December 2nd

Hello dear readers!

Lemme jump off into the deep end and share a really pressing concern I've had in the past few days right off the bat.

Middle aged ladies:
Know when it's appropriate to wear yoga pants.

I'm all for appreciating feminine beauty and all of that, and I have no problem with older women being proud that they still got it.  Key words being 'still got it.'  Today I walked about town for about 4 hours doing errands and such, and not ever in my life have I been so concerned for the dignity of these women and that of their children. I will leave to you the things I saw to your imagination, but know this, boys and girls, it wasn't flattering. This point also carries on to larger gals who wear tights that are a few sizes too small, cause let me tell you, if you're ready to wear leopard print tights a short jacket and cowboy boots, make sure that the rest of the world is.
My point being goes to all men and women, no matter what their body size is, you can still wear amazing and stylish clothes which emphasize the right parts, as well as your style. However if you're wondering if you can fit into your friend's size XS  tights (Or shirts and pants, men) for tonight,  after downing two plates of pasta and a 500ml tub o' gelati, maybe you should hold back that urge for you to star in a public anatomy class, and say "Hey, I'm going to wear my Jeans, and be damn proud of it."

Jeans are nice,
Jeans work,
No-one wants to see your privates compressed against  60% Nylon, 40% Polyester blend.
Wear Jeans.

That is all I ask.


Now on to other matters...

Awrt:

Did an average amount of work this week...

In my Marble class I finished the figure pretty much, now it's on to the backround.

In my Jewellery class I took a new root and made an entire piece in one day, It was a simple chain bracelet, the picture is of it half-way done (no lock and unpolished) but still nice looking.

As for the sitting guy, I was supposed to get that all done on Thursday, however I was so hung over I literally felt like a trailer park.  SO I went out to cast the piece today, spent 2 hours searching the whole of Florence for a whole in the wall nogozio that casts silver, and ended up finding out that the place is closed on weekends and this lazy bastard considers Friday part of that.  Who does he think he is, me?  I'll cast it Monday...
That's it for art.

Life:

This is the second to last weekend of the first semester here.  I have reached my halfway point almost, and it is daunting.  I try to imagine that this semester went by in a flash, but pulling out my memories here is like reading the Lord of the Rings, I've done and felt so many things that to even try to summarize it in one blog paragraph is unfair to Italy and me and all included.  At the end of the semester I will share some of my short stories that I have written while I've been here.

My time here in Italy summed up.

Tomorrow I will head out on my own to a random city of my choosing in the Toscana province.  Perhaps Lucca.


Drinks:

My new drink of the week section provides you with something new and unheard of, though it is not winter-esque I've had a few lately and it's been... well it's been just great.

Presenting the Moscow Mule:

Now this drink is originally

• Two parts vodka
• One part lime juice
• 3 parts ginger beer

 However the bartender I befriended added a little twist

Keep the vodka, replace the ginger-beer with Schweppes Limone and Ginger-Ale, and also throw in a long slice of cucumber rind. It works, trust me.







I now would like to share with you this awesome discovery I have made:

There is a art movement in a small town in named Grottaglie(pr. Grow-ta-lee-ay) in Southern Italy,  it is called the FAME festival.

As you all know, fame in English is to be popularly recognizable, have a high status, to be a celebrity.  However, in Italian fame (pr. fa-may) translates to starvation or hunger.  The combination of these two very different meanings is poetically contrasting, and has nothing to do with fund-raisers.... (I think).  The town of Grottaglie is famous for its ceramic the Fame Festival "[hosts an] artist for [a] variable length of time (from 1 to 4 weeks) and [offers] them the cooperation of the local artisans for the production of pottery works and limited edition prints.  Furthermore the artists  will have at their disposal several walls to paint around the city, in order to upgrade a few areas which are aesthetically depressed.At the end of their stay, everything created, including new original artworks, screenprints and ceramic pieces made with the collaboration of local artisans will be showcased in a final group show.it will take place in one of the most ancient ceramics workshop of the area." -Famefestival.it

The whole approach is glorious, here are just a few images of the different styles of work thrusted upon this old city.

This portrait was made by a hammer chipping away at the soot covered wall.

HAWT-dog truck.

Parallel universe karma.

Music:

I got too distracted to pull up a good list of songs for you guys for this post, so I offer you this:

Musicovery

A simple music radio program, which gives you a square template with a plethora of small rectangles inside.  On the top and bottom of the square there is energetic and calm, the left and right say dark and positive, the rectangles inside of this square are different stations that coincide with the location between these two opposite emotional scales.  You can also tag what era of music you want to listen to and what genres you do or do not want.  It's a simple program, but it works, more importantly it works in Italy, 'cause almost everything else doesn't.

That's it for now dear readers, I'm done for the weekend, I'll update you later.  I would now like to take a second to address a serious issue, though.

This past Thanksgiving morning a boy from my town passed away, I don't really know why or how. He and his twin brother were my friends in middle school, however our paths estranged soon after middle school ended.  I hadn't talked to them at all in the past 6 years minus an occasional nod or passing mention.  Aaron, I didn't  know you in life, and I probably never would have, but I hope that you rest well and that your brother finds peace in your absence. I know your friends and family are missing you something fierce, and in the end of it all, that's all we can hope for.  May your passing bring absolution to those who you left behind.