Objects Restored

I made a website with pictures and descriptions of all the objects I worked on during school. It is here.

World Cup

The World Cup is more than halfway done now, but it's still a big deal. Of course, the big disappointment here was Italy going out in the first round, after tying "lowly" Paraguay and New Zealand and then losing to Slovakia. People were certainly not expecting a repeat performance of 2006, and were heaping criticism on the coach even before the tournament started for picking the wrong players, but the final game was nevertheless a blow (although they had to admit that the Italian team really only started playing 15 minutes before the end). Since then, the number of Italian flags hanging on balconies has decreased somewhat, but the interest in the tournament has remained, at least from what I can tell at work.
Italy being Italy, it's of course more difficult to watch the games here than it should be. Since the state-funded RAI networks only bought the rights to some of the games (about one a day), the others being shown on subscription-only Sky, most games during the day are also not available for online streaming. So for some weekend games, we've gone to an Irish pub downtown (where we saw the glorious German victory over England this past weekend), otherwise we're reliant on some poor quality pirated streams of ESPN, BBC, or Chinese TV.

Some Pictures

These are some pictures I've taken with my phone over the past few months.


This diagonal pole device is attached to a truck. It's used for moving things from upper-floor windows to the street or vice versa.


Tee hee.


I always see people taking pictures of produce at the market, so maybe people want to see market pictures. Here is part of the pecorino selection at one of the stands.


This seems to be the standard way people prune trees here. It seems excessive and looks stupid.


Virtual chips.

New Music Recommendations, part 6

• The New Pornographers: "Crash Years"
  These guys have been one of my favorites ever since "The Bleeding Heart Show" was on heavy rotation on my playlists for something like 8 months. "Crash Years" is my favorite song from a good album which is great music for a fun summer.
• L'Arpeggiata: "Via Crucis"
  The newest album from this improvising early-music group manages to make dour religious music sound cool.
• Joanna Newsom: "Good Intentions Paving Co."
  About as foot-tapping, head-bopping as you can expect to get from Joanna Newsom, from probably the best album of the year so far.
• Sleigh Bells: "A/B Machines"
  A much-hyped band, you either love them or hate them. I'm waiting for a party to really rock out to their songs.
• Elvis Perkins in Dearland: "Chains, Chains, Chains"
  I haven't quite decided what genre to categorize this band in (Elvis Perkins is the son of Andrew Perkins). Folk? Singer/songwriter? Rock? New Orleans? Probably a bit of everything. Their self-titled debut, and especially this song, is of my favorites from late last year.
  

Report on Tolfa, Round 2

(Last year's post is here.)

It was cold the whole time, except for maybe 2 days when it was pleasant during the day. The heat wasn't on in my room for all but 3 days, but with 3 blankets it was OK. It rained almost every day and was always windy. The cook said the weather was abnormal for May. I got more eggs for dinner than cheese this year, which was an improvement, however we had cheese (and bread and tomatoes) almost every day for lunch. We were more prepared for the lack of things to do this year, since we all brought our computers to do school work. So we had lots of movies to choose from in the evenings, as opposed to last year when only one person had a computer and we had only 2 movies. Even with internet keys that work through cell phone lines, however, there was little or no internet connection. I also brought motion-sickness medicine this year for the 30-40 minutes of twisty road between Civitavecchia and Tolfa, which the bus drivers like to traverse as fast as possible. The showers consistently alternated between scalding and cool water. Also this year we were there for 3 weeks, instead of 2 like last year.

On the plus side, the work wasn't bad. I did 3 objects: a Roman-era cooking pot, a bucchero Etruscan pitcher, and a marble piece from a Roman sarcophagus, and I got to use a micro-abrasive sandblaster. Also, we saw the donkeys again, and there were 5 or 6 this year, up from 3 last year. There weren't any geckos, lizards, or lightning bugs this year, though, but there was a lot of wisteria on a wooden structure outside the hostel (old monastery) for a week or two, which was pretty. And I got to eat at the Subway in Civitavecchia again.

Two other groups stayed at the hostel while we were there: a group of archaeology students from Sicily who were only there for a weekend and a group of Norwegian high school students who were very loud and were there for several days.

Polbo á feira

Here's a recipe of a specialty of Galicia, that I tasted while I was there. It's pretty fast and easy to make, as long as you're not squeamish about preparing and eating octopus. I used frozen octopus, which makes it easy to keep and apparently tenderizes meat somewhat.

• 1 large octopus (figure about 500 g/1 lb. per person for a main course)
• coarse sea salt
• paprika/pimentón
• olive oil
• potatoes

In a large pot, place enough water to cover the octopus completely, and bring to a boil. Wash the thoroughly under running water, paying special attention to the suckers on the tentacles. With a pair of scissors or a knife, remove the beak, located at the center of the tentacles.
Holding the octopus by the head, dip the tentacles three times into the boiling water, allowing it to come back to the boil between dips. This curls the fine ends and makes them more attractive once cooked. Now place head down in the water and simmer until you feel no resistence to piercing. A rule of thumb is to cook for about 20 minutes, then leave it in the water for another 20 minutes while it cools down slightly. At the same time, peel and roughly cut up some potatoes and add to the boiling water.
When everything is cooked through, remove the octopus and cut each tentacle up into slices with scissors or a knife. You might want to discard the head, but if not, cut this up, too. Spread the pieces evenly on a - preferably wooden - platter, distribute the potatoes, and sprinkle with the salt. Holding a teaspoon full of paprika or pimentón in one hand, tap it lightly with the other over the platter to colour it evenly. Finish off with a generous trickle of olive oil, give a fork to each person and dip in!

(based on Jamie Oliver's recipe)

Some Signs

"I know those words, but that sign makes no sense."


It says, "This store will remain closed the whole month of May." No comment.