Four days later.

Sure, i could write an update. But God, i'm tired.

We're coming!

Pelo fixing something for the neighbouring office, yesterday.


Sala Parto, yesterday.


Global Stage, yesterday.


Chill-out zone, yesterday.


Main stage, 5 minutes ago.
(Michele, preparati.)

Um.

Ok, i'm back home. For fifteen minutes. Then i leave for Florence where the whole Italia Wave adventure begins. Still packing. Yesterday this blog turned four years old. Welcome to its fifth year of existence. I've got something special to celebrate, which will be online as soon as i find the files which mysteriously disappeared during my absence.
As for the sunsplash, i will try to keep this blog updated while i'm away. Which will be easier because i should be online quite a lot, but harder because i'm also supposed to be working. One thing's for sure - it's going to be fun.

Natural miscomprehensions

1. Tuesday evening, in front of Main Stage. Screaming over crowd noise.
Me: Can you believe that one week ago today i was seeing fucking Dionne Warwick live?
Him: What? You fucked Dionne Warwick??
Me: No, i saw her perform, in concert, live.
Him: Oh.

2.Friday afternoon, at the music and clothing stalls.
Peter Tosh(from a loudspeaker): Legalize it...
Me: Legalize what? Please be more specific.
Her: He said what at the beginning of the song.
Me: But i wasn't here yet! Now i'll never know!

...and a video.

Improvised traditional percussion and dance, Rototom Sunsplash, 10.07.07.
Beware: poor sound. But at least the kora can be made out a little.

Two images from Rototom

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra live in Rototom Sunsplash, 11.07.07


The book. I'm reasonably proud of this, so i guess you'll be seeing more book-related posts in the near future.

Briefly toyed with the idea of distributing Pastafarian leaflets, but that would probably get me hanged and, um, eaten.

Cheers from sunsplash land. Very quick observations since i only have 10min of internet left.
Tokyo ska paradise rocked, if that can be said about ska bands. They did ignore my requests of Rydeen, however. Dammit.
We're camping with a hammock and a swimming pool. Classy.
Today, book presentation. And meeting David Katz. Kind of nervous.
I think i'll go jump into a river to relax a bit. See you later.

Update attempt

Once again, i'm going to try to write an update while i pack my bags and prepare for Greater Things. There's quite a lot to say so i'll proceed with bulletpoints, which are instrumental in hiding the fact that none of the things we'll be talking about have any connection with each other whatsoever.

• So, what's going on? Simple, i'm leaving for four days of rest and relaxation at Rototom Sunsplash. I don't have to interview anyone, i don't have to translate anything, i just have to chillax.
• Why the Sunsplash? Well, i was invited. A former employer of mine works there and offered me free entry and stay. Of course i couldn't refuse.
• What did you do for this guy to make him display such generosity? The guy in question is Alberto Castelli and what I did is translate a book for him. Yes, that's what sort of kept me from blogging in the first four or five months of the year.
• A book? What book? The book is called Solid Foundation - An Oral History of Reggae, by David Katz. It's a great book, in that it relies on voices of the genre's authentic originators to tell it's history. The italian title is Raccontare il Reggae - La storia del reggae narrata dai suoi protagonisti, a title which may or may not have been chosen by yours truly, i can't really remember and can't be bothered to check my email archives. But we'll be hearing more about this when the book comes out.
• And when, pray tell, is it coming out? This Thursday! Alberto, David Katz and myself will be presenting it at the Sunsplash, within a series of lectures called Reggae University. Please note that my participation to the event will very probably be limited to waving my hand from the front row if and when my name is mentioned.
• Can I come? Well, sure, if you feel like buying the ticket to the Sunsplash. It's no big deal, really. I'd like it more if you just went ahead and bought the book. In italian.
• In italian? Ugh. Well yeah, in italian, although i'll be the first to tell you the english edition is closer to reality, has a richer vocabulary and the beautiful colorful expressions of the interviewees. If you buy the italian edition though, people might take notice of the bloke indicated as translator on the second page and give him more jobs. Or not, but you can let me dream in the meantime.
• So, what was it like to translate this book? It was fun, hectic, tiring and taught me to cope with my deadlines. Ok, it tried. The main thing is that for all my life i've been complaining about poorly translated books, so this was my chance to start setting things straight. I hope to have many, many more such chances. Plus working on a topic which interests me was fantastic, translating the chapters on ska and rocksteady was a ball. There are all kind of interesting tidbits in this book, such as Don Drummond's nutritional habits, how Max Romeo became a singer, and the real reason Bob Marley's so important.
• Cool! Can you tell me? Nope, buy the bloody book. Ok, i'll copypaste some of the funny bits in future posts from time to time, just to keep some hype on the publication. i'm such a sell-out.
• So, now you're going to the festival and then you'll be back home and everything's back to normal, right? Nope again. A night's rest at home on saturday, and then i'm off to Italia Wave, where i'll be working as a sort of web editor-like animal thingy. And seeing loads of bands. And delivering a brief lecture at the WaveCamp. And cheering Trabant for their main stage appearance. But we'll talk about all of those things when i'm back, i'm sort of busy packing right now and it feels like there's still a grillion things to do.
• Ok, see you later I guess. I'll be trying to update the blog with things i've seen or heard around the festival as much as possible. It's gonna be fun and i hope to share some of that fun with my readers. Reader. Whatever.

