Various carvings (fruit and vegetable)

Calla lily with fennels and carrots, starlike radish, swan with apple and bud with zucchini, small octupus with kumquat (chinese mandarin), little mushrooms with radish and zucchini, butterflies with lemons and carrots, leaves with zucchini, beetle with radish, bouquet with pineapple tutf and roses with citrus and apple peels. 

The discovery of King Richard III in cold case style

Richard III ... in a parking lot, history crosses the modernity

It’s in perfect cold case style the discovery of King Richard III’s remains in Leicester, England. He had a reputation for ruthless ruler, today it’s given the name of “man of the parking lot”. It should leap time to explain the non-random exhumation. 

Richard III, born in 1452 and belonging to the Plantagenet dynasty (which includes the lineages of York and Lancaster) was King of England from 1483. Considered the historical events, it’s doubtful the licit of coronation because after the death of his elder brother Edward IV, the official heirs were the grandchildren declared unlawful by Richard and dispatched to the Tower of London. They vanished into thin air and that aroused suspicions directed towards the theory of the murder. So the throne was usurped. The kingdom conquered by deception was short-lived: against the king raised a revolt culminated in the Battle of Bosworth (1485), in which perished at the hands of Henry Tudor, the future Henry VII of England, a member by mother’s side of the house of Lancaster. This battle ended the War of the Roses (1455-1485 fought between the two families of Lancaster and York). Shakespeare wrote of him in the historical drama Richard III (1592). The poem paints his life and personality with bleak brushstrokes: a negative character, evil, with a withered arm, limp and a curved back, after whose death took place the final takeover of the Tudors. For centuries descriptions considered invented to emphasize the lack of scruples of the sovereign. The circumstances of his departure were bloody as his temper: it’s said that he received a shot at the base of the skull, which was fatal. His remains were buried in the church of the Grey Friars (Greyfriers Church). In 2012 the University of Leicester has conducted archaeological investigations by identifying the site of the church that now houses an underground car park. A genealogical research has allowed us to track down the last living descendant in the maternal blood line and to examine a sample of mitochondrial DNA (it passed down from the maternal side and remains unchanged in generations), taken with an oral swab. Under the choir of the church are the remains of the infamous monarch confirm the known information: a lesion on the back of the skull and spine with development scoliosis with accentuated curves that explain the humps combined with limping gait. The carbon-14 dating reveals that the remains date back to the fifteenth century. His face was reconstructed in 3D. 

Source: “La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno” , an italian newspaper, February 13, 2013, p. 24.

Surf in Australia. What a passion!

     Some people in the world cannot swim. Australian children would laugh about it. They learn to swim as part of their school curriculum and swimming, boating and surfing are all extremely popular. 
     The whole Australian coastline, 19,200 km, is rich in golden sandy beaches and rolling surf and everywhere in the country summer holidays normally mean camping or caravanning along the coast by the sea. Also big towns, like Melbourne and Adelaide, have long suburban beaches in bays sheltered from the ocean, while Sydney and Perth are well-known for having surf beaches an their doorstep.

     Australians love lazing on the beach not only in the sunshine; on very hot summer evenings many families go to the beach to relax, to swim or to enjoy a picnic in the cool. And if swimming is a popular pastime, best of all young Australians love riding on big waves on surf boards. They will proudly tell you that their waves are the biggest, the most dangerous and the best surfing waves in the world.

     Many young people, both boys and girls, spend all their spare time surf riding. They drive up and down the coast, sleeping by the beach looking for the right winds and tides to give them perfect waves.

     At all main Australians beaches life-savers are placed to warn of sharks and to look out for anyone who gets dragged out by currents. The life-savers do their work for fun, not for money; they have to be very good swimmers and each beach takes great pride in its life-saving team. They regularly hold competitions known as Surf Carnivals. Rival life-savers’ club compete in swimming, rescue works and life-saving techniques and in surf boat racing.

     Source: Excursion, an old Italian book. 

Crochet Chandelier

The postcard rises again from the ashes

The postcard is obsolete, all because of technology

We’re observing a new social phenomenon: the decline of the greeting and traveling postcard. The cause is attributed to technology. The symptoms are obvious if we draw a balance at the end of the summer or the calendar year. In recent years it has drastically reduced the number of postcards sent or delivered by hand, to the advantage of greetings exchanged by e–mail, social network or MMS. In the age of global and swift communication is fading just the means of figurative communication characterized by easy circulation. 

