Italian Online community - Italian forum - Blogs - justindemetri

Down The Fort Documentary Trailer

justindemetri — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:00:20 GMT

Well it's St. Peter's Fiesta time here in Gloucester and this year I am participating in a project to document my town's "little Italy" - known as The Fort.

Although most of Gloucester's Italian-American community has moved on, The Fort is still the heart and soul, the place where our families got a foothold in America.

Change is happening across the country and in our tired old fishing town and so Ethnographer Sal Zerilli and his team are preparing to document the sights, sounds, smells and memories of our little enclave: The Fort.

Here are videos of some of the people I admire most - that helped shape the person I have become. Enjoy:

"> " type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="550" height="400">

These are my parent's best friends, they are still known as the 'fort gang' and are like my older brothers and sisters -getting me in small trouble but keeping me out of big trouble.

"> " type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="550" height="400">

Buzzy Bertolino was like the neighborhood grandpa and his bakery next door to my grandma Demetri's was the kitchen cupboard. After all these years he still looks the same...

For more stories and information on the project visit: Down The Fort

Italian Scientists Get Closer To Finding Dark Matter

justindemetri — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:18:59 GMT

Ahhh, space. I have always looked up and wondered what's going on up there. Even though my horrible math skills steered me clear of Astronomy in school, it never stopped me from reading the latest discoveries.

I kind of see space exploration in a similar vein as the Age of Discovery, but on a much longer time-scale. With my connection to the ocean from my family, its no wonder that I see space as the new, unexplored 'Ocean-Sea'.

So to me it is fitting that Italian scientists, much like the master mariners of our heritage, are leading the way...

Quote:

ITALIAN-LED SPACE MISSION `FINDS` DARK MATTER TRACES

(ANSA) - Rome, April 2 - An Italian-led space mission may
have collected the first concrete evidence of dark matter,
according to scientists.

A highly sensitive detector launched in 2006 to study
cosmic rays has recorded an unexpected abundance of
positrons, the antimatter counterpart of the electron, which
may be left behind when dark matter is destroyed.

``This is a fantastic result,`` said research
coordinator Piergiorgio Picozza of the National Institute of
Nuclear Physics of the breakthrough to be published in
Nature.

``It`s the first real evidence of the possibility of
dark matter, although it`s still necessary to collect further
data``.

Further research will need to exclude other possible
sources of the positrons, such as spinning stars called
pulsars that emit electromagnetic radiation, or cosmic rays
impacting with atoms.

But Picozza said he was ``hopeful`` that other sources
would be ruled out.

Dark matter is the hypothetical, invisible matter
believed by astrophysicists to account for around 23% of the
universe, and whose presence is inferred from gravitational
effects on visible matter.

Visible matter, which makes up the stars and planets,
comprises just 4-5% of the universe, while the remaining 72%
is dark energy, a hypothetical energy form that some
cosmologists say is behind the accelerating rate of the
expansion of the universe.

Picozza and his team used data from the Pamela (Payload
for Antimatter Matter Exploration and Light-nuclei
Astrophysics) satellite, which is a joint initiative between
Italy, Germany, Sweden and Russia.

Sicily Going to the Dogs?

justindemetri — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:35:41 GMT

Disturbing news article on packs of feral dogs in Sicily. A pack of feral dogs are much more dangerous than say a pack of wolves of coyotes since the fear of humans has not been bread out of them.

In my area, the coyotes are getting more brazen, now that they are used to living so close to humans. However this is not the occasional pet being taken by wild animals. In this situation happening in Sicily, humans are being brutally attacked by domesticated dogs, that have returned to their wild roots.

Quote:

SECOND DOG ATTACK IN SICILY PUTS TOURIST IN HOSPITAL

(ANSA) - Modica, March 17 - A 24-year-old female German
tourist remains in critical condition in a Catania hospital
after being attacked by a pack of dogs while walking on the
coast here in southern Sicily near the city of Ragusa.

The attack came two days after a 10-year-old boy was
killed and to other people inured in three separate attacks
by a pack of wild dogs.

The German tourist was reportedly waking along the beach
when she was surrounded by the dogs who then attacked her and
inflicted injuries to her face, legs and arms.

A group of locals were able to save the woman and scare
the dogs off.

``They tore her apart and she would have died if people
hadn`t intervened,`` one eye witness said.

