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Showing posts from December, 2018

Measles? What else?

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A survey of the Guardian taken from Italian newspapers reveals that in 2018 in Europe there were 60,000 cases of measles, more than double the previous year. The deaths were 72, twice that in 2017. The conspiracy theories make us laugh so much, yet they directly (and indirectly) cause death. I personally believe it is a law of nature, evolution takes its course: the most stupid die. Yes, with stupid I mean all those who have access to the vaccines and decide not to use it without a valid justification. Unfortunately this is not correct, because so many people die without blame like the children of the stupid, the immunosuppressed, the elderly, children too small to be vaccinated. As always, the stupid are also those who have little doubt and they share and spread the stupid things in which they believe. It would be nice if the evolution intervened before the stupid can reproduce.

My medicines: running and stand-up comedy

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Yesterday evening I went out to run. I was pissed off and although it was cold outside and there was a lot of humidity I had no choice: run! I came back very calm and reassured. 12 km of slow running in the cold, with little light and a bit of tiredness do great things. I did not remember (almost) anymore because I was pissed off. Christmas pisses me off. I can not stand all these turns for gifts (most of which are for people who do not interest me at all), and the preparations for dinner on the eve and for the next lunch ... This morning we have made other purchases and other preparations. Today I could not run (because I will run tomorrow) and so I worked a bit to get me nervous. Yes, I know it's Saturday. So then I watched the Ellen Degeneres show. It's very funny (Ellen in general and this show in particular). I have already said how much you love the genre Stand-up, although I have to read the subtitles to understand what they say. Fino

Another shitty day or a new fucking day?

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I have not yet figured out which time it is more correct to use shit and when to use fuck , or if someone shit where others use fuck. But back to my (fucking) day. It was a struggle for me to endure a long meeting. We talked about many things, but above all about communication. I tried to convince this people that every occasion (a label, a web page, a price list, an exhibitor) must be used to communicate something to the possible recipient (both private and professional). To tell something about the company, about the products, but above all about the benefit that consumers would get. We discussed cards for some food supplements and I struggled to persuade them to go beyond the name + scope + low price. I had to insist on writing a few lines of text on the benefits of the product and its way of use. We discussed cards for some food supplements and I struggled to persuade them to go beyond the name + scope + low price. I had to insist on writing a few lines of text on the benefits

Hypocrisy or dishonesty

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One day the Minister of the Interior expresses his solidarity (as well as the defense minister and perhaps the entire government) to the carabiniere attacked by hooligans and the day after the Minister of the Interior finds himself with the Milan fans who are hooligans to all the effects. Some of them were convicted of common crimes... Probably the minister of the interior has calculated to earn more votes among the Milan fans than how many votes he could lose among his non-supporter Milan voters. It seems that his party does not come down in opinion polls despite his party has used 49 million euros of unlawfully received election reimbursements (yes, it is not a mistake: 49 million euros that he will have to repay... in very easy installments in arc of 81 years!).

My English life

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I work from home and then I can decide when (and also how much) to work, so in the bear of the day I reserve some moments to study English. After eating, I stretch out and force myself with Memrise and Duolingo (on the smartphone or on the computer). The afternoon (when I do not really want to work or when I seem to have worked hard) I enjoy a bit 'on the site Hinative to answer some questions from people who study Italian or I do some questions. But I also spend some time reading the answers of others: there is always something to learn. In the evening (but sometimes even in the afternoon) I watch movies or TV series in English with Italian subtitles. I just finished watching The Kominsky Method and now I'm watching it in English with the English subtitles), then the cartoon Final Space (I look at the episodes a first time with subtitles in Italian and then with English subtitles), I look the cartoon Paradice PD especially for reviewing my swear word collection. Today I

The second time is done first

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In recent days I have tried to complete all the outstanding works and (since I have not received any other assignments) I have succeeded. So my schedule for today was: going out to run and laze. Unfortunately I had forgotten the reason that had pushed me to speed up the conclusion of the work in progress: I had to lay out (again) the book of photographs of my brother. The book is actually a project that my brother has printed in few copies to give it and present it. So a few months ago I set the book, normalized, numbered and divided the images according to the chapters. Then I made the actual layout using the online software of a site that prints photobooks and calendars. The software is very rudimentary, I would say almost primitive. However I managed to fix the 80 pages. My brother needed more copies of the book, perhaps to use them as Christmas presents and then started the procedure on the site to order more copies ... but the project was gone! Apparently the site keeps in memo

It’s never too late

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Even today it was bad weather, it rained almost all day so I could not shop to buy Christmas gifts. In the afternoon it was worse: I had to take the car to change pads and discs: an unexpected expense but necessary because after Christmas we will do a bit of miles to go to our sons. This setback negatively conditioned my working will. So when I came home I printed the Christmas cards (those to be applied on gifts). Then I changed my clothes and went out to run. It was cold but it was not raining. I could run 12 km without even having to chase my daughter. She  started running 7 years after me, in the last year she has run for 400 km total (I instead just over 2000), but she is young and fit and so she has a step a little faster than mine, at least on short distances. At times I struggle to keep up with her. In this period I'm doing almost only slow runs, but in the 5-6 km races with my daughter I find myself running at medium speed and sometimes I get to the race pace to be able

