The guys have finished their anniversary gig about half an hour ago. They moved the small crowd from the Gym Hall of the Suutarila High School from Helsinki, Finland. Though the setlist was pretty short, barely reaching an hour, they have managed to cover the same era they did with their compilation album which will be released on the 25th November, on Wednesday. The setlist was the following: Myself; F-f-f-falling ; Ghost of love; Chill; Livin’ in world without you; In my life; No fear; First Day of My Life; Liquid; In The Shadows; Guilty; Rakkauslaulu; Sail Away.

Before the gig they have appeared a few articles with Lauri, and some with both Lauri and Eero. The one appearing first on the site of mtv3.fi claims there will be a longer interview available on their site tomorrow (24.11) and some footages from the gig. The second article presents some facts from Lauri’s past (his changing of hair color, he’s dad and his partner is PMMP’s Paula Vesala with who he has a one and half year old boy). There is also a video on the site of IltaSanomat with the guys doing photoshoots.

As soon as more media will be available from the gig we will let you know in due time .

Ringrazio Carlo Fath per aver parlato di me prima di me.

Non esistono case sufficientemente grandi,
da potere contenere tutte queste cianfrusaglie,
costruite, trasportate, comperate, rivendute.
Non mi interessano
telepromozioni di affaroni garantiti,
le vetrine di stilisti con le firme sui vestiti.

Non mi interessano i consigli per gli acquisti,
io mi diverto ad ascoltare i miei dischi;
Non mi interessano i bollini della spesa,
saranno anni che non vado più in chiesa.

Dove son finiti tutti quei mattoni colorati,
quanti menti son cresciute, quanti sogni irrealizzati.
Quando ero piccolo,
giorni interi trascorrevo a costruire con il Lego
e ancora non sapevo a cosa stavo andando incontro…

Ora che sono diventato un adulto
non mi riesco più a guardare allo specchio,
della televisione proprio me ne frego
io mi diverto a costruire l’Ego.

Dimmi cos’è che non va,
con me stesso,
dimmi qual è il meccanismo che è rotto,
e dammi un ricambio perfetto
così la smetto:
la smetto di riflettere, di ragionare, di cercare di capire, il senso delle cose.

Non mi interessano i consigli per gli acquisti,
io mi diverto ad ascoltare i miei dischi;
non mi interessano i bollini della spesa,
saranno anni che non vado più in chiesa.

Ecco l’ennesimo spunto per pensare a quello che siamo di,

                                                                                                                     Alfred Julis Ayer

Thanks to Oana who have found this interview with Lauri made by Aamulehti.fi talking about parenthood, touring with Alice Cooper,Scorpions and Kingdom come, and previous experience at the Linna Celebration on Independence Day of Finland (6th December). You can find the translation of the article below, and since it is made by me please link us if you repost it. Thank You!

Lauri Ylönen promises to behave this time at the Linna Celebrations
The Rasmus Lauri Ylönen made a picture of himself with his phone’s camera for Aamulehti.
The Rasmus celebrates their 15th anniversary with releasing a collection album and with a gig in the sports hall of the Suutarila High School.
Where can we find the most fanatic The Rasmus fans?
-Maybe in Britain. There are a couple of girl fans who have been at 62 gigs. They are a bit older, oh well aged around 30 who wanted also to come to the celebration gig.
What is the strangest thing ever you have done during your career?
-In Taiwan i was live on the TV drinking some snake poison drink.
During the summer you’ve been touring with Alice Cooper, Scorpions and Kingdom Come in Russia. What kind of experience it was?
-It was great to be around our childhood heroes. Everyone was nice and really open. The 30-years of age difference wasn’t disturbing at all. Sometimes it was weird to see the same aged guys put the same make-up on their face…it was both sad and cool in the same time.
Who is taking care of your son if the mother PMMP’s Paula vesala and you are at a gig too?
-There haven’t been too much of those situation recently, because most of us band members have young children and been at kind of a paternity leave.
So you will be going to the Linna Celebrations?
-While i have been on my Asian trip i have got some couple of dresses that would do fine for the Linna Celebrations. This time i will go to the party with a partner. Last time i took a friend with me, Siiri Nordin. I thought you don’t have to bring at the party your lady. But apparently i have been forgiven. And i promise that this time i will behave.
The Rasmus will have their 15-year anniversary concert on the 23.11 in the Gym Hall of the Suutarila High School. Their Best of 2001-2009 compilation album appears on the 23.11.
Read more questions and Lauri Ylönen’s answers in Wednesday’s Aamulehti.

