Monday, February 28, 2011

Mr Blue Sky

Sun is shinin' in the sky,
There ain't a cloud in sight

San Pietro di Castello. Until 1807 this was the cathedral of Venice. The leaning campanile is the only one in Venice that is faced in Istrian stone. It (the campanile) was built 1482-88 (or '90) by Mauro Codussi. The drum was added in 1670, replacing the original dome which was blown off (!) in 1659. This photo was taken in September 2010.

Subtitles for Sabotage (2004)

Subtitles for Sabotage (2004)

NEW: French and russian and Brazilian Portuguese subtitles for Sabotage (2004) are now available.
http://fuckcopyright.blogspot.com/2009/08/sabotage-2004.html

Sunday, February 27, 2011

I had a little pony ...

This is not 'normal service'. I've uploaded this from my desktop, rather than Imageshack. The image is smaller, but better than nothing. This equestrian construction is in the Paradiso Perduto restaurant in Cannaregio. You may have noticed that it is on castors. I asked what the horse was used for, and a lady told me it was wheeled around the area. That's about as much as I understood. Somebody with better Italian than I have should go and get more information (please). I thought you could not wheel it very far before you came to a bridge. I would guess that it does not weigh a lot, but people would soon get fed up of carrying it over bridges.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Subtitles for Kangaroo Campaign Video

Subtitles for Kangaroo Campaign Video

NEW: Spanish subtitles for the Kangaroo Campaign Video are now available.
http://fuckcopyright.blogspot.com/2009/10/kangaroo-campaign.html

BBC Horizon - We Love Cigarettes (2006)

BBC Horizon - We Love Cigarettes (2006)

INFO:
BBC-HORIZON, UK, english, 2006, 49 min.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/broadband/tx/smoking/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0823046/

(en) A love of nicotine unites all peoples across the globe, regardless of colour, wealth or creed. Where religion and politics have failed tobacco has succeeded, but at what cost? For over 50 years people have been knowingly paying for the pleasure of tobacco with their lives, making man's fatal tryst with the cigarette one of the strangest love affairs ever.

But as smoking bans in the US and Europe abound, what is happening in poorer nations? Their love affair is still in its first flush - one third of the world's cigarettes are smoked in China alone. And globally the tobacco industry is still worth $430 billion and going strong.

Intrigued by our planet's obsession with the cigarette, we decided to capture our love affair with nicotine across the world on one single day - 20 January 2006.

(sk) Náklonnosť k cigaretám spája ľudí po celom svete. Ale v čase, keď v Európe sa fajčenie zakazuje na verejných miestach a stáva sa pomaly nemoderné, v krajinách tretieho sveta nachádzajú tabakové firmy nové trhy.

Watch online:
http://stagevu.com/video/nqogdirafaxi

Download:
http://www.fileserve.com/file/9CbBPSg/BBC_-_HORIZON_-_We_Love_Cigarettes.2006.avi

---or---

http://www.uloz.to/10678066/bbc-horizon-we-love-cigarettes-2006-avi

---or---

http://rapidshare.com/files/449776672/BBC-HORIZON-We.Love.Cigarettes.2006.part1.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/449769229/BBC-HORIZON-We.Love.Cigarettes.2006.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/449759135/BBC-HORIZON-We.Love.Cigarettes.2006.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/449709530/BBC-HORIZON-We.Love.Cigarettes.2006.part4.rar
---or---
http://www.mediafire.com/file/07zarc9dqa3oda3/BBC-HORIZON-We.Love.Cigarettes.2006.part1.rar
http://www.mediafire.com/file/bas9f8xanbbbfe1/BBC-HORIZON-We.Love.Cigarettes.2006.part2.rar
http://www.mediafire.com/file/4uof64xhm33v2zn/BBC-HORIZON-We.Love.Cigarettes.2006.part3.rar
http://www.mediafire.com/file/2wfkuzkawqmbh1w/BBC-HORIZON-We.Love.Cigarettes.2006.part4.rar
NO PASSWORD / ŽIADNE HESLO
Links are interchangeable / Linky môžete kombinovať!

