Archive

November 2023

• 28: Misunderstanding General Giáp
• 28: How deep is the wound?
• 26: Barbie: beginning to become
• 23: The kidnapped bucket
• 22: Pet tales
• 15: Vengeance unleashed
• 13: 23. Father Knows Best: Misunderstandings
• 13: Divorce or un-divorce?
• 09: 22. Female Trouble: Samantha the Wise
• 06: The taste of mustard
• 02: 21. Female Trouble: A Post-mother life
• 02: The lunatic
• 02: Fall snapshots

October 2023

• 30: Of lines and bylines
• 24: Belovid Dad
• 22: The basement war
• 18: The vegan days
• 11: The perfume of roses
• 09: A shell game
• 05: Tutu’s fluke

September 2023

• 28: The great Great Falls mystery
• 26: Film: “It Ain’t Over”
• 26: How many more?
• 22: 20. Female Trouble: Things Fall Apart
• 18: Try this at home
• 12: Humoring depression
• 12: 19. Spain: The End of the Affair
• 07: My tender bar
• 07: The Order of Malta Clinic
• 04: How to botch a mango

August 2023

• 31: Benchmark
• 18: One man’s “ferragosto”
• 17: 18. Spain: General Ohio
• 17: Almond’s conquest
• 14: Amedeo Ciaccheri
• 11: Brave new verbs
• 09: Love in the Isle of Capri
• 02: Books: “Dottoressa: An American Doctor in Rome” (revisited)
• 02: 17. Spain: A word on bikinis
• 01: Tiger and snake

July 2023

• 26: In the heat of the moment
• 24: Dad’s heroes
• 23: How I finally learned to stop worrying and love the prom
• 23: 16. Spain: Telefonica
• 17: In real life
• 16: Life or death?
• 06: 15. Spain: O Rey
• 06: Heaven in the heavens
• 01: Life with cats (and dogs)

June 2023

• 27: Asunder
• 25: Summer in the city
• 22: Spark plugs
• 22: 14. Spain: Fallen Salt
• 18: Film Review: Triangle of Sadness
• 17: Days of aqua pazza
• 08: Resurrecting denial
• 08: 13. Spain: Batido boy

May 2023

• 21: The joys of southern bureaucracy
• 15: 12. Spain: To catch Entonces
• 13: Roma revisited
• 13: Forbidden Notebook
• 10: The power of sound
• 07: Soundscapes in Garbatella
• 04: 11. Spain: Matalo!

April 2023

• 30: Disaster zone
• 29: Business as usual
• 26: Once upon a footpath
• 25: Buon appetito
• 23: 10. Spain: Noble Notsies
• 19: Death experience
• 12: Seeking ruins and rebirth
• 06: 9. Spain: Rules by the mostest
• 06: The New Mrs. Malaprop

March 2023

• 29: Twilight of an astronaut
• 25: Time for the next wave in cinema
• 24: 8. Travel to Spain: French Pirates in Libya
• 18: A “gentleman” undone
• 13: Street voices of yesteryear
• 12: 7. Travel to Spain: Jolly Good!
• 08: Thoughts on ethical culture
• 06: Springing forward
• 04: 6. Memories of Truancy: Firebug
• 03: Grammar life lessons

February 2023

• 24: Persistence before aptitude
• 15: February sun
• 15: 5. Memories of Truancy: Tom Sawyer
• 15: 4. Memories of Truancy: Tree Lord
• 06: Two Battles of the Bulge
• 01: 3. Memories of Truancy: High-heeled Math
• 01: 2. Memories of Truancy: Pencils
• 01: 1. Memories of Truancy: Mr. Major and His Minor
• 01: Boyhood Empire: An Introduction
• 01: Soup saga
• 01: In deep winter

January 2023

• 22: A day in the life
• 19: Discovering English literature
• 11: Film Review: “RRR”
• 06: Bringer of bread
• 06: Once upon a shoe
• 01: On Christmas carols

December 2019

• 31: Raging toward a second act
• 30: Shameless sheep
• 28: Call him June
• 28: Conversing with aloneness
• 26: Coming of age, in English
• 25: The vital household
• 24: Behind closed doors
• 22: The steep price of prosperity
• 21: When it doesn’t add up
• 20: Of monks, monkeys, and kids
• 19: Mother’s back
• 18: Waking to a new language
• 18: His adorable shyness
• 14: Passing the bar
• 11: Oops, forgot the berries!
• 08: Hitler was then, not now
• 08: Ford v Ferrari
• 08: Get help!
• 06: In a New York minute
• 04: End of days
• 02: Talking sense to judgment

