I hope you feel at home

I hope you feel at home in this new colourscape! Finally I got the time and energy to make this space look like I want it to.

Feel free to step onto that deck and dream away. There is nothing that can make us feel as free as water can. That is also the reason why I chose this picture, taken in Paris in September, to be the welcoming picture of Nihil Declaro - Nothing to declare.

I was also fascinated by something Mary Morris, the author of the book "Nothing to declare - Memoirs of a woman traveling alone", said.

''Women who travel as I travel are dreamers. Our lives seem to be lives of endless possibility. Like readers of romances we think that anything can happen to us at any time. We forget that this is not our real life - our life of domestic details, work pressures, attempts and failures at human relations. We keep moving. . . . Nostalgia has no place for the woman traveling alone. Our motion is forward, whether by train or daydream.''

So there's the package. I do hope you'll stay a while.

Tigers in the snow and some music

I needed to get back to the movie La tigre e la neve that I mentioned in my previous entry. There are some pieces to that movie, that make it fabulous:

1) The life-loving style of Roberto Benigni.
2) The storyline that is full of surprises, right into the end.
3) Tom Waits and the song You can never hold back spring that is a recurring element. See the intro including Tom Waits.

A spoiling element was the middle part of the movie, that felt a bit like one would be listening to a broken record. But the end made me forgive a boring middle, and as always with Benigni, it was beautiful.

Please do see that movie, if you haven't already.

And some music..

I got myself something interseting today: Sly and the family Stone's Different Strokes By Different Folks. Working with the album many of my favourites: Will.I.Am, Maroon 5, Isaac Hayes, John Mayer, Joss Stone and others. (Follow those links to hear some bits and pieces.)

I'm happy about that addition to my collection of excellent musical vibes.

Thoughts from another time and Benigni

I was going through a lot of my old stuff the other day. I found some old texts, written about 13 - 15 years ago. Damn I was a good writer! I found a lot of material I had forgotten about, but also a lot that made all those forgotten feelings come up to the surface again.

I found a lot of poetry. I'll post some of the poems I found below. These are translations, but I'll try to keep the rythm and the feeling intact.

Here
I want to love
by you
with you
you
Here
I want to feel
by you
with you
you
Here I want to forget
Won't you forget with me?

*******

So still
is all around you
Stillness resting in you
So still
in your resting
the time with you

So still
so still
stillness sweeps
into me

*******

Can you hear me
whispering your name?
Can you hear me
crying out my longing?
For you

Can you feel me
shaking from my yearning?
Can you feel me,
the strength of my needing?
You by my side

Can you hear me?
Crying out my anger
For the robbery of you
being taken away from me
ahead of your time

Can you hear me?
I thought I heard
you.

Well - all in all it was an exhilarating experience to find all that, finding the old me.

A picture is needed here, to didvide the long text :)



(So does it really matter,
what kind of picture it is?
The cat's cute, and it has
a pleeding look to it:)

I have an interesting movie for you. I just watched it. The movie was not the normal "kill time with movie and popcorn" kind of movie, it was definitely something outside the nornal box shape. The movie was called Little Children. Have a look at that website, you will see a piece of it.

The interesting thing with the movie is that inside a not so very interesting plot there are pieces of small things happening, things that refer to people's hopes, dreams, fears and so on. Those are what makes the movie in itself interesting. Is it good? It's watchable. It's sad in many ways, funny in many other ways.

I have another movie I'm really keen on watching. Directed by my all time favourite, Roberto Benigni whose "La vita è bella" for me was an life altering experience. Particularly because of its extraordinary soundtrack (almost compareable with the soundtrack of "Il Postino" (here with an excellent translation in English of (Puedo escribir los versos más tristes esta noche. Follow that link, it is pure beauty of poetry, pure beauty of life, nonetheless pure sadness.) - Now don't get me started on Neruda, that is a discourse I will not be able to stop:).

Now I'm about to see Benigni's The Tiger and the Snow (La tigre e la neve) (see trailer), and I must say, Non sto nella pelle - I cannot wait.

