Monthly Archives: December 2009

Buzz

In Italian the word ape means ‘bee’, but it’s also the name of the type of vehicle in the photograph above. It’s a 50cc moped engine with the body of a small van or, in this case, truck, grafted on … Continue reading

Posted in italy | 4 Comments

Eartha Kitt, with James Dean

One year on…

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The shopkeeper is always right, well, sometimes

I was in my local profumeria last Sunday. This particular profumeria is the size of a large provincial bookshop (in a town that doesn’t have a bookshop), its walls and shelving units lined with exquisitely packaged small bottles containing liquids … Continue reading

Posted in berlusconi, italy | 1 Comment

Satin and tat

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News from the very dark cave

The region of Emilia-Romagna has recently established that couples, including those with children, (in lay speak, ‘families’) are entitled to welfare provisions whether they’re married or not. This has attracted the anathema of the local befrocked wingnut cardinal, a certain … Continue reading

Posted in justice, religion, very dark cave | 3 Comments

No-B Day (two weeks late)

Not hot news, I’m afraid. I wrote the following piece the day after the No-Berlusconi Day march in Rome almost two weeks ago, then put it to one side to settle. Well, it has, and there’s nothing I want to … Continue reading

Posted in berlusconi, italy | 1 Comment

Man meets small spiky object. Object wins.

Berlusconi’s bloodied nose is already an exquisitely political space, populated on the one hand by those who see the Capo’s body as sanctified ground and therefore untouchable (i.e. his supporters) and on the other hand by those who see his … Continue reading

Posted in berlusconi, hypocrisy, italy, politics | 4 Comments

How many words a minute?

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Charlemagne OK but Louis the Pious?

Unusually, as Amazon suggestions go, this one tempted me. Maybe because Louis and Pious are almost, but not quite, a visual rhyme. And then I saw the price. Greetings from Amazon.co.uk, As someone who has purchased or rated On Sparta … Continue reading

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Cubism in the round

I’m not sure if this is an offence to, and crass misunderstanding of, the nature of the original work or a useful and evocative reading of it (I suspect the former), but either way it’s worth a look. (Thanks, Erin.)

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