Torrent:
http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3695015/Big_Collection_of_BBC__s_Horizon_%28Documentary_-_English%29

Subtitles:
Not found. Help transcribe/translate this documentary!

Titulky:
Nenašiel som. Pomôžte preložiť tento film!

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible

I am doing everything exactly as I did before, but the photo will not upload to Blogger. I've emailed Pierre to ask if he has any ideas.

Exercise in perspective

Another early morning image. There are a couple of people in the distance. For most of the day you cannot see the pattern in the stones under the arcade. There are two other inscriptions you might want to look out for in the Piazza, but I don't have photos of them. One is about five steps in front of the door of Sant' Alipio (the left door of the Basilica), recording the fall of an Austrian bomb. Another by the entrance to the Museo Correr, not actually in the Piazza, tells us that the church of San Geminiano was demolished in 1807 to make way for the Ala Napoleonica. A third item is a marker under the fifth arch of the Procuratie Vecchie, marking a spot from which your view of the Basilica is exactly perpendicular to the middle. You can read more about the geometry of the Piazza here: http://aloverofvenice.com//Didyouknow/didyouknow.html#three

Friday, February 25, 2011

Steal Something Every Day

Steal Something Every Day

INFO:

Subversive Action Films, short video, english, 0:52 sec
http://stealfromwork.crimethinc.com/
http://www.subversiveactionfilms.org/
http://vimeo.com/8921869

Watch online:

http://vimeo.com/11099078

Steal Something Every Day from Subversive Action Films on Vimeo.

Submedia.tv - The Dominos Fall

Submedia.tv - The Dominos Fall

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WhpfJWT1qE

Download Video

This week:

1. Madison Madness
2. Cops of Fire
3. The dominoes fall
4. Logic
5. Revolution in Greece

Thursday, February 24, 2011

I collant

Comprensione orale: livello avanzato.
Segna con una crocetta solo le affermazione vere:
Il servizio è stato girato in provincia di Mantova.
Il signore intervistato si chiama Roventa.
Il filato per le calze è di nylon.
Il filamento ha uno spessore di 1 mm.
La fabbrica ha 850 macchine.
Una macchina produce 1700 paia di calze al giorno.
La cucitura è automatizzata.
Le calze cucite a mano sono

Spicy Tomato Garlic Crab Legs

It's so nice to have a son who works in the food industry because often I'm on the receiving end of so many nice foodie gifts.

Like the other day when he called me and said " Mom, I'm stopping by on my way home, I'm dropping something off." I opened the door and in he walks with this huge box that he just plopped on my counter and said, " This will be a nice blog post for you!".

Inside the box were leg sections of rock crab, also known as peeky toe crab. Rock crab may not be as famous as dungeness but believe me they are just as tasty, a little more difficult to get to that sweet meat out but definitely worth the effort!

Most of the meat is in the legs any way and as you can see we had no shortage in the leg department, I could have fed my whole neighborhood, instead I sent my daughter home with a huge bag, she left with a huge smile.

The day that I made them they were still slightly frozen so I got out the biggest pot I could find boiled up some water and stuck them in for 5 minutes, when I scooped them out they were perfectly warmed throughout.

We enjoyed this as our Sunday dinner with a little garlic bread, talking, cracking crab and dipping it into our favorite sauces. Our dipping sauces were of course warm butter with lemon, also a remoulade sauce that I picked up from Whole Foods, which was very good and because I like things spicy with an Italian flair, I made a spicy tomato garlic sauce which I'm giving you the recipe for below.

Thanks Tony, it was crab-o-licious!

Spicy Tomato Garlic Sauce

1 head of roasted garlic, squeezed and mashed

1 heaping tablespoon of Sambal Oelek ( ground fresh chili paste) optional

1 cup of white wine

4 tablespoons of butter

3 cups of fresh diced tomatoes, or you can use canned

fresh chopped parsley

Heat the butter in a pan, add the roasted garlic, deglaze with wine, let it cook down a bit, add the chili paste or red pepper flakes if you so desire, the tomatoes and fresh chopped parsley.

I like to spoon mine all over and dip as I go!

Have a great weekend and Buon Appetito!