Poem of the day

Life this year
brought highs and lows
Highs so high
Lows so low

Lighting stars so bright
They will never dim
Giving scars so deep
They will never heal

Forever those bright lights
within I will wear
making life's path
a bit easier to bare

Forever will I feel
those scars burning in my chest
reminding me to live
life at its best

'Cos life will never be easy
And what it holds we'll never know
When we least expect it
it will force us to grow

It is kind of easy, though
It's enough to play one's part
By doing our best
and using our heart

Give love to those around us
and we will get love in return
That is the secret to it
That is what I have learned.

I am ready. Bring it on!
My heart is strong and it's filled with love.
My shield is tested, I can take the fall.

Banana cream rock and a pink vw van

Lazy days start to come to an end. I celebrated an excellent vacation by returning to my favourite spot, and had some fabulous drinks at the great pink volkswagen van, chatted with "Jack", her daughter and the guys. I will miss them! And I will come back to see them another time. Their banana or chocolate cream rock is to die for, not to mention the daiquiries.

From holiday sun fun to more serious stuff. I got interested in the local habits and culture the moment I got here. And especially the girls. What do those gogo girls think and feel as they're doing their job? I wanted to know more, get into the whole thing. So I bought a book, My name is Lon - you like me? by Derek Sharron.

The back cover states "

From the age of 14, "My Name Lon... You Like Me?" was my greeting to over 1,000 sex tourists. My impoverished culture and my mother were the impetus for the sale of my dignity, but my actions saved my sister from the same fate."

The book tells the story of a girl who left home at the age of 13 to earn money for her family. It also lightens the culture of the Thai people, the way of thinking, the way of life. I am very happy about my purchase.

I am very happy about another thing as well: Tomorrow, being my last day in Thailand, I managed to get an "OK" for visiting the local orphanage. That will be interesting. And it will also give me the possibility to get myself into the Christmas spirit, as well as hopefully doing some good for the kids.

Look into my eyes

Ah, a lovely day behind me! I have spent all day on a boat and in water, beneath the surface, with a tube of air on my back. And I still feel like the waves would be pushing me up and down, even though I left the boat some hours ago.

It was my first time scuba diving - and definitely not the last!

The first contact with the gear in water gave me a sense of panic! "Get me out of here!" My eyes must have yelled, wide open in horror. But I must say, my instructor with the beautiful turquoise eyes was a pro. "Calm down" he showed me with his hand. "Breath." "Look into my eyes." I did. Then he took my hand and posed it on top of his heart. I was calm. I was ready to dive.

And when below the surface for a while, I didn't want to come up. All that beautiful world took my breath away - thank God for the regulator :)!

It is not every day I see one meter turtles swim in the same space as I do. They would freeze to death in the waters where I'm from.

I cannot do anything else than recommend Mask and Finns for when you are in Thailand, wanting to get your diving experience.

And good things will come to you

"We cannot know what life will bring us" said Mickey. "We can only try to do good things, and good things will come back to us." "Some people do bad things", he continued, "take too much money from tourists, have them pay a too high price for what they buy. I don't do that, because bad things will come to those who do".

It was easy for me to agree with Mickey. It was also my philosophy of life. "Yes", I said. "We can only do our best and hope for a good life in return." Mickey nodded and smiled.

I wanted to take a picture of him. To remember our half hour in the shade of the palm tree. I didn't want to forget this smiling man and our discussions about life. Mickey got nervous when I asked him. Was his face shiny? Was his cap straight? He gave the face a stroke with the back of his hand and straightened the cap. He turned back at me and gave me a big smile. "I'm ready."

Poem of the day

Did we shape this ocean
with all of our tears?
Did the saltyness in them
give the taste to the sea?

Are all these happy faces
reflecting the joy we feel?
Or is it just us
learning how to see

How life is a wave
in endles motion
with its circulate ways
of moving the ocean?

How one day it shows
the lover it can be
pulling back the next
from its will to be free?

We cannot store the ocean
in a little jar
It will feel it's closer
but soon we'll find it's far

By stopping the motion
we're killing the sea
Is that how we'll learn
how to be free?

Eating alone

For people in Thailand the worst thing there is, is to be eating alone, so they don't. Instead you see people gathering all over to eat where ever and when ever. I have, on a few ocations. got the "poor thing, eating alone" look, and I'm quite sure, that mnany of those extra broad smiles have been empathy smiles.

But that's fine by me. In enjoy eating alone, as long as I've got something interesting to watch. Like other people eating. Which kind of makes me eating in company, doesn't it?

