No postage necessary

Avui he rebut tres ofertes per tramitar una tarja de crèdit. Cada setmana en rebo una mitjana de cinc. És molt divertit com aquestes companyies financeres inverteixen un gran capital en la captació de nous clients. I encara és més divertit com funciona aquí als Estats Units això del "crèdit". Bé, no sé si divertit seria el terme més adequat. A mi tot plegat em dóna bastant de fàstic. El poder del diner.
A mi em molesta enormement que omplin la meva bústia amb publicitat que no desitjo. El mateix em passa quan rebo trucades venent-me alguna cosa. Però és clar, a la Meca del diner, si vols mantenir el teu número secret has de pagar. El que hauria de ser un dret -a la privacitat- aquí val diners. Jo simplement els penjo el telèfon. Sóc un maleducat.
I quan rebo aquestes promocions on només cal enviar-los una carta amb franquejament pagat, els envio el sobre buit. Que gastin, que gastin! No postage necessary if mailed in the United States. Doncs això, vosaltres pagueu per haver gosat molestar-me. Què us heu cregut!

Gairebé diumenge

Avui és diumenge. Un diumenge d'aquells que són dissabte, perquè demà dilluns és festiu. Els diumenges no m'agraden. Mai m'han agradat. Quan era adolescent tenia una amic que assegurava que es buscaria una nòvia per així no avorrir-se els diumenges a la tarda. No la va trobar pas. Tots intentàvem trobar alguna cosa per tal de fer passar el diumenge.
Ara ja he esmorzat, i mentre escric aquestes línees, estic duplicant alguns CD's. Després aniré a córrer, i potser també aniré al supermercat a comprar. Veuré una pel·lícula, continuaré llegint el meu llibre "A Pocket History to the United States", i escriuré alguns e-mails. Al vespre aniré -com sempre- a dormir aviat. I demà serà un altre dia. Un altre diumenge.

TROCAS MAL FEITAS!!!

Há pessoas que não sabem o que é o sorriso
E por isso o trocam por uma lágrima.
Não sabem o que é um canto
E o trocam por um grito de agonia.

Não sabem o que é uma amizade
E a trocam pela antipatia.
Não sabem o que é o amor
E o trocam por um grande ódio.
Não sabem o que é a paz
E a trocam pela intriga.
Não sabem o que é a verdade
E a trocam por um mundo corrido de mentiras.

Não sabem o que é uma flor, uma árvore, uma paisagem
E trocam-nas por uma poluição desenfreada.
Não sabem o que é o diálogo
E se trancam dentro de si mesmas.
Não sabem o que é união
E vivem isoladas.
Não sabem quem é Deus
E o trocam por supertições vazias.

Não sabem o que é vida
E vivem trocando-a pela morte...
Todas estas trocas são feitas
porque o mais cômodo tem caminhos mais fáceis.

E essas trocas pelo mais cômodo, pelo mais fácil,
não levam a lugar nenhum.
Apenas atrapalham, esvaziam, machucam, destroem...
não deixam a vida ser curtida!!!

(Autor desconhecido)

Springsteen -un altre cop- i altres dèries

Dimecres a la nit vaig veure Springsteen un altre cop, i la trobada va ser, com sempre, molt emocionant. Independentment que el set list es pugui sempre discutir, el que no es podrà discutir és la qualitat que sempre Bruce assoleix en els seus concerts, ja sigui sol o amb la E Street Band. És difícil quedar-se amb algun moment en concret del concert, però per donar alguna idea, jo em quedo amb dos: la interpretació del tema "Reason to Believe" amb harmònica i veu distorsionada, completament irreconeixible, i la interpretació al piano de "Incident on 57th Street" seguida del "The River" també al piano.
Avui el Barça s'ha convertit amb el campió de la Lliga de futbol. Després de 5 anys ha caigut un títol. No és que el futbol em tregui la son, però els diumenges a la tarda són terriblement avorrits i el futbol ajuda a passar. El porter del Madrid Casillas, amb una lucidesa pròpia de l'entorn futbolero espanyol, afirma al final del partit que o "el Barça pincha o a tomar por saco". Doncs això, a "tomar por saco" i un altre any serà.
De les altres dèries ara no me'n recordo. No deuen ser tan importants ...

