— Versione italiana più sotto —
Blogging is dead. At least for me. I really can’t pretend I’m going to update my blog anytime soon because I’m not feeling anymore like putting too much effort in long posts. Twitter and facebook let me share my life in a more immediate and faster way: I do not need to repackage all my experience into a blog post for the sake of it.
This basically means that if you want to follow me, you have at least to read my twitter profile (it’s like a blog, but the entries are shorter and more frequent and you do not have to join the service to read it) or subscribe to the corresponding RSS feed. Some updates will be automatically posted on facebook too. However, you will have the best experience by joining twitter and following my updates (maybe with an application like Tweetie). After all, honestly, RSS is dead too.
This is not a statement about WordPress per se: I love WordPress and I still believe that microblogging is not killing authentic blogging. I just do not see any future for a personal blog like mine, with few readers and barely interaction: I can trigger more conversation on facebook or twitter…

— English version on top —
Ho deciso di non bloggare più. Non penso che abbia più senso fingere di poter riprendere a scrivere su questo blog quando è evidente che non ne ho nè il tempo nè la pazienza. Sia twitter che facebook mi permettono di rendervi partecipi della mia vita in modo più immediato e veloce: non c’è bisogno che mi metta ad ordinare e collezionare i momenti decisivi solo per proporli sotto un’altra veste.
Questo significa che se volete rimanere informati dovete perlomeno leggere il mio profilo su twitter (è come un blog, ma i post sono più corti ed immediati e non dovete iscrivervi per consultarlo) o abbonarvi al feed RSS corrispondente. Gli aggiornamenti più importanti saranno disponibili anche su facebook. Tuttavia, vi consiglio di iscrivervi a twitter e seguirmi con qualche tool come Tweetie, dopotutto, onestamente, anche l’RSS è morto.
Non intendo dire che i blog sono morti tout court. E personalmente continuo ad amare WordPress. Solo che il mio blog è sempre stato molto amatoriale, pochi lo leggono e ancora di meno scrivono dei commenti. Insomma, tutto questo non ha più senso per me se comunque genero più discussioni su facebook e twitter…

Chinese wedding closet

I am blogging again almost one month after my last post and I am surprisingly a new man

The most important news has been shared weeks ago on Facebook: I’m officially engaged with Christian. I am not sure whether the terms engagement and wedding are appropriate for the civil union established here in Germany, but I think you know what I’m talking about.

Some other updates include me joining the SPD party about which I will blog later in connection with the upcoming European elections.

Works in our flat are proceeding and soon we will able to enter and personally check the status. In the meantime I have an almost uncontrollable desire to buy new furniture. A couple of weeks ago we ordered a Chinese wedding cabinet that apparently has been used also to shoot the season finale of Private Practice As Italians say, style is not like water…

Battle for the sun

2009 is one of the best music year I’ve ever heard! I really don’t remember a more intense year.
After the first disappointment for U2 latest record, No Line on the Horizon, I started loving it and now I am looking forward to July 18 when I will attend their concert in Berlin.

A couple of weeks ago I also had the luck to see Snow Patrol and sense again that special feeling that comes from listening to live music. By the way, their last work, A Hundred Million Suns, recorded in Berlin, is a masterpiece.

On the other side, I gave up on Tori Amos and I didn’t even listen to her last album, the name of which I’ve completely forgotten I feel sorry for her, but she simply can’t compete with her past works anymore. Please, Tori, do a favor to yourself and retire.

Apparently Muse are also recording their newest album and touring Europe this fall and surprisingly Skunk Anansie are back with a best of… Better than nothing: I’ve always wanted to see them live, especially after I touched Skin’s boobs a couple of years ago. Don’t ask

But the best has still to come… Placebo are releasing Battle for the Sun with the new line-up (i.e. new drummer). At first I was afraid, I was petrified, when I’ve been told Steve Hewitt was leaving the band. I always appreciated him, especially live. I thought it was the end of Placebo… and somehow I wasn’t wrong.
Last weekend I’ve been then given the chance, as a fan, to listen to the album before the official release (June 5th or 8th in different countries) and, wow, I couldn’t believe my hears. Wow, wow and double wow. To be very concise: great music, great lyrics and great performance. I think Brian Molko perfectly describes his band new masterpiece:

We’ve made a record about choosing life, about choosing to live, about stepping out of the darkness and into the light. Not necessarily turning your back on the darkness because it’s there, it’s essential; it’s a part of who you are, but more about the choice of standing in the sunlight instead.

And this is me. Exactly how I feel now.

