A day at the parc, the PinkPop parc

Last Sunday I kicked off my festival season, I headed to Landgraaf, NL for the last day of PinkPop festival. I couldn't secure the 3 days pass as they sold out in no time. 

So all hyped up with the awesome line up of the day, I hit the road with my buddy Seb in his green old Citroen ZX, secretly praying it won't break down somewhere half the way. 

Who is showing up today for my early birthday bash ? we got on the guest list Josh Homme and the Queens Of The Stone Age setting up the mood for the great Rage Against The Machine. I thought I would never see these guys live as they split up a few years ago but when I read they reformed for the Coachella festival my hopes

 revived and I kept an eye on their moves. So when they announced they were headlining the PinkPop festival I didn't think twice, I needed my ticket for the June 1st show. 

To heat up the crowd until the studs of Seattle hit the stage and before the masters of Anarchy finish the job and blow peoples minds we got: Serj Tankian, Fiction Plane, Gavin Degraw, Alanis Morissette, Cavalera Conspiracy, The Wombats, The Hives... 

Great kickoff, Fiction Plane start at the main stage on this beautiful day of June, the band is rocking and we are sitting on the grass for what felt like a nice day at the parc. We moved on next to the second stage where The Wombats english sound made us feel good.   

Gavin Degraw's swing on the main stage kept the good vibes in the air, the sun is shining and the weather is sweet, we are taking the sun and happiness is all around. Little detail, we forgot to buy protection cream and soon found out that the sun is here to stay... at the end of the day I was red like a tomato.

The Cavalera brothers took on the second stage, but it looked like nobody told them it was a nice day at the parc as they brought on their supersonic tempo and their double kick drums. I stayed a little while, enough to witness an epileptic guy (I guess) collapse right in front of me, then another body laying on the floor, everyone around was calling for help... nothing much serious, but still... is this all Cavalera's effect? not my thing, a little walk to the pyramid to watch Kate Nash and hide a bit from the sun was definitely a great idea. 

Followed Racoon, the Hives and Alanis Morissette who sent me back to my late teenage years. Cool stuff, but serious things are still in the works. We decided to skip Serj Tankian in order to save a good spot for QOTSA who rocked the house pretty well with some hard tunes like Sick Sick Sick played energetically. The concert was awesome and the crowd around us would only agree with this statement. QOTSA did their job then left the stage the way they got to it: soberly, no encore despite the call of the crowd. 

No resting time, people started piling for RATM and no one from those who were there left, we did the same ignoring the Counting Crows who headlined the second stage, I'll see them in Werchter anyway. 

The long awaited RATM took their time to get on stage, the setup on the stage was pretty simple apart of two walls of massive speakers on both sides of the stage surrounding the band, man these guys like it loud, really loud. 

The crowd was getting impatient until a siren broke the roar and 4 Guantanamo Bay prisoners dressed in orange suites with hoods on their head walked on Stage. They were impressive facing the crowd while the sirens called for emergency. It was the silence before the hurricane, aka the riff of Bombtrack, "it's just another bombtrack...yeah! It goes a-1, 2, 3... Hey yo, it's just another Bombtrack..."

The crowd blasted at the first riff of Tom Morello and the whole festival ground turned into a massive mosh pit. I never saw such a level of energy, guys, girls, young and older all were into it. And it didn't get any better when Morello started playing Bulls on Parade right after Bombtrack, with waves of people jumping and moshing to the powerful song riffs. 

All major RATM songs followed, with Morello driving people crazy with his riffs, tricks and untypical solos . Zach De la Rocha was pretty pumped up as well, he delivered a nice speech that galvanized people, a wake up call, right on time before the Wake up song. Talking about today's generation, disrespected by politicians who believed it didn't care, he called for awarness and immediate action : "what a better place than here, what a better place than now, WAKE UP". 

With every song the atmosphere got more electric and more energy was poured into the crowd. I thought it was the climax of the night as they left the stage after a sensational wake up. But that was what I thought until the final shot: them coming back for Killing In The Name to close a one of a kind show. I was feeling the heat coming from the bodies around me, heated by the sun all day long and energized by RATM's fury, the show ended on a loud MOTHERFUCKER shouted by more than 80.000 people who claim they won't do what you tell them... if only it was true ! 

one word: Impressive !!!!

Abre los ojos

I saw "The last king of Scotland" and I remained shocked and confused for a long while. thoughts took me from the movie to reality, To Uganda, to Africa, to the bloody dictators there and around the world, to the 20th century tragedies and to the history of Humankind.

So many names, so many events, so many countries, so many dates, my thoughts were running from one to another, uncountable... At every given time of our history, rivers of blood were flowing around fed by sadist demonstrations of cruelty and hatred causing nothing but suffering... everywhere. Evil has always found its way to people's souls and blinded their hearts, making every unbelievable atrocity possible.

We realize that when it is thrown in our face in a movie or in a documentary but we don't realize that it has always been around the corner, so close to us, ready to blow us up at any time.

Just think about the 20th century alone and see how many genocides, ethnic purifications, destructive wars, world wars, atomic bombs, civil wars, exterminations, slavery, racism... The world never lived in peace, NEVER.

A century that was supposed to mark the end of colonialism, the rise of democracy, the triumph of the free and humanist minds, the ultimate expression of the human conscience and the era of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guaranteed to all people.

