Leo on the Rodin sculpture at the High

Here's Leo's take on the Rodin sculpture on the front lawn of the High Museum in Atlanta:

"He not moving. He not get down."

So true.

My view of the world today (feed the mind's eye)

I have this little obsession with what I put atop my chest of drawers. As if the little items have a certain power, perhaps, to remind me of what is right. Not that I need reminders of the people in this photo. But maybe sometimes I need a reminder to be grateful.

Signs of Christmas (for Jeanne)

Beginning to look a lot like Christmas?

For me, it is.

I have my Buon Natale sign up. It's finally time to whip out my favorite CD of Christmas songs, Robert Shaw's Festival of Carols, which I swiped from my parents. (I can't start listening to it too soon. That would ruin everything.)

And as soon as I cue it up, I have to start baking cookies.

Pretty soon, it will be time for the ultimate Christmas tradition.

But not yet. Not yet.

Happy Holidays!

Elena Ferrante quotes (#2)

From Elena Ferrante's Q&A with the Financial Times:

Q. When did you know you were going to be a writer?
A. I still don't know -- and I never will.

Q. What does it mean to be a writer?
A. Pursuing what we are not able to say. Writing during any scrap of free time and without worrying about getting published.

For more of this intriguing interview, go here:

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7f1c9ed4-4269-11e4-9818-00144feabdc0.html/

The New York Times also had an article about Ferrante this week:

http://nyti.ms/1zogEeC/

Io (Leo) and Loud Noisies (not a typo)

One little person -- my little person -- loves “loud noisies.”

Not loud noises, loud noisies.

My little Leo finds ways to distort the language that instantly sound like a vast improvement over the original.

He also refers to himself as "io," which he pronounces as "ee-oh." It turns out 'L' is a tough letter for little tongues! So to say his own name, he says "Io."

This linguistic misstep turns out to be anything but. Indeed, for me, it's magical. Little does he know "io" means "I" in Italian. Little does he know the importance of Italian to me -- and to him.

Elena Ferrante quotes

From Elena Ferrante's La Frantumaglia:

“Il bisogno d’amore è l’esperienza centrale della nostra esistenza.”

[Trans.: "The need for love is the central experience of our existence."]

Un po' di formaggio ci vuole

Già una buona forchetta che sa grattuggiare il formaggio.

The Italian Advantage! (Ferrante post #501)

It's not every day that knowing Italian actually gives me an edge but ha ha! Today it does!

I don't have to wait until Ann Goldstein at the New Yorker translates Elena Ferrante's latest book from her Neapolitian series. I can go ahead and read it in Italian! YAY!

Just look at it. (In fact that's all I can do since I still have to finish Book #2 of the series).

Storia della bambina perduta.

(Thanks to Il Nostro Inviato for picking me up a copy last week when he went to Italy for work.)

Happy reading everyone!

Sunset, Hilton Head Island (La Carolina del Sud)

E poi in realta, il tramonto era ancora piu favoloso -- la macchina fotografica non riesce a ricreare cio che l'occhio percepisce.

***

"LA STRADA" - Ilaria Graziano & Francesco Forni

One of the most gorgeous voices I've ever heard.

Cool photo (IMHO)....Oh and the kid's cute too

Leo with cat. And tomato.

Either my new fancy camera can't take a bad picture or this kid is pretty cute or maybe both.

Thinking of a Jovanotti song today

Beautiful thought:" È questa la vita che sognavo da bambino."

("This is the life I dreamt about as a child.")

Best book in Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan trilogy?

Just finished Elena Ferrante's "L'Amica Geniale," just started the second book in the trilogy, "Storia del Nuovo Cognome."

Already read "Storia di Chi Resta E Di Chi Fugge."

So what's the best book in the trilogy?

I would say NOT the first book.

The last book is amazing (last one, at least so far).

And I think book #2 is off to a good start.

*********

"L'Amica Geniale" (Ferrante...again)

I'm reading "L'Amica Geniale" di Elena Ferrante and sometimes I stop myself because the pleasure of reading in Italian is so intense, I need to take a breath!

Here's to cultivating passions....Cin-cin!

**************

Air Force One? All In A Day's Work

I meant to post this photo a few weeks back. Every now and again, you pull an odd assignment in journalism.

Mine, the day I took this picture, was to wait for Air Force One to arrive in Atlanta with Pres. Obama, and then wait for it to leave, all in the hopes he would toss off a comment as he was arriving or leaving.

He didn't. But I did see him jog up the stairs to the plane and then turn around to wave goodbye to Atlanta.

So there was that.

Actually it was cool. Watching airplanes take off is always exhilarating, and the wind on the runway even on a hot day cools you down.

Medieval Salento!

Just discovered this book on a Web site for the CENTRO PRIMO LEVI ONLINE MONTHLY:

"Medieval Salento
: Art and Identity in Southern Italy" (University of Pennsylvania Press).

Look at the cover art!

And the title!

They had me at Salento.

Fibonacci

Non sapevo che il matematico Fibonacci si chiamo' Leonardo!

Greatest book title ever?

"Storia Di Chi Resta E Di Chi Fugge" by Elena Ferrante.

Although I will say Calvino's "Se una notte d'inverno un viaggiatore" is also in the running.

I've finished "Storia Di Chi Resta E Di Chi Fugge" and am now reading the first book in Ferrante's Neapolitan trilogy, "L'Amica Geniale."

#chebellalettura

Did I show off Isla de Mujeres?

I realized recently I have all of these great photos of Isla de Mujeres on my phone that I never bothered to post here.

It's an island off of Cancun and a world away. It's also gorgeous, and we did our research so we wound up at a really laidback duplex painted a sunny yellow color that fronted the beach. As in, if you live in a typical suburban neighborhood, our tiny apartment was as far away from the water as you are from your neighbor's house across the street. Which is to say, pretty darn close.

At the tip of the island is a quirky sculpture park surrounded on all sides by crashing waves. Like I said, paradise!

Italian Words at the Guggenheim (Futurismo)

They also had art at the Guggenheim's just-closed Futurismo exhibit (including works by Umberto Boccioni, whom I love) but I found myself drawn to anything that showed Italian words.

The Guggenheim is such a wonderful exhibit space. You can look back at what you've seen from a distance and see the work in a different way.

There were lots of books and posters and manifestos with Italian words and I was in heaven. There must be something about seeing words in a language you love that lights up the happiness part of your brain. It winds up being like a little festish.