Guten Morgen Berlin,
Du kannst so hässlich sein, so dreckig und grau,
du kannst so schön schrecklich sein,
Deine Nächte fressen mich auf
Es wird für mich wohl das Beste sein
Ich geh nach Hause und schlaf mich aus
Und während ich durch die Straßen laufe
wird langsam schwarz zu blau
source: picture alliance / dpa on berlin.de
During the weekend in Rome the temperature has switched up by a dozen of degrees all of a sudden and a few mimosa trees have blossomed or rather exploded with nothing less than violence. Sunday I was staring at the fluffy mimosa flowers in front of the German Academy. All that color and perfume after such a long brown/gray winter full of mud mud and mud. And I find equally mesmerizing these thawing frost images of Berlin…
Each blockbuster director has a great scenograph. Berlusconi has Bertolaso. The stage creator. The tableau vivant planner. The man with a trimmed polo neck. The operations guy behind the daily Truman Show we live in Italy. Continue reading ‘Look up…it’s the protezione incivile!’
Interesting graph: saving rates across different countries….
Why Germans save so much? Some Anglosaxon financial media will consider boring and anti-capitalistic to save so much. Shop until you drop! So is it something anthropological? Let’s see what Michael Wigge at Deutschewelle finds out…
However here in Italy we used to be quite ant-like and save a lot of money too, so it’s not just an ethnic thing. How come things have changed? Continue reading ‘save our souls’
Right, we’ll have Regional elections soon. The posters are already out. You know the story, one of Brazilian filles de joie, a frustrated Governor of the Region, voitures de fonction and coke.
So two ladies will lead the battle on the roman field. Renata Polverini on one side and Emma Bonino on the other side. Don’t ask me to define the two sides as we would enter in endless polemics on the appropriateness of terms such as “right”, “progressist”, “conservative”, “union”, “secular” and so on. This is out of the scope of this small post.
Please focus on the Emma Bonino campaign poster. No, I don’t want to indulge into aesthetic ghetto-comments because the two runner-up are women. I just want to investigate the body language, which is something applying to women and men candidates 100% of the times.
1) Business-like jacket but in feminine hues
2) Pragmatic but soft, comme il faut, blond bob
3) Reassuring smile, avec un soupçon de maquillage
4) Glance betraying the well earned tough-cookie reputation
5) Not full-frontal, but di tre quarti, caring-but-not-intimidating posture
Does it ring a bell? It does? Continue reading ‘the “Mutti” factor’
Interesting comparison today between the Italian and German press.
Apparently only 27% of the Italian tax payers do pay tax, ie because all the others are declare zero taxes, reports Repubblica, but also Corriere. Surely too poor to pay taxes.
The Local reports that tax dodgers in Germany are turning themselves in for fear of sanctions: “In early February, Berlin said it would pay for data on some 1,500 suspected tax dodgers with funds stashed in Swiss accounts, dismissing criticism aside that the allegedly stolen material would not stand up in court”.
How can Italy make up for the shortage of taxes, since apparently taxes are paid only in the city of Cuneo? The answer lies in the Cucumber Theory by Tremonti, our finance minister. Why not selling Sardinia? Or listing on the Stock Exchange entire regions?
While I was walking with lots of care in Berlin on iced snow, in Rome there was a snow blizzard! A smattering of snow, which didn’t last more than a few hours…nevertheless quite impressive…as you can see from the picture taken by Our Friends on the Seventh Floor. St Peter’s is completely erased from the landscape across the Tiber…
PS
I am pretty sure that there is a mistake in the title…any Latin language fan ready to correct it? ;D
The Berlinale-on-Ice has begun!
Friday and Saturday I was in Berlin and in spite of the frozen snow and icy wind the exciting atmosphere was there. After a cappuccino in – yet another – 70s breakfast place in my Kiez, I was ready for facing the red carpet, cameras and the like.
Yes, because at the Berlinale movie-goers are the main characters. A huge red carpet runs from one end to the other of the big Arkaden gallery, close to Marlene Dietrich Platz where the Berlinale Palast is located.
First, it’s Raiders of the Lost Ark. “Where can I get one of those?” asks frantically the ticket-hunter to the peer seriously perusing the program booklet. Over there – shelves and shelves of them. And black sofas for the religious browsing .That’s civilized. A solemn moment for discovering the menu. The movie-goer is silent and focused.
Then it’s Vertigo. It’s so full of interesting movies. The Competition and the Retrospective. And this year Berlinale” goes Kiez” – movies will be shown also in local theaters! Oh so many movies, so little time…and Metropolis! Eyes glow. Salivation stops. On stage!
Enter the movie-goer on the Red Carpet, the one in front of the totemic Ticket Counter. Titles and times circled on the program, moving slowing down the aisle, eyes fixed on the electric board, where red flags and green flags flash next to the movies. Up in the air.
Television crews film us, Le Publique, on our long red carpet. After all, we bought more than 250,000 tickets last year. “Did you manage to get The ghost Writer online? I’m queuing for Banksy…yep, here at Arkaden”. A man with a Mac tries booking online while standing in the queue and avoiding an interview. Only a few tickets are available on the internet…It’s like hacking around the clock. Swordfish.
Familiar feeling of a departure lounge during a blizzard, holding the breath before a Delayed or Canceled label appears next to a destination. No chance to board Howl. The Ghost Writer. Boxhagener Platz. Even Tuan Yuan scheduled at 8.30 is fully packed! Mission Impossible.
All the tickets during the stay in Berlin are over. Only 5 people in front. Pulling over. Out of the red line. It’s hard to give up. Silent at the noodle bar on the top floor. It’s hard to break the news to the partner, friends or relatives. Eat Drink Man Woman.
Yesterday I did something I had in mind for a while. I bought a copy of Wir Kinder vom Banhnof Zoo. I had read the book in 1981. For many years my Berlin imaginaire had been one of Christiane F. + Bowie + the wall/the cold war. My image of Berlin was black and white, grey like slush. This image only changed in 1995 when Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped up the Reichstag. That was the first time I desired to go and see the town.The first time I associated it with colors. Light. A happy crowd. A magnet of something positive… Continue reading ‘Tight jeans and concrete’
In a few weeks at the Berlinale the restored version of the movie Metropolis will be on the silver screen. Still this image recalls a recent article on Beppe Grillo’s blog on the state of Italy.
Here is summary of the Italian situation. The political parties no longer represent the citizens. The deputies no longer represent the Italian population but merely serve those who appointed them.
Public resources are being transferred into private hands either through sales or by means of concessions being granted to run our motorways, our water resources and the disposal of our waste. Continue reading ‘The state of Italy’
