It’s time for my list. I will be working on it, because there are still some things(latest Swell Season, Devendra Banhart, Julie Doiron etc.) that I have to hear. Anyway, some of my favourites:

Dan Mangan – Nice, Nice, Very Nice [9.8/10]
I think this is my favourite album from this year. Cute, teddy-bear-ish-looking singer-songwriter from Canada. He makes you feel loved inside. Good, strong and dynamic songs, nice vocals, good instrumental work, wonderful lyrics. The best indie pop album from this year. It’s unbelievable that he’s just 25 (date-material! haha!). Dan’s a keeper and you should keep your eye on him!

Andrew Bird – Noble Beast/Useless Creatures [9.5/10]
Again, a masterpiece made by Andrew Bird. It’s balanced, beautiful and unique. It’s pop, folk, it’s wonderfull. I only miss the electric guitar a bit. Still, great lyrics, interesting, wonderfull compositions and vocally pretty strong. Useless Creatures is the best instrumental CD I’ve ever heard, might have even listened more to that one than to Noble Beast. Good Stuff.

St. Vincent – Actor [9/10]
Annie Clark manages to float above her instrumental chaos. Or at least, it looks like that. Her compositions are actually well made. Vocally, Clark is really strong. It’s a pretty unique CD that you’ll love or you’ll hate. I love it.

Jesca Hoop – Hunting My Dress [8.8/10]
To me, she’s live even stronger. Hoop mixes various styles and makes them her own. Great guitar work, great vocals. It might sound weird during your first listen, but it will grow. Especially ‘Murder of Birds’ is a wonderful track.

A.A. Bondy – When The Devil’s Loose[8/10]
I know I didn’t give A.A. Bondy such a high mark in my review. But the album did really grow on me. I listen to it a lot, so points for that!

Franz Ferdinand – Tonight[7.2/10]
Surprising new album from Franz Ferdinand. Still the have their own Franz sound. Good stuff. Typical Franz.

Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest[7/10]
Pretty interesting album, on moments to difficult for me to understand maybe. There are some ‘killer-tracks’ on it, but overall it’s just a pretty solid, nice, album that isn’t really my cup of tea at moments

Regina Spektor – Far [7/10]
Not as strong as Begin to Hope, but again a very good album. Spektor goes from weird classical stuff to pop, not being afraid of sounding ’silly’. Vocally strong, but you have to love her voice. No complains about her instrumental stuff, but it’s not really ‘new’. (Best tracks of the album are simply ‘Laughing With’ and ‘Folding Chair’, these are perfect songs)

Wilco – Wilco(the album) [7/10]
Wilco deliverd another good album. Still, it can’t beat Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but it’s a good try. It’s again the typical Wilco sound(that isn’t really my sound). But it’s a strong, balanced album.

The first 25 games of the WHL regular season weren’t precisely rewarding for the Regina Pats, but at least they came out flat.

Regina snapped a three-game losing run – and climbed back to the .500 mark in the process – with a vital 5-3 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings on Tues. night before 3,757 fans at the Brandt Centre.

Now comes the hard part for the Pats ( 11-11-3-0 ), who open a six-game Western road swing on Fri. night against the Kootenay Ice.

‘For us right now confidence is huge,’ offered right-winger Garrett Mitchell, who scored twice in Tuesday’s win. ‘When we play confidently it’s troublesome to stop us. We are going on the road at this time with a big win under our belt and with a little luck it helps us out.’

Regina opened the scoring 2:37 into the game with a power-play marker from Matt Strueby, who polished off Colten Teubert’s rebound at the side of the net. Mitchell made it 2-0 just 2:55 later when he took a centering pass from Jordan Weal and buried it from between the hash marks.

Tomas Vincour’s penalty-shot goal got Edmonton on the board with 4:26 left in the opening frame after the Pats were called for covering the puck in their own crease.

The visitors tied it up with the person advantage half way thru the second period when Logan Proulx redirected a point shot from Drew Nichol past Damien Ketlo. Regina got it back just 1:11 later with a power-play goal from Matt Delahey, who picked up a long rebound from Cody Carlson and beat goaltender Torrie Jung with a softy from the right face-off circle.

Seeking a key insurance goal early in the 3rd period, the Pats got it in highlight-reel fashion. Jordan Eberle fired a lead pass up to Brett Leffler, who drove to the net, only to spin around and deliver a remarkable back-hand pass across the crease to Strueby, who slotted it into the open net.

It was sweet justice for Strueby, who had just stepped out of the penalty box after his team finished a controversial goalie interference penalty.

‘ ( The ref ) announced I got pushed in ( to the crease ) but I didn’t let up,’ Strueby said dumbfoundedly. ‘I was pushed in but I didn’t let up? I don’t know how to take that.’

Mitchell made it 5-2 when he raced down the right side and blew a high shot from the top of the circle past Jung, who wasn’t up to his usual Pat-killer standards. Tyler Hlookoff’s screen shot from the point rounded out the scoring with 2:07 remaining.

‘It was a funny game,’ offered Regina Pats head coach Curtis Hunt, whose team outshot Edmonton 34-31. ‘We got the game back there ( with Strueby’s 2nd goal ). I assumed we had a good start and let it slip away but that ( fourth goal ) was so critical – two-goal cushion. Then we come back right away and make ( the deficit ) three, then we’re allowed to play 4 lines and truly put the game to bed.’

Strueby now has four goals in his past 2 games and 16 in 22 contests overall, moving him into the WHL’s top 10. Mitchell, in the meantime, doubled his goal total to four and now has eight points in his past six games. Of course, that doesn’t include the two contests he missed during the weekend with an evil influenza virus.

‘I don’t know if it was worth what I went through but if I’m going to come back and score two goals every time ( getting sick more often ) could be something that goes thru my head,’ he said with a giggle. ‘It was pretty tricky. I showed up in Moose Jaw, I walked in with my bag, set it down in the dressing room and it was kinda ‘Oh!’ I took off to the closest washroom and tossed my cookies. I came back and felt great tonight. I guess it showed.’.

