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Bitter, unexpected discoveries |
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Towards an all-in-one |
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With snow-covered cities all around Europe, the ongoing year started without waking the people up to the contents of a New Era. Meanwhile, the old church of S.Maria in Cosmedin, in Rome, hosted for the first time a Mass in Arabic. A nice, solemn mess. In Israel, the Ministry of Education made the study of Arabic (which has been just an option so far) compulsory for fifth-grade students. That's good news. In August 23-year-old Angel Alvarez, hit by 21 bullets, survived a shoot-out with the police in Bronx. In August 37-year-old Swedish driver, after being caught at 290km/h in a Swiss motorway, was given a fine amounting to 928,000 euros. Presumably the biggest ever. Nicolas Mahut and John Isner played at Wimbledon a tennis match taking 11 hours and 5 minutes. The longest of all time. Camille Lacourt swam in Budapest the 100-meter backstroke in 52"11, setting the European record. In August David Rudisha, in Berlin, broke Kipketer's 800m record with 1'41"09 and then outruns even himself in Rieti at 1'41"01. From this distance on, there are those who stop thinking the newly-set record is no match for them. Unprecedented, in France. In August, a Swiss night train from Spain calling at Lyon, France, headed in the wrong direction as it went on to Zurich for those bound for Milan and vice versa. The two branches had to be re-routed back after a few hours, in order to reach the planned destination. Jessica Watson, gifted yachtswoman in her teens, celebrated her 17th birthday by the completion of her solo voyage around the world that she had started in October 2009. Admittedly a hero's undertaking, requiring a lot of nerve and some cold blood. Spirit of enterprise, possessed by those young people having an adult outlook on life. A 14-year-old girl from the Netherlands is now making a new attempt. Natural disasters A huge piece of ice broke away from an ice shelf in Greenland and made a new island in the Nares strait. The 260 square-kilometer new-born island should be given an identity (name), as well as it's being done with hurricanes (shouldn't we do it with any newly-discovered piece of land?). The discovery, allegedly made by Andreas Muenchow, who was the first to announce it on August 5, brought also the strange copyright of a couple of details. Every source reported that the ice creature was four times the size of Manhattan (what about that of London?) and could provide water to all US public taps for 120 days (?). Amazement.
HAITI. An earthquake in January disfigured much of the urban landscape of Port-au-Prince, capital of a country having 8 million people in an area of about 27000 sq km and preserving (almost unique) the survival of a voodoo world. Long tormented by coups, the fragile nation often arguing over the UN missions is now being questioned over its future. CHILE. Hundreds of people have been reported killed, after an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 on February 27. CHINA. More than two thousand dead, in the province of Qinghai.
Eyjafjallajokull. It'll pack a hard punch, even in the name. Around mid-April, its eruption turned Western Europe into a no-fly zone for a few days. Wind is carrying ashes.
Still, we didn't sense it at all. What we instead noticed is our lack of self-regulation. Did we need a vulcan to take a break? ENVIRONMENT CATASTROPHE. After Obama's announcing new offshore drilling operation, the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon on April 20 spilled a huge quantity of oil over the Gulf of Mexico. Like converting water into combustible material. All attempts to stop the leak turned out to be almost ineffective until July. Far from religious pilgrimages turning deadly, but not so dissimilar in the results. The death toll reaches 21, after a stampede to go through a tunnel at the Love Parade in Duisburg, Germany. Young people, this time. And a well-founded suspicion on their attitude, in those crucial moments. made us think they would be going towards a dead-end future.
In early 2010 the word avatar is all the rage. It's being used, actually, by unwary people or by those who made a brief experience on Second Life. It is nothing but the useless parody of a seriuos concept.
In January, adapting to the most diverse versions, the word Miserable is still spreading up.
Soccer's biggest event, this time provided constantly with a score of small trumpets, didn't really please the audience and those who care about the beauty of the game. In South Africa, the body's tolerance for a sport increasingly stagnant in the midfield began to falter. The culmination of a progressive crisis since 2002 could be seen just in this world championship, questioning rather the court visibility than the referees' ability. Spain won the tournament for the first time, although their ability to score wasn't up to their sparkling game. England weren't awarded a valid point, this time. During the final, a restaurant and a sports club were torn apart by a blast in Kampala, Uganda. 74 dead. MERCILESS VIOLENCE. A faction of Shabaab islamists claimed an attack to a hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, killing about 30 people, including 6 members of Parliament and a few security guards. Some conversation with them would be just an idealistic dream.
