Extinction.

Extinction is forever.

Donate & support:

www.wwf.org

www.seashepherd.org

www.greenpeace.org

Listen to "Countdown to extinction" by Megadeth.

Baroness live report!

Finally! Finally I saw Baroness live!

I missed them twice back in Dallas and I have had to cross the ocean and the equator to see them live... But I finally did it.

The opening band was Grieg, from Brisbane. I didn't know them, and I'm happy that I had the opportunity: I really liked them and their show, so support the scene and buy the new album (here).

Then it was Baroness time. Technically perfect, with a good selection of songs from the Red, the Blue, the Yellow & Green, and the Purple album (maybe too many from the Purple album, which is not my favourite, or maybe I haven't well assimilated yet). Anyway, great show, full of energy and sweat (and one farting dude).

Here a couple of pictures from the show:

Note: because I'm old, no more head banging, but only groovy bop.

Note number two: am I the only one who recognised Nick Jost before the show?

Listen to the Yellow & Green album from Baroness.

Deftones + Karnivool live report!

...just a couple of quick words for my first metal gig down under (2 days ago): Deftones + Karnivool + The voyager (who????).

The Voyager: boring to me, not my kind of music. I laid down on the grass sipping beers.

Karnivool: perfect. Like listen straight from the CD. Amazingly prepared (meh.). They played a new song: new album soon? Hopefully.

Deftones: not from this planet. Everything is on Chino' shoulder, and he knows that and he loves it. A lot of moshpit, a lot of fun, a lot of songs. Great!

Two comment about the Australian metalheads: 1) they watch and listen not through their phone and they enjoy the show. How about that americans? 2) They love weed. A lot.

The end.
Kill yourself now.

Listen to Deftones and/or Karnivool.

100 reasons of why being a metalhead is awesome and you suck.

1. Because is the best music ever
2. Because you don't have idea of what's going on in my head while I'm listening to Brutal Truth
3. Because of Burzum and the smell of fire
4. Because sometimes we don't have anything else left
5. Because we learn thousand of names/bands/songs and we brag about it
6. Because of the distortion
7. Because the sound is like a solid wall of concrete
8. Because of the continue search for bands, sounds, etc.
9. Because sometimes it's the only thing we can hold on
10. Because of the people
11. Because of the live
12. Because of Master of puppets, Reign in Blood, Aenima, etc
13. Because of the moshpit
14. Because life is shit and then you die, and it's ok and we have a soundtrack for that
15. Because we ate proud
16. Because of the hours spent to read the lyrics
17. Because we are disgusting, and we love it
18. Because fuck you, that's why
19. Because of the t-shirt
20. Because of the cold, the dark and the winter
21. Because of DIY
22. Because at some point we all ran away from home for a concert
23. Because we are freaks
24. Because we like punk as well
25. Because of Manowar
26. Because of Manowar' fans
27. Because of the never ending search of music
28. Because there is more culture, quality, knowledge and work in a Iron Maiden' chord that in the entire life of the fuckin' Rihanna
29. Because sometime we just want to be nasty
30. Because sometime we just want to be ugly
31. Because sometime we just want to be evil
32. Because of the Cannibal Corpse album cover/t-shirt
33. Because of the anger
34. Because Phil Anselmo is our uncle
35. Because James Hatfield is our step-dad
36. Because we pretend to know German, Norwegian, Finnish and dead languages
37. Because there is melody in the noise
38. Because we all still remember Cliff Burton, Dime and Chuck Schuldiner
39. Because of the thrash, the beers and the weed
40. Because ignorants call it "noise"
41. Because of the chiodo
42. Because we learn literature/science/things
43. Because "I don't like Black Sabbath..." "Die motherfucker, die!"
44. Because of the ballad
45. Because of the tape-trading
46. Because of the indecent and obscene volumes
47. Because is a stress relief better than meditation
48. Because for most of us it is our only and real English teacher
49. Because we care a lot
50. Because Metallica vs. Megadeth
51. Because of the fanzines
52. Because metal is just classical music on steroid
53. Because of the compilation on tape
54. Because is a state of mind
55. Because we don't care
56. Because play an instrument is cool
57. Because antaa tulla tanne vaan, Suomi Finland perkele
58. Because with Eyehategod, heroin sounds ok
59. Because of the hours spent in the record stores
60. Because fuck authorities, fuck the laws and fuck the rules
61. Because we got lost in the album covers
62. Because "What a fuck is this noise?!" yelled by our parents
63. Because we still have hope in TooL and their new album
64. Because speed is good and faster is even better
65. Because of the drop B tuning
66. (6) Because of the Beast
67. Because of the discomfort
68. Because we support the scene
69. Because some metalheads are stubborn and dumb like a rock
70. Because of the air-guitar
71. Because sometimes we get lost in the songs
72. Because we are unite
73. Because we like also other types of music and we are open minded (sometimes)
74. Because god hates us all
75. Because there is no god, and we know it
76. Because we have a lot of nice song for every occasion
77. Because of the trve
78. Because of the poser
79. Because we like brutal things
80. Because of the demos and the bootlegs
81. Because it's so much more than just music
82. Because the "I grew up and I don't listen to that shit anymore" people are ridiculous
83. Because of the headbang
84. Because is great, indipendently on your mood
85. Because we can change and evolve, but we will never forget our roots
86. Because we are mostly outcasts
87. Becuase metal up your ass
88. Because of the growl, the scream and everything in between
89. Because we are good persons after all
90. Because of the passion
91. Because sometimes is not even music, but just noise, but is cool anyway
92. Because of the loyalty to some bands
93. Because some songs stick forever and some of them leave a scar
94. Because they blame us almost all the time
95. Because of the black clothes in summer
96. Because we are fun and we have fun
97. Because of the hair
98. Because we are not pretty and beautiful and nice and cool and smart as you are
99. Because of Odin and all the legends from the North
100. Because, finally, we don't give a fuck of what you think

