Blogiorno!

UNLOCKED: The iPhone in Italy

2010-01-18T19:34:00.000-08:00

Hello friends!

Here at Blogiorno, we like Apple products. We use Apples. We like Macs. And we like iPhones. In this post, we present to you, our dear readers, a little article about Apple's iPhone in Italia, and how in Italy, iPhones are "unlocked". What does this mean? Basically it means that in Italy, the iPhone is not locked down to be usable with only one carrier; with an unlocked phone you can register and use it on any cellphone network.

Here in America we do not get the unlocked iPhone. We are kept down. We are kept down, faces in puddles of brown, fetid water. We are kept down by powerful, faceless corporations. We are kept down by nocturnal corporate lobbyists, eyes bulging like mangy possums, their high-priced wingtip dress shoes pressed firmly upon our necks...if possums wore wingtip dress shoes...which, you know, they could. It is within the realm of possibility...as are our dreams, dear friends, as are our dreams.

Ahem.

Anyway, this doesn't mean you cannot get an iPhone in America unlocked; you can but it's illegal and you'll pay thousands for it on the "black market". But Maria cara, I wish I had an unlocked iPhone. That way I could use it on any cellphone network I choose. Che peccato, non e possible...but brava Italia*, you get the unlocked iPhone, and this is quite a coup!

Enjoy the article! Feel free to comment...or not, I don't care.

Ciao!

*Brava, that is, unless the powers that be haven't already locked down Italian iPhones.
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U.S. Senator: Knox Trial Shows "Deep Flaws of Italian Justice"

2009-12-07T18:55:00.000-08:00

Hello again friends!

As you may know, a big legal case was settled a few days ago in Perugia, Italia: A college student from Seattle, Washington was found guilty of the crime of murder against an innocent British girl, bringing to conclusion a sordid and truly horrible case.

In the wake of this verdict, Blogiorno has been somewhat "dismayed" at some Americans' seemingly wholesale disregard for the Italian judicial system and the decision against the she-devil named Amanda Knox (also self-proclaimed as "Foxy Knoxy").

Alas, a genius from the U.S. government, the Washington state Senator named Maria Cantwell [pictured, below], has made some ridiculous comments in the press about the "unfair" nature of this trial [see article below], a trial about which all she knows has come from the ludicrous American press. As Blogiorno has intimated many times before, the American press largely doesn't report the actual news any longer; instead, they play soundbites upon which they can make social commentary from their own skewed, intensely urban, elitist points of view--other than that they're great, haha.

U.S. Senator, Maria Cant[think]well
Furthermore, one wonders if Amanda Knox weren't "Amanda", but instead, oh, "Chuck" Knox, would Maria Cantwell and all the rest of the female elitists on T.V. be as outraged? (We say that only because the howls of protest have been from women; sorry, it's true.) Could a dose of sexism and/or blind nationalism be the reason(s) for these irresponsible and idiotic quips? And what about the "deep flaws" in Amanda Knox which led to the death of a British citizen?

My dear friends, first of all, Amanda Knox was absolutely guilty of involvement in this horrible crime, and to prove this she tried to stage a fake burglary, deposited her DNA all over the victim, weapon and crime scene, and later told numerous differing stories (also known as "lies") to Italian authorities, at one point even accusing a completely innocent man--her employer no less--of the crime, throwing up every roadblock she could to evade justice. Also my friends, please know that the aforementioned press comments by the U.S. Senator are truly regrettable, do not represent all of America and, most importantly, are an affront to Blogiorno.

Therefore, Blogiorno figuratively and cheerily spits into the demonic ocular cavities of Amanda Knox, her co-conspirators of the murder and the disingenuous, elitist Americans who proclaim that justice can only be administered in America. Okay then, that was difficult but eminently necessary. But let's end on a positive note, shall we? Yes, let's do. It's our pleasure to present to you, our dear readers, the offending news article! Enjoy! [Click to enlarge.]

Arrivederci amici!
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Valentino: Stile Italiano

2009-08-15T09:34:00.000-07:00

Eccolo, Valentino Rossi even crashes with impeccable Italian style. We can only wish we looked this good whilst riding our motorcycles. E'una poesia nel movimento!* (Click to enlarge photo.)

* It's poetry in motion!

Ducati: Non hanno felicita

2009-08-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

Friends, all is not well with our team at Ducati Corse. The star rider of Ducati's MotoGP motorcycle racing team, 2007 World Champion Casey Stoner, has been afflicted with illness for several months now, resulting in poor results in recent races. When I saw him race at Laguna Seca last month, the poor lad could barely dismount from his Ducati racing machine. Che peccato, Casey is not doing well.

Now, those "in the know" realize that MotoGP is right up there with Formula 1 auto racing for physical requirements in a sport; so, Casey is--and must be--in prime physical condition in order to race the 240 horsepower MotoGP bikes. So why is he failing physically then? In the wake of top doctors here in California being unable to locate any severe physical ailments, there has been speculation that the pressure that Casey is under to repeat his dominance of 2007 is so intense, that he is cracking under it. Such a phenomena is referred to as "psychosomatic", where the body cannot handle the immense mental demands, and thus begins to shut down.

Of course, it doesn't help poor Casey at all when he looks over and sees Italia's own eight-time world champion Valentino Rossi laughing and joking his way to the top step of the podium, into the championship lead, seemingly effortlessly.

Ducatisti worldwide wish Casey the best and hope that he can recover from his illness soon. A presto, amici!
_______________________________
To learn more about the illness and the latest developments in Casey's racing programme, here is an article from just today that you may wish to read. (Click to enlarge.)

Pray for the earthquake victims in Italy, my friends

2009-04-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

Italian Makers of Prosecco Seek Recognition

2009-03-15T20:26:00.000-07:00

Hello my dear friends the world over!

Recently I came across an excellent article in the New York Times, the favorite newspaper of angered-yet-cultured elitists across our wonderful globe. It is a very good read about Prosecco, which is a sparkling wine from Italia. You might say that Prosecco is Italy's version of champagne (though Italian Prosecco makers really wish you wouldn't). I've had opportunities to enjoy Prosecco, and I must tell you that I really am in like with it. It's quite easy to consume a bottle of it quickly, as it is quite delicious and very refreshing on a warm day. This article talks about Prosecco's beginnings and its current popularity.

A while back I had a semi-expensive Moet champagne, and it was stellar. However, I must still give the edge to Prosecco, not because it is actually better, but because I've had a hard time with the French at "various points" in my life. I believe this began with all the scowling from French hoteliers during my childhood travels to the Gallic country, a country that the Nat Geo Channel irreverently called, "The Land of the Frogs".

Now, while Nat Geo's shocking term is of course belittling (or even racist, some small-minded people might say) and may actually have been about a mountainous area of the Peruvian rainforest and not about France at all, I do not condone it in the slightest. That said, I can repeat it guilt-free because I have some French blood floating around in me. Additionally, for the purposes of proving that I am not a racist, I am announcing that I am now intensely proud of my French heritage. See? I went from anti-French to pro-French in the blink of an eye. It's that slippery politician-style turnabout, the little technicality, the little loophole which now makes this heretofore unfortunate situation a "win-win". Meaning, that both you and I supposedly win (though I'm not really sure how you win in all of this).

By the way, I always wondered why people swallow that term, "win-win", so easily, like famished picnic seagulls swallowing leftover hot dogs whole. Don't they know that the pronouncement of "winning" is completely subjective, and almost certainly intentionally skewed by the malefactors who use said evil term? Whatever, who cares.

So please take a few minutes to read this article; you will like it. Oh, and if you are not one of the aforementioned angered-yet-cultured elitists, I'm sure you will forgive Blogiorno for soiling your precious retinas and corneas with an article from the New York Times, whom I now cheerily thank for such an excellent article, and wish them Godspeed in their impending bankruptcy proceedings!

Finally, to my wonderful French readers, I actually do love you all, and I do so wish that you would find it within your proud hearts to love back an admiring world. Really, we aren't so bad.

To read "Italian Makers of Prosecco Seek Recognition", click here.

Note: The above link requires a free subscription, which I think is worth it since you'll be able to view all of the photographs and visuals in large scale, and in some small way it might actually help them stave off death a while longer. If you'd rather not subscribe, I am including the entire article below, albeit with small photographs. You can click the text to make it easier to read.

Okay then! Thank you once again for reading Blogiorno!

Ciao, a presto amici miei!

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Pinarello Paris

2009-03-03T11:02:00.001-08:00

Friends, I have a Pinarello Paris road bicycle for sale on Ebay. Pinarellos are amongst the most sought-after bicycles in the cycling world. This one, the "Paris", is a model of racing frame that was employed by cycling's Team Telekom in late 1990s, and ridden to victory twice in the Tour De France. Mine was built up to look just like the picture above, only with better wheels, meaning Italian Campagnolo wheels! It is a beautiful piece of Italian artistry!

Alas, I am parting with it because I'm moving to smaller frame sizes these days. If you have ever watched pro cycling, you'll know that the riders tend to dwarf the bikes they ride. The reason for this is that the smaller the bicycle, the less weight you have to carry up hills. I'm certainly no pro, but I'm trying to go with smaller bikes these days.

Ciao!

The Environment, America and Italia, Part Two

2009-01-28T15:08:00.000-08:00

*** Note: This is Part 2 of 2 of the entry, "The Environment, America and Italia". This post would certainly make much more sense if you read Part One first. To do that, click here. ***

Hello friends. In our last entry here on Blogiorno, we left you at the precipice of excitement as we talked about the history of the Ecology movement of the 1960s and 1970s, which would later become known as the Environmental Movement, and how Italy was the key to success of that movement in America.

We talked about the ramifications of a failing environmental movement, which, simply put, would be total and complete annihilation of mankind, animals, multi-cellular organisms such as jellyfish, and even unicellular organisms such as amoebae, paramecia and American "Mainstream Media" journalists. Yes, we were talking about wholesale destruction of the planet as we know it...but other than that it wouldn't be too bad.

Environmental apocalypse on ourbeloved Planet Earth, illustrated.

Now I realize that many of you are rolling your eyes right now with all this Environmental Apocalypse talk...

"So what," you say, "the environment will be just fine, and besides, I think that...wait...WAIT, what time does 'Dancing With The Stars' come on tonight? That Mario Lopez will be in my dreams tonight!"

[Deep sigh.]

Great, again with you and the "Dancing With The Stars".

Okay, that any gal would find Mario Lopez alluring is bamboozling to me. Nothing personal against him, you understand, I'm just bamboozeled, is all. I mean, come on girls, he seems like an okay guy, but he just looks way too perfect, with his immaculately coiffed hair, his poreless skin, his impossibly white teeth, everything...it's a bit unnerving, especially to mere mortals like me and Mickey Rourke (below). And if you didn't know better you'd say it's almost like he's not real at all, perhaps fashioned out of proprietary NASA polymer plastics...covering a computer-controlled, microbiotics-derived titanium-alloy endoskeleton.

[Long Pause.]

Yikes, this gets me to thinking/worrying about the future Global Apocalypse and just who may be waiting for us in said apocalypse. I am now wondering if it may just feature forthcoming distant relatives of Mr. Lopez, only with slightly less sunny personalities.

Terminator, Mario Lopez model.

Okay, now I'm actually getting scared here; it's one thing for Terminators to take over the world in the coming Environmental Apocalypse--I'm actually okay with that. But Mario Lopez model Terminators? Insufferable.

But, I digress; I apologize profusely. Let's return to the important subject at hand. So, just why did Ecology survive in America, and what did it all have to do with Italy? I have a vague recollection of wanting to answer those questions, so before I go on another tangent, here is the answer you've been pining for:

My friends, in the early 1970s the United States was introduced to the Face of the Environment, when a then-new spokesman completely changed the discussion. May I present to you Iron Eyes Cody, the famous "Crying Indian".

If you're about 30 or older, you may remember the Crying Indian television commercial from countless airings on Saturday mornings and after-school T.V. here in America. There he would be, silently walking our lands, looking to the horizon. There he would be, sandwiched between the Banana Split Show and Three Stooges reruns, paddling his canoe. And there he would be at the climax of the commercial crying, crying, always crying, a single big tear flowing down his weathered face. A truly memorable commercial.

But why was he crying, you may ask. I will tell you: He was crying because of all the pollution and trash covering America's purple mountains and amber waves of grain, for crap's sake. He was crying on behalf of his ancestors who couldn't cry because they had mercury and hepatitis strains A through E leeching into what remained of their ocular cavities, thus rendering them eternally tearless.

You see, back in the 1960s and 1970s, America was a garbage bin, and no cleaner than any third-world country on our globe. Exactly the same. No difference...at all. Yes, America was a veritable hell-hole of scum and villany, covered knee-deep with discarded steel cola cans, Otter-pop wrappers, Big Mac boxes and faded, one-armed plastic toy figurines, long-forgotten by their evil kid-masters.

At least, that is what my television told me.

To be honest, I don't seem to remember such a sorry state of our lands, though perhaps I was rendered insane from the constant influx of Pixy-Stix sugar dust...completely whacked out of my mind from it...that is certainly a possibility. Still, I'm starting to wonder now: For example, speaking of Big Macs, my T.V. also told me that the people at McDonalds are bad, very bad, right up there with despicable characters such as corrupt financier Bernard Madoff, the Atlanta Falcons' ex-quarterback Michael Vick, and singer Jackson Browne, the woman-beating-environmentalist-whom-we-don't-really-blame-for-slugging-actress-Daryl-Hannah-in-the-eye-socket-because-after-all-he-loves-our-planet-so-much-and-besides-she-probably-deserved-it-anyway-because-she's-beautiful, guy.