``There were a dozen or so, mostly small-sized dogs in the
pack and they were very aggressive,`` the witness added.

Police are said to be trying to contact the parents of
the young woman.

In Sunday`s attack, the boy had been cycling past the
dogs when they surrounded him, pulled him off his bike and
killed him.

The attack came just hours after two separate incidents
in which a nine-year-old boy and a forty-year-old man were
bitten.

Police rounded up some 30 of the animals on Monday
and were looking for the remaining members of a reported
50-strong pack.

Where Have You Gone Joe DiMaggio?

justindemetri — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:58:30 GMT

Well, not like we really had a chance, but Italy was knocked out of the World Baseball Classic yesterday. While players of Italian descent have been a major part of America's Pastime since at least the 1920's, this national team just couldn't get it together -even with the help of batting coach Mike Piazza.

Quote:

BASEBALL: ITALY ELIMINATED FROM WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC

ANSA) - Toronto, March 11 - Italy was eliminated from
the second edition of the World Baseball Classic after it was
humiliated in a 10-1 defeat against Venezuela on Tuesday
night here.

Despite its opening defeat on Saturday, 7-0 again against
Venezuela, Italy kept its slight hopes alive thanks to its
6-2 surprise victory over Canada on Monday.

The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball
tournament backed by the International Baseball Federation
and created by Major League Baseball, the Major League
Baseball Players Association, and other professional baseball
leagues and their players associations around the world.

It was first held held in March 2006 and after this
edition will be staged every two years.
It differs from the Baseball World Cup in that it allows
professional players from national leagues to take part and
represent their countries.

But there is hope for Italy in the next WBC. This year, the equally obscure Netherlands team was able to eliminate the Dominican Republic team, comprised of MLB All-Stars.

Italia la Grassa?

justindemetri — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:15:58 GMT

Are Italians getting fatter? Well if the stats in this news report can be trusted, maybe a little. Seriously the increases are slight, but they do trend in the wrong direction. Don't worry Italy, you got a long way to go before your streets and malls are filled with mastodons waddling to the next trattoria...

And as for the South, well watch out for what seems like a curse on your cousins, the overweight Italian-Americans: Type II diabetes. Many of us with Southern Italian genes are very succeptable to getting this malady once you get a little older and start putting on weight.

Quote:

ITALIANS `GETTING FATTER`

(ANSA) - Rome, March 3 - Italians are getting fatter and
lazier and are smoking and drinking more, according to an
annual report published by the National Observatory of Health
in Italian Regions on Tuesday.

The number of people who are overweight grew
progressively over the last three years, rising from 33.5% of
the population in 2005 to 35% in 2008, the report warned.

The rates of obesity followed a similar pattern,
affecting 10.2% of the population in 2008.
Southern Italy has been worst hit by the trend, with
Basilicata registering 40.4% of residents overweight and
Campania 39.8%.

The report slammed poor diet, and specifically an
increase in the consumption of sweets, snacks and alcohol, as
well as lack of exercise for contributing to the population`s
increased mass.

The number of Italians who said they practise sport
dropped from 20.9% of the population in 2007 to 20.5% in
2008, according to the report.

Smoking is also on the rise, it said, with the number of
men who smoke creeping up from 28.3% in 2007 to 28.8% in
2008, and the number of women from 16.2% to 17%.

Once again, the habit was more widespread in the south.
The report said the disparity between southern and
northern Italy was partly a result of regional health care
quality and prevention campaigns.

It noted major differences in health spending per capita
- from 1,581 euros in Calabria in the south to 2,200 euros in
Bolzano in the north.

The report said average regional spending had
nevertheless increased between 2006 and 2007, rising from
1,692 euros to 1,731 euros.

Sicily's Sex-Changed Snails

justindemetri — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 14:14:11 GMT

You may have never heard of the Murex, but I'm sure you have heard of it's most famous product: The purple dye of the Phoenecians that colored the royal robes of the ancient world were made from this seasnail.

Now, due to the continued use of a banned anti-fouling paint, the Sicilian Murex is facing a major environmental threat - chemicals are turning them all into males.

I'm no stranger to anti-fouling paint. The famous red copper paint used on boat hulls since the 1860's was invented across the harbor from my mother's house in Gloucester.