Listen to "Decade of aggression", by Slayer. The best live album ever created since the discovery of music.

Good tunes to make your ears bleed.

A must-listen list (something new, something old, something who cares):

1) Neurosis "Fires within fires".

2) Wormrot "Voices": grindcore flirting with black metal.

3) Whores "Gold": never enough.

4) Zeit "Monument": an italian spoon of cement.

5) Baroness "Purple album": it takes time.

6) Nick Cave and the bad seeds "Skeleton tree": deep and hollow and black.

7) Meshuggah "The violent sleep of reason": pachydermic.

8) Tool "Aenima": it was its birthday 2 days ago (20 years old).

...btw, 4 years ago today I met Mike Patton.

...see?

Listen to "Cougars, not kittens" by Whores.

Whales.

This weekend I was frolicking into the ocean and I saw several whales doing whales-related business.
It was the first time for me.
Such a great animal. 



Listen to "Seabeast" by Mastodon.

Jupiter's pole.

Juno has just sent us pictures of Jupiter's pole.

Click here for the news.

NASA says "Jupiter's north pole unlike anything encountered in the solar system".

Cool.

Listen to "When Good Dogs Do Bad Things", by The Dillinger Escape Plan (ft. Mike Patton)

The hypnotising fingering of Steve Harris...

...it sounds weird, but it's true.

After 30 and more years, I am still impressed by his technique, precision and style.

Steve Harris inspired me 20 years ago when I decided to play bass.

Listen to everything from Iron Maiden.

Trilobites and co.

...aren't they cute?
Long story short: I love dinosaurs and fossils, and I've been lucky enough to live in an area in Italy with a lot of fossils, and I was collecting them since I was a kid.
I still love them, of course.

Hug a dinosaur.



Listen to "The reptilian brain", by Intronaut.

I'm in the news...

Because is never too late to brag a little bit... Click here and share!
(in case you've missed it, I'm talking about this)




Listen to "Le brigate della morte", by DSA Commando

W40K

"We are the Ultramarines, the sons of Guilliman. Whilst we draw breath, we stand. Whilst we stand, we fight. Whilst we fight, we prevail. Nothing shall stay our wrath."

Marneus Calgar

































































...eheheheh an old passion lives again.
Stay tuned...



Listen to "Massive killing capacity" from Dismember.

100 Km down under!

Yep, it's time for another race report.

...because I might not have time for doing too many other things since I've just moved to the other side of the world, but I have time to run ultras.

