Close Encounter of the 0th type

ufoOn the night between December 15 and 16, 1978, I woke up at some point. I don’t remember much, except that my sister, who was sleeping in the same room, was quietly buzzing. I was 14 years old and she was 12. We lived in Campobasso, Italy, in the Molise region, where our parents are from; about 4 years earlier we had moved from Rome, the birthplace of my sister and myself, as well as my mother’s adoptive city. We lived in a street which at the time ended up in the countryside with 4 buildings of 4 floors that enclosed a courtyard where we raged every day with our games together with many other kids. The buildings stood along the railway that led to the Adriatic coast, on a large garage that served as a shed for heavy vehicles of the largest construction company of the place, Molinari, well known also because its owner was then the president of the local football team.
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Italia, Land of Quattro…

quattroQuesta pubblicità, bellissima per carità, mi fa un po’ ridere.

È la pubblicità dell’Audi, noto produttore tedesco di ottime nonché costosissime auto. Utilizza panorami mozzafiato dell’Italia per pubblicizzare i suoi modelli a trazione integrale; ci sta: è la campagna pubblicitaria per il nostro paese. Ma già mi fa sorridere come abbiano utilizzato la parola italiana “quattro” per indicare i modelli a 4 ruote motrici; poi, dire in inglese che l’Italia è la terra ideale per la loro trazione integrale… Mi sembra troppo!

Vediamo di fare un po’ di ordine…

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Chi rompe paga…

iPad_Mini_Screen_Repair_nycDa qualche anno sono utente Apple e mi sono sempre trovato bene, sia con i Macintosh che con l’iPhone.

Nel giugno ho accettato di acquistare un iPad per mio figlio di 5 anni, con l’idea che il futuro che lo attende sarà anche più tecnologico, che un giorno si studierà su tablet, che esistino app educative che laoaiuteranno fin d’ora a sviluppare certe capacità. Ho scelto il più piccolo iPad Mini, niente 3G, niente schermo Retina, poca memoria. Lo usa solo in modalità aereo per evirtare flussi di dati in wireless mentre lo ha addosso. Ed è sempre sotto sorveglianza con cronometro alla mano. Quando è troppo scatta l’allarme e lui è bravissimo a smettere subito. Ma un giorno gli è caduto e si è rotto il vetro.

Ed è lì che ho scoperto che con la Apple non è sempre tutto rosa e fiori.

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Interview with Micheline Tissier (2009)

michelinetissier02Not long ago, I got the opportunity to have a chat with one of the most notorious female Aikido experts, Micheline Tissier, who holds the rank of 6th dan Aikikai. She was the amongst the first European women to get awarded such a high grade by Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba. She is also one of the too rare women that occupy a technical function within their federation. I was absolutely delighted when she accepted to answer my questions and discovered that she was of a very direct and honest character, never dodging a question and she often surprised me with the sharpness of the views she expressed on many subjects.
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Exams and failures

Pasquale_RobustiniIn the summer of 2012, during the usual Philippe Gouttard seminar in Follonica (Tuscany), I failed my 3rd dan Aikikai exam with the great French master. Some would argue that my image as a teacher, although since a short while, could suffer a serious damage. Furthermore, the feelings after a failure are diverse. The will of practicing decreases a bit. You feel a somehow mentally tired knowing that all you’ve done was not enough, while you were convinced it was much. Like after a bicycle or horse accident, it is important to start over again soon! Thank God I was at a seminar, so, immediately after my failed test, I was back on the mat!
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