Where are we from all that ? Look at the last decade, look at the world now, look around the corner, look in the mirror, what do you see ?

A.

Carpe Diem...

I had a great 2006 year, it was a must to part ways in the best of manners:

Première étape: Do as you please land

I started bidding my farewell to 2006 on the 23rd of December when I headed to Amsterdam with 2 buddies of mine, Onur and Onur.

I didn't know what to expect from a city that is synonymous of debauchery for some, freedom for others and made a pop culture icon by pulp fiction's "royal with cheese" scene with Samuel Jackson and John Travolta, Vincent vega telling stories about Amsterdam, the do as you please city...

whether you enjoy it or hate it, It's not possible to remain insensitive to the free-spirited liberalism of A'dam. In this hedonistic city no big deals are made of pleasures, sex and drugs are on the shelf, just help yourself.

Weed and hash menus in the coffee shops have a detailed explanation of the expected feelings and the crew is always available for an advice on which trip to have. Same goes for the smart shops, which offer other types of drugs that can be highly trippy: magic mushrooms and herbal extasy.

The red light district is something to see, girls in little apartments offering their charms behind a glass door on top of which there is a red light bulb to make them recognizable. The red lights are spread all over the neighborhood, mixing with houses and even surrounding a church.

The city is beautiful and worth discovering, built on water and surrounded by canals. Water is definitely a huge factor in the city's architecture and personality. A city that was always known for its tolerance and hospitality for religiously and politically oppressed people as well as fishermen and merchants landing for business and some pleasures en passant...

Deuxième étape: Zakopane A Malakas town

I headed after A'dam to Poland looking forward to meet a special group of people: Los Malakas.

Common points between Malakas: All are party animals with a good dose of craziness and a strong sense of friendship. A group of good fellas from all over the world that summarizes what AIESEC can do best: bringing people from different parts of the world together.

All met initially in Tunisia where most of the malakas were doing AIESEC internships. There the malakas spirit was born. Present members in this reunion were from Mexico, Germany, Poland x2, Czech x2, Tunisia x3, Croatia x2, Romania x2, Taiwan, Russia, USA and France

And so we met in Zakopnae, this peaceful little town in the Polish side of the Tatras mountains, and all we wanted to do was simply to rock the planet.

The reunion of old friends meeting again was intense and very emotional. but as soon as we got together the party started, and that was the menu every night.

We managed to do some stuff during the day though, we went hiking and after countless falls and shouting for help, we could reach the top and admire the Tatras mountain heights from above, a beautiful moment. We also did some sightseeing in Zakopane, but the main objective was to spend time together and have fun. Dinners were lots of fun and the room parties were great.

On the NYE, after spending the day skiing or at least trying to, we headed home where floods of alcohol were waiting for us: 72 beers 50cl, 3 bottles of champagne, a bottle of tequila, and a few other bottles of home made Romanian Palinka, Croatian rakija and that half a bottle of absint that was still fighting back after a couple of days trying to finish it.

We had a kind of a big bar room in the chalet for us, there we said our final good byes to the year. Katie had a surprise for everybody, she brought each one of us a glass with his/her name and "malakas New Years 06/07" written on it. It was a great surprise and we made a good use of it: we had personalized tequila shots and champagne, thanks katie. Happy new yeaaaaar !!!!

We spent the next day chilling in Zakopane, playing the tourists, buying souvenirs, had a good dinner just to warm up to... party :)

On the way back to Krakow we spent 4 hours to make the 100km between Zakopane and Krakow in a train that changed direction three times. It was so packed you couldn't make your way through the alleys, no controller came to see us and therefore the trip was free. We spent the journey standing in the alley passing the bottles of Palinka and rakija back and forth, it makes your trip pleasant ah Fabrice ? :)

In Krakow, after a (very) quick sightseeing tour, we ended up in a chicha bar, where we spent the last hours together in a relaxed mood. Then we had to say good bye...

Unfortunately not all Malakas could join and those who couldn't make it were very missed, I can't imagine what would happen to the world if all malakas could one day
meet in the same place.

For those who were there, thanks a lot for this wonderful reunion, thanks Fabian, Kasia, Elena, Sin-hi, Peter, Nesrine, Tomi, Charko the Absinth man, Ozzy, Katie, Orshi, Jochen, Fabrice and Jirka...

Thanks Beata and Big malakas for the organization, it was to the standards of the best events organization companies :) You rock !!!!

Next reunion we'll make it in Amsterdam, it's like pouring oil on the fire... and carpe diem baby.
A.

Quelques grammes de finesse...

Something I enjoy in life is meeting new people and discovering new things. And it makes the encounter more special when it's impromptu, unexpected...

That's something great about Toronto, there I met great people in an unorthodox way (wink Lee-Anne). And in the same unusual way discovered two of my 2006 biggest coups de coeur: Amanda Martinez and the East Village Opera Company.

Amanda Martinez
It was during the Little Italy Street Festival on College Street right after a Brazil game followed by a Brazilian fiesta in the streets of little Portugal. I walked back to college street to enjoy the food sold at the stands, watch the bands playing completely different types of music and share the crowd's world cup frenzy.

