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NIGHT OF THE TARANTULA
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by STEWART on 28 Sep 2006 20:33
The roar of the show takes about two hours to subside. After the last encore when I run off the stage back to the dressing room, there is still a lot of ritual to perform before the day's work is done. Shower is crucial immediately. Soaking wet T-shirt turns to ice within seconds of departing the hot stage lights. That's why your correspondent can sometimes be seen sprinting through the halls backstage in a mad dash to the dressing room to yank the clothes off, down to buck naked.
No sooner do I reach my haven but there is a clamour at the door, which is actually kind of welcome. Depressing are those shows in distant lands where, after a gruelling set there is no clamour.
The cheerful folk crowding the hall out-side my room are usually local backstage-pass holders who are eager to exuberate with me, then go home, but they unfortunately have to wait. Even though I'm feeling pretty exuberant myself I have to shift my gear and hit the shower to hose off the sweat and lower the body temperature. I'm still squirting fluid out of every pore.
The post concert shower is one of those sublime creations of our Lord that induces the body to drown itself in endorphins
Then all the wet T-shirts and soaking clothes have to be gathered up into a soggy pile, wrapped in a towel and stashed. The room needs to be cleared of personal effects right away because those hall folks are getting a little impatient out there and that door is going to open.
The after-show meet-and-greet is an extension of the show. You just cannot brush off the joy that you have just spent 90 minutes whipping up. So the room fills up and I spend the next half hour shaking hands, signing tickets, programs, money, T-shirts (often on the hoof), biceps, chests, and sometimes, children. I stand in one spot while everybody gets a turn to get his or her thing signed, have a picture taken and cop a feel.
There comes a point when there are just goofy smiles and no more bits of paper, so the folks are gently nudged out of the room and finally, I can now power down – or try to.
By now my Salentino band buddies have pretty much finished their own backslapping, stuff stowing and unwinding. When I get to their room they are smoking and joshing. They always give me a cheerful welcome and we exchange show moments such as
"Hey Francesco you almost exploded during your solo in SANTU PAOLU!"
"I was completely lost in AOULI and when I looked over at Alessandro for help, he just smiled unhelpfully"
"You think I wasn't lost too?"
La Notte della Taranta (Night of the Tarantula) is an ensemble comprised of me and twenty Salentino brigands blasting away on tambourines, bazookis and all manner of strange instruments. Sometimes Gian Carlo pulls out his bagpipe that is made out of an entire sheep.
Over on the other end of the stage is our musical director and bandleader Vittorio Cosma on keyboards. At the front, stage-right are Enza, Ninfa and Emanuele, the principal singers. Front-stage-right (next to me) are three tambourine players. Not your Kumbaya variety of tambourines – these are the big heavy ones.
In the middle of the stage is a thicket of players on bass, guitars, mandolins, violins and whatnot. We even have an additional drummer on a traps kit.
At the back of the stage, on a huge riser is a jungle of percussion and mallet instruments with four zany Englishmen (Ensemble Bash) in hot pursuit.
The music that we are playing is made of ancient folk songs in the Pizzica style from the Salento region of Southern Italy. Once again, these are not your Peter, Paul and Mary variety of folk songs – these are the big heavy ones.
The first show of the tour is in Florence. A giant stage has been built right on the edge of a cliff overlooking the old city. As I sit at my drums at the sound check, I can see the famous Ponte Vecchio down below. All of the shows on this tour are outdoor events and some of them are free – paid for by the city because our show is "Cultural".
The sound check was supposed to start at 4:00 but since it's the first gig, the crew are running late and it's not till 8:00 that we can start what was supposed to be a full rehearsal. Doors open at nine.
I kind of needed that rehearsal because I only arrived in Italy last night and have never played some of the tunes with the band. I've been rehearsing by myself at home with tapes of the tunes. So the show is a train wreck but there is so much random energy amongst the players and within the material that a great time is had by all and the Florentini go nuts. Our show is all about excitement and dancing – and dance the people do.
Next show is in Rome, day after tomorrow so we have the whole day to ease out of the hotel and drive with my buddies Johnny and Mauro down through Tuscany and Umbria to the ancient capital.
Travelling in a rock band involves five-way committee meetings to decide on important daily matters such as: When do we check out? When do we stop for lunch? Where's the guitarist? On this tour, the ensemble is so large that I am detached from the group and travel separately in my own little bus accompanied by chums who come out to visit me on the road.
The drive down to Rome takes about three hours. Night off in Rome, wandering the piazzas waiting for Fiona to arrive from LA. At around midnight at the Piazza Navona she comes around the corner right at the moment when the ten-year-old accordion kid bursts into O SOLE MIO. Rome is like that. Fiona is like that.
The Rome show is at a brand new cultural centre. A super modern outdoor amphitheatre with an excellent large and low stage in a half-round. The audience will be seated. Hmm…all of our shows have been standers. The Pizzica music that we play is all about movement and physical release. OK, so tonight will be more of a concert for the ear.
The sound-check is the beginning of our working day - not counting promotion and travel. First you have to check your instrument, which in my case is a complicated array of drums, cymbals and microphones suspended from a maze of chrome. Sergio the drum tech is able to erect the entire mess with everything in exactly the same position every day. When my drums are even fractionally out of place it is a distraction and sometimes I dent my fingers.
After a quick flail around the kit to check the position of everything, I have to shut up because the stage crew are checking audio channels on all of the instruments, one by one.
So I sit there on my drum riser as each player has a short blast on each of his instruments. All the players have their own monitor cabinet, which plays them what they need to hear of the other players. So as they noodle I communicate my needs to Fabio the monitor mixer. He is also dealing with yelps and howls from other players about too much of this and not enough of that. It's important to get it right. During the show it's frustrating to not be able to hear the accordion because the player and his little amp are twenty feet away with a lot of commotion in between.
Before the sound check Vittorio and I have had a pow-wow about problems, adjustments and improvements to the show. When everybody is plugged in and audible, Vittorio directs the ensemble to those moments of the show that need attention and we run through a few numbers. At a signal from Giancarlo the front mixer that everything sounds fine, the session is concluded and we all wander off to explore the dressing rooms.
The concert is much tighter on the second gig of the tour. Everybody can hear each other, the grooves feel good and the audience is responsive. There's a nice thing that Italians do – they ripple with applause during the songs when they like a solo or cool show moment.
CITIZEN STEWART DI MELPIGNANO
Next day it's a two hour drive down to Naples for a press conference and then on for five more hours to Melpignano. If you imagine a map of Italy shaped like a boot, the Salento region is at the bottom of the heel. It was Sergio Blasi, the Mayor of Melpignano, who introduced me to Pizzica music when he invited me to be the guest performer (or as they more grandly call it, "Maestro Concertante") at the NIGHT OF THE TARANTULA. It's an annual festival of Dionysian origins (very old), which celebrates the ecstatic purging of the body that is achieved by wild singing and dancing to the throbbing rhythms of this vigorous music.
Who wouldn't accept such an invitation? So I played the show and a year later, for reasons that would require a lengthy tale, the city council has invited me to become an honorary citizen and has offered me the key to the city of Melpignano.
Here I am for my investiture, being led into the town square by the Mayor (in full sash and ribbons). There are torches on the stonewalls, flags, banners, and of course, tambourines everywhere. The square is full of people shouting "Ciao Capella!" – which is Salentino dialect for "Copeland." Faces in the crowd resolve into people I remember such as the waiter at the restaurant where we spent a wild evening in Otranto, or the Duchess at whose palazzo Fiona and I met Gorbachev. And the bandsters are here! They used their day off to drive down from Rome and welcome me into their tribe.
When all are seated, the speeches begin. The city officials are assembled at a long table on the front steps of the City Hall. For an eternity, my qualities as a "humanitarian" are extolled by numerous soaring testimonials. No virtue goes un-praised and many vices are overlooked. In spite of a slight queasiness it's actually quite moving. I must be one helluva guy! It feels sort of like a wedding or baptism into the warm heart of the Salento people.
Finally it's time for me to stand up and accept the key, which is silver, about six inches long, and very ornate. I mumble a few words of humble gratitude then, just like that it's done. Suddenly the tambourines strike up and we are all dancing to the Pizzica. Ich bin ein Salentino! I can't wait to get back to LA and start kissing all my buddies on both cheeks the way I'm now culturally obliged to do as a newly minted Southern Italian.
But these things fade. By next morning Stewart Copeland, the great humanitarian, can be overheard at the hotel breakfast grumping about the shower and scowling at passers by. Too much Yin causes Yang.
We have a show tonight in Cosenza in the toe of the Italian boot, so we hop into the bus, with my buddy Mauro at the wheel. Mauro is a writer and documentary maker from Milan who enjoys coming out on tour and takes upon himself all driving, navigation, negotiating, and scheduling. With someone like Mauro around, I go into stuffed pillow mode, which is just where the management wants me. Artists are more manageable when they are cosy and docile. It works for me. Rather than jeopardize the tour by disappearing to buy a newspaper, I am encouraged to sit comfortably whilst anything I might need is brought to me. But this is also why so many artists are whining pricks.