Today appeared a new interview with Lauri on metrolive.fi about his life and career. You can read the translation of the interview below. Translation made by me, so please if you decide to repost link us back Thank You!

Lauri Ylönen: I quit drinking
The Rasmus’ leadsinger reads stories for his son through Skype
Last year The Rasmus members spent their first summer in fifteen years without gigs. Lauri Ylönen could even get to enjoy his time with his one and half year old Julius son and at his girlfriend’s PMMP’s Paula Vesala’s gigs.
- When Paula is doing gigs i often take care of him.I can’t think of any reason why i wouldn’t be with my son in park making sand cake, Ylönen says enjoying the parenthood.
Fatherhood is in combination with touring, although being away from family for year long is not the most attractive thing. The Rasmus have been touring in Europe at the beginning of the year for several months.
-At those points i’ve been using the technology: i read fairy tales to my son through Skype. It might sound cold. I’m confident in the future about a free education, such as mine was.
Ylönen is actively writing new material for their future releases. The singer was recently in Singapore where Pauli Rantasalmi lives to put the pieces together.
-With this journey i got a perspective of how a good place Finland is. In Singapore there is a complete lack of freedom of speech, which is quite a sick thing.
Ylönen would like to also publish new material more often, since modern technology allows you to make good quality songs in in your own bedroom.
-It would be really a cool thing if the songs could be “printed” with a single press of Enter, and so the listeners can hear the first version. When you work on a disk for 3 years, it’s no longer needing to be improvised. I see the market is changing essentially, so publication of an album is not already a major event.
The Rasmus will celebrate their 15th anniversary with a compilation album and with a performance in their junior high school, where the band also had their first gig.
Ylönen sees that the band got more listeners when the song In The Shadows had success in foreign countries too.
- The following years then were some tough times. We had a booming energy, but were worn out after the gigs. I was really so disordered at that time.
- It was kind of a “foggy” time when after the gigs we had to consume a lot of alcohol. Now i quit drinking for six months already, Ylönen says.
The Rasmus was about to split before their world fame came.Today, it would be an impossible thing.
-I feel that friendship kept us together. This become a great part of the life, without which life would seem really boring. I would be sad to leave for a solo career.
-It would make more sense to say to “retire” for a long time from doing gigs, than to make a lot of people’s eyes full of tears, and then come back after years from now. If it would be for us to break up, we would surely only retire for a long break.
The Rasmus’ Best of 2001-2009 appears Wednesday 25.11. The band will have a gig in Suutarila High School Monday 23.11

Julius Caesar

About one hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ, one of the greatest of all the Romans was born. His name was Julius Caesar.

In his boyhood he read stories of brave and mighty men, and longed to be like Alexander, and conquer many lands. He grew up into a tall, slight youth, with bright dark eyes, wise and brave beyond his years.

Julius Caesar

A Great Soldier

The people of Rome loved him, for he spent money on them, and promised them many things. They made him ruler of Spain, and there he won many battles and became rich and powerful.

When he returned to Rome he found that two men, Pompey and Crassus, were rulers of the city. Caesar joined them, and the three friends ruled together.

But Caesar wanted to have Rome in his own hands and to rule her himself. To do this he needed an army. So he had himself made Governor of Gaul, away beyond the Alps, and there for nine years he trained his men to be one of the greatest fighting forces that had ever been seen in the world.