I stopped at the first stage attracted by a nice adaptation of "Besame mucho", a sweet voice accompanied by nice afro-cuban beats. The song that followed I didn't know but I found myself swinging and singing the words of the verse that I quickly learnt, It was "Guajira Sola". Eventually, I remained there till the end of the show as it was absolutely fascinating. In the mean time I was approached by a smiling young lady who gave me an invitation to the release party of Amanda's first album, it was on my last night in Toronto, a week later. At the end of the show, I asked her for a picture, and told her that I'm convinced she will be a famous artist.

I was there at "the Drake hotel", and I didn't regret it. I was late, my friends were already in, It was packed and I couldn't get in, so Veronica (the smiling girl) whispered a tip to me on how to avoid the crowd and get in from the back door... so I did :)

The show was great, after it was over, we stayed at the bar having drinks and chatting with Veronica, waiting for Amanda to sign my album.

Amanda is Canadian born to a Mexican father and South African mother, she was already established in a banking career when she decided to drop everything and live her passion for the music. It was the right decision, "Sola" her first album is captivating, hard to get out of the CD player. It includes a mix between Amanda's songs: like the sexy "Cantame", "Guajira Sola", "Volar" the shivers giving ode to her adventurer father in the pursuit of his dreams and fabulous covers: the intense "La llorona", the joyful "Gracias a la vida" and the poetic "Alfonsina y el mar"

Everyone I made listen to Amanda was charmed by her singing, her pure strong voice and the great arrangements on the album. Unfortunately Amanda is not widely distributed which is a pity as I believe her work can and should be a worldwide known treasure.

Looking forward for the second album, Amanda ;)

The East Village Opera Company
We were a bench of friends sitting at the beer garden of the Yonge street festival at the corner of Younge and Eglinton, taking it easy on that saturday summer night. I didn't know who was on stage, all I know is that I left my friends to go closer to the stage, I was captivated by the heavy guitars, the strings and the captivating voices.

It was the East Village Opera Company (EVOC), a NY band that revisits opera classics, adding strings, heavy guitars, drums and new arrangements to the great voices of Tyley Ross and AnnMarie Milazzo making them more intense and powerful.

I lined up to buy their first CD "La donna", As you put it to play you get the feel of the CD with the guitar riffs announcing "Vesti la giubba" from the Opera "Pagliacci", my favourite piece of the album. I particularly like "Questa o quella", "Una furtiva lagrima", "Maria, Mari" and "La serenata".

Even though I liked "La donna" I thought it was shy compared to what I heard from the band on stage. A few months later, as it was released, I ordered EVOC's second album, and it turned out to be a masterpiece...

The arrangements were obviously more mature and audacious than in the first album. The addition of AnnMarie brought more intensity and energy to the mix and some duets on the album with Tyley are absolutely amazing. My favourites are Gianni Schicchi's "O mio Babbino caro", Dido and Arenas "When I am laid on earth", La Wally's "Ebben? ne andro lontana", Turandot's "Nessun Dorma" and Carmen's "Habanera".

What a bold way of editing these classics of opera, I closed my eyes more than ones and intensely felt the pain of Dido, the insecurity of the wally or the daring Calaf challenging death. I am sure their original creators wouldn't find them outrageous, but definitely exquisite.

I feel lucky for discovering the East Village Opera Company and Amanda Martinez, unknown independent artists that should have a larger fan base, just for the good sake of spreading beauty in this world...

Pour savourer quelques grammes de finesse... dans ce monde de brutes.

A.

Free

I've been going through a trip lately, long and painful... my own journey to freedom.

I am struggling to free myself, free myself from fear, from inhibitions, from stereotypes, from hatred, from every negative feeling or thought that stands between me and myself.

I want to explore the inner me, the one that was there before to get infected by all the sickness of this world. I want to meet the genuine me, how would I think, who I would I be if I was free of all strings attaching me to the filthy ground...

Emancipate myself from fear, fear is always around the corner. Fear of the unknown, fear of those who control my life, my thoughts... We've been well taught how to auto-censor ourselves, how to avoid thinking, how to accept a distorted reality that it's impossible to stand...

Learn to free my mind from the society around me, and all its hidden catches, all the strange looks when you express something different or act differently. All the judgments, all the ironic comments, the surrounding conformism, the narrow minded people...

Remove all inhibitions, sins, explore the world as if there were no consequences: no punishments, no hell...

Pinch myself every time I'm having a nasty thought about a different person, just because this person is different...

I want to get rid of these feelings, I want to love mankind just as it is, diversified and different... destroy all thoughts presuming that THEY are different, that THEY are weird, that THEY are evil...

We are all weird, we all have our unique differences that make us uncivilized and strange, aliens to the eyes of some other people.No matter who you are, no matter where you coming from there will be always someone thinking that you are fucked up... so why don't we accept these differences as particularities interesting to explore, instead of turning your head and mumbling: pfff those !@$#$%

I am trying to make the little free spot in my mind bigger, I figured out it was very small. I finally understood that I am a prisoner of my own mind... I want to dig into it and see where it's gonna take me... and from there come back to the world...

hopefully as a free man...
A.

Guantanamera

This picture got me into trouble and almost to Guantanamo bay...

On my last day at work in Toronto, I decided to make a photo report of my journey to work. Considering that I take a tram, 2 subways and a bus to go to work, I wanted to make it unforgettable, this journey I was doing twice a day.

So I started by the tram stop, the tram coming, me in the tram, the subway entrance, first subway stop etc... at the second subway's station I continued my artistic work, took this picture and got into the wagon waiting for the subway to leave.

