Progressive obliviousness (continued)

Progressive obliviousness

So some of these pictures have been posted already, but I wanted to show the 6 photos I decided on for my final project.  I really like all of these pictures and I am trying to speak to the pursuit of the "perfect" photograph through posing and positioning of both the photographer and the photographie.

 

Dragging heels

New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills.

A shadow is cast

Spotlight

Closing sky

Swallow this

Schedule

This week is pretty crazy, schedule wise, because we had 2 Art History classes yesterday and an extra long Photography class today (9-2 instead of 9-12).  We have Art History again tomorrow and then we're leaving for Pietrasanta and Cinque Terre on Thursday at 8:30am.  It is kind of a double edged sword for me because the Pitti Uomo fashion show starts tomorrow in Florence and runs through Sunday.  We get back from our excursion on Sunday night so I won't be able to go to the show, but I'll take some console in lying on the beach and eating pesto anything by the beach.  Last night, the program director and four of us went to this little enoteca (wine bar) that is just west of the Ponte Vecchio on the river.  You pay €5 for a glass of wine and then the owner brings out these huge platters of pecorino cheeses, prosciutto, olives, and bread.  It was awesome and we all had a really great conversation for about an hour.  I love little private restaurants like this where you can just sit and soak up the goodness of life and the culture.  Speaking of the program, for my final project for Photography, I am doing a series of photos of tourists taking pictures at famous sites.  I have 5 that I am extremely pleased with at the moment, but I want a little more geographical diversity so I am going to try to take the final 1 or 2 photos during the upcoming excursion.  I am exploring this idea because I have found it extremely comical to watch people look at a statue or bridge and immediately lift their camera to their eye to capture a memory of it.  Unfortunately, most of the people don't bother digesting or experiencing what they're photographing once they have their memory stored safely away on their memory cards.  I am trying to portray this idea of memory making as opposed to memory through visceral experience in my final pieces.  I also have to finish my accordion book project by next Thursday.  Basically, it is a little accordion fold out book we had to make from scratch with 6 sleeves that will contain a photo and a "captured" or "found" object that relates to the photo.  I am doing half of the photos about stereotypes that Americans have for Italians that are fallacies, and the other 4 about more contemporary stereotypes that one experiences in Italy, that are positive and usually applicable.  The weather here was beautiful in the late afternoon yesterday and this morning.  I hope it holds up for the beach on Sunday.  A presto.    

Beautiful dog shit

Bob dole is out of focus

Smooched rain

San lorenzo shopping

3 friends and me went shopping in the outdoor market at San Lorenzo this morning.  It was really interesting and  stressful because there are so many shoppers and vendors who act like they desperately need your business.  Although, I made some of the best purchases of the trip.  I got 6 Armani knock off ties, a Burberry knock off scarf, and a Hermes knock off silk scarf for 30 Euros.  I also picked up a Louis Vuitton knock off messenger bag that is a very high quality fake for 80 Euros.  The only part that looks sketchy is the color of the leather, but it is nothing a little leather cleaner and sun can't fix.  After 45 minutes of gazing and dodging, I had definitely had enough!  Some of the people don't know what no means, whether it's English, Italian, Spanish, or cursing.  I also walked by the Synagogue this morning with my friend, Justin, which was really beautiful and quiet.  I love the turquoise color tiles and overall architecture of the building; it is arguably my favorite in Florence.  I really want to try Ruth's Kosher Vegetarian restaurant by the synagogue.  I've only heard great things about it and I think that it would bring diversity to the usual pasta or bread we've been eating ad nauseam.  I can't wait to see the highlights from the US Open tomorrow.  It should be really interesting to see if Tiger's knee can hold up to his usual domination of final rounds in major championships when he is in the lead.  It will be on NBC all day Sunday if any one is interested.  Yesterday's back nine was some of the most exciting sport I have seen in quite some time!  Golf fan or not, check it out!  A presto.   