These men fought the wild, fierce Gauls continually. The land was covered with forest, and there were many deep and wide rivers to cross, many mountains to climb and marshes to wade through. Julius Caesar never once faltered in his task. He conquered every one of the 300 tribes of Gaul and made himself their master.

He made fine, straight roads, and built great cities. His soldiers adored him and would follow him anywhere and do anything for him. He was one of the greatest generals the world has ever known.

Roman Soldier

(photo by festivalphoto.net @ Qstock 2009) As promised Lauri have been visiting today the studio of Voice TV, the morning show called Heräämö. With 10 minutes late he have arrived to the studio and went ahead to inform the fans about what he can and answer the questions of the presentators. Voice have published 3 articles and 3 videos with the interview from today and you can find them below, and the translation too of the articles by me, so please if you repost the information link us.
Articles: 1 2 3 ; Videos: 1 2 3

Translation of article nr.1
For The Rasmus’ Lauri existed fans count
The Rasmus’ frontman Lauri Ylönen visited today Voice’s Heräämö to talk among others about what kind of fans the band has today, crazy fans can be found in South America.
The Rasmus’ Lauri Ylönen today at the Heräämö told to Voice that there are a lot of fans in South America, that sometimes even look like him.
-A while ago I painted my hair blonde, and a Mexican boy who imitates everything I do, also dyed his hair. Of course he had very dark hair and had to dye it like 20 times, Ylönen laughed at Heräämö.
Singer claimed the South American fans to be very brave and also open. Foreign fans come to him to talk more easily, even if the language could be a problem. Ylönen admits that sometimes meeting fans can excite him much more than the fans itself are.
-In many cases it’s a very exciting situation for both sides. I lie if I say I do not know them, but there are types that imagine that they know me somehow…

Translation of article nr.2:
The Rasmus’ Lauri will be at the party in Linna
Among others, to this year’s Linna Independence Day celebrations could find invitation in their email also PMMP’s Paula Vesala. The woman involved, will take to the celebration also her partner, Lauri Ylönen, who will now give out some details of the party.
The Rasmus’s Lauri Ylönen visited this morning Voice’ Heräämö and talked also about the upcoming party at Linna. He told that he would wear a fairly traditional dress.
-I could maybe put up some fun shoes, because I’m kind of freaked because of the shoes. Maybe some old man style shoes, the singer laughed at Heräämö.
Invitations to the Linna festivities are already familiar to Ylönen, so he no longer needs to be around the president. The singer recalled the tormenting and agonizing hand-shaking moments at the opening.
-At the hallways you were sweating and someone was organizing people as they would be in a cattle. It is somehow far from being glamorous, Ylönen described.

Translation of article nr.3:
The Rasmus stopped touring, compilation album to come
The Rasmus will publish a compilation album next week. The band plans to celebrate with an unusual gig at the Suutarila High School.
The band’s vocalist, Lauri Ylönen revealed to Voice how it went the discussion with the principle of Suutarila High School.
-My hand was shaking when I was dialing the number. The principal have not initially thought that it was me as Lauri Ylönen, so I had to explain him what’s the matter, Lauri laughs.
The high school gig at Suutarila is organized for current pupils of the school, but also for formers mates of the band members who were their friends.
-I hope the teachers will be at the gig too.
Unfortunately for those who can’t make it to the school gig The Rasmus has only the collection album to offer. According to Lauri new gig dates will be fixed in the first part of the next year, quite many of them.
-We wanted to have a particular era for this collection album. We didn’t wanted gigs and again the riding on the old success, Lauri points out the reason of the gig-break.
The Rasmus compilation album contains familiar hits and also the duet with Nightwish’ vocalist Anette Olzon.

During the videos he is talking about the same issues since the articles and the videos are connected. During the interview he was given small green socks with some print on it, from someone named Kirsi who made them for Lauri’s son, Julius.