While this stuff is essential to marine work, these paints, especially the newer varieties that replace copper with chemicals, are causing problems on the seabed. And once these chemicals are dredged up from the substrate it can cause human related health problems as well.

Quote:

MED MOLLUSCS IN SEX-CHANGE THREAT

(ANSA) - Rome, February 20 - The murex, one of Sicily`s
best-loved shell-fish, is facing extinction because of
widespread sex changes caused by compounds in paints
protecting the hulls of boats, environmentalists warn.

The alarm was launched by Italy`s premier marine
research institute, the Institute for Environmental
Protection and Research (ISPRA, formerly known as ICRAM),
after it carried out tests in Sicilian coastal waters and
compared them with uncontaminated waters farther out.

The results show that the females of three species of
murex have almost completely changed sex around the coasts
while the gender pattern remains intact on the unsullied
seabeds.

ISPRA experts have identified the culprit as TBT, a
so-called organotin which causes female murexes to become
males.

TBT is one of the prime ingredients of anti-fouling
paints, used to coat the bottom of ships to prevent sea life
such as algae and molluscs from attaching themselves to hulls
- thereby slowing ships and increasing fuel consumption.

In 2001 the International Maritime Organisation
banned TBT and other harmful organotins but they have still
not been phased out and the sex lives of the molluscs are
still at risk.

``The situation will only be improved by getting rid of
the paints and dredging and cleaning the bottom of
harbours,`` said ISPRA`s Franco Andaloro.

Andaloro said studies had shown the murexes were also
being turned into males by the seabed sludge they graze on.

The gender-bending TBT seeps into the water and builds
up on harbour beds, Andoloro said.
The exact mechanism behind the transexual molluscs is
still being studied.

A handful of Italian researchers are at the cutting edge.
One of them, Antonio Terlizzi of Lecce University,
explained that TBT boosts the production of testosterone in
the female murexes, making them sterile and eventually
turning them into males.

``It`s a little bit like all those women shot-putters
with moustaches you used to see a few years ago,`` he said.

According to the Worldwide Fund for Nature, the problem
could become wider, with populations of murexes under threat
of sex changes all around the Italian coast.

The murex, a type of sea snail, is a spiny shelled
marine gastropod of the genus `Murex`, formerly used as a
source of the dye Tyrian purple.

It is one of the most characteristic sights on
shell-fish stalls in Palermo, the Sicilian capital.
So far the possible health effects on people who eat the
transgender snails have not been investigated.

In the biodiversity study, conducted with the help of
the University of Malta, ISPRA also found that the breakdown
of temperature `barriers` due to global warming has led to an
increasing influx of non-native fish from both the Atlantic
and the Red Sea.

There are now ten Atlantic species and 12 Red Sea ones
in the Sicilian Channel.
In the whole of the Mediterranean, ISPRA said, 110
exotic fish can now be found, equal to 15% of the fish
population.

Native species are also threatened by sewage containing
pesticides and DDT which was banned several years ago but is
still found coming out of sewage pipes in some areas,
especially Malta.

The Dutch Version of Parmagiano

justindemetri — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:11:27 GMT

Well I just got back from a 2 week adventure in the Netherlands. Of course while there I was trying as many Dutch favorites as possible and like a typical tourist, I brought home a wheel of cheese.

I am a big fan of the Dutch cheeses: Gouda, Edam, Alkmaar etc..however I always thought you ate most of these cheeses young and soft. However I got a lesson in cheese at an Amsterdam cheese shop and was amazed at what happens to a wheel of Gouda after about 10 years - it turns into something quite similar to Parmagiano. Who knew?

The similarities were amazingly close when it came to taste, texture and the 'crumble factor'. But I am not sure how it melts, I guess that would be a pretty important component...

Hey, when it's time maybe I will grate some over pasta - I will let you all know in ten years when the cheese is ready:D

Lobsters Have Rights?

justindemetri — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:03:28 GMT

Growing up around lobsters my whole life, I just had to laugh at this "news" article. I haven't been in Italy since 2001, but I recall many seafood restaurants in Venice displaying lobsters on ice. Apparently that is a no-no these days as animal activists see this as painful for the lobster....:confused:

Quote:

RESTAURANTEUR ON TRIAL FOR MISTREATING LOBSTERS

(ANSA) - Milan, January 6 - A well-known Milanese
restauranteur and his wife have been been sent to trial for
the mistreatment of lobsters and will find themselves before
a judge in early March.

