"It's such a bunch of hogwash"

Here's the quick setup for today's video post:

My dad tries to convince my 100-year-old Sicilian-American Aunt that aromatherapy oils can cure her ailments and mend her cuts. I think he might have been more successful using olive oil. Generational gap at its funniest.

Turkey Day Tag

The adorable co-authors of Ciao Down, Emily & Giancarlo, have tagged me! Here's my most clever attempt at the game, but first, the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.


Here it goes...

1. If a Joy of Painting DVD existed, I'd want it for Christmas so I could have happy little trees growing all day in my living room.

2. I'm ambidextrous. Lefty on most accounts except when I use scissors, and play bocce ball, then I'm righty.

3. I think Venice on a foggy autumn night is the perfect place to play a spirited game of hide and seek.

4. I'm obsessed with the way Italian men ever-so-politely fold their hands behind their backs as they walk.

5. I've always wondered who actually eats the cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving? Maybe if it weren't served in the shape of the Ocean Spray can it would seem more appetizing.

6. I've been back in NYC just about long enough to remember why I left in the first place.


Now, tag...you're it:
la Mia Bellissima Avventura
Two Hearts in Australia
R.T.D. in Italia

Happy Thanksgiving!

Treviso Politics: Sheriff Gentilini?

It was almost a year ago today when I arrived in Treviso and marveled at the sheer perfection of what would be my home for the next year. Cobblestones so clean they glistened, store fronts gleaming with class and color, people dressed so meticulously that I felt the sudden and immediate urge to revamp my entire wardrobe with designer labels.

It was also about a year ago when I first learned of Giancarlo Gentilini, the Vice Mayor of Treviso who is largely responsible for the city's image of pefection. At first I thought it admirable for a man to make such valiant strides to clean up a city and make it safe. But after learning of Gentilini's statements supporting ethic cleansing and denouncing homosexuality I quickly realized that so-called "perfection" comes at a cost.

One year later Gentilini's got a new ridiculous nickname, "The Sheriff," and is not surprisingly back in the press. Seems Islamic scholars don't like his nickname or his crusade against immigrants and this week they've issued a fatwa in reaction.

This video from WorldFocus.org gives a good overview of the ongoing immigration debate that plagues Treviso and many other Northern Italian cities.

I was lucky to have met people in Treviso who were proof that homogeny, apperance and wealth aren't the only fundamentals important to the Trevigani. My hope is that, with time and pressure from more world leaders, Gentilini will step out of the dark ages and see the light...in all its brilliant colors.

Election Night 2008 in New York City

One Girl, One Vote: Election Day '08