Reason #5371 to love Rome: Emperor Augustus
‘Marmoream relinquo, quam latericiam accepi’ – I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble. Okay, you may not love Emperor Augustus already (thought by many to be Ancient Rome’s greatest emperor), but you’re bound to enjoy the exhibition organized at Rome’s Scuderie del Quirinale to mark the 2000th anniversary of…
Read MoreBeautiful writing and imagery in the film ‘Io sono Li’
A good book can often keep me up long past my bedtime, but I must admit that it’s extremely rare that television has the same effect on me. Still, recently I began watching a film late one night on Italian television, and simply couldn’t tear myself away. It was a simple film, with minimal action…
Read MoreReason #5370 to love Rome: The Appia antica
Even after years of living in Rome, I’m often struck by how truly beautiful it is. My son plays tennis at a club just off the Ancient Roman road, the Appia antica – the Appian way. When I see him play, I can also take a walk along these beautiful, ancient cobblestones lined with cypresses…
Read MoreHappy 2014! And those writing resolutions?
Best wishes for a Very Happy New Year to everyone! The new year is always the time to reflect on what we’d like to achieve in the coming year. And, writers, if you’re masochists like me, it’s a good time to start considering your writing goals for the next year. The ball has dropped, the…
Read MoreAdmire Albi’s impressive Toulouse-Lautrec Museum
A few weeks ago, on a trip to southwestern France, my family and I spent a day in the beautiful, medieval town of Albi. Among the town’s many points of interest – its thousand-year-old bridge spanning the Tarn River, the largest medieval brick church in the world – Albi is known to art lovers as…
Read MoreAre you a Lone Ranger writer?
Rachelle Gardner’s excellent blog poses the question – Are you a Lone Ranger writer? – in this post. Writing is known as a lonely profession, but as Rachelle points out, the ‘Lone Ranger’ writer who writes in a truly solitary manner is a real rarity today. It’s hard to get published, and writers today are…
Read MoreReason #5369 to love Rome: The modern Jubilee Church
When one thinks of Rome, it is not generally modern architecture that comes to mind. And yet, many of today’s ‘starchitects’ have undertaken major projects here in the Eternal City. Renzo Piano built Rome’s Auditorium, Zaha Hadid the MAXXI Museum (Both in Rome’s Flaminio neighborhood). Massimiliano Fuksas’ ‘Cloud’ Roman Congress Center is currently being built…
Read More200 posts… and counting
As the end of the year rolls around and we start thinking about those dreaded encouraging New Years’ resolutions to really start 2014 off right, it’s also helpful to reflect on achievements throughout the year. I’m going to give myself a little pat on the back for my two hundredth blog post today. I started…
Read MoreHolidays in Vienna
I always love Vienna, a city I lived in for a short time many years ago. But I especially love Vienna during the holiday season. It’s cold outside, and often white from a dusting of snow. The city is lit up beautifully with thousands of lights, shining off the cobblestones and the storefront windows all…
Read MoreThe stressful life of a simultaneous interpreter
I loved this London Review of Books article by former UN simultaneous interpreter, LynnVisson. I spend a lot of time working with simultaneous interpreters, and I have tremendous respect for the difficult, high-pressure work they perform. As writers, we can only marvel at the ability to create the perfect words under pressure. I loved this…
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