all the news that fits and man bites dog..and all that

(Don't know why, but I'm not able to post photos. Will try again, but, in the meantime, you will have to use your imaginations. Sincerest apologies to those with no imagination. Sucks for you.)

Have been wanting to get back here to report, but screw it if I haven't been quite busy this week. People lookin' for mouse-inhabited, furnished with granma's baroque knock-offs, the toilet dont flush and we ain't gonna fix it, Internet? Ha! apartments. Though our client's don't say that when they call, we have a feeling that's what they're gonna get. Not the Agency's fault, though...all the over-priced apartments in Rome's Historic Center can be tied to that heavy string of adjectives; and the decently-priced ones (if you can find 'em) are worse. My sister and I got lucky with our apartment, which we found at a good price before the hated Euro. It's a 4th floor walk-up, with no living room, and a chronic nasty tube smell, but it's sunny, it's cheap, and the owner stays out of our way. That's why we won't give it up, no, not by the hair of our chinny chin chins, not without a fighty fight fight...

Can I say I love my new camera? I love love love it. Here are my latest pictures: Imagination...ON!

This week I've got a particular hankering to surf the Internet. These are the latest sites I'm liking, no loving, well, liking a lot, and we'll see if it lasts:

Urban Dead: I've already confessed in these pages my Big Dorkhood. I'm Out, and that's Fine. So, I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm very hooked on the Travian game, but I'm starting to ask myself existential questions, and thats not fun. Travian is one of those Empire Building thingies, and I don't know if I've got it in me to start conquering villages. Plus, I find it difficult to get medieval on Italians. They are such nice people, especially the children and geeks that populate Travian. So, I've started on this Urban Dead game, but may drop it..I have 'n' amount of conscious hours in the day, and I've decided that only about 4 of them should be spent in virtual worlds, whether that be surfing, playing, or communicating with others in the confines of cyberspace.

Adobe Photoshop: Since I bought the camera, I've had to admit that my Photoshop skills are pretty sad. But, I am a smart cookie, so I have been searching for good tutorials online. These are my favorites: About. Planet Photoshop. Photoshop Cafè. Now I know how to turn an oversized blueprint into a A4 document while keeping it scale. I can give photos an antique look. And, I know how to create a collage. Pretty amazing, yes?

And, then there's my expensive and frustrating dabbling in the Culinary Arts: I'm sure there's a reason I'm so into it. I usually tell people that I enjoy cooking, because I like to follow clearly-detailed steps to a final and excellent result that I can claim as my own. For the same reason, I like to assemble IKEA products. The caveat to this statement is that the final result is NOT always excellent. Problems of quality of the materials, you see, and, also, my chronic impatience. But, I keep chugging ahead, and I think I have made progress over the years. In any case, my favorite sites are: Epicurious, The Omniverse of Our Lady and Mistress Martha Stewart (may she rule through the Ages), E-Gullet, and America's Test Kitchen. My hobby is especially difficult in Rome, because I can't find the more exotic (or especially American) ingredients. For instance: Sour Cream is available at only one shop I know of in Rome - in the Prati quarter, far, far away for a girl without wheels. Serendipitously, I used to be able to find it also at the grocery store below my apartment (big Russian population in my neighborhood), but they were ordering it from the Ukraine, and it seems there was some boycott, which has apparently been continuing for the last 6 months. So, I'm not holding my breath. Cilantro, not so important you think, until you don't have it. I'm trying to grow it in the strip of earth outside my boyfriend's house. Waiting to see. And, really, any dried or fresh herbs other than Oregano, Sage and Rosemary. I get it though, Italian cooking is real simple. And, really xenophobic. Anyway...I made a lovely meal last night for my Hungry Man. Especially rich hamburgers (the secret? butter!) and a salad of chopped grilled veggies, which was so, so good, and that I will definitely make it again as it is yummy and summery and actually contains vitamins. Recipes, here.

Oh! Speaking of Her Wholesomeness, Martha Stewart, she's got a new magazine, Blueprint, which I checked out. But, it seems to be mostly just ads for products. Not that all magazines aren't that, but it's more like a catalogue of neat things to buy with Websites! where you can order the stuff, no mess, no muss, no bother.

A Big Sloppy Kiss to Everyone! From Ulisse (isn't he a Dish!). Here, you have to imagine my stripy kitty looking quite sexy as he stares directly into your eyes, with an orange wall as a backdrop and a bamboo lampshade for that touch of the exotic..aaah...

italian men

My response to a request by a friend to explain the idiosyncracies of Italian men:

Italian men ARE very different.