Specifically: ultra number 14, River Run 100 in the middle of Brisbane. A nice strolling along the river, stretched for 100 km. Actually, 102.78 km.

It was my second ultra on pavement and not on trail, and it was nice (I miss trails though!!!!!).

I had two options: run a 5 km loop or a 10 km loop.

Since the 10 km loop wasn't allowed until dawn, and since I started to run at 11:40pm, I didn't have too much choices: run like a hamster on the 5 km loop.

...and it turned out to be the right choice: the 10 km loop really sucked. I ran it 2 times (for the 60-70 km) and for the 75-85 km) and it was terrible.

Anyway, I had a nice race: I finished in 11 hours, 29 minutes and 57 seconds. I have improved my PR on the 100 km distance of about 10 hours (ah!), but honestly, the Habanero was totally a different thing...
I ran all night and I saw a lot of cute australian possums, that are really different from the possums in the States: they look like little cute monkeys.

I'm happy to see that my time for the 50 km is now constantly around the 4 hours (a little bit less), and I wonder what could I do in a 50 km race (it's long time since I've run a 50 km race)... Also, I had a very good pace up to the 80 km (50 miles, for the purist), running 80 km in about 8 hours, confirming what I did last time.

Anyway, long story short, it was a nice race. A nice introduction to ultras here in Australia.

Finally, a very big special thanks for all the support received from my personal pacer/care-taker/fan#1.

That's it.

Run ultras, eat vegetables and worship Satan.

Here some picture from the race:

Done.

Ramen <3

Soaking and napping at the same time.

Edit: I forgot to mention an important fact. During the first 2-3 hours of running, those stupids Pokemon Go players were all over the places, and running was actually challenging. Those mindless idiots were indeed too busy to catch imaginary creatures and they were not paying attention to the real world around them. Moreover, because of their stupid game, the signal of my GPS was constantly dropping down because the poor satellite was too busy with those zombies... Natural selection should do its course: get rid of those weak 30ish year old fuckers...

Listen to "In the end of life", by Obituary.

I'm still alive.

I'm still alive.

I moved to the other side of the equator.

Peace and hug eucalyptus.

Listen to "Killing in the name of", by RATM.

A couple of good albums and some other random thoughts about music...

Here a couple of good albums. Buy them. Support the scene.

1) "Nevermind the light" by Hungry Like Rakovitz. I love these guys. 100% italic passion and chaos. A frontal assault of grindcore and black metal. Click here and buy the album.

You can get it for free, but don't be cheap and support them. They really fucking deserve your money: spread their filth all over the world.

2) "Still they pray" by Cough. Discomfort with harmony. Listen to "The wounding hours". Not as sick as I was expecting, but they nailed it.

Random shit and whatnot:

...today "Angel dust" is 24 years old. Happy birthday.

...I want to go back to vinyl.

...so I need a turntable, but 8,000$ for a McIntosh is a little bit too much.

...since I saw them live, I am completely under the Melvins.

...I'm wearing my "Mike Patton for president" t-shirt and I'm happy.

That's it. Stay brutal.

1.78783747e-10 Parsec

...which is 5516.69 km, but in Parsec is cooler.

This is how much I ran during my "run year 2015-2016", that it goes from June 1 to May 31.

It's about 400 km longer than last year.

Nothing to brag about, just pure statistic.

End of the story.

Listen to "Irreligious" by Moonspell. 20 years old, but still able to give me goose bumps.

New paper!

I have published a new paper!

This is what I've been doing in the last 3-4 years...

A lot of sweat, blood and anger...

...but now is out.

I could talk/write for hours, but I won't: one day maybe I will talk about all this Science-business.

Not now. Anyway, I don't think it will change the perception that people have about Science, and there will be always some _______ (insert here you favorite adjective) complaining about it or start some stupid crusade based on nothing (like the anti-vax lately)...

Peace.

Listen to "Your achievement", by Napalm Death.

Rust in peace Nick.

When I woke up yesterday, the first news I read was about the death of former Megadeth drummer Nick Menza.

Terrible news.

I grow up with his songs.

Rust in peace Nick.

I will never forget this show.

Listen to "Rust in peace", by Megadeth.

Metallica: an anthem from a fanboy.

