As I have done since the beginning of my blogging endeavors, I am taking some time today to wish my brother Vincenzo a very happy birthday. I am pleased as Puncinello to say that I am actually able to celebrate Vin's birthday with him today. Of course, the Ramones' version of Happy Birthday would be entirely appropriate to post today:
Since my brother Sweetums and I are here in Italy with Vincenzo, there's an even more appropriate Ramones song to post, an old family favorite: We're a Happy Family:
We're a happy family,
We're a happy family,
We're a happy family,
Me, 'tums, and Vinnie!
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody!
Hey, folks, here's wishing my stateside readers a happy Thanksgiving. I am spending Thanksgiving as it should be spent- hanging out with family and friends, enjoying each others' company and showing a little gratitude for good fortune.
In the back of my mind, though, there is a tiny, angry spark... I, like many others, am angry that some big box retailers are making their employees work on Thanksgiving. I have worked on Thanksgiving, but I am essential personnel at a worksite that needs a 24/7 presence. No retail shop needs to be open on the one single holiday that virtually every American celebrates.
Hopefully, there will be a backlash, and several smaller retail chains are criticizing their competitors for their uncaring policies. Seriously, everybody should just opt out of shopping on Thanksgiving. Americans need to recapture a modicum of community spirit- we need to be a nation of citizens, not consumers.
In the back of my mind, though, there is a tiny, angry spark... I, like many others, am angry that some big box retailers are making their employees work on Thanksgiving. I have worked on Thanksgiving, but I am essential personnel at a worksite that needs a 24/7 presence. No retail shop needs to be open on the one single holiday that virtually every American celebrates.
Hopefully, there will be a backlash, and several smaller retail chains are criticizing their competitors for their uncaring policies. Seriously, everybody should just opt out of shopping on Thanksgiving. Americans need to recapture a modicum of community spirit- we need to be a nation of citizens, not consumers.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
A Little Country Music
I'm not a huge country music fan, but there are some numbers which I can't help but adore. One of my favorite country songs is Reginella Campagnola, the title of which can best be translated as "little country queen". The music to the song was composed by Eldo Di Lazzaro in 1939, and the original lyrics were written by Bruno Cherubini. The song is a celebration of the simple life of a country girl who travels with her donkey down through the golden, flowering valleys of Abruzzo to the city on a feast day, and then regales her friends with tales of what she's seen:
The chorus of the song, written while Italy was in the grip of a fascist regime, is a poignant one:
Oh campagnola bella tu sei la reginella
Negli occhi tuoi c’è il sole c’è il colore
Delle viole delle valli tutte in fior
Se canti, la tua voce
È un’armonia di pace
Che si diffonde e dice:
“Se vuoi vivere felice devi vivere quassù!”
Oh, beautiful country girl, you are the little queen.
In your eyes, there is the sun, the color
Of all the blooming violets of the valley.
If you sing, your voice is a harmony of peace
That rings out and says,
"If you want to live happily, you have to live up here!"
If only the country had been ruled by una reginella campagnola rather il Duce, the world would have been a happier place.
Di Lazzaro's music formed the basis of the harmless, goofy Woodpecker Song, which is inferior to the Italian original. Contrary to the proclamations of the Andrews Sisters, woodpeckers are not happy, though they can sometimes be placated with suet.
The chorus of the song, written while Italy was in the grip of a fascist regime, is a poignant one:
Oh campagnola bella tu sei la reginella
Negli occhi tuoi c’è il sole c’è il colore
Delle viole delle valli tutte in fior
Se canti, la tua voce
È un’armonia di pace
Che si diffonde e dice:
“Se vuoi vivere felice devi vivere quassù!”
Oh, beautiful country girl, you are the little queen.
In your eyes, there is the sun, the color
Of all the blooming violets of the valley.
If you sing, your voice is a harmony of peace
That rings out and says,
"If you want to live happily, you have to live up here!"
If only the country had been ruled by una reginella campagnola rather il Duce, the world would have been a happier place.
Di Lazzaro's music formed the basis of the harmless, goofy Woodpecker Song, which is inferior to the Italian original. Contrary to the proclamations of the Andrews Sisters, woodpeckers are not happy, though they can sometimes be placated with suet.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Arrivederci, Yonkers!
I am pleased to say that I will be celebrating Thanksgiving with two of my brothers in Europe. By the time this post pops up, I'll be departing from JFK airport on a flight to Venice's Aeroporto Marco Polo. My brother Vincenzo, who is stationed in Vicenza will be picking me up when I touch down tomorrow afternoon. My brother Sweetums will be taking the train down from Zurich on Thanksgiving day. Meanwhile, back in the states, my brother Gomez and my mom will be spending Thanksgiving in upstate New York with his in-laws, and my sister will be **GASP** taking her eldest on college tours in California. Yeah, we're a far-flung clan, though close-knit. Sadly, the last time everyone's been together was at our dad's funeral back in 2009.