We drive over to Cosenza (along the Italian in-step), which is damned pleasant until we get to the mountains where it starts to rain hard. The show is open-air, so rain is not good. Our big stage (with roof) is built into the piazza in front of the city's opera theatre. Italians take their opera very seriously so the square really is a beautiful spot – but wet. All through the sound-check the rain doesn't stop.
After the sound-check, the dressing rooms are found way at the back of the theatre up two dank flights of stairs. It's kind of a long way from the stage so once I get up to my dim little room and put on my gear there's not much to do but wander down to the much larger band room where the gang all admire my key to their city. I'm going to get a big silver chain and this is going to be some serious bling.
But this is one of those gigs where the glamour of show business feels a long way away.
The prospect of playing our show to a wet empty piazza takes some of zip out of the pre-show banter. In a city I've never heard of we are going to perform the sacred ritual in the rain before pitying strangers.
Besides, our secret weapon, Raiss, is not here yet. He is hammering down the autostrada toward us, but we have to wait for him or play without him. He is the centre of a few crucial moments in the show. OK, so we re-arrange the set-list with his stuff at the end of the set. The only thing worse than a grim gig is waiting to play a grim gig so pretty soon we decide to hit the stage and get on with it.
Miraculously the rain stops! It actually turns into a great show. We're right in the middle of town so people are arriving and the numbers swelling as we canter through the set. Right on cue, a car pulls up. Raiss is here! He comes on stage looking like a Puglian rustic pimp dressed for a wedding. This is no ordinary country hick. He's like an un-caged bear with a voice like a foghorn. It's always a big lift when Raiss comes out.
Next day we fly to Greece for a show tomorrow in Patra, about three hours west of Athens. After a day of airports and freeways we get to a casino hotel on the beach. Nice to have a night off with dinner at a table close by the Ionian Sea and a cosy catch-up with CNN in my swank gamblers hotel suite.
There is a press conference next day, attended by the usual guardedly friendly group of media professionals. These guys go from story to story, sent by their editors to fill up the "Entertainment" or "Art" pages. Only a few have any empathy for the subject (me) so at first they sit back in their chairs while I stride in and sit down at a table in front of a plethora if microphones, recorders and cameras. By a stroke of luck, I actually like journalists and am always able to warm up the session pretty quickly. The secret is to show them a little respect and to give them some kind of story worth printing. And of course, laughter is an essential tool.
Tonight's show is at an amphitheatre that was built in 200 BC. This place makes even Italy seem young! The acoustics in this 1,600-year-old structure are perfect and at the sound-check, without much help from the monitors I can clearly hear each of the twenty players. Makes me wonder about all of the noisy clattering or dead muffled stages that I have been playing for forty years. Acoustic architecture has been regressing all this time.
The only drawback is that the tiers of seats are banked very steeply, which makes standing (or dancing) dangerous; so the audience must remain seated. This is another concert for listeners, and in this case that includes us. It's the best show of the tour. We can all hear each other beautifully and we really swing together through the nuances of the show. It's hard to describe the feeling of joy/energy/ecstasy/power that derives from locking together with a large ensemble in this way.
The after-show dinner is at a restaurant disco and we are all on such a high from the concert that we are soon crowding the dance-floor, gyrating absurdly and shouting our own Pizzica songs over the disco beats. In this manner we rave till dawn.
Fortunately we have the whole of the next day to get back to Naples. Maybe less fortunately, I am 53 years old today. To cheer me up, my manager Derek calls from LA to tell me that I've been nominated for an Emmy! It's for my score for the TV series DEAD LIKE ME. Well, this is good news indeed even though I have no chance of winning because of the competition this year.
Which actually is kind of a blessing because I can enjoy the whole process right through the crushing defeat that would be felt if I had a better shot at winning. To have written one of the top five scores in TV-land is fine with me.
As soon as I hang up the phone, I'm back in Naples, Italy, going down to the piazza for dinner with my Salentino gang. The glittering recognition of my work back home seems vague and insubstantial as we stroll the Naples waterfront. After a week on the road we are all pretty comfortable grooving along the corniche at 4:00 in the morning.
The Naples show is different from all the others. For one thing, it's set in the middle of an old industrial park that has been turned into a museum. It's quite scenic in an ERASERHEAD sort of way. Huge smoke stacks and monstrous rusting machinery. For another thing the folks in Naples curl their lips a bit at the neighbouring Salentino tribe. In fact they have their own Tarantella music that is a close cousin to the Pizzica and they see cool tambourine players all the time. For the Salentini their local culture is alive – teen-agers do it. For the Napolitani the music and the dialect are for grandmothers.
So the show doesn't go over that well. We start out with gusto but I can feel that we are losing the crowd with each passing song. I also have my own problems and am having a hard time finding the groove. No matter how much I try to shake it off and listen to the band, I still feel like the drummer at the Korea-Vision song contest. Not groovy.
At the end of the set we leave the stage to meagre applause – which has died to silence by the time I hit the ground. For the first time in 30 years it looks like there will be no encore. But as I pull out my earplugs and head for the shower, the crowd starts up again and actually start to make a noise. Fuck'em. I'm not going back out there unless they start a riot. But maybe the shower can hold for just a minute. Sure enough, the noise builds to a chant, and the folks are stomping and screaming so OK, we'll give them some more.
But I forgot to put my earplugs back in and when we start up; the volume almost knocks me senseless. Damn it's loud up here! I'm howling with pain as we romp through our most energetic song (traditionally saved by most bands for the encore – you always expect to play an encore) and I'm trying to blast the rhythm while gesticulating wildly to Fabio to turn my monitors down. There must be blood coming out of my eyeballs. Even un-amplified, my drums are very loud, especially my snare drum – which I tune so sharp as to be able to bring a bird down from the sky. That's why I need monitors to hear the other guys. So it adds up to a lot of noise and when you factor in the Perspex box that they build around my kit (so that I don't bleed onto the bouzouki microphones) it is a hell-pit.
The very next night we have our last show, in Milan. It's the most important night of the tour since this city is where most of the media are based. Most of the national impact of the tour will be made here.
The stage is built in front of a magnificent palazzo surrounded by hundreds of acres of ornate gardens and parkland. The dressing rooms are in the massive drawing rooms of the palace itself, with wood-panelled walls and painted ceilings. A very cool place to play a show. Even the shower is perfect!
But Raiss is in trouble again. He has a show at a festival in Genoa and is racing back to Milan but is going to be late. Since the place is packed and ready by 9:00 we send out the singers, Ninfa and Enza, with Emanuele on guitar and Antonio on tambourine to play some Pizzica songs in the traditional acoustic style. Then Ensemble Bash will come out and do fifteen minutes of their stuff. Hopefully, by now Raiss will have arrived and we can do our show.
Cities like Milan are usually hard to impress because they get to see any show that passes through Italy. For a band touring Europe, Milan is often the only gig they will do in Italy. It's the same problem with London or New York. The critics get to see your show in front of the least impressible audience.
But tonight, for some reason, it's different. This crowd is like a vat of gasoline. Emanuele just has to go out there with a lighter (his acoustic guitar) and the place is immediately ablaze! The folks are already clapping, hollering and dancing to the bare bones Pizzica – so much that I'm worried about how my Bash buddies are going to follow up.
But it's not a problem. Chris, Andrew, Joby and Steve (Ensemble Bash) are four eccentric English percussionists who are my hit squad whenever I do stuff in Europe. They have a strange act that is hard to describe – kind of Blue Man Group meets Debussy by way of Steve Reich. They have been accepted into the band of Salentini but I'm the only one who has ever seen their show. So it's fun to see the Italians gasping at the antics of their strange English friends. And the audience is still going nuts. Will there be any cheers left for the main event?
By the time Bash have finished their turn all the Salentini are at the side of the stage to watch them. As the stage crew re-rig the gear for the full ensemble we find ourselves singing Christmas carols for some reason. I don't know who started it but we're all singing SILENT NIGHT even though we are sure tonight will not be silent. Halfway through JINGLE BELLS Reno the stage manager gives the signal and it's time for the show.
We start our set with UCCI a fast splashy tune to wake up the crowd. But these folks are already awake. They are already so whipped up that the energy invades the stage and this sprightly tune becomes a devils thrill ride. We are playing so fast, infused with such superhuman energy that I swear the stage is revolving, bucking and heaving to the music and the crowd is swirling around us in frenzy. And this is just the first song. Bamp! We hit the last hit of the song and go straight into the mid-tempo MENA MENAMO. Now this is usually a solid heavy number that loosens people up after the flashy intro, but tonight the folks are stomping and whirling already.