Of course, their behavior depends a lot on what part of italy they come from. I have been in two long-term relationships with Italians, one from Naples and one from Rome. The Neapolitan loved to laugh and make fun of me and of himself. He was extroverted, and had a very easy manner both with people he knew and with strangers. Romans are a little more reserved, and are VERY VERY proud of being Roman. They will often remind you of their special place in history. All Italians have inferiority complexes about being from a country that is currently (and, really, since the fall of the Roman Empire) pretty much a corrupt backwater on the European scene.

Italians in general, and Italian men in particular, depend a lot on help from family members, and often stay at home until their late 20s, early 30s. Italian men are mama's boys. Even my current boyfriend, who has lived on his own for several years, still takes his shirts to his mom's house to be ironed, and believes housework is the domain of the woman. Italian men are also very hard-headed, which comes from being coddled by their mothers to adulthood and beyond.

How they treat women depends on the individual, of course. They are usually more romantic than American men, but it's mostly for show - an imitation of the romantic heroes they see represented in Italian cinema (Raul Bova and Stefano Accorsi spring to mind), or on one of their horrid TV serials. With foreign women they can let themselves go a bit, as they represent less of a threat than the Italian woman, but I dont think they take us entirely seriously. And most of them think we are sluttier and less refined than Italian women, though more fun to be with. They are extremely jealous and possessive. If you let them go all the way early on, their respect for you the morning after will be much less than that of their American counterparts. They don't embrace the theory that men and women can be friends.

I don't think that they are ruthless, but they are often arrogant, and unwilling to change, or to open their minds to new ideas or points of view, both in relationships and in life. This often leads to an Us vs. Them attitude, and is deleterious in romantic partnerships.

That said, the challenge of dating or marrying an Italian man (for a non-Italian) can keep the relationship vital and interesting. You are forced to constantly question your ideas about the world, cultures and gender-roles. Communication is a living thing, and changes with your evolving sense of your partner, of the Italian people and of language itself. It is not for the weak of heart, or for the timid. You have to assert yourself and maintain your own identity without closing your mind to the foreign elements your partner wants to introduce to the relationship. But, this can only work if he/she is willing to do the same.

Hope this helps others in my situation, or those wanting to understanding how in the world I do it. Keep in mind, it's a work in progress. I've only just begun, and have no idea where I will end.

XOXO

ambition is a dirty word

...well, at least for me.

I've had so many ideas running through my head - from the banal: am I at the place I want to be in my life; to the profound: will Juve be kicked down to Serie B - and have been developing so many interests (amongst which: photography, pilates, embarrassing myspace addiction), that it's been difficult to get back here with thoughts in place, existential i's dotted, philosophical t's crossed, in order to write them down, and impart a little insight to the faithful (i hope) few who visit this site to find a virtual connection with me (since the physical one is a bit difficult given my rare visits to the U.S.). That's my convoluted excuse, and I'm stickin' to it.

Here's the latest:

New Digital Camera: It's the Sony Cybershot P200. I paid an honest € 289 for it, and am very happy, because it has a lot of useful features, a quick shutter, an easy-to-use menu, and seems to take good pictures (see the latest on myflickr).

Flickr: Was truly obsessed last week, checking out other people's photos, looking for images I wanted (Totti, Movie Posters, Bunnies), and getting inspired. It's incredible what you can find there. I'm really pleased it exists.

Summer comes to Rome: Finally. We've had such a rainy Winter and Spring, that it's extra-special to finally have a little heat here in Rome. Even though its muggy.

High School Friends: Through myspace, have gotten in touch with and been contacted by a bunch of old friends, which is really kind of sweet. I think. Are we interested in seeing where are old friends have gone and what they have accomplished in order to appreciate them and praise them, or do we just want to see how we stack up against them? For my part, though I haven't realized any sort of yuppie (how retro) success, or reached levels of hipness to inspire awe in my peers, or, let's admit it, even traversed the little goals expected of those who haven't accomplished these things by getting married or having children, I am proud of who I am, the experiences I've had, and the lessons I've learned. And like the Cat, I, too, may look at a King. It's true that I am sort of adrift here in Rome, and it's definitely not unpleasant, but corresponding with these ex-classmates ex-roommates ex-cohorts does bring on a bit of nostalgia, a bit of that famouse Portuguese saudade:

"a vague and constant desire for something that does not and probably cannot exist, for something other than the present, a turning towards the past or towards the future; not an active discontent or poignant sadness but an indolent dreaming wistfulness." - A.F.G Bell

And, that is a perfect description of my emotional state since I've been living in Rome.

Kisses and Hugs to Everyone..I dream wistfully of you all!

Boia Mafiosi!