My convoluted point is, since I never saw all the pollution that they were talking about in the 1960s and 1970s, I suppose that I will have to take it on faith that it was nothing short of horrific. And I have to take it on faith that my television would never, ever, ever, ever lie to me. Or exaggerate. And the news media never lies or exaggerates either. Never. Ever. I feel dirty even suggesting that our televisions and the news media aren't anything less than 100% truthful and benevolent forces in our completely accidental solar system. I do. Really. But, since we here at Blogiorno promised to examine all aspects of every issue, we count it our somber duty to raise the point with you, our lovely readers. (I am so sorry for doubting you, my lovely Sony Wega T.V. I weep for you and with you.)

So yes, let's just say that the 60s and 70s were an environmental nightmare; to quote our own Marlon Brando, an Italian and campaigner of Native American causes: "The horror". Still, ever undaunted, our Crying Indian was there for us in between the Bugs Bunny Merrie-Melodie cartoons, admonishing us to stop the pollution of our lands and waters. And the tag-line of these commercials was always the same:

"People start pollution, people can stop it."

HOME. RUN.

So who was the now-famous Native-American? Well as I said earlier, his name was Iron Eyes Cody, because of that steely gaze. Now, Iron Eyes Cody was his Native-American name; his "other" name was Espera de Corti.

"Wait a minute," you say, "that doesn't sound Indian to me."

Well, first of all, it is not "Indian", you infidel. Our politically-correct--and otherwise completely amoral--American media have deemed "Indian" to be completely offensive. Rather, it is "Native-American". Second, you are correct, it is not an Injun name...

My dear Blogiorno readers, Iron Eyes Cody, our Native American friend, was in fact a full-blooded Sicilian-Italian.

Cosa?!
[Translation: "Huh?!" - Ed]

Yes, that's right, America's anti-pollution ad campaign, nay, America's very survival, would have never been possible were it not for the great nation of Italy!

You see, Iron Eyes Cody was born Espera de Corti in Louisiana in 1904. He was the son of Antonio de Corti and his wife Francesca Salpietra, who were immigrants from Sicily in 1902, looking for a better life in America. At age twelve, Espera began taking acting roles as an American Indian character, eventually moving to Hollywood, California in 1924. Needless to say, he was very successful, having appeared over 200 times on film. Later in his life, he would claim to be part Cherokee and part Cree. Cody and his wife Bertha adopted several children, all Native Americans, and he devoted his life to Native American causes (because let's face it folks, the American Indians got a raw deal from the white devil crackers). He even adopted the Native American garb, rarely leaving his house without a full regalia of suede leather clothes, moccasins, beads and even feather headdresses. Now that is commitment!

After a long, successful career and life, our beloved Espera de Corti passed away in 1999, at the age of 94, and was laid to rest in Hollywood, California. Needless to say (but apparently I'm saying it anyway), he left an indelible mark on American lands, American minds and even American pop-culture. For that, I am personally grateful.

So there you have it, my friends, the beautiful story of an Italian man who brought the Environment to the American consciousness (which we probably needed), and, just as importantly, lived a determined, purposeful and meaningful life as a husband, father and advocate for Native Americans. Grazie mille Espera, e grazie Italia!

If you would like to view Espera di Corti's now-famous commercial about pollution, the commercial which dawned a new age in America, we're including that here for you (below).

Thank you again for reading my friends. Ciao, ci vediamo!

Espera de Corti's "Keep America Beautiful" Commercial

The Environment, America and Italia, Part One

2009-01-05T18:18:00.000-08:00

These days it seems as though you cannot turn on the television or open a magazine without being sternly-yet-oh-so-stylishly reminded by famous skinny starlets and tattooed Hollywood hunks about the impending global doom that we face.

[Long Awkward Pause]

Ahem.

"What? What impending doom? What are they warning us about?", you ask. Are they warning us about another Hollywood strike? No, though we should be so lucky. Of what then are these filthy-rich, liquor-riddled sages speaking?

Blogiorno will tell you: They are talking about the Environment. They are warning us about Global Warming and the coming Environmental Apocalypse (tm).

Apocalypse, illustrated. Note absence of homo sapiens and Starbucks.
Yes, that's right my friends, the Apocalypse is coming, and the Hollywood braintrust are reminding us that America is to blame for this intensifying hell on earth, despite earnest efforts to stop us by the benevolent leaders of eco-friendly countries such as China, India and Russia. Yes, it is coming, they say, and there is a better than even chance that people on planet earth may soon start to melt and/or spontaneously combust, much like Indiana Jones's arch-enemy Dr. Belloq and his Nazi pals did when they were stupid enough to open the Ark of the Covenant (photo, below).

Global warming, illustrated.
Very frightening, to be sure.

But in our discussion here about the environment, let us try to lighten the mood a bit, shall we? Let us try to be positive, for that is what we do best here at Blogiorno. We are positive. Let us try to focus on something other than the fact that some of us are doomed to be reincarnated as Kingsford "Mesquite" charcoal briquets (which, by the way, give that unbeatable smoky flavor to your meats).

So, in that spirit of positive positivity, here is a question that is chock full of levity: When did environmentalism first enter American consciousness via mass media? Hmmm, interesting question. How did it come about? From one person or many? Did it have a spokesman, and if so, who was it? Well my friends, you are in luck because Blogiorno can shed some light on this subject, and, more importantly, we can show you how our beloved Italy played an important role in it all. So please, let's press on!

Back in the late 1960s and 1970s, environmentalism as we know it had its genesis, but it had a different name. It was called "Ecology". You may recall that Marvin Gaye wrote a song by that name for his groundbreaking "What's Going On" album of 1968. (Highly recommended.) Anyway, Ecology was the early movement and the forerunner of environmentalism; it even had an official symbol, which was "created" by some genius who combined the letter "e", for "environment", with the letter "o", for "organism". You may recognize "his" symbol as the character theta from the Greek alphabet. You may also recognize the term "theta" from Tom Cruise's Church of Scientology, which we won't talk about here because "The Church" is watching...always, always watching. Always.

So, the theta was the original logo for Ecology. Later in 1970, some anti-patriot desecrated the American flag by changing its colors and replacing its stars with the theta (see photo, above). Oh, isn't that lovely. Jimmy Carter must be rolling over in his grave about that one.

Now, Blogiorno realizes that for some of you, the "theta" symbol and the Ecology flag are totally new--you've never seen them before. And really, we could not blame you for that at all, as those symbols are--let's be honest--completely forgettable. Because of such weak symbolism and the obvious weak conviction behind it, environmentalism could have died right then and there if left to the cannabis blazers who were in charge of marketing, branding and heading up the movement in the 60s and 70s.

"So what," you say, "I hate the environment anyway. I actually like littering. It makes me feel powerful."

[Sigh.]

Well, to borrow a LSD-induced phrase from the 60s: "If it feels good, do it." What could possibly go wrong? After all, look how well that philosophy turned out for the Flower Children. And anyway, far be it from Blogiorno to judge you; that's what Leo Di Caprio and Cameron Diaz are here for.

Besides, we're doomed anyway, so go ahead, knock yourself out.

However, my friends, there are other serious ramifications at play here in this discussion. You see, if Ecology died back in the 1970s then this would mean that today many waning celebrity careers would be in jeopardy here in America because said celebrity opportunists would lose valuable mass-media face time. Now that is serious, my friends.

Another frightening example: If Ecology failed, then our own Albert Gore Jr.--we love you Al!--would be denied a chance to resurrect his stalled career by skillfully hijacking the environment issue, by sounding his blood-curdling scream as a warning to us all, and in doing so, burning hundreds of thousands of gallons of fossil-based fuels in his private jet, and distributing his highly-lucrative movie, "An Inconvenient Truth", to us in dangerous plastic DVD cases which seagulls fight each other over to swallow whole (photo, below).

Seagulls vying for delicious DVD case.
Thankfully my friends, fate took us in a completely different direction. Ecology didn't fail, though not because its founders charted the right course. No, in the early 1970s Ecology thrived and even became forever seared into the collective American consciousness. And it was all due to one single factor. One Italian factor. Oh yes friends, you may not know it, but Italy singlehandedly brought the environment to the collective American consciousness. And by doing so, Italia saved our environment.

"Why did Ecology survive, what was the factor," you breathlessly ask, "and what does all this have to do with Italy?!"

Well, the answer to that is positively spellbinding, but you will have to tune back in to Blogiorno for the answers, my dear ignorant friends. Trust me, it will be worth it all. And you will not have to wait long; we are merely dividing this blog entry into two parts for easy reading, because here at Blogiorno, we care about you, our faithful readers. Davvero! [Translation: "Really!" - Ed]

Besides, if this article got any longer, it would rival the length of...Al Gore's internet...or, uh...Bigfoot's tapeworm? Whatever, who cares.

Ciao for now!

Arrivederci 2008, e salve 2009!

2009-01-03T12:46:00.000-08:00

Avete un anno meraviglioso amici miei!

Valentino Rossi, il vincitore!

2008-12-22T21:44:00.000-08:00

Hello my wonderful friends! Oh how I've missed you all!
[Long, Awkward Pause]

This past July, we once again made our annual pilgrimage to Laguna Seca racetrack for the MotoGP race; as I've mentioned before in Blogiorno, MotoGP is the premier motorcycle racing series worldwide, and if a rider can win a MotoGP championship, they are truly World Champion. Fortunately, the spectacle that is the MotoGP United States Grand Prix is only an hour and a half up the coast from my home here in California, making it a very easy journey.

Since the USGP has been in America in the "modern era", I've been cheering on my favorite rider, Italy's Valentino Rossi, hoping for a victory, even praying to our pal Benedict XVI for one, even though I'm not Catholic; that's how desperate I've been. Finally, this year it happened! Not only did Valentino win this race, but he did so in such a way which left no doubt as to who the best motorcycle racer in the world is. He took the lead from Ducati's Casey Stoner on the first lap, and a battle of epic proportions raged for the next 45 minutes, with Stoner finally laying his bike over in the gravel. This race was without a doubt the best race I've ever been to, and perhaps the best MotoGP race I've ever seen; in fact, some seasoned MotoGP commentators have remarked that it was perhaps the best MotoGP race of all time!

At the end, after Valentino won, he stopped his bike at the world-famous "Corkscrew" turn, where he first took the lead, and he kissed the tarmac. Bravissimo!!!

Unfortunately, there was a minor dark cloud: Tom Cruise, his wife Katie and their "entourage" just HAD to watch the event from the Ducati timing stand, right on the racetrack, across from our seats, making us feel like lepers, and effectively sucking the oxygen right out of the race. Yes, Tom and his posse just had to cause a stir, bringing with them the standard paparazzi mayhem. WHAT. A. DRAG. Okay, okay, just kidding Tom, it was great to see you there. Now go away...and let Valentino bask in his well-earned glory!

You must see highlights of this race, so click here.

For more on Valentino, click here.

Grazie mille for reading! Until next time my friends,

Ciao!

Vantaggio: La Polizia!*

2008-10-27T19:12:00.000-07:00

In Italy there is a new "police car" that is stalking errant drivers on the highways. While Italian law enforcement have been using Italian-made Lamborghinis for some time now, they have recently "upgraded" to a newer model, the Lamborghini Gallardo. The Gallardo has 560 horsepower and a top speed of 203 mph, making it the world's fastest police car. Oh, and it costs about $225,000. Hey, hey, hey, they need it, okay? Those speeders are dangerous criminals, alright?

Anyway, for those of you who aren't familiar with Lamborghini, it is one of the most revered Italian sports car manufacturers in the world, founded in 1963 by tractor company owner Ferruccio Lamborghini. Years ago Ferruccio was unhappy about the quality of the Ferrari sports car he purchased, so he dropped by the Ferrari factory to tell Enzo Ferrari in person. A perturbed Mr. Ferrari told Ferruccio that if he wanted a better car he should build it himself, thus Lamborghini was born. Now, the autostrada in Italy are patrolled not by Ferraris, but by Lamborghinis! Blogiorno believes that this is an excellent use of public funds, and anyway can you really ask Italian policemen to chase speeding bad guys in a regular Fiat? Mai, of course not!

Ciao amici!

* Advantage: Police!

The "New Poor" in Italy

2008-10-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

The global economic downturn continues on in its devastating path, my friends. Here is an article about how it is impacting Italy. As always, it is those who can least battle such forces who are affected the most. Failing corporations simply pass along their higher costs to the consumer, then provide sumptuous lifestyles for their executives with that newfound revenue, all in hopes that their leaders will be more "motivated" to rescue the company. At least, that is how it is in America. I've heard it said that, "as America goes, so goes the rest of the world". Economics aside, and speaking in the moral sense, this is too bad, as it seems as though America works hard at exporting paradigms for every social ill and moral degradation to the rest of the world. Examples are intense consumerism, family breakdown and reality T.V. shows featuring angry frat boys with frosted hair and unintelligible ditzy California-esque girls who use the word "like" as a noun, pronoun, adverb, adjective, preposition, conjunction, etc. God have mercy on us. Or not.