Pacing is a very important aspect of live performance – and not just for artistic reasons. My instrument is demanding physically but different types of rhythm use different energies. So after the 100-yard sprint of the first tune, the easy lope of MENAMO is supposed to be a breather, with Mauro, Antonio and Canayo (the Rascal) doing most of the work with their tambourines.
But tonight there is no stopping for rest. The crowd immediately pick up the new beat and we just have to feed the monster. We rage through the song and hit end-trick like a daisy cutter bomb. The crowd is screaming and whistling and on stage we are all laughing and shaking and hollering at each other. This is the last show of the tour and we're going to soak up every minute.
Usually, after a song finishes, you wait for the applause to die away before starting the next tune but tonight there is no dying away. Just a continuous whistling and cheering.
Our next tune is a cheerful dance, kind of a light moment usually but no sooner do the tambourelli hint at the rhythm then the crowd are on it. By now we have regained our professional composure and manage to keep the groove light and bouncy even though the audience is providing a driving rhythm of its own. The stomp of the crowd is so strong that we lay right back on our instruments riding the wave. We're holding our fire because we know that it's time for the secret weapon.
Halfway through STORNELLI a large sound is heard and suddenly Raiss is in the house.
He oozes on to the stage and we kick into a new gear behind him as he gets into some kind of spoken anthem. God only knows what he's growling about in that strange dialect but he whips himself, the audience and the band into a wild fury as we break into a chorus that the crowd picks up on and it's a sea of upraised arms shouting with Raiss.
We crash to another big song-end and the crowd roars – which is fine but we have to shut them up now. We have been on stage for maybe twenty minutes, pretty much raging all the way so now a change of pace is needed
The next tune starts quietly with voices and wafting sheep/bagpipe. When Gian Carlo leans into a few wailing notes, the crowd gets the hint and the hubbub dies down. While the singers hold the spotlight, I nip off stage to grab a dry tee shirt from a pile next to the monitor desk. Heaven right now is a dry towel and a jug of Gatorade as I watch Ninfa and Enza beguile the crowd. A minute ago the joint was rockin' but now it's a still atmosphere. From the monitor desk I can see that the women are completely enveloped in the music, concentrating intensely. Their voices rise into the night air.
It's a storybook concert. One of those rare times when the artist, the audience, the venue, the moon and probably some Voodoo all come together. The thrill of a great show is a two way current that energizes an audience but positively electrifies the performers.
It would be interesting to analyze the brain chemistry at such times.
Leaving the stage after a show like this is kind of bitter sweet. It's the last show of the tour, the last cheer, the last Pizzica groove, and the last event requiring focus, energy or health. No more hand maintenance will be required. No show moments to fix, no point tweaking the kit, it's over. Burn the stage and everything on it. I probably won't see my drums again for months.
As I lope from the stage to the palace dressing rooms my heart is full of joy. I'm not very religious but usually the thought in my head is one of gratitude. Thank you Lord for this gift, this body, this life.
Congratxxxx KK...
by georgygirl on 29 Sep 2006 16:36
Great journal.
Touchy end
Wildy Pelous!
¡Salvajilla Pelous!
¡The Cosmic Race!
georgygirl
Location: Monterrey, México.
by Al on 29 Sep 2006 17:01
Hey Stewart,are you training with southern italian dialect?I'm quite curious about it.
by Divemistress of the Dark on 03 Oct 2006 16:39
Wow! OK, this one is my favorite so far. I think Stewart's at his best when his heart is really in something (which I thought was the case for ES:TPIO and it's obvious here as well). It helps that he's such a talented writer that he could be describing waiting in line at the DMV and it'd be hilarious.
We get the usual convivial turns of phrase, but Stewart's so good he can slip in a few sly insights almost without us noticing:
[quote]Rather than jeopardize the tour by disappearing to buy a newspaper, I am encouraged to sit comfortably whilst anything I might need is brought to me. But this is also why so many artists are whining pricks. [/quote]
[quote](on journalists) The secret is to show them a little respect and to give them some kind of story worth printing. And of course, laughter is an essential tool. [/quote]
I wish I thought Stewart had time to start a full-time blog...his story is interesting simply by virtue of the fact that so few people who are similarly accomplished take time to write it down, or to view things objectively. I suspect that, at least in part, many of us are fans of Stewart's because he says things like this:
[quote]Well, this is good news indeed even though I have no chance of winning because of the competition this year.
Which actually is kind of a blessing because I can enjoy the whole process right through the crushing defeat that would be felt if I had a better shot at winning. To have written one of the top five scores in TV-land is fine with me. [/quote]
These statements are almost deceptive in their simplicity; many people seemingly would be obsessed with winning at all costs, or wouldn't be thinking about a "process" at all. Probably this attitude cuts both ways for Stewart, though; it seems to be on his mind a lot, winning at the "game" of Hollywood (especially given the inevitable reminders of Sting, who's sold a quadrillion records and enjoys a hugely wide fan base). But then, what sacrifices in one's personal life would be required, to say nothing of artistic compromises? I admit to having drifted away from Sting a few years ago when it seemed like he'd forsaken edgy lyrics and challenging melodies in favor of crowd-pleasing ditties guaranteed massive radio play. It's too bad such considerations have become an integral part of being involved in today's public life, where judgments of artistic product are so often invisibly skewed by which conglomerate stands to gain from sales of whichever DVD, soundtrack or movie-of-the week sells the most units.
Some of this is just fun:
[quote]It's kind of a long way from the stage so once I get up to my dim little room and put on my gear there's not much to do but wander down to the much larger band room where the gang all admire my key to their city. I'm going to get a big silver chain and this is going to be some serious bling. [/quote]
[quote]ich bin ein Salentino! I can't wait to get back to LA and start kissing all my buddies on both cheeks the way I'm now culturally obliged to do as a newly minted Southern Italian. [/quote]
You get the sense Stewart would be a great guy to have around, which is where another sly insight creeps in, this one from a different essay:
[quote]Things wake up when Taylor and Alison Hawkins arrive. As in many bands, the drummer is the life of the party.[/quote]
Oh really? Any band in particular you're thinking of, Mr. Copeland...?
But we also find some insights in how things work in Superstarland:
[quote]I stand in one spot while everybody gets a turn to get his or her thing signed, have a picture taken and cop a feel. [/quote]
[quote]But these things fade. By next morning Stewart Copeland, the great humanitarian, can be overheard at the hotel breakfast grumping about the shower and scowling at passers by. Too much Yin causes Yang.[/quote]
Which is partly what's also interesting about these entries: as different as life among the celebrity class sometimes is made to feel, it's good to know that, as in many things, the human condition trumps all. I just hope Michael Ovitz doesn't come calling to bust Stewart for giving away the secret handshake.
by jedsoon on 15 Oct 2006 03:59
i read this one quite a while ago, but enjoyed revisiting it. if you never find the opportunity to write a book, these blogs certainly fill that niche!
it's little wonder you are so endeared to italians, as they obviously have better taste in pretty much everything than most americans.
ensemble bash are fucking amazing!
jedsoon
Location: the states
by litL1 on 19 Oct 2006 11:01
Smiles and more smiles - at self as at the correspondent.
Recognition of often willed or unconsciously kept silent psycho-physical states, accompanying the blatant and often willed obvious, that makes the day of a Stewart Capella as much as that of others in a land in which each must learn to cope.
Educating in how to become peacefully inconspicuous, whilest battling in the light of existence.
@ Divemistress of the Dark
Totally agree with all!
***ONE LOVE***
litL1
by truth_hits_me on 22 Oct 2006 04:29
I smell the way you love Italy and it's great.
I live 30 minutes to milan and if you compare the land around my town with the southern regions of the country....NO WAY....
anyway I'd like the idea to see you play a gig in Isola Del Giglio....that's a wonderful place...you'd love it!!!!
truth_hits_me
Location: Crema. Italy
by georgygirl on 22 Oct 2006 13:48
Veronica, I want to ask you a dude from your post:
[quote]if you compare the land around my town with the southern regions of the country....NO WAY.... [/quote]
Could you explain me the differences?
I mean, is the same country, same language, I wonder what are those big differences that you said NO WAY...
I live in Pianura Padana in the north of the country, in a area often rich of fog during autumn and most of the winter....the topic of this thread is about places like Naples or Salentino in the south of Italy....and it means sun, sea, wonderful regions' products as fruits and vegs and many other things...that's why I said "no way"....it doesn't seem the same country.
I hope to have been satisfying your question...otherwise please feel free to ask me again whatever you want.
Thank you very much Veronica.
And about social life and life values, you see differences between people from North and South?
by Al on 22 Oct 2006 18:07
That's quite simple,usually Northern people can't stand Southern people and Southern people can't stand Northern people.
Uhhhhhhhhhh but that wasn't my question Al.
I just wondering what differences are in social life and values from between northern and southern people.
You live in Rome Al, so you are in central part of Italy, so I want to ask...
Of what part you like to belong?
South or North???
I love the middle,dear Georgy,it's good enough for me.
After all,you know,"Roma caput mundi".
Good answers Al.
Very Polite
Return to STEWART'S DINNER TALES


