carlo's Xanga

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:33:04 GMT

This morning I was going to take the subway, to avoid the traffic jams in the morning, and I was astonished to see the empty streets, "something wrong " I thought. I checked the time, it was okay, eight o'clock am.

I remember that in the shops somewhere said something about the shops being closed the 11th of november.

I went back home, took the car and in less than 10 minutes I was at work - normally takes me between half a hour and a full hour.

At work I asked what was going on, and a flemish lady told me that it is a holyday in Belgium, it is ' Armistice day' How come? I asked, I know that the national Belgian holiday is the 21th of july. Of course they have a different day for the Flemish and a day for the French-speaking (Francophone).

How much do I have to remember? I was just busy with the breaking down of the Berlin's wall and now I'm in the middle of the great war remembrance day.

In Ypres (Ieper in France) and whereabouts one of the most bloody battle was fought. More than 500.000 soldiers killed. You know the verses written by a Canadian," Poppy in flemish fields?" well. That is the place.

So many lives lost not even knowing why? do we know now? Why? I don't.

Tomorrow I will take the subway again and it will be all back to normal.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:00:50 GMT

TEAR DOWN THAT WALL

The wall built at Berlin to divide the city in two, wasn't very beautiful, in fact it was very ugly. The worst of all was not just the wall - walls are built to be climbed- the problem were the soldiers with guns watching from the watch- out towers. They shot to kill, and they did.

Now the wall in Berlin is gone, but in other places is not gone yet. In Germany too, there are still a difference between the west germany and east germany, economical and cultural. Twenty years have been not enough to remake to take away all the differences.

Here in Brussels, that is a kind of capital of the uropean Union they have try to show what it was like to have a wall. They have make a ' Check Point Charlie'

The luxembourg square in a rainy day became like Berlin.

They brought a part of the wall all the way from Germany.

It is scary and ugly : Halloween stuff.

Happily is not Berlin like it was 20 years ago. Now we are together, the ex- communist countries, Poland, Hungry, Slovakje etc.

Who would thought some years ago to be working together with all this people from behind the walls.?

You know, in a few years, people will be playing games at putting down the wall, and nobody really will know what really has been the past.

People tend to forget very easily and very quick. Don't let the forget. They are still building walls. They will never learn?

Sunday, November 08, 2009

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:56:43 GMT

LITTLE BIRD DID IT AGAIN

How a little bird dropped a tiny little bread crumb, and stopped the most expensive experiments of the last times at Geneve, Swisserland.

In Geneve scientist are trying to discover the "HIGG BOSON" also called God particle. They are trying to reproduce the way matter was before the big bang: at the beginning of times.

This scientists build up the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) for something like 6,9 billion dollars, running in a tunnel between Swisserland and France.

Not everything went right, last year something went wrong, now, and they had to stop the experiment.

They tried it again now, and this time a little bird managed to drop a breadcrumb on the machine - probably from a baguette - as Geneve is situated in the French part of Swisserland.The bread crumb was just enough to stop all the experiment.

The theory of a New York Times journalist, DENNIS OVERBYE, is that, perhaps, the future does not want certain things to be discovered, and takes care that the machine does not work sending little bird on a mission to undermine it.

This particle must be so bad that is better to leave them alone.

Little Birdie are like angels who know how to undermine the most complicated machine - just with a bread crumb ( they have sense of humor, you know)

Sunday, November 08, 2009

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:33:58 GMT

20 YEARS AGO

To understand the future, we need to remember the past - I don't say 'understand', just remember.

Remember Kennedy in Berlin? "I'm a Berliner" he said, if he had been in Hamburg, he could have said "I'm a Hamburger", but he was in Berlin, and in Berlin there was a wall. A wall to divide people, brothers, friends, lovers.

On top of the wall there were soldiers with guns. The soldiers could shoot at people who tried to jump the wall, and they did, to kill. That was not to long ago, it was only 20 years ago.

Kennedy is dead now, more Kennedys are dead too. Lady Clinton will be taking the relay and coming to Berlin to remember this day.

20 years ago that wall was broken down. People decide they had enough and they broke it down with bare hands and with everything they could lay hands on.They did. People did. Ordinary people. Oh Yes, they did.

Stone after stone the wall came down.

More walls should be broken down, and more bridges should be built. Bridges to fill the gap between people, between rich and poor, between different religions.

Now there is only one German. "DEUTSCHLAND", and even if the price to be paid, was high, people didn't complain. They were brothers and they helped each other.

What a good lesson to remember: It can be done, or the way Obama said "We can"

Happy sunday from a rainy, windy, coldish, Brussels.

Saturday, November 07, 2009

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:50:08 GMT

SARDINIA

Most people have a special place in their memories, mostly this the place where we have grown up. This place is for me is in Sardinia.