Ne capitano di serate in cui ti sei messo in testa di fare una cosa e poi ti ritrovi completamente catapultato in dimensioni oniriche o distanti dai tuoi propositi esistenziali e ludici.
Ne capitano di incontri che ti lasciano con l’amaro in bocca, forse troppi, e di altri che invece stampano un sorriso indelebile che non potrai più scrollarti di dosso per il resto della vita.
Conoscere Eduardo fa parte della seconda tipologia di intersecazione esperenziale di cui sopra e l’occasione di farlo c’è stata grazie alla pubblicazione del suo Unplugged (Gran Vía) e del tour italiano che ne è seguito.
Ma partiamo dall’inizio. Il libro è una riuscitissima raccolta di racconti iperrealisti, irriverenti, e di divertenti avventure nel mondo degli uomini e in quello di Cuba. Una serie di storie che hanno il proprio file rouge nel personaggio di Nicanor O’Donnell, alter ego del nostro scrittore/sceneggiatore/filmaker, che con la sua “corte dei miracoli” infesta la maggior parte dell’antologia.
Unplugged si fa leggere come se gustassimo un buon caffè, fino all’ultima goccia e senza fretta, magari raccogliendo con il cucchiaino anche lo zucchero.
Stile notevole, asciutto e diretto rendono la narrazione godibile e immaginifica fino all’ultima riga, ricreando ambientazioni, volti, situazioni nella mente del lettore che entra nelle storie per non uscirne più.
E questo è il libro. Come sono arrivato a fare quattro chiacchiere con quello che mi è sembrato un sosia di Stephen King ma con i capelli lunghi e qualche chiletto in più è facile da dirsi.
Maddalena (per chi non lo sapesse, ufficio stampa della casa editrice milanese) mi chiama dicendomi che saranno in promozione a Roma e che nella libreria della Galleria Alberto Sordi presenteranno il libro, proiettando anche il cortometraggio Monte Rouge ispirato al medesimo racconto. A presenziare l’insostituibile Filippo La Porta. Occasione più che ghiotta per rivedere la mia cara amica, conoscere l’autore del libro che tanto mi era piaciuto e sentire una voce eminente della nostra stampa.
Il nostro giornalista punta subito il faro sulla capacità incredibile dello scrittore di riuscire a dare degli incipit capaci di incuriosire e destabilizzare immediatamente il lettore, dandone lettura di alcuni (Nicanor era depresso. Aveva attraversato un brutto periodo del quale non possiamo parlare, perché lui non lo faceva mai, ragion per cui non sappiamo che cosa fosse effettivamente successo) catturando immediatamente l’attenzione degli astanti.
Alla fine dell’incontro, facciamola breve, abbiamo tutti facce compiaciute e il libro in mano. La Porta ha colto in pieno lo spirito di Eduardo ed è riuscito a trasmetterlo in ogni parola.
“A questo punto avrai fatto le tue domande?” direte voi. No. Ho bevuto del vino rosso e sono stato invitato al Brancaleone per la rassegna organizzata da Cuba da qualche parte (progetto itinerante su Cuba attraverso arti visive: cubadaqualcheparte@gmail.com) sul cinema cubano, dove sarebbero stati proiettati i due corti Monte Rouge e Sex Machine del buon De Llano, con “a seguire dibattito”.
Ritrovatomi in automobile con due cubane e un’argentina, situazione felicissima e davvero fortunata per un povero gonzo journalist quale mi sento, arrivo (in che stato non sto a raccontarvelo) al Brancaleone per scoprire che del centro sociale romano è rimasto solo il nome e che il processo di “infighettamento” ha inghiottito anche i fasti di party a base di pogate e eskimo militari.
Nell’attesa ho preso un bicchiere di vino (lo so, sto sembrando un alcolizzato) e ho chiesto udienza al disponibilissimo cubano di origini russe, che mentre mi faceva una confessione di cui non vi dirò, si dirigeva verso il tavolo dove è nata una mini intervista.
“Nicanor è l’uomo della moltitudine, è le mille sfaccettature della persona comune”, mi ha risposto alla domanda più ovvia sulla sua “creatura” letteraria. “E’ nato quando lavoravo con una compagnia umoristica e da lì ha proseguito la sua vita. La cosa che mi piace pensare è che da adolescenti tutti ci sentiamo speciali ma con il passare del tempo ci rendiamo conto di essere tutti dei Nicanor”.
Eduardo è un fiume in piena, beve la sua birra con gusto, si sposta i capelli dagli occhi e molto spesso mi sembra che abbia un modo di fare molto timido, ma è solo l’impressione.
Nei suoi racconti temi come il sogno e la fede, in un modo o nell’altro si rincorrono e mi conferma subito questo sentore “Il sogno non è notturno, il sogno deve essere di tutta una vita, non relegato all’atto del dormire. Per Cuba, l’atto del sognare è diventata l’ultima utopia, per me l’imprevedibilità del sogno è il valore della libertà umana” e quando gli chiedo se la fede è nell’uomo, in Dio o nella scienza allarga le braccia ghignando: “Non sono Kierkegard. Sono ateo, a prescindere da Cuba, e quindi Dio non mi appartiene. La scienza si nega al concetto di fede perché si evolve e contraddice di continuo. Penso che la fede sia nell’uomo”.
Si avvicinano per dirci che tra un po’ inizierà la proiezione e colgo l’occasione per assestare altri due ganci alla mia curiosità, riferendomi ad un certo cinismo che ho percepito nel fondo dei racconti. “E’ un simil humor, non un vero e proprio cinismo il mio. È una maniera di trattare il cinema, la letteratura, la vita. Ma non c’è negatività, freddezza”.
Arrivano e tra poco me lo porteranno via, faccio mente locale: ho l’autografo, ho il libro, ho voglia di un’ultima domanda, di chiedere un’ultima cosa e mi rivedo il racconto di Regina (che dovete leggere per capire la mia ultima questio) davanti agli occhi e mentre mi ringrazia, si alza e si allontana gli grido: “Eduardo! Ma com’era il culo di Regina?”. Ride abbracciando l’aria ed esclama “Meraviglioso!”.
Meraviglioso il momento, il gesto, il libro. Meravigliosa la compagnia, le ragazze della serata e i cuba libre che poi mi hanno riaccompagnato a casa mentre pensavo che aveva ragione lui quando diceva che Nicanor è dentro ognuno di noi. Solo che alcuni lo riconoscono subito, altri lo mascherano e molti come me, se lo abbracciano stretto ogni notte.

Alex Pietrogiacomi

El Hotel Regina Barcelona siempre esta al tanto y recomienda las mejores opciones para disfrutar al máximo todos los eventos que ofreceBarcelona. El próximo 20 y 21 de este mes Depeche Mode se presentará en el Palau de Sant Jordi.

Sin duda será un espectáculo que dará mucho de que hablar!

www.hotelpulitzerbarcelona.wordpress.com

Regina Spektor performed ‘Eet’ on Craig Ferguson’s Late Late Show last friday. The song is from her latest album ‘Far’. Watch the video below!

Regina is currently visiting Europe for some shows.

Daniela Santanchè va in televisione e accusa Maometto di pedofilia perché una delle sue mogli aveva 9 anni.