Fernsehturm

While I am mainly sharing my life events on my @haikus twitter profile, which I suggest you to follow, I am still taking care of my beloved blog from time to time…
But the question is: why am I using twitter? I first used it almost 3 years ago to be able to quickly blog from my mobile phone while I was in holiday in Norway. Then a hiatus until more recent days when I discovered how to use it at its best.
Twitter is a way to stay in touch with my contacts: either via direct or public messages, it’s like the next generation SMS, for free I might use it more often than the e-mail.
Twitter is a news reader: I can follow Der Spiegel in realtime as well as many other online newspapers: but sometimes an eye on twitter trends provides an even faster way to know what’s happening in the world. This is how I’ve got the news of the earthquake in Italy, for instance.
Twitter is a way to get answers: next time I need a new lens for my camera I can ask the twitter community for suggestions.
Twitter is fun: I’m following @greggrunberg, Heroes mind reader, and I am enjoying it a lot. Especially when he posts pictures like this (apparently, alas, I’m not able to post pictures from twitpic, so here the link)

A couple of days ago I accidentally listened to this song by Madonna from her second best album, Ray of Light, her best being Confession on a Dance Floor.
The corresponding video is what, more than anything else, made my interest for Japan and Japanese culture flourish.

Speaking of which, I am probably going to the さくらまつり, the cherry blossom festival that will be celebrated next Sunday in Marzahn recreational park. I attended this kind of festival for the first time 3 years ago when I was visiting New York (more precisely Brooklyn botanical garden) and hopefully I will enjoy it in Berlin as well.
Another Japanese product I really love are anime, although I am currently watching only キャシャーン Sins and actually really close to the final episode. ilGrisa should read between the lines and understand that I need some suggestions for new anime (switching to ドラマ is not an option ).

MUJI, my weakness

It’s almost Easter time. How do I know it? Well, the buses are almost empty in the morning: workers have already left the city and are enjoining a very long weekend (both tomorrow and Monday are bank holidays).
On the other hand, tourists are invading the German capital like a virus you can’t get rid of soon enough. Cough cough.

The weather is terrifically nice, even better than during the standard Berlin summer. Always sunny, nice breeze, even slightly warm in the night: this is probably going to be the best Easter ever. Hopefully we manage to have a barbecue party on Sunday evening in the Tiergarten…

Gays are to be found almost everywhere in the city this weekend: the Mr. Leather Germany has to be elected this year too. A must for the community
Bears are organizing the usual party too and even if we have been disappointed by the last ones, we are participating anyway. I still do not understand why it starts as early as 8pm… Come on, a party for adults, in Berlin, should not start earlier than 11pm! Whatever…

I think I didn’t mention it, but, yes, two weeks ago I officially signed the contract to buy our new flat. Wow, so exciting! In September we are going to move to Friedrichshain and leave West-Berlin for good

Alexanderplatz

Through iPod commercials I always discovered new music (Cansei de Ser Sexy and The Asteroids Galaxy Tour to mention a few), but this time it’s not the case: in fact, Franz Ferdinand are already on the list of my favorite bands. However I should admit that thanks to the iPod touch commercial I rediscovered No You Girls from their last album.
Speaking about music, I bought last week my ticket for the U2 gig in Berlin on July 18th… Yeah! Can’t wait to be there, once more time, at the Olympiastadion. I will be having a great time I know.

After all, U2 always loved Berlin, at least since their albums Achtung Baby and Zooropa. And they are not the only ones who love the city I live in. I love it too This is not a big news, I know. However, I must say, during my last visit in Stockholm I finally stopped to consider Berlin as a perfect city: Berlin has its limits and I could find more if I think about big metropolises like New York. Nevertheless, Berlin is a good trade-off: cosmopolitan, a lot of green, not overcrowded, big spaces, European, nice north-east location, almost anarchic, gay-friendly, enough selection of international food… This is why I would definitively vote for Berlin in the following survey by AskMen.com: Top 29 Cities for Men to Live In.

Sunset

It’s not secret I love Iceland, without having been there yet. If Christian agrees we might fly there next year, for our honeymoon
Anyway, one of the best Icelandic products is music: Björk and Gus Gus to mention some. But my favorite Icelandic band is definitively Sigur Rós.

Hoppípolla is probably their most famous song and can be listened at the end of the trailer for Slumdog Millionaire. I’m not sure whether it’s part of the soundtrack as well since the movie has been released here in Germany just yesterday and I didn’t watch it yet.
Because of my friendship with Danny Boyle I might give this movie a try… No joking, I met him two years ago when he released Sunshine and said a stupid thing like

Everybody thinks that physicists cannot be handsome

I should let him know that

I’m a physicist. I have a working knowledge of the entire universe and everything it contains.

(thanks to The Big Bang Theory producers for letting people know this astronomical truth).

Wheel

This is another song from No Line on the Horizon that I truly love. It’s great. It’s rock. And it feels new, fresh, finally catching the spirit of the new millennium (not really a U2 strength I would say).
And suddenly I found myself again. A big U2 fan, looking forward to the new tour, which will feature a 360° stage for more audience, for more participation… No other band can let you feel, that you too, you are part of it.

Other highlights of the week include:

• Christian found a job and now he is working very hard for Bagel Company
• We went to Hackescher Markt to watch Milk, which we both liked, although the beginning was quite tedious
• At work I’m as busy as never before, but I enjoy it a lot
• I finally watched the latest Heroes episodes: I didn’t dislike them, but still, the overall rating for this series is dropping lately
• Dollhouse and Being Human are two series I started watching: the former is somehow intriguing, the latter, I don’t know, yet, I’m trying to finish watching the pilot first
• Ryanair is planning to let passengers pay for the on board toilet… Told ya!

