banksy

Originally uploaded by bOby_weave.

Juliette Binoche en Azul (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1992)

Juliette Binoche en Azul (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1992)
Originally uploaded by dicciomixteco.

Man Ray

Man Ray
Originally uploaded by _some guy.

Quick Comment to King Penguin

Hey Kingpenguin. You sent me an Anonymous Comment..How'm I s'posed to respond to you. Hopefully you will check in here.

The photos of AS Roma on Flickr are all mine, no copyright, no problem. You may use them if you like.

revamping blog

Am in the middle of planning a re-vamp of this blog. Hope to have a new post soon. Keep checking.


XOXO


A.

the latest...

**Quick Note: Again, problems with photo uploading. To see all my pictures, go to MyFlickr.

Yeah, it's been awhile friends and family. So, what has happened in the last 2 weeks.

World Cup and General Soccer Themes
We are the Campioni del Mondo for the next 4 years, let no one debate it. A bit of the excitement has worn down, but I see a new pride in the the already extremely proud Romans (we had Totti, Perrotta and De Rossi representing the AS Roma). The thing that's making everyone nervous is the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal. The decision to retrocede Juve, Fiorentina and Lazio to Serie B, and Milan to Serie A (with penalty points taken off), could be in jeopardy, and the upcoming beginning of the Italian Championship season could be moved forward, and, essentially, soccer fans in all of Italy are biting their nails, waiting to see what happens (while they scour their Gazzettas and Corrieres for news on the soccer marketplace). Fans of the 4 teams under consideration clamor that they've been wronged (the Laziali and Fiorentini probably have a point, but, I think that Juve and Milan have gotten a break).

Just got back from a week-long vacation in Castelrotto, where, amongst other more vacation-ey activities, I watched the Rome team train and play friendly matches. Here are some pictures.

Summer in Rome
As the Italians say, Si Muore Qui (loose translation: we dyin' over here). It's hot, and Rome is not the place to be in July and August. There are more tourists than Romans. There are very few interesting concerts (wanna see Madonna? How about Roxy Music?) or Festivals. And that's because there are very few locals around. Everyone's at the beach, somewhere. I decided to be different, and went to the mountains. Did a lot of swimming. In the end, if I have to choose a noisy, overcrowded beach with dirty water, or a public pool where I can actually do some laps, and where the hygienic structures tend to be more reliable, I choose the pool.

Internet at Home
I finally have access to the World Wide Web at home...well, at both of my homes. Lea got hers installed about a month ago, and Gian Maria just hooked his up yesterday. So, hopefully, I will be able to post more often, and improve this site a bit.

A big kiss to everyone!

Strike!

Taxi drivers are on strike in Italy, and have been blocking the main piazzas of Rome (with impunity) for the last few days. This comes about because of liberalizing changes Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has been trying to effect in some of Italy's most protected industries.



In the case of the taxis, he has proposed an increase - throughout Italy - of 500 licenses. Small fry, you might think, but the cabbies are highly protective of their turf, and any increase (the same proposition was made 10 years ago, and never went through due to legals battles) is fought passionately. They say it's a political vendetta, Prodi says it's a small step - along with other modest measures - in the right direction towards raising productivity, and cutting the fat out of the Italian economy.

Prodi is attempting to upheave other heavily entrenched industries, as well, including the pharmacies, lawyers, and public transportation. Proposals include selling over-the-counter drugs in supermarkets, abolishing minimum fees for professional and legal services, and privatizing the public transportation market. These are all positive changes, I think, but the difficulty of fighting these unions and industries will prove to be as big a challenge now as it has in the past. As the Italians say, Speriamo...

Rutelli, Prodi and Bersani are all liberal politicians. Franceso Rutelli is a former mayor of Rome, and poster boy for left-leaners. Romano Prodi, as mentioned is the recently-elected Prime Minister, and Pier Luigi Bersani is a former Communist Party member, and current Minister of Productive Assets in Prodi's Cabinet. They are being warned in this banner that Italian cabbies won't take it in the a**