I went a long time with never knowing what an Orange Julius was.  I actually had this version before I ever had a real one.  I had to travel to the big city to finally get one.  Now they sell them at a local Dairy Queen I believe.  Speaking of Dairy Queen I must mention that my favorite blizzard of all time which has been shelved more than once is the Grape one with Pop Rocks.  Ah, it was great.  I can feel the tingle of Pop Rocks right now.  We mostly use water in this recipe but you can replace some or all of it with rum, vodka, or triple sec to make an adult treat.

• 6 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate
• 1 cup of milk (we used 1%)
• 1 cup of water or alcohol
• 1/2 cup of sugar or splenda
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract (1 capful)
• 8 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients except ice in blender.  Blend for 1-2 minutes.  Add ice cubes 1 or 2 at a time and blend until smooth.  Serve chilled.

Orange Julius

For all of you Beyoncé fans out there, here she is out and about with her bodyguard Julius heading to a party in London Friday night! Love the shoes Bey!

Julius

Check out this blog by my man, Julius, called The Academy focusing on music.  Not just hip hop, or folk music or something, but a little bit of everything.  And all of it is good stuff, and the stuff that you don’t usually hear about on the surface level.  He updates it constantly and and has tons of videos, pictures and lots of links that enable you to download the tracks and mixtapes and stuff for free.  He’s a pretty knowledgeable guy, with good taste, so check out the blog, and disocover some good musical conditions!!  Just click on the picture of Julius above to link to The Academy!

Hallo!

Leider hat mich eine erkältung erwischt der ich erlegen bin. Daher gibs von mir erstmal keine weiteren Einträge. Wünsche euch ein schöne Woche und auch schonmal ein schönes Wochenende.

Update 1  (06.11.09)

Hallo meine Lieben Leser!
Meine Erkältung hält leider noch ein wenig an und daher muss ich noch das Bett bevorzugen. Ich hoffe ich werde schnell wieder gesund um euch wieder mit Stoff zu versorgen.

Update 2 (10.11.09)

Moin Moin!
Meine Genesung ist fast abgeschlossen und kann euch bald wieder mit neuen Inhalten beliefern. Ich dachte mir zudem, vielleicht hätten von euch noch 1-2 Lust einzusteigen, hm? ^^  Nutzt die Kommentarfunktion falls wer Lust hat

Grüße Julius

via: Original Pinheiros Style

Chris scrive da qui...

LA STANZA DAL

CIELO VIOLA

Parigi, 27 Ottobre 1789,

Chris scriveva poesie dai tetti.

Non aveva mai amato la strada: così bassa, così impersonale, così scontata.

Era Dicembre e nella sua soffitta singola dominava un silenzio bianco. L’arredamento della mansarda di Chris era composto principalmente da libri: di ogni genere (non solo letterario, s’intenda…); invece il resto della mobilia era composto da due cassettoni di legno che profumavano la stanza di resina, come fosse un ricordo del bosco di abeti da cui provenivano, e da un letto che adesso, al centro della stanza, era disfatto almeno quanto Chris.

Charlotte, la sua amica puttana, era rimasta da lui per la notte e il sesso, con tutta la confusione che produce, lo aveva calmato.

Lei però ora non c’era più; era uscita nel bianco della neve ed era una farfalla che, davanti alla luce, proietta le sue ombre sul mondo.

Lui era andato sul tetto per guardarla allontanarsi, piccolo puntino nero in un mare candido e meschino.

C’era neve…una neve bianca.

Lo sguardo di Chris era clinico. Adorava guardare il mondo dal suo tetto e si nutriva della vita che bruciava nelle strade vista da lassù.

In quel momento si accorse che la folla ai suoi piedi stava congelando; si accorse che i bambini, vestiti con stracci e cappotti rammendati, battevano i denti per il freddo assassino e per la stanchezza delle sedici ore di lavoro che erano costretti ad affrontare in fabbrica. La mattina, ancora assonati, venivano portato in braccio dai genitori infreddoliti (fortuna di pochi, averli) ai cancelli delle fabbriche.

