Release the hounds ...

And the sale continues ...

Christiane — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:19:00 GMT

Blue assuit dress, probably vintage. It's in great shape, perfect for folkloric performances. Asking for $100 plus shipping and insurance. Also see my profile photos for a yarn belt for sale and a Betsey Johnson dress. EDIT: To keep everything straight, I put the assuit dress and the belt up on eBay ... the Betsey Johnson dress, however, is not on eBay, if anyone is interested! Here are the eBay links to the belt and the assuit dress: Yarn belt: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140256030338 Assuit dress: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=140256027715&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=004 And check out this stunning lengha kameez outfit, in purple! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=140256029061&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=004

Some items for sale ...

Christiane — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:38:25 GMT

Check out the photos in my profile!

So I am teaching this last-minute workshop in Hillsborough on Saturday ...

Christiane — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:50:48 GMT

Bit of background: I teach bellydance on Wednesday evenings at Studio Zen in Yardley, Pa., and the owner of the studio, Casey, asked me if I would do a tribal bellydance workshop at Studio Zen in Hillsborough. I threw out March 8 as a date, but didn't really hear anything back. Fast-forward to the mild shock I felt yesterday when I viewed the Studio Zen Webpage and saw the Hillsborough event listed. So, um, yeah. It's on, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. They're charging $25, which is a pretty good price for a 2-hour crash course in tribal improv. Here's what's listed: TRIBAL BELLY DANCE Saturday 3/8 3pm $25 Please pre-register before March 6th, 7pm. Come shake your thing in a fun, communal-style way of this ancient traditional women's art form. All Girls 13 and older :-) Studio Zen Hillsborough 381 TRIANGLE ROAD, Hillsborough, NJ 908.431.7787 If you are interested, just call, you don't have to pay up front, but they do want an idea of who might be coming. Thanks for just reading this and please pass it on to whoever you think might be interested!

Spring Caravan!

Christiane — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 15:32:38 GMT

I'll be doing a solo 9:45 p.m. Saturday ... didn't want to do it on Friday because of work, and Sunday during the day is when I have to go home. Next year, we'll get our students there...

Bellydance Lounge at the Dracula's Ball, Feb. 16, Philadelphia

Christiane — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 23:17:34 GMT

Performing — Ak'Ana, Ya Meena, Mihrimah, Zan, and Tempest http://www.draculasball.com/db-216.jpg

Bellydance classes, two locations in Pa.

Christiane — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 16:10:55 GMT

Wednesdays: Basic tribal improv and cabaret classes from 7 to 8 p.m. at Studio Zen in at 301 Oxford Valley Road, Suite 1503, Yardley, Pa. Go to http://www.studiozen.org for details! Sundays: Level II tribal improv from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Level I tribal improv from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Classes are held at Silver Lake Nature Center, Bath Road, Bristol Township, Pa. E-mail christiane@ak-ana.com or jaz@ak-ana.com for more details. Also, if more experienced dancers in this area who are looking for work with props (swords, veils, and zills, mostly) would be interested in getting together at Studio Zen on Tuesday evenings from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., please let me know! This is not so much a class as a practice group; we'll all have something to teach each other! Cost would be a donation to the studio for the use of their space. E-mail me at christiane@ak-ana.com if you are interested.

Linda's Halloween Hafla fan dance ...

Christiane — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 23:08:19 GMT

Thanks to Barefoot Chris for filming this one! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_MT72wjxXQ&feature=PlayList&p=C305B1B1EA534822&index=6

Ak'Ana videos finally up on YouTube!!!!!!

Christiane — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 21:54:29 GMT

It took me a little while to find an application that could translate the format into MPEGs for YouTube, but I did it!!!!!! Jaz and me doing our "Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove" sword duet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soyKI7FmB-8 Jaz and me at Spring Caravan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df5t8soymU8 Jaz, Kat, and me at Shaily's Indian dance event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdRzcBh-DbY Sweet!!!!!!!

