Daddy, let's build a spaceship ...

A balloon with a camera left free to twirl to the stratosphere, more than thirty kilometers from earth. Everything for the dream of a child: "Daddy, let's build a spaceship." It sounds like a fairy tale, but it really happened.

Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.

Cancer awareness month

October is the cancer awareness month.

In memory of every cancer patient, family member and
friend who has lost their battle with cancer and in honour of those who
continue to conquer it! Put this up for 1 hour if you love someone who
has or had cancer. Many won't copy and paste this. I did. Will you?

Ciao papà ciao mamma ...

The secret powers of time

easily to recognize his Sicilian origin :-) you can't have family values if you never have family meals together ...

Tips for your summer holidays ... despite all what a beautiful Catania

I could not believe my eyes on Christmas morning, just arrived in Catania.

I left a cold Milan which was licking the wounds after the chaos created by the snowfall few days earlier and I found a warm city that had only frozen calendar impressed with the date of September the 25th.

I had promised myself not to come back for a while. Terrible year 2009 for me and my family, too many memories ... to forget soon. But my sly Catania, was always there waiting for me as beautiful and passionate lover who unsuccessfully you try to eliminate from your life.

Beautiful despite everything, despite 20 years of mismanagement, contempt of merciless livability rankings that are too long the only dispute the primacy of the worst cities in Italy for the quality of life.

The day I come back to Milan, after my Christmas holidays, at dawn I watched with longing and hope, along the road to the airport, passing the beautiful fishing village of Ognina witnessed the most important moments of my life, from birth to marriage with the woman I love.

Fire and the sea, the harshness of black lava and the green hills surrounded by golden colors of orange and wheat fields of the plain. Everything here is made of strong contrasts and excesses. We left behind the figure so majestic of the Etna Volcano just whitewashed and a beautiful sea. Then I was forced to endure the image of the waterfront full of dry bushes, the work remains by the red palm weevil and unrecognizable Europa square devastated not by insects, but the speculation-building policies of those who has no consciousness and a bit of love for my homeland.

I was wondering, fantasizing, what if I had an unlimited budget to make this city a paradise on earth?

I saw the extraordinary artistic and natural beauty, the industry of its citizens who were able to rebuild it and make it nine times. The same city that was compared in the 60s as dynamism and economic outlook to the "moral" capital of Italy, my current town, Milano.

I imagined a renovated old town with the churches of Crociferi Street and Piazza Dante returned to their former glory. Bellini park that rivaled against the best gardens in the world and a university of excellence, among the oldest in the country, able to attract the best brains in the Mediterranean for meeting the challenges of the future.

I dreamed of a prosperous, made of small and large companies, capable of clear social disadvantage and restore dignity to the inhabitants of disadvantaged neighborhoods and a football team that played in a modern stadium, where could be possible even win the serie A league ...

Unfortunately I have not an unlimited budget, but not enough to resign myself to see it treated that way. Wistful? Maybe ... but I wonder how valuable the minds and energies of men of goodwill who despite everything still love Catania?

As a great journalist murdured by mafia called Giuseppe Fava said once "what good is living, if there is not the courage to fight?

Resonance, Music and the voice of God ...

In physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to oscillate at larger amplitude at some frequencies than at others. These are known as the system's resonant frequencies. At these frequencies, even small periodic driving forces can produce large amplitude oscillations.

All of us have experienced the phenomenon of resonance. As children sit on a swing, we have noticed that pushing at a certain frequency by the same effort, the amplitude became larger.

The acoustic resonance phenomenon is the amplification of sound waves that characterize the resonators and is a principle upon which the functioning of almost all musical instruments.

The music gives me an opportunity to reflect on the phenomenon of resonance not just in relation to aspects related to the laws of physics, but something that always leaves me puzzled and sometimes moved.

How many times in our lives, we have lived experiences that make our hearts resonate, giving different emotions, incredibly deep and intense. Like a tuning fork that vibrates at a frequency of 440 Hertz, our attention becomes maximum listening at some good music. Whether this is an aria by Bach, a song by Pink Floyd or the execution of a classical guitar masterpieces of Tom Jobim.

Speaking about the "Uncertainty Principle" by Werner Heisenberg, who represented one of the cornerstones of quantum mechanics, Albert Einstein said: "I do not believe that God has chosen to play dice with the universe".

