Senza orari, senza limiti, senza mete, senza valigie, senza tou operator: al primo stropicciamento di occhi, dopo un lungo sonno, eravamo pronti a decidere dove andare!

Semplice ma efficace! :)

Stress messo sotto naftalina!!!! :)

E stasera cenetta all'ineguagliabile Al Fontanone !!! :)

Ora....al momento..qualche scatto sporco ancora di sabbia! :)

La nave fu colpita da un aereo inglese e, secondo una delle ipotesi, si racconta che gli inglesi fossero convinti trasportasse Mussolini. In realtà fu una "normale" operazione bellica. Negli anni il relitto è diventato quella che oggi viene definita, per l'appunto, una amata meta dei sub.

Ma come è affondata? Era il 24 luglio 1943, la nave transitava davanti all'isola di Ventotene, con 60 passeggeri sia civili sia militari. Oggi, finalmente, si sa che non ci furono ragioni politiche dietro quella operazione, ma solo strategia militare. La nave era un postale.

Straordinaria è la casualità del "come" si è arrivati alla risoluzione del caso. Uno dei familiari delle vittime, mentre si trovava in vacanza a Ponza, conobbe il responsabile dell'archivio storico del comando generale delle Capitanerie di Porto, il sottotenente di vascello Giulio Cargnello.

Quest'ultimo, una volta rientrato a Roma, recupera il faldone di uno dei misteri irrisolti per la Marina italiana durante la Seconda Guerra Mondiale.

La nave, un piroscafo di 452 tonnellate, era partita da Ponza per raggiungere Ventotene. A bordo molta gente comune, famiglie, bambini e qualche militare logorato dal conflitto. A circa due miglia dall'isola, un siluro sganciato alle 10.08 spezzò in due l'imbarcazione, che sprofondò in 28 secondi. I familiari delle vittime non seppero mai la reale ragione di quel bombardamento.

L'inchiesta sulle cause dell'affondamento venne condotta dalla Capitaneria di porto di Gaeta ma, complici i giorni difficili della guerra, non venne mai conclusa. Poi altre ipotesi contribuirono ad aumentare il mistero e il fascino di quell'episodio. Si parlò della presenza sul piroscafo di personaggi politici di spicco: gli alleati sapevano che la poltrona del Duce traballasse e credevano che in quelle ore Mussolini potesse essere a bordo per essere portato al carcere di Ventotene.

In realtà l'imbarcazione non ospitava personaggi influenti e Mussolini fu effettivamente recluso a Ponza, dopo avere raggiunto via mare Ventotene: ma tutto successe la notte tra il 27 e 28 luglio, tre giorni dopo la tragedia del Santa Lucia.

La verità, che verrà raccontata da un documentario nel giorno del 65esimo anniversario, è giunta oggi che il relitto del Santa Lucia è una delle mete più gettonate dagli amanti delle immersioni. Ad affondare la nave postale fu un bimotore Beaufighter del 47esimo stormo della Royal Air Force, decollato dalla base alleata di Protville in Tunisia. Dietro a quell'operazione non si celava nessun complotto, non si cercava di abbattere nessun dittatore: si voleva semplicemente fiaccare il nemico, l'Italia. (fonte: www.repubblica.it)

Se volete vedere le foto e conoscere più dettagliatamente la storia del relitto cliccate qui.

Se volete vedere la galleria di repubblica (io vi consiglio quella sopra, ma non si sa mai) cliccate qua.

Back of painting before it will be covered, forever

Detail of the painting

My shoes after a whole day spent painting

LUCIO SALVATORE Interviewed by Rai International

Lucio Salvatore introduced by Angelo Bucarelli - Poiesis

JARDIM BOTANICO - MARCH 2008

Per conoscere i dettagli e il programma delle proiezioni, scarica il documento.

On the other hand, a lot of people think it's a red herring, and that they've been making it TOO obvious for it to be him (especially for a show that's known for the unexpected), including all that singing a few episodes back. There has also been some mounting evidence in the past couple of episodes that it can't be Gaeta, especially D'Anna stating that only four Cylons were in the fleet.

