Good stuff #2

23mag12

www.imdb.com/title/tt1748122/
|Moonrise Kingdom|

“…living la vida loca.”


Democrazy#5

22mag12


|Beware the wolves|

In the last weeks a lot of articles by important newspapers, such as Wall Street Journal or Financial Times started claiming the necessity, and the positive opportunity of a dissolution of the EuroZone, and therefore the “killing” of the common currency, the Euro.

The debt crisis in Europe is probably one of those core step of history, where whatever decision nations and people take, nothing can go back as before. These decisions are going to be hard and painful, and they should be taken being complete aware of their consequences.
Economists and journalists, like politicians and citizens, have no idea of what is going to happen, but they know that in this moment their opinion could drive history according to their ideals or interests.
When I read articles of American journalists claiming how much better would be for European countries to leave the common currency, listing facts and numbers that cannot be proved by any other precedent case in history, I can’t but feel that they are just trying to “razzle-dazzling” their readers.

A better future for all Europeans could be achieve if governments and people decide finally that after 10 years of “wanna-be” union, it’s time to federate for real. And accept the challenges of the world united.
Otherwise the most probable future is a long period in which all our wealth (of money, but also of culture and rights) will be slowly drained somewhere else.
That’s how civilizations end.


|La mamma degli idioti è sempre incinta|

Non è stato un bel week end, per niente. Due giorni che hanno messo a dura prova il modo in cui possiamo relazionarci con le persone che ci circondano, e con l’ambiente dove abbiamo costruito la nostra vita.

Purtroppo, ad aumentare la disgrazia, arrivano commentatori che incasellano fatti dentro una visione tutta personale, cercando di dargli un senso che non hanno, per poter difendere e propinare le proprie tesi.

Intanto ci ha sorpresi negativamente che, nelle sue dichiarazioni dagli Usa, Monti, pur censurando il fatto di Brindisi, non sia stato molto effusivo nei confronti della vittima. In precedenza con gli impiegati di Equitalia era stato molto, ma molto più forte. Evidentemente, le sue simpatie vanno per loro, tuttavia abbiamo la sensazione che stiamo stancando persino Dio.

Con la nostra cattiveria e fede inesistente, con il nostro egoismo, con la nostra indifferenza, costringiamo Dio ad acconsentire che accadano cose gravi: dei segnali da decifrare. A volte, Dio permette il male per arrivare al bene.

E se la bomba di Brindisi volesse dire: signori del Palazzo, la base è stanca? A Brindisi i politici sono stati contestati. Siamo al punto di non ritorno?

E in Emilia: voi ricca regione delle cooperative rosse, avete dato davvero quello che potevate dare ai poveri o avete pensato solo per voi? Regione della promiscuità e del comunismo, avete davvero ringraziato Dio per tutta la fertilità che vi è stata gratuitamente donata?

Facciamo tutti ammenda e ricominciamo a pregare…

Questo estratto dall’articolo su Potifex è un bellissimo esempio di come qualcuno può arrivare a distorcere fatti fino a creare teorie ridicole e fondamentalmente false.
Il paragrafo dedicato all’Emilia “delle cooperative rosse e della promiscuità” è veramente imbarazzante. Quindi il terremoto (prima definito come imprevedibile e non anticipabile) è un castigo di Dio verso i comunisti?
E come mai Berlino ed Amsterdam, le vere Sodoma e Gomorra d’Europa, sono costruite su un terreno sabbioso che assolutamente esente da fenomeni tellurici?

Ci sono tante considerazione riguardo alle idiozie propinate da questi personaggi.
- Grazie a loro sono sempre più convinto che Dio non esista, e di questi li ringrazio, la mia fede ateista non vacilla mai.
- Quando si parla di limitazioni ai contenuti editoriali su Internet, questi soggetti dovrebbero essere i primi a esserne soggetti.
- Ma nel 2012, possono ancora essere formulati pensieri del genere? Che cinismo parlare di Dio e vera fede sui cadaveri, sulle macerie e sulle rovine di due tremende tragedie. Sempre evitando qualsiasi ipotesi di confronto e dibattito, perchè LORO sono dalla parte della VERA FEDE e della GIUSTIZIA DIVINA, noi siamo solo comunisti dediti alla promiscuità.


Good stuff #1

09mag12

Take Woody Allen without big ego demanding self-satisfaction and you have GIRLS.
Amazingly good.



To American citizens

In few months the American citizens will vote to appoint the new President of United States.
Clearly the choice will be between Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney.

Despite these four years were not really brilliant, Mr. Obama politics of bail-outs, federal subsides, specific intervention over some economic sectors through public spending were able to prevent the US economy to fall in a much worst situation, the one you can find now in Europe.

In 2008 we had a different situation. US were suffering much more than European States.
But from that year, after Mr. Obama elections, the policies of the two continents followed opposite directions.
Obama administration, involving the FED, started expansive monetary and economic strategies, in order to prevent the US to shift from recession to depression. And it worked, until the European debt crisis exploded in late 2009.