Einstein was wrong, but maybe not quite. One is amazed by the wonderful complexity of nature and we are far from having discovered all the laws of the universe and the secrets behind the greatest miracle of the creation, life.

With 7 different musical notes, the possible combinations are almost infinite, but with only some of them: the good music, God seems to open a direct dialogue with our hearts, making them swing and giving the illusion for a while, to hear his voice.

Autonomy, mastery, and purpose ... the best way to motivate people

Daniel Pink on the surprising science of motivation addresses the key ingredients to motivate and engage people.

Daniel started with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. At least if the skills required are more than technical based on even basic cognitive capabilities.

What is the better way to motivate people for tasks requiring cognitive skills then?

Dave's conclusion is: Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose.

Autonomy: The urge to direct own life
Mastery: The desire to get better and better something that really matter to us
Purpose: The intent to do what we do in service of a larger something then our self


What's a good example of this? Google 20% time reserved by engineers to work at any projects they want. As outcomes 50% of the most successful innovative and rewarding ideas in Google, came out from this 20% time.

Autonomy, mastery, and purpose !!! If you want to know more then it's definitely worth going to watch this video.

Creativity loves constraints ...

Nowadays credit crunch, workforce reductions, politicians not qualified to manage the biggest economical crisis that the world remember since the great depression in 1929 have been putting on knee even the most optimistic man on earth.

Despite the difficulties there are still some people who see the bright side in whatever the face. I love them !!!

I believe that we learn the most during challenges instead success. Creativity loves constraints. Apollo 13 lunar mission is a good example.

Apollo 13 lunar mission launched on April 11, 1970, was the third manned mission by NASA intended to land on the moon, but a technical malfunction in the electrical system of one of the Service Module's oxygen tanks, forced the lunar landing to be aborted.

The command module remained functional on its own batteries and oxygen tank, which were only designed to support the vehicle during the last hours of flight. The crew shut down the Command Module and used the Lunar Module as a "lifeboat" during the return trip to earth.

The engineers creativity was boosted by the limited resources (oxygen time left) and despite great hardship caused by limited power, loss of cabin heat, and a shortage of potable water, the crew returned safely to Earth, and the mission was termed a "successful failure".

We cannot give up now, let's use any potential hidden force, the creativity that evolution embedded as part of our DNA. Like 39 years ago on Apollo 13 lunar mission, failure is not an option.

Eagles @ Milan 13/06/2009

No better present for my birthday enjoying a piece of Rock Story during an unforgettable concert held by The Eagles in Milan.

For these guys the time will never goes by ...

The real sin of Silvio Berlusconi

In any other western European country, scandals like those which have involved Mr. Berlusconi would have brought down the Italian premier in less time than it takes to say "Papi". But not in Italy, where Berlusconi succeeded last year in ramming a bill through parliament that gave him immunity from prosecution.

Tony Barber from FT in his blog clearly address what is the real sin of Silvio Berlusconi: he is one of the worst stewards of the Italian economy since 1945. His first, short-lived government in 1994 achieved nothing. His five-year spell in power from 2001 to 2006 was notable mainly for its failure to introduce the liberalising reforms that Italy desperately needs to make itself competitive in the eurozone.

Now, he is presiding over a decline that the International Monetary Fund thinks may make Italy the only eurozone country to experience three consecutive years of recession, from 2008 to 2010. Furthermore Italy's public debt is set to soar to 116 per cent of gross domestic product by 2010, according to the European Commission. In other words, Italy will be back where it was in the late 1990s. Noemi or no Noemi, this is Berlusconi's real sin.

Ten questions to Berlusconi

I've seen things ...

I've seen things ... you people wouldn't believe.

I've seen a prime minister in a democratic country, control the 90% of available media and select members of the national parliament with the same criteria used to casting the showgirls in his media broadcast empire.

I've seen things ... you European wouldn't believe. Recruit the new potential members of the European parliament according to competencies that are not legally applicable in most of the civilized countries and still I am not seeing the word end to closing this endless scandal ...

I've seen Mr. Berlusconi still rule my country ... wish me good luck !!!

he did it again ...

The incident took place as the Queen posed with world leaders from the G20 summit in the traditional "family" photograph at Buckingham Palace.

Mr Berlusconi then shouted "Mr Obama", prompting Her Majesty to turn around in mock frustration at the noise.