Saving Tribe ... Please Read (reposted from Khadu'ja)

Christiane — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 05:43:54 GMT

reposted... (from Gibson Pearl's blog) The word in some of the admin tribes is that Tribe.net is in serious financial peril. Peril that may make this site go away. Most of us belong to MySpace and/or Bebo and/or Facebook, yet we return to Tribe because it is what serves us best. There are even rumors that Tribe is down to less than five employees. Given the above, would you be willing to pay a $5/mo subscription fee to tribe as a Premium Member? Not pay $5 just to USE tribe, but to have perks. Premium Members might receive benefits such as ad-free usage, more customizable skins, or other such bells and whistles. Please, if you support tribe and are willing to pay HALF THE COST OF A MOVIE TICKET for one month of Premium Usage, respond to this blog post. Repost this in YOUR BLOG. Collect the yays and nays and forward them to Pi (people.tribe.net/pi). After ten days I will summarize the results and forward them to the Admins. Please Support Tribe (personally, I would pay to support Tribe, just as I pay to be a subscriber to LiveJournal).

Night of Dark Dance Delights, 11/30/07, Newark, N.J.

Christiane — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:15:02 GMT

I'm on the same bill with Tempest, Aepril, Mihrimah, Nightshade, and others at Club QXT in Newark, N.J. Thanks to Mihrimah for putting this together! Come on out and see us!

Some auctions ending soon ... velvet witchy dress, black doeskin skirt ...

Christiane — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:18:00 GMT

I'm selling some stuff to get more closet space. The dress: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=140165730182&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=004 The skirt: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=140165734530&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=004

Tomorrow ...

Christiane — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 20:15:18 GMT

I shall be in hell. It's that very special hell depicted in those new IBM commercials, in which I get to be trapped in a hotel conference room with a lot of consultants bandying about buzzwords in an effort to make everyone else there believe that they are knowledgable. I will get to hear "utilize" and "utilization" repeatedly misused, and each time I will die a little more inside. Everyone will proclaim that they help their clients "facilitate" their goals, and that they "leverage" their "core competencies" "in order to" achieve results. It will be boring. It will be so very, very boring. I have to be at the special hell on Wednesday too. Did I mention that's my 15th wedding anniversary that day? Oh, and I actually have to chair this conference — a duty that got thrust on me at the VERY LAST MINUTE, which means sometime today I have to prepare opening remarks, and can't sneak away while at the conference because I have to introduce the panelists, etc. Meanwhile I will have layout piling up on my desk at work, and the senior art editor wants to get the book out on Friday. There go my plans of taking off Thursday and Friday. It possibly affects the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I had wanted to take off as well. This evening I will go home and do laundry and try and figure out what to wear. Oh, and prepare those remarks.

Bellydance class information

Christiane — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 15:26:53 GMT

I'm teaching two classes at Studio Zen in Yardley, Pennsylvania: Basic tribal improv bellydance - Wednesdays, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Starting Sept. 4. $15 per class, $130 for 10-class pass, September special is $99 for unlimited classes (the studio also offers yoga, pilates, and tai chi). Basic bellydance - a little bit of everything, the basic moves common to cabaret and tribal. Starting Sept. 13, 6 Thursdays, $75. For more information, go to http://www.studiozen.org Tribal improv classes also continue Sundays at Silver Lake Nature Center, Bristol, Pa.: Level II/III: 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Level IL 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. More information at http://www.ak-ana.com

Unashamed plug ...

Christiane — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 17:36:59 GMT

I'm going to be dancing solo at the Fig Cafe in Jenkintown, Pa., tomorrow. Jaz is heading to a wedding ... so I will be all on my own. So Philly-area peeps, please come out and support me if you can! More info here: http://www.myspace.com/figcafehookahlounge

Happy happy joy joy ...

Christiane — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 21:14:03 GMT

Train tickets for instructor bought: check Contract for instructor created and OK'd: check Hotel arrangements for band and instructor made: check Arrangements to cater for band: in progress I hope people come on down to Philly Friday for the show and workshop!

On the lighter side of life ...