Us Off the Planet - Ward Churchill and Chellis Glendinning (2005)

Us Off the Planet - Ward Churchill and Chellis Glendinning (2005)

INFO:

Produced by pickAxe and Cascadia Media Collective, 2005, 78 min.
http://wiki.infoshop.org/Ward_Churchill

-Buy the CD-

(en) An inspiring meeting of revolutionary minds. Author, scholar and warrior Ward Churchill met eco-psychologist author Chellis Glendinning in Eugene, Oregon, on June 17, 2001, where they spoke together on the anniversary of two local anarchist uprisings. With an introduction by anarchist writer John Zerzan.

Tracklist:

1 June 18, 1999 00:01:02
2 Introduction by John Zerzan 00:07:00
3 AIM Honor Song by the Painted Rock Singers 00:01:24
4 Chellis Glendinning: Time And History 00:04:38
5 Ward Churchill: Confluence Of Interests 00:04:04
6 Chellis Glendinning: Raw, Bloody Revolution 00:04:39
7 Ward Churchill: Projection Of Power 00:07:43
8 Chellis Glendinning: New Frontiers Of The Imperial Mind 00:06:39
9 Ward Churchill: Colonialism Has A Legal Definition 00:05:23
10 Chellis Glendinning: A Continuation Of Struggle 00:02:52
11 Ward Churchill: Deconstructing The Megastate 00:03:34
12 Chellis Glendinning: Living Against The System 00:05:00
13 Ward Churchill: US Off The Planet 00:03:30
14 Chellis Glendinning: The Clan Swells Still 00:03:59
15 Ward Churchill: Killing Your Colonizer 00:06:00
16 Amato Lascar: The Struggle Of Indigenous People 00:11:46

Watch online:

couldn´t find the video of this speech

Download:

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/4265
---or---
http://rapidshare.com/files/449653217/Ward.Churchill-US.Off.The.Planet.rar
---or---
http://www.mediafire.com/file/cdsjdx1gwm7nf6c/Ward.Churchill-US.Off.The.Planet.rar
NO PASSWORD / ŽIADNE HESLO

Torrent:

...part of this extensive torrent
http://btjunkie.org/torrent/Green-Anarcho-Primitivism-and-Those-Against-Global-Industrialization/435818792452ff7ec08e8bdc5660a806393ee710c7ff

The shoes will be here by half-past four at the latest.

I read about this inscription years ago - many years ago. I've forgotten where I read it, probably in a book I borrowed from the library, since I have never seen it referred to in one of my own books about Venice. Anyway, the book said that the inscription was in front of Quadri's caffè. I spent several fruitless hours - well, not hours, perhaps, but 'several minutes' does not convey the right amount of time - looking for the inscription. I asked at Quadri's, but, of course, they had no idea what I was talking about (my Italian is not good, either). I eventually concluded that it must be underneath the daïs that the orchestra plays on. And then I stumbled upon this: http://www.veneziamuseo.it/TERRA/San_Marco/Marco/marco_cur_sensa.htm - I was looking for information about the Festa della Sensa at the time - and so it was that I was able to find the inscription. Of course, once I'd found it, I couldn't understand how I'd missed it before. There is another inscription, currently behind the fence around the Campanile. It is interesting to learn that the zavateri had to use old leather to repair shoes or to make clogs and slippers, since new leather was reserved for the calegheri - shoe-makers. [That's how I understand it.]
Almost as interesting is the fact that the trachyte and Istrian stone pavement of the Piazza was laid in 1722 [almost an hour after the shoes were ready

] by Andrea Tirali, which means that the '1625' is an anachronism. I bet Andrea was tired when he finished! I wonder how long it took him.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Conflict – Carlo Giuliani EP

Conflict - 2003 - Carlo Giuliani EP

01- Carlo Giuliani

02- A Gaping Hole

Lyrics: http://www.lyricattack.com/c/conflictlyrics/carlogiulianilyrics.html

Carlo Giuliani was one of the activists of G8 protests in Italy. He was killed by a policeman by a shot in the head.