Il mondo e il tempo non sono luoghi di Giustizia.

Lo capì vedendo che dietro le calde finestre, i governanti, i custodi di Dio e i difensori del popolo, proprio quelli che adoravano usare parole come ‘comune’, ‘uguaglianza’ e ‘giustizia’, che fissavano le scene di disperazione senza smettere di fare colazione: “quanto zucchero? Tè o caffè? Macchiato? Quanto latte? Mi passa i biscotti?”.

Nel frattempo, Jean, otto anni, iniziava a morire: per la fame e per il freddo, coprendo con il suo corpicino la sua sorellina, Alìs. Mamma e papà non c’erano e, pensò Chris piangendo, forse non c’erano mai stati.

Le lacrime che Chris versò per Jean il bambino, per Jean il fratello, per Jean l’eroe gli ricordarono che la vita è dura.

Ma dal suo tetto, nella Rue Allent, attraverso i giardini delle Tuileries, scorgeva un movimento festante Place de la Concorde; gente in maschera. Ammiragli, pirati, papi e regnanti ballano nella stessa piazza al ritmo di Mozart.

Chi sorridesse e chi piangesse dietro a quelle maschere, non interessò più di tanto Chris. Aveva la mente altrove.

“ Un carnevale del mondo che sta congelando; quelli che possono e quelli che contano festeggiano come idioti una qualche vana ricorrenza: tutte scuse per non pensare alla morte, vostra e delle vostre coscienze”.

Chris ebbe la sensazione di non averle solo pensate queste cose. Aveva il terribile sospetto di averle urlate o magari sussurrate…Ma oramai era passato, era capitato.

Pensò al piccolo Jean e a Charlotte e alla sorellina orfana di corpi e di affetti e sentenziò a se stesso: contro quel mondo era meglio mentire a voce bassa.

Era Domenica, il giorno del Signore.

Le chiese erano deserte e nessuno osava entrarvi. “Dove sono finiti quei curiosissimi assembramenti di umanità?”. A Chris piaceva osservarli tutti intenti a pregare Dio che li salvasse dai loro giudici e dai loro avvocati, da chi li sfruttava e chi li difendeva.

Operai smembrati dalla fatica, vecchie e giovani madri con il volto scavato dal freddo e dalla fame e non solo, raccontavano a Dio le loro storie, dalla seconda fila di panche in chiesa:

“quando la piccola Cecilie, con gli occhioni accesi e lucidi, ti chiede un pezzo di pane e tu non glielo puoi dare perché non ce l’hai. Quando trovi un pezzo di pane e non mangi da sei giorni, lo dai a Cecilie, rischiando di morire o forse solo desiderandolo. Cecilie è figlia di tutte quelle giovani e vecchie madri. È figlia loro, capisci? E sarebbero pronte a morire anche subito pur di vedere gli occhi di Cecilie vivi come se fosse felice, come se la sua inconsapevole sofferenza potesse diventare un po’ più accettabile. Ma loro hanno Dio…”

Ecco dove si erano nascosti tutti i preganti: erano solo usciti dalle cattedrali per andare in banca.

Erano tutti in banca, quella Domenica scura e interminabile. A fare la fila tra parole sconosciute e numeri ignoti, proprio loro che non sapevano contare.

Chris si accorse che quella Domenica Dio aveva risposto con la nebbia. Una nebbia fitta e densa fino a essere inquinata.

Chris non crede in Dio; crede piuttosto che esistano le stelle e che esista la ghiaia e che tutto gira vorticosamente attraendosi e respingendosi in base a rapporti divini tra elementi lontani e vicini: era un poeta, ma non era stupido.

I preti uscirono dalle cattedrali, armati di fucili e crocefissi. Volevano versare del sangue, riportare le anime alla casa del padre…Il Dio in cui Chris credeva avrebbe riso.

Nelle tasche delle loro uniformi, portavano delle bibbie.

