Ardesia. Free thoughts about LOVE from Richard and Ange

 “I'm not so clear on the concept of love; there are so many variables that come into play ... such as passion, respect, admiration, romance, playfulness, sexual chemistry, mental chemistry, jealousy, friendship. In the stories I have had, not many and not even very long lasting ones, I have felt that I was very involved in some aspects and less so in others. True love I have always felt is the one where you have a balanced mix of these feelings. It upsets me, however, to see people overwhelmed by love, who become jealous, possessive or even worse who lose their self-esteem”.

“For you Ange, what is love?”.

“Smarty, you pass the buck to me! .... for me love means making the person you are with happy; understanding when he needs a comforting word and when it is good to leave alone. A special bond, however, destined to turn both lives upside down: if you fall in love with someone you cannot continue to be what you were or do the same things you did before. In love we have to exchange something that makes us progress, that improves as people. Then, as wise people say, over the years physical attraction will wane, that's absolutely normal, and then it will be important to have laid a solid foundation on the aspects you listed earlier”.

From "Ardesia": the music shop 😍

The shop that most enchanted Richard, however, was the one selling electrical appliances, stereo systems, vinyls and music cassettes, where a fantastic Philips Royal Color television set in briarwood and digital keyboard stood out in the window.

“If Lavernock goes through, in February I'm going to give myself a treat!”, thought Richard who was already anticipating the enjoyment of seeing the green turf of football pitches and the gaudy shirts of Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester. “And in the meantime I give myself this new album[1]  by Rod the mod!”. The saleswoman placed the disc in a bag with a photo of the bespectacled shop owner and underneath the inscription:

** Bill Smith and staff wish all our customers and friends the compliments of the season – and hope to be of service to you again in 1981**

---

[1] Foolish Behaviour, Rod Stewart's tenth studio album, released in November 1980.

Ardesia. A love story set in the early 80's: a Kaleidoskope of colors and a dark rock.

(...)

Ange was enjoying the moment and preferred to listen rather than recount her experiences or anecdotes; a light breeze had risen, lapping at her hair, like a skilled photographer's hand before a shot. There was no position, angle or expression that did not enhance the beauty of her face.

"No pacts are made between lions and men".

"You will have no eyes tonight, no ears and no tongue. You will wander in the blind, deaf and dumb otherworld; and the dead shall say:

Behold Hector, the fool who thought he had killed Achilles".

from Troy

The Iliad and its characters have always fascinated me, and this duel from the film Troy could not have been more epic: for me Brad Pitt would have deserved the Oscar just for these ten minutes.

Let's talk about wine 🍷 and the most famous grape variety in Tuscany: Sangiovese!

Bunches of Sangiovese

Sangiovese is an Italian black grape variety. It is among the most widely planted (cultivated areas cover 11 percent of the national wine-growing area); it is grown from Romagna to Campania and is traditionally the most widely planted grape in Tuscany.
It enters the blends of hundreds of wines, including some of Italy's most prestigious wines: Carmignano, Rosso Piceno Superiore, Rosso Conero Riserva, Chianti and Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Montefalco Rosso, Sangiovese di Romagna, Morellino di Scansano and many lesser-known but equally valuable ones.
The origins and provenance of Sangiovese are uncertain: the first reliable information dates back only to the 16th century, when Giovan Vettorio Soderini, in his treatise "The Cultivation of Vines," speaks of it, saying that "Sangiocheto or Sangioveto is a remarkable vine for its regular productivity."
We generally speak of Sangiovese, but in reality this term defines a large number of varieties (or clones) into which it has differentiated over the centuries and in different territories.
In Tuscany, for example, two large families of it can be distinguished: Sangiovese Grosso, (known throughout history by other names: Brunello in Montalcino and Prugnolo Gentile in Montepulciano), and Sangiovese Piccolo, used in much of the region. It is not without interest to note that Brunello is the name that was given locally in Montalcino to what was believed to be a grape variety. In 1879 the Ampelographic Commission of the Province of Siena determined, after several years of controlled experiments, that Sangiovese and Brunello were the same grape variety. In Montalcino, the name Brunello thus became the designation for wine made purely from Sangiovese grapes. Brunello rose among the stars of Italian viticulture by Franco Biondi Santi, after the wine was offered to Queen Elizabeth at a luncheon at the Italian Embassy in London by President Saragat on official view.
For this reason, it is difficult to give an absolute description of the wine made from it, which certainly has some common constants (good tannins and high acidity) but can vary from the cheapest red wine to the qualitative heights of Brunello, a high-value wine produced in the Montalcino area; here, in the unique habitat of the Montalcino hills, it produces a red wine that is among the most appreciated in the world for its structure, fullness of flavor, elegance and aging ability.
Sangiovese is also experiencing great popularity in recent years in California, thanks to the international success of so-called "Super Tuscans" wines. From Napa Valley it has spread to major California wine areas, from Sonoma County to San Luis Obispo.