November 2019

• 30: To the heart of anorexia
• 29: When tourism goes mad
• 27: The research game, alla Italiana
• 26: Pity the rhetorical question
• 26: Book review ‘Safekeeping: Some True Stories from a Life ‘
• 23: L’americana’s time to yearn
• 23: The humbled guide
• 22: A tale of different deaths
• 20: Embodying a dream
• 20: For love of craft
• 16: And the abyss deepens
• 11: The local mind
• 11: The kisses left behind
• 09: Back to Gilead
• 08: Letting sleeping figs lie
• 04: An amateur scientist named Poe
• 03: Joker

October 2019

• 31: A personal lexicon
• 31: Measly little people
• 29: A genuine home
• 29: The man who wasn’t there
• 27: In viaggio con la bimba, or, Julia’s Italy
• 27: A few basic words
• 26: Presto, by hand!
• 25: A note from the late Krissy perf.
• 23: The strongman surge
• 20: Ah, Paris, so typical
• 20: (E)scaping it
• 20: Review: ‘Rocks’
• 20: A date with destiny
• 17: Never let them see you cry
• 15: Portrait of a Lady
• 13: One beautiful mess
• 13: Menus for chickens
• 13: A time of cleansing
• 09: A brief history of focaccia
• 07: Matthias and Maxime
• 05: Out of the moment
• 04: St. Maud
• 04: The Roman girl and the Gherkin
• 02: Talking in “human”

September 2019

• 29: A Madrid state of mind
• 29: Father Neptune
• 29: Let success be success
• 29: Ronnie, Johnny — and “others”
• 29: Synchronic
• 27: Irreversible
• 26: Our kid in Moscow
• 23: Jeffrey Epstein and me
• 21: Bob Dylan wants a drink
• 18: A part of me is leaving
• 15: Expressions are served
• 14: Ice-Land
• 13: Getting dirty and educated
• 09: Not a Caravaggio-like summer
• 09: Review: ‘The Load’
• 06: A very rich man
• 03: A tell-tale sojourn in “The Big Smoke”
• 01: Più lungo della gamba
• 01: Linklater heads south

August 2019

• 31: A guy, a girl, and their AI buddy
• 31: The trap door called drawing
• 30: Where winter is here
• 30: The making of the unreasonable actor
• 27: Apocalypse Now: Final Cut
• 27: When Capricorn equals Naples
• 25: Once atop the Pompidou
• 24: Calling Los Angeles home
• 24: The dirty truth
• 21: Rentals in the afterlife
• 21: Hose
• 20: From Bologna to Iowa City
• 17: My delight is small
• 14: A soupçon of summer soups
• 13: Yesterday
• 10: One man’s “socialism”
• 10: So totally cool
• 09: Breaking the rules
• 06: An uncle’s gift
• 04: The last Gandalf
• 03: A plague’s lengthy shadow
• 01: They Shall Not Grow Old

July 2019

• 31: Loving The HU
• 28: Among Satanic servers
• 26: Finding Bob
• 25: Prisoner #174,517
• 24: Europe, U.S.A
• 23: Land of unlikely smiles
• 20: How fireflies came to matter
• 20: Parasite
• 18: Feminism comes to “Toy Story”
• 17: Pulling the strings
• 14: Summer tales from southern Tuscany
• 10: Vendetta in the rearview mirror
• 09: For love of dogs
• 07: Swimming upstream
• 06: Let them eat cake…
• 03: Stop blaming mountains

June 2019

• 30: Home by the water’s edge
• 30: My father, tis of thee
• 26: The great bidet mystery
• 23: Memories of mouse toast
• 23: The kettle to Provence
• 23: The Martian Jew
• 19: Don’t you dare
• 19: Bad times get worse
• 15: The roots of the matter
• 12: A Bard’s Games
• 09: Going native
• 08: Bob Wilson’s Life and Death of Marina Abramovic
• 08: D-Day’s many lessons
• 05: With Billy on the Kapuas River
• 02: Poisoned, again
• 02: The secret life of class reunions

May 2019

• 31: Bitten
• 30: A dress and a friendship
• 26: The Polar Bear Expedition
• 26: The perils of the markets card
• 26: Reckoning with mistakes
• 26: By night in France
• 21: The bonds that tie
• 17: A memoir born of newsprint
• 17: Letter from the Eastern border
• 14: The eccentric food depot
• 09: A toy story
• 08: Home is where…my hairdresser is
• 05: Hardware off Broadway
• 04: In praise of the crummy