Dal tetto da cui Chris osservava la vita scorrere con un certo attrito sul mondo non si riusciva a vedere bene se fosse proprio una bibbia; ma uno dei preti, con il crocefisso puntato verso il cielo, estrasse il Libro e Chris non poté che provare un senso di decadimento interiore e di frustrazione fisica.

I preti, tutti i preti, avevano bucato la bibbia per provare i loro fucili…

Chris, forse un po’ sconfortato iniziò a pensare, quasi a volare (seppur rasoterra) con il pensiero:

“Dio creò l’uomo a sua immagine”. Pensò fosse bello. “Io a immagine di Dio!”.

“Ma chi l’ha scritta questa frase? L’uomo. Non Dio.” L’aveva scritta l’uomo quella frase, paragonandosi senza modestia al suo Dio.

“Dio forse ha creato l’uomo; ma l’uomo, il figlio di Dio, ha creato Dio e l’ha fatto solo per inventare se stesso.

L’uomo ha scritto la bibbia, il più antico romanzo del mondo, unicamente per una fàtica paura di essere un giorno parte dell’oblio, fottendosene di Dio”.

Rise qualche instante e il fiato che sbuffò dalla sua bocca prese forma a contatto con il freddo della neve di Dicembre: “Noi non preghiamo per capirlo o per amarlo…noi lo supplichiamo. Lo supplichiamo perché ci aiuti a tirare avanti, non a vivere, ma a sopravvivere.

“Cosa ci importa di Dio per come è, ci preoccupiamo solo di noi stessi”.

Allora Chris capì che la questione stava da un’altra parte; la questione non è solo sapere se Dio esiste, ma se Noi esistiamo…”.

…Riecco la realtà cruda e secca del mondo. Chris vide che nel parco delle Tuileries sfilava un plotone di soldati contro i rivoltosi festanti, soprannominati “gli idioti dello spettacolo di Place de la Concorde”. Ragazzi contro ragazzi mentre dalle finestre i politici dell’una e dell’altra compagine scommettevano come fosse un combattimento tra bestie.

Gaston fa il soldato. Lo hanno strappato alla sua vita, all’Amore come fosse un fiore a fine estate. Gli hanno mentito, gli hanno detto che gli ideali sono ideali e che lo Stato, come l’ideale, va difeso.

Eudes fa il rivoluzionario. Lo hanno strappato alla sua vita, all’Amore come fosse un fiore a fine estate. Gli hanno mentito, gli hanno detto che gli ideali sono ideali e che lo Stato, il Terzo Stato, come l’ideale, va difeso.

Chris ricordò di quel suo amico filosofo, Jean Paul, che un giorno gli disse che le ideologie sono libertà quando si fanno e oppressione una volta fatte.

Che tipo Jean Paul…Una volta morì e, di fronte a Dio, disse: ” Chi sei tu per giudicare il mio operato?”. Che tipo Jean Paul…

I soldati e i rivoluzionari portavano con sé  i propri testamenti. Volevano, tutti, nessuno escluso, essere seppelliti insieme alle idee per cui si erano fatti uccidere da ragazzi come loro. Lo desideravano da tanto erano stati spinti ad amare un passato o un futuro!

Il becchino che Chris poté ammirare all’opera quel bianco giorno di Dicembre stava già battendo la terra per preparare innumerevoli e redditizie sepolture: che giorno felice, per lui…

Chris urlò il nome di Charlotte. Lei era già arrivata in fondo a Rue Allent ma si voltò. Iniziò a correre verso Chris con l’anima in mano. Lei che vendeva il corpo adesso regalava un’anima. Chris ne fu lieto.

Si sedettero vicini, Chris accanto a Charlotte, fin quasi a entrarsi dentro, e fissarono il cielo viola che sovrastava la nebbia di Dio.

Rimasero in silenzio ognuno con i suoi ricordi: dal tetto o dalla strada.

Era tutto a posto…tutti i grammi di vita erano tornati densi.