The alleged crime took place in November of 2007 when
health inspectors found that live lobsters were on display
for potential customers on packs of crushed ice and not
inside a water tank.

According to the prosecutor in the case, Giulio
Benedetti, not only did this constitute a violation of food
preservation laws, but the couple were also guilty of
mistreating the lobsters and causing them ``insupportable
physical pain`` by keeping them alive out of their natural
habitat, water.
The prosecution also suspects that this treatment may
have been a contributing factor in the lobsters` death.

The case is similar an April 2006 one in Vicenza when a
restaurant operator was fined 688 euros for mistreating
lobsters by keeping them on ice.
The fine was the result of a complaint filed in March
2002 by a former activist from Italy`s animal protection
agency ENPA.

According to the restauranteur, at the time of his
alleged `crime` there were no specific guidelines on
maintaining live lobsters, regulations which entered the law
books only in 2004.

The general opinion of lobstermen is that a hard shell
lobster can survive out of the water for 24 hours or more,
while soft shell lobsters, those which are regrowing their
shells after shedding in the summer, are best kept in water.

They also maintain that lobsters, sometimes referred to
as the `cockroaches of the sea`, do not suffer in the
traditional sense, even when they are thrown into boiling
water for cooking.

Most lobsters in Italy are hard shells and arrive from
northern Europe and North America packed in ice.

The local press in Vicenza noted at the time that the
case had given the restaurant operator some excellent and
free publicity.

Like the article says, hard shells can last quite a while out of water. We'd keep them in the refridgerator drawer for a day or a little longer and they would be fine. However it is true that lobsters will die if in direct contact with ice for long. I made that mistake one time and my boss let me have it.

But as far as pain? Any creature with an exoskeleton that can drop limbs without flinching, probably does not have a highly developed pain reflex.

Lobsters Have Rights?

justindemetri — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:01:48 GMT

Quote:

RESTAURANTEUR ON TRIAL FOR MISTREATING LOBSTERS

(ANSA) - Milan, January 6 - A well-known Milanese
restauranteur and his wife have been been sent to trial for
the mistreatment of lobsters and will find themselves before
a judge in early March.
The alleged crime took place in November of 2007 when
health inspectors found that live lobsters were on display
for potential customers on packs of crushed ice and not
inside a water tank.
According to the prosecutor in the case, Giulio
Benedetti, not only did this constitute a violation of food
preservation laws, but the couple were also guilty of
mistreating the lobsters and causing them ``insupportable
physical pain`` by keeping them alive out of their natural
habitat, water.
The prosecution also suspects that this treatment may
have been a contributing factor in the lobsters` death.
The case is similar an April 2006 one in Vicenza when a
restaurant operator was fined 688 euros for mistreating
lobsters by keeping them on ice.
The fine was the result of a complaint filed in March
2002 by a former activist from Italy`s animal protection
agency ENPA.
According to the restauranteur, at the time of his
alleged `crime` there were no specific guidelines on
maintaining live lobsters, regulations which entered the law
books only in 2004.
The general opinion of lobstermen is that a hard shell
lobster can survive out of the water for 24 hours or more,
while soft shell lobsters, those which are regrowing their
shells after shedding in the summer, are best kept in water.
They also maintain that lobsters, sometimes referred to
as the `cockroaches of the sea`, do not suffer in the
traditional sense, even when they are thrown into boiling
water for cooking.
Most lobsters in Italy are hard shells and arrive from
northern Europe and North America packed in ice.
The local press in Vicenza noted at the time that the
case had given the restaurant operator some excellent and
free publicity.

Like the article says, hard shells can last quite a while out of water. We'd keep them in the refridgerator drawer for a day or a little longer and they would be fine. However it is true that lobsters will die if in direct contact with ice for long. I made that mistake one time and my boss at the time let me have it.

But as far as pain? Any creature with an exoskeleton that can drop limbs without flinching, probably does not have a highly developed pain reflex.

Italian Bloggers Guilty of "Stampa Clandestina"

justindemetri — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:20:28 GMT

Thanks to the ruling of a Sicilian judge, it seems that Italian bloggers are guilty of "stampa clandestina" - clandestine publishing. As this article from the Register explains, even freedom of speech in Italy, is a highly bureaucratic affair.