Christiane — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 20:08:23 GMT

Just nicked this from LJ; all my Potter-verse lovin' friends should get a kick out of these: 50 Things NOT to do at Hogwarts 1. I will not poke Hufflepuffs with spoons, nor will I insist that their House colors indicate that they are “covered in bees”. 2. No matter how good a fake Australian accent I can do, I will not imitate Steve Irwin during Care of Magical Creatures class. 3. Growing marijuana or hallucinogenic mushrooms is not “an extra credit project for Herbology”. 4. “I’ve heard every possible joke about Oliver Wood’s name” is not a challenge. 5. I am not allowed to attempt to breed a liger. 6. I will not go to class skyclad. 7.The Giant Squid is not an appropriate date to the Yule Ball. 8. I will not use Umbridge’s quill to write “I told you I was hardcore”. 9. I will stop referring to showering as “giving Moaning Myrtle an eyeful”. 10. Polishing my wand in the common room is acceptable. “Polishing my wand” in the common room is not. 11. If a classmate falls asleep, I will not take advantage of that fact and draw a Dark Mark on their arm. 12. House elves are not acceptable replacements for Bludgers. 13. Starting a betting pool on the fate of this year’s Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is tasteless and tacky, not a clever money-making concept. 14. I will not start every Potions class by asking Professor Snape if today’s project is suitable for use as a sexual lubricant. 15. Adding the name “Bueller” to Professor Binns’ roster is not funny. 16. “Springtime for Voldemort” is not an acceptable suggestion for the class play. 17. Seamus Finnegan is not “after me Lucky Charms”. 18. I will not refer to the Weasley twins as “bookends”. 19. I will not refer to the Patil twins as “bookends”. 20. The Slytherin prefect is named Draco Malfoy, not “Rocky Horror.” 21. It is exceptionally tasteless to tell Professor Lupin that “Once you go Black, you never go back.” 22. I will not call Lucius Malfoy “Jareth”. 23. I will not bring a Magic Eight Ball to Divination class. 24. I am not to refer to the Potions classroom as “Kitchen Stadium”. 25. I will not tell Ron and Hermione to “Get a room” whenever they start to fight. 26. The Forbidden Forest is forbidden for a reason. 27. I am not a tribble Animagus. 28. I am allowed to have a toad, rat, cat, or owl. I am not allowed to have a reticulated python, snow leopard, Tasmanian devil, or piranha. 29. I do not weigh the same as a duck. 30. Remus Lupin does not want a flea collar. 31. Sirius Black is not #24601. 32. I will not lick Trevor. 33. I will stop asking the Arithmancy teacher what the square root of -1 is. 34. I am not being repressed. 35. Calling Lucius Malfoy “Luscious Mouthful” is just plain gross. 36. I will not change the password to the prefects’ bath to “Makes getting clean almost as much fun as getting dirty”. 37. There is no such thing as an Invisibility Thong. 38. I am not a Pinball Wizard. 39. Asking “How do you keep a Gryffindor in suspense?” and walking away is only funny the first time. 40. I will not offer to pose nude for Colin Creevey. 41. I will not offer to pose nude for Dean Thomas. 42. It is a bad idea to tell Professor Snape he takes himself too seriously. 43. It is a bad idea to tell Professor McGonagall she takes herself too seriously. 44. Sir Cadogan is not one of the knights who say “NI”. 45. I will not offer to prepare tandoori owl. 46. I will stop asking when we will learn to make “Love Potion Number Nine”. 47. I will not ask Dumbledore to show me the pointy hat trick. 48. I will not greet Professor McGonagall with “What’s new, pussycat?” 49. There is not now, nor has there ever been, a fifth House at Hogwarts, and I am not a member of that house, nor am I its founder. 50. I will not take out a life insurance policy on Harry Potter.

This is Kat's fault ... I tag Jaz, Aepril, Zan, Linda, and Crystal!

Christiane — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 20:03:55 GMT

1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of the next three sentences in your journal along with these instructions. Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST. 5. Tag five other people to do the same. OK. I'm at work, so you have been warned that this is going to be very very technical and dull ... from "Understanding Pharma" Drugs are classified in a variety of ways for a variety of purposes — including for coverage determinations and payments by insurers, for definining competitive strategy by pharmaceutical companies, and for access control. Based on Therapeutic Categories Therapeutic categories, classes, and subclasses are a system of increasingly specific classifications, first by purpose and ultimately by method of action: • The clinicial field or specialty in which the product is used (e.g., cardiovascular, anti-infective) • The disease or condition that the product is intended to treat (e.g., HIV, antihypertension) • The treatment approach or mechanism of action that the product employs (e.g., calcium channel blockers for hypertension) (This narrower classification is sometimes called a drug class.)

OK ...