All that remains is to open a bottle and cheers to all! 😊🍷🍷

Feb. 25, 1988: chronicle of INXS concert at Rolling Stone in Milan; does the venue always eXist?

 

My ticket

(From "6 Australians") The Rolling Stone was full to the brim (probably more than it should have been) and the concert started off with the support band Cruzados, a group from Los Angeles who presented their album After Dark. They played quite well, it was a kind of broad, multi-ethnic rock, full of Mexican influences. However, after the fourth or fifth song the audience started whining and the singer, with an admirable use of self-deprecating humor, calmed them down, saying that he knew that we were all impatiently waiting for INXS and their own performance was coming to an end.

 (…)The lights dimmed, the first members of the band came on stage. On the notes of Kick, as soon as Michael’s curly hair showed up, I lost control of where I was, unfortunately breaking the promise made to Piga’s father, that is, to look after his son.  I’ve seen many concerts apart from INXS, but I felt such bedlam and uproar among the audience only on that night in Milan; I was literally in the hands of the crowd and it took some time before I realised it was better not to resist that uncontrollable riptide.

(…) The rhythm was sprung, the songs were powerful and Michael stood tall.

He was in total control and I was impressed by the self-confidence he was flaunting: he was wiggling and dancing from one end of the stage to another, without pausing, without any decline in his voice. The band didn’t spare themselves either and played the whole album Kick and some gems from the precedent production, such as What you need, The one thing, Listen like Thieves-War, This Time, Shine like if it does, The Original Sin and the wonderful Kiss the Dirt …

 ****

The history of the Rolling Stone in Milan.

As early as the mid-1970s, rumors were circulating that David Zard (historic music promoter) had the idea of creating a rock disco, but it was Enrico Rovelli (Vasco Rossi's historic manager), in 1981, who took over Studio 54 and turned it into the Rolling Stone (opening 18/03/1981) The idea was a winner right away and among the first to perform were Iron Maiden in an unprecedented jazz-style double concert, one at 4 p.m., the other at 9:30 p.m. They will be followed by such high-caliber artists as INXS, Nick Cave, Joe Cocker, Ramones, Simple Minds, Bryan Adams, Bad Religion, Beastie Boys, Richard Ashcroft and many more. The venue was particularly prized for its acoustics that were difficult to recreate in larger spaces such as the Palatrussardi first and the Assago Forum  later. For this reason, Italian and foreign artists compete for the Rolling Stone stage. Over the years, the opening of other venues, people's changing tastes, and despite ninety concerts a year with a loyal audience, on January 30, 2009, Enrico Rovelli announced, in an article in the Corriere della Sera, the parting of the ways, the closing of the Rolling Stone and its subsequent demolition in favor of a 12-story apartment building. However, it seems that some portions of the old building remained intact underground and retained all the energy released in the concerts. 

It has been rumoured that some residents, at night, heard wonderful music echoing in the garages and blamed it on drinks in some pub. 

It's not the alcohol my friend, it's that rock never dies! 👅

“Come on, Come on, Come on

I look around
Unsatisfied
At what they're giving me
Then I think
To myself
Is there someone else
Who feels the same as me
Do you feel the same baby

When my back is broken
When the mountain moves away
All the dreams and promises
That we give
We give away

Sometimes you kick
Sometimes you get kicked
Sometimes you kick
Sometimes you get kicked

(…)

(INXS, Kick song by Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence)

Intimate moments with nature (from Glory moments)

With my dog Charlie I go for walks in solitary places surrounded by nature; our little escape from routine walks in the neighbourhood. He always goes ahead of me and even when we stop or sit down, he has his back to me, perhaps because he feels protected and quiet this way; this allows me to observe what attracts his attention, giving me intimate moments with nature.