November, 2011

What with Syria and Cairo and Congo and Euro, and my motto, or maybe credo, has to come from that Neil Finn line: In the paper today tales of war and of waste / But you turn right over to the T.V. page. Mentioning fashion inevitably makes proper, serious folk get itchy and anxious; so [...]

A brief list of stuff in the air and on the web I like, and you might too. The Best Live Albums, at Slate, by Bill Wyman (no, not that one). Just right, light and summery with useful reminders and suggestions. On Joni Mitchell’s Miles of Aisles: “Probably the best live album title ever, and [...]

Dear Sophie, And the crowd jeered, “Buffoone! Buffoone!” But in truth, as with so many of these things, only some several dozen were involved, and the fickle eye of the media zeroed in and embiggened the pyschoemotional drama. Frightfully mediagenic. (Right: Earlier today, pre-resignation, outside the Chigi Palace, journos awaiting announcements; the mob yet to arrive.) [...]

For the last few days, crisscrossing the cobblestones of the Eternal City, looking at the locals scurrying past (guiltily?); the other tourists prowling for a meal; tour leaders flagging forward their weary charges, I’ve been wondering about the Fall of Rome, the Fall of Eurozone; the Fall of Contemporary capitalism. I’ve been wondering about art, [...]

And so to table. One thing I recalled from our last visit to Italy was the restraint shown with alcohol. You seldom saw a local have more than a glass or maybe two at dinner. Very civilised. This despite the vino de casa usually being light and easy. But today we are here for the [...]

Berlusconi after Monday’s humiliation in parliament A Roman newspaper dubbed Berlusconi “The Great Seducer” when his party, Forza Italia, won the election only three months after its formation. As his wife, Veronica Lario, put it at the time: “People voted for Silvio Berlusconi, they rewarded the life story of this man. It’s not a victory [...]

Dear Sophie, well yes we have been taking daily doses of gelato, which as you know, is Italian for yoga. It seems to help with digestion. The place for gelati is Giolitti on Via Uffici del Vicario; and there is a laughable video of me and Constant Gardener gorging on cones, but no, no chance. [...]

Holiday Notebook: When in Rome, check out what the Romans do. It’s hard to dispute that a noticeably high percentage of locals carry off that hard to pin down quality we call Style. Tuesday at Rosati: Espresso at Cafe Rosati in the Piazza del Popolo. (QUite likely the original of the old wannabe Rosati in [...]