Download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/449546163/Conflict-Carlo_Giuliani__7___Ep_.rar
---or---
http://www.mediafire.com/file/9b9efgwtz0gpok1/Conflict-Carlo_Giuliani__7___Ep_.rar

Carlo Giuliani, a 23-year-old Italian activist, poet and anarchist, was killed during the demonstrations against the Group of Eight summit that was held in Genoa from July 19 to July 21, 2001.

He was killed on July 20, during a clash between demonstrators and Italian Carabinieri (military police). The police were in a jeep and were engaged in a conflict with protesters; police were lobbing tear gas while demonstrators were throwing stones. Carlo Giuliani was holding a fire extinguisher and some photos[1] suggest that he intended to throw it at the police jeep.Carlo was told(at gunpoint) to put the extinguisher down, which he began to do and was shot in the face, and the rear wheel of the police jeep then ran over his body twice.

All charges against the police officer who allegedly shot him (Mario Placanica) have been dropped, the commission of inquiry concluding that the fatal bullet that struck Giuliani was deflected by a stone in mid-air. This conclusion was the subject of strong criticism, as was the decision not to charge the driver of the jeep on the basis that Giulani was already dead when ran over; medics tending to Giulani after he was run over testified that his heart was still beating[2]. Had it been concluded that Placanica shot Giuliani in self-defense, a trial would have been necessary, but the conclusion that the bullet was not fired directly at Giuliani removed the need for any trial.

A number of questions about Giuliani's death remain unanswered, particularly after Placanica told the media in 2003 that "I've been used to cover up the responsibility of others." After making this statement, Placanica was involved in a "suspicious" car accident, days after allegedly observing someone tampering with his car[3]. Placanica was also allegedly kept in seclusion following the incident, and his parents were not allowed to visit him in the hospital[4].

The plaza where he was shot, Piazza Alimonda, was unofficially renamed "Piazza Carlo Giuliani" by activists, who erected a memorial there for mementos, photographs, writings and flowers. This memorial has since been burned twice by unknown vandals. Another plaza, in Bern, Switzerland, has also been named "Carlo-Giuliani Platz" in memoriam; the renaming took place during a memorial art exhibition called The Geometries of Memory.

Although countless people, demonstrators included, have been killed and continue to be killed by police around the world, Carlo Giuliani is often held up as a martyr for what is commonly called the Anti-Globalization Movement.

This is a video that accompanied Punk Organisation CONFLICT's single Carlo Giuliani, deciated to his memory and his cause.

Breaking News From the General Strike in Greece Today

(23. february 2011) A general strike is being organized today for Greek cities, the first strike of this year. The strike is in response to the Socialist government's austerity programs and is supported by most sectors of the population, including the business sector. Many people are responding to the government austerity measures with a direct action "I Won't Pay" program, which entails not paying for public services such as subway and bus fares.
The strikes have prompted clashes between protesters and police. In Athens, a protest outside parliament in Syntagma Squarehas turned into a battle between hundreds of protesters throwing Molotovs and projectiles against the police who are responding with tear gas. A riot cop was even set on fire.

Breaking News

Now thousands march in Athens, clash with police
Greece: 10th General Strike, 'Tahrir Square in Athens'
Protesters, police clash in Athens during anti-austerity strike
Video: Riots in Greece (CBS)

Websites and Blogs

Athens Indymedia
Occupied London
Contrainfo

Petrol bombs and tear gas: Greek police clash with anti-austerity protesters

Video of Greece strike turning violent in Athens

PHOTOS:

http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1266058
http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1265911
http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=1265709
http://www.globalnews.ca/Riots+Athens/4332141/story.html?utm_source=facebook-twitter&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=community

More news:
http://actforfreedomnow.blogspot.com/2011/02/february-23rd-general-strike-live.html
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2011/02/201122316141729962.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12551636
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/23/us-greece-strike-idUSTRE71M1VJ20110223

Cross that line and you're a dead pigeon!