Ok, i've got about an hour before my bus to Udine leaves, so i'd better cut this nonsense out. Just have to pack the tuna, have a bite, and i'm out.
Oh, i'll have a little present when i get back. Stay tuned.

You still can't use a blog to swat a fly, but rss is a step in the right direction.

(Actually, it's Atom)
After at least two years of "yeah, i'll do it tomorrow", i finally added a link on the sidebar to this site's feed. So now you all know where to point your feedreaders and proceed to party like it's 2004. Yes, i'm also not very good at maths.

Silvia Penide

Performing Como El Agua O Como El Viento at Centro Giovanile Piero Poclen, Monfalcone.
My interview to the artist is coming soon. (i know, i know, they all are)

This really happened.

Yesterday a gypsy stopped me in the street. She wanted to know what brand of shampoo i use.
This brought me to think that i really should have a faq. If i had one i would have had a link to send her to.
So, i'm actually going to write one. Start sending in your questions.

Two-in-one

My Father, in the car:

"I was writing (...) about this thing that happened to me back when I wrote the book, History Of The Chilean Socialist Party. It was the Party's 49th anniversary so for the fiftieth there was a big celebration. Allende was in power, the party was strong, it was held in the Estadio Nacional. It wasn't full, but almost. People were going around selling my book, carrying whole baskets of it. I was sitting there in the stadium and two guys came to me, with the baskets, offering to sell me my own book. I said,
'No, sorry.'
'Why not?' They asked.
'Well, I'm one of the people who wrote the book.'
They went quiet. Then they looked at each other and went away. As they left, one of them turned to me and said,
'Nice excuse you came up with, bullshitter.'
It was the shortest and strongest critical commentary I've received in my life."

Later:

Him: "So, need anything from the supermarket?"
Me: "Actually, i think i need a new toothbrush."
Him: "Ok, possibly one with a different color from mine."
Me: "Yeah, for months i've suspected we've been using the same one."
Him: "Another thing that bothers me is, how come there's three of us at home but there are always four toothbrushes in the bathroom?"
Me: "You're right!"
Him: "I'm starting to suspect there might be someone hiding in the house. Somebody who creeps out at night when we're all sleeping and secretly washes his teeth."

Teenager's delight - a photoset on Flickr

A rite of passage of sorts. At the Large Tree on the night between 21 and 22 may, 2007.
Many pictures were taken, a selection can be found here.
Plenty more content this way cometh.
Slideshow view also recommended.