Shit afternoon

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We got up and it was raining outside, not really, but enough not to make us want to go out for a run. We lazed a little (but I would have had the opportunity to work), then we went out to see the fair: there was the usual merchandise and we only bought a printed scarf with a painting by Van Gogh and another with a print of Picasso's painting. We had lunch early because we had to accompany our daughter to the station. It usually takes an hour, so we decided to go out an hour ahead of schedule, to be sure. Everything went smoothly up to Ponte Milvio... the police and the local police prevented the transit of all the cars on the lungotevere, towards the center. The traffic has become very dense and we have continued in the obligatory direction at a crawl. We were early and we did not worry too much. After several minutes we had come a very short way, we were bottled in traffic a long way from the station and the subway stops. And I had to pee. After another time we had come a very

Strange day

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I vould have said giornata strampalata, but Google translator the word strampalata once translates me into strange day, then in wackly day… who knows what is the right translation? This morning I went out to run with my daughter, then I had to work a bit but I could not. After a short trip downtown to buy things it was already lunchtime. In the afternoon we went to the cemetery to meet the workers who came to settle the tomb of my father-in-law (a bit shabby because of heavy rains), then rushing to scrap the car of my father-in-law. A jump to the supermarket and it's time for dinner. I tried to work, but I could not concentrate. I had started to work but the usual Amazon e-mail arrived, thanking me for having picked up my package at the pick-up point. But I had not picked up the package! So I went out to go to the pick-up point, fortunately I could pick up the package, the Amazon email was sent by who knows which system automated by mistake. So I worked very little. Tomorrow wil

The Kominsky Method

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In the last days I have seen the TV series The Kominsky Method with Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin. I saw the series in original version with Italian subtitles. Then I started to see the series from the beginning in the original version with English subtitles. Of course I remembered the general sense of the dialogues, but I lost many details. I am slow to make sense of the phrases I hear and often I need to translate into Italian. I agree that this does not make much sense, however I'm beginning to get used to certain sounds and I begin to recognize a few words and I start to get used to not translating the verdicts, but to imagine the action that the verb indicates , instead of the corresponding Italian word. So while in the living room my wife, my daughter and my mother-in-law watch the TV series L’amica geniale ( My brilliant friend ) that almost all the dialogues in Neapolitan with Italian subtitles, I will go to watch another episode of The Kominsky Method in English wi

Tiring but fun day

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Today I started the day by staying an hour queued on the Cassia bis due to an accident between 2-3 cars. Once a week I go to my company for updates, to take materials, for some meetings and even to develop some new projects. Today I arrived at my destination one hour late, but my interlocutor was not there and I worked with his daughter. Then the person who had to come for the afternoon meeting arrived very late and then the workday lasted longer than expected. But this was good because I could meet my daughter. She arrived from Bologna and had stopped for a few hours in Rome to meet her friend. His delay and mine made us meet and we went home together. My wife did not know she was coming: the surprise succeeded. So tomorrow, for starters, we're going to run, only after my wife and I will go to the mall to buy some presents. The good thing will be that we will have to hurry up to be home early to be together with our daughter who will leave on Thursday.

human rights

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70 years ago the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Today it seems like yesterday, today it does not look anything like the tomorrow they imagined in 1948. Naturally I did not remember it. I heard it on the radio while I was running. During 12 km of slow running I could hear all the genesis of the Declaration and also how little it is applied in the vast majority of nations. Or at least it is not applied to most of the inhabitants of the vast majority of countries. To be honest it is badly applied even in civilized countries or that should be such, like United States, France, Italy ... Indeed, in some civilized countries we are thinking about how to reduce human rights or at least to draw a narrower border, especially for the weaker and poorer part of the population. Unfortunately Italy seems to have taken this way of proceeding ...

Fantasy is in government

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Paraphrasing Asterix: these Italians are crazy! The fantasy in power today in Italy does not consider arithmetic, oh well, not even logic and - certainly - not even the sense of ridicule. But history should have taught us that even ridiculous men can be dangerous. But why should we remember if we can blame our problems on someone else? It seems that the many problems of Italy are caused by external factors: from the wild immigration, from the protervia of the European Union ... Before the alleged invasion of immigrants, Italy had no problems. There were no mafia and Camorra, there was no inept political class, there was no devastation of the territory, there were no more than  1000 deaths at work every year, there was no exploitation, there was no exorbitant public debt, there was no corruption at all levels , there was no waste of public resources, there was no suffocating bureaucracy... Italy was not heaven, perhaps.

