The old man and the sea

It's total shame for me but I had the chance to read Hemingway's world famous novella "The old man and the sea" just now in Italy. Perhaps I expected so much from it that it came rather as a disappointment. I believe when something is widely regarded as genius you expect it to contain all other genious achievments that you have witnessed but rather it is something separate and individual. Though I liked the work, it didn't really strike me for there were too many fishing terminology(not really a fan) and a way too much symbolism. I also realized how much has been stolen from it for the writng of another more recent book: "The life of Pi". Let's just say that immitation is the highest form of admiration.

By the way - if you firmly believe that I am terrible snob and you are asking yourslef the question "Why exactly is he my friend?" let me show you something amusing. A promo campaign in the Czeck Republic for reading liturature classics. The poster depicts a Bay Watch scene with the title "The old man and the sea - read the story before Hollywood gets to it" :)

Moda ecclesiastica....

Sometimes there are no words to describe genius...



Federico Fellini - "Roma"

The Israeli exhibition

I had a rather strange surpise this Tuesday for I went with a friend to see a Michelangelo exhibition in one of the major galleries in Torino and it turned out that there are just a few drawings from Michelangelo and the rest is an exhibition of Israeli contemporary art...not many things appear to be what they are in Italy. Dispite my initial disappointment I found that the Israeli exhibit is very impressive. I especially liked the works of a jewish painter and sculptor called Kadishman (I am posting some of his works here). He is particulary famous for depiction of war-peace motives as well as portraits of ....sheep head....

Desperate house-Boris?

The new and improved...???

My job these days turns out to be quite stressful for everybody from Norway to South Africa decide that they want something from me and I receive requests every 15 minutes. What is even more I got so piled up with extra house-work this weekend that I actually went to work with the idea of getting some rest.

Usually there is a very nice Peruvian lady who cleans the house ....however she seems to be on vacation in August and I had to do the job myself. Real tough thing I tell you - being single in Italy is not an easy job. I cleaned the floor, the furniture, the bathroom, the kitchen.... Then I had to deal with the laundry - white clothes, colour clothes, sheets, towels, then I had to iron them. I told myself "BE STRONG" and I did the job like a real macho (you know what I mean). I played on some Prokofiev and Debussy (hey, I am a snob, remember) and cleaned the whole place up and down. The result - the tired leftovers of my body. Next time the lady comes back I am going to be real nice with her and say something good in Italian or Peruvian (haha)

Please, feel free to leave mocking comments.

Boris

Torino or the art of black magic....

August seems to be rather dull in Piemonte and I besides working in the office I try to go out a bit, meet new people (whoever is left in Torino) and learn Italian. In other words - looking for new ways of entertaining myself. Could it be that I am a little bored but I was amazed to find out that according to legends Torino has been the centre for magical energy and occultism in Europe (should you wish to read more, you can do it here).

This finally convinced me that there are no coincidence and I should finally embrace my supernatural side (nobody said so far: "Boris, come, join the darkside!", I am just being metaphorical). Torino is a lovely baroque city with a very aesthetic architecture but unless you make some research you don't really think about the gargoyles, the demonic heads on the steet portals or the statues. The Savoy dynasty were quite fond of occultism (as any normal royal family, when they got terribly bored, they had to do something kinky) and invested heavily in Egyptian antiques supposed to have supernatural powers - I believe the stock market would have been a better idea considering how they eneded up.

Not to mention the statue on the beautifull piazza Statuto which some believe to represent he fallen angel Lucifer (quite popular as Satan). Not that I have started believing in those things, though knowing myself, maybe I should, but this does add a very romantic and mysterious charm to the story of Torino. In Italy every village, town and region have different legends and culture and sometimes even Italians are surprised to discover new thing about their country.

As I have said, I am waiting for friends and guests in Torino. You mates are all welcome - mail me, pack you stuff and I will be waiting fo you after September. And don't forget to take the crucifixes and the holy water.

Amin!