Chris e Charlotte, Jean e la sorellina, le madri e Cecilie, Gaston ed Eudes…tutti, in una Domenica, impararono che un Amore combatte ma non si piega. Mai.

                                                                                          Un’ennesima storia di,

                                                                                                Alfred Julius Ayer

When your father was struggling with whether he should become an American citizen, and working through the pain and complication of renouncing his Zimbabwean citizenship, I asked him which parts of himself wanted to claim the United States. He answered without hesitation that he had never voted in an election, and as a political scientist that wasn’t right. But he followed that immediately by the heart of his struggle: He wanted for you boys to have a claim to Zimbabwe, to be able to live there someday, call it your home. If he renounced his citizenship, under the current law you would not ever be able to claim yours. I suggested he write you a letter, for you to read later, and that his decision might come clear in the process. I’ve never read that letter, but I’ve thought of it often, and indeed, it was the inspiration for starting these letters to you now. But never before has it occurred to me that there is a specific letter in here I want you to read; one that I am actually putting out in the universe so you can understand something when you’re older, when I might not be around to explain it, or when memories have faded to such an extent that I no longer can.

George, you have had episodes of asthma that have scared the life out of me, though not since last February. But your history of a flu leading to pneumonia sets us in a different place for this flu season, which will likely be remembered for years to come, the great swine flu scare of 2009. Here is what I know: 99% of people who contract this flu recover at home, and report that their flu was among the mildest they’ve experienced. Less than 1% of people experience the flu as they usually would, but then suddenly can’t breathe, and some very quickly die. One of the mysteries of this thing is that it’s healthy teenagers who often fall so sick and die, though most of the earliest deaths were of people with compromised immune systems. But this last fact, that those healthiest among us have been dying, makes me more-than-usually frightened for you, Julius, who has never been actually laid up by a cold or flu.

Interestingly, and to me, pivotally so, people born before 1950 seem to have a natural immunity to this H1N1 flu. Some speculate that’s because it is related to flus that were around in the 20s, 30s, and 40s, flus which may have also been related to the one that killed so many in 1918. Because of the flus they had as children so many years ago, your Manga and people in her generation are not in danger this winter. It’s that age old thing: The illnesses that don’t kill us make us stronger. Yes.

But the government and the CDC have been working around the clock to get us vaccinations against this flu; it is so scary and so different from anything they have seen before that they want to make sure that most of us don’t get it. You can see their thinking: They want to avoid the mass deaths that occurred in 1918, they don’t want it to get out of control, they want to save lives. Of course they do. And their thinking was, albeit on a smaller scale, the same every single year they have developed a seasonal flu vaccine. They want people to avoid illness, they don’t want to see lives lost, they want to protect us from the worst discomforts. Of course they do.

And we, for the most part, are benefitting enormously from vaccines. Your dad can tell you stories some day about what it was like to grow up in a place where people still died from polio, from the measles, from all these diseases we haven’t seen in this country for such a long time. We’re lucky to live in an age where such medical advancements mean more of us live and for longer. Right? There are people on both sides of this debate, and people who feel strongly that the risks and dangers vaccines pose outweigh their benefits. I would argue that, for the most part, American parents have the luxury of that opinion because they live in a place where the diseases that might otherwise kill their children are no longer a threat because they have been mostly eradicated from this land, in part because most people vaccinate against them. Now, that being said, if we didn’t travel as much as we do, I would very likely be on their side of the debate. And, until I had a kid with asthma who had been hospitalized for pneumonia, I never got you vaccinated against the seasonal flu. That which does not kill you makes you stronger. Each passing year, your immune systems develop and become healthier because of the illnesses you have had. This is why babies up through about age three are so constantly running-nosey and sniffling.  They are deep in the process of strengthening their immune systems, and avoiding those colds and flus only creates weaker kids down the line.