Christiane — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 20:40:03 GMT

This weekend (Feb. 10) I'll be at Wicked Faire with Thom. We're going to try and catch Mahira Tribe's performance at 12:30, but I have a class to teach in Bristol from 9 to 10 and then will have to clean up and get changed. We may not make it on the road until 11:30 and Metuchen is about an hour from Bristol; conceivably, we could get there in mid-performance. My intent is to look pretty and wander around, say hi to friends from Pa. Renaissance Faire and folks from the goth scene in NY, talk with my bellydance friends, and pimp the hell out of the Habiba workshop in June. I'd also like to bust out in some improv dancing with the gals, and make some contacts for future Ak-Ana performances with Jeff Mach's production company and the folks who manage the Penn Jersey Roller Girls. I'll buy Thom something nice for being a good sport and coming with me, but I am betting we won't be staying much past 6 p.m., unless he makes some new friends there or reconnects with old ones and wants to hang out with them.

More about al-Hafla ...

Christiane — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 21:13:12 GMT

It was wonderful to arrive before the crowds did, because then I got to chat with Durr about the playing of riqqs (he had a sweet new one), learn a little bit about his life on the "ships that sink," and bend his ear about Muslims in Sicily. He also gave me valuable information about what NOT to put on tiraz bands (bows to Durr). Shopping was evilly dangerous, but I managed to restrain myself to a sari set and a superchunky tribal ring. The food was truly outstanding as always. It was a lamb-a-palooza for the feast. I LOOOOOOVE lamb. Getting to hang out with Eric and Jen and their adorable daughter was nice (they were in South Indian garb). Jen was doing very well, considering she is about to give birth in two weeks or so! Seeing Genevieve again was lovely, and her niece Kaylee was really supercute and supersweet. Very friendly and chatty once she got over the "shys." And she played so well with Eric and Jen's girl. The assuit robe got a lot of compliments, and it was comfortable too ... Seeing Suzanne, Amy, Trish, and Sean all enjoying themselves was wonderful. I am going to see you guys at more SCA events, right? Hee hee ... actually, aside from the Middle Eastern EKU, and Southern Regional War Camp, there may not be much else I am getting to this year.

Yippee.

Christiane — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 19:55:53 GMT

I'm back at work after 4 days in Phoenix and 1 day recovering from the trip and the conference. Last Saturday was al-Hafla. I had a blast. My class on Muslims in Sicily was well-received by the folks who came, and I'd like to expand upon it and present it at the Middle Eastern EKU in March. I have to check up on that ... I wore black assuit and danced and danced and danced and danced. And ate lots of tasty food. Farasha and Su'ad graciously took some fliers for Habiba's Ultimate Ghawazi workshop that Ak-ana is sponsoring in June. Also, they had a KILLER black and silver sari set for sale. The top fits me PERFECTLY. Of course I bought it. I might wear it this Sunday to Habiba's hafla. And I got a big ol' tribal ring from Father Dunn. But I got back later from the event than I should have; still had to pack for Phoenix. End result, I got only 4 hours of sleep before heading out to the Philly airport Sunday morning. I got to the airport at 7:30 for a 9:55 a.m. flight. It was astonishing; I gave myself plenty of extra time because I had to park in the economy lot and for security. Last year, it took half an hour for the bus to come round. This time, it was 5 minutes. Last year, it took 20 minutes to get through the security line. This year, it was less than 5 minutes. Last year, our luggage never got put aboard and never made it to Phoenix. This year, my luggage was practically the first off the plane. But this year, I got to sit next to some fat chatty guy who wouldn't shut up and wouldn't stop fidgeting. Every time I dozed off, I got elbowed, his legs kept spreading out farther and were jiggling incessantly, and anytime I tried to read he would engage me in conversation. Ugh. And when I got to Phoenix, it was cold. And then it snowed! The conference actually did go well. Thankfully, the flight home on Wednesday, there was NO ONE in the seat between me and my coworker. For once, I was fairly comfortable on a plane ... but then we hit turbulence. 3.5 hours out of 5-hour flight were spent by the pilot trying to find an altitude that didn't roil my stomach. He was only partially successful. Not his fault; the fronts moving through made his job so much harder. We didn't get back in until 11 p.m., and between luggage and locating the car and the drive home, I wasn't officially back until 12:30 a.m. or so. I took yesterday off to sleep in, do laundry, and get new windshield wipers and run some other essential errands. Today I found lots of messages from the terminally annoying ad agencies, a stack of FedEx packages from them on the floor of my office, lots of phone messages, and lots of e-mails. Oh, and layout for February. The fun just never stops around here. Back to work ...