Enjoy!

(You may click on the article to enlarge the text.)

Anti-Anorexia Ads in Italy

2008-10-25T00:09:00.001-07:00

*** Disclaimer: This entry may be difficult to read and may be offensive to some. It is presented here because it addresses a facet of the devastating problem of eating disorders, something to which I have seen many friends fall prey. This story and the young woman at the center of it struck a chord in me and doubtless will for you as well. ***

In Fall of 2007, an Italian government "watchdog" organization banned controversial billboard ads which had caused much uproar in Milan. The ads featured an unclothed anorexic model in various poses, along with the words, "No Anorexia". You may conclude that the ads were part of a campaign against the deadly disease, but their purpose was not purely altruistic. The ads also doubled as a plug for a new Italian fashion brand, Nolita. Nolita claimed that they commissioned the ads so that they would feature a message to the fashion world, while at the same time advertising their brand. The Italian government differed with Nolita, stating that the ads were offensive.

The woman at the center of the ads is not acting or role-playing in any way, and the photos were not altered. She is a 28 year old french model named Isabelle Caro, and has been suffering from anorexia and bulimia since age 14. She agreed to do the ad in the hopes that she could help people realize the true effects of the disease from which she suffers. Sadly, those effects of her eating disorder were vividly and painfully on display in the ads.

The questions about the Nolita ad campaign still remain debated. Is it proper for billboards (or proper at all)? Is it offensive? Is it pornographic? Is it demeaning to the model or other victims of eating disorders? Is it solely a shrewd and cruel ploy to garner attention for the fashion startup company? Or, is it empowering to those who suffer from eating disorders? Is it a positive step towards shining more light on this affliction? Is it a positive/stern message to an industry which perhaps perpetuates eating disorders via the imagery it purveys? The ethical and moral questions related to this story seem endless.

We here at Blogiorno have never shied away from "controversy" or tough questions, and this is certainly one of those. As always, we invite you to leave your comments. Before commenting, you may wish to watch short news video vignettes about Isabelle to gain the full perspective.

If you would view the news videos of Isabelle Caro, click here.

If you would like to read a BBC article about the banned ads, click here.

Italy's New Government: Mamma Mia!

2008-07-04T21:09:00.000-07:00

Hello again my friends! I am sorry for my absence here on Blogiorno, but I've been on the island-nation of Madagascar shooting* lemurs. (Madagascar is in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa, and the only place where lemurs live in the wild. Yes, I grew up partially in Africa, so I know a few "factoids" about the continent.) Okay then, onward to our post. On this day, July 4, 2008, the 232nd anniversary of America's independence from England--we love you England, really, we do--we turn our attention to those who guide our government. Pictured here is America's president, George W. Bush, about whom I have nothing bad to say, simply because I don't care to jump on "that" bandwagon. I find it distasteful to kick someone when they are down, be it Mr. Bush or his predecessor, William Jefferson Clinton. I suspect that the average critic, if they had to run the United States for a day, would most likely end up under the oval office desk, in the fetal position, wild-eyed and drooling, clutching an official "red, white and blueberry" presidential lolly.

Okay then. Let's turn our attention to the wonderful new government of Italy. As you may know, the Prime Minister of Italia is none other than Silvio Berlusconi, the conservative who recently replaced the well-meaning, left-leaning, Romano "Il Professore" Prodi. Silvio recently swore in his new group of ministers, among whom were a veritable bevy of Italian beauties. Oh yes, Silvio is no dummy; he knows how to get things done. Pictured here are Giorgia Meloni, Maria Stella Gelmini, Mara Carfagna, and Stefania Prestigiacomo, and as you can see from the photo just below, they already have their male colleagues so lovestruck and bewildered that they could, in about 10 minutes time, slam home a measure to have that murdering Seattle-spawned monster Amanda Knox fed to a litter of baby African lions in the Colosseum. On Easter Sunday. With Pope Benedict's blessing. And a childrens' choir singing the Lion King's, "Circle of Life". Yes, such is the power of their beauty.

Of particular note is Ms. Carfagna, who has caused a mild uproar in the world press over her appointment by Berlusconi because she is A) a young 31 years old, B) beautiful, and C) a former pinup model. What the parasitic invertebrates of the press do not understand is that Silvio is a man who sees past these trivial qualities in Ms. Carfagna, and instead sees the tremendous potential for the public good which she can bring--nay, the public good which THEY can bring. He and Mara. Together. Forever. Maybe. Ahem. Anyway, in this photo, Mara Carfagna demonstrates...her commitment to...the environment...by posing by a tree...with dirt smeared on her body. See? That is true commitment my friends. At one point our pal Silvio declared in a government session that he would like to marry Mara (but really now, who wouldn't?). For some unknown reason that Blogiorno is still trying to ascertain, this did not go over well with Silvio's wife, Veronica Lario, who was so upset that she wrote a scathing letter about it to La Repubblica, one of the nation's leading newspapers. Silvio later apologized for his ill-conceived comment. You see, he is not without a heart.

So there you have it, Italy's stunning new cabinet of ministers. Che bellezza! Oh, uh, here in America, we have Hillary Clinton. And Barbara Mikulski . What a rip off. A horrific misuse of public funds in so many ways. It is such a shame we don't follow Silvio's "model" of government. It's just more interesting, don't you agree? There now, of course you do.

Okay then, Silvio and Blogiorno say, Ciao and Grazie Italia!

* photographs of

Derek Paravicini

2008-04-16T21:51:00.000-07:00

Ciao dear friends! I am taking a small detour today, and am featuring an extraordinary British pianist (of Italian descent) named Derek Paravicini. Derek is blind, autistic and severely learning impaired, but he has been given a tremendous gift of music by God. While he cannot see and cannot make much sense of life and things around him, when he sits down at a piano he is simply in command as a virtuoso, playing at the highest possible levels as a pianist. To watch him play is simply awe-inspiring. In this post, I have included links to a British documentary about Derek; the programme is in 5 parts, all of which I've included here. I found this documentary simply riveting and beyond heartwarming. Perhaps "stunning" is the best word I can think of to describe this young man, his abilities and his kind heart.

I must say that I am completely biased toward Derek in this Blogiorno post because I play piano myself, and have done so since age five. It's a lovely instrument and it just "speaks" to me in a way that other instruments do not. So, I have a warm place in my heart for other pianists, and those who do it so beautifully.

Of particular interest for me is that Derek plays piano entirely by ear, as his blindness makes him unable to read music. I also play almost exclusively by ear; while I took piano lessons for several years as a child and adolescent, I could never really relate to notation very well, and rarely, if ever, use it these days. Of course, Derek plays worlds better than I, and his skill is completely innate; he hears things on a supreme, otherworldly level and can translate what he hears to the piano in a completely accurate manner, or even an improvisational manner if he desires. Just brilliant.

Another personal observation is that Derek and I share the same birthday, July 26. How super is that?! (Also born on July 26 is Mick Jagger, thus proving that, for every uplifting thing, there's always a diametrically-opposed sinister thing which threatens to drag you down to the depths of despair...ha, just kidding Mick!)

So that is it for this time, amici miei. I simply was awestruck by this story and wanted to share it with you. However, as I mentioned, Derek has an Italian surname, so that's reason enough to be featured here on Blogiorno!

Please, take some time to watch Derek in the feature, "The Musical Genius". I've provided the YouTube links below. (Please note, you will also be able to click on each of the 5 portions of the programme from within YouTube as well.)

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Derek has a CD available for purchase, including on iTunes.

Click here to visit Derek's page on iTunes.

(For Derek's iTunes link above, you will need to have iTunes installed on your machine; otherwise, you will be redirected to the iTunes download page.)

Italy Investing in Wind Energy

2008-02-21T21:22:00.000-08:00

Italy To Build 500 Wind Plants

(ANSA) - Milan, November 6, 2007 - Italy plans to build 500 more wind plants, according to the Monday economic supplement of Italy's daily Corriere della Sera. With the help of the 500 additional plants Italy plans to reach a 23 gigawatt energy production - ten times higher than what the country is currently producing. The new wind farms will make Italy the world's biggest producer of wind energy, leapfrogging Germany which is now producing 22.6 gigawatts.

In 2006 alone, 417 wind plants were built in Italy, situated mainly in the southern regions of Sicily, Puglia, Basilicata and Molise but also in the central region of Tuscany. Wind energy is the most lucrative type of green energy and is attracting Italian investors such as diversified holding companies Moratti and De Benedetti and big oil companies such as Garrone, according to Corriere della Sera. Italian energy group Enel SpA is also searching for sites with steady wind out of Italy, in Europe.

Meanwhile, Spain's Endesa and Iberdrola are also building plants in Basilicata and Calabria. The biggest investor in wind plants in Italy is the UK-based company International Power.

www.ansa.it

____________________________________________

Wind Energy Facts (from renewableenergyweek.com ), with Blogiorno Editorial Notes:

* In 2006, the U.S.'s cumulative wind power capacity was 9,971 MW -- within close striking distance of the 10 gigawatt (10,000 MW) milestone.

[Note, this is capacity; it doesn't mean we actually, like, do it. Or even want to. Compare to Italy's planned capacity of 23 gigawatts, as cited in the story above.]

* 2,500 MW of capacity is enough to power more than 600,000 average American homes.

[For 5 minutes. At 2:00 a.m.]

* Texas edged ahead of California in Wind Energy capacity in 2006.

[They'll need all that power to keep the planned high-voltage electric fences along the border going. For its part, California will install Red Bull vending machines along the border. Requiring purchase of the high-energy Red Bull drinks, rather than freely distributing them, will deter illegals, California officials say.]

* California has led the nation in wind capacity for 25 years, and at one time was host to more than 80 percent of the wind capacity in the entire world. However, energy and electricity prices tanked during the global oil glut of the 1980s, putting California's wind power boom on hold.

[California has made up for this lapse by "proudly" leading the world in the export of attractive-but-talentless, surgically-enhanced, blonde Hollywood "starlets", and their non-famous but equally brainless look-a-like counterparts. Friends, Blogiorno opposes such exports and believes that we must investigate energy-efficient disposal methods for these undesirable, unnatural resources. Our future depends on it.]

Italy: The Saddest Country?

2008-01-03T18:13:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, cara amici miei! Happy, that is, unless you live in Italy, in which case it will be a very unhappy new year, at least according to some people. I recently read a story in the New York Times about the national mood in Italy these days, which, according to the article, is not so rosy. My friends, I once promised that I would give you all views of Italy, unlike Hollywood’s cheeseball-romantic portrayals of that country in their crummy PG-13 movies. Therefore, I present to you this article, for your thoughtful consideration. As always, I cherish your thoughts and feedback.

(Note: This article originally appeared on the New York Times website; if you would like to read it there, click here .)

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In a Funk, Italy Sings an Aria of Disappointment

By IAN FISHER
Published: December 13, 2007

ROME — All the world loves Italy because it is old but still glamorous. Because it eats and drinks well but is rarely fat or drunk. Because it is the place in a hyper-regulated Europe where people still debate with perfect intelligence what, really, the red in a stoplight might mean.

But these days, for all the outside adoration and all of its innate strengths, Italy seems not to love itself. The word here is “malessere,” or “malaise”; it implies a collective funk — economic, political and social — summed up in a recent poll: Italians, despite their claim to have mastered the art of living, say they are the least happy people in Western Europe.

“It’s a country that has lost a little of its will for the future,” said Walter Veltroni, the mayor of Rome and a possible future center-left prime minister. “There is more fear than hope.”

The problems are, for the most part, not new — and that is the problem. They have simply caught up to Italy over many years, and no one seems clear on how change can come — or if it is possible anymore at all.

Italy has charted its own way of belonging to Europe, struggling as few other countries do with fractured politics, uneven growth, organized crime and a tenuous sense of nationhood. But frustration is rising that these old weaknesses are still no better, and in some cases they are worse, as the world outside outpaces the country. In 1987, Italy celebrated its economic parity with Britain. Now Spain, which joined the European Union only a year earlier, may soon overtake it, and Italy has fallen behind Britain.

Italy’s low-tech way of life may enthrall tourists, but Internet use and commerce here are among the lowest in Europe, as are wages, foreign investment and growth. Pensions, public debt and the cost of government are among the highest. The latest numbers show a nation older and poorer — to the point that Italy’s top bishop has proposed a major expansion of food packages for the poor.

Worse, worry is growing that Italy’s strengths are degrading into weaknesses. Small and medium-size businesses, long the nation’s family-run backbone, are struggling in a globalized economy, particularly with low-wage competition from China.

Doubt clouds the family itself: 70 percent of Italians between 20 and 30 still live at home, condemning the young to an extended and underproductive adolescence. Many of the brightest, like the poorest a century ago, leave Italy. The stakes have risen so high that Ronald P. Spogli, the American ambassador and someone with 40 years of experience with Italy, warns that it risks a diminished international role and relationship with Washington. America’s best friends, he notes, are its business partners — and Italy, comparatively, is not high among them. Bureaucracy and unclear rules kept United States investment in Italy in 2004 to $16.9 billion. The figure for Spain was $49.3 billion.

“They need to sever the ivy that has grown up around this fantastic 2,500-year-old tree that is threatening to kill the tree,” Mr. Spogli said.

