Nina Cassian

CANDORI

- E la fel ca atunci. Ca la optsprezece ani.
Aceeaşi apă, aceeaşi lăcomie de trandafir,
aceeaşi aplecare a trupului
şi spaima de sărut, şi a te trezi din somn e-o fericire
şi sîmbăta şi Tîrgul Moşilor,
toate aceleaşi.

-Atunci, ce s-a schimbat ? întreabă domnul învăţător.

- Nu ştiu. N-am învăţat lecţia.
N-am învăţat nici o lecţie.
Am lipsit de la lecţie.
N-am putut să vin la şcoală
pentru că am fost sănătoasă.

- Atunci, am să te las repetentă, spune domnul învăţător.

- Aşa şi trebuie. O să mai încerc.
O să mă străduiesc. Poate că-mbătrînesc
pîn' la semestrul următor.



INNOCENZA

- E come allora. Come a diciotto anni.
La stessa aqua, la stessa avidita per la rosa,
la stessa inclinazione del corpo
e paura di baciare, e svegliarsi dal sonno vuol dire felicita
e il sabato e la Fiera,
tutte sonno le stesse.

- Allora, cosa e cambiato ? chiede il signor maestro.

- Non lo so. Non ho imparato la lezione.
Non ho imparato nessuna lezione.
Ho mancato dalla lezione.
Non ho potuto venire alla scuola
perche ero in buona salute.

- Allora, ti lascero a ripetere, dice il signor maestro.

- Cosi dovrebbe essere. Provero ancora.
Mi sforzero. Forse invecchio
fino al semestre succesivo.



INNOCENCE

- It's like then. It's like at eighteen.
The same water, the same greed for the rose,
the same inclination of the body
and fear for kissing, and to wake from the sleep means happiness
and Saturday and the Fair,
all the same.

- Then, what's changed ? asks Mr. Teacher.

I don't know. I haven't learned the lesson.
I have learned no lesson.
I missed the lesson.
I couldn't come to school
because I was healthy.

- Then, I shall leave you repeat, says Mr. Teacher.

- That must be so. I shall try.
I shall strive for.Maybe I shall get old
till the following semester.

JOSH DUHAMEL JOINS "NEW YEAR'S EVE". ABC HAS CHOSEN THE NEW "CHARLIE'S ANGELS"! BENJAMIN WALKER IS "ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER". SAOIRSE RONAN JOINS "THE HOBBIT"

Already star studded cast of NEW YEAR'S EVE, which includes Robert De Niro, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ashton Kutcher, Zac Efron, Jessica Biel, Michelle Pfeiffer, Taylor Swift, Halle Berry,

Sarah Jessica Parker, Frankie Muniz, Jon Bon Jovi, Til Schweiger, Sofía Vergara, Hilary Swank, Abigail Breslin... has just added three more names - Josh Duhamel, Ice Cube and Ryan Seacrest. The romantic film will follow the intertwining stories of several New York City residents as they navigate through the New Year's Eve holiday. According to "MovieWeb" Josh Duhamel will play one of the lead characters, a hopeless romantic who is looking for a date to a New Year's Eve party. He has an ulterior motive, though, as he is really trying to connect with a mystery woman at last year's party.

The angels in ABC's new CHARLIE'S ANGELS show have been cast: Rachael Taylor will play the youngest Angel, Abby, the daughter of a white-collar criminal and a skilled con artist. Annie Ilonzeh portrays Kate, an ex-cop and martial arts master. Minka Kelly will play Marisa, a former Marine and weapons expert, who is also a neat freak. Gorgeous girls, hope they can act, I can't take my eyes off the pictures above :)

SHORT HEADLINES Judi Dench will officially play the big boss M in the new JAMES BOND film. Young Saoirse Ronan (THE LOVELY BONES) has officially joined THE HOBBIT in the unknown role.

Now this is strange, among Eric Bana, Tom Hardy and many other big names in Hollywood, Timur Bekmambetov has chosen rather unknown and muscly (click to see yourself) Benjamin Walker (FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS, mostly known as the fiancé of actress Mamie Gummer, Meryl Streep’s oldest daughter) to play the American president in ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER the adaptation of Seth Grahame Smith's novel which shows Lincoln fighting the forces of the undead during the Civil War.

Those that are verbose and tangential are doomed in this day and age***

A tweet can only be 120 characters long, but Facebook’s status updates can be a whopping 420 characters. Wow! Ten more*

Uh oh. That was the Twitter maximum.

This wordy woman needs more characters than that. I am fast approaching the Facebook**

Well, this wordy woman who never could get to the point and loves tangents is starting to have a problem with the Web. Facebook is killing small time blog comments. I’ve stopped leaving comments on other people’s blogs, as I’ve noticed I am wanting to hit the “like” button, find none, ruminate for a moment, only to discover that the only thing I’m thinking is “like”, feel ridiculous, and move on. I can only assume others are feeling similarly.