Yeeek.

Christiane — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 22:27:41 GMT

I've spent Friday and today logging in visuals for the April issue of the magazine. This mainly consisted of cracking open CD-ROMs and dragging everything onto files on the server. The deadline was Friday, but some agencies called foe extensions until tomorrow. Have processed visuals from 35 agencies, still waiting for materials from about 40 more. This past weekend was the Dracula's Ball. I decided to do the cooking on Friday evening and get it out of the way. That worked out well, anbd it was a damn good thing, because Thom and I ordered Chinese food for dinner. I had a shrimp roll and Singapore angel hair noodles. Finished cooking and went to bed at 2 or so ... and then woke up way too effing early with stomach problems. No throwing up was involved, but I was thoroughly wiped out by 8 a.m. I dozed for about 2 hours and then got up at 10 to call Kat and let her know I would not be making it to Heather's b-day party. Then I dozed like a lump on the couch until 2, then got showered and dressed. By this time, the tummy had sorted itself out, and I think I was five pounds lighter. I really hate when that happens. By the time I had gotten dressed and gotten to the ball with the food, I did feel better, more energized (or maybe that was the D in Claritin D talking). I even got up the energy to dance. Thom opted to stay home. I got back from the ball at 3, chatted for a bit with Thom, and we were in bed by 3:30. Slept until 11, and then woke up with achy muscles. Watched "Hex" all damn day long on BBC America, then went to teach class with Jaz, where in my haze I forgot to turn off the door alarm first thing and set it off. D'oh! The ball was fun, just for the people watching alone. A lot of folks I had not seen out in some time were there. It would have been better had I not been intestinally scourged, though.

Happy New Year!

Christiane — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 22:24:07 GMT

I give to you a recipe for 'mpanatas, or Sicilian bread pies. This is vegan-friendly if you leave out the cheese: The filling: 1 bag fresh spinach (aim for the washed kind) 12 small sundried tomatoes, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 an onion, very finely chopped parmesan cheese, about 1/2 a cup 2 teaspoons lemon pepper olive oil, about 1/4 cup ground white pepper or crushed red pepper, about a tablespoon Dump the ingredients into a large bowl, and toss like a salad, making sure all the leaves are coated with the olive oil, cheese, and spices, and that the garlic, onion, and sundried tomato is well-distributed. Set aside and make the dough: 7 1/2 cups of semolina flour (I had to settle for a coarser grade semolina rather than fine durum wheat, because that's all I could find 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water 2 packets of powdered dry yeast 1/4 cup of olive oil sea salt Combine yeast with one cup of the lukewarm water; set aside for 15 minutes until foam comes to the top. Dump your flour into a bowl, making a well in the middle. Add the foamy yeast water; mix it through the flour with your fingers, rubbing the dough between your fingers for a uniform texture. Add the rest of the water, a little at a time; when you have a dough that holds together, dump it on a semolina-floured board and knead it for 3 or 4 minutes. Punch the dough a few times to release the gluten, shape it into a ball, and put it into an oiled bowl for 45 minutes. When the dough has almost doubled inside and has started to crack, dump it on a floured board or table top again, flatten it, and sprinkle it with sea salt and about 1/3 of the olive oil. Fold the dough and knead it until the olive oil is absorbed, then flatten it again, add salt and olive oil, knead again. Do this one more time. Then take your dough and separate it into three balls. Set one ball aside to rise for a loaf of bread; take the other two balls and divide each ball in half. Flatten out the pieces into circles. Take two 9-inch pie pans, grease them, and lay a circle of dough in each. Add your filling, and then lay the other circle of dough on top, sealing the edges of the dough with your fingers. Prick the top with a few times to vent, and bake at 350-400 degrees, for about an hour. After you bake your impanatas, bake the loaf of bread. It's a nice bonus.

Things I didn't like about Italy ...