I've also got the question "where is your husband?" many times. Or "Who are you traveling with?". Saying I travel alone gives the anser "Impossible!". And what usually follows is a great discussion about one thing or the other in life. I just had a great discussion with "Mickey". We shared a lot of thoughts and our philosophy in life seemed to be the same. It is always as nice to discover, how we people are alike, no matter what part of the world we come from. It happens every time.

Tonight I'm giving "eating in company" a try. We'll see how it goes.

Also read the poem of the day, I'll post it next.

Some like it hot

Whether it's about food or weather, Thailand is the answer.
I'm still collecting. Glimpses. Sun. Chaos. People.

Yes, this will be good.

Tears for yesterday

Yesterday

so hard to give up

so hard to let go

of thoughts and pictures

that filled my soul

If I only knew then

what I know

now

A change of view

A change of hopes

A new set of dreams

Seeing tomorrow so clear

but closing my eyes

To keep them dry

to keep the things I see

away

Not yet

am I ready to take tomorrow on.

Gamble everything for love

I've got two words for this evening. Ben Lee. Have you not listened to Ben yet? In that case, I encourage you to do it right now. Follow that link. And first, choose the song Gamble everything for love from Ben's Awake is the new sleep album. Believe me, it's worth it. A few minutes of pure flow. Listen to the lyrics. Close your eyes. Feel it.

Make a list of things you need, leave it empty
Except for number one, write “love”, gamble everything
Keep it under lock and key
If you wanna, you can gamble everything for love

Now you can listen to the rest. Love me like the world is ending is good to continue with.

That's all for tonight. That is enough to mend some hearts.

Gone, going, gone..

Gone, going, gone..
Remember that song?
Remember how we felt?
With all the emptyness inside
With only a song to share
as a last goodbye.

Do you still feel
my head in your lap,
my tears on your sleeve?
Because I do, I do that
I still do
feel the stroke of your hand
the pain in your glance.

The song you chose
"Gone be the birds"
Burnt a hole in my chest
"if they don't want to sing"
And with my tears running
down on your skin
I looked at Jack and thought
it's a battle I cannot win.

For all the pain I feel inside
there is an equal pain
in your mind
And for all the songs
that connected us by heart
There are as many
that will bring us apart.

So what can I do
I cannot change my love for you
I will still listen to Jack
Knowing it won't bring us back.
Gone, going, gone..
Remember that song?
Gone (Going)

Even the best fall down sometime

I am in love. In love with a young guy and his guitar. You are right - my Howie Day cd finally arrived.


Howie, Howie, Howie, what you do to me. I must say, I knew what I was getting, but what I didn't know was how perfectly set together the songs are on the album Stop All the World Now.

A song that strikes me is You & a promise. And also - for the beauty of the soundascape, Come lay down. Collide is an obvious choise. And it strikes me, how different songs affect us differently when in different moods. Today Collide makes me blue with its

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills my mind
I somehow find
You and I collide

I'm quiet you know
You make a first impression
I've found I'm scared to know
I'm always on your mind



My blue note of today needs a picture.

Sometimes we feel it

Sometimes we are hit by a feeling of pieces falling into their place. It's something magical about that. I got that feeling about something just a couple of days ago. Hopefully the feeling is right.

The last weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster. Taking me up and down. In the middle of all those hills and slopes I have been surrounded by the very powerful feeling of love. It has surrounded me, and it has come closer every single second I needed it the most. I must say, I never before noticed the universe to be so fast in giving me what I needed.

It feels a bit like being in the middle of something very bright. It blinds you in a shocking way, but at the same time, it feels warm and safe. It is like pushing the nervs a bit closer to the skin, like sharpening all of your senses. Suddenly you start seing, hearing and feeling things that probably were there the whole time, but not visible to you.

It feels like magic. It feels like being given a key to a door that always was locked.

I felt warm in your light

Time passes. It is amazing, how many thoughts will go through a head in just days. How one day can seem black, and the next full of light.

I've been dreaming lately. Dreams with a purpose, dreams telling me things about life. That's comforting, since many things have been so confusing.

The music is not playing in my day today. Instead I can hear words forming lines within me, I can hear lines forming poetry.

I felt warm in your light
it kept me safe from the dark world
it formed a pillow beneath my head
it made me see
what I never did alone.

