The Debt Chart

Reality check:

[New York Times]

The BAZOOKALUCA PODCAST: Episode 9

On the ninth episode Luca talks to Brittany Shiver about Grace's Goodness and explains emphatically why Steve Buscemi is the best.



Visit Grace's Goodness on: Facebook, Twitter, Wordpress, but most importantly, donate to the Kickstarter page before August 4th at 11:59PM EDT!

Also, you can listen, rate and review the podcast on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

To Die For Some Ideas

I don't know of any English versions of "Mourir Pour Des Idées," but I desperately want someone to try their hand at this cover. 

French singer-songwriter/poet Georges Brassens wrote the song as a response to absolutists who impose that others should die for their ideas—the refrain basically says, "Let's die for some ideas, agreed, but of a slow death", premising that ideas are worth dying for, but only of old age. Brassens calls for "Oh you firebrands, oh you righteous apostles" to "be the first to die, we'll stand aside for you."

Fabrizio De Andrè sang my favorite version, naturally in Italian. He made a few edits in the verses, injecting some of his own poetic phrasing and dry wit, with slightly more forceful language than Brassens. 

There's a few translations floating around the internet of "Mourir Pour Des Idées," but they really don't do the song any justice, so if you happen to understand French and/or Italian, please enjoy:

Georges Brassens - "Mourir Pour Des Idées"

Fabrizio De Andrè - "Morire Per Delle Idee"






Additionally, I found a nice animated video accompanying Georges' version by Tigre De Papier on Vimeo.

Through The Looking-Glass

You've been warned: the Bean traps curmudgeons. So cheer up.

Stradivarius Violins Pizzicato At My Heartstrings

The "Lady Blunt" Stradivarius Violin recently sold at auction for $15.9M, the highest price paid for a Stradivari violin ever, nearly quadrupling the previous record.

Why so much, you ask?

The auction house put together this short informative video:

Being that I'm an instrument fetishist, talking about this sort of thing is the fast track to getting my britches all messy, but I suspect my appreciation of Antonio Stradivari goes even deeper than simple luthier lust.

I'm Italian, and, historically speaking, the pursuit of perfection in life's pleasures is our M.O. (in comparison to, say, the Azerbaijani, or those dreadful bores, the Swiss.) Whether it be food, film, craft, art, love, or music—if it brings pleasure to the senses, it's worth spending lifetimes obsessing over. This doesn't always work out for the best, mind you. Sometimes you get Nutella, or the Ferrari GTO 250, and other times, well, you're stuck with Berlusconi. 

But I digress.

Stradivari chased perfection from the start of his apprenticeship under master Nicolò Amati on through the construction of over 1,000 instruments that bore the Stradivarius label—he made it his life's work. Centuries later, no one has matched that work. As someone who usually remains immune to the follies of patriotism, this type of thing becomes the glaring exception. A contribution as such to humankind makes me truly proud to be Stradivari's compatriot.

Getting back to simple luthier lust for a moment, here's renowned Israeli violinist Ivry Gitlis gushing unabashedly about the perfection of his Strad:

Also, if you get off on stuff like this, you should watch The Red Violin, a nice film inspired (if only for the appearance of the titular object) by the Red Mendelssohn Stradivarius.