A Republic founded on Scratch-and-win

For the past 3 years or so, every morning I had cappuccino and cornetto in the same cafe’. Almost every morning I find a slightly rubberish dust on one of the tables. Was it possible that kids were erasing mistakes from their home-works at the cafe’ with their milk and ciambella? Suspicious.

And one morning, I got the illumination, Amelie-Poulain style: the strange dust was the result of frantic scratching of “Gratta e Vinci”, “Win for Life” and “Turista per Sempre”: Scartch-and-Win cards, sold by the dozen every single morning at the counter. Promising you millions or 4,000 euro per month (a sort of nice salary) and then a balloon payment at the end (if you are still alive).

Everything you wanted to know about the Germans (but were afraid to ask)

Since we stopped watching TV we cherrypick programs on the web, and DeutscheWelle is one of our favorite websites, both for its German and English broadcasts. Today a special feature on the Allensbach report tries to sketch contemporary Germany. Germany is changing, even if slowly, says the report.

It’s healthy to see that TV and mobile phones are never mentioned. I guess they would be the first thing mentioned if the report had been done in Italy. Germans consider their politicians selfish. But social justice, dignity are the biggest issue on the table. This means that eventually politicians will be judged on this point, and not on what they say on TV.

Today and tomorrow regional elections in Italy. We will see if Italy is changing, even if slowly. Or if it runs to stand still.

Bike paradise

Yesterday I was in Basel and, next to my hotel I saw a magnificent store. Possibly the most desirable haven of crafted products in Basel. A bike store cum Fahrradstation, Single Speed. It is a very polished store, retro and very groomed. They have a nice assortment of retro bikes, ABICI, Fixie, Elektra, Pashley, Retrovelo. The legendary German sporting shoe brand Zeha Berlin, and helmets by the Danish Viva.

But when I was in the store I felt a strong nostalgia, of the real, greasy bike store in Schoeneberg, selling real retro bikes or rather, tenth-hand bikes, with pedal brakes,  for 80 euros. “Are you open in August or do you close for the holidays?” I asked the ciclista one day last August, contemplating the purchase of the pedal brake old bike. “I don’t go in the Ferien. I can’t afford it” was the answer.

So yesterday I left Single Speed without buying the helmet I was coveting. Next time I’m in Schoeneberg I’ll buy my helmet and tip-tops there, the guy needs some business.

Try this at home…

Talking about marketing campaigns, we loved this one…it’s cool, gets the message across and is fun. As you may guess we’re Beamer fans – our GS 1200′s beaky shadow can be spotted in About…

Gad Beck’s undercover Berlin

I discovered Gad Beck’s autobiography in the Italian edition “Dietro il vetro sottile – memorie di un ebreo omosessuale nella Berlino nazista” (Einaudi) at Rome’s Herder German bookstore.

The excellent translation by Leonardo Boschetti conveys all the wit and freshness of Gad Beck’s berlinisch talk. His teen-age effortless coming out in the tolerant Weimar Republic atmosphere contrasts sharply with the layers and layers of anti-Jewish laws twisting and bending Berlin’s civil society in the following years.

Yet, the great take-aways of this excellent book are Gad’s incredible joie de vivre and esprit which saved his and many other lives, and his ability to never give up the pursue of happiness and love around him: family, friends and lovers.

The efforts done by many Berliners, shrewd businessmen and prostitutes, church-goers and grumpy concierges, to help him ferrying people to freedom make this book unique.

Rules against dirty tricks

Yesterday I was at Piazza del Popolo. It is always healthy to join the protest in the piazza, and see how people go the extra mile in order to show that:

a) they still care about this country, and the healthiest core of this State

b) worship the democracy as defined by our Constitution

c) respect honest work as the basis of our society, and not the shortcuts.

The stage was labeled “Rules, not dirty tricks”.

Around town many people wearing the purple color. A lady with a plum velvety coat. A young girl sporting a purple handbag. Lilac leggings. A whole family in aubergine scarves. An old man with a shy lavender pullover. Young men in anoraks ranging from blue to red. And this magnificient lady with the purple highlights. I don’t think that any mentally sane person can describe these citizens as “grotesque”.

It’s one of those moments in which I still believe this country has a future as a democracy and not only as a captive market of oblivious boiled frogs.

The Nuremberg of child abuse

In these days the child abuse cases in Regensburg are the most debated topic in the news in Germany.

I really hope that these news will clear a massive zeroing-down of catholic church hierarchies, and not only in Germany. A kanzler who is not kissing the hands of the pope and a protestant church who can speak with equal force in the country maybe will avoid that this time the scandal ends up under the carpet, as it happened everywhere else.

A Nuremberg of all catholic child abuse cases is needed, now. These aren’t isolated monsters, to be dealt with one by one. Only a big, public trial can make justice and serve as an example.

don’t (re)search too far…be content with what you’ve got

Our Spring Series on Stupid Advertising continues with the recent Sanpaolo bank campaign. We saw it yesterday at the cinema while waiting for the start of Hurt Locker, but I suppose it also runs on TV.

We know the bank who paid for it, but which agency produced such an idiot campaign? “Oh it’s better to work in research in Italy: 800 euro per month, contracts renewed on an annual basis or less, no funding for research…but you can always ride your old scooter in the sunny streets!”. Hypocrites…nivelisation par le bas. In the movie theater people were laughing out loud, or bitterly.

The best decision in my life was to leave and start working in Paris. The only regret I have is that I was 24 at the time, it would have been even better if I had left earlier.

revolutions: directions for use

Since a few days I see on the back of the bus this advertising.

1. I am amused to see a stretch of Karl-Marx Allee in the middle of Roman streets.

2. Someone please explain the young silly man with the garish t-shirt and greasy hair that he should be FACING the panzers. He should read the “instructions for use of revolutions” on the back of the box next time he wants to play one.

Maybe it’s the Zeitgeist. Now some like to think of themselves as revolutionaries “in style” because they use a peculiar hair gel, but take care of sticking to the mainstream pensée unique, and bringing the laundry to their mums afterwards…

Revolution is an uncomfortable position, and never mainstream.

The mother of all Autobahns

Yesterday our friend Gp from Düsseldorf sent us a link to the Ruhr 2010 Events page…we are already busy studying the latest GEO issue on the 2010 Capital of Culture, the Ruhr Metropolis, but frankly we had not seen this yet…the Autobahn grill! A huge party will start on July 18th on the A40 motorway in Germany!

We will try to be there, partying at the mother of all motorways. In the meantime, we indulge in our fond Kraftwerk memories, for they are the mother of all electronic music adventures…

More info here below…