There used to be a well here, but it was filled in in the 17th century, according to the inscription. It's on the south side of the Piazza, more or less in front of Florian's. I wonder how many of the millions who walk across the Piazza have noticed it. This is one of the very few things in Venice that I have seen without reading about it first and going to look for it. I was probably looking for tomorrow's photo at the time.
From some of the comments on yesterday's photo, I can see that some readers think that my photos are being taken, like Pierre's, on a more or less daily basis more or less now. But this is not the case. I live in England, and I was last in Venice in October 2010. So none of my photos was taken recently, and, so far, none of those that I have posted was taken anywhere near the appropriate date. I did explain all this when I took over. Yesterday's photo was taken on 30th September 2010, and today's was taken on 30 April 2008.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Le pere

Comprensione orale: livello avanzato
Segna con una crocetta solo le affermazioni vere:
Le pere si coltivano in Italia al centro nord.
Il servizio è stato girato ad Ancona.
Il signore intervistato si chiama Vassa.
Il primo settembre è iniziata la raccolta delle pere.
Per valutare la giusta durezza della polpa di una pera si usa un particolare strumento.
Le pere che non hanno il diametro idoneo

How much longer?

I was never going to get Piazza San Marco with no people in it, unless I went there in the middle of the night, so I just did the best I could at about 7:15 a.m. I hate the scaffolding on the right, and I could have cropped it out, but what's the point when there is that huge Moët advertisement, and the banners for the Correr Museum? I'll post some photos of things you may not have noticed in the Piazza over the next couple of days.
[The title refers to the advertisement, mainly.]

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Third time lucky

This is the same street as the previous post, but looking in the opposite direction, and the first two were taken from a different position. The nizioletto on the right in the first photo should make it easy to find, though there are at least two sotoporteghi with the same name.

The first photo was taken about one o'clock, the second about three minutes later - these were my 'banker' shots, just in case I found I couldn't get a shot with no people in view. The third shot was taken about an hour later, from the same spot as the previous post. I was a bit peeved to find that there were people on the bridge in the distance when I looked at the photo later in detail.

I probably need therapy, but I just think that strangers in my photos, especially oddly attired ones, as in the first photo, make the picture untidy, and people in red, also as in the first photo, are too much of a distraction. I make an exception when it is necessary to show a sense of scale, however.

Tony Renis

Guarda il video su Facebook

Comprensione orale: livello medio
Segna con una crocetta solo le affermazioni vere:
Nel 1961 Tony Renis si piazzò al secondo posto al Festival di Sanremo.
Il suo debutto nel mondo della canzone avvenne nella manifestazione canora "6 giorni della canzone di Torino".
Tony Renis contribuì a lanciare Adriano Celentano.
Fu molto famoso negli USA.
Scrisse il celebre brano

Patience is a Virtue

Here's a photo taken at about four o'clock in July 2009. I was hanging around for three hours to get this. And this one did need me to ask a couple to get out of the way! The funny thing was, they had spoken to me minutes earlier, and sympathised when I explained that I was waiting to take a photo with nobody in view. They then walked down the street and stopped, looking in a shop window for what seemed ages. So I yelled down the street, "Now there's only you!" and they kindly hopped into a doorway for long enough for me to take the shot.
I think it's a bit like the ripples thing - anyone can take a reflection shot in Venice with ripples, or a street with people, but a shot with no ripples or no people is a rarity.
If you can enlarge this enough to read the nizioletto at the end of the street, you should be able to find this popular thoroughfare, or you may recognise the trattoria.
Here's the answer (in white) for those who have not made patience their virtue: Frezzaria.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

And now for something completely different

I hope that you all have Annie's blog "Churches in Venice" bookmarked, or on your favorites list. Annie has posted many photos of the capitelli of Venice and she may well have posted this one, in which case I would apologise for the repetition. It may be found in Castello, in the Corte Delfina. I doubt that there is an agreed figure for the number of capitelli, any more than there is an agreed figure for the number of bridges in Venice. Let's say in the region of 500 and leave it at that.