Christiane — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 20:00:44 GMT

Oh, yes, there were a few things. The flights — Alitalia actually has another meaning: Always Late in Takeoff and Always Late in Arrival. And the food was equivalent to all airline food. Meaning, "Eccccch." The drivers — Don't try and drive in Rome or Palermo if you have a deathwish. The beds — two lumpy twin beds pushed together do not make a king. Admittedly this was only in Agrigento and Giardini Naxos. The landmines — There are no pooper-scooper laws in Italy. The breakfast coffee — "caffe Americano" is merely a shot of espresso thinned out with hot water. Made me want to cry. I love capuccino, but flagging down a waiter to get him to bring me one was sometimes not worth the bother. The breakfasts in general — The Sofitel did serve prosciutto, but after the first two days in Sicily, I was craving pancakes and sausage. Or hashbrowns. When we got to my parents, my dad took me and Thom to the Cedar Lane Grille in Teaneck, N.J. Dad and I went for corned beef hash and eggs sunny side up. Thom had steak and eggs. We were all glad to be back home. The tour dinner menus — Where the hell was the salad? No, I don't want chef's salad. I want an insalata verde. All of the pasta was very good, though. The sardines — I hate sardines. I'm not a big fan of most fish in general (although I love shellfish). The lunch at Selinunte featured huge Sicilian sardines. Thom loves sardines, He ate two. I wouldn't kiss him the rest of that day and most of the next. Eeecccchhhhh. None of these things really put a damper on my trip, but next time I go back — and there will be a next time — I am skipping out of all the tour activities and striking out on my own. I found a great trattoria in Palermo, and we found a relatively inexpensive place in Rome.

Still trying to catch up ...