But interviews with possible prime ministers, businesspeople, academics, economists and other Italians suggest that the largest reason for this malaise seems to be the feeling that there is little hope that the ivy can be cut, and that is making Italians both sad and angry.

An Angry Message

“Basta! Basta! Basta!” Beppe Grillo, a 59-year-old comic and blogger with swooping gray hair, howled in an interview. The word means “enough,” and he repeated it to make his point to Italy’s political class clear. In recent months, Mr. Grillo has become the defining personification of Italy’s foul mood. On Sept. 8, he gave that mood a loud voice when he called for a day of rage, to scream across Piazza Maggiore in Bologna an obscenity politely translated as “Take a hike!” A few thousand people were expected. But 50,000 jammed into the piazza, and 250,000 signed a petition for changes like term limits and the direct election of lawmakers. (Voters now cast their ballots for parties, which then choose who serves in Parliament, without the voters’ consent.)

His message was enough inaction and excess (Italian lawmakers are the best paid in Europe, driven around by the Continent’s largest fleet of chauffeured cars), enough convicted criminals in Parliament (there are 24), enough of the same, tired old faces.
“The whole kettle of fish stinks to high heaven!” he yelled. “The stench rises from the sewers and swirls around and you can’t cope.”

Mr. Grillo leans to the political left, but he spares neither side in his sold-out shows and popular blog. The problem, he said, is the system itself.

There is a link between the nation’s errant political system and its worsening mood. Luisa Corrado, an Italian economist, led the research behind the study at the University of Cambridge that found Italians to be the least happy of 15 Western European nations. The researchers linked differences in reported happiness across countries with several socio-demographic and political factors, including trust in the world around them, not least in government.

In Denmark, the happiest nation, 64 percent trusted their Parliament. For Italians, the number was 36 percent. “Unfortunately we found this issue of social trust was a bit missing” in Italy, Ms. Corrado said.

Two popular books that set off months of debate capture the distrust of large powers that cannot be controlled. One, “The Caste,” sold a million copies (in a nation where sales of 20,000 make a best seller) by exposing the sins of Italy’s political class and how it became privileged and unaccountable. Even the presidency, once above the fray, was not spared; the book put the office’s annual cost at $328 million, four times as much as Buckingham Palace.

The other book, “Gomorrah,” which sold 750,000 copies, concerns the mob around Naples, the camorra. But politics, it argues, allows the camorra to flourish, keeping Italy’s lagging south poor, and organized crime, by a recent study, the economy’s largest sector.

These are Italy’s age-old problems, but Alexander Stille, a Columbia University professor and an expert on Italy, argues that this moment is different. While the economy expanded, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Italians would tolerate bad behavior from their leaders.

But growth has been slow for years, and the quality of life is declining. Statistics now show that 11 percent of Italian families live under the poverty line, and that 15 percent have trouble spreading their salary over the month.

“The level of anger is great because before you could slough it off,” Mr. Stille said. “Now life is harder.”

Italians rarely associate the current crop of aging leaders with a capacity to change. They are the same people who have traded terms in power for more than a decade. Last year, Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s richest man who became prime minister for the first time in 1994, was voted out for not keeping his promises for American-style growth and opportunities based on merit. When he left office, economic growth was at zero. But it became clear that getting rid of the center-right Mr. Berlusconi would be no magic cure.

Romano Prodi, who had served as prime minister from 1996 to 1998, won, but he was saddled with a shaky coalition of nine warring parties. He promised a clean slate, but his unwieldy center-left government disappointed with its first symbolic act: it appointed 102 cabinet and deputy ministers. He has pushed through two reform packages, and the economy is growing again. “Ours is not a happy situation, but it is better than before,” he said.

But the government has fallen once and threatens to fall again at every difficult vote. Small proposals bring protesters to the streets, one hurdle to making changes as protected interests seek to preserve themselves. Pharmacists shut their doors this year when the government threatened to allow supermarkets to sell aspirin. The cost for just 20 aspirin tablets at a pharmacy is $5.75.

The measure passed, but the government is largely paralyzed. Voters are fed up, and Mr. Prodi’s foes know it. “I understand the bad humor, the malaise,” said Gianfranco Fini, leader of National Alliance, the second-largest opposition party. “People are starting to get strongly angry because you have a government that doesn’t do anything.”

The Generational Divide

“It’s a sadness that what could be isn’t — that we are not a normal country,” said Gianluca Gamboni, 36, a financial adviser in Rome, summing up how he feels about Italy, which he loves, but which drives him insane. Unlike the older generation, he travels and sees how much better things work elsewhere. He does not spare himself: he still lives with his parents, not because he wants to, but because only now, after seven years at his job, can he afford Rome’s high rents. He is finally considering a place of his own.

Mr. Gamboni is on the younger side of Italy’s generational divide — a lens through which many of the country’s problems come into focus. It is one of several subterranean forces, easy to overlook at first, but that taken together make clear how much Italy has changed over the past several decades and how little that change has been digested.

Over a century, ending in the 1970s, 25 million Italians left for better lives elsewhere. Now, Italy is home to 3.7 million immigrants. The Roman Catholic Church’s position is diminishing, from a cultural pillar to a lobbying group.

Politically, Italy seems not to have adjusted to the death, in 1992, of the Christian Democrats, who governed for more than 40 years. Economically, it was once easy to solve problems by devaluing the currency, the lira. That is now impossible with the euro, which has also increased prices, particularly for housing.

Then there is the family. The divorce rate has risen. Large families are a thing of the past. Italy has one of Europe’s lowest birth rates, the fewest children under 15 and the greatest number of people over 85, apart from Sweden. Unemployment is low, at 6 percent. But 21 percent of the population between 15 and 24 did not work in 2006. And the old are not letting go.

Evidence of Italy’s age is everywhere. In parks, clutches of old ladies coo at a single toddler. On television, stars are craggy. (The median age for the presenters of this year’s Miss Italia contest was 70. The winner, Silvia Battisti, was 18.) In the political sphere, Mr. Prodi is 68, Mr. Berlusconi 71.

“The generational problem is the Italian problem,” said Mario Adinolfi, 36, a blogger and an aspiring lawmaker. “In every country young people hope. Here in Italy there is no hope anymore. Your mom keeps you home nice and softly, and you stay there and you don’t fight. And if you don’t fight, it is impossible to take power from anybody.”

“We don’t have a Google,” he added. “We can’t imagine in Italy that a 30-year-old opens a business in a garage.”

Selling a Notion of Italy

In September, word spread through a house of young Romans, over beer and pasta, that Luciano Pavarotti, the tenor and arguably the world’s most famous Italian, had died. “Damn it!” yelled Federico Boden, 28, a student. “Now all we have is pasta and pizza!”

Italy does not seem to rank as it once did for greatness. There is no new Fellini, Rossellini or Loren. Its cinema, television, art, literature and music are rarely considered on the cutting edge. But it does have Ferrari, Ducati, Vespa, Armani, Gucci, Piano, Illy, Barolo — all symbols of style and prestige. What Italy has is itself, and many believe that the future rests in trademarking mystique into “Made in Italy.”

Italian wine was an early test. Producers moved with success from quantity swill to quality. Illy, the coffee house, has flourished by combining quality and uniformity with innovation in methods and style in presentation. “This is where Italians are winners,” said Andrea Illy, the company’s president. “Use your particular strengths, which are beauty and culture.”

But Italian industry depended on low wages, making it vulnerable to competition from China as labor costs rose. Alarms began ringing years ago, with fears that many of Italy’s traditional businesses — textiles, shoes, clothes — could not compete. Many could not. In Friuli-Venezia Giulia, a chair-making capital, the number of chair companies has shrunk to about 800 from 1,200.

“At first they thought this phase would just pass,” said Massimo Martino, director of Maxdesign, a furniture company. “But in reality, many businesses ended up closing because fundamentally the market didn’t need them anymore. They didn’t want to change.”

Some companies took up the challenge. Wood was the primary material there, but Mr. Martino began to create chairs, mostly of molded plastic, well designed but inexpensive. Others decided that competing against China on price was impossible. Instead, the aim would be quality and Italy’s uniqueness, something China could not match. Pietro Costantini, who runs a third-generation furniture company, said he began focusing not just on the upper end — he makes extra-large furniture for big Americans — but also on creating lines that would sell the Italian lifestyle itself. Customers are returning.

But entrepreneurs complain that they are alone. Politicians offered little help making Italy competitive, and this remains a major impediment to making their gains grow. Businesses want less bureaucracy, more flexible labor laws and large investments in infrastructure to make moving goods around easier.

“Now it’s time to change,” said Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, the chairman of Fiat and the president of Ferrari and the influential business group Confindustria. “If not, why are we going down in every classification of competition in the country? The reason is that in the best of cases we are stopped.”

It is not clear that this “Made in Italy” strategy will be enough. Skeptics argue that foreign investment, research and development funds and money invested by venture capitalists remain too low, as does Italy’s competitiveness.
But the nation’s entrepreneurs are a bright spot in a landscape with few others. Some argue that the younger generation is another key, if not now then when those in power die. They are educated, they are well traveled and, as Beppe Grillo does when he is attracting his masses, they use the Internet.

Two center-left parties merged to produce the Democratic Party, aimed at overcoming the system’s crippling fragmentation. All sides finally agreed that a new electoral law must be redone to give more breathing room to the winner of the next elections — crucial for pushing through any major changes.

But understanding the problems is the smallest step. Many worry in the meantime that Italy may share the same fate as the Republic of Venice, based in what many say is the most beautiful of cities, but whose domination of trade with the Near East died with no culminating event. Napoleon’s conquest in 1797 only made it official. Now it is essentially an exquisite corpse, trampled over by millions of tourists. If Italy does not shed its comforts for change, many say, a similar fate awaits it: blocked by past greatness, with aging tourists the questionable source of life, the Florida of Europe.

“The malaise is: ‘I can see all that, but there is nothing I can do to change it,’” said Beppe Severgnini, a columnist for Corriere della Sera. But, he said, “to change your ways means changing your individual ways: refusing certain compromises, to start paying your taxes, don’t ask for favors when you are looking for a job, not to cheat when your child is trying to reach admission to university.”

“That’s the tricky part,” he said. “We have reached a point where hoping for some kind of white knight coming in saying, ‘We’ll sort you out,’ is over.”

“We Italians have our destiny in our hands more than ever before,” he said.

Buon Natale da Blogiorno!

2007-12-22T17:51:00.000-08:00

Hello my dear friends all over the world. As you may have noticed, I have not posted any entries in a while. Alas, I have been out of town for weeks on end due to work-related things, but now I'm back home for the holidays. I would like to wish each and EVERY one of you a very happy, healthy and joyous Christmas. Thank you for reading and commenting here at Blogiorno. I do appreciate it very much, and it has also given me the opportunity to visit your blogs in return.

Take care and may God bless you greatly during this holiday season.

With my warmest regards,

-Aaron

I Dieci Ordini? (The Ten Commandments?)

2007-11-12T19:47:00.000-08:00

Greetings my friends! You may have heard on the news that in the great country of Italy, a gentleman named Salvatore Lo Piccolo was arrested just outside of Palermo, Sicily, on suspicion of Mafia "activity". The police allege that Lo Piccolo inherited the mantle of former Mafia kingpin Bernardo "The Tractor" Provenzano. Provenzano was on the lam for an incredible 43 years, and Lo Piccolo for 20. Perhaps more interesting, however, is that when Lo Piccolo was arrested, in his stylish brown leather briefcase was a list of ten rules, or commandments, by which all good mobsters should live. Yes, mafiosi are not always smiles and sunshine; they do have their serious side too. And, they are apparently bound by ten commandments which include punctuality, avoiding bars and being nice to their wives. Lo Piccolo reportedly carried these with him everywhere he went.

Why, you may ask, does such a list exist? Isn't the essence of Cosa Nostra, according to The Godfather movies--the most accurate depiction of the Family, according to former mobster Sammy "The Bull" Gravano--that honor and gentlemanly behavior reign supreme, to such an extent that no one need even speak of such things?

Well, it seems that some of the oldtimer mobsters haven't been too happy with the youngsters who are climbing the ranks of the Mafia. And according to Mafia experts, these ten commandments reflect a desire to curb licentious or extravagant behaviour seen by old-style Mafia chieftains as "immoral". It is as if Cosa Nostra bosses want to rein in the flamboyant behaviour of the starry-eyed younger mobsters who have joined the organisation in recent years. For example, Trapani boss Matteo Messina Denaro, a Porsche-driving playboy often seen as a rival to Lo Piccolo, reportedly enjoys a semi-mythical status among newer, more ambitious Mafia initiates. Denaro's flagrant behavior suggests that crime definitely does pay, and this is the sort of exposure that Cosa Nostra definitely does not want. Indeed, Michael Corleone must be rolling over in his grave at such indiscretions.

So my friends, here are the Mafia's ten commandments. Conspicuously absent is the Judeo-Christian commandment of, "Thou shalt not kill." I choose to believe that the dons of Cosa Nostra are working on getting that in there too as an addendum or something. The other possibility is that it is "implied", which is a reasonable assumption. But, either scenario works. For me.