As I’m fond of postcards up to consider them equal to equities, I’d like to invite you to reconsider the importance of that, that for some centuries has been a costume phenomenon. Whoever could write them, even the illiterate addressing to the scribes. Remember the conscription card? Surely it was the kind of card less acceptable because it was the call to arms or signaled the end of the leave. Postcards collection, along with philately (stamps) and numismatics (coins and medals), is able to provide the true insight into the historical evolution of our society. That light rectangular cardboard was born in 1870 in France thanks to the Besnardeau Louis’ merchant instinct, owner of the library of the town of Sille–le–Guillaume. The postcards reproduced patriotic themes arousing the soldiers’ interest, which would have broken the monotony of barrack life by sending letters to the families and girlfriends. The paternity of the modern illustrated postcard is disputed: in 1796, although it remained an isolated experiment, the German publisher Miesler printed and divulged some views of Berlin. In 1869, in Austria, on the initiative of I. Hermann, was used for the first time the postcard, composed of “recto” reserved to the recipient’s address and to the affixing of the stamp, and of “back” occupied by correspondence. In the illustrated postcard, the illustration entirely occupied the back, and the recto was divided into two parts: one for address and postage, the other to mail. A digital photo of a landscape is also an appreciated souvenir, but we can never compete with the aerial shots or with the suggestion of the skyline of famous cities or the breathtaking sunsets that publishers assigned to artistic reproductions give us. We say a nostalgic goodbye to postcard or extend worthily its existence? In fact, the postcard rises again from the ashes like a Phoenix. Many people, crushed by the obsolescence of the postcard, they found a refuge in Postcrossing.com site, created by the Portuguese Paulo Magalhães in 2005 to allow the postcards exchange from all over the globe. 

Source “La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno”, an italian newspaper, January 14, 2013, p. 14. 

Simple origami… the art of paper-folding

     Little mouse, crane (bird), parrot, butterfly, eagle, Befana, pinwheel, inflatable cube (alias die or panettone), swan, dragon, bird flapping its wings, peacock. 

Plead the fifth Olivia Wilde sexual orientation

     Olivia Jane Cockburn, alias Olivia Wilde embarrassed on live TV about “Dipping Into the Lady Pond” a question by her fiancé Jason Sudeikis.

     The actress played the show’s “Plead the Fifth” game in which she could only pass on one question. Sudeikis asked her some rather prying questions on national television.

     One of his inquiry was: “You’ve played bisexual characters more than once have you ever dipped into the lady pond in real life?”…

     Wilde, barely containing her embarrassment, looks baffled and her voice comes out in a nervous squeak, “I mean, what’s going on?” she says, before finally answering “I appreciate all people”, and taking a swift sip of her drink.

     But if the american Tv is similar to the italian television, I think Miss Wilde actually wanted to say “I appreciate audience!”.

     In other situation the actress said that she’s “Proud to have played characters (bisexual) who’ve inspired people to live out loud, and I’m lucky to have reached an audience that’s been incredibly enthusiastic and supportive”.  

Dollhouse Model in Victorian style

     There are small and big dreams. A big dream is to own your own home and it’s also the classic American dream. It isn’t always possible. So may reduced it in scale obviating all taxes that a real house involves. Having a dollhouse is the desire of every little woman.

     Realize one in Victorian style with interior lighting (by series circuit) was my idea. I’m referring to those houses provided with the characteristic half hexagonal prism that protrudes from the front side.

     It’s pure model–making. I made a sketch, then a project with the material list. I created the shapes on the plywood or on the “docile” balsa wood and I carved it with hacksaw and elbow grease. I drawn the windows and the entrance door. I painted the roof and facades with acrylic colors (indelible). Dusting off the technical education notions about circuits I have provided lighting to the rooms of the two floors.

     Built in three weeks.

     In the picture: a Victorian dollhouse model.

All mysteries are solved

     All mysteries are solved is a scientific paper inclined to revalue the ubiquitous challenge that arises between an extraordinary phenomenon and reason, and science prevails. Is projected a compelling science, far away from what they used to avoid at school. The scientific notions reported are toward to a careful exploration of natural phenomena that surround us.

     Its strenght is the uniqueness combined with the propensity to investigative journalism in a publishing market filled with volumes that analyze the "unsolved" mysteries, the "outstanding." Puzzles. The text is innovative and unique, because it offers the solution to the most sensational mysteries, which have been the subject of essays and novels for many years.