Buckingham Palace have denied that any offence was taken by the Queen.

God please after saving the queen take care of Italians too ...

Obama at Tonight Show with Jai Leno

click here to see the video

Iran - died in prison the rebel blogger

One of greatest Italian president, Sandro Pertini, said that freedom and social justice are an inseparable. There can be no freedom without social justice and there can be no social justice without freedom.

I believe that a human being is not truly free unless she/he is guaranteed the right to be informed. Only then any decisions can be taken aligned with their principles/values.

I am convinced that the phenomenon of Web 2.0, will be mentioned in history books as a revolution whose impact will be even higher than the French and Industrial ones.

Like all revolutions, this change is not happening smoothly.

In Italy, mainly because the average age of its politicians, who had dramatically underestimated the phenomenon "Beppe Grillo" already mentioned in this blog, bloggers life is relatively good.

Actually some efforts to reduce their scope or limit their freedom has been done, but without relevant effects.

In other countries, bloggers are less fortunate. Omidreza Mirsayafi a young 29-year-old Iranian, arrested on 7 February after the ruling by the Revolutionary Court, died in recent days in jail.

To have earned nothing appeals to Reporters sans frontières, to free the young blogger.

The official spoke of suicide and to avoid further tensions, the Iranian government has decided to remove the censure on Face Book, trying once again to use the carrot-stick approach.

Solidarity with the family of the young Iranian and an invitation to go forward in this battle for freedom to all the bloggers of the world.

This battle for freedom has been lost, but the war for a better world will be won.

How to move forward

The financial crisis and the first principle of thermodynamics

I fear that someone is not yet clear because of the most serious financial crisis of the last 80 years, but mainly I am referring to some Italian media which, paradoxically, bring into question the very existence, beyond the figures in the game.

According to a survey of De Zeit, the losses accumulated by financial institutions since the start of the crisis would be around 2800 billion dollars. More than 20% of U.S. GDP, well above the wealth produced in Italy in 2007 (2100 billion dollars).

While total 23 thousand billion loss recorded by the stock exchanges in the same period.

What this has to do all this in the first principle of thermodynamics also said, by extension, the law of conservation of energy?

It would be wrong to talk about money lost or stolen, "according to the time the most appropriate term should be" evaporated. "

In stock exchanges it makes a difference because as the water vapor that once cooled, it back into liquid, the money will return in order to pocket the usual suspects. Indeed, as the trend of the time, the 2800 billion dollars lost with the crisis have not disappeared into thin air. One part is unsold homes in the United States (990 billion dollars), another in the pockets of the rich as Mr. Silvio Berlusconi.

The usual "slander" against the premier? In mid-October, the Italian premier has purchased 16 million of mediaset shares when the title of his group was at historical lows.

Nothing illegal for charity, but encourage people to consume and borrow more, I feel really irresponsible. The crisis is evident, as in 1929, was created not by mistrust, but mainly from a widening of the gap between rich and poor of the planet.

There is then the aid of a Spanish professor Manuel Castells that wisely reminds us that consumption is not to make the happiness of mankind. If we would live in another way, leaving missed stimuli "necessary" to the economy, we could use our money to stimulate the mind because that is where he feels our life.

Travel to Catania

"You know the land where the lemon trees bloom?
Foliage shine green in the golden orange
A slight wind blows from the sky blue
Myrtle is quiet, serene bay leaves
Well you know? "
(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), Italianische Reise - Travel in Italy)

For family reasons, I'm spending a few weeks in Catania, it did not happen since almost three decades, just from the years of Mayor "ciuraru" (*) Enzo Bianco.

I feel a bit like Goethe, surprised by the beauty of the place and moved as a child. I feel a little sense of guilt, in light of the warm Sicilian winter, at the thought of my wife left in the 30 cm of snow in Milan.

My point of view is distorted by feelings, the infinite love for my city left with my heart in my throat, the carefree years when the most serious problem was to give an exam at the university and now I see the lost places of my childhood .

Unfortunately, Catania has worsened over the years and I do not understand how the center-left parties have managed to lose yet another round of elections, despite the disasters of the previous administration "sciampagnino" (*) are clear for all to see.

The left "lives" in Catania (not only) in a parallel universe, and so I'm not surprised it decides to emulate Barak Obama, on a virtual world: face book ...