Credo sarebbe tempo perso spiegare alla Santanché come in Arabia nel VI secolo d.c. ci fosse un concetto di “età del consenso” leggermente diverso dal nostro. Ma visto che certe uscite sono motivate solo dal voler mostrare quanto sono cattivi i musulmani è forse il caso di farle notare cosa succedeva alcuni secoli dopo nelle cristianissme corti reali europee dove le donne spesso si sposavano molto giovani e non necessariamente con coetanei. Ad esempio:

Alfonso XI di Castiglia sposa Costanza di Peñafiel di anni 8/10
Giovanni I di Castiglia sposa Beatrice del Portogallo di anni 10
Dionigi del Portogallo sposa Santa Elisabetta del Portogallo di anni 11
Giuseppe I del Portogallo sposa Marianna Vittoria di Borbone-Spagna di anni 11
Alfonso III del Portogallo sposa Beatrice di Castiglia di anni 11
Luigi VIII di Francia sposa Bianca di Castiglia di anni 12
Carlo IV di Francia sposa Bianca di Borgogna di anni 12
Filippo V di Spagna sposa Maria Luisa di Savoia di anni 12
Luigi XII di Francia sposa Santa Giovanna di Valois di anni 12
Luigi di Spagna sposa Luisa Elisabetta di Borbone-Orléans di anni 12
Enrico III d’Inghilterra sposa Eleonora di Provenza di anni 13
Luigi IX di Francia sposa Margherita di Provenza di anni 13
Giiovanni II del Portogallo sposa Eleonora di Viseu di anni 13
Filippo IV di Spagna sposa Elisabetta di Borbone-Francia di anni 13
Massimiliano I del Sacro Romano Impero sposa Anna di Bretagna di anni 13
Filippo IV di Francia sposa Giovanna I di Navarra di anni 13
Edoardo II d’Inghilterra sposa Isabella di Francia di anni 13

REGINA – (Nov.3, 2009) With Regina’s ethnic diversity on the rise, Elaine Burnett should be in for a raise.

She’ll start, though, with a little recognition on the national stage.

The Saskatchewan native was recently honoured by the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants with its “member spotlight”. She is one of only 1,500 registered Canadian immigration consultants.

“It’s quite an honour for me,” Burnett said.

“At first, I thought of it as a feather in my cap. But the more I thought about it, I knew this was a more significant achievement in my career, and one I should be very grateful for.”

Burnett has dedicated close to 30 years to immigration to both Saskatchewan and Canada, and has influenced both the federal and provincial immigration programs, including the Saskatchewan Provincial Nominee Program.

Burnett began her career in immigration with the government at a time when there were no regulations for immigration consultants.

She sat on the first negotiating committee for the Saskatchewan-Canada Immigration Agreement – a provincial nominee program designed to attract immigrants – in 1988.

“I really felt there was a need for regulation because you heard the stories, and some of those stories were really sad,” she said. “Some people would lose their entire life savings; others would arrive in Canada and find out there wasn’t a job for them.”

Her passion and dedication to the job was not lost on her boss.

“Elaine is an example to all CSIC members,” said CSIC chair and acting CEO John Ryan in a prepared statement. “(She) has overcome many obstacles throughout her career, including those of a woman in a non-traditional, male-dominated role at the time when it was less than acceptable.

“Canadian businesses and the newcomers they employ are the benefactors of her perseverance and strong will.”

In 2002, Burnett helped to introduce the Immigration/Refugee Protection Act, which was housed for legislation for the establishment of a regulatory body.

One year later, Burnett, one of the very first members of CSIC, started her second career and became a certified Canadian immigration consultant and opened her own business, Burnett Immigration Services.

Burnett and her staff meet with local companies to see what their needs are in terms of employment. She then prepares the immigrant for arrival by setting up accomodations, and engaging the new employee and the company with phone interviews and conversations.

“The thing I like, with immigration, is the human economics. It’s not the steel and nuts and bolts,” she said. “To see a company grow because they brought in immigrants to help is a great success to me.”

Burnett’s office, especially, carries an international flavour. Her staff is diverse, with nationalities from China, the Phillipines and India, with another from Africa to be added next month.

“Saskatchewan is a great place to live and enjoy the human content,” Burnett said. “That is what has kept me in it. I’m really and truly commmited to what I do.

“I love my job.”

© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post

REGINA – (Nov.5, 2009) Regina is playing host this week to a gathering of government and business leaders from Canada and the U.S.

The annual Pacific North West Economic Region (PNWER) winter meeting brings together about 150 people, with keynote speeches from U.S. Consul General Laura Lochman and Gary Doer, Canada’s new ambassador to the United States.

“It’s an exciting chance to showcase Saskatchewan and to discuss ways that governments and businesses in the region can work together to create opportunities as our economies resume growth,” said PNWER vice-president and Cutknife-Turtleford MLA Michael Chisholm.

There are two components to the winter meeting, including a Legislative Academy that educates legislators about the functioning of state and provincial governments through a series of workshops and an economic leadership forum with discussions between leaders from Canada and the U.S. on critical issues like trade, energy, climate change and innovation.

PNWER is a Canada-U.S. forum of elected officials and private sector leaders from states and provinces in the Pacific Northwest region. Member states and provinces include: Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories and the Yukon.

© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post

REGINA – (Nov. 6, 2009) Young and old gathered on Friday to remember the sacrifices of First Nations veterans at the First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv).

Powwow music reverberated through the halls of FNUniv as a lone men’s traditional dancer led the veterans into the FNUniv atrium as part of FNUniv Remembrance Day ceremonies.

First Nations veteran Howard Anderson said people should never forget the sacrifices of First Nations people made in Canada’s conflicts. He said that it’s good to host such events at the FNUniv.

“Everyday, we walk through this First Nations Veterans’ Memorial Tipi and we are so happy and so honoured to have this in our university because it’s a constant reminder of the sacrifices that people gave so that we could come to university – so we could learn, so that we can continue to redefine and recreate our identities as aboriginal people,” said Diane Adams, president of the FNUniv Student’s Association.

“For that, we remember and we say ‘Thank you’ to those veterans. That is so important to us.”

She said it was an honour to have First Nations veterans attend the event.

“We are able to study. We are able to learn. We are able to grow because of those sacrifices, because of the sacrifices of those veterans who are here today and those who have passed on.”

She said it’s important to always remember that everything we enjoy today came at a cost.

Bernadette Friedmann-Conrad, said as a non-aboriginal person it was a real honour to participate in Friday’s ceremonies.

As an officer cadet with the Canadian air force, she’s just beginning her career as a logistics officer but is also in the process of completing her education at the FNUniv.

“I am taking the indigenous studies honour program because there is a great awareness in the military now that the numbers of First Nations people in the armed forces are increasing, and we have to be aware of how to make them feel welcome and provide a working environment that also makes them feel part of a greater community – the military family,” said Friedmann-Conrad. “To see First Nations people in the military … I am hugely grateful that they want to take part in that.”

She said people often overlook the similarities between the traditional warrior society and the military.

“The warrior society of past were the primary protectors of the community – that was their primary job and that is our primary job too,” said Friedmann-Conrad.

