…doesn’t necessarily stay in February, so here’s a few highlights. I saw art exhibitions, read books and comics, had a birthday, did a great football event with my team and bla bla bla, who cares. Here’s the stuff you might have seen on Instagram, but I didn’t talk about it, or not, maybe it’s just stuff I want to talk about. This is my blog after all.
I went to a cultural centre they opened close to my house, where a historical jazz venue used to be, to see a lecture given by one of the coolest Italian animators ever: Bruno Bozzetto. He proved to be a super-nice fellow, and he entertained us with stories of how he moved his first steps, with the relentless and resourceful support of his mother and father, and how they made the first masterpieces that eventually went to Hollywood. There was this young guy (and I mean very young) who was one of the first to arrive along with us, and he lay in wait for the master to arrive, only to snatch a signature on a DVD box, and he was the happiest person alive when he got it. He warmed my heart.
Afterwards, we saw one of Bozzetto’s masterpieces and possibly my favourite, a homage/parody of Disney’s Fantasia in which every piece is super-sad, the orchestra is made by deported old ladies, and the sketcher is a prisoner of production. If you don’t know it, below there’s one of my favourite sequences: Ravel’s Bolero, turned into a march of life on Earth.
I also went to see a jam session in another historical cultural centre close to my house, I hadn’t been there in ages, and I found a vibrant, very cool place, with a mix of people of every age, and it filled me with the desire of doing more of these things (aside from the desire of owning a place like this, but that’s another story). There was an elderly man playing the piano, and I swear he could play faster than I could think. And I think fast.
This month, as you might know, we had the Winter Olympics in my city and in a few other locations scattered around; from what I hear, they were a moderate success. I didn’t see anything (and I really mean it), but I met a lot of foreigners around town, mostly Canadians — who were hanging out at one of my favourite pubs — and US citizens. I even found myself in a place I wasn’t supposed to be (as it often happens) and Ilia Malinin was standing next to me. I don’t think much of figure skating, and yet I think it’s one of the coolest guys alive, so take your hands off him.
While I wait to have the time, mental energy and resources to actually play the game, I bought a gorgeous 6-vinyl edition of the soundtrack to Expedition 33, and it’s absolutely glorious.
I also went to Fondazione Pomodoro for the first time and bought a tote bag because they let you take away all the books you can carry. Which I did.
Last but not least, I was in Tuscany for a few days to present a big project (and I really mean big) to some of my closest collaborators and hear their input. The result was a splendid steak, a wall full of post-its, and the discovery of a modern-day Bestiarium by F.A. Mesmer, G. Straniero and Luigino B., a book that will be mine.
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