What can I say ... good luck, but I know that without a concrete proposal and adding value to people life, they will be able to organize only a drink at Bar Europa!

Meanwhile today, on a local television, I heard one of its top executives, hoped the elimination of preferences even in local elections (as proposed at national level by the Italian premier Silvio Berlsuconi) ... then nobody wondering why people are no longer able to distinguish what is right or left ...

In my own small, infinitely loving my hometown, I can only support the new mayor Raffaele Stancanelli and hope that this nightmare will end soon and that Catania return to being the radiant city sung by Carmen Consoli.

(*) The people from Catania like to give a nickname to every thing, if the outgoing mayor was cleared with a derogatory nickname (sciampagnino - cheaper drink) no better fate had Enzo Bianco who was accused by his detractors to have only made cosmetic improvements to the city with plants spread over some main street ... from here ciuraro (florist)


Catania 1920 - The Marina

Tribute to Giuseppe Fava ...

I have already devoted a post to the disappearance of Giuseppe Fava in my Italian blog. Today is the 25th anniversary of his assassination, and I would mirror the thinking of his son Claudio.

THE MEMORY
January 5 after 25 years

by Claudio Fava

I weigh confess: Twenty-five years later the murder of my father as I have the suspicion and anger that he had written too many times for the same piece. In which, in essence, it always says that the memory should not be liturgy, that our dead have not died in vain and that evil would do to lower our guard, because the Mafia is a nasty beast especially when it does not need d ' kill. Here, things like this: all sacrosanct. Only now that I tired. Perhaps because in a few years I will have the age that my father had when he was killed and when I feel the risk that he remains the only collection of small papers, gentle things, a way of thinking. Perhaps because I have forgotten the sound of her laughter, and some skies, some flavors that belonged only to us, and are also finished in the meat grinder of time, mixed with honest public thoughts, with the politically correct considerations without that there was never granted a smudges or a curse.

So today I like to think of the living, not the dead. At a time that is not spent in vain and that but I think equally wasted. In short, or not know that in cities that do not kill my father were able even to publish the obituary on his death because the word mafia could not and should not mentioned? Do you know whether or not the publisher of the newspaper that prevented the obituary, Mario Ciancio, is still in its place, honored master of his newspaper and one hundred other newspapers? Do you know whether or not that is not one of the policemen, judges, journalists and ministers who protected Nitto Santapaola, namely the murderess of my father, he never paid the price?

Who moved sympathetically, who accompanied the board, who asked to teach at his wisdom ... "Todos caballeros", despite a quarter-century, their names have been offered to slash the story.

Do you know whether or not the letter of the Santapaola family, father and children inmates at 41bis (special laws for fighting mafia), are now published on the newspaper impunity of their city in order to understand who is to understand who commands still there?

Have you noticed, after a quarter-century of formal words, which in this country of anti-mafia no longer fucks almost nothing?

That my former party in parliament has sent our friends in the Mafia who then spend all else for Jacobins?

These and a hundred other things are now known by heart. But when we remember our dead, we put them simply in our pocket. So, if you let me keep in your pocket too, what I have inside today, thinking about my father killed by the Mafia in an infamous evening of twenty-five years ago.

Giuseppe Fava source: Fondazione Giuseppe Fava

The gaffe man ...

I could not believe ... or better say, yes I could unfortunately.

Mr. Berlusconi did it again ... He said few days ago, speaking with the Russian president Medvedev: Barack Obama has all the qualities for pleasing you, he is young, handsome and "tanned" !!

The Italians who live abroad, spend a lot of time apologizing Berlusconi's stupid quotes. He likes jokes, his supporters say but I'm afraid he is the only one who smiling at those.

Mr Obama we are Italians but our premier Mr. Berlusconi is not speaking in our name !!

I do support Obama !!!

Foreign politicians act "politically correct" nobody spend a word for sharing their preferences either for Obama or McCain.

Thanks God I'm not a politician and I can share freely my wishes: I want to see a black man rules the most important country in the world, I want to see Obama winning the presidential elections in US !

We need drastic changes and we need it soon. I can't imagine no one better than Obama, for addressing concrete solutions to managing the financial storm that has been struggling the world markets.

Both the polls and the opinion leaders seem quite sure about the US election results. I do prefer to be more prudent and say "I don't believe until I'll see".

Good luck Mr. Obama !!!!