I felt warm in your light
a light I never dared to believe
a light so bright I was afraid
a light like that
would easily go out, if I dared to breath.

I did.
I finally took a deep breath,
I found the strength to believe.
SNAP. Darkness.

Turn the other cheek

It seems in life, when it hits us, we turn the other cheek, and open up a door to let it hit us again.

Today is a day, when no other music will do, I will have to turn do Damien. No one else has the brutal words to describe this day.

It is like watching the leaves fall of a tree. You see them all go down, one after another, not able to hinder even the last one's fall. And then comes the ruthless cold that seeks its way to the bone. And it stays, holding the soul in a grip so cold, you feel you cannot move.

Inspiration

I feel inspired these days. I feel like writing, painting, photographing. Painting is something I'm really not good at, but I guess practise makes perfect. I'll try to hang on to this inspiration for a while.


"Vespa"

At the same time I've been a bit worn out lately. Kind of always waiting for the weekend. All the travelling this year has been a reson to be so worn out, but at the same time I guess that's the source of inspiration. Another one is clearly music. I found my a-ha CD's. First I started to listen to the Analogue record. Now I've moved on, backing in history. Oh, those voices remind me of the 80's. And those boys really grew up at some time. When did that happen?

Speaking of inspiration, I just found the art site of Magne Furuholmen. Wow, he's good.

I got a mail from a person I hadn't heard from for five years. That was a surprise! I guess we do have more people within this web of contacts of ours, than we'd expect. He was eager to hear from me - and I'm usually as eager to answer a long lost contact. So I did right away. And then follows silence. Nothing. I guess there's a risk I'll be waiting for five more years now.

I'm also waiting for a Howie Day record I'd put in an order for. Can't wait to listen to it!

Poem of the day

The minutes passing by
pull me closer to you
I cannot wait to feel
the scent of my perfume
on your skin.

Inspiration?
- Missing someone
- Calvin Klein's Euphoria Eau de Parfum
- Weekend

And the world turned white

I woke up half an hour ago and saw a world that during those last hours that I've been sleeping in peace, had turned white. I know exactly what music this calls for, there's no doubt. David Gray's Life in slow motion. That is an album with a sound landscape that makes angels in the snow. He could almost have called the album "Life in snow motion" instead. And this is a perfect day to play it.

There is always something magically beautiful with the first snow that stays for a while. Today it makes me long for days so cold and so white, that there is no question about what to do with the day: Pack the bag with something to eat and drink, pull on the snow shoes and hit either the woods or any open landscape. Those days out in the cold, in the middle of the shimmering snow - they will make you feel that all the worries you ever had are gone, that the future is so bright it's almost blindening. It's amazing what nature and temperature can do to lift us up.

But I'll still have to wait. This snow will melt within a day or two. I will have to wait for a while.

Poem of the day

The grey sky wears me out
I feel low - and keep on sinking
I cannot make the sun shine, there's no doubt
nor wipe off the clouds to lighten my thinking
So I do what I can to bring my smile back;
Waiting for tomorrow, playing some Jack.

Forza Ferrari! Forza Kimi!

Loistavaa, Kimi! Che giorno indimenticabile! Sei grande!

Streetsoul

I had a good feeling about this day since it started. And so far it has been promising. I finally got the time to listen to the music I got. The most positive surprise was definitely Guru's Jazzmatazz's Streetsoul. It does deliver - even more than required. I'm actually glad I started with this now 7 years old record. The track that does it for me it surely Plenty with Erykah Badu. Truely excellent! Night Vision together with Isaac Heyes is obviously great. Supa Love with Kelis does what you would expect a Kelis song to.

This record really gives me the right mood for a quite lazy Saturday. All in all I get the urge to get myself the latest addition, Vol. 4.

Today I was thinking, I should really take some time to listen to all the excellent music I've got. A lot of pearls are collecting dust. I feel a little bit bad about that. 'Cos after all, for me at least, music makes the world a better place.

I'll leave you with a poem. Inspired by who knows what. The world around me, I guess.



I light a candle just to feel the warmth of the flame
I don't feel lonely anymore
Instead I feel a sudden joy for colourful autumn leaves
for the crispness of a frosty morning,
for the purity of cold fall nights
Promising a fresh start.

About beautiful places

I just got home from the island of Bornholm, Denmark. What a beautiful place! Since I left the camera home, I can show you no pictures, instead I'll give you this link. It should do the trick.