Portugal is the sixth European country legalizing same-sex marriages. In Italy crowds of people, especially of young age, gather in the shopping centers. An increasing number of people are using the self-service check-out counters. Downtown, the contraction of demand in non-commercial streets penalizes the small businesses (often replaced by new ones, after their quick folding up). This makes us throw away every 24 hours huge quantities of consumer goods and solid food remained unsold. Outlets is what they've recently called them in Italy. After leaving the motorways, drivers find an open space including shops and live performances until late in the evening.
Caravaggio's ever-growing reputation is such as to attract in early 2010 the thousands of people queuing up every day in front of the Quirinal Palace. With the contribution of a long-lasting thread mark on Italy's paper currency, long engraved on our mind. FAQ. Why aren't you dealing with works of contemporary art? Because I believe this is going to be a dead-end matter. Structures, assemblage of paintings, geometrical or industrial design and all that stuff turned out to be a useless spin-off of the figurative arts. Monetti thinks that the representational art today can only be found in reality. Furthermore, he sees no interest in the action of sellers or auctioneers who influence a specialized market by setting very high prices for works provided with just a signature. |
The year's Memorial is a personal account of significant things (or changes) unfolding as time goes by. My eye aims at catching also what marks the period and can be meaningful to us. The year itself is conceived as a human being, and what happens marks it in a way that may be described. This was wrongly considered as the beginning of a new decade, by a lot of sources. Each of the ten divisions of a century, such as the 1930s, was credited with a name taking after the number itself. Like they used to do at the turn of the century, a period of ten years was thought to end with the number 9 instead of the number 0. Iran's enrichment of uranium is all the talk in 2010, although the authorities had said they would plan to use their program to produce only electricity. Their nuclear fuel work, however, seems to alarm a number of pacifists all over the world. It's been a showdown paving the way to agreements with those countries (like Brazil and Turkey) being in short supply of energy and technical know-how.
ITALY. In order to accelerate their system of justice Italy's parliamentary majority, urged again by Berlusconi's government, passed an unprecedented bill limiting the courts with an expiring date. As a matter of fact, abbreviated proceedings that will make pending lawsuits lapse. They might have simply set up intermediate deadlines, without putting one wiping out the whole trial. Meanwhile all attempts to have an exemption from jurisdiction (lodo Alfano), made once again by the outgoing authorities, seem to head nowhere. For months, like in the past years, economy has been in the public eye. For months, everybody released a statement on the public accounts on a daily basis. In an extreme attempt to reduce the country's dependence on foreign markets, Italy's government is planning the building of nuclear power stations. The public opinion seems to be against nuclear power.
Thousands of files covering periods of China's history since 1906 have been made available by the Beijing Municipal Archives. It was the fourth release of a series aiming at making the history of the People's Republic more known (admittedly, to those traditionally filled with a gloomy vision on those events). Difficult to catch the meaning of their intention of disclosing even the evil deeds observed under Mao Zedong's regime. According to some sources, North Korea allegedly held in detention (without trial) two US citizens for illegal access to the country (the first on Christmas eve, the second in late January). Aren't we used to dealing with this sort of case in a flash? Was this a piece of news?
The Elbphilharmonie, a mammoth vessel-shaped concert hall under construction in Hamburg, Germany, won't be completed before 2012. A recent need of improvements to the structure boosted costs up to 500 million euros. The Naples San Carlo, built in 1737 with a stage 34 metres deep, reopens in its newly renovated look and stages Mozart's La clemenza di Tito.
The bicentenary of Frédéric Chopin's birth is being honored by a great many performances all over the world. The Polish composer's works for piano in early 2010 seem to be the foremost thought in the performers' mind. The bicentenary of Schumann's birth is to be observed not so enthusiastically in Zwickau, his birthplace, and some other German sites. A few reviewers of the classical music magazines currently remind us also of the 150 years since Mahler's birth. The Darmstadt Staatstheater keeps bringing out Carl Orff's works, including the early ones repudiated by the composer itself after the known break by his Carmina Burana (giving him a new lease of life). His musical neo-primitivism (rhythmic sounds, repetitions, educational theories) never enthralled the intellectuals of that generation and the following ones.