So, who could it be if it's not Gaeta? Taking into account Ronald Moore's statement that the final Cylon isn't in the "Last Supper" picture, my second choice had been Dualla, but she's barely been seen this season. Of course, that could be on purpose to keep her from being a suspect. But she was also in the fleet when D'Anna said there were only four.

A lot of people think it could be Tom Zarek, and I also believe he's a likely candidate. But again, he was in the fleet when D'Anna made that statement.

If (and it's completely possible) Ron Moore was lying about the Last Supper, and D'Anna was telling the truth, there's really only two people it could be, because they were still on the basestar when she said it: Laura Roslin and Helo (well, technically, Hotdog was there, too, but c'mon!). But in order for it to be Roslin, D'Anna would have had to be LYING when she told Roslin she was just kidding about her being a Cylon. It WOULD be a good ruse for them to have revealed it so casually, then taken it back, but not really mean it. I mean, they even showed it in the episode preview.

But Helo is a very likely suspect, and now that we know that Caprica Six is pregnant with Tigh's baby, it wouldn't be impossible for him to be a Cylon based on the fact that he had a child with Athena. So, to recap: IF Ron Moore was lying and D'Anna was telling the truth, I'm thinking it's probably Helo.

Bueno, bueno. Por fin parece que la cuarta temporada de Galáctica va tomando forma, e interés. Como parece que el desenlace final vendrá asociado al descubrimiento del último de los cylons asentados en la flota. Se barajan varios nombres: Starbuck, Roslyn, Adama, Baltar... Desde aquí, el Sombrerero Loco opta porque Mr. Gaeta será el elemento clave de la historia. Lo dicho, se admiten apuestas...

Alone she sleeps in the shirt of man
With my three wishes clutched in her hand
The first that she be spared the pain
That comes from a dark and laughing rain
When she finds love may it always stay true
This I beg for the second wish I made too
But wish no more
My life you can take
To have her please just one day wake

CLICK HERE to read Bear McCreary's blog post about his creative process on writing the song.

Juliani, who studied opera, had this to say about it:

“It was a challenge to make this bold idea truly believable. To go to that place of mourning and solitude that the song evoked and to convey that the song was a manifestation of a real sea change in Gaeta? – well, let’s just say that as an actor it was a welcome change from dradis contacts and star charts. Being the first character to ’sing’ on the show is exciting but a bit nervy. But, BSG has never played it safe. Why should they start now?”

There's a ton of info on the background of the song, the creation of it, and the way it ties into the storylines of the episode over at composer Bear McCreary's BSG Blog.

Below are the clips from the episode of Gaeta belting it out (no jazz hands?), the lyrics, and even the sheet music -- so you can learn the song and serenade all the fangirls with it!

"Alone she sleeps in the shirt of man
With my three wishes clutched in her hand
The first that she be spared the pain
That comes from a dark and laughing rain
When she finds love may it always stay true
This I beg for the second wish I made too
But wish no more
My life you can take
To have her please just one day wake"

Hera - "Good-bye".  No wonder Athena went all postal. 

I keep on forgetting that Athena does not know who the four are. 

And Roslin's upper lip is still distracting me.

Who knew Gaeta could sing - very awesome.  He can't be a Cylon - wouldn't they have noticed something when they were cutting off his leg?

Gaius - very hot tonight...his character has taken on so much...decorum, for want of a better word.  Wise...calm.  Not like the old Baltar.  Very Jesus-like.

Il Partito del Sud non vuole il "federalismo fiscale modello Lombardia". LA REGIONE LAZIO HA TRE PORTI: GAETA, FIUMICINO E CIVITAVECCHIA, DANNO UN GETTITO ALO STATO DI CENTINAIA DI MILIONI DI EURO CHE PRENDONO LA VIA DELLA MILANO LADRONA ( TANGENTOPOLI DOCET)

When I came up with it, I thought I'd had a revelation and put it into my review several weeks ago, as well as in some comments on blogs that were discussing it. But I should have known that there would be some fans who were way ahead of me...when I started searching for others who had come up with the same theory, there were quite a few out there. But I did come up with my suspect before I had read it anywhere else.