Beautiful sceneries, I wish I'd payed a visit during summer time, I will have to return.

While visiting a local brewery, Svaneke Bryghus, I noticed I'd told a lie about my beer drinking habits earlier. In addition to drinking Corona, one might see me drinking dark beers aswell. So there, I'm happy to have straightened that out :).

And to the music: I got three new sources of inspiration. Michael Bublé's latest, Guru's Jazzmatazz's Streetsoul and Donavon Frankenreiter's Move by yourself. Be sure of that you will hear more about these from me.

I'll leave you with a piece of poem I wrote some weeks ago, inspired by a beautiful soul.

My soul is still warm from the fire you lit.
I closed the window to keep it inside.

Foul language and love songs

I have a problem. It concerns foul language and love songs. Especially a mixture of these two. I remember thinking "Why, oh why, James" when hearing James Blunt's You're beautiful.

Yes, she caught my eye,
As we walked on by.
She could see from my face that I was,
Fucking high,
And I don't think that I'll see her again,
But we shared a moment that will last 'till the end.

And then there was the version with "flyin' high" instead. Better, if you ask me.

Why would anybody, on purpose, walk with white suede boots in the dirt?

Someone who does the same is one of my huge favourites, Damien Rice (his website is a work of art, like the album covers, have a look.). In a more mild way, though. That guy's suffering never seems to end, if you judge by the songs. So Damien, I forgive you for using a somewhat foul language in some of your songs.

One of the many songs that I love is from the album 9, Accidental babies.

Well I know I make you cry
And I know sometimes you wanna die
But do you really feel alive without me?
If so, be free
If not, leave him for me
Before one of us has accidental babies
For we are in love

Do you come
Together ever with him?
Is he dark enough?
Enough to see your light?
Do you brush your teeth before you kiss?
Do you miss my smell?
And is he bold enough to take you on?
Do you feel like you belong?
And does he drive you wild?
Or just mildly free?

What about me?
What about me?

How can anyone write lyrics like that? No filter i used, that's for sure. This is coming straight from every aching cell in that body.

Listen to some of Damien. Listen to Elephant.

I'm yours

Jason Mraz. He's what anybody needs a day like this, when the leaves are yellow, and the frost left its mark on the morning.



There's something magical about those first frosty mornings in autumn. First a crispy chill wakes you up, and just an hour later the sun melts away all signs of a cold night, leaving only a shimmer of gold that is a reflection of autumn leaves, making everything beautiful. And imagine that with a blue sky as a background. Magical.

A bit like Jason Mraz. I just let his "I'm yours" play in the background, and I'm facing the reality: that's all I need for this day. I suggest you give it a try.

Rome in 347 pictures and plenty of ice cream

Let's start with a poem. Inspired by Paris two weeks ago.

You threw me a kiss through the window
as I saw you move on

I stood still
unable to move (on)

The kiss still burning on my cheek and my hand as its shield
as if that would save it from the world around me
moving on

When all I wanted was to stay in the moment
Still

And now let's move on to Rome. Ah, 30 degrees and sun would be enough for me anywhere. But having it in Rome makes it even better. I must say, I achieved many of my goals on that trip. I took a lot of pictures. It's the typical story: Girl gets camera, girl takes pictures, more pictures and even more pictures. Girl gets tired of carrying the camera on day three. Girl takes less and less pictures and of more and more strange things. But it is always fun. Documenting the world. Collecting those glimpses.



I must admit. This writing session needs no background music. I'll have to choose the music afterwords. It'll be something with a good rythm. Maybe something Cuban.

Back to Rome. Besides taking those photos I did enjoy having a [read plenty] good cappuccino, especially when some of them came with a lovely heart shaped white foam on top. The best cup of cappuccino? At Café Trevi, just due passi [or not even that] from the Fontana di Trevi. And yes: it came with a smile and heart shaped foam :)



And the ice cream. For me, doing Italy without ice cream would be like swimming in the desert.