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1. No one can present himself directly to another of our friends. There must be a third person to do it.
2. Never look at the wives of friends.
3. Never be seen with cops.
4. Don't go to pubs and clubs.
5. Always being available for Cosa Nostra is a duty - even if your wife is about to give birth.
6. Appointments must absolutely be respected.
7. Wives must be treated with respect.
8. When asked for any information, the answer must be the truth.
9. Money cannot be appropriated if it belongs to others or to other families.
10. People who can't be part of Cosa Nostra: anyone who has a close relative in the police, anyone with a two-timing relative in the family, anyone who behaves badly and doesn't hold to moral values.

________________________________________

Hard to take issue with, isn't it? In fact, the words "organized" or "crime" aren't even mentioned once. Nothing incriminating there. So eat your hearts out, you crooked, bribe-taking, gin-guzzling, cigar-smoking, day-and-night-philandering, sanctimonious Senate-sub-committee-hearing guys. Or...people...uh...members? Eh, you know what I mean. See, now you got me all bothered.

Thank you for reading! Your comments are welcome, and I will be sure to forward them on to Signori Lo Piccolo and Provenzano.

Ciao amici miei!

Italian Teacher Too Sexy For Religion Classes?

2007-11-06T18:36:00.000-08:00

ROME, Sept. 6, 2005 (Blogiorno ~~and Reuters~~) - Was it her looks or lifestyle that led the Roman Catholic Church to fire an Italian religion teacher this year?

Professor Caterina Bonci, a 38-year-old religion instructor described in Italy's leading newspaper, Corriere della Sera, as a "leggy, long-haired blonde," has caused a major sensation, getting axed by the Catholic Church from her position in state-run schools. Bonci said Church authorities in the seaside town of Fano, Italy, decided she was just too attractive and dressed too sexy to teach religion after 14 years on the job.

"They shouldn't treat me like this after 14 years of teaching," Bonci said. "It's pure nastiness."

The headmaster at her former school, Father Alcide Baldelli, has said that some parents and teachers had complained about Bonci because she would "show up in a mini-skirt."

Bonci says she had never worn mini-skirts to work, and had "the right to wear a bikini if I go to the beach, and to wear a skirt the same length as thousands of other women…I am not a nun."

However, The Catholic Church states that it sacked the Professor because she is divorced. Local media quoted Giorgio Paolucci, lawyer for the diocese of Fano, as saying that she was fired because she was divorced and so should not be teaching religion for a Church that does not recognize divorce. According to Paolucci, the version supplied from the woman to the local press is "wrong and misleading".

"The diocese’s motivation is that she lacked suitability for the instruction of the Catholic religion", declared the lawyer.

Aesthetic Qualities Not Desirable?

Bonci said she separated from her husband in 1995, divorced in 2000 and that both events had not affected her job or raised eyebrows from her employers at the time. She said that she has never hidden her divorce from Church authorities, dresses down when teaching and defended her right to dress how she likes in her private life.

“I don’t see what it matters if a teacher is good looking or not as long she is qualified,” she told Reuters by telephone. “In school, I dressed normally. In my private life, I have every right to dress any way I want.” She added, “When a woman is considered too sexy and attractive in a small town it becomes a big thing.”

Media Frenzy

Bonci has been all over the Italian media demanding to go back to her job teaching religion to children in state schools on behalf of the diocese. Even Italy’s Corriere della Sera gave readers a break from pages of stories about scandal at the Bank of Italy and government bickering with the teasing headline: “Teacher in mini-skirt fired by diocese.”

Gawking Fathers

Bonci said reports that fathers accompanied their children to school so they could look at her meant little to her as long as the children came to class.

She added, "I have always been attacked by my female colleagues and by the rest of the staff because of my attractiveness." Bonci continued, "And if you consider that at our parent-teacher meetings it was always the fathers who came to see me, one can see why I have so often been at the center of attention and a target for gossip."

She has now become a minor celebrity on the Adriatic coast and national television talk shows are queuing up to interview her, but she says she wants only one thing.

“I would like my job back. I think it is my right,” she said. “For this job I have sacrificed and have lived a secluded life in order to attain the demanded morality, and this how they repay me".
__________________________________________

Your Turn

Blogiorno asks, “What do you think?”

Should divorcee Caterina Bonci be allowed to teach religion? Do you believe she was fired for being too attractive? Can a woman be “sexy” and still professional, or would it be better to forgo that to squelch accusations of impropriety? Should a Christian woman even aspire to be "sexy"?

Leave your comments! Grazie mille!

Italy Top Court Upholds Berlusconi Graft Acquittal

2007-10-26T15:49:00.000-07:00

ROME, Fri Oct 26, 2007 (Reuters) - Italy's top court upheld a verdict on Friday acquitting former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in a corruption case, a lawyer for Berlusconi said.

"It was high time. Twelve years have gone by since the start of this trial, in which Silvio Berlusconi was crucified, has been slandered around the world and now his innocence has finally emerged crystal clear," lawyer Niccolo Ghedini told Reuters.

Italy's richest man, owner of broadcaster Mediaset, was first acquitted in the case in 2004. An appeals court upheld that verdict in April this year, and it was again upheld on Friday by Italy's Cassation Court, meaning the verdict is now definitive.

Berlusconi, head of the centre-right opposition, was accused of bribing judges to stop the sale of food group SME to a rival businessman in the 1980s.

Blogiorno Editorial Commentary: As we have noted time and again, there are vast differences between the United States and Italy. It is important to note that upholding justice is one such difference, as evidenced by this Reuters article. Here in the United States, well-coiffed celebrity lawyers stand firmly upon the necks of those who attempt to administer the scales of justice. Furthermore, those in America with greater means and social stature can be assured of alternate--and spectacularly unequal--forms of said justice. We here at Blogiorno wish to point out that, refreshingly, the same is NOT true in Italy. As Silvio Berlusconi's lawyer will attest, in Italy good does triumph over evil, for Italian lawmakers have not dulled their collective consciences as their counterparts have in America. Indeed, the Italians have sought and answered the higher calling of their Lady of Perpetual Justice. Therefore, today the irreproachable judges of the Italian court system have spoken. Justice has prevailed in Italy!

Thanks to Reuters for bringing us this important news. Reuters: Know. Now. Or something.

Ducati's Greatest Day

2007-10-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

Ciao my friends! And now, for your reading pleasure, a bit of noteworthy news from the exciting world of motorcycle racing. Last weekend, the Ducati motorcycle racing team, with the help of a fine son from the Koala nation of Australia, made some serious history by clinching the 2007 MotoGP World Championship. As we've noted before here at Blogiorno, Italy is perhaps THE center for all things excellent in the world, and racing is foremost in their achievements. Ducati set about to win the MotoGP championship in 2002. Five short years later, they did exactly that, taking their very first title. Their rider, 21 year old Casey Stoner of Australia, clinched the title for Ducati and all of Italia at the Japanese Grand Prix, which took place at Motegi Circuit in Japan. Even better, the race was won by the second Ducati rider, Italian Loris Capirossi.

To clinch the championship, MotoGP rookie Casey Stoner only needed to finish ahead of Italy's beloved son, Valentino Rossi. Casey finished sixth, and it was done. Normally, anyone beating Valentino Rossi triggers an immediate blacklisting here at Blogiorno, but we paused, took several deep breaths into the oxygen masks we knicked from British Airways and let the rage pass on by. Only the balm that is Ducati could quell such anger, which was soon replaced by unbridled joy, knowing that the manufacturer of our beloved street bike has been rewarded for their travail. The result of the race in Japan was, as you might expect, laughter and tears in the Ducati Marlboro Team pit, as well as in the Borgo Panigale factory headquarters, where more than one thousand fans watched the race alongside the Ducati dignitaries. Talk about rejoicing!

In my visit to the Ducati factory, I would have loved to see the Italians building the MotoGP race bikes; in fact, the racing shop is located in the center of the factory floor. However, visitors are forbidden from entering that area, and actually, you cannot even so much as point your camera in the general direction of said shop without politely getting your hand slapped by one of the beautiful Italian tour guide girls. Why? It is because of the millions and millions of dollars that it takes to field a MotoGP team, much less finish in the top 5 or fight for the championship. We're talking hundreds of millions of dollars just to get into the game. The pressure to win is very intense, and the danger of losing your technological edge via industrial espionage is equally as intense--that is no joke, and it happens all the time.

So this--the big money game that is MotoGP--is the reason for all the secrecy. It is also the reason for big tobacco's presence in motorsport, and for Marlboro being the chief sponsor of the Ducati racing team; large conglomerates like theirs are the only ones who have that kind of money to throw around. Here at Blogiorno, we don't have any objection to large corporations sponsoring racing teams, nor do we see any reason to pile on the already fledgling tobacco industry, especially because demonizing that industry was, for a time, the favorite chia-pet cause of Hollywood elitists...at least until they got distracted by all the shiny objects eminating from--cue Darth Vader's theme song--Walmart. (Cue a big eyeroll too, while you're at it. Grazie.) So while we simultaneously acknowledge the dangers of smoking AND laud the how-can-they-be-THAT-bad people at Marlboro, we also state unequivocally that if Walmart sponsored the Ducati Racing Team, we'd still be right there, sporting that smiley face mascot of theirs proudly on our official Ducati Racing Team merchandise.

So there you have it...the good folks at Marlboro, with their smooth good taste and rich tobacco flavor, now have themselves a World Championship racing team. But much more importantly, the Ducati Racing Team have realized their dream of taking motorcycle racing's highest honor, the MotoGP World Racing Championship.

Here are a few memorable quotes from the champions:

CASEY STONER, 2007 MotoGP World Champion
"At the moment it all feels a little bit unrealistic! I'm struggling for words, I don't think there's any feeling that can compare to this...we finally did it!"

LORIS CAPIROSSI, race winner, 7th in World Championship
"We struggled a lot this weekend, but I won my third consecutive race here...it's a great moment for me. It's also a great day for Casey, for Ducati and for the team."

GABRIELE DEL TORCHIO, CEO Ducati Motors
"This success is the best demonstration of Ducati excellence, is a triumph of Italian intelligence, talent, competences and the warmth that is one of our country's most vital assets. It's an important and remarkable achievement. It is a dream come true. We are speaking of a great feat realised thanks to Casey's commitment, bravery and team work, united with the work of our draughtsmen, technicians, engineers, team members, sponsors and everyone at the factory."

CLAUDIO DOMENICALI, Ducati Corse CEO
["Corse" means "Racing" in Italian. - AA]
"It is a dream come true - a fantastic feeling, really fantastic. I don't have enough words to thank all the guys who have contributed to this incredible achievement, which shows that Italy is a nation whose passion and talent can succeed in a hugely technically advanced field. It's certainly a good reason for Italians to be proud."

Bravo Signor Casey Stoner, Scuderia Ducati, e Italia!

Attrezzo dell'artista

2007-10-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! This blog entry will be only slightly off topic, and more "informational" about the inner workings of the writing staff at Blogiorno. Here at Blogiorno, we have always used Apple as the primary tool with which to create this blogging magic. Recently, we were pleased--okay, fine, I was pleased--to purchase a new 13 inch widescreen Apple MacBook [pic, above]. It is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, running at 2.16GHz speeds, which makes it snappy fast. Also, it is aesthetically pleasing and lends itself to creativity in ways that just seem to be a stretch for Windows machines...from the pearly white case and keyboard, to the graphics rendering, to the Tiger operating system. Really super.

On the subject of computer "platform" preference, I have found that, for many otherwise dispassionate people, things seem to verge on the radical. There is precious little middle ground in the "Mac versus PC" ground war. Generally, I say to each their own. "Live and let live." That is, unless you're speaking in the ethical/moral sense of life. That whole laissez-faire attitude in things moral is dragged out of the gutters far too often in order to justify all manner of deviant behavior. And it is particularly bad in the realm of parenting. You've seen said parents at Starbucks, taking full-fist blows to their nether-regions from their darling cherub kid, then admonishing the little troll that they're not supposed to hit Mommy: "Stop it Dakota, I'm only going to tell you 50 more times and then you're getting a time-out and an imaginary demerit". Yes, as a way of life, laissez-faire is completely self-serving, leads to personal/social/spiritual ills, and is generally a bad idea. But anyway, let's not deviate any further from the topic at hand...back to uh...where were we...oh yes, computers! For me, creativity and Apple go hand-in-hand. And, few would contest that Apple are tops at creating the slickest, earthiest, most user-friendly products around.

The only downside with Apple is the elitist attitude that some "creative types" tend to put on display whilst floating about in Apple stores. Honestly, when I go into Apple stores--which is very rarely--sometimes I have had to fight hard not to roll my eyes in derision at some of the arrogant artsy types who just came from Starbucks with a kid named, say, "Dakota", demanding this and that from the poor minimum-wage kids working there. Not right. Can't we all just get along?

I happened to read a humorous article from Wired magazine about some celebrities who fit in that latter, unfortunate category. You might get a laugh from it too; a few off-color words, yes, but hey, I didn't write it. [See link below].

Okay then. I will see you next time. Meanwhile, visit an Apple store and check out some of the nice products they offer. There really is something for everyone. The stores are in most major cities, including my hometown, San Luis Obispo, California, and of course, Milan, Italy. Ciao, ciao!

Click to read the article from Wired Magazine.

Sono Un Ducatisti!