Sbarco alleato in Africa

Comprensione orale: livello medio
Indicare le affermazioni vere
La fine del 1942 fu un momento decisivo per la Seconda Guerra Mondiale
Alla fine di quell'anno, da 650 navi sbarcarono in Nord Africa decine di migliaia di soldati USA
Lo sbarco avvenne in Marocco e Tunisia
Gli americani erano supportati dalle forze britanniche
Alla fine del 1943 Churchill e Roosevelt si incontrarono a Casablanca

Friday, February 18, 2011

Calle delle Bande

Same bridge, the day before, about 9 p.m. midsummer.
I don't like to have people in my photos. It often means a long wait, and I sometimes have to resort to asking people to move. That wasn't necessary in this case.
You might not have noticed the graffiti if I hadn't mentioned it. It's a blight in many cities, but especially in Venice.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Cooking with Quality Products

Recently I received an email from Olio2go, a company whose mission is to seek out the best quality products from all over Italy asking me if I'd like to review some of their artisinal products, after checking out their link of course I said yes!

One of the three products I received was Olio Verde Novello coming from Castelvetrano, Italy on the Island of Sicily, this olive oil was freshly pressed this passed October, and boy can you taste that freshness! It's rich, fruity and slightly pungent all at the same time with hints of artichoke and lemon, I swear I could drink this stuff, oh and I love the shape of the bottle!

Did you know that high quality extra virgin olive oil is very stable when heated and it has a high smoking point? I didn't!

The pappardelle comes from Pastificio Vicidomini, in Castel San Giorgio, near Naples, from a family owned business that has been making high quality pasta since 1812, now 6 generations strong this pasta is made with certified organic semolina and mountain water. There must be something to that mountain water because the flavor and the texture was superb!

The pretty jar of crispy asparagus comes from Villa Cappelli in Puglia perfect for an appetizer or placed into a salad.

For the pappardelle I decided to let the pasta shine through by tossing it with roasted shards of butternut squash. I call it shards because that's what they ended up looking like after I shredded and roasted them up on my baking sheet.

I actually loved how all the jagged pieces looked when tossed among this amazing quality pasta.
I used a basil brown butter sauce and plenty of freshly grated parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper to finish it off.

When I read that Olio Verde had hints of lemon and artichoke, I went out and bought 4 of the prettiest artichokes I could find, I trimmed them, cut them into quarters, scooped out the chokes, cooked them until tender, and then after they were cooled down I placed them into a pool of this liquid gold along with fresh parsley, lemon juice as well as the zest, red pepper and chopped garlic. One word... DIVINE!

I'm sorry but I just couldn't get enough of this olive oil so I went ahead and made a savory baked ricotta, perfect when smeared on top crostini. Ricotta is such a blank canvas, it takes on flavors so well, so when it was finished baking I poured a generous drizzle of it right over the top which made every bite sublime!
.

I had 1 1/2 cups of ricotta sitting in my fridge so with that I mixed in 1 egg, 1/2 cup of grated romano cheese, 5 small cherry tomatoes cut lengthwise, a couple of tablespoons of fresh chopped basil, 1 small minced garlic, zest of 1/2 a lemon, salt, pepper and 3 chopped olives.

Oil a shallow gratin dish, or a ramekin if you want to unmold it, spread the mixture into the dish and bake 375F for around 20 minutes or until nicely golden on top.

Of course if you don't have these particular products on hand you can make any of these recipes using your own favorite pastas and olive oils, but if your looking for an extra special treat, check out Olio2go!

Buon Appetito!

A bridge too far?

Here's the bridge which is at the end of the street near to the previous post. Isn't it gorgeous? There was a clue to the name of the street in the previous post, but you could find this bridge and be disoriented!

No tasteless puns, please!

Continuing my theme, here is a pretty lady. I hope that nobody is offended by such 'armless beauty. It can be found in Castello, near to a bridge at the end of a street of the same name. If nobody can find it, I'll post a photo of the bridge tomorrow. In the meantime, it will help you to find the street labelled, cleaned, refreshed.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

La prima trasmissione radiofonica

Comprensione orale: livello medio
Indicare le affermazioni vere
Il 13 dicembre 1901 G. Marconi realizzò la prima trasmissione radio-telegrafica della storia, dalla Cornovaglia al Canada
Marconi aveva creduto al telegrafo sin dal 1895
Marconi racconta come a Terranova l'antenna ricevente fosse costituita da un semplice filo aereo
Marconi ricorda come quella mattina avesse recepito il segnale

Brideshead Revisited

This looks a bit like the previous door-knocker, but this chap is Hercules - I'm guessing, because of the club. There are two lions, for symmetry I presume, whereas Hercules is famous for killing one lion - the Nemean lion. This door is not open to the public, but it was opened for Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews in the TV adaptation of Brideshead Revisited.

