Super Sunday!

Allora, today is a momentous day for three distinct reasons!

1. I was able to purchase an awesome 35 to 70 mm lens with a 2.8 f-stop for 40 euro. Not amazing, but not all of my photos will be wide angle anymore. Framing architecture is great with a wide angle, but not for portraits or any sort of focused composition. I bought it at the Port-a-Portese market down the street from us which is home to some of the strangest merchandise and characters. Although, this really is only slightly more exciting than the 27th St. flea market that happens on the weekends in New York. Mostly because I have to bargain in Italiano. I'm not so good in English, but I do feel more comfortable being vocal and pushy in Italian... Maybe not the best way to learn a language.

2. I played 'calcio' today which is Soccer in American. We played in the Circus Maximus which is now a big grass field but used to be a Circus used for chariot races (think Ben Hur). There was something quite impressive about playing soccer on a sports arena used almost two thousand years ago. And I scored a goal.

3. Last but certainly not least, I thought I would celebrate this moment by writing an unusually out of routine blog entry. This, of course, refers to getting internet at home! Yes. I'm writing this from my living room. Not studio like I have been for the past month. So expect me to be more connected than usual!

Hey folks!
(I'm assuming there's more than one of you actually reading this...) As they say in Italy... Allora, I got back from Florence, and I was absolutely stunned. There was just so much, that I totally have to go back. I missed a lot of stuff, but I need an excuse go back.

Due to the sheer volume of sites and works we saw, I'm gonna switch to bullet form(a wink to Jarnah):

Sites Visited and Observations:
The Cathedral Complex-
So, this is the most easily recognizable building in Florence, as well as most visible. FYI: There is only one "cathedral" in a given city at any given moment. The cathedral is the church of the bishop of that city and comes from the latin word, cathedra, which literally refers to the throne that the bishop sits in. In recent time, the word cathedral has come to mean big church, but in actuality this is false. (New York is one of the exceptions of the one cathedral rule with St. Patrick's on 5th Ave and St. John the Divine on 110th which is Episcopalian.) This church was design by Arnolfo Di Cambio, but the construction of the dome is credited to Filippo Brunelleschi. He was directly responsible for the engineering and construction method. The interior was really impressive because of the sheer scale of the architectural elements. After we entered the actually space, we climbed the stairs and walked around the cupola to get a good view of the rest of the city which was also breathtaking.

Piazza Sinioria-
This area is directly in front of the Palazzo Vecchio (right), which has a lengthy history that I'm sure no one is interested in. This space is very significant because it used to house the ORIGINAL statue of David by Michelangelo, but now holds a copy. There is an area, however, that houses some pretty incredible sculpture pieces that are in fact originals. It also used to form the center of the Roman town that stood in the same location where the Cardo and Decumanus met (the two cardinal streets in every town. The cardo runs north-south, and you can guess how the decumanus ran-)

Santa Croce-
This church was built in a Romanesque style which is a style that predates the High Renaissance. It can be seen as the Gothic architecture of Italy in many ways as it carries some very similar features. It however is recognized as distinct because it has a different proportionality and different ways of approaching materials and organization as well as a notable lack of the features found in Gothic structures, i.e. flying buttresses, pointed arches. I was really impressed with the use of exposed/painted rafters which I have yet to see in Rome. This is also the place where Michelangelo, Dante, and Machiavelli are buried. I didn't really care about that, though. Some of the frescoes were really interesting, but in general, I was most impressed with the openness of the ceilings. The side chapels were covered with a number of gable roofs which created an impressive side profile. There was also some really beautiful door hardware on the main entrance doors.

Anyhow, that was the first day. Although I summed up a lot of it... there's a lot I don't feel like fitting into this blog. Keep in mind that I have to save some stuff to talk to you about in person! Also, no pictures to reference on the second and third day because I didn't bring my charger for the digital. Thus, only film pictures, and I don't want to leave you guys hanging on my poor verbal descriptions of some of the amazing things that happened.

Speaking of my film camera, I almost destroyed it at Palazzo Piti. I dropped it while I was shifting objects around from bag to pocket and hand to bag. While holding the multiple straps my camera and bag, I mistook the camera strap for the bag strap and dropped the camera instead of the bag. Thus the stone floor outside the baggage room in the Piti Palace completely ran into the polarization filter that rested in front of the lens. When I picked it up I noticed a nick in the glass. When tried to remove the filter, the nick turned into a full on crack. Then I realized the filter just would not come off. Luckily, I later pulled it off using my key as a kind of bottle opener and found that the camera and lens were OK. LESSON LEARNED.