However this ruling may not only jeapordize Italian blogger, but it seems to make the entire Internet illegal under Italian law...WHAT:confused:

Quote:

How an Italian judge made the internet illegal
New technology? It's all a mistake

By John Ozimek Posted in Law, 26th September 2008 11:40 GMT

Italian bloggers are up in arms at a court ruling early this year that suggests almost all Italian blogs are illegal. This month, a senior Italian politician went one step further, warning that most web activity is likely to be against the law.

The story begins back in May, when a judge in Modica (in Sicily) found local historian and author Carlo Ruta guilty of the crime of "stampa clandestina" � or publishing a "clandestine" newspaper � in respect of his blog. The judge ruled that since the blog had a headline, that made it an online newspaper, and brought it within the law�s remit.

...

The offence has its origins in 1948, when in apparent contradiction of Article 21 of the Italian Constitution guaranteeing the right to free expression, a law was passed requiring publishers to register officially before setting up a new publication. The intention, in the immediate aftermath of Fascism, may have been to regulate partisan and extremist publications. The effect was to introduce into Italian society a highly centrist and bureaucratic approach to freedom of the Press.

A further twist to this tale took place in 2001, with the realisation that existing laws were inadequate to deal with the internet. Instead of liberalising, the Italian Government sought to bring the internet into the same framework as traditional print media. Law 62, passed in March 2001, introduces the concept of "stampa clandestina" to the internet.

Read the full story hereThe Register 9/26/08

Italian comic Beppe Grillo certainly isn't laughing about this attempt to quash Italian bloggers:

Quote:

GRILLO TO LEAVE ITALY IF `BLOG-KILLER` LAW PASSED

(ANSA) - Rome, December 1 - Italy`s crusading comic
Beppe Grillo has bought a house in Switzerland over fears
that his anti-corruption blog - the most popular in Italy and
among the top 20 worldwide - may be censored or shut down
under a new measures being discussed in parliament.

``I`ve found a peaceful and safe corner, and it`s also a
pretty place,`` Grillo said of his new Lugano home in an
interview with a Swiss paper.

``My blog really risks being censored or closed down,
and I want to be ready to leave immediately for a safe
country that will allow me to continue,`` he said.

The flap began in November when opposition Democratic
Party spokesman Ricardo Franco Levi drew up measures that
would have required all Italian blogs to sign up to the
Register of Communications Operators (ROC), making them
subject to regulations governing printed word crimes.
Blogs that failed to register with ROC would have been
reported for clandestine publishing, a crime punishable by up
to two years in prison as well as financial penalties.

Levi later backed down on the measures in the wake of
widespread protest from bloggers and internet users, who
dubbed the draft the ``blog-killer law``.

But Grillo has said that blogs are still not safe,
slamming subsequent amendments to the draft by the People of
Freedom party`s Roberto Cassinelli.

``Many people are advising me to move my blog abroad or
to register it as .com, .net or something else that will not
be subject to Italian laws like .it. Why should I? Every day
it`s a new dirty trick,`` he said.
Grillo shot into the public eye in 2007 with his `V-Day`
initiative, in which V stands for the Italian expression
corresponding to f*** off. It was directed at the many MPs
currently sitting in parliament who have been convicted or
are on trial.

But the 60-year-old Grillo has long been a thorn in the
side of the powers that be. He has been off the airwaves
since 1987 when he made a stab at Bettino Craxi - six years
before the late Socialist leader`s downfall amid escalating
corruption scandals.

In 2005, American magazine Time named Grillo one of its
European heroes of the year, praising him for his
hard-hitting brand of humour.

Looks like my dreams of blogging while traveling through Italy may have to wait until this is all sorted out...

Can Somebody Pick Me Up A Lotto Ticket?

justindemetri — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:53:38 GMT

I didn't get the gambling gene that seems so prevalent where I live. But still, 91 million euros and counting has got me realizing that 'you gotta play to win'

So....does anyone here want to go in on a ticket?:D

Quote:

WORLD'S BIGGEST JACKPOT KEEPS GROWING AND HITS 91.3M EUROS

(ANSA) - Rome, October 17 - Italy's popular SuperEnalotto
game failed to find a winner on Thursday and the world's
biggest jackpot has now hit a staggering 91.3 million euros
for anyone who picks the six lucky numbers in Saturday
night's draw.