Attila in running or Simpson to opera

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Shortly before going out to run, the television broadcast of the inaugural evening of the 2018-2019 season at the Scala in Milan began. The title is Attila by Giuseppe Verdi, directed by Riccardo Chailly. The work was also broadcast on Radio3, which is the station I usually listen to, but (to be honest) I never listen to opera while I run. I like to say that no possible improvement will ever convince me to liste  junk music when I run. But the opera ... Perhaps listening to Verdi reminded me of the first time I went to work in the fantastic setting of the Terme of Caracalla to see Giuseppe Verdi's Aida . I was 12, I accompanied my mother who had these tickets for free (going to the opera was not within my family's reach, in every sense). In the following years I went to the opera other times, with my classmates of the advertising graphic course. The school director gathered the volunteers and took us to the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. I do not remember if we were

Rome does not be silly

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Next Saturday, the minister of the interior (as well as secretary of the Lega Nord or how fucking his party is called) has organized an event in Rome. Not everyone appreciates the work (let's say) of this government and this minister in particular. He is always present on social networks in ways that are sometimes authoritarian, sometimes racist, sometimes simply ridiculous. This fact has increased his popularity, he is well aware of it and continues to communicate in his peculiar way. So we can not be surprised if someone in Rome has decided to "welcome" the minister in a funny way (perculando a bit -> voice of the verb perculare -> take for the ass -> making fun of someone), they have made a small multi-subject billboard campaign. The tone is joking and the puns are in Roman dialect, they include some typical phrases used in Rome; The testimonials are Anna Magnami, Giulio Cesare, Giordano Bruno, Jupiter, the Sora Lella, Fra' Cazzo da Velletri (

This is my evening appointment

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Today, after the run I did a shower, then I had dinner (naturally I was hungry like a wolf or whatever animal is used as a comparison in the Anglo-Saxon world). A few minutes ago I downloaded the data of the race (actually I loaded them on Garmin connect) and so I could browse (as always) among all the recorded data (speed, distance heartbeat, the Garmin even monitors my night rest ). Then I can also check the data of the races of my friends. Who does more km, what training does one or the other, etc. There are challenges in progress and the social trophy is almost over. I continue to write my sentences in English, then I rewrite them in Italian and finally I use Google translator to check what I wrote in English. So if some blessed soul wanted to help me in my pathetic attempt to write legible phrases ... the entropy of the web will not increase, I believe.

the cat is out of the bag

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The title above is one of my English favorite sentences, although it does not mean that the Schrödinger cat is safe. But I also really like “it takes two to tango”. But also the way to indicate those who beat up (a phrase like someone beating on the bushes) is among the phrases I would like to use. I would like to be able to go to the UK to get the chance to use "I'm going to hit the hay" instead of "I'm going to bed". Yes, I realize that I am a fool, but I would really like to be able to communicate more than "I would like fish and chips" or "a pint of beer, please". I’m also learning bad words like shit, fuck, asshole… On Netflix I often watch the stand up comedy. When I listen to these comedians I often hear a bit of foul language. This is a lot of fun, even if a little childish, I realize.

A shitty day

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Today was a shitty day (a good thing is that I discovered the word shitty, I ignored the existence of this word). I’m a graphic designer and I work (from my house) with a cosmetics company. One day a week I go to the company headquarters to take materials, attend some meetings and check the work in progress. Today was a chaotic day. When I arrived, the people I had to work with did not have instructions. So we lost some time. Then I quickly had to work on a shopper bag's project, but in the meantime I had some explanations on the work to be done: a poster to be used in the pharmacy window. I had to stop this work to prepare an urgent label. I could not resume working on the poster because I had to urgently prepare 5 more labels. In the meantime I managed to finish the shopper bag's press executive. I had not finished the third of five labels yet, but I had to stop to attend a brief meeting. I took advantage of a short break to send the executive to the press and also

The seeds do not float

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This morning, as I do 3 or 4 times a week, I went out to run.  I usually listen to the radio from my cell phone. On Sunday morning Radio3 broadcasts, after the press review and the radio journal, Music lessons, Men and prophets, The deserted island, The tongue beats, etc. On Sundays I run for 14-21 km and because of my slowness I listen to the radio for 2-3 hours. Yes, someone will say why listen to boring speakers talking about boring topics? I answer saying that it is better to listen to good speakers talk about interesting topics instead of listening to bad music interrupted by bad publicity! This morning, as I do 3 or 4 times a week, I went out to run.  I usually listen to the radio from my cell phone. On Sunday morning Radio3 broadcasts, after the press review and the radio journal, Music Lessons , Men and prophets , The deserted island , The tongue beats , etc. On Sundays I run for 14-21 km and because of my slowness I listen to the radio for 2-3 hours. Yes, someon

The interviews factory

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The kind girl on the phone says that they have seen our website are interested in interviewing some of us, to talk about our amateur sports club and the ranning. You said that the interview and the bureaucratic issues (preliminary interview, signature of the modules authorizing the radio and video transmission) would not have taken more than an hour. The president asks me to accompany him to the radio station for the interview. We arrive on time at 12 a.m. We enter and see 2-3 stations with interviews in progress and many people waiting. Of course, a kind girl makes us sign the documents and confirms that the wait and the interview will not last more than an hour. We wait and wait. The wait begins to be long and we ask for explanations. The kind girl tells us that one of the speakers is absent so the interviews are slow: it will take maybe an hour and a half. We want to leave because we begin to understand the mechanism: the telephonists collect company names, restaurants, shops and