     Reading is suitable for all age groups because of the clarity with which the contents are exposed. The volume can be appreciated by the curious, the skepticals, it’s ideal for documentaries fans or for a member of science profession.

     For those who loves to travel, this book offers different destinations all over the world.

INDEX

- Rennes-le-Chateau: relationship with the Holy Grail?

- Crop Circles: unknown or highly decorative skill?

- Limbo of the dispersed or scattered science notions?

- Inhabited lakes? Loch Ness .. and not only!!

- Atlantis: the vanished continent or never existed?

- Mu: the lost continent and maybe recovered

- The Faces of Bélmez: paranormal or chemical phenomena?

- Lifeforms with boundless intelligence: and they would put in contact with us?

- Special Edition: urgent reopening of the UFO case. Alien base in the Musinè mountain. It will not be just another false alarm?

- The charm of Peru, the Nazca lines

- The Abominable Snowman, a fine fur

- Dendera Lamps: an early lighting

- Crystal Skulls: but use your head!

- Easter Island: a remote small dot in the ocean vastness

- Stonehenge and Avebury. Which are the technologies of prehistory?

- The pyramids: an emblem of the ancient Egypt

- High stature: a desire for all mothers. But a disproportionate stature?

- Coral Castle. We’ve discovered how to overcome the gravity force and we have not noticed?

Coeliac disease: play in advance. Don’t be caught unprepared

Coeliac disease or celiac disease or celiac sprue.

     Aretaeus of Cappadocia (120–200 AD.) was the first to use the term «koiliakos» with the meaning of «one who suffers in the bowel». Celiac disease, especially if they identified with the name of celiac illness, frightens us, but fears are originate from the fact that many people ignore it. In classical literature the Pillars of Hercules (current Strait of Gibraltar) indicated the extreme limit of the known world and, consequently, of knowledge. Beyond this limit were bud men fears. But then, the audacity of the explorers had crossed them. So we can do the same thing with celiac disease.

     This is a permanent intolerance to gluten, a vegetable origin protein contained in some cereals: wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelled, kamut. Its manifestation is like love, has no age. The most common symptoms (diarrhea, weight loss, anemia, vitamin deficiencies, bone loss, hair loss) resulting from lack of protein, vitamins, fats, minerals, and this deficiency is linked to the atrophy of intestinal villi, deputies to the absorption of nutrients. The incidence of this intolerance is rising more and more, but the diagnosis are less than the real number of people with celiac disease, who are forced to remove even the smallest traces of flour from their each flat. They should follow a gluten–free diet to guarantee a perfect health state that otherwise would suffer serious or irreparable damages. All this implies a strong commitment to education food, but the privations are always less: cereals such as rice, corn, millet, soybeans and other are going to replace those prohibited. In addition, food industry have set up a wide range of gluten–free foods, from flour to frozen pizzas, from stuffed biscuits to ice creams. In this way, a celiac diet is varied and balanced despite the gluten absence.

     If you have symptoms associated to those described, talk to your doctor who may, and has already happened, forget about it and hopelessly wrong diagnosis or bring you  in the operating room suspecting a tumor in the stomach or intestine. Remember that you aren’t alone and not the only one. Time ago, has arisen the AIC (Italian Celiac Association); you can also visit the websites www.aicpuglia.it and www.celiachia.it.

     Now I turn to the categories of readers: if you are a parent you can take care of your son/daughter, and if you are a teenager your only problem will be the age of transition, if you are a restaurateur you can insert into the network of facilities that prepare «gluten free» food. So you can increase your clientele and... your finances; and if you aren’t celiac, today you learned a new word.

     Source "La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno", an italian newspaper, February 20, 2013, p. 20.

Balloon sculptures: Rocking horse, Teddy bear, Red tulip

Rocking horse, Teddy bear, Red tulip

Costa Concordia: a holiday you'll never forget

      The practice of bowing or of the tilt?

     Costa slogan should be changed from "The holiday you miss" to "a holiday you'll never forget". The fleet has grown over time, with Costa Classic, Cheerful, Romantic, Victoria, Atlantic, Mediterranean, Luck, Magic, Serene, Pacific, but I remember very well the day when announced the entry into service of the new flagship Concordia. It was Sunday, 9.7.2006 and the media conveyed the majesty expressed in meters and number of Jacuzzi. The watchwords spoken were luxury and opulence combined with a ship transformed from a means of making a trip to a place of sailing holiday. It’s redundant to recover the parallel with the Titanic, the liner considered unsinkable and that collided with an iceberg during its own maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on 14/04/1912.