But it didn't leave, the subway stayed there for long minutes. While I was worried about the bus I'll miss, a constable came in with his talkie walkie: tchh tchhh walking back and forth until he stopped in front of me:

Toronto Transit Commission Constable: Would you please follow me sir ?
A.: pardon me !
TTC: I would like you to follow me, please.
A.: ME ?
TTC: Yes sir, please
A.: well, OK
TTC: thank you sir
A.: You know that it is my right not to go with you without you giving me a good reason... but not to make troubles I am going with you
TTC: I know that sir and I really appreciate your assistance.
A.: It better be serious coz I am missing a party at work now, u know ?
TTC: sorry for that sir...

So he leads the way to the control room, where all the subway lines of Toronto can be monitored... He offers me a seat:

TTC: It shouldn't be long sir
A.: I'm just curious to know what's the reason for all that.
TTC: you'll know soon sir...
A.: mmmm don't tell me it's because of the pictures
TTC constable in his talkie walkie: Tchhh tchhh the suspect is asking if it's because of the pictures, what should I say ?
A.: SUSPECT ???

so we sit there for 20 minutes and chit chat, I tell him I'm a foreigner and that it's my last day at work, that I loved Toronto and that's why I'm taking bits and pieces of my life here in pictures as memories...

A.: So I decided to make a photo report of my everyday life, the places I like etc..
TTC: great idea
A.: wanna see the pics ?
TTC: sure

When my TTC constable friend saw the innocent and funny pics...

TTC: I'm totally sorry sir
A.: don't worry, I understand. I am taking it from the good side, it's funny for me to be arrested on my last day at work while my colleagues have prepared a surprise for me and are waiting for me to come...
TTC: Maybe it's funny, but it's so sad too
A.: True true
TTC: I'm really sorry for what's happening

In the mean time, three policemen arrived, with their tough faces...

Policeman 1: So you are the one ?
A.: if you say so
Policeman 2: so you're taking pictures in the station
A.: Yes, (explaining the story from scratch)
P2: Can we see them
A.: of course
P3: do you have an ID ?
A.: yeah sure

Policeman 1 calls the Toronto Police for an Identity check, while I am showing the pics to the other 2... I go through the day pictures and then accidently show them a few pictures of world cup games celebrations and a brazilian party...

P2: nice pictures you have here
A.: yeah
P3: so did you like your stay here ?
A.: I had a great time, I love this city... and the country
P3: good to hear, you know that's the real thing, unfortunately times are hard now, remember the people arrested last week... u only hear about terrorism plots here and there
A.: that's so bad, it's like a phobia everywhere, a situation like this is ridiculous
P1: yeah but better safe than sorry, we prefer to arrest innocents for a couple of hours rather than take a chance... here you go, your ID
A.: Thanks, I guess I won't ask you for a picture...
P2: (laughing) no you better not :)

better not, better not
A.

Queremos Paz… pero como ?

As astonishing and dramatic the situation in the Middle East may look, it doesn’t seem that a sustainable solution is on the way to be found…

How is it possible to find a solution when the balance of powers is so unequal? When one side is allowed to ignore the international laws, treaties as well as UN decisions and the other side is left alone to face its destiny…

An autonomy given to the Palestinian authorities without territorial sovereignty nor respect of a free election results… How is a permanent solution possible when violence is the only response made by the Israeli state to every issue? like the unnecessary destruction of Lebanon, the killing of more than a thousand civilian, the ongoing military operations in Ghaza and the kidnapping of ministers and deputies of the Palestinian authority parliament.

It is “known” that violence creates a vicious circle, which only outcome is escalation and more violence. I say “known” cause’ it never seems known by any of both sides and the same process is happening over and over again: the previous Israel-Arabs wars, the Lebanon civil war, Intifada I, Intifada II, the actual Lebanon war and it's unfortunately not an exhaustive list of the conflicts that happened in the Middle East and which ending is only deaths and destruction.

In my previous post “Queremos Paz” I sound a bit harsh with the Palestinians and Lebanese, assuming that Tsahal is an evil monster that should never wake up from its sleep as it will destroy everything around it; wondering if it was worth it, all this destruction for kidnapping the soldiers in Ghaza and in North Israel?

But is it right to put the responsibility of keeping the peace in the area only on the Arabs when Israel’s operations are still on (prior to the war)? And at the same time withholding all the Arabs demands in a stand by situation… No Palestinian state, no real autonomy, no settlement of the prisoners and the refugees issues…

But let’s not get into the “who started?” game coz it will never end…

Unfortunately the balance of powers is so uneven, no one is backing the Arabs, no one is pushing for a real solution… and the idea that keeps coming back to my head is that Israel and the Israelis are more humane, that Arabs blood is cheaper and that it doesn’t really matter if they die…

Suffice to see the reports on CNN and BBC world to see this fact, long reports on destroyed cars or big holes in houses touched by Hezbollah rockets… what about the other side? what about the destruction of a whole sovereign country and a 1000 deaths toll and a humanitarian and ecological tragedy… you know what ? it’s OK they are only Arabs after all…

Reactions like the US one, sending missiles and blocking cease fire talks or Stephen Harper’s (Mister Canadian prime minister) who said that Israel’s military operations were justified and proportional are just shameful and inhumane… it makes me feel sick and wish I was a bird, a bull or a dog but not a human if this is what it means to be a human…

A dead person is a dead person, no matter what’s the religion, the origin, the language or the ethnic background. I’m bleeding at the sight of Lebanon being destroyed but not rejoicing when seeing the Israeli civil victims or counting their numbers while praising Hezbollah… Violence is a bitch no matter where it comes from, Tsahal, Hamas, Hezbollah, ETA or the Oklahoma City freak.

