Everybody Still Loves Raymond

As referenced in a previous blog, there is, oddly, a sudden glut of Hollywood films being released which have either Italian American characters or Italian American themes. The first one was Air, a look at how NIKE cut their famous shoe deal with a then-unknown,...

The City with Four Names

Emperor Constantine There used to be a British TV series called Connections which explained how modern events or inventions were derived.  The show connected all the historic dots. May 11th will be the anniversary of the founding of the city of Istanbul, Turkey...

Italy: Open for Business

Hard to believe it’s been three years since COVID was declared a world health emergency. And one of its earliest victims? Italy. Canine greeters at a Lucca store In one of the cruelest historical ironies ever, Italy, one of Earth’s most aesthetically...

The Original Sin of Giorgia Meloni

It’s that she’s prepared to compromise with the centrists. Who knew? Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Giorgia Meloni is a sinner. In addition to being the Magic Boot’s first female premier, Signora Meloni is the Italian Republic’s first right-wing head of government....

An Unworthy Opponent

The once all-male Italian political scene has come a long way as evidenced by how the Right and the Left are now embodied in two women:  Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and opposition leader Elly Schlein (Sh-line).  These ladies are at odds in a cultural war...

Mafia Mamma: Mamma Mia!

Looks like the clichéd Italian phrase popularized by the Swedish pop group Abba should have been applied to a new film.  I deliberately did not mention Mafia Mamma in my last blog on current movies in the hopes that missives I sent to local Chicago papers about...