Before they revealed four of the Final Five in last season's finale, there were all kinds of "rules" that hard core fans had come up with on who could be a Cylon, especially on the Battlestar Wiki. Most of them went out the window when they revealed that Col. Saul Tigh, Chief Galen Tyrol, Tory Foster, and Samuel Anders were Cylons. Now people are coming up with more rules, but I have a feeling a lot of those won't stick either. Let's face it: the writers and producers on shows like this don't care nearly as much as the fans do about these kinds of things, and they're going to do whatever they think makes for a good story and a good show.

[gallery]

But Ron Moore did reportedly state that the last Cylon was not one of the characters in the "Last Supper" cast photo that appeared in Entertainment Weekly. If he's not lying (which he may be), that would rule out some of the top suspects, including, Baltar, Roslin, William Adama, Starbuck, and Lee Adama. It also means it's not going to be a major character, since they're all in the picture.

So who, among the supporting cast, is the most likely candidate? My money is on Felix Gaeta. He’s the brain of the CIC, right? He’s the one running the jumps that the Cylons always seem to be able to mysteriously be able to follow, right? He helped Baltar create the Cylon detector, and made the "mistake" that allowed the Cylon virus into Galactica's computers. And how about that scene where Baltar whispers a secret (maybe he knows) and Gaeta literally tries to murder him?

Plus he was Baltar’s presidential aide during the Cylon occupation on New Caprica, like Tory is Roslin’s now. Oh, but wait! He was feeding info to the human resistance, so how could it be him? Who was it that led the human resistance again? Let’s see...Tigh, Chief, Anders…

When we returned to the UK, we were bursting with enthusiasm for our new venture. We talked with my parents who said they would like to join forces and come with us, which was a very brave decision, considering their age. However soon we were to discover that there had been something of a down turn in the UK housing market and our house was slow to sell, despite there having been several viewings. Our spirits dropped, as weeks turned into months and Christmas came and went. Finally in the New Year some good news arrived at last, a couple were very interested and had made an offer on our house. We were elated.

 At the end of January we flew out to Rome for another week, to start house hunting in earnest. Our younger son had chosen to tag along with us to see the area for himself. On this occasion we found that the mountains around Itri were delicately dusted with sparkling snow, yet the daytime temperatures remained mild, skies sunny and blue. We embarked on doing the rounds of the local estate agents. Generally Italian estate agencies differ greatly from those we are familiar with in the UK. There are no eye catching photos of properties in the shop windows, and no pamphlets detailing the descriptions and specifications of each property for sale, rarely are agents signs displayed outside property for sale. The typical Italian estate agent just thumbs through his list of available houses, and selects some houses he deems suitable to show you. Often these are not at all what you are looking for, and often we found ourselves going to see houses that we had already seen with other rival agents. However, we viewed as many prospective properties as was possible in the limited time available.

 We were seeking something that could easily be divided into at least two separate apartments, Paul wanted a property with some land, and our son wanted an extra room or two for himself and his musical equipment. We whittled the list down to a couple of properties which really impressed us all. The best option was a relatively new house, situated in open countryside with spectacular, scenic mountain views. It was just a 5 minute drive from the centre of Itri and just 15 minutes drive to the beautiful sandy beaches that line this region. It came with a large driveway and sizeable plot of land, planted with numerous fruiting olive trees. We met with the owner and estate agent several times, and we finally decided to put in a Proposito or offer, which the vendor seemed very eager to accept. We learned that in Italy it is normal for the prospective buyer to put down an Acconto (deposit) with the Proposito, which can range from two to five percent of the total purchase price. We explained that we were not in a position to supply such a deposit until the money was released from the sale of our house in the UK. The vendor said not to worry, and forcefully shook Paul’s hand said that we had his word that he would stick to this offer.