2007-09-19T20:22:00.000-07:00

Ciao amici! Recently, I achieved a personal goal of mine—I acquired a new Ducati motorcycle. I’ve wanted one of these bikes since 2002, when I visited the Ducati factory in Bologna, Italy, and watched the Italian workers assemble them. If you’re not familiar with motorcycling, Ducati is certainly one of THE bikes to own. Why? Well, it is an exotic Italian motorcycle, and certainly more rare than any Japanese-made bike. Also, Ducati’s history is legendary. They are responsible for creating soulful, fast, beautiful bikes, and for infusing the world of motorcycle racing with huge passion and excitement, as only Italians can do.

To be a Ducati owner, or, a “Ducatisti”, is something that many motorcyclists desire. And once you get one, you just instinctually understand why: You are riding not just a motorcycle, but also a piece of history. The bike just exudes Italian timelessness, flair and soul, and you can really feel it as the sounds and movements beneath you defy anything you may have previously experienced. It is breathtakingly fast. It is beautiful to behold. It has an exhaust note that is raw and throaty. Really special. When you’re riding it, you get the distinct feeling that this is a hand built bike, and furthermore, that everything you feel and see in the bike has been slowly and passionately created, honed and fine-tuned, not just on engineering paper, but in garages of yesteryear, by crazy Italians, cigarettes dangling from their bottom lips, trying to figure out how to make the fastest bikes.

The Ducati model I chose is the 2007 Monster S2R 1000 [shown]. It is considered a “naked” bike, meaning, it isn’t wrapped in coverings and panels and fairings like most Japanese supersport bikes. Ducati is credited with inventing the naked bike in the early 1990s, when they dreamed up the original concept. The Monster is a tough motorcycle, often categorized as a “streetfighter”. Yes, that word may be a bit much, but that’s actually the feeling you get when you ride it. You feel as if you could outrun any vehicle on the road, leaving them in the smoke of your rear tire, and actually, you can do just that because of the insanely intense acceleration and top speed capabilities of the bike. And speaking of acceleration, this bike will pull your arms out of their sockets if you twist the throttle enough, and you can expect the front wheel to loft off the ground in doing so. The torque is just stunning. Let’s just say that the good folks in the Borgo Panigale region of Bologna chose the correct name for this motorcycle.

As the model name implies, the S2R 1000 Monster is 1000 cubic centimeters in displacement. It has an air-cooled “L” twin engine--the cylinder heads set 90 degrees apart. Many consider this bike to be the ultimate Ducati, even though the company manufactures more powerful bikes. Why? Because Ducati’s heritage—and what made them famous—is the torque-intensive air-cooled twin engine. So simple, yet so potent. What does “torque” mean? Well, many bikes tend to spin up to their power “sweet spot” comparatively more slowly than others; that is, the power doesn’t really come on until you get closer to the RPM red-line, often at 9,000 or 10,000 RPM (engine Revolutions Per Minute). This means that they tend to be civil at low RPMs. The Monster, on the other hand, reaches its sweet spot at around 6,000 RPM, which means that even at lower RPMs, all the way up to its red-line, the bike has crushing accleration. And that is why Ducati motorcycles are some of the most exciting and awe-inspiring bikes made. Some even say that this particular Ducati, the Monster S2R 1000, is THE best Ducati ever. That’s really saying something, since the company builds bikes upwards of $85,000 in price, such as the Desmosedici RR MotoGP replica bike.

As I alluded to earlier, one of the great things about Ducati is the history and heritage of the company. In my opinion, there are few other motorcycle companies that match Ducati’s glittering history. And that is what makes owning a Ducati that much more special for me. Also, motorcyclists and non-motorcyclists alike really appreciate the bike too, even if they're not sure what it is. They know that it must be exotic, with such an intriguing, Italian-sounding name and that rosso red paint. Yes, there's no doubt, it attracts a lot of attention, like it or love it. In this last photo [above, right] taken one evening by one of the many paparazzi who follow me around, you can see me strolling to my bike amongst the stunned, gape-mouthed passersby, whom, I must add, I always greet warmly.

So my friends, if you get the chance, visit the Ducati website and take in the glory that is Ducati. There you can see the Monster bikes, as well as all of the other Ducati models. There is also lots about Ducati's worldwide racing efforts, which are quite vast. Finally, in the Heritage section, you can see great old photographs of the earliest Ducatis, as well as photos of the earliest days of motorcycle building and racing, when everything was so new and exciting…and dangerous. Bravo, Ducati! Grazie mille per tutto!

Thank you once again for reading Blogiorno. Ciao, a presto!

Io presento Valentino Rossi!

2007-09-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

Hello my dear friends! As you lay awake at night pondering the meaning of...so many things, so...very...many...things, one question you must surely have is this: Who is the best motorcycle racer in the world as we know it? Fortunately, Blogiorno has the answer to this particular question, though few other answers to much of anything else. From a small town in Italy called Urbino, located near the Adriatic coast, comes World Champion Valentino Rossi. Valentino Rossi is an Italian professional motorcycle racer, and he is one of the most successful racers of all time, with 7 Grand Prix World Championships to his name. There is another racer with more than 7...that is the great Giacomo Agostini, also of Italy, who has 15 GP World Championships!

Rossi rides in MotoGP. MotoGP is a worldwide series that takes place on almost every continent in the world, with rounds in China, Turkey, Spain, Australia, Germany, Japan, Italy and several other countries, including the U.S. Simply put, MotoGP is the pinnacle of two-wheeled track racing. Every racer aspires to be in MotoGP.

Thankfully, only an hour and a half north of my villa in San Luis Obispo, California, a round of MotoGP takes place: the U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. I have attended this international event twice to watch "The Doctor"--Valentino's nickname--compete. [See photo, right.] What an event. Alas, Valentino has not been able to win in the U.S. yet. Why? Is it a major flaw in his 200+ MPH, 220 horsepower Yamaha M1 motorcycle? No. Is it jet lag? No. Is it Pamela Anderson--who attends, along with many other "stars"--distracting him by shamelessly trying to hurl herself at him from the pits? No. It is the crummy Michelin tires that the Yamaha team is contractually bound to use; they are just not up to the task. THANK YOU FRANCE. Hopefully a U.S. victory will come in the future for Valentino.

So, cara amici, Valentino Rossi is considered to be the greatest motorcycle racer of our modern age. He is not particularly imposing, but when he gets on the bike, no one can touch him, equipment being equal, which it never is. It is said that Valentino races lines like no other racer, and that his heartrate is astonishingly low when he rides, barely breaking 100 beats per minute.

Currently, Valentino lives in London, England, simply because he is mobbed in Italy almost immediately and cannot walk down the street. Such is the love the Italians have for their humble son. But make no mistake about it, though quite humble in demeanor, he is a superstar. On a worldwide scale, he is much better known than any American athlete, with perhaps only Tiger Woods rivaling him. His success has also earned him tremendous riches: According to Sports Illustrated, Rossi is the 7th highest earning sports personality in the world, 2nd outside the United States, earning an estimated $30 million a year, not including endorsements. Mamma mia!

Grazie mille for reading...until next time!

Padre Nostro

2007-07-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

In Italy, the Lord's Prayer is known as "Padre Nostro". As you may know, the Lord's Prayer is the only known prayer uttered by Jesus Christ. For this reason, I believe it deserves special attention. If you would like to hear Padre Nostro spoken in Italian, I've included that soundfile below.

Padre nostro che sei nei cieli,
sia santificato il tuo nome;
Venga il tuo regno,
sia fatta la tua volontà,
come in cielo così in terra.
Dacci oggi il nostro pane quotidiano;
Rimetti a noi i nostri debiti,
Come noi li rimettiamo ai nostri debitori.
E non ci indurre in tentazione,
Ma liberaci dal male.
Amen.

Father of ours, who are in heaven,
blessed be your name;
May your kingdom come,
may your will be fulfilled,
as in heaven as on earth.
Give us today our daily bread;
Clean our debts,
As we clean the debts of our debtors.
Do not let us slip into temptation,
But free us from all evil.
Amen.

Per ascoltare, clicca qui

Italia: Campioni del Mondo!

2007-07-02T19:49:00.000-07:00

Every four years, the sporting world as we know it is turned absolutely upside down. No, I'm not speaking of the Olympics, where perfectly acceptable concepts such as "goodwill" and "world community" are mercilessly jammed into our auditory canals by tanned American sportscasters for two weeks. Rather, I am referring to that glorious, gritty worldwide brawl known as World Cup Soccer. If you're American, you're probably as familiar with the great sport of soccer as Europeans are with Nascar, but believe me, soccer is monumentally colossal worldwide. In fact, according to "the internets", the 2006 World Cup stands as the most watched event in all of television history. Wow. It achieved an estimated 28.29 billion non-unique viewers over the course of the brawl, and the final match scored an estimated audience of 715 million people.

Now, what's great about World Cup is this: Pure, raw nationalism rules for a month, with no apologies whatsoever from players or viewers. It is a beautiful thing. Unless you're speaking of the French, who I must single out because they made it to the final with Italy. France did indeed have an excellent team, yes. But like it or hate it, French nationalism seems to be almost universally questioned. Why? Perhaps because in the history of world affairs, the French cannot escape their penchant for the color white, which obviously detracts from stout nationalism. Fair statement? Who can say? On the one hand, the French government did in fact collaborate with their Nazi occupiers in World War II; on the other hand, the common citizens of the French Resistance are the stuff of legend, and should held up in high esteem. And let's not forget France's role in the founding of our great nation, the United States of America.

Anyway, for me personally, I have a problem with French nationalism for a different reason, and here it is: When was the last time the French fans had the internal fortitude to start a 100,000 person riot in a stadium, complete with flying seats, fires and collapsing fences? I rest my case. I mean, the Italians and Germans and Brits do it all the time, and with great ease. (Now that I think about it, I'm not so sure that's a good thing for the Degos, Krauts and Limeys.)

Anyway, in 2006, a blessed year, Italy took the World Cup from the many other capable teams, a list in which I of course include the French team. In fact, as I said before, the final match was between Italy and France, and it will not be soon forgotten. The final started with each side scoring within the first 20 minutes, and from there on, it was a topsy-turvy ride to the penalty kick shootout, which Italy won, 5-3. Si!

Before the shootout, the match was tarnished when France's excellent player Zinedine Zidane headbutted Italy's Marco Materazzi in the chest and was subsequently shown the red card and sent back to the City of Lights. The French press whined--shocker, I know--that Materazzi insulted Zidane. True, he did, but let's get real: trash talking is often part of the psychological match, and not just in soccer.

In 2006, the World Cup was held in cities throughout Germany, and they put on a fine show for the world in the Berlin final. Plus, you have to hand it to the Germans--they know how to riot. It was the first all-European final since Italy won the World Cup in 1982. It was also Italy's first world title in 24 years, and their fourth overall, putting them only one behind Brazil, widely regarded as soccer specialists. Sadly for the German fans, their team did not win the cup, and that is a shame. But the most important thing to Italy, to Italians, and to you, my wonderful Blogiorno readers, is that Italy gave France das boot in Berlin, triumphing in overtime, as no doubt wished for by our pal Pope Benedict, and perhaps even ordained by THE highest power, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who reigns supreme.

Ciao! We'll see you in 2010 in South Africa!

Beauty in Italia

2006-08-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

*** Disclaimer: This entry is an observation of different perceptions of "beauty" and is "tongue-in-cheek", designed to prove that Italy reigns supreme. It is not meant to demean anyone, but rather to showcase Italian beauty, inside and out, and how Italy views beauty, as opposed to how America views it. Obviously, there IS NO "most beautiful" person in the world. But since People magazine is obsessed with this topic, here at Blogiorno I don't want to fall behind, seeing as how my readership rates are about the same as theirs, give or take the population of a few continents. Anyway, there is no need to send me email about the sins of lust or idolatry; please, this blog entry is not about that at all. For you gals, you know how you have late-night slumber-party talk where you opine over Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt and Jack Black, often imbuing them with impossibly perfect character, demeanor and hygiene, without actually having any evidence? Okay then. I think I've covered everything. Now, onward with the beauty, cara amici. ***

Every now and then you see the headline on a magazine whilst waiting to purchase your groceries at the supermarket: "The Most Beautiful Woman In The World..." Typically, this headline is accompanied by a twenty-something-year-old girl of ridiculous proportions, computer-enhanced liquid-blue eyes and golden-highlighted hair. Such a headline is, of course, somewhat silly because a claim like that is completely subjective. Who makes these decisions about who THE most beautiful woman in the world is? Why do they feel so bold and free as to announce it to the world? I would really like to know. And why do various magazines differ on who THE most beautiful woman is? One would think if it were that certain, then all of these high-quality magazines (e.g., GQ, People, In Style, Truckin') would reach the same conclusion.

Alas, it is not that simple. In fact, for the magazine editors it surely must be an incredibly complicated selection process, accompanied by complex opinion polling (i.e., their teenaged sons and daughters) and perhaps even intense, personal wining and dining (i.e., courtesy of slippery L.A. and NYC agency execs). Ironically, however, it is the ever-changing, subjective nature of the bold periodical statements which allow me to contrast them with the following universally objective announcement:

The most beautiful woman in the world is from the great country of Italy, and that woman's name is Monica Bellucci.

Ms. Bellucci is an Italian model-turned-actress, who can actually act quite masterfully. She is perhaps most well known as Mary Magdelene from "The Passion of the Christ", and she has appeared in the two most recent "Matrix" films. Of course, she has also appeared in numerous Italian films. She is probably the most well-known Italian actress in Italy.