On Sunday, I'll be traveling to Zurich with Sweetums, and I'll be flying back to JFK from Zurich the following Friday. Busy! Busy! Busy! Arrivederci, Yonkers!
Ci vediamo prossima settimana!
On Sunday, I'll be traveling to Zurich with Sweetums, and I'll be flying back to JFK from Zurich the following Friday. Busy! Busy! Busy! Arrivederci, Yonkers!
Ci vediamo prossima settimana!
Monday, November 25, 2013
Gotta Break Out of This City
For the next week and a half, I'll be out of town, so I will schedule posts ahead of time. The posting will be lighter than usual, and the topics won't be so current. The next few days will be best described by the following Eddie and the Hot Rods lyric:
I'm gonna break out of the city
Leave the people here behind
Searching for adventure
It's the kind of life to find.
I will miss you all, don't break the internet while I'm away, and remember, friends don't let friends Zardoz.
I'm gonna break out of the city
Leave the people here behind
Searching for adventure
It's the kind of life to find.
I will miss you all, don't break the internet while I'm away, and remember, friends don't let friends Zardoz.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Before the Reign of Tyrants
Christmas came early this year, with the discovery of a giant carnivorous dinosaur from the Cretaceous Period. Dubbed Siats meekerorum, the beast was a large allosaurid dinosaur. The Allosauroidea dominated the large predator niche for much of the Jurassic period and the early Cretaceous period. Siats is specifically a Neovenatorid allosaur. The Neovenatorids are currently considered a sister group with the Carcharodontosaurids, a allosauroid group which achieved staggering size in the southern hemisphere.
While much of the news coverage implies that Siats bullied or terrorized the early tyrannosaurs, I have to note that the tyrannosaurs eventually supplanted the allosauroids in North America in striking fashion. The tyrannosaurs belong to the coelurosaur clade, the coelurosaurs are best defined as theropod dinosaurs more closely related to birds than they are to carnosaurs such as the allosaurs (including Siats). Before the tyrannosaurids were recognized as coelurosaurs, most small carnivorous dinosaurs were lumped in with the coelurosaurs much as most large carnivores were lumped in with the carnosaurs, they were considered to have evolved from allosaurid ancestry. The tyrannosaur lineage started out as small, gracile carnivores such as Dilong paradoxis, a primitive, feathered tyrannosaur from the early Cretaceous.
Siats represents a late survival of the allosaurs, its discovery sheds a little light on a transitional period before the tyrannosaurs basically locked up the large predator niche in the late Cretaceous northern hemisphere. For a dinosaur nut like myself, this is most exciting news.
While much of the news coverage implies that Siats bullied or terrorized the early tyrannosaurs, I have to note that the tyrannosaurs eventually supplanted the allosauroids in North America in striking fashion. The tyrannosaurs belong to the coelurosaur clade, the coelurosaurs are best defined as theropod dinosaurs more closely related to birds than they are to carnosaurs such as the allosaurs (including Siats). Before the tyrannosaurids were recognized as coelurosaurs, most small carnivorous dinosaurs were lumped in with the coelurosaurs much as most large carnivores were lumped in with the carnosaurs, they were considered to have evolved from allosaurid ancestry. The tyrannosaur lineage started out as small, gracile carnivores such as Dilong paradoxis, a primitive, feathered tyrannosaur from the early Cretaceous.
Siats represents a late survival of the allosaurs, its discovery sheds a little light on a transitional period before the tyrannosaurs basically locked up the large predator niche in the late Cretaceous northern hemisphere. For a dinosaur nut like myself, this is most exciting news.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
First Snow of the Season
Tonight is a cold, windy night on the job. Earlier in the evening, the first snow of the season fell, accompanied by lightning... I didn't see any sprites, though.
As a person who spends a lot of time outdoors, I always keep one ear on the weather report. The key to surviving the cold is to dress in layers- cover your head and keep your "core" warm, and you'll do alright. I did have to buy an inexpensive pair of flannel lined gloves at the local hardware store, though. I always seem to lose right gloves, hence the inexpensive pair- I have a collection of left hand gloves that would make a Michael Jackson envious... actually, Google indicates that he wore a right hand glove, so maybe some crazed Michael Jackson fan with a Bedazzler is going nuts with my missing gloves (which kinda skeeves me out).
As a person who spends a lot of time outdoors, I always keep one ear on the weather report. The key to surviving the cold is to dress in layers- cover your head and keep your "core" warm, and you'll do alright. I did have to buy an inexpensive pair of flannel lined gloves at the local hardware store, though. I always seem to lose right gloves, hence the inexpensive pair- I have a collection of left hand gloves that would make a Michael Jackson envious... actually, Google indicates that he wore a right hand glove, so maybe some crazed Michael Jackson fan with a Bedazzler is going nuts with my missing gloves (which kinda skeeves me out).
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