When feeling low I watch pictures or listen to music from Sardinia. Why not? It is raining and cold and even the dog doesn't want to go out.

It was them a small village, it is much smaller now, it is shrieking., but it is still there.somewhere.

There are signs of things, school, sport. The signs are there, but the school is closed, (not enough kids), the sport field too. The church is still there but there is no priest. I don't know if God is still there. He was not always there in my youth.

My daughter has been there, vacation, and I asked her to make a photo of nr 11, the house where I was born. She did, but the house it is not the same, they must have stolen the nr 11. My number.

It is not much different though; the house could almost have been my house.

When going to school I like to hide inside olive tree - it is possible you know. The olive trees there are old thousand years.

When I went to the country there were no cars, Now there are some ... there is a stop sign anyway; so there must be cars.

While waiting for the cars to go by, the sheep are taking a nap under a tree.

I liked to go and visit " SU NURAXI" a very old building (+-3500 year bc)Nobody know what it was. Now they are guides, and you have to buy a ticket, but in the old times was free and mysterious.

The stones are made of lave, old volcano eruptions, when the world was young. Now the volcanoes are death and only the black stones remind us of a different era.

I should go and visit, but after a day I will be wanting to go away, I know: gossip, all day long the only thing they can do is: gossip.

Really, I should go back. They will be waiting for me, the ghosts.

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:53:06 GMT

CRUCIFIX OUT OF SCHOOLS IN ITALY

Many important things are happening in the world every day, and , thanks to internet we are more informed than in the past.

a)Yesterday the last signature was put on the EU treaty, that means that in the future there will be a President of Europe (The first one will be, probably, a Belgian; Van Rompuy), and a foreign minister. Twenty seven countries (there will be more in the future), are now together and trying to get something done. Good luck to Europe. Good luck to the EU.

b)In Italy there is a discussion going on about the crucifix being allowed in schools, and other public places, (in all the schools in Italy there has to be a crucifix hanging on the wall).

The Eu took the decision to have all the crucifix being taken out the schools' walls (considering the high numbers of children not being Christians, does make sense, unless we want the schools' walls full of all kind of religious symbols.

Italians are shocked, or pretend too, about this. Children don't care much about it, I suppose.

Times are changing, before there no much freedom for anything, there was a crucifix and you had to pray at school, weather you like it or not.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:51:31 GMT

RELIGIOUS WARS.

In many countries there is a religion clash: Specially the three biggest monotheist religions. The radicalization of the religions is going further and further creating very much a lot of problems. They threat liberties, they don't accept freedom of thinking. There is a danger of Religion wars in the world. There is no respect for other people meaning. Great people were treated - and are- badly by the religious authorities: Galileo in the past, Darwin today; and yet they were Christians all the way, the same as Einstein and other great Scientists.

Will be possible to have a society where the religion will be free and religious people will use the religion just to pray, as it was intended to be.

People should not go to Church, but under a tree to pray: a fig tree, a olive tree, a oak tree, even a palm tree. Everyone would have his own prayer tree.

Monday, November 02, 2009

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:24:21 GMT

THEO VAN GOGH

Five years ago Theo Van gogh - film maker - was murdered in Amsterdam.

He was shot while was biking in the street of Amsterdam.

The killer said had shot him for religious reasons. He felt offended by Van Gogh's film.

My question is " Is the world, at this moment, blackmailed by the religions?"

Monday, November 02, 2009

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:56:11 GMT

EMPTINESS IN TIME

Simon used to say : I would like to have a hook in time to hang my coat and my hat.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:45:01 GMT

HALLOWEEN IN BELGIUM

I'm astonished the way things change. Not many years ago, almost nobody knew anything about this festivity. They had " Toussaint" (All saints or Allerheilligen) and the the day of the dead 5 (giorno dei morti). People went to the cemetery to bring some flowers to the graves( good business for the flower shops), and every year the memories of the death faded a little more. The kids had a week vacation and that was fine with them.

Now it is all changed. The shops are full with black masks, pumpkins are everywhere, black clothes and mask , and not forget the horror films. Kid from moslem religion are confused and catholics kids don't really know what to think ... well, if they are some gifts it will be okay; later they will tell their own kids about halloween and they will think that is part of their culture.

In my childhood ( Sardinia, Italy) I remember this day in this way: We used to go door to door asking for something for " the animeddas" (the little souls) some cookies called ' bones of the death', or sometimes, pomme granate were given to us. In some houses people let the table with food all night and they prepared the most loved food for the departed, so that they could come visit and get some of the food. In other cities they put extra places on the table.

It was a day where the door between the spirit world and the world of the living was left open. A day to communicate with the souls. it was a sad day but not a horror day. There were not horror tales been told, just sweet memories of the deaprted people, and some tears will make the eyes shine, like dew on a grass leave.

Oh well! We do have free day and the kids a all week vacation. Have fun kids.