I’m hoping for a lasting peace in the region, but unfortunately it won’t be for tomorrow; when there is no real political will to find a permanent solution for this everlasting stinky situation.

In the meanwhile the horror reality TV show is still on, enjoy…

A.

Amused to death

Angie my dear, you asked what happened to the Human race... This is some kind of an answer...

Doctor, Doctor, what is wrong with me
This supermarket life is getting long
what is the heart life of a color tv
what is the shelf life of a teenage queen

Ooooh western woman, Ooooh western girl

News hound sniffs the air, when Jessica Hahn goes down
He latches on to that symbol of detatchment
Attracted by the peeling away of feeling
The celebrity of the abused shell, the belle

Ooooh western woman, Oooooh western girl
Ooooh western woman, Oooooh western girl

And the children of Melrose strut their stuff
is absolute zero cold enough
and out in the valley, warm and clean
the little ones sit by their tv screen
no thoughts to think, no tears to cry
all sucked dry, down to the very last breathe
bartender what is wrong with me,
why am i so out of breathe
the captain said excuse me ma'am
the species has amused itself to death

amused itself to death
it has amused itself to death
amused itself to death

we watched a tragedy unfold
we did as we were told
we bought and sold
it was the greatest show on earth
but then it was over
we ohhed and awed
we drove our racing cars
we ate our last few jars of caviar
and somewhere out there in the stars
a keen eyed look out
spied a flickering light
our last hurrah
our last hurrah
and when they found our shadows
grouped round the tv sets
they ran down every lead
they repeated every test
they checked out all the data on their list
and then the alien anthropologist
admitted they were still perplexed
but on eliminating every other reason
for our sad demise
they logged the only explanation left
this species has amused itself to death

no tears to cry, no feelings left
the species has amused itself to death
amused itself to death

Roger Waters
Amused to death

A beautiful song full of sens... it is probably what is going to happen to the human race, which amused itself to death; the whole album is full of songs like that, they speak to you and they are so painful of truth...

The monkey sat on a pile of stones
And he stared at the broken bone in his hand
The strains of a Viennese quartet
Rang out across the land
And the monkey looked up at the stars
And he thought to himself

Memory is a stranger
History is for fools
And he cleaned his hands
In a pool of holy writing
Turned his back on the garden
And set out for the nearest town

Hold on, hold on soldier
When you add it all up
The tears and the marrowbone
There's an ounce of gold
And an ounce of pride in each ledger

And the Germans killed the Jews
And the Jews killed the Arabs
And the Arabs killed the hostages
And that is the news
And is it any wonder
That the monkey's confused

He said Mama Mama
The President's a fool
Why do I have to keep reading
These technical manuals
And the joint chiefs of staff
And the brokers on Wall Street said
Don't make us laugh
You're a smart kid
Time is linear
Memory is a stranger
History is for fools

Man is a tool in the hands
Of the great God Almighty
And they gave him command
Of a nuclear submarine
Sent him back in search of
The Garden of Eden

Roger Waters
Perfect Sens, Part I and II

I can't comment on this, just listen to the woman's voice singing this aweful truth and tell me how u feel next...

A.
Sick and tired

Queremos Paz

There is powder smell in the air, I can’t watch the news anymore. Talks are only about Lebanon and Israel and right when you think that no worse can happen, you have just witnessed the opposite on your TV set.

Israel is destroying Gaza and all Lebanon, 150 Lebanese civilians dead in 5 days. Why ? Because 1 soldier was kidnapped near Gaza and another two in north Israel. So Mr Haniya, Mr Nasrallah is it worh it !?

Poor Lebanon, poor Gaza: Hijacked by Hamas and Hizbollah, destroyed by Tsahal.

When is it going to be understood that PEACE is the only option for the Middle East. That Israel can’t be displaced neither can be all the Arab countries around. That based on this simple fact, the only option that remains is that Arabs and Israelis live together in peace.

Violence will take nobody anywhere, how many escalations the region will know before both parties understand that violence is useless. It brings only destruction, death and mourning.

Israel and Tsahal are like huge monsters that you don’t want to wake up cause’ they will destroy everything around, and when they hit there is always “collateral” damage. And in today’s case they reached an exceptional level of cruelty. They decided to deal with the Hizbollah problem for the last time.

So please, somebody help me understand what’s the logic behind the hijacking of the soldiers !?

Am I mistaken to think that peace is what every human being is naturally looking for!?

It In these times of war I am shocked every time I read the head titles on some newspapers: “Hassan Nasrallah promised Israel to do so and so…” it reminds me of my first year of high school, when we stayed awake to see the start of the first gulf war live, as if we were in a theatre or watching a video game… except it was for real. The people dying were real, and what happened and is still happening in Irak is real.

All through the war I was reading “Echourouk” which was praising Saddam Hussein’s army and their achievements as if they were winning the war. Then you realize that what’s happening around is so wrong, that war is so wrong. I was a kid and I understood it… but it seems that some people never grow old, they still want to watch war on TV as if it was a reality show, and are still following a fake reverie of lost primacy.