Red lit eve

Portrait of an artist as a young man

Rain and silence

I went on the best walk of the trip so far this morning.  I woke up at 7ish because 3 of my 4 roommates were leaving today for weekend or day trips.  I stumbled around the apartment until 8:30 because I had to meet with an air conditioning technician about or AC unit, which was fine.  Oh well.  So I got ready and literally two minutes after I started walking, it began to rain lightly.  It was weird though because all of the other times that it has rained here, it has been really dark and gloomy.  Today was a different story because it was still sunny and the clouds were still fairly white.  I wandered through the duomo and baptistry square and made my way over to the Palazzo Pitti and then the Uffizi.  It was so crowded there because it is Saturday morning and this German lady made a scene because she was becoming impatient so they removed her.  It was really funny.  I just went up and stood in front of the 3 DaVinci paintings for about 15 minutes then made my way through the new Giotto exhibit and out the back door.  I stood around with about 40 Japanese tourists and had a cigarette.  Their guide asked them to come with her and leave but the moment they all started walking down the back path it just opened up and was raining so hard.  They all scurried back and took shelter, but everyone was laughing.  I made my way over by the Ponte Vecchio and then back to the apartment.  It wasn't an unusual route, but it was just a beautiful morning with a lot of interesting sights and experiences.  I had Pedro the Lion playing from start to finish, which probably didn't hurt the experience too much.  I don't know what I am going to do with myself for the remainder of the day, but I am sure I can figure something out in Florence.  A Presto.

Quiet weekend

A lot of people are gone for the weekend because of our free schedule until Monday.  I was planning on going to Rome, but I hit my head last weekend and had a huge bruise on my head.  I had a couple bouts of dizziness and nausea so I went to the doctor and he recommended I get a CT scan.  I got the scan this morning and I will get the results on Monday afternoon.  I feel fine today and the doctor wasn't overly concerned, but I am staying in Florence and taking it easy this weekend because of it.  We had our slideshow presentations this morning for Digital Photography.  I felt really good about my slideshow and I got good critiques, although so did everyone.  I will try to post the video on the blog next week, but it takes a long time so please have some patience for me.  I am about half way through my accordion book project and I also have half of my photos done for the final piece.  On a different note, I have been following the US Open golf tournament online all day today and yesterday because we don't get it on any of the channels in the apartments.  It is one thing that I am really missing out in being down in San Diego for the first time ever.  The last two weeks of the program should be really fun!  Next week we are going to some great museums for Art History and we only have one photo class so we will definitely have some free time to explore the city.  Also, we are going to Pietrasanta and Cinque Terre next weekend with the whole group and then Monday is my 22nd birthday.  So a lot of good days are coming and I'm feeling better for the first time this week.  It is supposed to rain every day until Tuesday in Tuscany, so hopefully the weather are as bad here as they are back home.  Finally, I watched Sofia Copolla's film, Lost In Translation, earlier today and it was really funny and original.  It stars Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansen, and it is about their unique ways to deal with the culture shock of Tokyo.  I don't know if critics particularly liked it, but I really enjoyed it.  Have a great weekend!  A presto. 

Power struggle

Sempre vini

Erbe antiche

Cobblestone dash

Apertivi

Some of the other people on the trip discovered this thing called apertivi a couple weeks ago.  Basically, it is like tapas in Spain, where you go to a bar or restaurant that sells apertivi and buy a drink for €6-€10.  When you buy the drink, you can eat as much of the apertivi that they have out for dinner.  It has been a great way to save money, but still have a drink and big dinner for under €10.  The place we went to a couple nights ago had a sushi theme with rice and rolls.  We also have been to this apertivi bar next to the Louis Vuitton in Florence that is amazing.  They have a full vegetarian selection, pastas, rice dishes, and sandwich wraps.  Also, most bars here are a lot like the bars in New York where the drinks are obviously a little more expensive (not even taking the horrible exchange rate into account), but there is a hell of a lot of alcohol in the drinks.  So after a nice drink and a couple plates of apertivi you feel great and you only spent €10, which I've found on this trip to be really cheap for a good dinner.  It is another gorgeous, sunny day here with only a few lingering clouds.  A presto.  