European governments, following Germany example and pressure, decide otherwise to focus on austerity programs, in order to stop speculation over troubled national balances and debts. UK, Netherlands, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, and in less extent France and Belgium cut social spending while raising taxes.
With these measures, almost all Europe fell back into recession.
Spain has an unemployment rate higher than 20%, half of young Italians don’t work, Netherlands efforts to contain public and private debt failed completely, UK has no perspective to reduce its exorbitant public debt (160% of GDP) and stimulate its economy.

Mr. Romney is used to accuse Mr. Obama to contage the US with European attitude towards public spending and social welfare.
This is completely untrue, because European governments are doing exactly the opposite.
And what this direction is causing to European economies is simply showed in all the last graphics and statistics.
just browse the Economist website, you can find everything.
And the Economist has not liberal position, as Mr. Krugman, the economist backing Mr.Obama policies.

In few words, American citizens could find a easy way to judge candidates and make the best decision for their country.
And compared to what is going on in Europe, they can consider themselves really lucky.



Wuthering Heights, 2011

by Andrea Arnold

with Kaya Scodelario & James Howson

http://www.imdb.it/title/tt1181614/
photo by Agatha Nitecka


Mumford and Sons – The Enemy


Salone2012

17apr12


Focus from distance

Collecting – Reflecting – Judging

A.D. 2012, Salone del Mobile, Milan.
Can Pinterest become an effective tool for photo reporting and event coverage from distance?
In this board I will collect the most interesting (give a broad definition to this adjective) products/services/events/etc coming out from Salone del Mobile.

Can this event still give any interpretation, reflection, discussion about design discipline?
How business is using this events? And what is happening in the “young designer” (not over 30 y.o.) stage?
What will we remember from the 2012 editions?



People in denial

And again, I Saloni 2012.
Hundred of thousands of “creative” people in Milan, to celebrate Design.
To clap either to the same old masters, or fresh foreign folks, preferably from Sweden and the Netherlands.
We want criticism, not celebration. We’ll see from tomorrow.

But the prelude is not charming.
The world is changing fast, and who thinks the same way of 10, 20, 30 years ago is lost for sure.
So what do we see in the image?
A beautiful girl, younger than 30 y.o., in front of a huge library full of thriller books (that explains the yellow color)
The ad says that the B&B library (but here you could replace any other brands with any other kind of furniture) is the perfect “partner in crime” for the young lady literature passion.

As I said, people in denial (quoting the Economist cover for the next French presidential elections).
The young lady is most probably a young intern at B&B. Let’s say she earns 500€ per month.
She works 10 hours per day, sometimes also in the week end, but she has just graduated at Politecnico di Milano, collaborating with such a famous brand will boost her career for sure.
With such a small salary, she still needs help from here family, she lives in a west area of Milan, sharing a flat with other 4 persons. Everyday she spend 50 minutes on public transportation to get to the city center of Milan, where the office is located.
Sometimes she takes here bike. Sometimes Milan in spring can smell so good.
Yes she loves thrillers. But she does not have so much time to read anymore. And not so much money to spend on books, since she must pay for bills, subscriptions, food, first necessity needs.
Fortunately she can find some new books in the public library close to here house.
She even does not have a bookshelf in her room: not enough space.

But still B&B & its “partners in crime” spend a lot of money for advertisement completely out of reality on magazines that less and less people are reading.
In the meantime around the world young professionals get used to travel and change country every six months, and read their favorite books on tablets and e-readers.

Probably B&B and partners hope these people to get rich soon, and remember how much they loved all that expensive pieces of furniture they used to see in those lovely design and architecture magazines.
Good luck with that!


The Killers – Enterlude and Exitlude


Democrazy#4

12apr12

|Attenti ragazzi…|

Signora mia, quando c’era lui….

…la gente era spensierata

…la professionalità era un valore

…i giovani erano intraprendenti

…e le ragazze sorridevano sempre

…avevamo amici potenti

…e partner rispettati e leali

…il paese era sicuro

…e gli immigrati se ne stavano a casa loro

…l’Italia era il paese più bello del mondo

…e gli altri erano solo invidiosi



A new kind of liberalism

The European governments finally agree that the only solution to the financial crisis if the reduction of national debt, achieved mainly by higher taxes and cut to welfare spendings.
To keep economy competitiveness, workers have lost many rights and protections.

Nowadays is common for highly qualified professionals to accept flexible retribution for short period of collaboration, and to be obliged to get many job position to afford their living expenses.
But still national governments keep a strong control on citizens taxes, obligation and regulation.

If I want to move to a different country I need a regular house contract, a registration to the city administration, a bank account. Moreover I’m asked an health insurance, and then to pay all the taxes related to my staying in the city (water, gas, rubbish). And that’s perfectly normal, if you could have a normal job with a regular income.

But when my government allows companies to give me salary that cannot allow me to survive, how can it demand to me obligation that could be acceptable when I was granted a good level of social protection?

Europe is just talking about liberalization for business and companies. Maybe it’s time to think also to “liberalize” social obligation that lost their purpose.
If taxation is connected to political representation, laws and obligation should be linked to what government can really give back to people.




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