O Holy Night

Same procedure as every year.

O Holy Night, again!

It's time for this again! O Holy Night. He really goes for it.

O Holy Night

Here it is again!

Hamburger Bun Instructions

That's right. These are the instructions on the back of the package that explain to you in detail how to toast a hamburger bun (it also lets you know that they can be eaten at room temperature).

"Per una buona tostatura Vi consigliamo di portare la piastra ad una temperatura di circa 200-220^oC, di tagliare a meta' il panino e di appoggiare per circa 1 minuto sulla piastra la parte interna (mollica) senza schiacciare. Il panino puo' essere scaldato anche in altro modo (es. infrarossi); e' importante, pero', rivolgersi sempre la mollica verso la fonte di calore. I panini 'non tostati' devono essere consumati a temperatura ambiente."

It's not important if you don't speak Italian, the point is that there is a paragraph describing what to do with the bun. I would have to conclude that this is not a familiar subject here. Everyone knows what a hamburger is, but some of the details don't make it. Often they just eat the meat by itself.

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.

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.

No Stealing

In case there was any question. Also, the other sign means "Crap Stand."

Funny

In case you missed it last year, here it is again.

Strange and Weird, part 2

Continued from Part 1.

These are pictures of art that I found funny or interesting or unusual. If anyone can explain any of them, please enlighten me.



You need to click on the slideshow to see what's going on in the pictures.

Politics in Italy vs. Politics in the US

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Silvio Berlusconi's Affair
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Newt Gingrich Unedited Interview

Activities recap

It's been a while since I've reported on our activities. There's a bunch of stuff to catch up on. A few weekends ago, we took advantage of the good weather as well as the Settimana della cultura (Week of Culture), during which admission to the state museums was free, to visit the Palazzo Pitti and Boboli gardens. We weren't the only ones to have this thought, but the whole complex is quite large, so we weren't shoved through or trampled on. First up were the Boboli gardens, which were an ideal destination on this warm, sunny spring day. Not too many flowers, though -- most of the gardens are landscaped with trees, bushes, grass, and some fountains. Afterward, we went to see some of the museums in the palace, the highlight being the Palatine gallery, with works by Raphael, Titian, Rubens, and many others. Like at many other museums, the paintings all started to look similar after a while though. We also went to see the Modern art gallery ("modern" seemingly referring to post-renaissance) and the Silver museum, which houses the treasures of the Medici.
Today, we took the bus to Poggio a Caiano, where there's another Medici Villa. (A bit of trivia on the side: Poggio a Caiano is the sister city of no other place than Charlottesville, Virginia) We arrived just as they let people inside for a brief visit of the interior, which had some 19th century rooms for entertaining (pool room, private theater) as well as a grand hall with 16th century frescoes by del Sarto and Allori. The gardens were pleasant enough, and had an abundance of lemon trees, as well as a somewhat run down forest behind the villa.

As well as going on some sightseeing jaunts, we also visited two fantastic concerts, thanks to the Maggio Musicale festival which takes place in Florence in May and June. Last weekend, we went to see a piano recital by Lang Lang, the Chinese shooting star. It was quite spectacular, and showcased his musical ability (Schubert Sonata D959) along with his technical skills (Debussy Images and Chopin Polonaise héroïque). Unfortunately, the last piece will be forever associated in my head with Oliver Cromwell, thanks to Monty Python.

Then yesterday, we saw Götterdämmerung, the last part of Wagner's Ring cycle at the Teatro Comunale. Again conducted by Zubin Mehta with artistic direction by La Fura del Baus, the production suffered from the same overload of distracting video projections and people scurrying around for no reason as the previous opera, Siegfried, that we saw there last year. After all those effects, the final scene (where Brünnhilde rides into Siegfried's funeral pyre, the Rhine overflows its banks, Hagen jumps in after the Ring and drowns, and Walhalla is seen burning) was disappointingly static and low tech (though there was some guy riding around on a Segway, which didn't make much sense). Our enjoyment in general was somewhat dampened by the fact that our seats (on the side of the second gallery, 101 and 103 if you're inclined to look at the seat map) had a limited view of the stage, so that we had to lean forward or sit on the armrests if we wanted to see everything, and had some bad acoustics in that we heard parts of the orchestra twice due to the sound bouncing off the walls and/or ceiling. Nevertheless, the highlight of the evening was the music, with an incredibly strong cast, and a consistently good performance by the orchestra. As Siegfried, Lance Ryan was a big improvement over Leonid Zakhozhaev from last time, and Jennifer Wilson as Brünnhilde returned with an excellent command of the part. For me, the stand out this time was Hans Peter König as Hagen. If anyone is lucky enough to be at Bayreuth this year, I think he's singing Hagen there as well. I, on the other hand, will have to look into where else he's singing.

Comrade Cat

Italian Abbreviation

In Italian, you can use "x" to mean "per," like we would say "times" for the multiplication sign. So in Italy, the movie Superbad is called Suxbad.

Puppy Bowl!

I love the puppy bowl. Watch puppies run around and play with each other for 3 hours. It's so great.

Messiah Organist on Crack

While on the subject of Christmas music, here's a holiday favorite.

Seen on The Rest is Noise.

O Holy Night

Funny.

Thanks to mein Bruder for making me aware of this.

American cheese?

Or toast? Well, it has 48% cheese...

Strange and Weird, part 1

Just some random pictures of oddities and curiosities we've encountered so far on our travels in Italy:Body of Santa Zita, Basilica di San Frediano, Lucca

Fresco with a depiction of hell in the Camposanto, Pisa

Marble mosaic in the floor of the Duomo, Siena

Triptych with Santa Agata in Pienza. Notice how she's carrying her breasts on a platter.

Palin for President!

Danger... Scientists!