2013/02/21

• 
  2013.02.20 – 10h07
  Scènes de Montréal – Montreal Scenes
  

  Italian blues

  In a recent comment, Carlo linked a video featuring ballet dancer Roberto Bolle having fun on a song by Italian pop star Giorgia. I don’t know if it’s the winter blues but that immediately triggered my “Italy nostalgia” button. And when this happens, Gianna Nannini is not very far away. I found videos of both of them, Gianna first, then with Giorgia, in a live concert called Amiche per l’Abruzzo (Friends for Abruzzo) and staged in June 2009, in the “San Siro” stadium in Milan. It was a 12-hour fund raising concert to come in aid to the people of L’Aquila in the Abruzzo region, after the devastating earthquake which hit L’Aquila two months before. Forty Italian artists appeared live, but 102 Italian singers overall gave their support in one form or another to the concert attended by 60,000 and broadcasted live on 12 Italian radio networks and also the internet.

  I had first elected to embed-link two great songs of the 80s, I Maschi by Nannini and the unkillable Ti Amo by Umberto Tozzi, but whose videos were nice but somewhat generic, you know, aerial views and the likes. Although both songs are favorites of mine, especially I Maschi, I chose rather these much more recent renderings, even if the song “America” dates back to those same 80s, late seventies in fact. Oh, and sorry for the brutal wake-up, for those who were snoozing. Gianna is not very much into lullabies.

  America is apparently an hymn to masturbation. Google’s translations of the lyrics into French or English don’t seem very good. Too litteral. Maybe some Italian could confirm or infirm? And by the way, if anyone knows who is the sex bomb playing that guitar held by a pink strap on Gianna’s left, could you please tell him on my behalf that he is urgently requested to get in contact with me. Thank you.

  America

  Amandoti (with Giorgia)

  Gianna will turn 57 this June. Being a rocker since the mid seventies sure kept her in shape.

  

  A New Menace

  American kids would apparently be the object of a grave new imported menace. I read recently that US Customs officers have since a few years taken the matter seriously and brought special attention to it. What is it? An egg. One with a prize inside.

  From the net, and the US Customs and Border Protection: «Last fiscal year 2011, CBP seized more than 60,000 Kinder Eggs from travelers’ baggage and from international mail shipments. This was more than twice the number seized in fiscal year 2010. The product violates both Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations. As the U.S. government’s law-enforcement agency at the border, CBP is charged with enforcing the regulations of both agencies to keep safety hazards away from American consumers.»

  Elsewhere on the net: «VANCOUVER July 28 2012 — Chris Sweeney and his husband were driving home to Seattle after a recent trip to Vancouver when they were stopped at the border for more than two hours and threatened with thousands of dollars in fines for dangerous contraband in the trunk of their car. Their suspicious cargo? Half a dozen Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs, each filled with a tiny plastic toy — a childhood favourite in Canada but an illegal choking hazard in the United States. “I thought (the American border guard) had done his search and hadn’t found anything, and he was joking with us,” Sweeney, 35, told The Canadian Press in an interview Wednesday. “He wasn’t joking.”
  [..]
  Sweeney said a border guard told him and his husband that they could be fined $2,500 per egg, and then ordered them to head to the port of entry, where they waited for more than two hours. “We really didn’t know what was going to happen,” he said. “I didn’t know if maybe this was some really important thing that I just wasn’t aware of and they were going to actually give us the fine of $15,000.” But once inside, Sweeney said border staff later brushed off the offence and merely told them never to bring the Kinder Surprise eggs across the border again.»

  When I think of an American Border officer, or a Canadian one for that matter, both of whom seem to think that smiling gives cancer, I start wondering if one day the FDA will declare illegal eggs containing morons.