The chance of becoming a millionaire has driven millions
of Italians to place bets and the number of slips played for
Thursday's draw broke the 80-million threshold for an all-
time record of 82 million.
The Italian pot by far outstrips the world's other
high-paying games with California's Super Lotto second at
37.1 million euros and the U.S.A Mega Millions game third
with a jackpot of 23.7 million euros.
SuperEnalotto's jackpot has been building since its last
top prize was won on April 26, when 40.6 million euros were
won.

The previous SuperEnalotto record jackpot was 71.8
million euros, which was won in Milan in May of 2005 and
divided among the 10 lucky winners who created a pool system
which cost them 126 euros.
In May of last year a single winner took home an amazing
71.4 million euros.
The advantage of the Italian game over others,
especially those in America, is that SuperEnalotto pays out
the full prize immediately while the US game gives winners
the pot in instalments or pays a single, reduced prize.

SuperEnalotto winners also receive interest on their
winnings from the time they redeem their slips to when they
receive full payment, which usually takes two months.
In order to win SuperEnalotto betters must choose the
correct six numbers drawn from one to 90. Draws are held
three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
There is also a 5+1 win, in which a seventh bonus number
is drawn and can be added to any five of the original
six-number combination.

According to online bookies, betters have a well over
600-million-to-one chance of picking the six correct numbers
and an over 100 million-to-one chance of getting a 5+1 win.
SuperEnalotto also pays for five, four and three correct
guesses.

Each six-number combination costs 50 euro cents with a
minimum two combination or one euro bet.
SuperEnalotto, which made its debut in December 1997,
has proved to be a true boon for Italy's state coffers which
receive 49.5% of all bets made, far more than other national
betting games which pay the Treasury between 20% and 25%.
The pool itself receives 38% of bets, slip vendors
received 8% and game organizers Sisal take a 4.4% cut.

Last year SuperEnalotto raked in 1.940 billion euros of
which the state took in 960 million, while in the first nine
months of the year 1.46 billion euros was spent on the game
giving the state 723 million euros in revenue.

There is Something in the Wine

justindemetri — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 22:41:32 GMT

So if Chianti is the "secret" ingredient to this long life potion, what other kind of stuff is in it?:p

Quote:

CHIANTI 'ELIXIR' RECREATED

(ANSA) - Siena, September 9 - A Tuscan pharmacist has
recreated a Chianti-based elixir for long life from an
18th-century recipe invented by one of his ancestors.
Giovanni de Munari found the recipe behind a shelf when
he was repairing his pharmacy in Asciano near Siena, one of
the oldest apothecary shops in Italy.
He and his wife mixed up the ingredients and produced a
potion they said confirmed recent discoveries about the
health-giving properties of red wine.

''They may not have known the names of the chemicals
back then, but they were sure red wine, and Chianti in
particular, was a boon for old age,'' de Munari said.

''We achieved such a convincing result that we're now
collaborating with a Treviso-based distillery to make the
elixir on an industrial scale''.

Because of the anti-oxidants and other chemical
substances it contains, red wine has been credited with
warding off heart disease and other age-related illnesses.

Gelato al Parmigiano - the King of Ice Cream?

justindemetri — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:32:35 GMT

How can I put this? The Chinese are known for enjoying some very "interesting" types of food. Some of these tastes are very strange to western visitors - just watch one of those shows where they visit a local chinese market.

However this news story tells of how the Chinese have now put a new spin on Italian gelato:

Quote:

PARMESAN ICE-CREAM A HIT IN CHINA

(ANSA) - Reggio Emilia, August 21 - A new ice-cream
flavoured with Italy's king of cheeses, Parmigiano Reggiano,
is proving a smash hit in China, its inventors said Thursday.

Italo-Chinese ice-cream company La Perla said people
were snapping up the creation, which is made with authentic
Italian parmesan cheese, at its branches in Beijing and
Shanghai.

''The taste was immediately excellent, but the biggest
problem was getting the consistency right,'' said La Perla
director Roberto Longoni.
''We found that the secret was to choose an 18-month-old
cheese, which is sweeter and more elastic,'' he said.

''Given the success of this flavour, we plan to keep
selling it and also to offer it to the restaurant chefs who
we regularly supply with ice creams and sorbets,'' he added.