There must be some other ways to fix issues in the area other than throwing missiles, hijacking soldiers, blasting human bombs, bombing civilians, destroying a country infrastructure…

But for now, all we got is madness… and reality horror TV.

A.

The hero and the antihero

Zidane with his golden shoes missed yesterday the highest altar on the Olympus when Gigi Buffon stopped his shot with a firm hand. 2 goals for the second time in a world cup final would have made of Zidane the supreme football god and a French president for life. But history didn’t want it this way. Zidane fell from his half god class to finish his career as a mere mortal.

Marco Materazzi, the antihero who struggled to make it all the way to Inter Milano and then to the Italian national team, won it all instead, the world cup final night was his night: Tying the game, giving a good performance on the field and scoring a penalty kick to win the right to put his tricolor clown hat on the world cup trophy.

But how a kind and humble player like Zidane may loose his cool this way in the final minutes of a world cup final and after almost scoring the victorious goal!? Like the whole planet that watched yesterday’s game I wondered what did Materazzi tell him ?

The replay images show how M.M tied his arms around Z.Z in the penalty area followed by a brief dispute between the two players. Zidane run away before suddenly stopping to fire a head at Materazzi’s chest. It seems that M.M kept insulting Z.Z all game and the last one he just couldn’t bear.

According to the Nouvel Observateur and the Guardian, Materazzi may have insulted Zidane’s Algerian origins and called him a terrorist. Only one thing is certain, what Materazzi told Zidane was pretty serious, to make the best player in this world cup loose his mind in his last game and to make Gigi Buffon ask for forgiveness. You could read it on his lips: Scusa scusa…

This sad episode recalls the allegations of fascism on some Italian players like Di canio who was fined 10,000 dollars for giving a fascist greeting after scoring a goal against AC Rome. As well as rumors around Materazzi, Di Rossi… Is it acceptable to be keen on a fascist ideology and practices when you play for a national football team and carry the national flag on your chest ?

Even if I don’t excuse Zidane for what he did, I believe sportsmanship should be on both sides and I regret what Materazzi did. You may say this is part of the game, maybe it’s true, but there is some kind of a line not to cross, and by doing so, Materazzi gave yesterday’s cup a bitter taste. He refused to comment on it after the game and walked past the journalists, anything to be ashamed of Marco !? Hai vergogna di qualcosa !?

Italy deserves the cup, they had a great world cup and the game against Germany was fantastic. The French team has nothing to be ashamed of and especially Zidane, who was at the starting point of the French revival when everybody called the French dead and gone.

There is only one World champion, Zidane had gold shoes on, but Buffon was all in gold, He claimed his dues when he won his direct confrontation with Zidane. This is the confrontation I want to remember, a two heroes one, between the best player and the best goalie of this world cup.

Good bye Zizou and thank you for everything, what “les bleus” did has not been done by any French government. You could make a whole generation of disillusioned and rejected youth, dream and be proud. You are and will always remain their hero.

A.

lov'em and leav'em.

My time in Toronto is up... and again I have to say good bye and leave... Once again, I met wonderful people in a great city where I enjoyed myself to the max. But now it is time, my train is calling...

I have confused feelings these days... I am excited to go home, meet my family and friends and enjoy summer in Tunisia. But at the same time I am sad to leave my friends and my life here. I will definitely miss Toronto in every aspect, I fell in love with this city.

When I remember how I wasn't thrilled about my life here in the beginning and how I was thinking about leaving after 6 months... I am happy I took the decision to loose my return ticket and stay longer.

As I work in a far suburb of Toronto (Richmond Hill), I lived close to work at first... big mistake as you absolutely need a car to have a decent social life. It wasn't an option for me, so I had to live without it, which meant living a very limited social life.

It wasn't easy for a social butterfly like me, used to have my friends around and a million things to do every day. My first months meant staying at home the whole week to go downtown in the week ends where I was hosted by good friends of mine. Fortunately they were there otherwise I would have gone insane...

Then I started to make the best of it and enjoyed it in every way...

I enjoyed every season, even winter and its beautiful snow falling, snowboarding and ice skating; fall was beautiful with all its colours and the falling leafs, spring and the rebirth of nature after loosing its bed of snow, there is something magic in how everything turns green after it was all white. And summer where Toronto goes crazy with a different festival and cultural celebrations every week, camping, outdoor activities and bonding with mother nature...

And the food in all this… for a gluttonous guy like me it is a must factor in my definition of happiness. I will tremendously miss Toronto and its mosaic of cultures and foods. Here you can eat whatever food of the world you want; I got introduced to all types of food and just loved the mix and variety… I even prepared a schedule of restaurants to go to before I leave...

I had a blast going to concerts (PJ, DM...), sports events, crazy parties, road trips, street festivals... But all of it wouldn't mean anything without the special people I enjoyed being with... some left me, and some I would leave... some I would meet soon, and some I don't know if I will ever see them again, where and when...

I was lucky to find great people in Toronto; I have amazing friends with whom I shared great moment and who were always there when I needed them. It is wonderful to feel appreciated and to know that there are friends over there that you can rely on…

But now it is time to go...

