Could be worse.

Trieste, 30.8.06

(No, not really.)

Sgonico, 1.9.06

(Perhaps)

Another weekend, another download.

So i had this wierd dream. Some friends and i had been asked to list two or three songs that should be used to remember us when we're dead. The only one i remember choosing was this one, definitely an odd choice:
Pizzicato Five - Collision and Improvisation (Dizzy Fugu Mix) (Remixed by Maxwell Implosion) (128kps Mp3, 5.57Mb)
Actually, the stevereichesque opening marimba loop added to a Piero Umiliani sample makes the tune quite appropriate for such a destination. I like it. I'll go with it.

(No, Stevereichesque is not a word. I just made it up. Please avoid using it in future, i promise i will too.)

Popular Wisdom (Excuse our french)

Overheard at the Osmizza of Ceroglie, 26.08.06:

Se te son cussì bon a far conti, fa conto che te son un mona.

(sorry folks, absolutely untranslatable. But i couldn't help sharing it here anyway.)

The Webmaster Loves his Mom

Her: Hungry?
Me: Actually, yes!
Her: I was talking to the cat.
Me: Oh. Sorry.

The Continuing Adventures Of My Ringtone

This just in from The Idiot:

The Tehran Symphony Orchestra played Frank [Zappa]'s Dog Breath Variations at the start of a weeklong visit to Germany, seen as an exercise in cultural diplomacy. The 80-member ensemble, which included more than a dozen women playing in headscarves, got a standing ovation as they opened the Orient Festival on Sunday 20 August in Osnabruck.

Which is probably the most beautiful piece of middle-east related news i've heard in the past year or five.

The webmaster fondly remembers smuggling a taped copy of Sheik Yerbouti through persian borders back in 1997, cunningly camouflaged as "Bunny and the Dandelions".

On the other hand, this picture just made my brain implode. Thank you, the internet.(via)
For future reference: please include this topic among those never, ever to be mentioned in my presence so as to avoid headaches, stomach pains, frothing to the mouth and cold-blooded homicide.

So anyway, speaking of borders, you may have noticed i'm back in italy since the 15th as promised. The previous six or so posts were flashbacks from my short-but-all-too-sweet holiday from the rest of the world. Almost a week without the internet - such a luxury. Highly recommended.
I would also like to mention that i miss that serendipitous little what-in-the-world-am-i-doing-here-and-where-is-this-anyway place terribly, and would like to thank all involved even if they don't really read this because, like, they're busy and clever.

We now return to our regularly scheduled program.


One week ago this moment i was on a ferry somewhere in international waters and i miss that, too.

Acercamientos Linguísticos

Her: Sorry, we weren't talking in english, you couldn't understand a thing.
Me: It's fine, as long as you don't say 'robin' or 'malakas' i know you're not talking about me.

From N.'s Window - 2

From N.'s Window - 1

An excerpt.

(...) She said she was going to the toilet and then to get another drink, and proceeded to get up and walk away in the opposite direction.

disappointments

Her: Come meet our friend at the other table! He has a boat!
Me: He has a goat?!?
Her: No, Robin. A Boat.
Me: Oh. Pity.

In a watered-down bar, under the sea.

Me: Yeah, i'd like a gin and tonic that tastes like rain water and bad alcohol.
Waitress: I don't think we make that kind of drink!
Me: You did yesterday.*
Mystery Accomplice: How do you like the music?
Me: I've heard better ringtones. Are we going someplace else after this?
Mystery Accomplice: You don't like this bar?
Me: I'll put it this way: if i'd wanted to see so many drunk english i would have gone to drunk england.

*very old joke

Things that cheer robin up.

The webmaster will be away until 15/08 in an undisclosed location somewhere within the european union.


Meanwhile, why not go read some Captain Beefheart Interviews?

A Compliment?

Her: Did you draw this?
Me: Um, yeah.
Her: Oh, i thought it was by one of your nieces.

Quick reviews

Clerks 2
Is arguably better than the first if only because Kevin Smith actually learnt to direct in the meantime.

Klezmatics live in Monfalcone, August 2 2006
If you really want to write songs about Hanukkah, try at least to include lyrics that aren't just a repetition of the word "Hanukkah".

Nonsurvival Lessons

Me: So, the day after a hangover, your priority should be to have a drink. If you don't have a drink, your body won't get used to it again and you might end up not wanting to drink for weeks, even months.
Him: Ok, so now explain why this would be a bad thing.

(Sans Titre)

Her: How...how did it happen?
Me: Well, i was in Lasko and...
Her: Ok, understood.

To the ten thousandth visitor who came by last night

Reading the punctuation in my old posts is like dying a small death.
And i don't mean that in the good way.

There is no solution because there is no problem

"The content or importance of a painting cannot be evaluated with words. No language can be found to speak about painting. Painting is a language in itself. One form of expression cannot be translated by another form of expression. To say the least the original message will be completely distorted, no matter what one wants to say about it."

-M. Duchamp, in A. Schwarz, 1969

"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture"

-F. Zappa, attrib.

(this last quote may also have been said by anyone ranging between Clara Schumann and Steve Martin, but in this context it is nice to believe it was Zappa)

Lasko-bound

In less than an hour, i will be leaving for the Lasko Festival. For those not in the know, this is something like that pamplona bulls thing but with beer instead of the bulls.
I don't really have a very clear idea about where (or even if) i'll be waking up in the next couple of days, but that doesn't really matter. As always, my last will and testament is in a .txt file on my desktop should the need arise.
Updates are, however, to be expected.

Undescribable.

We interrupt the awkward silence to post three pictures of an object my mother found at the top of a donated book bin, and deemed too good for charity thus bringing it home for all to appreciate.



This pocket-sized booklet, filled to the brim of useful tips for a saintly lifestyle, was printed in Boston(USA) in 1909. The first edition, however, dates back to 1887. This is the fourth reprint.

Here's a closeup of the central symbol. I sure hope the text within delivers all it's promising.



Much as it's fun to mock this thing, i can't help noticing how beautiful the cover layout is. And the exterior's texture has a certain endearing quality to it.

And finally, i decided to accompany all this beauty with yet another fallen myth. This fake red army insignia pin was given to me by someone who actually believed it to be genuine. It's visibly in good company now.