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**

Italia v. Germania 2-0

This is the scene near the Coliseum after Italy's victory against Germany last night. I will be very honest and say that it was very emotional for me to watch almost 120 minutes of back and forth between the two teams (with Italy demonstrating itself to be the better during the 30 minutes of supplementary time, with 2 missed-by-a-hair quasi goals), before Grosso did the unimaginable (no one expected him to be such a genius last night) and made an absolutely gorgeous goal a minute and half before the end of the extra time, saving Italy from having to go to rigori with a Germany that hardly ever makes a mistake in this area. Then, as if that weren't enough, less than a minute later Del Piero scores with a cucchiao (the famous scoop kick that Totti invented). Very emotional. Very Pazzesco. That's the divine beauty of Soccer. Hallelujah.


Grosso's Grosso Gol as it enters the net!! That's Germany's goalkeeper, Jans Lehmann, jumping uselessly to save his team from defeat. Quick note: Besides Buffon, Lehmann is one of my favorite portieri.


This is Grosso in a clash with what looks like Schneider. Grosso played an amazing game last night.

Looking very forward the the match between France and Portugal tonight. And am all a-tremble for the big Match on Sunday...Forza Azzurri!!!!

LAX - no arrivals, no departures

I've been lax in my blogging duties...possibly the heat, which is making me torpid. Even if no one checks up on me here, I feel like this is a good way to organize a bit some of the confusion of ideas, plans, preoccupations in my head, So....

IDEAS:
Lots. With the camera, I've been trying out some different ways of looking at my cat and my boyfriend (that's not supposed to be funny, but I guess it is). They are my most frequent subjects, because they are always around, and quite sedentary. I'd like to take candid portraits of people I see on the street, but I think I may be to shy to approach people. It's a shame.

Gian Maria has been talking about ways to make money, which is only right, considering we are both intelligent people, and we would both prefer to leave our no-future jobs. He wants to do an online multiplayer interactive game, possibly like Risk, or possibly a soccer manager type game, like Hattrick. I know nothing about these things, but I know he could do it, and since he is constantly working on other people's sites, better to invest one's energy to benefit oneself (I always say). We've also talked about renting motorcycles and/or organizing trips based on motorcycle travel. I'm a little unsure of the insurance issue..could be prohibitive.

PLANS:
We just spent a nice long weekend at the Casale in Pescia Romana. It was extremely and uncomfortably hot, Africa hot (to borrow a phrase from Matthew Broderick in Biloxi Blues) and the air was thick with flying insects. Twice I had to flick large bugs from behind Gian Maria's ear. But other than those discomforts, it was incredibly relaxing. Like any large city, Rome can be quite suffocating and stressful, but here there are fewer places and ways to remove yourself from the multiple annoyances. Less air-conditioned comfort, less stuff to do (unless you're really into museums, classical music, or pathetic discos with really gorgeous people dancing badly to this year's tormentoni (hit songs), and the one place where everyone goes to escape - the beach - is expensive, overcrowded and dirty. At least the Sales are coming up.

On July 15th, we are leaving for Castelrotto (in Northern Italy, almost at the Austrian border). It's Heidi country, and the Italians speak German as their first language. It's quite clean and relaxing, and I'm looking forward to it, as I had a lot of fun last year. Oh, did I mention the Rome team will be there for their annual summer training? They practice in this little field up in the mountains, and there are only about 50-100 fans hanging around watching. It's definitely a chill little scene, especially if you have gone soccer crazy, like I have.

PREOCCUPATIONS
I'm so homesick. Even after 4 years here. It seems to hit me hardest in the summertime, maybe because I have more happy memories from the summer. For some reason I miss Berkeley and the Bay Area the most, even though I haven't lived there in 9 years. Point Reyes, wine country, San Francisco, that huge produce market, what's it called the Berkeley Barn or something. Sure, the pedagogues can get to you, but those big Tudor-style houses with their amazing overgrown gardens, jasmine-scented streets. Can't wait to go back home.