She said that, as a person in the armed forces, Remembrance Day ceremonies take on a whole new meaning because it’s about looking back and remembering but also about looking forward. She has friends and relatives who are currently serving overseas in places like Afghanistan.

“I’m sure there are a lot of First Nations people, in the military today, who are down there as well – and they need our support,” she said.

© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post

REGINA – Ben Walsh knows that not all battles are fought in the theatre of war and victory can sometimes be bittersweet.

The former RCMP officer, whose 33-year-old son Master Cpl. Jeffrey Walsh died in an accidental shooting in Afghanistan in August 2006, was among a group of people who spent more than a year lobbying the federal government to change the criteria for the new Sacrifice Medal.

The medal, as it was announced last year, would have only recognized soldiers killed or wounded by hostile fire, but Walsh didn’t think that was fair.

“The criteria that was made up, it left out many soldiers if they weren’t in a combat situation,” Walsh said.

“On my journey I had written many letters to Ottawa … to try to change the criteria so that all soldiers, not only my son, would receive a medal for his service in Afghanistan.”

On Monday, two days before Remembrance Day, all that effort will pay off.

Walsh and his wife, Margaret, are to accept the Sacrifice Medal on behalf of their son at a ceremony in Ottawa.

It was a long road to get there.

When the initial criteria for the medal were announced and Jeffrey Walsh wasn’t included, Ben Walsh peppered lawmakers with letters of protest.

He then went public, urging Canadians to back the change.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall wrote a letter to Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean, saying manner of death is irrelevant when someone is killed in a combat theatre.

So did veterans groups and the families of soldiers killed in accidents. They argued that all Canadians soldiers who put themselves in harm’s way deserve the recognition regardless of whether or not they were killed by enemy fire.

Last month Walsh got a letter from the Defence Department, announcing that the criteria had been revised the so that every Canadian soldier who has died in Afghanistan will be recognized.

“The length of time, I almost forgot about it until I got this here envelope,” Walsh said.

“I was extremely happy and excited. I think I did a little jig in the kitchen when I found about it.

“But it was, I guess you could say, bittersweet,” Walsh added as he choked back tears.

Jeffrey Walsh’s mother, Margaret, is also overcome with emotion when she talks about her son.

“I’m just very proud of our son and very proud of the work that everybody did so that Jeffery could get this medal. It means so much to us,” she said.

“I miss him.”

The silver circular medal has a claw at the top of it in the form of the Royal Crown, and is attached to a straight slotted bar under a red, black and white ribbon. There’s a profile of the Queen on one side wearing a crown of maple leaves and snow flakes, and an image from the Vimy Memorial on the other side with the word “Sacrifice.”

In the end, the medal will be turned over to Jeffrey’s widow, Julie, and their three children. The youngest, also named Ben, was seven months old when his father died.

The children will be told about their dad’s medal, Ben Walsh said.

“It will be explained to them, what the medal was about and why it was issued and my journey, my long journey to Ottawa, in obtaining this for their father,” he said.

Last Friday, two girls at St. Mary’s school in Walsh’s hometown of Regina gave a presentation to Ben and Margaret Walsh on a project they did about their son. There were photos of Jeffery proudly wearing his uniform, other pictures with his family and references to poems that Walsh wrote to his children.

Sheridan Morin said she was inspired to work on the project because she knows the Walsh family.

“I remember going to the circus with him before and he felt like another dad to me when my dad would be gone,” said Morin.

“He would be so nice and his parents are so nice.

“I learned that he loved his family very much and he would always miss them when he was in the war.”

Morin’s partner on the project, Joryn Klassen, said the work changed her outlook on what’s happening in Afghanistan.

“Before I really didn’t think much of it because I don’t really know anybody who’s been in the war. But now I understand what people are going through,” Klassen said.

The project is to be officially put on display at the school on Monday while Ben and Margaret Walsh are accepting their son’s medal in Ottawa.

Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

REGINA (November 4, 2009) – The University of Regina Rams can shake off some forlorn feelings for at least another week.

On Tuesday, the team got a second life in the Canada West football season when the Manitoba Bisons were stripped of three victories for using an ineligible player.

As Manitoba dropped down the standings, the Rams moved into the fourth and final playoff spot and will meet the Saskatchewan Huskies in a conference semifinal Saturday in Saskatoon. The Calgary Dinos play host to the Alberta Golden Bears in the other semifinal.

“Whenever the season ends, there’s almost a two-week period where you’re lost,” said Rams head coach Frank McCrystal. “During the season, everything is so organized and timely so really, you’re left disheartened after the loss Friday. This is another shot of adrenaline.”

The Rams appeared to have been eliminated from post-season contention after a 42-17 loss to the Huskies on Friday that left Regina at 3-5. While Regina’s record did not change with Tuesday’s ruling, the Bisons fell from 5-3 to 2-5. The Golden Bears (now 4-4) and UBC Thunderbirds (3-5) were each handed a win, while the third game was declared a no contest as the Simon Fraser Clan had previously forfeited the win to the Bisons after using an ineligible player.

The Bisons player who was ruled ineligible, receiver Julian Hardy, played at the University of Ottawa in 2001, but at season’s end he received a four-year suspension following a positive doping test. The suspension was to consume the final four years of his eligibility. In 2004, the CIS passed a bylaw that would allow for players to apply to have suspensions reduced when the national penalty changed, but Hardy was not informed.

Bisons head coach Brian Dobie said when Hardy joined the Bisons, the team knew he had been suspended, but did not check to see if the suspension used up eligibility or if he had applied to have the sentence reduced.

“How stupid is that?” Dobie said. “You can call us idiots, but you can’t call us cheaters.”

After discovering the error in mid-October, the U of M athletic department self-disclosed to the CIS which ruled Hardy ineligible. The university also tried to retroactively apply for a reduction of the suspension, but the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports (which administers the drug tests) would not allow it. The Bisons then filed a compassionate appeal with the CIS but it was denied.

After exhausting those options, the Bisons were forced to accept the decision of a board of Canada West non-football schools to take away the victories.

“It’s pretty devastating,” said Dobie. “Our young redshirt guys maybe didn’t know what to make of it and then you go all the way to our fifth-year guys who are frustrated and bitter.”

While Dobie believes the Bisons are a legitimate playoff team with a 4-4 record (subtracting the win they were handed by SFU), McCrystal feels the same way about the Rams.

“We look at the three teams that are out, we beat all three of those teams,” said McCrystal. “As much as I rationalize it and argue one way, there’s going to be any number of people arguing it another. The bottom line is we’re in and we beat the three teams that are out.”

Canada West president Sandy Slavin noted that while the two eligibility violations this season have been difficult, they did shed some light on changes that need to be made by the conference and the CIS.

Slavin would like to see bylaw changes that would allow Canada West to come to some sort of conclusion while the eligibility is under investigation by the CIS rather than wait three weeks for a ruling by the national body.