Disposable memories

Free day and a half

Wow, so we've had the second half of the day yesterday and all of today free from formal class time.  I have been writing and reading a lot the past couple of days.  The weather has been gorgeous here the past couple of days, probably mid to high 70's, but it may rain tomorrow.  I have this gnarly bruise on the top of my bead that has made me look slightly hunch-back like, but I am hoping it will clear up so I can go back to looking not like a Notre Dame statue.  We have an assignment for photography that consists of making an accordion book out of paper bought in Florence.  Each piece of the book has a pocket that we will put a photo and an artifact or object that represents the theme and photo in some manner.  I picked out some Da Vinci handwriting paper and decorated the covers with Godfather postcards of the Corleone family.  My theme is going to deal with stereotypes that Americans have for Italians.  I am really loving all the photos and projects I am coming up with in this class because I am really able to explore my creativity within a fixed medium.  I think I am going to Rome this weekend to see my friend Alessio from LA, who is a native Roman.  I hope every one is well.  A presto. 

Fiore e vini

M. night shyamalan

Is it really a miracle or just another illusion?

5 o'clock shadow

Money changers

Siena

We just arrived in Siena this morning and took a walking tour of the city with a native named Lucia. Siena is absolutely stunning and if you travel to Italy it is a necessity to come here. We are having an Italian lesson with Will Pupa, the program director, at 5 in the main piazza where they have horse races every year. The city truly encompasses the romantic idea that many people have of Italy and Tuscany. The first thing I did when we arrived was a trip to Nannini, which is a famous espresso bar in Siena. The espresso was outrageous, maybe the best I have ever had. Fortunately, we have the rest of the afternoon and tomorrow in Siena and then a day in Chianti. I will post some pictures from the excursion on Sunday night. I am sad the time here is going by so fast, but I am really enjoying every moment of the journey. A presto.
On a side not, the new Toyota Hybrid X Prototype was showcased and it looks really amazing. It is supposed to get more than 100mpg in the production model. A God-send with the way gas prices are sky rocketing.
http://www.toyota.com/concept-vehicles/hybridx.html

Art history with marco

One of the classes that I am taking in Florence is Art History of the Renaissance.  This class is extremely unique and engaging because we meet in different areas, museums, or churches around the city and get a "lecture" from a native Florentine art historian named Marco.  He has such a huge personality and his knowledge is dumbfounding.  The lectures have gone over everything from architecture and paintings to religious quarrels and gender roles.  I think these kind of lectures where we are actually seeing a fresco or famous church in person while we are getting a lecture is a truly one of a kind class.  Marco is also extremely funny and sensitive when it comes to other people around us who might try to get a closer look of a piece near him or some parents with a crying infant.  I have never seen such looks or shushes, but the moments are priceless and hilarious.  I am really looking forward to learning about some things at the Uffizi Gallery and more about the Ponte Vecchio.  A presto.

P.S. Obama's clinching of the Democratic nomination (numerically) is really big news in all of the big newspapers and news programs in Italy.  I was extremely excited when I read about it in the paper yesterday and I have a good feeling he will now be the next president in January.  Peace is near.  Ciao.

Giornale

Communism coming

Kitty colazione

Yallow

Blue domanda

Long weekend in firenze

Sorry for the delay in posting, but we had a three day free weekend in Florence that ends with the national unification holiday today.  There's a philharmonic playing tonight at 9pm that a few of us are going to to commemorate the day.  On Saturday, I spent a lot of time walking around the north side of the river and taking a lot of abstract-type photos and drinking a lot of espresso.  We went back to La Giostra for dinner, which has only gotten better with each subsequent visit.  Yesterday, I woke up at about 8, and everyone was still asleep.  I went to the Uffizi (famous art institute in Florence where Michelangelo's statue of David is housed), and then walked across the river and up to Michelangelo's hill, which offers one of the best views of the city.  I picked up a couple books by Dante Alighieri and read for a few hours in the apartment.  I also found out that there is now outdoor operas at the Boboli Gardens.  The Barber of Seville will be playing there on June 25, so I think a few of us may buy tickets to that because it would be a very unique experience.  I will post some pictures from the weekend and of our apartment (the guys got the pink apartment which I was particularly stoked on; a lot more than a few of my roommates).  We are leaving for Siena and Chianti on Friday morning which I am really looking forward to.  I also have an interview at Polimoda, which is an art and design school in Florence, on Thursday so see what they have to offer and get some ideas for the future.  A presto.