text:
400+ Sourced quotes
How paramount the future is to the present when one is surrounded by children.
It is not a bad thing that children should occasionally, and politely, put parents in their place.
Often and often afterwards, the beloved Aunt would ask me why I had never told anyone how I was being treated. Children tell little more than animals, for what comes to them they accept as eternally established.
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
Although modesty is natural to man, it is not natural to children. Modesty only begins with the knowledge of evil.... Blushes are the sign of guilt; true innocence is ashamed of nothing.
Spread love everywhere you go; first of all in your house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor. Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.
The place is very well and quiet and the children only scream in a low voice.
For unflagging interest and enjoyment, a household of children, if things go reasonably well, certainly all other forms of success and achievement lose their importance by comparison.
We say that a girl with her doll anticipates the mother. It is more true, perhaps, that most mothers are still but children with playthings.
F. H. Bradley
Seeing their children touched and seared and wounded by race prejudice is one of the heaviest crosses which colored women have to bear.
Mary Church Terrell
At a state level, it's up to them. I don't want it to be a federal thing. I personally still think it's wrong. People don't understand the dictionary— it's called queer. Queer means strange and unusual. It's not like a slur, like you would call a white person a honky or something like that. You know, God is pretty explicit in what we're supposed to do — what man and woman are for. Now, at the same time, we're supposed to love everybody and accept people, and preach against the sins. I've had some friends that are actually homosexual. And, I mean, they know where I stand, and they know that I wouldn't have them anywhere near my children. But at the same time, they're people, and they're going to do their thing.
Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you.
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
The brutal truth is that the bulk of white people in American never had any interest in educating black people, except as this could serve white purposes. It is not the black child's language that is in question, it is not his language that is despised: It is his experience. A child cannot be taught by anyone who despises him, and a child cannot afford to be fooled. A child cannot be taught by anyone whose demand, essentially, is that the child repudiate his experience, and all that gives him sustenance, and enter a limbo in which he will no longer be black, and in which he knows that he can never become white. Black people have lost too many black children that way.
In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed.
I love children, especially when they cry, for then someone takes them away.
If you bungle raising your children I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much.
You went up to be examined with the other Jewish children, your heart heavy about that matter of your nose.
Mary Antin
Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts—the book of their deeds, the book of their words, and the book of their art. Not one of these books can be understood unless we read the two others; but of the three, the only quite trustworthy one is the last. The acts of a nation may be triumphant by its good fortune; and its words mighty by the genius of a few of its children: but its art, only by the general gifts and common sympathies of the race.
The simplest way to make sure that we raise literate children is to teach them to read, and to show them that reading is a pleasurable activity.
Above all, though, children are linked to adults by the simple fact that they are in process of turning into them. For this they may be forgiven much. Children are bound to be inferior to adults, or there is no incentive to grow up.
Insanity is hereditary. You can get it from your children.
The first half of our lives is ruined by our parents, the second half by our children.
However near and dear to you may be your wife, children, friends, they are not you; they are outside of you.
John Buchanan Robinson
I am running for President of the United States to enable the goddess of peace to encircle within her reach all the children of this country and all the children of the world.
You climb to reach the summit, but once there, discover that all roads lead down.
Predictions that didn't happen
If it's on the Internet it must be true
Remarkable Last Words (or Near-Last Words)
Philip James Bailey
Letitia Elizabeth Landon
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The size of the device is perfect for any science enthusiast on the go, and the device can easily fit into a jacket or suit coat pocket. Rather than being a bulky device, the Carson MicroMax can easily be transported to ensure that you are never without your trusted pocket microscope.
The device is also incredibly lightweight, making it easy to carry around with you on any trip. Rather than packing a large microscope for your field trip or hiking trip, you can simply pack the Carson MicroMax in your bag.
Not only will it not add any extra weight to your pack, it is easy to fit into any section of your pack and is easily pulled out and used in an instant.
One downside that many people have mentioned about the Carson pocket microscope is the fact that the batteries tend to die fairly quickly. Also, once the batteries are dead, they are fairly costly to replace.
However, one user found a solution to that problem: he simply added hearing aid batteries. These batteries are the same size, and have almost the same voltage. They are also a good deal cheaper.
You can easily purchase a large pack of these batteries to ensure that yours always has battery power.
One aspect of the Carson pocket microscope that received mixed reviews was its focus. Many microscopes have an easy focus system, but several people found that focusing the Carson MicroMax was far easier said than done. However, with time people reported that they got the hang of it and continue to enjoy this little treasure.
You have to place the object on the plastic base of the microscope to be able to examine it, and the carson pocket microscope will not focus past the base.
You can remove the base if you want to look at objects that are too big to place on the base. Clear images can be achieved but realistically the Carson pocket microscope has not been designed to work in this manner.
As a field microscope, it cannot be expected to work as a compound light microscope. The carson pocket microscope is certainly not equivalent in features and capability.
If you wish to try to view an object much like with a traditional microscope, you will need to provide illumination from below the object that you are examining. Although, its magnification will certainly disapoint you if you are trying to view thin, transparent objects using slides.
If you need a field microscope to help you in your own science project, or have a little scientist at home, you will find that the Carson pocket microscope is a great device and may be just what you are looking for.
Not only is it lightweight and small, but it is very reasonably priced as well.
Led light powered Pocket Microscope provides bright clear image rubberized eyepiece for comfortable view. Button cell batteries lighted runs on 3 sg3 button included power and zoom controls,weighs 7 2 ounce. The pocket microscope is ideal on-the-go science offers powerful 60 to 100x magnification range making it easy examine blood samples bugs anything else that s worthy of closer look also along with best all fits conveniently jacket so you can bring wherever go–whether school field trip or visit friend house.
The world is beautiful – you know that. As a child, you were amazed at how wonderful the color of the rainbow is. You were even amazed at the thought of night and day.
Then, when Science class came, these magnificent natural phenomena are made more splendid when you learned that night and day is because of the Earth's rotation. You marvel at yourself when you knew that rainbows are not because of magic, but of light's wavelengths passing through raindrops.
Still, there are so many things that you have no answer yet. There are still so many things that you need to know. Like, what is numerical aperture? What are Achromat and Plan-Apochromat Objectives? And of course, there's that "small side -" the side that you don't understand because you simply cannot see it using your naked eyes alone.
You talk about atoms and molecules but you have not really come close to seeing them. Good thing though that the world came up with the microscope.
Yes, through the microscope, the world became more visible – and more understandable. Wait – there's more good news! You can now make use of microscopy accessories. When you cannot afford to buy those very expensive digital or electron microscopes, you can always use microscopy accessories instead.
Pocket Microscope is one of the microscopy accessories that does not live up to its size. The pocket microscope maybe small but it is a powerful one. This is also sometimes referred to as a "pen microscope" because it comes with a pen clip.
As such, you can conveniently clip this onto your shirt pocket for a more dramatic effect. And of course, you won't have any problems regarding magnification because pocket microscopes come in different magnifications to suit your every need.
As a learning tool, a pocket microscope can be very valuable, by getting children interested and involved in the surrounding environment. Pocket microscopes can also be used for fieldwork by scientists of all ages, as they allow people to quickly examine specimens of interest in the field, rather than needing to bring them back to a lab for study.
They are also used in industries where microscopic components are used, for the purpose of quality inspections,for example like metal surfaces, textile quality, checking of gem quality, diamond quality, and may be useful in the practice of preparing Biological lab specimens for analysis under a full sized microscope.
Tissue Analysis, microscopic organism analysis, Examining Forensic Evidence, Determining the Health of an Ecosystem, Studying the Role of a Protein within a Cell, Studying atomic structures,study biological cells, study bacterial and fungal structures and cells, identify cracks or corrosion on metal surfaces, study soil characteristics, can be helpful in identifying stamps and coins, useful for viewing textile quality, can be used to find out the quality of gems and diamonds, useful for medical professionals like doctors and medical lab technicians, can be used for examination of blood, pus, urine, biological, autopsy and biopsy samples, used to study plant cell structures, animal cell structure, fungal cell structure and other the structures of other microscopic organisms and much more.