...because when you are a kid/teenager, all alone, trying to survive in a deep ocean of shit, and Metallica' songs are your only floatation device, you learn how to love Metallica no-matter-what, and you realize you own them something.

And that's why I cannot be mad at Metallica, and that's why when they are playing, I become that kid again.

Listen to the whole "Ride the lightning' by Metallica.

My epitaph.

"Let the animal hunt on the mountainside
and let the lightening split my heart in two
and let me howl at the moon with desire
and stretch my arms wide to embrace the sun.
Return to the earth that bore me
for there is nothing more."

("Wield lightning to split the sun", Primordial, from the album "Where greater men have fallen", 2014)


I want this on my tombstone.

The dark side of ultra: the days after. Some thought about recoveringand whatnot...

...oh no, another post about running. -__-

Ok, here some of my thoughts about the post race period.

I am talking about the dark side of ultra running (at least for me). Because running 50 or more miles is great and makes you feel awesome and high, but you won't stay high forever, and soon or later you'll crash.

Just like drugs, but legal.

But let me go in order and be precise. I'll go point by point and hopefully I won't forget too many things...

1) The low mileage week. Ok, here an obvious point: recovering is important. After every ultra, the week after is very "pleasant" and light. I usually start to run only after 2 days after and I try to keep a low-miles profile. I gradually increase the mileage day by day, but usually the total mileage of the week is around 40-50 miles. And this is good. The short runs are good: they help to drain away every trace of lactate and they are useful to see if the system is working and if there is something wrong. During this week, I don't wake up at 4 am for the morning run and I take it easy, which is also good for the general recovery from fatigue and the mental stress.

So, I am doing all of this and I think I am doing this right.

2) The mental down. As I said, higher you went, lower you'll fall. I am talking here about one fact: while you are running a shitload of miles, you get this state of euphoria, mixed with happiness and omnipotence. And this is all good. You actually need that state and you also deserve it (note: I'm not going into the physiological details of what and why is happening, is not the topic). The problem is that after a couple of days, the mind will be back to its normal state (pretty low and dark, in my case). At that point, you are missing that nice state in which you were and you got depressed. I am still trying to cope with this issue. Sometimes it hits very bad (like after the Habanero), sometimes not so bad (like this time, after Hachie). I can't do too much to avoid it, but at least now I've learned: I know that it will arrive so I am somehow prepared. I try to stay calm, to stay positive and to do things that makes me not unhappy.

3) The hunger. Well, that's a point I really love of the after-ultra. The hunger after race. After my first 50 miles it was a kind of hunger that I had never felt before, and it was amazing. Luckily, it's still amazing! After an ultra I eat everything, and I treat my self with some junk food (in moderate doses). I know that eating is really important after (especially when I basically do not eat during the race) an I am doing it right. I know what to eat and I know how to eat, so I can easily avoid any kind of "magical recovering chemical powder" for the joy of my kidneys. Healthy, natural food are one of the best way to recover.

4) The acute crucial 12-24 hours after. This is basically the reason of why I've started to write this post. Let me put it in this term: right after the race I have an acute phase of ""symptoms"" (I really don't know how to call them... "Symptoms" sounds too harsh though) and I would like to know how to handle them and how to deal with them. First of all, there is the sore of muscles and feet. It's a part of the game, I accept it and I am ok with that. But what really bothers me is something different. Basically, 12-24 hours after the race, I am tired as hell, off course, but I cannot sleep. I barely nap. On one hand, my brain tells me to sleep, because I should be tired, on the other hand it keeps me awake (because my brain is an asshole and it hates me). It's very weird and annoying. Also, in that period of time my legs are like the core of a nuclear plant: they produce an amount of heat that could be used to energize my fridge or even a bigger machine. And this, again, is very annoying, and it contributes to keep me awake and uncomfortable. So, basically, if I could find a way to fix this problem, It would be really nice.

5) Other general observations:

• Drink a lot of tea, especially green tea, or similar. Before and after the ultra, but also during would be nice (I personally love this http://incatea.com/).
• Get a massage, when the sore is gone, a massage really helps. Most of the time I'm not going for it because I forgot/I'm busy/I don't want to spend too much money/I really hate to be touched by someone else (eeewww). But it helps.
• Soak. Soak like you never soak before in epsom salt. It's very good and relaxing, and if you have fucked up feet with cuts and wounds (but I've found it's also good for blister), the salt will help to heal faster.
• Drink a lot of water. We are a bag of water and salt, so it won't hurt.

