination. Don't get me wrong, i am not a racist (if you think of taxi drivers as a whole different race) but usually they start blaming immigrants for everything wrong in this country and they drive me mad! Some of them keep talking about how greater they are (their nation)than everyone else, because their ancestors were once great. I know that when I talk with this kind of people I should just shut up and pretend I agree with them, but I simply can't. So, I start telling them that after thousands of years it is impossible that they have even a single gene in common with those people.

It's my fault, I know...One of them nearly left me in the middle of nowhere while shouting that it's a shame I live in this glorious country and that possibly, I am just a spy who came to ruin the perfection of the country we live in.That's when I realized I should have just shut up from the beginning ...

Anyway, I wanted to write this post after I came across with this magnificent taxi driver. Even by his "hello" you could tell he was a bourgeois. In a good way ...

He started talking to me about how much more beautiful our city used to be 40 years ago .He talked about a lot of things but I remember only how amazed I was by his words. It really wasn't a proper discussion because , as I could tell,he had a hearing problem and while he was trying to listen to what I was saying he was turning his whole body back , putting both our lives in danger... So I decided to just let him talk.No answers from me.

Then he asked me about the music I prefer to listen to, I told him (several times till he actually heard what I said) that I listen to almost everything, but that precise day I was listening to Benny Goodman and couldn't stop. He got so excited, started shaking my hand and then he admitted:

He wasn't really a taxi driver!I should have understood... He didn't swear for the whole drive!  So, he was a teacher in a public music school.


This is not a good outcome for drivers after all. I met one of you that i liked and he was a fake one!There is no hope...

But if you want to feel better listen to good old Benny Goodman aka "king of swing". You will immediately.

Frankfurt

Came back from Frankfurt yesterday.It was such a great experience!

I went for the book fair as my family is in book business. It is so great to meet so many new people , every single one of them a book lover.(I meet them so rarely these days...)

There was nothing that reminded me of autumn there.Weather was sunny and everyone was out walking with a smile on their face...Even though Frankfurt is such a depressing city, with the skyscrapers and all, giving the idea that there is no home there,only offices, I was lucky enough to see the human side of it.

Also went for a day trip in Heidelberg . Extraordinarily beautiful. Especially under that burning sun. Didn't do much though, just sat in a cafe -for more than an hour- and ate in a picturesque traditional restaurant (pumpkin soup was just perfect!).

That's all I guess... Now listen to this song which followed me for five days. It was stuck up there .I couldn't help it.

Der Himmel über Berlin

Another movie to talk about.

The story may sound a little silly: two angels flying above Berlin listening to people's thoughts. They can't do anything to change their lives but sometimes they hold their hands and make them feel better. One of them falls in love with a young circus actress and decides to leave his divine nature to follow her. While Nick Cave follows them...(he is everywhere!In the posters on the streets, in the soundtrack , he even appears playing live at the end of the film. Wim Wenders must be obsessed with him)

What was really interesting was the exploration of human thought. I always loved the idea of understanding the thoughts of  people.Thoughts that begin from suicide and end up on that guy who wears the wrong socks for his outfit.

The scene that you can see here is from the metro. A place so many souls visit everyday.

It was filmed in 1987.Germany was so different back then.

I am flying tomorrow morning to Frankfurt and I want to have this picture of Germany in my mind..

North/Nord

I saw it a few weeks ago.

As the poster mentions : the most antidepressant comedy of the year.

Not exactly comedy in my opinion...It hardly had any dialogues. It didn't make me laugh , but it made me smile. And that's more difficult.
What's more, it made it easier for me to understand the north temperament.

A silent , white ,optimistic road movie. That's what it is.

misery is over

I am finally glad to announce that misery is over.And I don't mean Summer of course!It's just that whenever I come back from super,great, incredible holidays I feel miserable.

Tonight is the first night of fall in this little hot country I live.The first night I can hear the rain falling outside and it actually feels nice just being inside.

I have so many things to write about my summer,it's just that I never write when I 'm having fun.

It's weird,I actually write more while I am bored.But that isn't such a clever thing to do in a blog.I would prefer reading about exciting things and not about staying in and cooking..

But anyway...