Who bent my trident?

A theme seems to be developing - is that what they call a meme? - namely doors and the means of gaining admittance. This knocker shows Poseidon (or Neptune) with a pair of winged hippocampi, or sea-horses. You can find it on the Zattere.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

How much longer?

This photo may serve as a reminder of what the campanile of the cathedral of Torcello used to look like before it was covered in scaffolding.

Earthship Biotecture Collection

Earthship Biotecture Collection

INFO:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthship
http://earthship.com/

-Buy the original stuff-

(en) Videos:
Earthship Biotecture - Earthships 101
Earthship Biotecture - From The Ground Up
Earthship Biotecture - The Hut
Earthship Photo Slideshow
Earthship Seminar DVD 1 and 2 (2009)
Garbage Warrior (2007)

Books:
Earthship__Vol.1_How to build your own
Earthship__Vol.2_Systems and components
Earthship__Vol.3_Evolution beyond economics
Earthship Global Option Booklet

Download:

Earthship Biotecture - Earthships 101

http://rapidshare.com/files/438719819/Earthship_Biotecture-Earthships_101.rar
---or---
http://www.mediafire.com/file/2410ac3t8xnd5lo/Earthship_Biotecture-Earthships_101.rar

Earthship Biotecture - From The Ground Up

http://rapidshare.com/files/439089991/Earthship_Biotecture-From_The_Ground_Up.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/447713935/Earthship_Biotecture-From_The_Ground_Up.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/438635007/Earthship_Biotecture-From_The_Ground_Up.part3.rar
---or---
http://www.mediafire.com/file/hnk67rpimku4j3e/Earthship_Biotecture-From_The_Ground_Up.part1.rar http://www.mediafire.com/file/u4g49xzpbqtaw95/Earthship_Biotecture-From_The_Ground_Up.part2.rar
http://www.mediafire.com/file/7rha8myr1vhhdcp/Earthship_Biotecture-From_The_Ground_Up.part3.rar

Earthship Biotecture - The Hut

http://rapidshare.com/files/447724245/Earthship.Biotecture-The.Hut.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/447777183/Earthship.Biotecture-The.Hut.part2.rar
---or---
http://www.mediafire.com/file/4jivipcj9jzmmt1/Earthship.Biotecture-The.Hut.part1.rar
http://www.mediafire.com/file/j2rtxr5cds0kj21/Earthship.Biotecture-The.Hut.part2.rar

Earthship Photo Slideshow

http://rapidshare.com/files/439804974/Earthship_Photo_Slideshow.rar
---or---
http://www.mediafire.com/file/akoix1vc1zu178e/Earthship%20Photo%20Slideshow.rar

Earthship Seminar DVD1 (2009)

Earthship Seminar DVD2 (2009)

Garbage Warrior (2007)

http://fuckcopyright.blogspot.com/2008/09/garbage-warrior-2007.html

Earthship Books

Monday, February 14, 2011

This face rings a bell

One of several similar bell-pulls (or bell-pushes - I didn't try it) in Calle Larga San Lorenzo. Happy Valentine's Day, if it's not too late.

Yukio Mishima

Comprensione orale: livello medioIndicare le affermazioni vereQuaranta anni fa moriva un grande intellettuale giapponese, Y. MishimaMishima fu scrittore e cantautoreNell'estate del 1950 un monaco buddista morì per salvare dalle fiamme il Padiglione d'Oro di Kyoto Mishima si ispirò all'episodio e ne fece un romanzo di successoNazionalista convinto, sosteneva la necessità di riportare il Giappone

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Just go back and make sure the front door is locked ...

