hum

What would have become of Hercules, do you think, if there had been no lion, hydra, stag or boar - and no savage criminals to rid the world of? What would he have done in the absence of such challenges? Obviously, he would have just rolled over in bed and gone back to sleep. So, by snoring his life away in luxury and comfort, he never would have developed into the mighty Hercules. And even if he had, what good would it have done him? What would have been the use of those arms, that physique and that noble soul, without crises or conditions to stir him into action?

Epictetus

I started to carp: they must learn to wave from the elbow not the wrist.

Mi oriento usando soprattutto l’udito. Nuoto per due-tre ore rimanendo parallelo alla costa, ascolto il rumore delle onde che si infrangono sulla riva, le auto che passano. Ogni zona ha i suoi suoni, basta riconoscerli. L’importante è non deconcentrarsi: se lo faccio, allora sì che sono guai, perché non mi ritrovo più.

Alessandro Furioni

People may know
what but rarely
they know how

One more. That’s it, come on! Let’s give them another one. I love you. One more kiss, one more kiss, okay?

A New York ci sono 20 auto ogni 100 abitanti, a Tokio 27, a Londra 36, a Barcellona 41, a Parigi 45, a Los Angeles 57, a San Francisco 64. Roma trionfa: sono 76. Eppure il nostro è un paese che sa andare anche a pedali; in numero assoluto siamo sesti al mondo, con circa 30 milioni di biciclette, dietro a Cina (450), Usa (100 milioni), Giappone (75) Germania e India (63). Ma è sui tragitti brevi che l’ italiano accende il motore: le auto nel nostro paese, in oltre il 50% dei casi, non percorrono più di 5 km, cioè proprio quelle distanze dove sarebbero concorrenziali le bici, se non venissero arrotate o comunque minacciate da indomiti automobilisti, magari al telefonino. Il risultato complessivo è disarmante; se tentassimo una gara europea usciremmo a pezzi: nel nostro paese solo il 3,8% degli spostamenti totali è fatto in bicicletta. In Olanda il 27%, in Danimarca il 18%, in Germania il 10%, in Finlandia il 7,4%. Peggio di noi solo Francia, 3%, Regno Unito 2%, Portogallo 1 % e Spagna 0,7%.

Stefano Rodi

We think too much and feel too little.

The Great Dictator

A young man in Japan arranged his circumstances so that he was able to travel to a distant island to study Zen with a certain Master for a three-year period. At the end of the three years, feeling no sense of accomplishment, he presented himself to the Master and announced his departure. The Master said, “You’ve been here three years. Why don’t you stay three months more?” The student agreed, but at the end of the three months he still felt that he had made no advance. When he told the Master again that he was leaving, the Master said, “Look now, you’ve been here three years and three months. Stay three weeks longer.” The student did, but with no success. When he told the Master that absolutely nothing had happened, the Master said, “You’ve been here three years, three months, and three weeks. Stay three more days, and if, at the end of that time, you have not attained enlightenment, commit suicide.” Towards the end of the second day, the student was enlightened.

John Cage