My goodness, I've used the word "only" a few too many times, and would prefer to comment on it rather than think about revising what I've written. What's a sloppy thinker to do?! 

Of course, there’s also the attention span issue (which might also have something to do with my lack of willingness to think about editing). If we’re becoming used to reading small bits of information, if one exceeds those limits, readers are lost. I am, too!

I just read An Important Post about retaining one’s blog visitors in the Era of Facebook, and I know I’m doomed. I’ve been doomed since I first started blogging, since I’ve never followed the Three Big Rules of Blogging:

1. Keep it short.
2. Keep it simple.
3. Keep one’s blog limited to one subject.

My wordy writing? It’s becoming limited to That Which is Private (for the most part). Yes, folks, I’ve threatened to stop blogging a number of times, and though I’m not exactly threatening to stop now, well. . .it’s winding down, isn’t it? Like a relationship that’s run it’s course. . .things simply peter out. . .

The couple sits at the restaurant table and hasn’t a word to say to one another. Everything has been said. Every secret has been revealed. Though every day brings much that’s new, it’s been too long since those delights have been shared, and so. . .

*characters to go.

** limit.

***There's actually Four Big Rules of Blogging. The 4th is: Make sure your titles are readable by search engines. This one, obviously, is not. Nyah. Nyah. I did it on purpose. As they say, "You're only hurting yourself." I can't help it. I am, by nature, a contrarian, so if "they" say do it This Way, I  will probably not. Ah well.

Image note: Willem de Kooning Woman V 1952-53

I once found De Kooning's work scary and offensive. No longer. 

What does it have to do with this post? I'm not sure, but it feels about right. 

HUGH JACKMAN, JUDE LAW, CHRIS PINE IN "RISE OF THE GUARDIANS" EPIC! NEW SF "AGE OF RAGE". VIGGO MORTENSEN IN "SNOWHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN"

Now this is one great voice cast: Hugh Jackman, Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law and Isla Fisher will give their voices to DreamWorks' new animated 3D epic RISE OF THE

GUARDIANS. Based on the series of children books, which are yet to be published, the film follows a group of heroic childhood legends, each with extraordinary abilities. When Pitch (Jude Law), an evil spirit akin to the boogeyman, lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of children all over the world. Hugh Jackman will be Bunnymund (the Easter Bunny), Alec Baldwin is North (Santa Claus) and Isla Fisher is Tooth (the Tooth Fairy). The super charming film with interesting plot should come out some time in 2012.

SHORT HEADLINES As HOLLYWOOD SPY predicted before, Michael Fassbender has officially signed to star in PROMETHEUS, the prequel to Ridley Scott's ALIEN. He will play an android. Viggo Mortensen has officially signed to play the huntsman in SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN in which Charlize Theron should play the Evil Queen while young and beautiful Emily Browning (SUCKER PUNCH) has just auditioned last week for the role of Snow White.

According to "Heat Vision" Marc Webb, who is currently directing SPIDER-MAN reboot, will direct AGE OF RAGE, a sophisticated sci-fi movie set in a post-apocalyptic society where all the adults have died and a group of teens sets about trying to establish a new society. Mark Heyman (BLACK SWAN) is currently writing the script for the ambitious futuristic film.

Ion Caraion

ULISE

Am uitat undeva o parte din mine...
Eram aşa de atent să nu pierd nimic !
Numai fete urîte am întîlnit azi.
Fără mine întreg mă voi prăbuşi.
Fără mine întreg nu mai sunt eu.
Depărtarea mănîncă din oraşul ruginit.
Taci...despre ce pomeniţi ? Grîu sub vînt.
În fiecare zi se prăbuşeşte cineva...

Arborii se destrămau subţire
şi pămîntul îi înghiţea împreună cu ploaia.

Am uitat undeva o parte din mine.



ULISSE

Ho dimenticato altrove una parte di me.
Ero cosi attento a non perdere nulla !
Solo delle ragazze brutte ho incontrato oggi.
Senza di me intero crollero.
Senza di me intero non sono piu io.
La lontananza mangia dalla citta arrugginita.
Stai zitto..di che vi ricordate ? Grano sotto vento.

Gli alberi si dissipavano sottilmente
e la terra li inghiottiva insieme alla pioggia.

Ho dimenticato altrove una parte di me.



ULYSSES

I forgot somewhere a part of myself.
I was so careful not to lose anything !
Only ugly girls I have met today.
Without me whole I shall collapse.
Without me whole I am no longer myself.
The distance is eating from the rusty city.
Shut up...what are you remembering of ? Wheat under wind.
Everyday someone collapses...