It is hard to strip yourself from a life… but I knew I had to from the start. I know how it feels, I experienced it before and it was tough… I did it when I left to Spain, then when I left Spain… when I came back home to have an awesome time with my friends, then leaving them to start a new adventure…

I knew it but went for it regardless; maybe I am a masochist for tormenting myself and leaving pieces of my life behind… Maybe… But, all I know is that I don’t regret anything, that I cherish the friendships I made and value everything I lived…To all my friends a big thank you and a big hug, I will miss you tons…

Stop that train I'm leaving...
Stop that train I'm leaving...
Stop that train I'm leaving...
Stop that Train I'm leaving…*

A.

*Peter Tosh

Superheroes

Today's super heroes do not wear masks, have super powers or are called Superman, Spiderman, V for Vendetta or the incredibles... Today's super heroes are regular people who are not committed to help respect the law in their cities but instead have received divine killing permits and have been assigned a mission directly by God: Force the respect of their religion by... making bombs.

During the week end, 17 young men have been arrested in the suburbs of Toronto and have been charged in an alleged terror plot. 5 underage people are among the arrested.

Apparently, the suspects were frustrated by the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and by the mistreatment of Muslims around the world... they thought they have to do something to change things and defend the humiliated brothers and sisters... so they came up with the brilliant idea of terrorist attacks.

These kids, warmed up by images of war and heated radical preaches by a fundamental imam (arrested with the gang) lost their marbles and believed they were the missionaries of God to spread its "love" among the people...

Once again, the name of Islam has been stained by fools who play war games and think they are being sent to heaven in the first express train to leave planet earth.

It's so painful to read the news and realize how radical and stupid people can be. Realize that these people belong to the same religious community as you... Once again...

I was in Valladolid, Spain (200 km north of Madrid) when the train attacks happened in the Spanish capital in March 11, 2004... I remember how everybody was astonished by what happened and the mixed feelings of disbelief, confusion and anger. As Aznar's government started pointing fingers at the Basque terrorist group (ETA), spontaneous demonstrations took place in all Spanish cities with the biggest in Madrid where 2 million people took the streets, chanting the main slogan against ETA terrorism: "BASTA YA"... I was part of the Valladolid one.

The following days, the two main national newspapers were giving completely different info (due to the upcoming election): El Mundo (close to Aznar's El partido Popular) was accusing ETA, El Pais (close to the Socialist Party) started mentioning Radical Islamic terrorism... I was secretly hoping it wasn't the latter.

Unfortunately, it was...

When the information became official, I wished I could disappear from the face of the earth. I couldn't look in my friend's eyes anymore. But, I was blessed to have great friends who helped me to get over it; they were tolerant and intelligent enough to make the difference between the self declared warriors of God and the rest of the Muslim world. But this isn't the case of everybody...

It needs a massive reaction from the Muslim world to fight this extremist and erroneous ideology that made its way among the God freaks. EVERY terrorist act has to be strongly condemned and those who spread radical ideology in the name of God or nationalism should be sued... Starting by Haniya and his Hamas.

Thanks to you, Superheroes, Islam became the public enemy #1 in the world... Mission accomplished... thank you very much.

A.

Walking in my shoes

Lots of people would have loved to walk in my shoes Thursday May 18^th… at Depeche Mode’s Toronto date of Touring the Angel 2005/2006 world tour.

I got the tickets a few minutes after it went on sale sometime on March, excited to see DM live… But to my big disappointment, when we were there, I realized that we had the crappiest seats ever: located on the side, at the same level as the stage, 3 rows from top. We could only see one side of the stage and therefore miss all the lights and video effects… Damn it.

There were a few empty spots in the Air Canada Center, so we were hunting for empty seats where we would sneak at the beginning of the concert… but then during the opening act, we decided to go right away to an empty section facing the stage, stay there and try to negotiate with the usher if he spots us. Ain’t got nothing to loose, let’s go…

We sit there as if we were in our seats… Everything goes smooth until an old usher, apparently of a higher rank starts talking to the ushers around the section we sat in, pointing at us and the few people sitting there. What’s going on !??

guess what…

We were kindly asked to move… DOWN TO THE FIRST ROW of the lower bowl, straight from the highest point in the arena to the lowest… No wayyy. Two sections strangely remained empty, so we were asked if we wanted to go there. You must be kidding me, of course, we do. We were still a bit far from the stage but WHO CARES !??? We were facing the stage and close enough to perfectly enjoy the show… EXCITING.

The crowd was very diverse, gray haired people to youngsters, this band has been around since the late 70s and they are still in very good shape, no matter what your age is, you will be rocked tonight.

Lights off, let the show begin…

The show starts with “Give me a pain that I am used to” introduced by very cool lights effects… The sound was perfect, the beats were so heavy that you couldn’t stay still, you had to move…

The set list was a mix of songs from the last album “playing the angel” like Give me a pain that I am used to, John the revelator, Suffer well, Precious and older big hits like Behind the wheel, Personal Jesus, Walking in my shoes, I feel you, Enjoy the silence...