“There’s a big gap in Canada West regulations and – not that it’s a bad relationship – there’s a big gap in how we deal with files like this that probably need to be concurrently worked at on the CIS and Canada West levels,” said Slavin.

CIS director of operations Tom Huisman would not comment on the matter until it is entirely resolved nationally. While the CIS has ruled the player ineligible and denied the compassionate appeal, a written report still needs to be filed.
© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post

REGINA – A third-period lead in the hands of the Saskatoon Blades is usually money in the bank.

On Friday night, their cheque bounced.

Light-scoring winger Jason Gardiner notched his first two goals of the season late in the third period and Jordan Eberle finished it off with the lone shootout marker as the Regina Pats staged an improbable comeback, beating Saskatoon 4-3 before 5,110 fans at the Brandt Centre.

The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Blades, who entered the contest with the best record in the WHL and the seventh ranking in the CHL. It was the first time this season that they lost a game in which they held a third-period lead.

“We just wouldn’t go away,” offered Pats head coach Curtis Hunt, whose team won its fourth straight on home ice. “I thought we just kept working. Slowly we started to carry some momentum. They have a very good hockey team but we just wouldn’t go away.”

The Blades led 3-1 after the first period and it looked like the top defensive team in the WHL might make it stand up.

Enter an unlikely hero in Gardiner, who scored goals 1:13 apart late in the final frame to help the Pats salvage at least a point.

“To sit on the bench and watch that happen . . . that’s unbelievable,” said Eberle. “That’s the kind of game that can turn your team around. It just goes to show what we can do.”

After a scoreless overtime session, Eberle beat goalie Adam Morrison with the first attempt of the shootout and Pats netminder Damien Ketlo made sure it was the only one his team would need.

Hunt also sent Gardiner out in the shootout in hopes that he would supply a fairytale ending. He failed to get a shot away but it didn’t take any of the lustre out of the victory.

“This is my fairytale right now,” he said with a smile. “It’s feels great because those guys are really good, they’re in first place. We’re right now sitting at the bottom. To beat them like that, down 3-1 in the third, it’s really special.”

The Pats found themselves in an early hole when Matt Strueby was tossed just 31 seconds into the game for a boarding major on Sam Klassen. The situation went from bad to worse for the home team as Saskatoon capitalized 31 ticks later with a power-play goal from Gaelan Patterson.

“Maybe that’s a good summary of how the game was,” noted Hunt. “I don’t know if I agree with (the call) but it doesn’t matter. We can’t control that. We had to keep going.”

Killian Hutt tied it up briefly but the Blades responded with goals from Burke Gallimore and Patterson (short-handed), both off turnovers, to take a 3-1 lead into the first intermission despite being outshot 13-10.

Regina continued to apply most of the pressure in the second frame but Morrison stood tall, stopping all 12 shots he faced.

The Pats finally solved him with 5:29 remaining when Gardiner cleaned up a rebound from Brandon Davidson. Just 1:13 later he pounced on a loose puck in front of the net and scooped it past Morrison to tie it up.

Regina outshot the Blades 37-30.

“I’m not disappointed with our effort here tonight; it was a good hockey game,” said Blades head coach Lorne Molleken. “The last six minutes of the hockey game are the disappointing part because I thought we had the situation well under control. We panicked a little bit and they took advantage. Give Regina credit, they stuck with it and played extremely hard. They deserved to work their way back in. In the second period if it wasn’t for Morrison the score could have been evened up at that point in time.”

© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post

REGINA – The Regina Pats didn’t exactly tame the highest-scoring team in the WHL on Wednesday, but they did deliver a pretty effective kill shot.

Regina broke open a back-and-forth game with three unanswered goals in the third period, skating away with a 7-4 win over the Medicine Hat Tigers before 3.626 fans at the Brandt Centre.

“I said before the game … ‘This could be a wild one,’ ” said Pats head coach Curtis Hunt, referring to the firepower on both sides. “We’ve put up numbers (this season). They have. They lead our league in scoring. But we found a way.”

Although the Tigers never led on Wednesday, they did erase an early two-goal deficit and came back from two subsequent one-goal advantages.

Matt Strueby got it all started by staking the home team to a 2-0 lead with power-play goals just 1:11 apart. Both came from his office at the top of the crease, giving him 10 goals in just 15 games. It was his first game back after missing three with a concussion.

“I didn’t expect it to happen that fast,” he said with a smile. “It was good to get those two goals out of the way. Like the guys said, ‘The garbage man is back.’ “

Regina’s advantage was short-lived as Taylor Gal and Wacey Hamilton scored 2:20 apart to tie it up heading into the first intermission. The Pats went up 3-2 early in the second period courtesy of defenceman Cody Carlson, who scored his first goal as a Pat in his first game against his former team. Linden Vey tied it up on a two-man advantage but the Pats regained the lead just nine seconds later on a short-handed marker by Brett Leffler, whose long wrist shot fooled goaltender Tyler Bunz.

The back-and-forth action continued with Vey tying it up just 27 seconds into the third period but Jordan Eberle set up Leffler for his second of the night, then added an insurance marker of his own. Garrett Mitchell rounded out the scoring with his first goal of the season.

“We wanted to bury them,” said Leffler. “We kept our foot on the head of the snake and we got the job done. The last two periods I thought we really took charge. Us older guys stepped up. We were challenged (by Hunt) in the first period and I think we did a good job. Unfortunately that can’t happen in the first period from us older guys. We have to be ready to play from the start. But we didn’t quit and we got he W.”

A big assist in the victory went to Pats goaltender Damien Ketlo, who made a couple of game-saving stops in the second period, including a clear-cut breakaway effort by Matt MacKay. Just prior to that, Ketlo kicked out a point-blank shot by Joey Frazer but the rebound went right to Kale Kessy, who was staring at an open net, only to have Ketlo take it away with a lunging glove save that nearly brought the house down.

“I don’t know how he got it but that was just tremendous,” said Hunt. “It gave us a chance.”

So did Eberle, who wasn’t noticeable early in the game but came up big when it mattered. He finished with a goal and two assists despite battling the flu.

“That’s seems to be the way he always does it,” said Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins, who’s slated to coach Eberle on Team Canada at this year’s world juniors in Saskatoon and Regina. “He’s always there when they need him. I think he’s a big-game player and that’s the way he plays.”

EXTRAS: Bunz allowed five goals on 21 shots before getting the hook early in the third. Deven Dubyk stopped seven of nine the rest of the way … Regina went 3-for-5 on the power play while Medicine Hat finished 1-for-5 … Pats D Brandon Davidson (knee) returned after missing three games … Regina’s scratches were LW Graham Hood and D Myles Bell (flu), along with D Travis Sparrow (healthy) … The Pats’ next game is Friday at the Brandt Centre against the Saskatoon Blades.

© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post

Regina – In anticipation of the arrival of sixty thousand more measures of vaccine next wednesday, the province has expanded its H1N1 pandemic immunization program to incorporate additional at-risk groups.

‘We hope to get it out to the regions ( next ) thursday or friday and the regions are currently taking a look at what clinics they may be able to run over the weekend,” Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Moira McKinnon, told reporters on Thu..

McKinnon asserted she hoped that by late next week or early the following week, the vaccination could be rollout to all folk who are immuno-compromised. ‘From the information, internationally and in Canada, the people most at risk are people who have immuno-suppression – they may be on high-dose steroids, receiving chemo or have had an organ transplant. So people of every age in that select group will be offered the vaccine,” she announced, adding specialty hospitals could be set up at infirmaries, cancer hospitals and renal dialysis centres to deliver the vaccine to those immuno-compromised people.

To date, 194,600 doses of H1N1 vaccine have been received. When the additional sixty thousand doses are received and sent to the regions, there’ll be enough to immunize twenty-eight percent of Saskatchewan’s population. While the vaccine is being doled out to the at-risk population sequentially as it becomes available, McKinnon observed it will not likely be available to the general, otherwise healthy population, till early December.

‘The uptake ( for the vaccination ) is superb and the demand is terribly high ; we estimate at least 75 % of the Saskatchewan population will be vaccinated,” she claimed, adding the success of the program is conditional upon the availability of the vaccine.

I read this on one of my favorite blogs today and thought I would share it with everyone:

“I’d love to share something with you that I experienced recently. I was taking a walk with someone and noticed 3 shops, empty, with the most beautiful architectural details. But they looked lonely and unloved though they’re in a lovely neighborhood. As I looked at them, I told my companion that I would love to see these empty spaces become something special — an art gallery, cafe, cupcake shop, something creative and inspirational. My companion commented that there was much work to be done on the interior, it needed a good paint job, and that parking in the area was quite bad. But we’re in the city, I thought, who cares about parking. But I respectfully listened to my companions concerns.

Upon returning home that evening, I thought about the concerns and issues shared that evening. And I thought some more. Then I realized that if only we put our time and efforts more into defending WHY WE CAN do something versus WHY WE CANNOT, the world would be such a better place. So many more magical things could be created, replenished, made to shine. So I guess I will part with this message today. When you find yourself listing reasons as to why you cannot do something, switch the button and start defending it with the same amount of passion – start finding ways in which you CAN do it. That is the difference between living your dreams yourself or constantly watching others live your dreams.”

I think this is an important mindset for everyday life, but I have been thinking a lot about Regina’s urban and community development in this way lately. As citizens, we often put up mental roadblocks about why things will never change, or why they won’t get better in terms of design, vibrancy, culture, etc. in Regina. Perhaps instead of placating ourselves with the “I love Regina” mantra, we should start thinking about what is possible in this city that we love and find ways that WE CAN make it happen.

On a related note, here is a survey that Regina’s city planners would like fellow citizens to fill out.

http://tiny.cc/Powerof10Regina

This week, city planners will be attending a “Placemaking Academy” hosted by the New York based Projects for Public Spaces (http://www.pps.org/) and could use some input!

Cheers!

REGINA – School divisions have started to send consent forms home to fogeys of school-age kids in kindergarten to Grade 6, who are the following designated group of H1N1 vaccine recipients.

The Regina Qu’Appelle Health region ( RQHR ) and the Sun Country Health Region are anticipated to begin the college H1N1 influenza immunization hospitals on Mon.. Times and locations of the clinics will be posted on the health regions’ web sites or provided through the individual faculties.
The RQHR is also offering a special epidemic H1N1 immunization hospital at the site of the previous Robert Usher Collegiate for youngsters ages 5 years up to and including Grade 6 with underlying medical issues like chronic lung or coronary disease, asthma, diabetes, cancer, lowered immunity, kidney disease, severe anemia or conditions treted for lengthy periods with acetylsalicylic acid ( ASA ).
‘Immunization is one of the best ways to scale back the impact of the disease,” related Dr. Shauna Hudson, medical health officer for Sun Country.

‘However, there are no unfavourable effects if somebody with previous lab-confirmed H1N1 infection receives the vaccine. The kid’s doctor may endorse that an immunocompromised kid with lab-confirmed H1N1 receive the vaccine,” she revealed.

however [*COMMA] she added, if a child is experiencing influenza-like-illness ( cough, sore throat, fever ), at the time of the local hospital for H1N1 immunization, they should not attend that clinic till they’re feeling well and they have stopped coughing.

While the vaccines are being rolled out, health officers continue to urge residents to use good hand hygiene and cough etiquette and to stay at home if sick with flu-like sickness until they have recovered.

Regina is the capital of Saskatchewan and is known as the Queen town since it was named after Queen Victoria. The town is located in the southern part of the province and is surrounded by prairies. Visitors from all over can enjoy top class dining, shopping and accommodations when they stay in Regina. There are so many things to do and see in this colourful city!

Some of the town’s main features include the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Centennial Museum, one of the top visitor attractions in Canada, and the Saskatchewan Science Centre, an exciting and informative complex that features the 5-story Kramer IMAX Theatre. Other attractions include the Saskatchewan Provincial Legislative Building, the largest legislative building in Canada, the MacKenzie Art gallery, and the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. The Wascana Centre is located in the center of the city. This urban park is one of the largest in North America. In Wascana Park, you may find the marina, walking paths, bird watching venues, tennis courts, picnic and BBQ sites, and an excellent vista of the Saskatchewan Legislature.

Kitty wat?

So Regina has made herself more at home, shat outside of the box once more, and found some comfy places/uncomfy places.

COMFY CHAIR SLEEP

COMFY WINDOW SILL

UNCOMFY TIE

COMFY LAP

APPARENTLY COMFY BASKET

Me? I’m doing swell. This no medication thing is freeing and feels very right. I’m more delighted by things that used to delight me, and thus far I haven’t had any breakdowns! Hurrah!

I guess I'm alright. Sassy at the very least.

Additionally, I made a laptop case out of fused plastic. It looks awful, but it’s fully functional/pays homage to my HyVee love. It took around two hours because fusing plastic is an exhausting ordeal involving the ironing and folding of plastic bags and 60 seconds of ironing per plastic bag. This is a first attempt and therefore not very professional, but all things considered it’s acceptable.

Mediocre

Surprises inside

I think it’s time to come clean on something I’ve been thinking about for a while.  It’s been at the back of my mind for about a month, but I haven’t been able to go on out and say it, so here’s what I usually do instead of posting on this blog to avoid the obvious: I obsess about insidethecbc.com. I read my home newspaper.  I peruse all the party photos and nights out with the girls I’m missing.  I have conversations back home at ungodly hours when my eyes are droopy and I know I should be asleep. It’s been building up.  It’s pretty obvious what’s going on and it’s almost clinical.  I’m bloody homesick, and I’m okay with that…or so I’ve decided.  