Rachel Kolly D'Alba's recording of the six Sonatas for Solo Violin originally written by Eugène Ysaye in 1923 for the virtuosi of the 1920s (Warner) is among the most outstanding performances of the last months. Nelson Freire's version of Chopin Nocturnes, Decca, can be strongly recommended for his impeccable taste in creating the times, with pauses wonderfully alternating between his left and right hand. Alexander Melnikov's performance of the 24 Preludes and Fugues, composed by Shostakovic in a crucial phase of the 20th century, are of interest to those studying the works of the Russian composer. US mezzo-soprano devoted to Italian operas, is performing on a high level. She seems anyway to overdo when attracted by coloratura passages. In 2010 a successful, faithful approach to Bruckner seems to be not as easy as it was in the past.
Anyone looking for traditional melodies won't be disappointed with Tracey Thorn's Love and Its Opposite. Chemical Brothers on the wane, seemingly. The latest 'reunions' (Spandau, Cranberries, Morcheeba etc.) seem to work, although a sense of routine catches you after a while.  11 April, 2010 - N.2
Goldfrapp's single Rocket haunted more than others the waves of the early 2010. Starting something, though it could be fun. I started something, couldn't be wrong. Waka Waka, by Shakira, was the official anthem of the world championship in South Africa.
Arild Andersen in a new box set refreshes our memory on his quartet sessions as a leader in the 1970s. Those who listened to Jan Garbarek quartet with devotion won't miss this album. Those who love harmonic phrasing will love Remembrance, by Ketil Bjornstad, with saxophonist Tore Brunborg and drummer Jon Christensen. All ECM recordings. The reviewers themselves are often given a pre-release by the artists who've just a recorded an album on schedule three of four months later. Like a secret promo, making them comment on those new tracks in advance. Let this be a warning to you. The reader learns an album is to be released and is worth his while.
Karoline Leach published an outstanding, in-depth biography of Lewis Carroll. Nick Hornby, whose name had quotations only in the specialized literature, begins to stand out in an almost-indistinguishable crowd of middle-aged writers. The market has been overrun by the psycho-thriller, a genre largely exploited by screenwriters and directors. After the release of Caino, José Saramago (one of the most acclaimed Nobel prizes for literature) suddenly passed away. It Might Get Loud is the title of a Davis Guggenheim DVD, which should be of valuable help to those who play the electric guitar. Three very skilled guitarists tell about their experience. Elsewhere, there's plenty of information in Glenn Kurtz's handbook too. Bill Bruford, drummer in the progressive pop era, wrote an interesting biography.
The time has come. So Barbra welcomed Kathryn Bigelow's triumph at the year's Academy Awards in March. The Hurt Locker is a war movie rewarding for the first time in 82 years a female director (unfortunately the English language keeps the sex distinction that Bigelow would like to eliminate in this category). A Memoriale-compatible director (only 8 movies in 27 years!), Bigelow loves a thrill-filled filmmaking that certainly accounts for her reluctance to identify with her sex. The constant mention of her previous marriage to Cameron in the Restoration era began to bore us. Sandra Bullock simultaneously got Oscar for best actress and the worst actress award.