The trees are breaking up thinly
and the earth is swallowing them together with the rain.

I forgot somewhere a part of myself.

Maria Banuş

CERCUL SE-NCHIDE

Cercul se-nchide.
Ţii minte cum nechezau sălbatecii mînji ?
Şi tropăiau departe
de mîngîietorul bot al părinţilor.
Ţii minte cum scuturau coama în vînt ?

Acum eu întind botul
ca un sucub însetat,
după apa neîncepută,
după zîmbetul fiilor,
după arcul grumazului lor încordat,
ridicat împotrivă.

Şi noaptea, neauzit,
m-apropii de pat,
îi ascult cum reaspiră,
ating mărul lor rotund ca o piatră de rîu,
care doarme adînc în albia nopţii.

Şi străveziile clipe trec,
mă mai chinuie o vreme şi mă îneacă.
Dar în ultima clipă simt,
atingîndu-le umărul,
cum intru prin ei în iarba sălbatică,
şi iarăşi ating stelele, frunza, mareele.



IL CERCHIO STA CHIUDENDOSI

Il cerchio sta chiudendosi.
Ti ricordi come nitrivano i selvaggi cavaletti ?
E scalpitavano lontano
dal carezzevole muso dei genitori.
Ti ricordi come scuotevano la loro chioma nel vento ?

Ora tendo io il muso
come un fantasma assetata
verso l'acqua vergine,
verso il sorriso dei figli,
verso l'arco del loro collo teso
sollevato contro.

E di notte, inascoltato,
m'avvicino al letto,
li ascolto respirare,
tocco la loro spalla tonda come una pietra del fiume
che dorme profondamente nel letto della notte.

E i trasparenti istanti passano,
mi tormentano un tempo e poi m'annegano.
Ma nel ultimo momento sento,
toccando la loro spalla,
come sto entrando attraverso loro nell'erba selvatica
e ancora tocco le stelle, le foglie, le maree.



THE CIRCLE IS CLOSING

The circle is closing.
Do you remember how the wilde foals were neighing ?
And were tramping away
From the caressing mouth of their parents.
Do you remember how they were shaking their mane in the wind ?

Now it's me that stretch the mouth
like a thirsty ghost
after the virgin water,
after the smile of the children,
after the bow of their strained necks
raised against.

And at night, unheard,
I approach the bed
and listen them breathing,
touch their round shoulder like a stone of the river
sleeping deeply in the bed of the night.

And the trasparent moments pass,
torment me for a while and then drown me.
But in the last moment I feel,
touching their shoulder,
as I go through them into the wilde grass
and again I touch the stars, the leaves, the tides.

CHRISTIAN BALE IN SF EPIC "DARK TOWER"? ABC PLANNING "POE" TV SHOW. FIRST PICTURES FROM EPIC FANTASY "JABBERWOCKY"!

Even though there are years before we see Ron Howard's adaptation of Stephen King's famous sf saga DARK TOWER, we've already seen a lot of stars in the list of possible lead actors including Hugh Jackman,

Jon Hamm, and the two biggest contenders Javier Bardem and Viggo Mortensen, but according to "Beyond Hollywood" they now have an extremely strong rival. Fresh Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner, hyper talented Christian Bale could also get the role of the famous gunslinger Roland Deschain. He actually sounds like the best choice if you ask me! Always loved him in all of his roles and he could use a big new role in a big new saga which will have three movies and two seasons of TV show.

SHORT HEADLINES ABC has ordered a pilot for the new TV series called POE, which will follow the famous writer employing unusual methods to solve crimes in the 19th century Boston.

Ah, here's a super crazy plot: THE DETAILS will be a weird comedy starring Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Banks, Laura Linney and Ray Liotta, about a family who discovers raccoons living in their backyard. As they try to eradicate the vandals, a chain reaction of infidelities, extortion, organ donation and murder ensues. Now, everybody knows how much I adore raccoons, the sweetest creatures ever!

Check out the first pictures from the unusual fantasy film we've never heard of before. Produced by American World Pictures and Bron Studios JABBERWOCKY (what a horrible title) will be an epic fantasy film starring Tahmoh Penikett (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA), Michael Worth (ACAPULCO H.E.A.T.), Kacey Barnfield (RESIDENT EVIL), Raffaello Degruttola, Steven Waddington, Richard Riddell, Ian Virgo, and directed by Steven

R. Monroe. The film chronicles the story of a young squire (Michael Worth) who, alongside his brother (Tahmoh Penikett), must become a warrior to save his people and the woman he loves (Kacey Barnfield) after a horrific beast is unleashed on the Kingdom. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing this will be a TV movie or a mini-series.