I was lucky enough to go to the greatest tiny festival : indietracks!In Derbyshire , UK , where I saw among others allo darling,the smittens ,pains of being pure at heart, white town, stars of aviation, the pooh sticks, mexican kids at home who played in a train carriage,slow club and the ultimate surprise,cineplexx!

After that I flew with the boy (he likes it when I call him that...) to Zurich,Switzerland.
We spent ten perfect days there, just walking around and visiting many weird places.(did you know that the most dangerous street in Europe is in clean and calm Zurich?Well we should know cause we were walking there and we thought we were going to get murdered..)

Then we took the train to Paris, where we stayed for 3 days and saw Jens Lekman playing live . We also met two friends there who live in Barcelona .Europe really is a big city after all.
We followed Jens in a small but beautiful bar where he was djing,where we managed to enter after a misunderstanding  with the security guard who was offended  because we couldn't understand his English ...Well I tried to speak his language and he was so touched that he finally let us in..

And that's how i met Jens Lekman!He is a charming man.

Ok, where were we?We left Paris,went back to Zurich for a good night's rest  and the next morning headed to Venice!Spent almost two days there and then back here..

But i had more time so I spent more than two weeks in the islands.And I have to admit that's the place anyone should be during summer..

After that came the studying...But not much to say about it.

Two days ago my best friend left to London...again.I can't wait to visit her.


hopefully I 'll be bored enough from now on so I will post more often.

home

It's extremely hot outside that I don't step out of my cute cool apartment even if I have to.

It's also my study period till July so I have a good excuse not to go out. To tell you the truth I don't study that much but I enjoy so much staying home! I make über
healthy fresh juice every day ,like these pictured (the red one contains strawberry, watermelon, kiwi, banana and the green one melon, lime and spearmint from the garden).

I even baked a delicious cinnamon cake the other day.

I love this season.

And I love these days. But not for long... If I had to stay away from the sea in the summer for longer than a few weeks I  would be depressed. I love traditional summer.Islands, boats, swimming, sun-kissed cheeks and full time laziness . That's the meaning of life!

kaleidoscope

You can always find small treasures in places you would never look. I have had this kaleidoscope for years but yesterday I spent some time looking in it and it really helped me relax.I concentrated on the glowing beads  acting as if I was watching something extraordinary.Maybe I was.

last picture was taken at dawn. I love the light blue color of the light .And I enjoy dawn and sun rising a lot lately.Insomnia has taken over my life for the last weeks.

favourite artist and video of the day

Dent May and his magnificent ukulele.



His music makes my day. His videos as well...

I'm also addicted to this song:



I like those "woo hoo" sounds.It reminds me of early Serge Gainsbourg songs.

POSSESSED

Some years ago I was invited for dinner by my old English teacher.She is a woman I have always admired a lot.She was one of the most beautiful women of her generation and one of the brightest as well.A deeply educated person and an original cosmopolitan .

I met her when she was about 50 years old.She had chosen not to get married because she really loved her independence.  So she was living with her mother and their cat and dog.Quite depressing I suppose...

 I was invited to her new apartment and by the time I entered I knew something was wrong. It was full of boxes which were full of useless collections.She kept every issue of a newspaper since 1974 ,every cigarette package she has ever emptied ,even old plastic cheap toys that some children had forgotten there.The rest of her collection was locked in the numerous rooms of the apartment (apparently that was the reason she had moved,so that she would have more space for her stuff..).

She wasn't even using her bed because it was full of boxes .She was practically living in her living room.

Although I still admire her for her personality I just can't stand watching such a strong woman living like that.She wanted to be independent but she is not.Useless objects have dominated her whole life.It terrifies me.

I read in an article in the paper and also in apartment therapy about a documentary by Mike Hampton called "possessed".It is about the lives of four hoarders,people just like my English teacher.

It is really interesting and I'm sure you will see part of your self in them.
watch the whole video here:


POSSESSED from Martin Hampton on Vimeo.

After I finished watching it I immediately started throwing away useless stuff and magazines I kept for years.I didn't want to feel attached with objects...

city bike

About a month ago I purchased a beautiful bike from a small underground shop near my home. It wasn't expensive at all and it is so beautiful that I just couldn't resist.I didn't even look in another shop.