Sorry for the lack of postings in the past week. Internet has been non-existent in my life. Just got it back up and running in the studio. More soon. Keep checking my flickr, because I update that more often. I'll be back with a small bit on our apartment and some other miscellaneous stuff. I want to close by saying that I've definitely had 'basta' of Spizzico... at least for the time being. Too much of a good thing, Spizzico or just plain grease. At this point they are synonymous.

Happy birthday, me. Some wikipedia findings on this momentous day.

Events:

• 1917 - The Congress of the United States passes a law, over President Woodrow Wilson's veto, banning most Asian immigration to the United States.
• 1936 - Charlie Chaplin releases the last movie of the silent film era, Modern Times.
• 1958 - A hydrogen bomb known as the Tybee Bomb is lost by the US Air Force off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, never to be recovered.
• 1937 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposes a plan to enlarge the Supreme Court of the United States.
• 1945 - World War II: General Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila.
• 1962 - French President Charles De Gaulle calls for allowing Algeria to be an independent nation.
• 2003 - U.S. plan to invade Iraq: Colin Powell addresses the UN Security Council on Iraq.

Other people who share my birthday:

• 976 - Sanjo, Emperor of Japan (d. 1017)
• 1840 - Hiram Stevens Maxim, American inventor (Maxim gun) (d. 1916) (this is the guy who invented the automatic machine gun)
  
• 1943 - Michael Mann, American film director
• 1948 - Christopher Guest, American actor
• 1954 - Cliff Martinez, American musician
• 1962 - Jennifer Jason Leigh, American actress
• 1964 - Laura Linney, American actress
• 1969 - Bobby Brown, American singer
• 1975 - Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Dutch footballer
• 1984 - Carlos Tévez, Argentinine footballer
• 1985 - Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese footballer

And this is the guy who died on the same day that I was born on:

• 1984 - Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta "Santo", Mexican wrestler and film actor (b. 1917)

Yesterday was probably one of the most eventful and culturally illuminating days of my time here. Just to inform those of you unfamiliar with the way my school works, Thursdays are the days that we have design. Wednesday night is often a mad dash to get work done in order to have some sort of proof that we, in fact, have been doing work on design. Thus, the knowledge that history occupies the morning slot before design was met with limited enthusiasm. Fortunately our history class takes place mostly on site in and around Rome.

Our first site was on the steps of the Monument to Victor Emanuel. From there, we proceeded through the Campidoglio, or Capitaline Hill and moved in the general direction of the Aventine Hill. We went to a number of sites which I won't get into, but this shot here is right when the rain let up next to the temple of Portunis, the god of ports.

I have a new found obsession here in Rome which is a double shot of espresso with a Snickers bar. I don't understand why its so good, but it's so good. I know I'll probably catch some kind of flack for not choosing some Italian brand of chocolate or whatever, but this works. It's a great way to give yourself a kick in the but when you need it, especially right before a review after a mostly sleepless night. (no all nighters... yet) This was the case yesterday.

The presentation my partner, Leslie, and I delivered was on the Campidoglio. I think we were both really satisfied with the amount of work we did. As for the critics, well, at least our professor had something nice to say.

That evening, Joaquin and I had our first truly Italian cultural experience. A friend of Joaquin and now a friend of mine took us to a wine bar for some food and, yes, wine. I kindly abstained from partaking in the wine portion of the evening and tried not to think about the numerous cultural feaux pas I was committing.

There we met someone who I can only describe as being a true character. He was the owner or manager of the bar. He looked around his sixties or seventies. He had white hair that cascaded down the back of his head with a short trimmed beard. He was wearing a navy pinstriped suit with a blue shirt, an ascot and a white scarf... and sunglasses. I later learned that he apologized and said that he couldn't find his regular glasses, but the sunglasses seemed so much more appropriate.

When he found out that I didn't drink, he was absolutely accommodating. I said I would have a Limonata or some equivalent. When I got my drink he said that he had to send someone down the street to pick up a tonic water and that they would juice a lemon for me in the kitchen. I was very gracious. In the meantime, Joaquin and Luis began their choice of wine which they both agreed was exquisite. We ate prosciutto and parmigiana cheese, both delicious. We were then joined by a friend of Luis who lives in the area. The evening went on mostly in Italian. I struggled, but there were moments when I felt like I was beginning to grasp some understanding.

In fact, at one point when the manager sat down with us and joined in the conversation, he said a sentence that I fully understood. Every word was a word that registered with a definition in my mind. At first I thought he was going to say something in English! Then I realized what was happening. At that specific moment, I understood that there was a raspiness in his voice that was only his. I began to hear inflections and stresses that he applied to the sentence. What was his and what was Italian became distinct to me and I fully comprehended it. And then it was gone.