Looking for some fresh ideas for building any kind of online project? That may be quite a difficult task as you might spend hours working on the design and the concept of the site. As a result, you could lose many of your customers because it takes you too long to complete the job. So, what options are there if you need to create some kind of project urgently?
You can save yourself a great deal of time and effort by using a ready made PSD template. For this very reason, we've assembled for you a collection of top quality themes that can be used for building all kinds of websites quickly and easily. All the examples are created by professional designers and offer clean and stylish looks.
With the help of these themes you will be able to build designs for blogs, portfolios, stores, corporate sites etc. You are free to redesign the layout and the structure of the according to your own needs and preferences.
So, let's get down to business and check the top 10 PSD themes gathered below.
If you are looking for an attractive and stylish design, Material is exactly what you need. This PSD template is designed in accordance with all modern trends and will help you build code for static and jQuery effects.
Here is a stylish theme that can be used for creating professional sites for businesses and corporations. All the elements are well structured and you will be able to create clean code. The images, menus, forms and buttons are located as per accepted design specifications and ensure a first rate buying experience.
Design a compelling site for educational courses, online schools and blogs with this professional PSD template. It features structured content and navigation blocks.
This template will be a perfect fit for designing business and corporate sites. It is built to help you showcase any kind of content in the best possible way.
If you are looking for an attractive and stylish design, this PSD theme could be a possible solution . Thanks to a clean and minimal layout, you will be able to create a professional website quite quickly.
This stylish and minimal template will be a perfect fit for building a professional online store. It features no extra elements so the attention of the customers will be directed at the products on display.
Here is a professionally designed PSD theme for personal CV and online portfolio sites that looks both attractive and stylish.
This template combines two styles – material and flat. As a result, it offers a compelling and unusual look. At the same time it is not overloaded with visual effects.
This template offers a clean and minimal layout that allows users to focus on the content. It can be used for creating any kind of blog or online portfolio.
Printing is the theme that can be used for designing blogs or online stores. All the elements and blocks are well structured and ensure a clean look.
Go ahead and choose the right solution for your project. You can preview all the suggested examples and take a look at the design and the layout of each theme. Build professional sites lightning-fast without any effort at all. Purchase a top quality product at a reasonable price today.
Check this Material design resume cv & portfolio as well.