It’s no secret purple is my favorite color and it seems to be all the rage in fashion right now, but, much like fashion, design seems to be following the purple trend as well. I am probably going to paint some walls in a light purple or lilac in the new flat, but I am wondering whether it is going to look too… feminine…

Thunder wishes it could be the snow
Wishes it could be as loved as she can be
These gifts are here for her, for you, for me

Currently all my resources are being used for this project, for many reasons:

• Since the budget is limited I need to make the right choice for almost all details: I can’t afford a second chance
• The flat it’s under renovation and I have to wait until this summer to use it and in the meantime I want to enjoy the furniture planning as much as possible
• There are anyway many details that have to be fixed before I can really say I bought a flat in Berlin

Arbeit macht frei by Lugri

Last Friday, however, I was too tired to think again at the perfect kitchen (probably modeled on Bree’s ) and Christian and I spontaneously decided to go to the cinema and watch The Reader. I loved it! But it was very complex and I am planning of reading the novel it was inspired by.
Basically it’s about a almost pedophile relationship in West Germany between a woman and a young boy who reads novel for her. Years later he attends, as part of his law education, a trial in which the woman is involved for serving as guard at Auschwitz. He realizes then that she has a secret she considers worse than her Nazi past: she is illiterate.
I can only suggest it. But, yes, the movie is not enough: one should really spend time analyzing it… Or, as I decided and already mentioned, one should read the book instead.

Art nouveau

I’m completely surprised. When I first listened to Get on Your Boots, U2 newest single, a couple of weeks ago, I was disgusted; then I stared loving its sexy sound; now I guess I found U2 best song ever: Magnificent.

Only love, only love can leave such a mark
And only love, only love can leave such a scar

The whole new album, No Line on the Horizon, is still a question mark for me: it sounds great, but I’m probably not into Bono’s voice anymore and I’m scared that during the live performance could be even worse. After all, he’s not 25 anymore, and he’s not Mick Jagger
Moreover, my music taste evolved during last year: while many fans wish U2 to repeat a second Achtung Baby, I’m hoping they are going beyond Zooropa and Pop.

I was not surprised when I have been told that Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends by Coldplay won the 2009 Best Rock Album Grammy Award. I just love this record and I do believe it has been the best one in 2008.

But I’m not going to talk about music, I just want you to know that I’m going to be off for a while because I’m going to visit my family in Italy and support them after my grandma’s death.
I still can’t realize it and I guess I will be very emotional only when I will meet my mother tomorrow… I feel so sorry for her loss: hopefully she is going to be fine soon. Actually she sounds quite ok at the phone, which lets me hope for the best. Maybe it’s true that women can be more rational in these cases.
It is weird thinking that last time I visited my grandma was the last time. Did I properly say goodbye?

Rainbow flag

I was writing this post when I got so much work to do that I couldn’t complete it before leaving for a romantic weekend (Valentine’s day anyone?) in Stockholm. Maybe I was planning to talk about other topics, but I simply don’t remember. What’s left are the following words.

Talks to find a good mortgage proceed almost flawlessly but making the right choice is always tough. Each offer has pro’s and con’s and since it’ about a lot of money I’m really scared… But luckily my family is supporting me as well as bank consultants.
Everyone was simply comfortable with the idea that Christian and I were moving in together as a couple, that we are building our future together in a new home, that we might even register our partnership… Btw, Monday we even went to the town hall to get all the necessary information.
I’m looking forward to watch the movie Milk.

Karl-Marx-Allee by Lugri

IlGrisa has a new computer, obviously a mac, with which he will rule the world. Buahahah.
Anyway, he mentioned NANA in his last email and I started listening again to the soundtrack… I guess I said often enough on this blog how much I miss this anime and how much I think about it in different situations. This time it’s about my flat: I’m going to buy one in Friedrichshain and Christian is moving in with me.

After weeks of screenings we decided for this one on Richard-Sorge-Straße, a street named after the best Soviet spy in Japan before and during WWII… After 3 years of West-Berlin, I’m moving back to the former East-Berlin, close to Berlin second largest park after which the Bezirk is named. Karl-Marx-Allee and the Frankfurter Tor is a couple of blocks south.

I have a very stressful time ahead: find a good mortgage, take care of every bureaucratic detail, make sure the renovation works out… But it’s going to be exciting too! Can’t believe I’m doing this…
Right now the plan looks like we can move in as late as July because the 109 years old house is under renovation. On the other side we may design the flat the way we want.

I’m recently really loving the last singles by Franz Ferdinand and The Killers, Ulysses and Spaceman respectively, after which I already named previous posts. The video of the second is also particularly interesting

The storm maker says it ain’t so bad
The dream maker’s gonna make you mad
The spaceman says, “Everybody look down
It’s all in your mind”

Surprisingly also the new U2 single, Get On Your Boots, is starting to sound more pleasantly. Actually the bass part is great but I’m not convinced yet by the vocal one… Mmm… I’m still not sure whether I’m going to invest some money in it.