We returned home once again to the UK and we realised that we had now fully committed to uprooting ourselves from our safe, familiar surroundings. We now had to commence organising ourselves for the big move. Firstly we needed to organise European Pet Passports for our two dogs, who were to come and live in Italy with us. We consulted the DEFRA web site http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/pets/index.htm regarding the Pet Travel Scheme and discussed matters with our local vet. We discovered that firstly the dogs’ general vaccinations needed to be up-to-date and that they were required to be fitted with Microchip identification. Then they had to have Anti Rabies injections, followed a couple of weeks later by blood tests to confirm that the Rabies vaccine had in fact been effective. Then the vet could issue them with Pet Passports, recording all of the above information. This service did not come cheap, amounting to over £200 per dog.

A huge milestone was when Paul actually handed in his notice at work. With just five weeks of work left to serve, he started to feel a little jittery. “What am I doing, giving up a steady job and a steady income, and heading off into the unknown!” We started the laborious task of sorting through the house prior to packing. What a lot of stuff we seemed to have accumulated since our last move 12 years beforehand. We categorised as follows :

1. Things we wanted to take with us to Italy.

2. Things suitable for a car boot or garage sale.

3. Things to donate to charity shops.

4. Things designated for the dump.

As we began to pack we carefully numbered and recorded the contents of each and every box for future reference. They soon started to pile up and we began transporting them to a friend’s house, who had kindly offered us some valuable storage space in their sizeable garage.

Then, just two days before Paul was due to leave work, our hearts sank as the rug was well and truly pulled from under our feet. Our solicitor rang saying there was a problem (in the UK) with our buyer’s buyer failing to exchange contracts on the house sale, which meant that we were unable to exchange contracts on our house either. Things then went from bad to worse, when shortly afterwards an email arrived from the estate agent in Italy, with the news that the Italian vendor, who apparently was suffering from health problems, had decided that the stress of selling his property was all too much, so had decided to withdraw his property from the market. The following week we were still waiting to exchange contracts on the houses in the UK, we no longer had a property in Italy ear-marked to buy and move into, and we didn’t have an income! Someone had suddenly moved all the goal posts !!!

Still, we had a wonderful couple of days over Good Friday and Easter Saturday, with lots of friends and work colleagues visiting our “Garage Sale” and “House Cooling Party”. Long busy days, but it was so enjoyable to meet up and have a farewell drink with so many people we had the pleasure of knowing over the years. The “Garage Sale” was far more successful than we could ever have imagined. It was quite astonishing just what people will buy!!! Then on the Easter Sunday it was the turn of family to party, relatives travelled from far and wide to gather around us to wish us well, and quite a few tears were shed that weekend I can tell you. These celebrations were followed by another couple of good days packing, with the emptying house packed into boxes we were almost ready for the off.

We nervously waited on tenter hooks for the all important telephone call from our solicitor to confirm that the contracts had finally been exchanged. We were so relieved to discover that this time all had gone smoothly and at last a firm date was set for Completion. In fact we found the extra week gained was a great bonus as we packed up the towing caravan, which was to be our home for the next few months. We checked and double checked that our passports and other important documentation were all in order and to hand.

We finally vacated our house on the same day that the keen new owners took possession. It was all rather frenetic, despite the fact that we thought we had been so well organised. Everything seemed to take an age, far longer than anticipated, and as the new owners were moving in - we were still trying to move out – it literally was “in one door and out the other”. Eventually we were left “out on the street”, with several of our belongings spread out on the pavement outside, awaiting transportation. We were so utterly exhausted after such a long, stressful day, that we decided to delay our departure for Italy by a couple of days, in order to refresh ourselves before embarking on our long arduous journey. This also enabled us to spend some extra special time with our nearest and dearest before our departure. For the time being my elderly parents were staying put in Wales, until we had found “the perfect home in Bella Itri” to call our very own.