If you've studied the method (Saturday 22 January), you should have no trouble finding this door. I just thought it looked interesting. There are a couple of locking devices missing.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Monte Sant'Angelo

Esercizio di comprensione orale - Livello intermedio/avanzato
Guarda il video e decidi se le seguenti affermazioni sono corrette:
Il Santuario di San Michele Arcangelo si trova in provincia di Foggia, nel Parco Nazionale del Pollino.
Nel Medio Evo i pellegrini che partivano da Francia, Irlanda, Inghilterra, Germania diretti a Gerusalemme facevano una sosta per visitare questo Santuario.
San

Friday, February 11, 2011

Sleeping Beauty

This is the grave of Sonia Kaliensky, born 20 February 1885 in Zabomgewka, Russia, died 6^th February 1907 in Venice. The panel is signed E. Butti. It is said that she committed suicide by taking laudanum at the Danieli Hotel. Notice the sheen on her hand where hundreds of people have touched her.

When I first looked on the internet for further details, a few years ago, I found only one reference, and that to a poster library. Now you can google her name and get over 500 hits. So I'll leave those of you who want to know more to do that, rather than retyping it all. One hit says she committed suicide on her birthday, which is clearly incorrect. I tried to find out where Zambomgewka is, but I did not succeed. Perhaps someone out there can help me with that.

I think she is beautiful.

I hope this is a photo to brighten up your day. This is a church on an island that has been visited by Aerosmith, Keira Knightley, Oasis, Paul Simon, Sofia Loren and me.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Barese Sausage and Munchies!

Barese sausage is quite different from your typical Italian sausage which is normally made with fennel. Barese sausages are finger thin, sort of like the shape and size of a breakfast sausage. These sausages are similar to an area in southern Italy around Bari on the Adriatic coast.

Lucky for me I only have to drive about 35 minutes to get to a wonderful Italian market that makes them fresh on a daily basis!

The ingredients in Barese sausage vary but usually they consist of the meat being either pork or lamb or a mixture of both. Herbs, such as parsley or basil, some garlic, parmesan or romano cheese and some type of tomato product either paste, plum or sun-dried.

I have a friend who was born in Bari and years ago he taught me his simple method for cooking them up on top of the stove.

Place the sausage in a skillet with white wine, enough to almost cover them. With your burner on medium high keep turning them often until they reach an ugly gray color and the wine cooks out. I like to poke some holes on each sausage with a tooth pick so the wine really gets in and flavors them even more.

After the wine pretty much dissipates, remove the sausage, drizzle in some olive oil and place them back into the pan and brown them up to a nice deep golden color, that's it! A very simple method, but oh so flavorful!

If you can locate some Barese sausage in your area, I highly recommend you give it a try!

They're perfect as part of an antipasto platter because of their size, in fact I served them on Super Bowl Sunday along with my Balsamic Glazed Peppers with Eggplant, Olives, Marinated Asparagus, Salami, aged Asiago and Provolone cheese, and this addicting Cauliflower Pesto,( Thanks Stacey!) and of course let's not forget the stack of crispy Crostini!

For Stacey's addicting Cauliflower Pesto here's the recipe. My family loves roasted cauliflower with romano cheese so I eliminated the raisins and capers and added 1/2 cup of grated romano to mine. Slather this on a crostini and you will be forever hooked!

Another addicting little treat are these Balsamic Glazed Peppers with Eggplant! Equally as good slathered on a crispy crostini or placed into your favorite sandwich. Wait until you find out how easy they are to make, providing you have a bottle of good quality balsamic glaze sitting in your fridge. Two brands I personally like are Colavita and Blaze if you don't have any please seek some out, it's so nice to have a go to bottle to quickly flavor things up, it's also great drizzled over cheese. Of course you can always make your own in a pan by reducing balsamic vinegar down until it becomes a thick rich syrup consistency.

Here's what you do;

Slice thin strips of yellow, green and red peppers, also peel and slice your eggplant into strips. Toss them all with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast them in a hot 425F oven turning them often until they become tender with a nice deep color. Half way through the roasting process start pouring on the glaze and keep checking and tossing. Start out small but add as much glaze as you like according to your own taste. When they cool down place in a bowl and add chopped parsley and 1 crushed garlic clove, be sure to drizzle in more olive oil! Toss and enjoy!

Buon Appetito Everyone!