But then came swine flu, with the media scaring the crap out of us and the CDC publishing daily maps about the spread of the virus, and the stories of the worst-case scenarios, and who is immune to the fear that her child might be in that 1% of kids who seemed healthy until—

People are going to vaccinate against this flu and all seasonal flus until the end of time. But this is the crux of my fear: The vaccines we’re giving you now will (hopefully) protect you from the worst diseases of our time. But will they, in the long run, create a weaker race of people, people who cannot fight any illness without medical intervention, people who will be vulnerable to almost anything? Will you, Julius and George, be exposed to something when you’re fifty or sixty that I, exposed to it thirty years previously, was able to fight because of my natural immunity—and will it, when it’s you, thirty years later, kill you? God, I hope not. But it’s impossible for me to stop thinking about how we live in a country that tries its damndest to protect us from the little things that might pose a threat now, exposing us down the road to much larger threats. Yet, no matter what I actually think about exposure to illness as children making you healthier adults, I myself with my two children am not going to solve this issue. Even if I don’t get you vaccinated, you will live in a generation of people who are, for the most part, very vaccinated. I can’t attempt to strengthen your immune systems through sickness exposure only to grow you up to love people with weaker systems.

So here we are, on the day of the H1N1 vaccination clinic at your doctor’s office. George, you’ll have to suffer through another “teeny tiny hole” in your arm, and then probably again in some number of weeks, to make sure full vaccination has been reached. Julius, having received a live nasal vaccine for seasonal flu a few weeks ago (because, yes, now you both get that every year—ever since our hospital stay) you can’t get the H1N1 vaccine for another few weeks, leaving me exposed to the fear that the virus will attack you in these weeks before you get it, and to the typically American panic that they’ll run out before my babies get their fair share.

I know I can’t fix this, I know my personal fears about a far-in-the-future possibility which may never take place must be pushed aside so I can face the certainty of the swine flu virus being a meanie and my maternal need to protect you from it. But, as your dad did so many years ago with his citizenship decision, I thought maybe writing a letter to my future adult sons might help me muddle through this mess. Because sometimes knowing your parents did the best they could with what was then available makes all the difference. Sometimes knowing that your health and well-being are at the root of every single decision we make helps you muddle through, too.

Roman history is my favorite as anyone who has been to the city and marveled at the colosseum or gazed around the pantheon will understand. you only need to glance at a map showing the roman empire at its peak to understand just how great an impact this one city had on the shaping of the world today. However how much do we actually know about them?

We all know that many of the things we take for granted today were introduced by the romans. Take something as simple as roads. we all know that they all lead to rome, but when were they first used? who was the mastermind behind them? two questions that i think many people would struggle to answer for  many of the things we use today that were of Roman decent.

Who were the great Heros and villains of Rome? We all know the names. Romulus and Remus,  Julius Caesar, Augustus, even Spartacus. But who were they? Why do these names form on the tip of peoples tongues when talking about ancient Rome when people such as Scipio Africanus are all but forgotten?

“The greater a mans success, the less it may be trusted to endure.” – Hannibal

Read on to find the awsers to these questions and a few others. read on to find out the truth about the most influential race in history.

COMING SOON

Julius Caeser      Scipio Africanus       Hannibal

Appius Claudius     Spartacus        Romulas and Remus

Religions     Tarquinius

“Hai trovato parcheggio?”;

Corriamo lentamente, tu ed io,

al cinema c’è l’ultimo film di …

Trascorriamo insieme, tutti insieme,

tra un caffè macchiato, un ginseng e un aperitivo

questi rapidi spazi di vita: noia.

Con una cena cinese tra amici coloriamo Milano

e dietro i nostri doppivetri, per sbaglio, smantelliamo certi nostri sogni.

“Scusi, lei che numero ha?”; dal panettiere:

come profughi. “Dacci oggi il nostro pane quotidiano,

così mi trascino fino a sera;

un Metro, sottoterra come i vermi”.

Stanco ti butti sul letto: un abbraccio e preghi di essere te stesso…

Poi quel pensiero: ” ma avrò chiuso la macchina?”.

                                                                                                                          A.J.Ayer