Simone Ficarelli, marketing head of the Parmigiano
Reggiano Consortium, said the ice-cream got the thumbs-up
from the cheese's producers.
''It's an ice-cream made entirely by hand, in the same
way we traditionally make our cheese,'' he said.

La Perla offers over 400 other flavours of hand-made
Italian ice-cream in addition to the parmesan flavour.

The consortium has long been fighting to rid the world
of copycat parmesan products, some of which are made in
China.

Despite a string of legal battles, Parmigiano Reggiano
continues to be sold in cloned versions in South America,
Japan and Britain.

In Brazil a pirated version is marketed as Parmesao,
while Argentina calls its fake parmesan Regianito.

I have to admit I'm a bit curious about the flavor and how it holds up in an ice cream. I wonder if it is more salty than sweet.

Barilla: Wheat is for Pasta, not for Gasoline!

justindemetri — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:54:58 GMT

I've posted in the past about rising food costs hurting the consumer. Well it seems that Barilla is claiming the use of grain for bio-fuels as the cause for rising pasta prices.

I am all for bio-fuel research, but using a staple like wheat to create ethanol is going to cause problems in the world's food supply. There was a time when Italy's poor ate little more than pasta or polenta. Now that same corn and wheat are being put into gas tanks...

Quote:

BARILLA CALLS EU/US BIOFUEL POLICY 'MADNESS'

(ANSA) - Milan, July 1 - Italian pasta multinational Barilla has branded the polices of the European Union and the
United States to use wheat to produce biofuels as ''madness''.

Speaking at the presentation of the group's 2007 budget, chairman Guido Barilla added that politicians championing the use of grains to produce the green fuel were acting on a ''populist logic'' and that this situation risked provoking a
global crisis because of soaring prices for wheat and other commodities generally used as food staples.

''The (Italian) government should seek information on the situation from people who know about agriculture and food and explain the problem to the EU,'' Barilla said.

During Tuesday's presentation, the head of the world's biggest pastamaker said that Barilla had been forced to boost
prices by 40% over the past year and a half to compensate for rocketing grain prices.

The Barilla group's 2007 balance sheet saw turnover climb by 3.4% over the previous year to 4.2 billion euros,
while the group's consolidated debt fell 178 million euros to 1.26 billion euros.

St. Peter's Fiesta 2008

justindemetri — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:02:26 GMT

My hometown has been getting tons of negative press lately due to the "pregnancy pact" story. Sadly it has overshadowed our annual festival in honor of Saint Peter, which starts this Wednesday.

If you are in the north of Boston area this week, you might want to stick around to see our version of a Sicilian tradition - the Greasy Pole Contest:

Here is a schedule of events for Gloucester's 2008 St. Peter's Fiesta.

Wednesday, June 25

5:30 p.m. � New Fish Festival, Gloucester House.

7 p.m.� "Forever Legends," St. Peter's Park.

Thursday, June 26

6 p.m.� Fiesta Five Road Race, St. Peter's Square.

8 p.m. � Youth Block Dance.

Friday, June 27

4:45 p.m.� Greasy Pole Contest & Women's Seine Boat Races.

6:30 p.m.� Entertainment.

7:30 p.m. � Formal Opening.

Saturday, June 28

9:30 a.m.� Soccer Games, Newell Stadium.

10 a.m.� Military Seine Boat Race (Navy-Coast Guard).

2:30 p.m. � Championship Series � Youth Basketball Tournament, Fort Playground.

3 p.m. � Children's Games, Beach Court.

4:45 p.m.� Sports Events, Pavillon Beach/ Seine Boat Races/ Greasy Pole Contest.

6 p.m.� Musical Entertainment, St. Peter's Square

Sunday, June 29

10:00 a.m. � Celebration of Mass of St. Peter, St. Peter's Park.

12:00 p.m. � Religious Procession, St. Peter's Park.

3:00 p.m. � Blessing of the Fleet, Stacy Boulevard.

4:45 p.m.� Sports Events, Pavilion Beach/ Seine Boat Races/ Greasy Pole Contest.

6:00 p.m.� St. Alfio's Band

6:30 p.m. � Children's Pinata Contest, Pascucci Court.

7:30 p.m.� Awards Ceremony.

8:30 p.m. � Musical Entertainment, St. Peter's Park.

10:00 p.m.� Fireworks Display.

11:00 p.m. � Raffle Drawing/ Closing Procession.