"La Juve is thinking about a new jersey...and it seems they will keep the traditional stripes"

(got this image from Flickr. The Italian comments underneath said: "who knows what will happen," "probably nothing as usual," "yeah, yeah, yeah, the law is not equal for everyone" - Italian optimism in a nutshell)


Big news in Italian soccer these past couple weeks. A huge scandal involving Juventus General Manager Luciano Moggi have forced him and Juve's board to resign in shame. The scandal involves Moggi's illicit relations with the head of the Italian referees, Pier Luigi Pairetto, as well as investigations of Juve's CEO, Antonio Giraudo for false accounting. Transcripts of tapes between Moggi and Pairetto are especially titillating, with Moggi asking for "good refs" to be assigned to both friendly games and Champions League matches. In addition, there is an investigation of Moggi's son, who works for the management company (GEA) that handles most players' transfers, and who is implicated in illegal competition practices. Through the GEA, Moggi is suspected of exerting his power over the entire soccer world, allegedly using threats and violence, as well as abuse of a dominant position on the market. Even some players (including the admittedly talented, but famously stupid, Gianluigi Buffon) are under the spotlight for illegal gambling. Italy's top referee, De Santis, will probably lose his place as Italian referee for the World Cup. The president of the governing board of Italian soccer (FIGC) resigned, as did others at the FIGC.

And the situation seems to be snowballing with other teams (Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio) likely to be investigated. Of course all of the talking heads are asking for an overhaul, of the FIGC in particular and Italian soccer in general. Moggi has been - rightly, in my opinion, considering his bag of tricks - labeled a mafioso. According to FIGC regulations, all of the teams involved in this dirty dealing should be demoted to Serie B, and Juve should lose its Title (won yesterday). With even one team booted to the secondary league, La Roma would have its deserved place amongst the top four teams in the Italian Championship ranking to participate in the Champions League.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that, contrary to Italian business-as-usual, justice is done: that Juve is sent to the minor leagues (along with all the teams involved in corrupt practices), that the evil-doers of Calcio are fired, and may this be a Lesson, not only to the fat cats of the FIGC and sports directors of the more powerful teams, but also to Corruption Italian-style. Most of the people I talk to are disgusted with the allegations, and happy to see Juve go down, but few actually think it will happen. We'll just have to wait and see.

not about political commentary

I'm not political, and I'm not apolitical. I take an interest in current events, political leaders, differing approaches to resolving the world's problems, as I do in indie music and film, gourmet cooking, New Yorker fiction: I like to explore and discover, forming my own opinions, but I'm not a prosthelytizer. That's why you won't find ranting on this blog. Unless its about little stuff, like giving up my seat to old people on the bus (dont like to), or the lack of culinary imagination of the Romans (just plain close-mindedness). About the big stuff, I like to observe and slowly (glacial-slow) decide how I can reconcile my mind to what is happening in the world. Like this war in Iraq. Most people know that both Saddam's old regime, and what we (by we I mean Americans, 'cos let's face it, we're the ones who dragged everyone else into the quagmire) are doing over there is immoral and dysfunctional. There might be a better solution that is neither wholly isolationist nor aggressively interventionist. I read and try to absorb New Yorker columnist Seymour Hersh's articles, as he seems to understand and communicate what's going on there better than anyone else I've read (interview here). I can grasp the import of events, and kinda see where things are headed, but, I feel like I'm too immature to act still. I think I will probably get politically active in my 50's, when I know a thing or two. For now, I think I will just keep looking and learning. Call it Good Cop Out, whatever...

Escape Goat. This is a real knee-slapper, at least if you're me, and I am so..guess what I'm doing..The story goes like this: I habitually make fun of my sister because she's been in Italy for 10 years, and is losing her English skills (Full disclosure: So am I). We both mangle metaphors all the time and freely move between Italian and English, even within a sentence. A few months ago, I just about died laughing when she said that the people at work were making her an escapegoat. It immediately put this image in my head of my sister as a goat with ribbons in her hair and somebody gallopping off into the sunset on her...After that, I tried to find time to evoke this image whenever possible (through incessant teasing), until...I found out there really was an Escape Goat, and in the Bible no less. This is where the word scapegoat comes from, and escape goat is also acceptable (! - you will sound illiterate if you use it though, and its not worth explaining). (Escape Goat is also a record label ).

My best friend from junior high contacted me via e-mail the other day. I hadn't heard from her in at least 10 years. The way she was able to reach me is a mix of old- and new-school. She had seen some friends we had in common at a party (old school), and they gave her my e-mail (new school). And now we will exchange histories and make plans to meet in the future, which is also a nice yin-yang. And, I will be happy to see her because she's the one who first got me into listening to music from bands that you don't hear on the radio. Some very good (Echo and the Bunnymen, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Bauhaus), others not (Gene Loves Jezebel immediately springs to mind), and joined me in our first attempts at looking freaky. Thanks, Jill!!

Have a great weekend everybody!