Testing procedure
To do the appropriate testing the test person [me] has to be careful to always choose the same size of the ice cream. If possible, it should be a big cone. What the hell, the biggest there is. It's important to keep the size the same. It is also important to have, again - if possible, one flavour that always is included in the test. That way the test person has one given criteria, which is easy to compare from one test to another. During this seven-day test it was chocolate. With chocolate I gave [some documentation on test materia got lost during the week] liquorice, pistachio, lemon, cream, coconut and chocolate chip a chance to measure up. The winner of the seven-day test was the chocolate [that was a surprise!], but not a very ordinary one. A deep and profound type of chocolate, with pieces of canded fruit in it. It was heaven.

The apartment was excellent for a stay like this. Especially when we got back to it the first night, noticing that the key we'd got didn't fit into the lock of the front door of the house. I called our landlord, Enzo. "La chiave funziona" [the key works] was his story. Mine was the opposite one. But Enzo was kind enough to bring us another one. And it did open the door.


[No, this is NOT the apartment]

And yes. I did meet the pope.
That's Rome for now. I'm sure I'll give it another thought when it sinks in. I'm still waiting for my luggage, and I'm hoping my bottle of latte condensato is in there when the bag finally arrives.

Ciao mamma, guarda come mi diverto

Ciao mamma, guarda come mi diverto! Yes - I'm listening to Jovanotti. My huge favourite when it comes to mixing rythms, genres and awesome lyrics. I never visited his webpage before this day, and I must say those old videos make me put on a smile.

And why Jovanotti a day like this, when two Finns for the first time in history stood on the same F1 podium? I'm preparing for pure relaxation in Rome. And the right person to take me there is Lorenzo "Jovanotti" Cherubini.

At the moment I feel like a piece of empty canvas. Let's see what a Roman atmosphere can do about that. I'm good at emptying my mind of anything that has to do with work. When the office door closes behind me I'm already asking "What office?". So let's fill that mind with something new and fresh.

I'm ready for the next episode of the Italian experience. It has been a while since the last one.

This one, totally different from the previous. The plan is to take as many pictures as possible, spend as much quality time with my partner in crime as possible, enjoy the Italian sun, the city and what it has to offer, the food, the wine, the people.

If getting into the Italian mood feels like a positive, I recommend a book: Peter Moore's "Vroom with a view".

To Rome I'm not bringing any book, other than a notebook, that is.

Saturday morning

Saturday morning. I play AaRON's "Endless Song" from the album "Artificial Animals Riding On Neverland" to get in the mood. I admit, it's not the song to play a Saturday morning. It's a song to play a Sunday morning. So I'm a cheat. Just live with it.

There's something magical in that song. The lyrics do not reflect my mood at all - but still the whole thing does something for me. It's like looking at the rain through the window. It's like watching an endless ocean. With a darkness that seems to fill up the world around you, aswell as the one within you.

A certain kind of desperation - beautiful, endless desperation.

A strange choise for a Saturday morning.

Another track on that album that I love is O-Song, and particularly the lyrics that seem to reflect a piece of real life.
Easy talking in the bed

I drink your lies

with some corona

The heat smells good close to your head
right in the streets of Barcelona

I like Barcelona. And Corona is one of the few beers you will ever see me drinking. Which might have something to do with it.



Back to AaRON. The boys' website state: AaRON’s music takes us through the labyrinth of our lives, a detour in memories , bringing life through the eyes [of] childhood, giving the light that is needed for all vision, “Don’t care what people say, I’m dreamin’ louder every day” [line from O-Song].

Why not. It suits this Saturday morning just fine.

What's happening in Pernambuco

Let's talk about music. Almost a year ago I visited Brazil for the first time - definitely not the last. I spent seven lovely days in Porto de Galinhas, a small town in Pernambuco, in the North East. While there my thoughts were on the local music, as I love exploring music, artists and bands. Most of the live music I came in touch with was the rythms played to the Capoeira.


Four months later I'm buying music in London. And I find the CD "What's happening in Pernambuco". Of course I'm buying it. And it's excellent. It takes me back in a split second to the salty waves of Brazil. I can almost hear "Rema, rema" [hema] for paddle, paddle - as I lay on the "prancha" (board) waiting for a chance to conquer the sea.

The music of Pernambuco is special, not like an every day walk along the water line. It's a total hybrid - a mixture of traditional rythms and punk, rock, rap - and particularly electric sounds. And that mixture is what makes it incredibly credible. I suggest you to try it. Start with What's happening in Pernambuco.

And I must admit, I would love to return to Pernambuco. This time I'd take a few days to explore the live music scene in Recife.