Dear Bruce Springsteen

Dear Bruce Springsteen,
I just got a couple of tickets to see you next Wednesday here in Chicago. I have to say that it was impossible to get them in a "regular" way, so I had to buy them through a website that is making a lot of money out of it. Anyway, for me the most important thing is that I got the tickets. I've read all the reviews of your tour so far. They are pretty good. It looks like you are playing songs you never tried before (like "Two Faces"), or songs nobody was expecting you to play. I don't know if you are going to read this, but I'd like to ask you to play "One Step Up". It's one of my favorite songs, and I think it fits in the show, in what you are trying to communicate. I've read someone's review saying that watching you with the E Street Band is like watching the movie, while watching you playing solo is like reading the book. And the book is always better. That, I believe.
I saw you for the first time in Barcelona in August, 3 1988. I was only 16 years old. It was the first time I went to a rock show and it was just incredible. I remember that concert as the best one I've ever been to. And I have been to so many good ones (The Rolling Stones, U2, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, AC/DC ...). I went with my brother and some of his friends and I remember being completely exhausted after 3 hours of show, while you were still rocking and kicking some asses on the stage. 4 hours and a half and 90000 people. That says everything. I missed you on the Amnesty International tour, but I saw you again in your Human Touch / Lucky Town tour. It was in Barcelona, July 4 1992. The show whas scheduled for the 2nd, but there was a strike in France and the trucks could not get to Barcelona on time. I remember being very curious about your new band -kind of skeptical, to be honest-, but when I saw you on the stage, all I said was: "He is the only one I need. He gives everything that need to be given!". That was a good show too. Then you went solo. And I could not get tickets for the couple of shows you scheduled in my city. I waited both days out of the Tivoli theatre, to see if it was my lucky day and somebody could sell me some tickets at a reasonable price. Some guy offered me tickets for 15000 pesetas (that's around $100), but by that time I could not afford that much. I saw you arriving at the theatre, signing records, and I took some pictures. In one of them, a girl is just crying for seeing you. It was just unbelievable to have you so near. You are going to laugh at this, but I took a picture with your bodyguard (I don't remember his name though), and I keep it like if it was you ...
Thanks to The Stone Pony Club Magazine, I could get tickets to see you in Toulon, France, on May 1996 (was it the 19th?). We rented a car and we drove all the way from Barcelona to San Remo, Italy. We wanted to reached Italy before going back to Toulon for the show. My friend was not familiar with your music, and she was not very sure she was doing "the right" thing spending so much money to go to France to one of your shows. But she did, and she will never regret. After 10 seconds seeing you on stage, with your harmonica and your guitar, at the beginning of the song "The Ghost of Tom Joad", she just said: "The money is more than worth it". After we got back to Barcelona, she bought almost all of your records. (Do you see? I got you a new fan!).
In 1998 all the fans' dream came true. You reunited the E Street Band after releasing the TRACKS CD Box Set and there we were again, at the Palau Sant Jordi for a night to remember. It was the tour opening night, and Barcelona is so proud of that, because you know we love you and your music so much (byt the say, thanks for the DVD!). By that time there was a war going on in the ex Iugoslavia, and I wrote a banner stating "No War". CNN interviewed me. They wanted to know what I was expecting of the show, and why I had that banner. I said I was expecting you to play the song "War", and that you were and advocate against war and for human rights. You did not play that song, but the show was just terrific. I remember your wife Patty saying hello to the crow, like if she was home, everybody so happy to be togethe, Patti still looking very good, after having 3 children, and four guitars playing together.
Then I moved to Chicago, just the day after the album "The Rising" was released. I bought the CD for a friend (another fan I got you!) and I bought it again for me when I just got here. It was the summer of 2002. By September, 23, you were at the United Center rocking down the house. I remember some people singing Happy Birthday to you, and you answering "If you don't stop I'll leave the stage!". Man, you are funny! They were just trying to be nice ... But anyway. I was moved by "You're Missing". Clarence was crying, and so were many of us. You came back by August 2003, but my mother was staying here with me, and I didn't really dare to take here to the show, event though it would have been fun. She knows how much I love you, and she encouraged me to go to the show by myself, but man ... you know you shouldn't leave a mother behind for a rock 'n' roll show (even though I had to think twice about it!).
Now I just can't wait to be Wednesday, May 11, so I can be with you again. You write the soundtrack of my life, and that is something I will never be able to pay you back. I respect you so much as a musician as well as a person, and if I ever have the opportunity to meet you in person, I'd probably just say: "Thank You Very Much! You make my life complete".
Sincerely,