IF YOU MAKE A SHOW OF SOMETHING WHICH IS NOT. Britain's got talent and X Factor are talent shows starring the performance of amateur singers who are plunged into the stage and are evaluated by a jury. Previously unseen, after being broadcast on TV those stages resemble any approach of a marital agency. Those who, like Susan Boyle, are successful are likelier to sign up contracts and enter recording studios. The point is that we were all used to attending the performances of an accomplished dancer, not the rehearsals of those having a try. Aren't you reading a Ken Follett novel? When ever did you follow the writer's fixing an appointment with the publishing house or his being turned down after a reading of his manuscript? The year didn't tolerate the childishness of those pretentious and willing to be too often in the public eye. The list of those trying to attract attention, with poor results, included Anne Hathaway, Arvo Part, John Kerry, Jessica Biel. FAREWELLS. People still on the road saying farewell. Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano, performed in a farewell recital at Carnegie Hall. Simply Red, British band, are making an endless farewell tour all through the year. Their retirement is not yet in sight anyway. Some would like me to disclose the keywords before the completion of the page, in order to have a better comprehension of the ongoing year. It's a legitimate argument. Unfortunately, this is not feasible yet, because I wouldn't you like you to be influenced or conditioned in everyday life. Furthermore, there would be some questioning one thing that must unfold free of any prejudice
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In 2010 the goal of integrated appliances, providing all functions, comes closer to realization. The slate-Pc model attracts an increasing number of customers. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, CEO Steve Ballmer presented in January a HP tablet powered by Windows 7. About twenty days later Steve Jobs followed suit with an Apple's tablet seemingly mixing functions of smartphone and those of a portable computer. Those preferring two separate machines having each all functions seem to be hard to please. Both Intel and its competitors are working on a process at 32 nm. Scc, Single-Chip Cloud Computer, for the first time will host a 48-core integrated in a silicon Cpu. The much-anticipated USB 3.0 connection, at 4,8 Gbps, can be found somewhere.
Although wireless access is still in its early stages, modem/routers running a wide range of applications and multimedia files now enable you to develop a big home network. Meanwhile, Windows 7 beat soon the competition, although XP holds out longer than we expected (especially in the portable). The year brought a new all-inclusive platform for Windows Live, which was also meant to replace the glorious Outlook in your e-mail client. Firefox, whose latest version 3.6 provides a huge range of add-ons, is really all the rage. Opera, very light and fast, is now the real alternative although it's not a full-featured browser. Many had predicted that 2009 and 2010 would see the Explorer surpassed. Kaspersky is still the most recommended security suite in the reviews, but it tries hard to attract the Net-users as well.
There is not much of a turnover for the tablets called e-readers, although the opposite idea is easily going around. Out of curiosity, some take it but it seems they try hard to read extensively on a 5-inch screen. Over a 10in one, they wouldn't be worth the money (that you might otherwise spend for a notebook).
Samsung, Panasonic on top The big news is that now integrated Skype's technology (Skype FreeTalk Camera) into Internet-connected TV-sets released by Panasonic and Samsung is expected to let us have video-chat on a HD screen. Perhaps the biggest step forward, in the above-mentioned objective. The home screens may soon become an excellent place for the former dial-up and domestic broadband users, provided that the baseband broadcasting is a lot larger than it is worldwide at the moment. The most experienced customers know that only few TV-stations can afford to broadcast on the Net too. On a 42in set, having a 1920 x 1080 resolution, this would be a real breakthrough in sponsorship, remote assistance, free home delivery, musical demos and so on. Police may keep watch on every kind of site, up to the furthermost corners.
Many had decreed that 2010 would be the definitive triumph of the 3D motion pictures (audio in English).
Following an EU rule establishing a deadline in 2012, in Italy the conversion to digital broadcasting goes on region by region. David Cage's Heavy Rain, an elaborate videogame for Play Station 3, required the approach to creative interactivity from your home that many expected since 1993. Although it wove grown-up themes closer to thrillers, you'll be questioning just the target. It was neither an original work of art nor a useful pastime. If reality is always one, what's the point in offering several options? Horizon Hydrofill is the first home hydrogen fueling station, produced by Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies. The Geneva-based LHC, the world's largest particle accelerator, was said to be operational again from the spring of 2010. The researchers working on it seem reluctant to admit the alleged Higgs particle doesn't exist. Solar Dynamics Observatory, a new space telescope designed to observe the Sun for at least 5 years, was launched from Cape Canaveral in February. A plane was said to be flying for more than 120 seconds at a speed five times that of sound. In 2010 Solar Impulse, a plane powered by the Sun, was said to be flying for 26 hours and 9 minutes. It was provided with 12,000 solar cells. Last updated on September 5, 2010 at 18.17 GMT |
19 May
An impending engagement for the years to come, in the uniformity of the laws worldwide.
The author, addressing someone, makes also a remark
Olive Telecommunication announced in 2010 the launch of a new triple SIM phone.