Start with a poem

I love poetry. I've always loved poetry. A poem can do so much. It's a wonderful way of saying things that in a normal discourse wouldn't show the true colours of your thoughts. It's a way of expression, but can also be a way to lend someone the key to your soul.

My love for poetry grew stronger than ever when I got acquainted with Pablo Neruda's way of looking at the world. That was, I think, when watching the Italian movie "Il Postino", many years ago. I fell in love with that movie and along with it, with Pablo Neruda's poetry.

I also remember reading Roland Barthes' "A Lover's Discourse". Although not poetic in itself, the outcome is pure poetry.
So let's start with a poem, and it will be one of Neruda's. You'll get it in both Spanish and Italian.

Puedo escribir los versos más tristes esta noche

Puedo escribir los versos más tristes esta noche. Escribir, por ejemplo: " La noche está estrellada, y tiritan, azules, los astros, a lo lejos".
El viento de la noche gira en el cielo y canta.
Puedo escribir los versos más tristes esta noche. Yo la quise, y a veces ella también me quiso.
En las noches como ésta la tuve entre mis brazos. La besé tantas veces bajo el cielo infinito.
Ella me quiso, a veces yo también la quería. Cómo no haber amado sus grandes ojos fijos.
Puedo escribir los versos más tristes esta noche. Pensar que no la tengo. Sentir que la he perdido.
Oír la noche inmensa, más inmensa sin ella. Y el verso cae al alma como pasto el rocío.
Qué importa que mi amor no pudiera guardarla. La noche está estrellada y ella no está conmigo.
Eso es todo. A lo lejos alguien canta. A lo lejos. Mi alma no se contenta con haberla perdido.
Como para acercarla mi mirada la busca. Mi corazón la busca, y ella no está conmigo.
La misma noche que hace blanquear los mismos árboles. Nosotros, los de entonces, ya no somos los mismos.
Ya no la quiero, es cierto, pero cuánto la quise. Mi voz buscaba el viento para tocar su oído.
De otro. Será de otro. Como antes de mis besos. Su voz, su cuerpo claro. Sus ojos infinitos.
Ya no la quiero, es cierto, pero tal vez la quiero. Es tan corto el amor, y es tan largo el olvido.
Porque en noches como ésta la tuve entre mis brazos, mi alma no se contenta con haberla perdido.
Aunque éste sea el último dolor que ella me causa, y éstos sean los últimos versos que yo le escribo.

Posso scrivere i versi più tristi stanotte

Posso scrivere i versi più tristi stanotte. Scrivere, per esempio. "La notte è stellata,e tremano, azzurri, gli astri in lontananza".
E il vento della notte gira nel cielo e canta.
Posso scrivere i versi più tristi stanotte.' Io l'ho amata e a volte anche lei mi amava.
In notti come questa l'ho tenuta tra le braccia. L'ho baciata tante volte sotto il cielo infinito.
Lei mi ha amato e a volte anch'io l'amavo. Come non amare i suoi grandi occhi fissi.
Posso scrivere i versi più tristi stanotte. Pensare che non l'ho più. Sentire che l'ho persa.
Sentire la notte immensa, ancor più immensa senza di lei. E il verso scende sull'anima come la rugiada sul prato.
Poco importa che il mio amore non abbia saputo fermarla. La notte è stellata e lei non è con me.
Questo è tutto. Lontano, qualcuno canta. Lontano. La mia anima non si rassegna d'averla persa.
Come per avvicinarla, il mio sguardo la cerca. Il mio cuore la cerca, e lei non è con me.
La stessa notte che sbianca gli stessi alberi. Noi, quelli d'allora, già non siamo gli stessi.
Io non l'amo più, è vero, ma quanto l'ho amata. La mia voce cercava il vento per arrivare alle sue orecchie.
D'un altro. Sarà d'un altro. Come prima dei miei baci. La sua voce, il suo corpo chiaro. I suoi occhi infiniti.
Ormai non l'amo più, è vero, ma forse l'amo ancora. E' così breve l'amore e così lungo l'oblio.
E siccome in notti come questa l'ho tenuta tra le braccia, la mia anima non si rassegna d'averla persa.
Benchè questo sia l'ultimo dolore che lei mi causa, e questi gli ultimi versi che io le scrivo.