Pix Romana

My sister successfully bid on a house in San Francisco... w00t! No small accomplishment, and it sounds like we'll have some nice meals there in years to come. The Chen/Edelin empire simply can't be stopped - why must our foes persist? Hmm... I need to find a housewarming gift.

While I'm traveling, I've gotten in the habit of bit torrenting like crazy. I've watched nearly all of Entourage, which is pretty hilarious. Its funny how stories lie entirely in the eye of the beholder. To me, the most interesting thing about Entourage is the atmosphere - its like a party where every sword is barely sheathed. Everyone is always at the brink of breaking off each of their relationships, personal and professional. The refrain of the series is: "You're fired... do X or you're fired... I can always fire you... You are replaceable... I've replaced you."

Tonight I watched this Norwegian film called Reprise. I enjoyed it - especially the acting. To me, it was about the pains of knowing someone who's truly talented when you yourself are just talented enough to appreciate them. It has me thinking about the nature of writing... here's the most thought-provoking thing that I read today. Coincidentally, its about writing too.

More about Rome: Pizzerias constitute 50% of the places that serve hot food. The pizza is _ing good, and cheap. Squash blossom pizza (no joke) is the trend, and I love it. Groceries are lackluster - I am going to find the Berkeley Bowl of Rome if it kills me.

I realized today that I missed a big opportunity... to make a "trains run on time in Italy" joke. The trains on the way here ran late as hell.

The guidebooks to Rome have this kind of condescending or apologetic tone. They say things like: "the food is crude, but satisfying" or "...and so Rome remained a chaotic, dysfunctional backwater - a brief fling with glamour in Fellini's films soon dissipated."

My mission is to buy a terrible bike, and explore the city on it. And thereby work of some of my euro-pounds. So far my euro-bike experience has been traumatic (see previous entries).

Song of the day: M83 - Teen Angst (Luciano Mix). I'd love to post some Italian music... but I can't think of anything.