     On 13.1.2012 a disaster struck the Concordia. Who was on board? Young people facing with the tranquillity of a vacation? Elderly who are sailing trim towards the avenue of cold marble? O young married couples who saw the tomb of love in marriage? The story of the sinking is incredible and it follows that in the XXI century we like to make huge projects, but full of holes! A list of passengers remained on board; the staff that fails to help the passengers; the abandon of ship by the captain Schettino; the environmental hazard caused by the tanks filled with naphtha and gas oil. Aren’t clear rules on evacuation as had not yet been carried out of the tutorials.

     Err is human, but circumstances combined to navigation along the coast of Giglio island are a gamble. Viewing of images gives the same impression of a new toy given to a child: it get him/her euphoria, but soon we’ll find that toy broken, tilted on its side and beached in a corner of the apartment. The order issued by the investigating magistrate of Grosseto explains that Schettino stood on the cliff of Giglio and watched the ship sink. Perhaps the selection parameter in the workplace are too mild and hasty and not aimed at understanding the inclination of the candidates. I played a little with the words, forgive me. I wanted to approach the edge of the Italian language, I don’t get beached.

     Source “La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno”,  an italian newspaper, January 24, 2012, p. 24.

13 going on 30 soundtrack, Vienna – Billy Joel

Slow down, you crazy child
you’re so ambitious for a juvenile
but then if you’re so smart
tell me why are you still so afraid?
Where’s the fire? What’s the hurry about?
You better cool it off before you burn it out
you got so much to do
and only so many hours in a day.

Don’t you know that when the truth is told
that you can get what you want
or you can just get old?
You’re gonna kick off
before you even get halfway through
when will you realize Vienna waits for you?

Slow down, you’re doing fine
you can’t be everything
you wanna be before your time
although it’s so romantic
on the borderline tonight, tonight
too bad, but it’s the life you lead
you’re so ahead of yourself
that you forgot what you need
though you can see when you’re wrong
you know, you can’t always see
when you’re right, you’re right.

You’ve got your passion, you’ve got your pride
but don’t you know that only fools are satisfied?
Dream on, but don’t imagine they’ll all come true
when will you realize Vienna waits for you?

Slow down, you crazy child
take the phone off the hook
and disappear for a while
it’s all right you can afford to lose a day or two
when will you realize Vienna waits for you?

Don’t you know that when the truth is told

that you can get what you want
or you can just get old?
you’re gonna kick off
before you even get halfway through
why don’t you realize Vienna waits for you?
When will you realize Vienna waits for you? 

Wood’s lamp… to see the invisible

     Being able to see what isn’t visible to naked–eye has been one of the wishes that mankind has been able to satisfy gradually, over the centuries. To do this we have built many tools and it was as if our senses are enhanced. Telescopes, radioscopy, microscopes, seismographs, litmus paper... the list is rich and growing. 

     In the group of data collection and measurement instruments there is also the ultraviolet light (Wood’s lamp or black light). This valuable tool was invented by the American inventor Robert Williams Wood (1868–1955). The lamp emits ultraviolet rays which aren’t harmful to humans and able to highlight things that escape to a normal vision. The principle on which is based the Wood’s lamp is to excite the fluorescent and phosphorescent pigments present on fabrics, paper, bacteria, minerals, bills (printed on paper containing fluorescent fibrils reactive under UV light).

     The fields of application are manifold: biology, mineralogy, antiques, restoration, quality food analysis, checking bills. There’s a range of applications that could make red–hot the minds of those who have always dreamed of living an adventure as a forensic agent: this is the identification of organic liquids stains or traces. In dermatology this lamp is suitable to detect fungal infections or skin diseases such as vitiligo. In the foodindustry we can detect the occurrence of fungus that affect the quality of food. In microbiology the UV light makes fluorescent bacteria. In the field of paintings restoration Wood’s light is useful to find out the original colors that the age has deteriorated. We can also define if a painting has undergone previous restorations. There’s also a recreational use in clubs, amusement parks and tourist attractions in order to create fluorescence effects enhancing the white color of eyes, teeth and clothes (for Halloween if you wear a skeleton dressed the effect will be awesome… or frightening).

