Waiting for Amanda
I am now one of the more than 400 journalists who have been accredited to cover the verdict in the Amanda Knox appeals trial. It is expected on Monday. Friday was the last full day of courtroom hearings. Here is my behind the scenes look at what was going on both in and outside the […]
Amanda Knox – Countdown to the Verdict
Déjà vu. On Thursday I am heading back up to Perugia to cover the verdict in the Amanda Knox Appeals Trial. Hundreds of journalists, including lots of Americans, have gathered in this Umbrian hill town, just as they did two years ago. The satellite trucks are packed in tightly in the small piazza in front […]
Mom’s Blueberry Pie Recipe
By popular demand, Mom’s Blueberry Pie Recipe Pastry for 9” pie: 2 cups flour 1 tsp salt 2/3 cup plus tbsp more shortening 4 tbsp water Mix dough and then divide in half for upper and lower crust. Pie filling for a 9” pie plate: 4 cups blueberries 1 cup sugar 3 tbsp flour […]
Blueberries and Grapes, Hunting and Gathering
There is nothing better for a little female solidarity than a blueberry patch. My mother raised me on New England blueberry picking. Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont. If there was a blueberry patch, my Mom would find it. Of course her blueberry afternoons were followed by blueberry evenings with scrumptious, gooey, messy, purply blueberry pies. […]
Caravaggio’s Women – Check the Toenails!
One of the best things about Rome, after sunsets over the eternal city, is that it is the only place in the world where one can get a quick hit of Caravaggio on the run. Caravaggio 24/7. Unlike many women who marry Italian men, I had not studied anything Italian and came to Italy knowing […]
Mozzarella Mamma versus Tiger Mother
According to author Amy Chua in her “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” there are 7 points which distinguish a Chinese mother from a “typical Western overscheduling soccer mom.” Instead, I would like to contrast these 7 points with how I see the warmth and coddling of the Italian “Mozzarella Mamma”. I suppose if I […]
Walk on Cadavers and Sell Your Mother
A recent television interview with an Italian escort who allegedly spent the night with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi reveals an unusual idea of how to be successful, “walk on cadavers and sell your mother.” Her comments are interesting because they reveal an attitude towards life I’ve never heard before in Italy.” But first a […]
What does it mean to “have horns” in Italy?
Italy is the country where instead of giving someone the traditional finger in the car, you can really insult them by giving them the ‘corne’ or horns. That is the index finger and the pinkie raised to look like horns. If you say in Italian that someone has corne, it means that his or her […]