Feline power

Insect haikus

Killing a fly
I hurt
a flower.

Kobayashi Issa

Smashing a fly
I wish I could
Kill them all!

Natsume Seibi

Two superb
breasts -
and a mosquito!

Ozaki Hôsai

To those who persecute it
the firefly
offers its light.

Ôtomo Oemaru

The cicadas will die -
but their cry
doesn't reveal it.

Matsuo Bashô

On the edge of the grass
facing the endless sky -
an ant.

Ozaki Hôsai

Madonna's MDNA tour

I brought an unwanted souvenir from Greece: a tendinitis in my left leg. So for the first time I have to use crutches to walk, at least for a while, to allow my leg to rest. Not something easy - nor practical, especially when you have Madonna's concert! It was the first time I went to one of her shows, even though I've been listening to her music since I was a teenager. It was a great show and at 53 she is as energetic (and naughty) as ever. After the show I saw many people were feeling emotional and I wondered what is it that makes Madonna such a longterm source of inspiration for so many people around the world... Her music, for sure, but what else? Her outrageousness? Her capacity to reinvent herself countless times and to incarnate so many characters, from the virgin to the dominatrix bitch? Whatever it is, I had a wonderful time - and left my crutches at home.

Greek cicadas and post-holiday blues

Back from Greece, I think of all those moments that made the trip special... Many moments by the sea come to mind. And then there was the evening when we were having dinner and a cicada landed on the hand of one of us and stayed there for several minutes as if it were a comfortable tree.