Czerulf: Italy – Napolitano pushed into extra time

Giorgio Napolitano needs to go into extra time

Italy has witnessed a dramatic week. The Italian parliament was called in to elect a new President of the Republic. In normal times this could have been a straight forward affair, since the post is of mainly representative nature. But these are not normal times. With the economy in free fall, the unemployment rate on a level not seen in two decades and the trust in the political class on an all-time low, the President is now regarded as the only institution able to hold the Italian Republic together, not a minor assignment by any means. The task has fallen again onto Giorgio Napolitano‘s (age 87) shoulders.

Video Obituary: Storm Thorgerson (1944-2013)

Obituary (18/04/2013) – Storm Thorgerson, the highly regarded artist who designed probably 80 percent of the covers of your CD collection (Magazine Internationale), for example Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), died yesterday (aged 69).

Charles Chaplin: Life is..

Life is a beautiful magnificent thing, even to a jellyfish.

Charles Chaplin

April 16, 1889: Legendary performer and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin was born in London, England, 124 years ago today. Ever a perfectionist, Chaplin wrote, directed, produced, and starred in all of his own films, and, once sound was introduced, wrote all of his own scores as well.

Obituary: Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013)

Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013)

Obituary (08/04/2013) – Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister, passed away (age 87). She was the first and since then the only woman to lead government and the longest-serving head of cabinet since Winston Churchill, two outstanding achievements in themselves. But she truly changed her country, for the better or the worse remains open to question.

Mark Twain: Good friends, good books, and..

Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.

Mark Twain

April 9, 1859: When Samuel L. Clemens got his steamboat license, 154 years ago today, he had no idea that he’d end up taking a common boatman’s call, Mark Twain, as his pen name.