Archive for March, 2014
The Latest Gossip … Famous Film Star Buys House in Local Town! Posted by Serena on Mar 31, 2014
pettegolezzi = gossip “George Clooney ha comprato casa a Pontremoli!” questo è il pettegolezzo più gettonato negli ultimi giorni qui da noi. Questa mattina mi trovavo dal fruttivendolo a fare la spesa quando ho sentito Renzo il negoziante dire: “Adesso poi, signore belle, avrete anche Clooney” “George Clooney has bought a house in Pontremoli!” this…
La Terra delle Frane Posted by Geoff on Mar 27, 2014
Frana = Landslide At the recent European convention of geologists in Rome the massive problem of landslides in Italy was high on the agenda. LANDSLIDES, NUMBERS AND COST (red = high risk of landslides!) “In pochi numeri Gian Vito Graziano, presidente del Consiglio nazionale dei geologi, fa capire le dimensioni dei fenomeni franosi nel nostro…
A Nice Plate of Thistles Posted by Geoff on Mar 26, 2014
Serena and I just can’t agree about this: thistles … tasty, yes or no? Okay, maybe I’m being a bit harsh by calling them thistles, they’re actually called carciofi, but to me they’ll always just be big thistles, certainly to be admired for their impressive foliage and wonderful purple flower heads, but as a kid…
A Big Brush … or a Great Brush? Posted by Serena on Mar 24, 2014
Getting adjectives in the correct position in Italian is very important because in certain cases it can completely change the meaning of the sentence. A great example of this is the classic television advert for Boldrini’s Cinghiale paint brushes. Vigile: “Ma cosa fa con quell’arnese? Ostacola il traffico!” Imbianchino: "Devo dipingere una parete grande e…
The Pursuit of Happiness – Part 3. Posted by Serena on Mar 21, 2014
Here’s a poem by the Italian poetess Ada Negri (1870 – 1945), which reflects the phrase ‘Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero’, ‘seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future’ (Horace, 65 – 8 BC), quoted by Geoff in part 1 of this series. I feel an affinity for the message in…
The Pursuit of Happiness – Part 2. Posted by Geoff on Mar 19, 2014
I’m going to tell you a story … a very old story … a story about two young lovers called Amore and Psiche … Psiche era bellissima, di una bellezza così rara e sorprendente che nessun uomo si sentiva all’altezza di corteggiarla. Psyche was beautiful, she possessed a beauty so rare and surprising that no…
The Pursuit of Happiness – Part 1. Posted by Geoff on Mar 17, 2014
I’m not generally a big tattoo fan, but every now and then I see one that I like. Yesterday morning was sunny and warm, my friend Luca had his shirt sleeves rolled up, and I noticed for the first time an intriguing tattoo on the inside of his right forearm: The Pursuit of Happiness I…