Čīles filma "Machuca" stāsta par laika periodu Čīles vēsturē, par kuru līdz pavisam nesenam laikam es nezināju ne nieka. Taču tagad, pateicoties "Global history of football", mana zināšanu bagāža ir nedaudz uzlabojusies. Vai nav interesanti, ka futbola grāmata bagātina arī vispārējās vēstures zināšanas? Par to varu Deividam Goldblatam (un Ziņģim) vēlreiz izteikt pateicību.

It seems that after all we will have the possibility to stay in Milano for at least a couple of hours after our arrival on the 15th of July. I was informed by Ryanair that our raceflight was rescheduled so we would be landing in Bergamo at 13:45 (instead of 20:45) thus giving us an opportunity to take a walk around the centre of Milan before taking a train to Turin. On the negative side - on the road back our airplane from Bergamo takes off at 7:45 in the morning, which means that we`ll have to get up unpleasantly early. And as far as Tom Waits is concerned - the cheapest tickets are at around 100 EUR pro person. Actually the price wouldn`t be an issue for me here but the time is...

"Deceptive Bends" ir pirmais ieraksts, kuru 10cc veidoja kā duets, nevis kā kvartets, un līdz ar Goldija un Krīma aiziešanu, grupa sāka pamazām atteikties no savas mūzikas ekscentriskākajām pusēm un pievērsās vienkāršākai un mazāk dīvainai popmūzikai, kura gan vienlaikus bija gan skaista un klausāma.

"Jauni amerikāņi" Deivida Bovija karjerā bija relatīvi negaidīts pavērsiens - pēc tam, kad viņš pāris gadus bija uzdevies par Zigiju Zvaigžņuputekli, viņš ņēma un pievērsās Filadelfijas soul mūzikai un uz kādu laiku pārstāja būt rokmūziķis šī vārda tradicionālajā izpratnē. Vienīgais, jāatzīst, ka par gluži izcilu šo viņa pāreju nosaukt nevar. Kaut tāpēc ka Bovijs nav Džeims Brauns un viņa plēšu spēks ir ievērojami mazāks. Un kaut tāpēc vien, ka soul mūzika vispār lielākoties nav nekas fenomenāls.

Tom Waits will be touring Europe this summer but boy does his schedule make me sad! Most of it happens during our Italian trip and he even plays three gigs in Italy. But all of those in Milano and he comes there two days after we leave and I can`t stay because of him extra days in Milan

"Klosterkalns" ir viena no tām grāmatām, kuru lasīšana mums skolā tika uzspiesta ar varu (nebaidos no šiem vārdiem) un par kurām nevienu sliktu vārdu nedrīkstēja teikt. Tas gan laikam vispār ir tiesa attiecībā uz visu obligāto literatūru - pat ja skolēns spētu ģeniāli argumentēt, ka, piemēram, "Lāčplēsis" ir nekam nederīga parodija par "Kalevipoegu", šāds viedoklis netiktu uzklausīts. Un Arnolda Apses "Klosterkalns", kura izdošanā mūsu literatūras skolotājai Ainai Britānei bija lieli nopelni, arī ir viens no šādiem nekritiski vērtējamajiem darbiem.

Šī Elisa Kūpera ieraksta nosaukuma precīzākais latviskojums būtu "Penis", varbūt "Loceklis". Man ir zināmi aizspriedumi attiecībā pret peņiem veltītiem ierakstiem, taču ja jau Keta Stīvensa "Mona Bone Jakon", kas arī ir "Penis", ir labs ieraksts, kāpēc lai šis tāds nebūtu? Tiesa, uzraksts uz plates vāciņa, ka šajā vāciņā iekšā atrodas viens (1) Elisa Kūpera "muscle of love", šķiet nedaudz biedējoša. Iedomājies - tu kā normāls cilvēks nopērc veikalā mūzikas ierakstu, ko vēlies uzdāvināt mīļotajai sievietei, iesaiņo to skaistā ietinamajā papīrā, pasniedz ziedus, un tad tava mīļotā sieviete no iepakojuma izņem asiņainu nogrieztu locekli. Diez vai tu šādā situācijā varētu cerēt uz romantisku vakara turpinājumu.

According to DELFI, in July the Latvian drivers will get a pleasant present in the form of photo radars. I can`t say that I`m very thrilled about it but - that`s life. I`m not much of a Speedy Gonzalez anyway, yet I`m sure that from now on I will need to drive slightly more carefully, as I`m not a huge fan of speeding tickets.

Recently a rather strange campaign has gained spread in Latvia - don`t buy Chinese products, in order to support the struggle of Tibet. Although on an emotional level I can understand such an attitude, this whole situation is way too laughable to be taken seriously. Boycott China? How is that possible. Almost everything is made in China and even with wares that have labels "made in Spain" probably are made in China anyhow. Plus if you boycott China, aren`t there tons of other countries that you can boycott just as well? Russia drowned Chechnya in blood (or didn`t it?) - perhaps we should restrain from using Russia`s natural gas and warm ourselves entirely by rubbing one against another? Turkey doesn`t recognize the Armenian genocide plus it oppresses the Kurds - let`s boycott Turkey then? India and Pakistan are two war-crazy states because of the Kashmir region for decades - I don`t want to support either of them. Israel and Arab states around it are constantly on the brink of war and their actions are usually targeted against civilians - let`s boycott them (although I`m not sure that even if I wanted to I could buy any Lebanese products). USA invaded Iraq for no clear reasons and has caused death of thousands of civilians there - let`s boycott the Americans. And all the countries that supported the invasion. Including Latvia.

Yesterday when I decided to listen to a couple of songs from "The Wall" by Pink Floyd I realized that I didn`t like them as much as I should and as much as I did before. Was it just because I was in some strange mood or have I lost affection for one of my favourite records? The answer will be found out as soon as I give it another try but currently I`m in a slight state of shock.