Christiane — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 20:14:45 GMT

Yes, I have returned from Italy and am back at work, and am letting you all know about it. Nov. 4 was the Belly Jam, and Jaz and I performed our sword duet. It was not our best performance (my sword threatened to slip off my head, but thankfully Jaz was dead solid on). On the 5th, the very next day, I took Artemis Mourat's Turkish workshop at Alexia's studio in Bordentown, went home, made dinner, and then headed off to class that night. Then there was two and half days of frantic scrambling to finish up the work I needed to do before Nov. 9, when Thom and I got up, threw our suitcases in the car, and drove up to Bergenfield, N.J., to my parents' place. A limo driver was coming to pick us up there and take my parents, Thom, and me to JFK in NYC to fly to Italy. We actually returned Nov. 20, but late at night, and didn't actually get back to Pennsylvania until Friday afternoon, having spent the week of Thanksgiving with my parents. W spent about a week in Sicily, and three days in Rome (and were in Rome when Tom Cruise was, but didn't see him or any other celebs. Quite frankly, I didn't care). There were lots of people by the Hotel Hassler at the Spanish Steps, and one British tourist spotting Thom from a distance thought he was Johnny Depp. The Italian news was full of Cruise news. Ironically, two blocks away from the Steps at the Sofitel (the hotel we stayed in), there was a conference of Nobel Peace Prize laureates, with a fancy soiree each night and the carabinieri outside. Not one mention of this conference on the news, though. Some of the highlights on this trip: Palermo — a charming city that I quite frankly could have spent two weeks in. People were friendly, and even friendlier when I practiced my Italian. Our hotel was right in the heart of the city, a beautiful 1850s mansion, and I would stay there again (Hotel Et Des Palmes, http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll?qscr=dspv&flag=l&itid=&itdx=&itty=&from=f&foop=0&hwrq=&htid=23108&spsh=&spsi=&crti=4&nfla=1&mdpcid=21187-1.ExpediaHotelImagesUS|+Hotel_ReviewText|+freesearch|+US&&zz=1164647093116&) Also in Palermo, taking a walk with Thom to find a hobby store. We got a little lost, but we were out of the tourist area into the place where folks actually lived. (I know this because I got a ginormous bottle of mineral water for only 55 cents Euro — same bottle would have cost me 4 Euro or more in the tourist center). We did find the hobby store, bemusing the owner. I looked over D&D books in Italian, and was amused. Thom got a historical pewter model made by a Spanish company that would have been prohibitively expensive to order online. And the hobby shop owner gave Thom a Smart Car model. And I will miss Bar Cavour on Via Cavour. We were almost regulars there. Selinunte — beautiful Greek ruins close by the sea. Only the sound of wind and birds on a soft warm day. We just had enough time to visit temples E, F, and G. I would happily go back to explore. http://www.selinunte.net/default.htm Siracusa — testing the acoustics in the Ear of Dionysius by singing "O occhi manza mia." The tour guide was impressed. ;-) Also, the beautiful Greek and Roman amphitheaters; sitting in places where folks sat 3,000 years ago to watch a show was impressive. Giardini Naxos and Taormina —Giardini Naxos is a summer resort town, and in November most things are closed, but that gave us the place to ourselves. We saw a tower built in 1535 to warn the town against raids by Muslim pirates. And Taormina is a jewel of a town, with lovely villas clinging to the cliffs. The Palazzo Corvaja there (http://www.taorminanetwork.it/corvaja.htm) has a great museum of Sicilian folk art from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries that has more Baby Jesuses you can shake a stick at, and cases of lace and embroidery. Best part, though, were the mid 19th-century "miracle paintings." These were about 25 or 30 pieces of folk art painted to acknowledge a saint's or the Madonna's intercession in saving an individual from being maimed or killed in a particular mishap. The best were the ones of a young man thankful for not being blinded in a tennis accident (the scene was of a tennis game abruptly halted as the young man had the ball lodged firmly in an eye socket, with blood spouting forth) and the lady with the rabid cats (she's running and screaming as cats are hanging on to her everywhere and blood flows). In each of these paintings, the Madonna or the saint is shown in a "window" in the upper left-hand corner, dispensing blessings. I spent half an hour reading and giggling madly. I looked for postcards in vain, but could not find them. Rome: Gelato at the Bar Mariotti by the Spanish Steps; the last night we were there, we walked by as the place was closing, and the owner waved us in anyway and took our orders. I told him, in Italian, we were going back to America the next morning, and he said, "Ritonera?" (you will return?). And then stuck cookie wafers into my cup of Nutella-flavored gelato. I also finally got to see the Pantheon. Also worth seeing in Rome: The Basilica of Saints Cosma and Damiano. http://www.franciscanfriarstor.com/theorder/Basilica/stf_basilica_interior.htm The back part of the church, the portion that was the Roman Temple of Romulus, is being restored. But just take a look at those gorgeous Byzantine mosaics! And the Museo di Roma in the Palazzo Braschi. http://www.museodiroma.comune.roma.it/PalazzoBraschi/MAIN_PAGE.show?p_web=INTE&p_lingua=02 It was only 3 Euros to get in, too. My mom got me a cool book in the museum bookstore about "Underground Rome." There's a fantastic lot of frescoed Roman rooms the public never gets to see, but the book shows them. I'll have some pictures soon. I picked up other really cool books, too, the coolest of which is one about Muslims in Italy from the 9th to 19th centuries. It's in Italian, though, so I will be spending a lot of time translating. Some not so good parts: They make you pay 8 Euros now to see the tombs of Roger I, Roger II, and the crown of Constanza d'Altavilla at the Palermo cathedral. Grrr. The ceiling of the Palatine Chapel, with the Arabic paintings, is draped for restoration, and I could not find a book that adequately showed the ceiling. Double grrrrrrr. Getting my period just as we started the Vatican Museum tour was not fun. I have now seen the Sistine Chapel twice in my life (before and after restoration), though, so I don't need to go again. Also, the crowds in the Vatican Museum were a serious bummer. And I have serious unfulfilled boot lust. Every shop window in Palermo and Rome was filled with spectacular boots. I could never get to the shops in Palermo when they were open, and in Rome they were too expensive. I'll post some pics when I finally get them off my camera chips!

Great. Just great.

Christiane — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 20:31:50 GMT

My husband called a short while ago. My sister-in-law is in the hospital. Something went in her back. She's in extreme pain. She lost her hearing for a bit. They've done an MRI on her but are not sharing the results yet. They're giving her pain injections, but of course they aren't working because if it's a popped disc, she's suffering neuropathic pain, and opiates do fuck-all for that. And they're not going to give her anything else until they can tell exactly what the problem is. A week and a half ago, John (the gothy looking guy in the photo from my April in NYC entry) was in the hospital for seeming heart problems. Thankfully he returned to work last Monday; but they still couldn't tell him if he'd had a heart attack. I really hate our health-care system. I'm going to try and see Heather after teaching tonight. It was just her b-day too.