The set list was really cool and the video effects changed with every song, the best intro was the one for I feel you… it was AWESOME !!!!! Dave Gahan is such a show man, he has the power to galvanize the crowd whenever he wanted… people were going crazy at each of his moves…it was really fun to be there

However, I left the show a bit disappointed. We were not full and didn’t have enough of the show. We were really enjoying it when they just left the stage after “Enjoy the silence” (a hint) to return for a very poor 3 songs encore: “shake the disease” performed by Martin Gore ballade style, photographic and then “Never let me down again” that I like a lot but it wasn’t enough to end the show. They just saluted us and left. The crowd was still there, asking for another encore for a couple of minutes until they turned on the lights... Everybody thought they will come back… they didn’t !!!!

We left the show with a taste of unfinished pleasure… There wasn’t that extra bonding with the crowd that makes shows memorable. They barely talked outside of the songs, the only things they said were the “thank yous” and the Dave Gahan’s signature “sing it” and “Come on”… They were just doing their job after all…

Some extra spices were missing, but the show was really good…

Vows are spoken
To be broken
Feelings are intense
Words are trivial
Pleasures remain
So does the pain
Words are meaningless
And forgettable

Enjoy the Silence
A.

Thursday may 18^th 2006, Toronto Air Canada Centre

Intro, A Pain That I'm Used To, A Question Of Time, Suffer Well, Precious, Walking In My Shoes, Stripped, Home, Judas, In Your Room, Nothing's Impossible, John The Revelator, I Feel You, Behind The Wheel, World In My Eyes, Personal Jesus, Enjoy The Silence
Encore
Shake The Disease, Photographic, Never Let Me Down Again

Peace and food... Part II

It seems that I was wrong in my previous post Peace and food: Apparently our culinary traditions and cultural similiarities are not that peaceful after all; tensions are arising between Greek Cypriots and Turkish about who does the Baklava belong to… is it my post that created this conflict !??? :)

According to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet (thanks a lot Jo for the link):

Baklava tension increases; protests planned for Istanbul

"Turkish baklava producers are protesting Greek Cypriot claims that the sweet dessert is their own national creation, with support for their protest coming from State Minister and EU Chief Negotiator Ali Babacan in the EU General Secretariat. Plans for a press conference are underway for later today, and tomorrow a march in which banners proclaiming "Baklava is Turkish, we will not allow the Greek Cypriots to feed it to the world" are held is planned for Istanbul. The owner of renowned baklava producer "Haci Sayid Baklava," Halil Dincerler, had this comment on the situation: "Baklava is Turkish, what the Greek Cypriots are presenting is just a copy. We will go all the way to Brussels, and we will let the EU ministers taste real baklava."

Another comment on the international food fight was made by the President of the Baklava and Dessert Producers Foundation, Mehmet Yildirim. He said that it was time for Turkey to stand up and claim its national treasures, and recalled that the Turks had brought baklava with them all the way from Central Asia. Yildirim also said that there were documents which proved that baklava belonged rightfully to the Turks." Hurriyet

The Baklava war I started, what will be next !? kebab world war II, ozu / raki peace talks, turkish/greek/Arab coffee armed conflicts... !?

Good luck people
A.

I wish I was…

When I was in the member committee of AIESEC Tunisia, I once designed a leadership session in 2 parts for the Tunisian Leadership development Seminar. The first part was a “personal objectives” session and the second was a leadership session. The aim was to encourage AIESEC members to define their objectives in life and set their personal vision, as a first step in becoming a positive agent of change and a leader.

I am particularly proud of this session as it is an eye opening experience. A large portion of people don’t take time to think about their long term future before taking very important decisions such as choosing a degree, a university, a career, a place to settle down… The feedback from the delegates was exciting; they said it was an inspiring experience.

I started the session with Pearl Jam’s song “Wishlist” , I love this song with all its “I wish I was…” The song was complemented by a power point presentation with the song lyrics and visuals so the delegates can get the whole meaning of the lyrics (considering English is only the third language learnt in school and not that practiced in Tunisia).

Then 3 questions, one at a time. Asking the delegates to describe their life in 20 years… what they have to go through in those 20 years to get to that situation… then what they have to do now to start making their vision of their future real. They were given 15 minutes to think about each question. I was playing Pink Floyd songs while they were spread all over the plenary. In the beginning a few delegates were fooling around, thinking it was absolute bullshit… it was fun to see them submerge slowly slowly in their thoughts as the session went on… I was enjoying it.

When I did it myself, I was picturing myself at 40 years old surrounded by a beautiful family. I was successful in my career and preparing to retire in order to open a small restaurant and start writing. My ultimate goal in life is to write, I think it is the most beautiful thing: creation.

My immediate goal was to focus on a business career, thinking it was the right way to go to ensure a decent life. I had to go against what I was really interested in: literature but mainly history and geopolitics as their path was leading no where back home. As teaching or academic oriented jobs are not paid well, even after many years of studies and research… I know something about it.

So I preferred the more secure way… I don’t regret it cause’ it shaped my path so far and I could have all these experiences, meet AIESEC and learn so much about life, cultures and myself.

But what If I was in another place, another time… what would I wish to be!?

I wish I was a teacher… to help build the future generations…
I wish I was a poet… to spread love around me…
I wish I was a guitar player… to sublime people’s minds…
I wish I was a movie director… a writer… a novelist… to inspire people…
I wish I was a radio DJ… to share my love for music

…

I wish I was a neutron bomb, for once I could go off…
I wish I was a sacrifice, but somehow still lived on…
I wish I was the evidence, I wish I was the grounds…
I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good…
I wish I was the verb 'to trust' and never let you down…
I wish...
I wish...


A.