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Drunk-driving suspect arrested in crash that left one dead in Santa Ana
A drunk-driving suspect was arrested early Sunday after a crash that left another person dead.
By Anh DoStaff Writer
Authorities arrested a drunk-driving suspect in connection with a two-car crash in Santa Ana on Sunday morning that left one person dead and three others injured.
The 2:20 a.m. crash occurred at East McFadden and South Grand avenues, said Cpl. Anthony Bertagna of the Santa Ana Police Department, leading to the arrest of Jesus Segura Herrera, 29, of Orange.
Herrera was behind the wheel of a black Acura TL, traveling northbound on Grand Avenue, when his car rear-ended a white Scion XD, sending the Scion careening across the intersection, with both vehicles finally coming to a stop in the southbound lanes of Grand Avenue, police said.
Herrera had a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit, Bertagna said. After his arrest, he was transported to an area hospital for treatment.
A man trapped in the backseat of the Scion was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. Paramedics rushed two other people to area trauma centers, and a third to a nearby hospital.
Herrera has prior DUI convictions as far back as 2008, Bertagna said.
anh.do@latimes.com
Twitter: @newsterrier
Anh Do is a Los Angeles Times Metro reporter covering Asian American issues and Orange County.


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Resources / Industry Updates /
Nearly 200 clean-tech companies urge Ottawa to boost industry funding
Almost 200 clean technology companies from across Canada have written to the federal government, asking for a dramatic increase in government support for the industry, far beyond what was included in last month's budget.
The group, which includes members from clean-tech alliances in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday, recommending increased funding. The letter expresses support for the clean-tech spending sprinkled through the federal budget, but asks for specific and focused additions to help the sector compete globally.
The group wants Ottawa to make four specific investments: Set up a $1-billion loan guarantee program that would support early stage projects; create a $500-million venture capital program; invest $1.25-billion to expand and restructure the existing programs under Sustainable Development Technology Canada; and introduce the same kind of tax credits the mining and oil and gas industries now have.
The global market for clean technologies is worth more than $1-trillion, the letter notes, but it says Canada is losing ground despite significant growth here.
Nearly 200 clean-tech companies urge Ottawa to boost industry funding (The Globe and Mail)
See the original letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, along with the original 50 signatories