I originally planned to stay longer…indefinitely, even.  It was never about money or comfort. I have enough opportunities to keep me here and healthy for quite a while.  Even a possible permanent position. So there I was: Free to do whatever I decided to do.   I figured I’d pop home for Christmas – to tie up loose ends – and then head back to the cold and smog of the UB winter.  

Then it got chilly and I remembered when I was a little kid plodding through three feet of snow on a Saturday morning to deliver this shitty little newspaper I used to make with my sister, dad and neighbours.  I’d also remember the rush I got in a scrum when I knew I had THE question.  Or bursting to the Batcave at CBC Newsworld (or is it News Network?) to chase that damned Peter McKay down at Pearson Airport for a quote.  Or when the President of the university was trying to avoid the inevitable questions and I cornered him. Frick, I love that stuff. I loved how the most amazing things would happen at any time and you’d be challenged everyday.  If I stay, I’ll be comfortable, but I don’t care about that.  I don’t like being too comfortable.

On the other hand, I miss home. So here’s the deal: I’m going home for a while to Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada where I can continue shamelessly making fun of our football team, dance like an epileptic at local shows, and enjoy some time with the fam and good friends. Then, it’s off again.  Not sure where, but I plan on being gone before the end of next summer.  

So…yeah!  That’s that!  Adjusted a few things and bam!  I’m home December 18 after two days in Beijing.  Just like that.  

In other news, I’m getting a tattoo.  My mom has referenced the following picture as a reminder of how “stupid I am”:

I agree…platform sandals are disgusting.

Anyway, I’m going to try and reenact the “Mom! Look! I got a bellybutton ring to match my tattoo!” fiasco of teenhood for giggles.  She can’t choke me in Ulaanbaatar and hopefully me coming home mid-winter will render her hands too arthritic to wring my neck.  

I’ll talk more about the tattoo later.  

In other news, I had a Halloween Party.  Went as Alex from A Clockwork Orange, and it went off without a hitch!  

-Rove Reporter

Sears recently closed down 2 call centers, one in Regina and one in Belleville and opted to hire call takers in the Philippines, leaving about 5 hundred people out of work.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has explained the necessity of the Harmonized Sales Tax ( HST ) is to level the field with businesses. It appears that somehow they’re off balance in Ontario and by taxing its citizens to death, somehow it will save the huge corporations.

My question is : Will bringing this HST into effect bring back these lost jobs in Regina and Belleville?Will this remarkable tax grab stop Canadian companies from doing business in India and the Philippines while kicking conscientious Canadians to the curb and causing them out of work? Who has truly caused this ’so called’ drawback to business? I’m a born in Canada Canadian and I’m insane as hell.

Other interesting Articles Today :
randurls[41
].

I started a photo group on Flickr today for Chi Sigma Alpha and Regina social club pictures. 

Check it out, the URL is easy to remember:  http://www.flickr.com/groups/xearegina/

If you have photos, please post them!

Da molto che non metto qualcosa del grande poeta della Rivoluzione.

Oggi mi sembra un giorno adatto per Il Flauto di Vertebre, un poema straziante, dedicato ad un amore finito, disperato, maledetto.

E’ un lungo travaglio questo poema, ma vale la pena.

Lo scritto d’amore più bello.

PROLOGO

A voi tutte che siete piaciute o piacete,

che conservate icone nell’antro dell’anima,

come coppa di vino in un brindisi,

levo il cranio ricolmo di canti.

Sempre più spesso mi chiedo

se non sia meglio mettere un punto

d’un proiettile sulla mia sorte.

Oggi darò

in ogni caso,

un concerto d’addio.

Memoria!

Raduna nella sala del cervello

le schiere inesauribili delle amate.

Da un occhio all’altro effondi il sorriso.

D’antiche nozze travesti la notte.

Di corpo in corpo effondete la gioia.

Che nessuno dimentichi una simile notte.

Oggi io suonerò il flauto

sulla mia colonna vertebrale.

1.

Miglia di strade i miei passi calpestano.

Dove andrò a nascondere il mio inferno?

Da quale Hoffmann celeste

sei stata concepita, maledetta?

Sono anguste le strade per una tempesta di gioia.

Gente adorna la festa senza posa attingeva.

Penso.

I pensieri, grumi di sangue,

infermi e rappresi strisciano via dal cranio.

Io,

taumaturgo di ogni tripudio,

non ho con chi andare alla festa.

Cadrò di schianto, supino,

sfracellandomi il cranio sulle pietre del Nevski!

Ho bestemmiato.

Ho urlato che Dio non esiste,

e lui ha tratto dal fondo dell’inferno

una donna che farebbe tremare una montagna,

e mi ha comandato:

amala!

Dio è soddisfatto.

Nell’erta sotto il cielo

un uomo tormentato s’è inselvatichito e spento.

Dio si strapiccia le mani.

Dio pensa:

aspetta, Vladimir!

L’ha escogitato lui, lui,

per non farmi scoprire il tuo mistero,

di darti un marito vero

e di porre sul pianoforte note umane.

Se furtivo m’accostassi alla soglia della tua alcova,

per far la croce sulla nostra coperta,

lo so,

si sentirebbe puzzo di lana bruciata

e fumo solfureo si leverebbe dalla carne del diavolo.

Ma invece fino all’alba

l’orrore che tu fossi condotta ad amare

m’ha sconvolto,

e le mie grida

ho sfaccettato in versi,

gioielliere già in preda alla follia.

Giocare a carte!

Sciacquare

nel vino la rauca gola del cuore!

Non ho bisogno di te!

Non voglio!

Non importa,

lo so

che creperò fra breve.

Se è vero che esisti,

o Dio

o mio Dio,

se hai intessuto il tappeto di stelle,

se questo tormento,

moltiplicato ogni giorno,

è, Signore, una prova mandata giù da te,

indossa la toga del giudice.

Aspetta la mia visita.

Sono puntuale,

non tarderò di un giorno.

Ascolta, altissimo inquisitore!

Serrerò la bocca.

Non udranno un grido

dalle labbra morse.

Legami alle comete, come alle code dei cavalli,

trascinami,

squarciandomi sulle punte delle stelle.

Oppure,

quando l’anima mia sloggerà

per venire al tuo tribunale,

accigliandoti ottusamente,

come una forca

distendi la Via Lattea,

e subito impiccami come un criminale.

Fa’ quello che ti pare.

Squartami, se vuoi.

Io stesso, giusto, ti laverò le mani.

Però,

ascolta!

Portati via la maledetta,

che m’hai comandato d’amare!

Miglia di strade i miei passi calpestano.

Dove andrò a nascondere il mio inferno?

Da quela Hoffmann celeste

sei stata concepita, maledetta?