If you look closely at the photograph of Monica Bellucci, you'll notice a few things:

1. She has no blonde highlights.
2. She is not 18-25 years old.
3. She weighs more than a cantaloupe.
4. She does not roast in the sun but has natural--and untattooed, thank God--fair skin.
5. She is the most beautiful woman in the world.

On that last point, note the use of the word "woman". Ms. Bellucci is a woman. "Of course she is," you may perturbedly say, perhaps as you embarrassingly recall the Maxim magazine your heathen roommate slid onto the counter whilst purchasing tough actin' Tinactin and the family-sized bottle of Albertson's rum in the plastic container. (Please recycle.) Ah, but let's juxtapose her with a few of the shamelessly self-promoting, headline-grabbing females of late: Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, Britney Spears, to name a few. Does anyone really consider any of these to be actual "women" in the course of random conversation? Probably not. They are usually referred to as "babes", "hotties", or "girls". But make no mistake about it: they are merely pretenders. They are not women.

You may also notice that Ms. Bellucci breaks all of the traditionally held ideals of what makes one attractive in the American market: She is a dark, classic Italian beauty, she appears to eat food and, in fact, she is well over 40 years old.

On her age, a special note: In Italy, a woman is considered to be at the peak of her womanly powers no earlier than age 30. As she reaches her thirties and forties, she is considered to be at her most beautiful. I applaud that way of thinking, and this makes sense to any rational, thinking person: How beautiful will the aforementioned "megastars" be at age 40? Time will tell, but one's immediate and natural reaction may be to shudder at those visualizations. This is "megascary" (tm), if you will.

So once again, the Italians have it right, and American "culture" has it wrong: a woman cannot be considered beautiful until she begins to mature, inside and out. If time is kind to her in that process of maturation, she becomes more and more beautiful. But it isn't about just physical beauty; Italians also know that as a woman matures physically, so she does emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Thus, "beauty" takes on a completely different meaning in Italy, and, in my humble opinion, a much deeper meaning.

Therefore ladies and gentlemen, God, Italy and Blogiorno give to you The Most Beautiful Woman In The World, Ms. Monica Bellucci.

Bravo! Buona fortuna Signora Bellucci!

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara...Manga!

2006-02-26T19:51:00.000-08:00

Hello again my friends. I would like to share with you one of my favorite Italian dishes to make. I've read that this pasta recipe comes from the Lazio region, which is where Rome is. I had this dish in a hotel in the town of Orte, Lazio. They used a touch less egg, perhaps 2 instead of 3...at least, I think so...it is kind of hazy-slash-dreamy to recall because the hotel owner's daughter, who served us, was a real Italian beauty with dark hair, large, dark eyes, light skin and a no nonsense way about her. Mamma Mia! After serving us and others, she and her equally-as-beautiful mother sat off to the side and watched in amusement as a group of Italian men cheered a soccer game on the television, several of them inebriated out of their minds, but happy as Liguria clams. Classic. Anyway, uh, back to the ingredients...ummm, where were we? Eggs...oh, yes, you might experiment. Two eggs work, but three makes it totally deggadent, har har.

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup diced bacon (I use Pancetta instead of American bacon)
1 garlic clove, peeled
14 oz spaghetti
salt and fresh ground pepper
3 eggs, beaten
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
6 tablespoons grated Pecorino cheese (use all Parmesan if you can't find Pecorino)

Melt butter in large, heavy pan, add bacon and garlic, fry gently until browned, then remove garlic from the pan.

Cook spaghetti in salted water until al dente, drain, add to bacon. Stir well and remove from heat. Add eggs, a pinch of pepper, half the Parmesan and half the Pecorino. Toss until eggs turn creamy, then add remaining cheeses. You might put over heat again, but be careful that the egg doesn't start to cook too much. Add a touch more salt and pepper if desired. Toss again and serve. (Serves 4.)

Enjoy this rich, GUILT-LADEN dish!

Short Story: All Is Right With The World (Tutto E Adatto Nel Mondo)

2005-11-10T15:16:00.000-08:00

pioggia a Firenze
Originally uploaded by aabitia.

Hello again my faithful readers. (I thank you for that loyalty, by the way.) So far all of the entries in Blogiorno have been "commentary" in nature. I sincerely hope you have enjoyed them as much as I have enjoyed authoring them. However, as you may know, there are other avenues down which a writer can travel in his "literary journey". To wit, fiction. Now while I do not consider myself a fiction writer, I decided that it would be an interesting exercise to write (and actually finish) a "short story" for Blogiorno. I have done so here. I would sincerely like to hear your thoughts about it; however, if you will kindly permit me, I would like to enumerate a few "ground rules" to keep in mind as you share your thoughts with me and the blogging world:

1. Please be honest.
2. Please be polite.
3. If you cannot be polite, please substitute "colorful" words with socially acceptable ones.
4. Please be as accurate as possible, as this will help me create more of "my art" in the future. Example: Instead of, "you suck man", you might more accurately state, "I did not actually read your story, as it necessitated an extra precious click of my mouse; said clicks are normally reserved for online gaming. After evaluating the title of your story and finding it lacking [any mention of girls with AK-47s], I respectfully navigated away from your blog".
5. You may not refer to the main protagonist as "Vinnie" or any disrespectful iteration thereof.

Influences: One, actually--John Cheever. I personally like his writing quite a lot, and while some might consider his work to be outdated (he wrote from the 1930s to the 1970s), I say he's one of the best ever at short fiction. My favorite work of his is "The Country Husband". Really excellent.

*** Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. The main character is an amalgamation of many people, real and imagined, and my observations of them. Finally, while there are intense thematic and spiritual elements in this story, they are by no means "correct" or even reflective of my personal beliefs. Again, my friends, it is fiction and should be taken as such. See? Now you don't have to send me an Angry-Gram. ***

The title of this short story is "All Is Right With The World" (or, in Italian, "Tutto E Adatto Nel Mondo").

Download the PDF here

Is God Italian?

2005-09-07T20:42:00.000-07:00

Michelangelo's God, Sistine Chapel
Originally uploaded by aabitia.

In light of recent religious events which focused world attention upon Italy, that is, the passing of John Paul II and the election of the replacement Pope, Benedict XVI, in a sealed room in the Vatican, some interesting questions come to mind: Is God Italian? Does He like Italians more than Americans or other mongrel peoples? And if virtually the entire world is locked on St. Peter's Square for a week in April, does that mean that Italians have a lock on God, or at the least, "un punto speciale nel suo cuore", a special place in His heart? The answers to these questions are, in my opinion, based upon a bit of current fact, a bit of history, a bit of Biblical knowledge, a bit of Roman Catholic doctrine and a bit of old-fashioned Italian pride. (Yes, I do not mean to shock you, but Italians "got it" and they know it, so much so that they don't need or even care to show "it" off...unlike Americans, who try and fail so very miserably, that they end up looking like the ostentatious-yet-ineffectual narcissistic twits that they actually are.)

So, let's take a brainy ride my friends. Yes, I know, this is America and we don't like to use our brains, but really, this should be painless. Nevertheless, please stay seated at all times...oh, and keep your hand on your wallet.

First, a bit of Catholic doctrine, to establish just who the Pope is. I've learned that Catholics believe that the Pope is the "Vicar" of Christ, meaning that he is the physical representation of God on this earth. And if you watch most Catholics' reaction to the Pope, you might even gather that they may view him as divine as well. So where does the Vicar live? Why, in Italy of course. Ah, but purists (or wop-haters) would protest that Vatican City is in fact not a part of Italy at all, but a small "country" within the country of Italy. While this is technically true, I think it's splitting hairs. To get to the Vatican you go to the country of Italy. I mean, what IS a "country" anyway? I don't know, but I'm fairly sure you have to have an "international" airport to qualify as one, complete with a Food Court. And the last time I was at the Vatican, I didn't see no Chick-Fil-A eatery tended by a gaunt, yellow-eyed man of dubious origin, nor did I see any Boeing widebody--or worse, Airbus--planes taxiing down St. Peter's Square.

Now, while JP2 (John Paul II) was Polish, and Benedict XVI is German, wouldn't it appear that, since they live(d) in the Vatican, God has apparently chosen Italy as a place of residence for the number one man down here? The fact that Vatican City is in the heart of Italy, well, it makes the inference inescapable.

So, how exactly did the Vatican arrive in Italy? The answer lies in the person of Saint Peter the apostle, and this is where things begin to get a bit murky and/or controversial. Catholics consider St. Peter to be the "first Pope", though non-Catholics contest the whole concept of a Pope or that such was Peter. Furthermore, some Catholics believe that Peter was even martyred in Rome, again, something hotly debated in religious circles. You can see where this is going: Therefore, for Catholics, since Peter was the first Pope, and died in Italy, the Catholic faith naturally must make its home there.

But why the emphasis on Peter the apostle as the first Pope? Why is his tomb located behind six inches of glass underneath the Basilica, and not any of the other apostles' tombs? And why is he considered by Catholics to be the first Pope in the first place? The answer, according to the Catholic faith, is the passage in the Bible--you may have heard about it...it's a book--where Jesus states to Peter, "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church." (This is found in Matthew 16, in the New Testament.) Catholics believe that the "rock" is Peter, while others insist that the rock is Jesus himself and that He was talking about himself. Aha, so this then is the origin of the Pope and the Roman Catholic faith: that Jesus (according to Catholic interpretation) declared Peter to be the rock upon which the Christian church would be based, that Jesus therefore made Peter the first Pope, and that Peter completed his life's work in Italy.

Seems natural then that Italy and Italians may wish to lay hold of a special claim regarding their place with God. There are a few "snags" however...there's always snags, you know. Both Jesus and Peter were both Jewish, not Italian. They ate kosher meals; Italians most decidedly do not. Furthermore, as Catholic Christians and Protestant Christians ascribe to the belief that Jesus is fully God, then the conclusion is of course that the Catholic God is Jewish, not Italian.

This begs another intriguing question: Since Catholics worship Jewish figures who--most scholars would agree--spent the vast majority of their time in Israel, why then didn't their religion just naturally spring up there, making its home there, as Judaism and Islam did and does? Well, maybe it's because the early Catholics realized there was already enough trouble in Israel between the Hebrews and the Arabs, as there still is in the 21st century; where's that Rodney King (Jew?) when you need him, to get on T.V. and tell these people to get along? I mean, to this day the Jews and the Arabs are still doing the big dukeroo, with no end in sight, despite the efforts of JP2, Bill Clinton and Rachel Corrie, the patron saint of all leftist activists (that poor girl). Or maybe the early Catholics just decided that to try to construct the Vatican in Jerusalem amidst all those wild-eyed, dynamite-adorned jihadists would be less than "optimal". Or maybe they just figured out that Italy is a lot prettier than much of Israel, so why not just make Saint Peter an honorary Italian and then make beautiful Italy the centre of their religion?

On that last point, I would have to concede that Italy is, in general, much prettier than Israel, at least today anyway. However, let me preempt the inevitable (and hollow) accusations of "anti-Semitism" by saying that I dig Jews. They're survivors. I like survivors. Furthermore, I also like Hebrew National hot dogs. They're scrumptious, or, dare I say it, "jew-licious". (Oh yes, I do dare.) But anyway, I assure you that no frothing, goose-stepping, classic Jew-hater would ever eat those things, much less put this illustrative picture here.

So I guess that settles it...at least, in my mind. God is not Italian, but is first and foremost a Spirit, as cited in the Bible, and only then perhaps Jewish. Jesus is not Italian, but Jewish. Peter is not Italian but Jewish. And from the familiar John 3:16 scripture which you learned in Sunday School ("For God so loved the world...") we should agree in principle that God has no favorites and loves all people equally...Heebs, Degos, Krauts, Frogs, Coloreds, Crackers, Heinz-57s, everyone; otherwise, this blog entry could go on and on, eventually wrapping around the "internets" several times like a tapeworm, and who really wants that? For any Catholic readers out there, I love you all and have nothing against you, of course. In fact, I'm Christian myself, though not Catholic. Rather, I'm simply doing some "critical thinking" here on some religious points which concern Italy and her place with God.

All right then...see you next time. Meanwhile, go out there and get some Hebrew National dogs with a side of Rotelli pasta salad.

Grazie and L'Chaim!

Hannibal In Firenze: The Palazzo Vecchio

2005-06-27T18:38:00.000-07:00

Palazzo Vecchio a notte
Originally uploaded by aabitia.

The next entry about the film "Hannibal" in Florence features another prime attraction in the heart of the city, the Palazzo Vecchio, or "Old Palace". As you may recall from the film, it is here where Dr. Lecter illustrated his displeasure with the Italian Inspector Pazzi by dangling him off the edge of the balcony of the main building, also known as the Palazzo della Signoria. In the photo, you can just make out said balcony, above the main centre door. Now, if you've ever been to the Palazzo Vecchio, you'd know how eye-rollingly-ludicrous that scene in the movie was, simply because of the absence of people. At any time of the day, virtually around the clock, the square is teeming with humanity--not exactly conducive to pulling off the perfect clandestine crime. I suppose you could say that this was enough ruin the "realism" of the plot. True, but what really bugged me in that scene was that it appeared that between "Silence of the Lambs" and "Hannibal", Dr. Lecter seemed to have morphed from a bloodcurdling psychopath to some wildly off-kilter Garrison Keiller clone, using phrases like, "okey doke", just before he took care of Signore Pazzi. Give me a break.

