February 2007

Pilgrimage

February 25, 2007

original Indian man on a pilgrimage [title of the photo, which Ross took during our trip to India in 2005] Pilgrimage: a voyage of devotion and penitence towards the sacred places of every religion. Sitting for hours in front of the computer. I’m waiting for a great idea for some logical thread or thesis to [...]

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Translating italia.it

February 24, 2007

The Italian government (just before it fell) launched with great fanfare italia.it, the country’s new tourism portal, along with a logo which: looks like the winner from an elementary school drawing competition is uncomfortably similar to the logo of Logitech in no way represents Italy includes a slogan ("Italy leaves a mark") which reminds me [...]

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Learn Italian in Song: Una Donna per Amico

February 24, 2007

The late, great Lucio Battisti again, with lyrics by Mogol. This song was played as the Italian athletes entered the stadium during the opening ceremonies of the Torino Winter Olympics. The title means “A Woman for a Friend,” but you need to pay attention to the subtleties: amico is the masculine form of the noun [...]

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Aggiungi un Posto a Tavola: Consolazione

February 23, 2007

All this God-inspired romance is interrupted by the arrival of a travelling prostitute named Consolazione – Consolation – with that name, she could be a denizen of Dogpatch! – who distracts all the men from their wives, apparently because it’s their last chance for an extramarital fling. Uomini, eccomi! Men, here I am! E’ arrivata [...]

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Funny Italian Street Names

February 16, 2007

“Wild man alley” – with a shop called Angel Devil on the corner. Chiavenna The US is full of streets named after trees, or simply called “Main,” or given numbers or letters. Washington DC is built on a grid of numbers and letters of the alphabet. I won’t even attempt to explain Salt Lake City. [...]

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Bellagio: “Beauty and Comfort” on Lake Como

February 16, 2007

Bellagio, Lake Como’s best-known tourist destination, lies at the tip of the triangle between the two southern branches of the lake. You can get there by road or get there by boat from Menaggio or Varenna. Personally, I find Bellagio a bit overrated. During the season it’s overrun with tourists, and the shops are accordingly [...]

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Airline Usability

February 16, 2007

This article has moved to my new blog, Usability Bitch.

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Learn Italian in Song: 7000 Caffè

February 12, 2007

written, recorded and copyrighted by Alex Britti Here’s another Britti great. This only looks like a mashup – it’s actually his own brilliantly original music video. Britti’s one of my favorites. I hope he doesn’t mind. Go out and buy his music! 7000 caffè, 7000 coffees li ho già presi perché I’ve already drunk them [...]

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Sweetness and Dark on Lake Como

February 10, 2007

Some evenings, stepping off the train as it arrives in Lecco, there’s a slightly toasted, coffeeish scent of rich, dark chocolate in the air. It’s not a hallucination: Lecco is the home of Icam, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of organic chocolate. They process 6000 tons of raw cocoa beans per year, and when [...]

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When a Spell Checker Won’t Save You

February 10, 2007

70 million blogs, and thousands more “professional” news sources online, collectively produce billions of words every day. I rejoice that so many people are able to publish their thoughts and seek an audience, at low or no cost – information is good, freely shared information even better. But I cringe at the abuses I see [...]

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Learn Italian in Song: I Bambini Fanno Ooh

February 4, 2007

by Giuseppe Povia, 2006 This was a big hit last year. It’s so sweet it made me cry. The video is beautiful, too. Linguistic note: Heavy (and appropriate) use here of the diminutive ending ino, which turns “noun” into “little noun”. This is often used as a form of baby talk when speaking to small [...]

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