text:
San Luca a Via Prenestina – titolo cardinalizio
 Chiesa di San Luca Evangelista – chiesa di Roma nei pressi di via Prenestina

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Bromley-By-Bow to get online Sainsbury's centre
Kay Atwal
Published: 10:55 AM October 16, 2013 Updated: 8:38 AM October 14, 2020
Sainsbury's is set to open its first dedicated online fulfilment centre in Bromley-By-Bromley - Credit: Archant
Sainsbury's will be opening its first dedicated online centre in Bromley-By-Bow to support its growing web-based business.
The move will eventually create 375 jobs and follows the announcement that Sainsbury's online grocery business has reached the milestone of annual sales of £1 billion in September.
The new online centre, which is set to open within the next few years, will help Sainsbury's meet growing demand for its online grocery service in London and the South East. When fully operational, the 185,000 sq ft facility will allow Sainsbury's to serve an additional 20,000 customers each week.
Sainsbury's Online now delivers to over 190,000 customers every week with sales growth of 15 per cent per year.
Jon Rudoe, Sainsbury's Director of Online, Digital & Cross-Channel, said: "We work hard to ensure we deliver the very best service to our customers and the opening of the new Centre will enable us to maintain this. The site will be purpose built with the Sainsbury's customer in mind and will support our existing store based operation, something that will continue to be the foundation of our online grocery business.
"I am confident that this new facility will take our online grocery operation to the next level and put us in a perfect position to meet the growing demand in London and the South East."
With demand expected to increase rapidly in the future, Sainsbury's is hoping to build extra capacity into its online business in London. While it will continue to pick and handle the substantial majority of online orders in our supermarkets, the Bromley-by-Bow store will help the retailer keep pace with demand in the capital.
Sainsbury's first launched its online grocery business in 1999 and now employs more than 10,000 staff either in-store or as drivers, operating out of 214 stores across Britain.