  By curiosity, and living in an area of this planet where these eggs are available (aka the ROP – rest of the planet), I bought one the other day since I had never before been face to face with this kind of danger. I’m happy to report that I survived. OK, I cheated, I’m not three years old or under. But still the same, I have other things to report:

  1- It’s made by Ferrero in Luxemburg and a bunch of other countries which means whatever you want it to mean.
  2- The outside layer of chocolate is thinner than the ozone layer
  3- There is no inside layer of chocolate
  4- The chocolate in question is to good chocolate what an Austin Mini is to a Lamborghini.
  5- The brown layer called chocolate rests on an inside layer made with something whitish and which I don’t really care to know much about
  6- The “killer” prize is encased in a plastic container which is impossible to be opened by a 3 year-old but which can easily be recycled into a convenient condom case or confetti container to bring along at marriages.
  7- The prize in my egg consisted of three self-sticking (if you can manage to remove the protective paper) holograms of dinosaurs, along with a template to stick them on, and a leaflet warning in 37 languages about the danger of swallowing or inhaling (?) by 3 year olds or less. Not all languages mention the age limit, but there’s a pictogram of an ugly kid with a Forbidden sign (logo) barring it, along with the indication 0-3.
  8- All in all, the prize in question seems to me less dangerous to kids than letting them in the care of parents who let them scrap their taste buds by eating these things (the egg shells, not the prizes).

  ADD-ON Feb 22: Just saw an add on tv. They now have a Kinder whose prize is specifically tailored for girls. Can’t stop progress.

  
  The incriminated egg. Without the feet. Those belong to the 3-minute egg-shaped timer on the left.

  
  As one can readily see, one does not buy these things if he is in a severe chocolate craving.

  As per those who feel compelled to treat their fellow citizens as dangerous smugglers for “importing” a few of those eggs, it’s nothing surprising. A few specimens of those boneheads were at it again Tuesday evening, showing to the world how paranoid, and ignorant, some of them are, when they held a Palestinian award-winning and Oscar-nominated film director for more than an hour at the Los Angeles airport, repeatedly menacing him and his family of a swift return to Amman. His nominated film, 5 Broken Cameras, has been seen all over the world including in the U.S. Even I saw it recently on Radio-Canada. If it wouldn’t have been for the intervention of Michael Moore, Emad Burnat would have been flown back to Amman and Sunday evening at the Oscars ceremony, the U.S. would have been the laughing stock of the planet cause one can bet that it would have been mentioned and certainly not in flattering terms.

  The events as narrated by Michael Moore in the Huffington Post -> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-moore/how-my-friend-and-current_b_2727297.html

  «Apparently the Immigration & Customs officers couldn’t understand how a Palestinian could be an Oscar nominee. Emad texted me for help.» twitted Michael Moore. I can understand why they couldn’t understand, but that would be so long to explain…

  Of course, customs boneheads are not an American exclusive. A few years ago they did the same in Toronto to Abdou Diouf, former President of Sénégal, but more so Secretary general of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie^[1], and as such having the same diplomatic stature as Kofi Annan. Instead of the diplomatic reception he should have had, he was rather subjected to a body search. Mr Diouf was coming to Canada after being invited by the Canadian government.

  ^[1] – An international organisation regrouping 77 States and governments (890 million people) where French is the or one of the languages spoken. Some kind of French-speaking Commonwealth.

  

  Connected

  Richard Bain, the guy who tried to kill Quebec’s Premier on election night but killed a stage technician instead, was in court yesterday. He wants to be represented by himself saying that he has the best lawyer: Jesus Christ. Psychiatrists have declared him fit for trial. If they say so…

  ADD-ON Feb 22: Heard this evening in a comedy program (radio) on Radio-Canada: «Jesus-Christ represented himself back then and it wasn’t a big success.»

  

  Fishing

  Ice fishing, what we call here “pêche blanche” (white fishing) is common on our rivers in winter, but especially so in Ste-Anne-de-la-Pérade, which is famous for this. This year, for the first time, they decided to establish such a temporary village in Montreal, and the Quai de l’horloge basin in the old port was chosen for this. For those who came to this blog last summer, it’s the basin facing the new urban beach I posted pics of on June 22.

  
  Photo © Jacques Nadeau, Le Devoir

  

  Shoveling

  This is one activity I don’t indulge into this winter. Having gotten rid of my car last fall, only remains the outside stairs but one can’t shovel with only one hand so that’s that. We got some snow yesterday but nothing compared to what they had back east some days ago, with some areas receiving up to 60 cm of snow (that’s 2 feet). We also know about New England last week. It might rain here this weekend. Crazy winter this year. Everywhere. And as if snow wasn’t enough, now the sky is also peppering meteorites.

  

  • 22:22
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