Anyway, a bit of history: The Palazzo della Signoria was built between the 13th and 16th centuries. This main building was originally constructed as a palace for royalty, eventually becoming home to the Medici family. Soon after the Medicis took residence, part of the building and surrounding structures became what is today the world-famous Uffizi museum, the corner of which you can just see at the far right. After the passing of the Medicis and subsequent dego occupants, the building became the seat of the Italian government when Florence was the capital city of Italy. Today, it functions as the halls for the City Council; however, you can still tour much of it and see the actual locations of many of the scenes from the film, not to mention stunning architecture, paintings, frescoes and sculptures from such artists as Michelangelo and Donatello. Finally, also visible in the photo are two sculptures just in front of the Signoria building: "Fontana di Nettuno" (the Fountain of Neptune), and a copy of Michelangelo's "David", which replaced the original in the last century.

Before we conclude with this entry about "Hannibal" in Florence, I would just like to get on my "high horse" for a few moments. (I am exceedingly good at this.) I did have a personal conflict with this film because of the excessive violent content (combined with seemingly no moral message). Therefore, I will not watch it again. The reason I watched "Hannibal" was because of the setting of the film, and that is really all. However, I am not at all a fan of the "horror" film genre. The plots are thinner than the clear coats on 1980s Camaros, and on top of that, you've got to wonder about anyone who views the torture and dismemberment of human beings as a valid form of entertainment, particularly since these types of terrible incidents seem to be on the rise in American society, the perpetrators often acting out scenes from these idiotic films almost verbatim. Therefore, I would like to propose that real, live fans of "horror" films be taken out to a grassy field on a fully moonlit night and taunted with being maimed in some way via a lethal instrument, such as a red hot George Foreman grill, just so they can see how funny it is. (Yeah, real shocker: it isn't.)

All of this said, ultimately, the film "Hannibal" was indeed disturbing, but fortunately was overshadowed by the sheer stupidity of the script, which rendered it nearly laughable, untenable, and ultimately a bit boring, the impeccable Italian style of Dr. Lecter notwithstanding. So please, accept this as my explanation for these entries, and/or my sincere apology for giving such a violent film any further publicity. There, now you don't have to send me a nastygram; see how it all worked out in the end?

My love to you all. Okey doke, now let's move on to nicer things.

Hannibal In Firenze: The Pontevecchio

2005-05-28T22:57:00.000-07:00

Hannibal Strolls Under Ponte Vecchio
Originally uploaded by aabitia.

Regardless of what you may think of Hannibal Lecter, there is no denying that the man (?) has an impeccible sense of style, as evidenced in this photo and his decision to move to the beautiful city of Firenze, Italy, after his stay at an asylum in the States (with a brief stop in Jamaica). Personally, I am not a fan of the "horror" film genre, however, in the film "Hannibal" you can see some stunning cinematography in Firenze--or to the layperson, "Florence". In this first entry about Hannibal in Florence, you can see him strolling beneath the Ponte Vecchio--in Italian, "old bridge"--a bridge which spans the Arno river. It is a prime attraction in Florence, built in 1345, and one of the few bridges to survive the bombing raids of World War II. Originally, the shops atop it were food shops, but in the 15th century, they became home to dozens of jewelry shops. Then, in the 21st century, the bridge itself became home to mass numbers of loud, rude American tourists with cellphones the size of Juicy Fruit gum packs, making them look like psychos themselves, talking to their hands. Sigh, if only Hannibal would turn his "attention" to them, phfffft phfffft phfffft phfffft phfffft. Anyway, just walking along the Ponte Vecchio is a feast of the eyes, I mean, uh, for the eyes. It's like walking in a corridor of gold. I would personally recommend "The Golden River", a very fine shop with a pleasant proprietor, a graceful (and pretty) young woman transplanted from Wales, to help you with your jewelry needs. (But honestly, you'd be hard pressed to note any distinguishing features between any of the shops.) If you make a purchase, be sure to ask her about the various export regulations, unless of course you're Hannibal Lecter, in which case export regulations (much less various petty legal documents such as passports and visas) mean nothing, and you can slip in and out of any country you wish, even though you're on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List. That is what you call skill, my friends, and such is the magic of Hannibal Lecter.

Isobel Campbell on Radio Città del Capo

2005-03-21T16:01:00.000-08:00

IsobelCampbell
Originally uploaded by aabitia.

Isobel Campbell is a singer from Scotland who has recaptured the essence of 60s chamberpop, folk and jazz, with her nursery-rhyme-like songs and her wistful, whisper of a voice. I am in like with this woman. I mean look at her holding that terrier...how could a man go wrong with a mousy-voiced, could-be Sesame Street cast member holding a terrier? Impossible. That creepy musing aside, if you enjoy music like Astrud Gilberto, Bacharach, and Belle & Sebastian, you might give her a listen. Her music is simple and beautiful, and in my opinion, absolutely buries most of the stuff getting airplay today, which is long on perfectly manufactured "edginess", noise and effects, but short on melody, meaning and cool sweetness.

If you'd like to hear some samples of her music and her thoughts on her music, you can listen to an interview of her on Radio Citta del Capo, which is a radio station in Bologna, Italy, in the Tuscan region, a region quite well known as the birthplace of all manner of exotic machines, from Ferraris to Ducatis. (Maybe it's her red jacket that got me to thinking of that.)

You may not realize that, despite my slight rhapsodic stumbling above about terriers and Sesame Street, I am showing considerable demureness in my description of Ms. Campbell, which is of course because I am a gentleman. Contrast this with the average ESPNed male, who would term her "friggin' hot dude" in between swigs of Busch. But after listening to this interview, hopefully you will understand why I have completely pledged my eternal devotion to her, though I have not yet actually contacted her to articulate said pledge with 12 page discourses in longhand, or perhaps with randomly clipped individual letters and phrases from fashion magazines, nicely arranged and pasted to form various messages on white college-ruled paper. Those tokens of affection might be considered by some dark-minded people to be a bit "tacky", and they may claim that such will not achieve the desired effect on the lady in question. Pish-posh, I say; they know nothing of romance.

Anyway, the half-hour interview is mostly in Italian, for all you Italian speakers out there, but you can still hear quite a lot of her answers in English, and also various tracks from her latest album, "Amorino", which, loosely translated means "angelic child". To listen to this interview, click here, then click on the link, "Ascolta!".

Sigur Ros in Ferrara, Italy

2005-02-21T22:06:00.000-08:00

sigur_ros
Originally uploaded by aabitia.

My favorite band, Sigur Ros, played a concert at Piazza Castello, in Ferrara, Italy on June 23, 2003. Ferrara is in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy along the Po River, south of Venice and Padua. It is a city of bicycles, but you'll probably want to arrive on some sort of motorized transport, as it would take quite a while to ride a bike to Ferrara from, say, Los Angeles, especially underwater. This particular venue has become a "place to play" amongst a lot of the indie bands; Radiohead has played there too, for example. Incidentally, Thom Yorke, lead singer of Radiohead, has proclaimed his eternal devotion to Sigur Ros, and has stated in various interviews that he considers them to be at the top of the heap. Or at least the top of his heap.

Anyway, if you'd like to see photos of the Sigur Ros event in Ferrara, Italy, click here. The concert was ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS. Don't most people get to go to concerts in ancient Italian piazzas like that? Of course they don't. I was not there either. However, I was at their Los Angeles show a few weeks earlier; click to see photos of that show.

Closing word about Sigur Ros: If you're one of the MTV masses you probably haven't heard of them, nor will you like them. Nonetheless, if you're one of those lovers of Limpbizkit or Ashlee Simpson (now sponsored by Pepsi!), it would give me great joy to see the look of horror on your face as you run screaming from the CD player, hands over ears. Here's the website: www.sigur-ros.com

Italian and its Translation

2005-01-24T18:33:00.000-08:00

A word about the Italian on this blog. I like Italian. I like to speak it and write it. However, there are some issues. First, it is not entirely possible to provide accurate translations for the Italian selections; that is, if you were to translate them word for word to English, a lot of the meaning would be lost, or would not quite be the same. For example, the part that talks about the Italian girl with the downturned eyes might get all messed up and you'd think I'm talking about a girl whose eyeballs keep popping out of their ocular cavities, or a girl who has glaucoma, or a girl who has a glass eye. Translations can be tricky. So, I won't always provide translations, but only occasionally will. Second, the aforementioned first point presupposes that my Italian skills are any good, and to be honest, my Italian is actually quite pedestrian. (As an aside, you can take all the Italian language classes you want, but you'll never know as steep a learning curve as being dropped in the middle of the boot-shaped land. "Oh, but English is the universal language," you say; wrong, the universal language is love, so unless you think you can order a Prosciutto panini by batting your eyelashes at the little old Italian man who is already way too weary of all sloppy-faced tourists, you'd better get cracking.)

Anyway, I know all this talk about Italian and translations and "getting the real meaning" might sound silly, so please let me say that the best way for you to get the precise meaning of the Italian selections on this fine blog would be to simply invent some kind of mind-reading machine (or just buy one on the Internet) which uses advanced satellite technology to find specific persons via DNA profiling, obtain some DNA from me, and then once you find me, focus the "laser" (?) energy on my forehead at night when I least suspect it (and hope I'm not tossing and turning from insomnia, thus focusing the energy on some other body part, such as my clavicus); then, you'd simply compile the raw data into usable form and then to English. During this process you'd have to cross your fingers and hope that your mind-reading machine has good Italian-to-English translation "algorithms", or else you're back to the same problem as before.

Well, it does appear that obtaining accurate Italian translations is a lot of work, so why bother? Why make the effort? For the sake of Art? Literature? Even Romance? Those things are pretty much dead anyway, thanks to the wonders of Instant Messaging, cellphones and Reality T.V. So you may wish to close this window and do something more apropos for the average American--google the internet for Lindsey Lohan's HOT new video, "I Gotta Get You Outta My Mind And Into My Semi-Germ-Free Hot Tub And Then Eventually My Lawyer's Office For Prenuptual Negotiations".

Really, I'm sure it'd be more interesting than all this boring Italian culture stuff.

Mio Più Nuovo Senso

2004-11-01T19:07:00.000-08:00

Cari amici,

Precedentemente ho detto que desidero cancellere questo Blog e cominci sopra, soltanto nella lingua italiana. Ciò era ed è un'idea fine, ma ho realizzato quello se facessi questo, l'una o due gente nel "e-community" ampio; chi può realmente inciampare su questo, statisticamente, molto probabilmente non potere leggere o capire l'italiano e così mancherebbero questo lavoro importante, a che gradisco riferirsi come "my art". Così, ho decisare inviare principalmente in inglese, ma occasionalmente in italiano.

Ciao
(Traduzione: Uhhh, see below)

My Newer Direction

2004-10-21T19:08:00.000-07:00

My Dear Friend(s),

Previously I had stated that I would erase this Blog and start over, only in the Italian language. This was and is a fine idea, as I would like to continue learning the Italian language. However I have realized that if I did this, the one or two people in the vast "e-community" who may actually stumble upon this site whilst looking for bizarre oddities of the world, would, statistically speaking, most likely not be able to read and/or understand Italian, and thus would miss this important work which I like to refer to as "my art". So, I've decided to post mostly in English, but occasionally in Italian as well. My Italian is, sans my dictionary and other aids, somewhat sophmoric, so don't be too impressed.

"Ciao"
(Translation: "See you later")

My New Direction

2004-10-15T19:08:00.000-07:00

Dear Friend(s),

I've decided to erase all entries in this "blog" and start over, only from now on all entries will be in the Italian language, in keeping with the title of this important blogging work. This new-found direction will commence immediately, or when I get around to it. Soak in these last few words of English while you can.

Welcome to Blogiorno!

2004-09-01T21:52:00.000-07:00

italia
Originally uploaded by aabitia.

Wow, I am now BLOGGING! Today is the first day of my life!!! Yeah, right. Virtually all blogging is interesting for about 3 seconds. Why? Because most bloggers seem to subscribe to the "no thematic elements allowed" rule. This is not conducive to developing a "following". I suspect that bloggers are much like the vast majority of musicians these days, who practice their "art" mainly to amuse themselves, and few else, not realizing that there may be an audience out there trying to make sense of the balled-up mass of information. Alas, so many have deluded themselves into thinking they're complex and interesting, completely forgetting said audience.

I fully realize that such an elitist attitude does not explain why I am blogging. So why do I do it? The obvious answer--as alluded to above--is that I do it to amuse myself, so at least one person is therefore being entertained. ("Hypocrite", you may say, to which I reply, "Patience, my pet...let me finish my thought(s).") A slightly better answer could be found in the annals of classic Simpsons lines, as quoted by Homer (Simpson, not the Greek poet): "Ah, the mysteries of life." But the most "complex and interesting" answer I can offer is also the most accurate: This blog, unlike most blogs, is actually ABOUT something, namely Italy. So you see, I, the blogger, enjoy relating to you, the blogee, all of the wit and wisdom I can conjure up about Italy and all she offers, but without the persistent sugar-coating that plagues most writers who seem to think that Italians can do no wrong, such that they long-ago converted all of their unneeded confessional booths into gelaterias for the sweaty masses trampling through the venerable catholic churches.

Enjoy!