That's it, the end.

Damn, this was long and boring...

Long topic, so listen to a long song: "Rime of the ancient mariner" by Iron Maiden.

Hachie 50 miles race report: let's-have-a-stroll-in-the-park edition.

Saturday I ran a 50 miles on pavement (official ultra number 13).

Yes, you've read it right: on pavement.

...and this is why I ran it. I was simply curious about running those long distances on pavement/cement/asphalt instead of trails.

I was thinking that it could have been very painful, but honestly speaking, it was not.

Right now I have only a general sore and that's it. Nothing compared to what I usually feel after an ultra on trails anyway... Also mentally, is not so boring as I was expecting...

So, I see more 50 miles (or longer) on road in my future...

Little note here: I ran it with the Altra Torin, and those are really great shoes! Nothing to complain about. Basically what I think about the Superior, can be perfectly applied also for this model. I ran 80.7 km in it, and I don't have blisters, falling nails or rotten toes.

Anyway, long story short, do the hamster on a 10 miles long circuit not on trails is not so bad.

The race was really cool. The circuit was actually nice (and flat), in a cute little park in a small city called Waxahachie (TX). It was really nice especially early in the morning, when the sun was rising and the mist was laying on the trees and the grass: everything was very peaceful, and it felt like being lost on some trail somewhere (bonus, I saw a cute armadillo and a big snake: extra points for me!).

I was running with only one goal: beat my previous PR on the distance of 50 miles and that was it.

Well, I did it. I finished second overall in 7 hours and 23 minutes, meaning, I beat my PR of 2 hours and 14 minutes.

Yes, once again I finished second, and second is the first of the losers.

In conclusion, two short notes.

1) it was a fast race: not too much time for stop and eat. I fueled myself with a couple of gels, some grape and watermelon. It worked really well, and this also means that my training on my nutrition works well.

2) I need to improve my after-race recovering. I must study...

Ok, done.

Listen to "Apex predator - Easy meat" by Napalm Death*.

*I saw them live (for the second time) a month ago, with Melvins opening for them, but I forgot to write something about it: too bad because it was a great show, and Melvins really impressed me.

Ok, listen also to "Goin' blind" by Melvins.



Here a couple of pictures of the race:

Flying happy on the second loop.

Loop #4: fueling with watermelon.

Done.

Cross Timbers 50 miles report: slower and better.

First post of 2016 about the first ultra of 2016.

Yes, I am too overwhelmed about a lot of shit (mainly turning around my fucking job, which is connected to my life and so on...) in this last period and I'm certainly not in the right mood to write crap.

Let me recapitulate this concept with an image: these are all the fucks I give.

See? Not even one.

Anyway, done with my rant.

Let's talk about some running.

So, like in 2015, I've run the first 50 miles of 2016 on the texans sides of the lake Texoma.

Because of a lot of floods late in the 2015, the course has been modified.

Last year I did my PR (you can read the report here) and my plan this year was to try to finish in less than 9 hours and 37 minutes.
Well, as I wrote, the course was different, and this year was much harder (look at the elevation profile: a lot of up and a lot of down. Started in 27, finished by 12). And indeed I finished basically one hour later.
But (there is always a but) I did second over all. Well, actually, I was first since the start, and I led the race until the end. Unfortunately I was completely cooked in the last few miles, and the dude that was second caught on me on the (literally) last mile and there was nothing I could do. I did my best, I gave everything I had and I'm happy. No complaining.
Only one thought: I am so comfortable right now with the 50 miles and I'm feeling not challenged anymore, and I am really ready to go ahead for the big step into the 100 miles.

Hug a tree and kill yourself.




Listen to "Live without regrets" by Amon Amarth.*





*Note: I cannot link the music directly because of some change of policy or what not, so starting from now I will just write down what to listen.



P.S.: I forgot to mention that it was my first 50 miles with the Altra and I confirm that they are amazing! No pain, no nails falling off, no rotting/decomposing skin, no blisters...



EDIT: here a couple of pictures from the race

First come back...

Last 10 meters...

Memorabilia...

My legs after race...