They told me that they are the only ones in my country to sell these bikes(it's a cinzia bombi retro bike) and that they import them directly from the Italian company.

Well I thought they were just trying to sell it but apparently it's true!I just found out that the bicycles of  this company from Osteria Grande on the outskirts of Bologna are available only in a few stores worldwide.

I feel so lucky!

Enough with words.Here's a picture of it I found here.I haven't taken a picture of it yet.

Today I had one of the most beautiful days I've had in weeks just riding around the city with my boy riding next to me.I felt liberated.

It was amazing.

Have a nice week!

On the road

Now that it's officially summer again I started reading Kerouac ...again...I love the way he describes his adventures,it makes me feel as if I'm a part of them.
\But I'm telling you, I'll be living my own unforgettable adventures this summer and they'll be even better than those described in his books.

All these after summer exams of course.

Anyway,these are some pictures I thought were lost for ever from my light hearted days of the year.Aka the best days of the year..

PROCRASTINATION #2

The reason I am suddenly interested in procrastination is because I have to write an essay for my uni,I've read everything about it,I have made a plan and still I'm not able to sit down and start writing it.

It's weird because the subject I've chosen is really interesting (it's about the witch hunt during the 16th century and specifically about hysterical women who were considered to be witches.But I better stop writing about it here and pass it on the paper...) but I keep procrastinating using many different "reasonable" excuses.

Anyway,i think the guy who made this video is my alter ego. I do the same things he describes with the same order.In addition I extend the procrastinating period by posting these here as if I anyone would read it.I am just looking for excuses...

Btw,this is my desk in the picture during the studying days.Right now it's cluttered with magazines and
 countless useless objects.

PROCRASTINATION

I just saw this and I was able to identify my self in this.I guess a lot of people are.(at least I hope so, so that I can call myself normal...)

Story, animation and direction by Johnny Kelly.Watch it now.Stop procrastinating.

Send Me No Flowers

Fortunately I don't watch tv before 2:00 am.That's when the magic begins!

i just saw  this brilliant film so funny and sunny and smart.OK,it didn't have any deep conclusion that I'll remember for the rest of my life but still ,it was pure and innocent fun.

Doris Day was hilarious as Judy Kimball and Rock Hudson as her husband but the best was Tony Randall as Arnold.Oh I want to say so much about this film but nothing will sound as funny as it was!

The worst part of it is when I start thinking about how everything has changed since then...Not in the world,(oh I wouldn't bother you about these things)but concerning the people in the movie.It makes me feel weird when I know that Randall is dead now.Forgive me,about these thoughts.It's just that it's early in the morning and I haven't slept yet..

Good morning to all of you then!I hope you 'll have a great day.

surf!

I have noticed recently that bands who play surf pop are so popular right now!And I couldn't be more satisfied!Days here are beautiful and sunny and sometimes I think I can even smell summer in the air(you know,this smell of salt combined with sunscreen:it's enough to make you dream of sunny beaches.)and what's a better soundtrack for these days than songs about surfing and long nights on a beach around the fire.

bands to listen to so that you can achieve this beautiful feeling:surfer blood,suckers,real estate,girls(of course!),drums and many many more.As time goes by more of these bands will appear!

i've been away for too long

Well the absence first started because of my uni exams.Then my pc broke down and I was away from culture for about 2 months.That was ok because I had finally the time to study...Results were great so I don't feel so bad for staying in and away from every amusing activity.After that I went for an amazing trip in Stockholm but we'll talk more about that later.

I'm glad I'm back!

oh!Because of the long period I spent home I had finally the time to take care of it-a little.That's the way it looks now.Oh I'm so hoping to win this ikea contest!

surprise hotel

today's favourite song is by fool's gold.



Luke Top ,who is the lead singer of this fantastic afro pop group was born and raised in Israel and he sings in hebrew.He made me love this language!

Also,this band elists former members of We Are Scientists, The Fall and members of Foreign Born and Glasser.So many different influences always have a good result.

Royal Kitsch

Back to Jordan.
The picture of their king was everywhere.Really.See for yourself.Even in mcdonalds.