Author Archives: d4vid

Melodrammatico

You simply don’t know passion until you’ve watched Titanic dubbed in Italian.

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Stellari

An hour after getting out of the airport, I was checked in to my hotel.  An hour after that, I was watching Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.   (It seems to have become something of an annual tradition to leave … Continue reading

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Accogliente

I checked in to the Hotel Barocco off the Piazza Barberini on Quirinal Hill, the northernmost and tallest of the Seven Hills of Rome (and may have been the home of the Sabines as in “The Rape of the Sabine Women” Sabines.) Cozy … Continue reading

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Graffito

From the streets, the first thing that struck me about Rome was the amount of graffiti everywhere.  Almost like there was an engaged populace who valued expression — even unpopular political expression — and wasn’t deathly afraid of governmental reprisal.

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Alto

Overlooking the Alps as I fly south from Amsterdam to Rome. Looking out over Rome into the mist at the Apennine Mountains.  (Some linguists believe the “pen” in “Apennine” is related to the Celtic “ben” for “mountain.”) Clearly I’ve been warped … Continue reading

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Fine

In 1992, my late grandmother made a last minute decision to treat the Young family to a Mediterranean cruise.  I was a senior in high school and the dates of the trip overlapped with my Advanced Placement tests. At 17 … Continue reading

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Enlightenment FLASHBACK

Okay, the wounds of my Tibet trip are finally scabbing over.  This photo is a great metaphor:  Debbie was trying to take a beautiful picture and one of Tibet’s seemingly infinite feral dogs wandered into the shot and spoiled it. … Continue reading

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Solstice

It’s raining.  I’m sitting here at the airport in Pudong, waiting to fly through the longest night of the year.

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Loyalties

 It is part of the Rebel alliance and a cookie!  Take it away!

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Inferno

 How hot was the Sichuan hot pot I had with Robyn & Nafees?  Just look at the price.

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Shiny

They hung this gaudy Christmas ornament in my apartment building’s (mirrored) elevator.  Hooves, red.  Tail, red.  Antlers, red.  Nose, not red. Get your shit together, China.

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Campanology II

 They opened a Taco Bell in Shanghai!  In Pudong!  As a student of all things bell, I felt obliged to try it. Main thing that was different from Taco Bell in the U.S.:  booze.Main thing that was the same as … Continue reading

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Throw

I used to do this all the time.  Like most weekends.  But think this might have been the first time I’ve done it here in China:  I watched back-to-back movies. After watched The Great Wall (in IMAX 3D), I immediately watched Sully … Continue reading

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Achievement II

I’ve unlocked another achievement.  While in China, I saw The Great Wall.  No, not that one.  The movie. It’s about Jason Bourne (doing a sketchy Irish accent) and Oberyn Martell in China defending the Great Wall like it’s Helm’s Deep. … Continue reading

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Time

Cover version by Tori Amos: Lyrics by Tom Waits: Well the smart money’s on Harlow and the moon is in the street And the shadow boys are breaking all the laws And you’re east of East Saint Louis and the … Continue reading

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