2.

Il cielo,

fumoso, immemore d’azzurro

e le nubi a brandelli come profughi

rischiarerò nell’alba del mio ultimo amore,

vivido come l’incarnato di un tisico.

La mia gioia ricoprirà il ruggito

dell’ammasso, dimentico

del tepore domestico.

Uomini,

ascoltate!

Uscite dalle trincee.

Combatterete dopo.

Anche se dura la battaglia,

ubrica di sangue e vacillante come Bacco,

le parole d’amore non sono vane.

Cari tedeschi!

Io so

che avete sul labbro

la Margherita di Goethe.

Muore il francese

sulla baionetta sorridendo,

cone un sorriso si schianta l’aviatore ferito,

se ricorda

il bacio della tua bocca,

Traviata.

Ma a me che importa

della rosea polpa,

che i secoli masticheranno?

Oggi stendetevi ad altri piedi!

canto te,

imbellettata,

fulva.

Forse di questi giorni,

orrendi come aguzze baionette,

quando i secoli avranno canuta la barba,

resteremo soltanto

tu

ed io,

che t’inseguirò di città in città.

Sarai mandata di là dal mare,

ti celerai nel covo della notte:

ti bacerò attraverso la nebbia di Londra

con le labbra di fuoco dei lampioni.

In lente carovane percorrerai i torrdi deserti,

dove stanno leoni in agguato:

per te

sotto la polvere, strappata dal vento,

sarà un Sahara la mia guancia ardente.

Con un sorriso sulle labbra guardami,

vedrai

che torero che io sono!

E d’improvviso

getterò sul tuo palco la mia gelosia

come l’occhio morente del toro.

Se portando il tuo passo distratto sul ponte,

penserai

che si sta bene laggiù,

sarò io

sotto il ponte la corrente della Senna,

e ti chiamerò,

digrignando i putridi denti.

Con un altro incendierai nel fuoco dei cavalli

Strelka o Sokolniki.

Io starò in alto a farti soffrire

come un’ignuda luna in attesa.

Sono forte,

avranno bisogno di me

e mi ordineranno:

muori in battaglia!

Il tuo nome

sarà l’ultimo

rappreso sul mio labbro lacerato dal proiettile.

Finirò sul trono?

o a Sant’Elena?

Dominati i flutti tempestosi della vita,

sarò  ugualmente candidato

al regno dell’universo

e al lavoro forzato.

Se è mio destino d’essere re,

il tuo viso

ordinerò di coniare al mio popolo

nell’oro vivo dell mie monete!

O laggiù,

dove si scolora il mondo nella tundra,

dove traffica il fiume col vento del nord,

sul ferro graffierò il tuo nome, Lilia,

e le catene bacerò nel buio della galera.

Ascoltate, immemori dell’azzurro cielo,

irsuti,

come bestie feroci.

Al mondo, forse,

questo ultimo amore

è un’alba vivida come l’incarnato di un tisico.

3.

Scorderò l’anno, la data, il giorno.

Mi chiuderò solo con un foglio di carta.

Avverati, magia sovrumana,

delle parole illuminate di pianto!

Oggi, appena entrato nella tua casa,

mi sono sentito

a disagio.

Tu celavi qualcosa nell’abito di seta

e s’effondeva nell’aria un profumo d’incenso.

Sei felice?

Hai risposto un freddo:

“Molto.”

L’inquietudine ha rotto l’argine della ragione.

Accumulo disperazione, nel delirio della febbre.

Ascolta,

tannto non ci riesci

a celare il cadavere.

Scagliami in viso la parola terribile.

Ogni tuo muscolo urla

lo stesso

come in un megafono:

è morto, è morto, è morto.

No,

rispondi.

Non mentire!

(Come farò a tornare indietro così?)

Come due tombe

ti si scavano gli occhi nel viso.

Le due fosse si inabissano.

Non se ne vede il fondo.

Mi sembra

di crollare sul palco dei giorni.

Come una fune, ho teso l’anima sul precipizio

e vi ho fatto  l’equilibrista, giocoliere di parole.

Lo so,

ormai l’ha consunto l’amore.

Da tanti segni indovino la noia.

Fammi tornare giovane nell’anima.

La gioia del corpo fa’ di nuovo conoscere al cuore.

Lo so,

per una donna sempre si paga.

Non fa niente,

se intanto,

non ti vestirò conl’elegante abito di Parigi

ma soltanto col fumo della sigaretta.

Il mio amore,

come un apostolo d’età remote,

diffonderò per mille e mille strade.

Da secoli è pronta per te una corona,

ove sono incastonate le mie parole:

arcobaleno di spasimi.

Come fecero vincere Pirro

gli elefanti con passi di due quintali,

così io ho sconvolto il tuo cervello col passo del genio.

Invano.

Non potrò piegarti.

Gioisci,

gioisci

d’avermi finito!

Ora è tale l’angoscia che desidero

soltanto fuggire al canale

e il capo cacciare nell’acqua digrignante.

Mi hai offerto le labbra.

Con quanta indifferenza.

Le ho sfiorate e m’hanno ghiacciato.

M’è parso di baciare in penitenza

un monastero intagliato nella fredda pietra.

Hanno sbattuto

la porta.

É entrato lui,

rorido della gaiezza delle strade.

Io

come un gemito mi sono spezzato in due.

Gli ho gridato:

“Va bene!

Me ne andrò!

Va bene!

Rimarrà tua.

Ricoprila di stracci,

le sete appesantiscono le sue timide ali.

Bada che non s’involi.

Appendile al collo

come una pietra collane di perle!”

Oh, questa

che notte!

Ho spremuto a non finire la mia disperazione.

Al mio pianto e al mio riso

il muso della stanza s’è torto in una smorfia d’orrore.

E come una visione sorse a te il tuo sembiante,

sul suo tappeto effondevi l’aurora dei tuoi occhi,

quasi un sogno evocasse un nuovo Bialik

un’abbagliantte regina ebraica di Sion.

Nel tormento ho piegato i ginocchi

dinanzi a colei che non è più mia.

A mio paragone

re Alberto,

arresosi con tutte le sue fortezze,

è un festeggiato ricolmo di regali.

Indoratevi al sole, fiori ed erbe!

Dilagate in primavera, vita di tutti gli elementi!

Io un solo veleno desidero:

bere e bere sempre versi.

Tu che hai saccheggiato il mio cuore,

privandolo di tutto,

e nel delirio m’hai lacerato l’anima,

accogli, cara, il mio dono,

forse più nulla io potrò inventare.

Ornate a festa la data di oggi.

Avverati,

magia simile alla passione di Cristo.

Vedete,

sulla carta sono trafitto

con i chiodi delle parole.

(1915)

…non si può che amare la terra con cui hai condiviso il freddo,

quello più intimo, il ghiaccio perenne che mi porto dentro…