     The sector in which I was directly involved is paleography. In the study of ancient documents, parchments, registers, records, papyrus, we come across in the most feared opponent: the deterioration due to time or to negligence. But those portions of the manuscript text that appears lost forever, actually can be retrieved in a new light, the light emitted by the Wood’s lamp.

We need a Franklin Delano Roosevelt to relaunch Italy

     Did you know that in the office of President of the United States coincide the same powers that in Italy are split between the President of the Republic and of the Council? And did you know that in 1929 there had been a crisis of global proportions similar to today? A crisis of overproduction combined with financial speculation led to the crisis of ’29. Collapsed the stock titles in the Wall Street stock market. It had a heavy impact on the U.S. economy and the effects reached the shores of Europe. 

     In ’33 was elected President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (the only one to be re-elected four times, driving the country from ’33 to ’45). He had in front of him about 13 million of unemployed people. The 32nd president had faced personal vicissitudes: he was struck by polio that left him paralyzed and not self-sufficient. The fight against the disease to recover normality marked his character, making it tough and determined. Roosevelt embodied the face of an America that wanted to resurrect. He implemented an effective internal policy to allow the country out of depression. He traced the lines of the New Deal, the new course to be offered to the country. The winning formula was the innovative concept of “state employer”. The recovery program consisted in the creation of welfare state that would guarantee citizens basic goods and a minimum level of income. Were promoted large public works (bridges, dams, canals) run by organizations Feds. So the state would absorb the unemployment and increase industrial supplies. It was determined a growth of production and of workers. It provided for a gradual U.S. exit from the crisis. One of the great public works aimed at creating jobs was a bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge. It is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait that connects the San Francisco Bay with the Pacific Ocean. Connects the northern tip of San Francisco peninsula with the southern part of the Marin County where there’s the small coastal town of Sausalito. It was erected in this years and ended in ’37. It’s one of the masterpieces of the New Deal and of modern architecture. That bridge, stamped on countless films, it’s my passion and now I share it with you.

     But in Italy we have never had someone who looked like F. D. Roosevelt?

    In the image: since 1946, the portrait of Roosevelt appears on the obverse of the ten cents coin, the Dime, nickname of a ten cents coin. 

     Source: “La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno”, an italian newspaper, March 17, 2012, p. 40.

Golden Gate Bridge, cross-stitch embroidered

     Albeit not denying its cinematographic appeal, we focus on the gloomy record reached by the bridge, the record of suicides. Too often public opinion proves to suffer from myopia (shortsight) with an apparent inability to look into the distance. There aren’t lenses that treat this intellectual disorder, only the study can placate it. 

     The pages of history that have mostly aroused my curiosity coincide with the series of events that followed from the economic crisis of 1929. It had a devastating impact that even struck high walks, degrading it. A few years later, in 1933 Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected as president of the USA. Forged from health problems, he had a very strong character and acquired the same autonomy as needed over the country.

     The dramatic situation was witnessed by 13 million of unemployed. Was necessary to find immediately the social propellant that raise the economy and the moods. Roosevelt found that propellant in the creation of a “state contractor” by the promotion of large public works managed by federal agencies. Job opportunities arose and unemployment was stemmed. Among these public works includes the famous bridge that celebrates 79 years on May 27, 2016: the Golden Gate Bridge. That’s why that bridge is for me synonymous with hope. And at that time represented a lighthouse for all those who were involved in its construction.

     When I’m sad and I need motivation, I think the San Francisco bridge.

     It’s captured from different angles, several as we would like the opportunities of success in our lives.

     It has a peculiar color, the red lead (minium) or international orange, and exerts great charisma. Even the Bay Bridge, which opened a year before (1936) with a higher length and built on two levels for both travel directions, is relegated to the “shoulder” of the Golden Gate Bridge.

     The construction of the Golden Gate Bridge began in 1933, and in June of 1936 an earthquake tested it by shaking violently the towers. However (and this notion should be an example to be emulated in Italy) was completed within the agreed date and at a cost less than the quote.

     On May 27, 1937 the bridge was opened to pedestrians.

     On May 28, 1937 at 9:30 a.m. passed the first vehicles.

     In the picture: the memorial cross–stitch embroidery made by my mother. 

     Source: “La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno”, an italian newspaper, May 12, 2016, p. 30.