DARK MATTER

DARK MATTER

Apr 27, 2024 | MUSIC, MUSIC, ROCK, ROCK

Dark matter … first of all can we say that we are immediately attracted by these words?

Not to mention that the first thing I read in it was the prosecution of that sort of thread left hanging after 72 seasons, or Memento mori … 

So even Pearl Jam tells us the obscure in some way … this we should mainly ask Luciana: the biggest Pearl Jam fan I know.

Lucy you will correct me if I’m wrong, right?

The first rumour I heard about Dark Matter concerns the illustrious name in the credits: Sean Penn.

His contribution would consist of the sound of a pool cue hitting the ball, recorded by Eddie Vedder on his mobile phone.

Cool.

Not to mention the fact that the thought of Eddie and Sean automatically leads to Into the wild. 

Wild was also the start of the recording, which started at Andrew Watt‘s house and then relocated due to rain flooding.

I would call Andrew a natural born fan if I tried to imagine his repertoire of Pearl Jam t-shirts: a different one for each day of recording.

So at this point I ask: do you also keep one or more t-shirts from the concerts you have experienced? Can you tell me what they are?

Meanwhile, I list the titles of the eleven tracks of Dark Matter:
Scared of Fear
React, Respond
Wreckage
Dark Matter
Won’t Tell
Upper Hand
Waiting for Stevie
Running
Something Special
Got to Give
Setting Sun

and I won’t hide that before I found out which Stevie they were referring to, I hoped it was Nicks … instead it’s Wonder.

But there’s another reference, which I want to consider in a particular way: in the song Scared of Fear
…
We used to laugh, we used to sing
We used to dance, we used to believe

do you think we could get back: Seattle, 90s?

Although in reality each of us has our own memory that fits these words, would you like to tell yours?

I leave you with the conclusion of Dark Matter: words we should all remember, as well as sing

These days it’s strange
When everyone else is paying
For someone else’s mistakes
This guilt takes shape
until everyone pays
for someone else’s mistakes …

A CURTAIN OF PURPLE WISTERIA

A CURTAIN OF PURPLE WISTERIA

Apr 22, 2023 | ENVIRONMENT, WHO CARES

A curtain of purple Wisteria …

Do you recognize which quote this line belongs to?

The wisteria I am telling you about, however, is not located on an avenue, and for that very reason it struck me very much.

The wisteria I want to tell you about sat along a country lane, expanding in its natural, wild architecture, without being an embellishment to anyone.

I like the idea that it has done well here in Lomellina, a place with characteristics quite different from its homeland.

In China wisteria is called Zǐténg 紫藤 i.e. blue vine, even the German name: Blauregen is inspired by the color.

Wisteria, on the other hand, comes from the Greek glýkis γλύκης meaning sweetness.

Name inspired by scent therefore, rather than color. Curious, isn’t it?

What strikes you most about wisteria?

Personally, I would say the color. In particular I have the memory of the arbor at the mill where my grandparents lived.

And in general what strikes you about flowers: the scent?

What is your favorite flower? 

What do you associate the thought of flowers with?

I found myself thinking that, just like this wisteria, I would love for other kinds of beauty to take over space, we would need it so much, wouldn’t we?

Maybe mine is tiredness, but sometimes I feel crushed by all the ugliness that surrounds us in our daily lives, after all, little would be enough to improve each other’s lives, and instead the common trend is heading exactly the opposite.

It is said that Wisteria for Japanese culture represents love and longevity, I ask for confirmation from those who are very knowledgeable on the subject, but in the meantime I would like to take it as a wish, adding my personal interpretation of this wisteria: freedom.

Shard by shard we are released from the tyranny of so-called time. A curtain of purple wisteria partially conceals the entrance to a familiar garden… In a wink, a lifetime, we pass through the infinite movements of a silent overture.

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON EXPLAINED BY STUDENTS

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON EXPLAINED BY STUDENTS

Mar 18, 2022 | CULTURE

PCTO or Pathways for Transversal Skills and Orientation.

Writing an article on the meaning of the expression “Keep Calm and Carry On” is the PCTO project assigned to the students of the 5R class of the “Manfredo Fanti” Liceo Scientifico of Carpi Modena’s area. 

This project is part of the Focus History initiative: Focus Academy, aimed at involving young people in the various stages of preparation of the magazine through webinars that the purpose of promoting not only scientific or historical dissemination, as in this case, but also the various phases before issue.

I would like to clarify that the class was divided into two groups and that the second group also worked on a very interesting topic: the story of Crazy Horse.

My compliments go to all the students.

It goes without saying that I was struck by the subject of these works, so I contacted the Headmaster Professor Alda Barbi to know the origin, but the assignment came directly from the editorial staff of Focus History.

The Focus press office was equally kind but we can perhaps think that there is no specific reason.

And I would say that this is precisely the beauty: there is always a good reason to say “keep calm” don’t you think?

All this made me think back to the glorious days of school, when we still called these activities simply “research.”

Is there a research that has particularly impressed you? What memories do you have of school?

The first research carried out in elementary school often comes to my mind for two reasons.

The first concerns the precise memory I have of my mother as she searches for newspapers so that I can find the images to cut out.

Yes: it was a cardboard billboard with glued cutouts.

If we think about what can be done with images now it really seems prehistoric.

The second reason is the topic chosen by the teacher Virginia, whom I admire and still respect today: foreign words that have come into common use.

Today they are no longer counted: now our language is made up of constant and continuous contamination.

But in search of foreign words I somehow got tied up, and I never stopped trying to learn them.

Who knows if even for some of the students of the Fanti high school this work will mark a turning point, or will represent the first of a long series of steps in the journey of life.

CARRY ON!

Keep calm, and carry on …

THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Sep 13, 2020 | ITALY

Fa’ la punta alla matita
corri a scrivere la tua vita.
Scrivi parole diritte e chiare:
Amore, lottare, lavorare.

Point the pencil
run to write your life.
Write words straight and clear:
Love, fight, work.

Gianni Rodari is always very topical in my opinion, but probably not even he would have imagined a time when the pencil, like all the rest of the material, would have taken second place compared to the bags that will contain them.

Each of us keeps the memory of the first day of school, how was yours? What is the first image that comes to mind?

Mine is distant in time and belongs to a time when notebooks were small, and only two: one lined and one checked, and for a moment I felt lost in the midst of children I did not know.
If I close my eyes I still smell the scent of the offellas that my mother had wrapped for a snack, making me a surprise.

In middle school, on the other hand, I felt great closing the books of the first day with those elastic bands with the clasp in front and going towards a new adventure.

At my high school debut I was alone again among unfamiliar faces, but that was the important day I met the one who would become a Great Friend for life.

But tomorrow?
What day will tomorrow be?
Paraphrasing Rodari: what kind of life can children write who tomorrow will face their first day of school with the long list of rules to respect and things not to do in hand?

Will we be able to make sure that our children can write as a “clear word Love” before FIGHT and WORK?

For once adults will be able to set the right example, will they be able to learn from mistakes, will they be able to use progress, knowledge, and above all experience, for a first day towards a better society, seriously, at least this time?

I would like it so much, and you?

 

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