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A Brief Discussion of What It's Like to Be a "Military Brat" in Youth Literature
December 11, 2019 by Karen Jensen, TLT 3 Comments
I grew up in, on and around military bases. I was, as the saying goes, a military brat. What this means is that I grew up with family members who were in or worked for the military. My Dad was in the Air Force and my Mom worked for AAFES, which is a civilian organization that works with the military to staff the various places on bases where military personnel buy their groceries and such.
What it means in real life is that I moved every 2 or 3 years. By the time I graduated high school I had lived in 2 countries, 4 states, and attended 9 different schools. As a grown up, I haven't really thought a lot about growing up as a military kid, except when I'm on Facebook and I see all my friends posting about elementary school friends and I remember that military life gave me some gifts but robbed me of others. Sometimes that romanticism of childhood friendship in youth literature burns with the force of a 1,000 suns.
However, I now work at a library that is incredibly close to one of the military bases that I grew up on. In fact, it's where I lived when I was in the 9th and 10th grade, a teenager myself. The base is still there, though changed some and renamed. For the first time in my professional life, I know that statistically a portion of the kids who walk into my library are probably there because their parents were stationed in the area.
On Monday, I started listening to the book Fish in a Tree by because it is about a young girl with dyslexia and I am raising a child with dyslexia. But I was struck by another element of the story: Ally is the child of a military father and she talks about having to move a lot. This is a theme that doesn't come up very often in youth literature, despite the fact that we as a nation invest more money than other nations our size in our military and we have been engaged in more than 3 wars since 9/11. So while we thank soldiers for their service on a daily basis, we often ignore the fact that they have kids in our literature.
The first time I really noticed an authentic discussion about what it's like to grow up in a military family was when I read the historical fiction book If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth. The second time was while reading the contemporary title Beneath the Wandering Stars by Ashlee Cowles. Both of these also talked in depth about what it's like to move frequently. And Cowles talks specifically about what it's like to be on a military base, including visiting some of the unique shops that you can find on a military base. And the brilliant The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson invites us into the life of a teen girl who is living with a parent haunted by PTSD.
There is a lot of historical fiction about soldiers, but there is a real under representation of military kids in youth literature, especially when you consider that there are 1.2 million kids of military families in the United States. In addition, more than 2 million children have experienced a parent being actively deployed since 2001. There are more interesting facts about military children here. A brief glance of current offerings indicate that the topic is better represented in younger literature.
Looking around online I found several book lists of interest:
10 Great Picture Books for Military Families
Operation Here We Are: Children's Books about Military Life
Operation Here We Are: Books for Kids with Deployed Family Members
Goodreads has a list of 59 YA books that contain military themes, although several books on this list are about having a sibling in the military or going into the military yourself, which is not necessarily the same as growing up as a child with military parents.
Even if you don't live or work near a military base, you may have military kids in your classroom or life, because at some point our parents get out of the military. So please take a little bit of time to read what it's like to be the child of a person in the military and share those stories with the young people in your life who aren't. It's not just the individual in the military that serves, entire families are impacted by military service, in small and big ways.
Educator's Guide to the Military Child During Deployment
It's weird to me now, sometimes, when I look at my kids and realize that they have no idea what it's like to be a military kid. I've worked hard to try and make sure that we have moved as little as possible for my children because it personally affected me quite profoundly. Both of my girls have been on a military base once or twice as a baby, but they haven't been for years and have no recollection of it. They have no real knowledge or understanding of how different my life was from theirs because we are no longer a military family. Well, not directly. They know that their grandparents served and we've talked some about what that means, but they're life is very different than mine, which has its positive and negatives. But my hope is that they will one day have people in their lives who have known them since they were little who aren't related to them by blood.
Do you have some books to add to our recommended reading list on books that feature children in military families? Please share with us in the comments.
Filed Under: Reader's Advisory
Adrianna Henderson says:
My MG debut The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez is about a boy who is dealing with constantly moving as part of a military family and his dad's deployment in Afghanistan. I'm hoping it will help a lot of military kids feel seen in kidlit! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44432703
The RoadRunner Press has a debut novel set during the Vietnam Era told through the eyes of a military brat. Janie Jacks is the author, and the story is inspired by her own time as a military wife. It is an adult novel that we believe will crossover into YA. It's called: The Letter.
As a military brat, I love this list! My country/state/school numbers are nearly identical to yours.
I read Out of the Blue by S.L. Rottman that is set on Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. I loved reading about a base my father was stationed at and reading of places I had been. It brought back a lot of memories of our last duty station before he retired.
I've put these suggestions and the suggestions in the comments on my TBR


Calling the Sako 85 Hunter a standard is a serious understatement. It comes with world-class Sako features, including the legendary Sako accuracy, smooth bolt operation and perfect balance, making it a valued rifle to both own and shoot. The Sako 85 Hunter features a walnut stock with blued metal parts.


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Die Carnival Breeze (dt. Brise) ist ein Kreuzfahrtschiff der Reederei Carnival Cruise Line. Sie gehört zur Post-Panamax-Kategorie und ist mit knapp 130.000 BRZ vermessen. Zum Zeitpunkt der Indienststellung war die Carnival Breeze das größte Kreuzfahrtschiff nach BRZ in der Geschichte der Reederei. Die Carnival Breeze ist in Panama registriert, eingesetzt wird sie ab Miami (Florida, USA). Sie ist nach der Carnival Dream und der Carnival Magic das dritte und vorerst letzte Schiff der Dream-Klasse für die Reederei.

Geschichte

Bau und Indienststellung
Die Carnival Breeze wurde am 2. Dezember 2010 mit der Baunummer 6201 in der Fincantieri-Werft in Monfalcone auf Kiel gelegt. Nach dem Stapellauf am 16. September 2011 wurde das Schiff am 31. Mai 2012 an die Carnival Cruise Lines übergeben. Am 3. Juni 2012 lief die Carnival Breeze ungetauft zu ihrer Jungfernfahrt von Venedig nach Barcelona aus. Die Taufe folgte am 8. Dezember 2012 durch Tracy Wilson Mourning in Miami, dem Basishafen der Carnival Breeze.

Einsatz
Von Sommer 2016 bis 2018 befährt die Carnival Breeze mehrere einwöchige Routen ab Galveston in die westliche Karibik. Variante 1 führt nach Key West, Freeport und Nassau, Variante 2 nach Cozumel, Belize City und Roatán und Variante 3 nach Cozumel, Grand Cayman und Montego Bay. In einigen Fällen fährt das Schiff auch Costa Maya an.

Maschinenanlage und Antrieb
Die Maschinenanlage der Carnival Breeze ist nahezu identisch mit der des Typschiffs Carnival Dream. Sechs von Zwölfzylinder-Dieselmotoren der Baureihe Wärtsilä 46 angetriebene Drehstromgeneratoren versorgen das Schiff mit elektrischer Energie. Die Antriebsanlage ist konventionell mit elektrischen Propellermotoren, Wellenanlagen, 6-Blatt-Festpropellern und Aktivrudern ausgeführt.

Galerie

Siehe auch
 Liste von Kreuzfahrtschiffen

Weblinks

 Unsere Schiffe Webseite der Reederei Carnival Cruise Line, abgerufen am 28. April 2019

Fußnoten

Dream-Klasse
Passagierschiff (Panama)
Schiff (Carnival Cruise Line)


Recall that Concise News reported last week that two persons were killed during a clash between hoodlums, also known as "Area Boys" at Fadeyi area in Lagos state.
Although no one knows the main cause of the fracas, a resident of the area explained the intensity of the accident.
"The crisis is not a small matter. Immediately the shooting started, the police on ground ran away, because those boys were heavily armed.
"It was after the whole crisis has simmered that the police and some SARS officials came to the scene," a resident of the area said.