April 2019

• 29: Coming of age: a 1960s story
• 29: Kindling
• 29: The confidence drama
• 25: Of stove and screen
• 25: Polly Swims
• 23: Fab fave and rad radishes
• 22: Gloria Bell
• 20: Crash
• 20: My life with the Pill
• 17: Oops (or, literal detachment)
• 15: Chronicles of a worrywart
• 12: Peeling back Peele
• 10: Twice as vice
• 05: Unzipped
• 05: Some love-hate comestibles

March 2019

• 31: I am the champion
• 31: The Americans
• 31: Doomed from within
• 31: Obioma’s colliding cultures
• 31: The hard part
• 30: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
• 28: World without history?
• 26: The limits of history
• 24: 93
• 23: The unforgotten soldier
• 23: The twilight of private clinics
• 20: My 21st-century genetic confession
• 17: A “hare” named Loulou
• 17: Dottoressa: An American Doctor in Rome
• 16: My dump in Paris
• 16: An artist bears witness
• 10: Polenta’s hardscrabble history
• 07: Capernaum
• 07: Ominous palms
• 06: Thursday night, the University Club
• 03: The reluctant gourmet farmer
• 02: From Signorina to Signora

February 2019

• 27: When the paranoid are right
• 24: Diversity detective
• 24: Inspiration as hard work
• 22: Can You Ever Forgive Me?
• 22: Everybody Knows
• 21: The anthem sprinters
• 21: The anxiety of being a device
• 20: Shoplifters
• 17: When rentals go south
• 16: Beasts of the Cretaceous II
• 16: From reviled to revered
• 15: Three Identical Strangers
• 14: The Yellow Brick Road
• 14: Medicine: bad moon rising
• 13: Color cuisine
• 12: Minding the Gap
• 05: Hot blood, cold war
• 05: Love letters to heal the pain
• 03: All the time in the world
• 03: Vice
• 01: The Favourite

January 2019

• 31: If Umbria could swim
• 31: “Civilizing” America’s schools
• 31: Fallacies on immigration
• 31: Pledging to Aten
• 30: Creed II
• 27: Those adoring eyes
• 26: The opposite of help
• 25: Trees, sunsets — and strikes
• 24: Toward a new vision of Europe
• 20: The 60 percent solution
• 20: If Beale Street Could Talk
• 19: The resistance of Maxim Andreevich
• 18: Stan & Ollie
• 16: Cool Whip resolutions
• 16: The Mamma Mission
• 14: “Wisdom born of pain”
• 14: Beasts of the Cretaceous
• 14: The lies expats tell
• 09: Growing into dictatorship
• 07: Revolution in the offing
• 06: The American crown
• 04: What you can and cannot see
• 03: The Straight Story

December 2015

• 31: The naming game
• 31: Euro on the horizon
• 31: The Last Stand of Ms. Betty J. Washington
• 30: Talking a blue streak
• 29: It slipped my mind
• 29: Bridge too far
• 28: Día de Reyes, I
• 28: If I ran the U
• 27: Between the lines
• 26: Dozzy and Caragnano
• 25: Doubling down
• 25: Superheroes of love
• 25: Early light
• 25: Acing the test of time
• 22: Bacon
• 22: Blue cheese
• 21: Meet, eat, pour, repeat
• 21: The malady of fear
• 21: My happy place
• 21: Dinner
• 20: Airy-Man
• 18: Gratitude’s 10 steps
• 18: Scacciadiavola
• 18: Frogs and banks
• 15: Securing the child
• 15: No way
• 15: Loss of faith
• 14: The Gift
• 13: The Man in the High Castle
• 13: The sumptuous 24th
• 12: The insolence of demagogues
• 11: Cooking with the stars
• 08: Feast accomplished
• 06: Tyler’s Last
• 06: One Out of Two
• 05: Life on the Mississippi
• 05: Skywalker’s intell
• 05: Room
• 05: “Very, very real”

November 2015

• 30: Spelunking
• 30: King of the Gypsies
• 30: The chameleon
• 30: Faith
• 30: Boots
• 29: Dreamhouse blues
• 28: After-burger
• 27: Off the beaten pasta
• 27: Two-Spirits
• 27: Lost, not found
• 27: We at SAD
• 27: Joy? I wonder!
• 26: In the cloud
• 26: Memories of Mangiagalli
• 26: Trojan Horse Christmas
• 23: Fat City
• 22: Toothless crime
• 22: Once upon a time
• 22: A shocker
• 22: Paris, III
• 20: Getting underneath
• 19: Truth
• 18: Hey guys!
• 18: Paris, II
• 16: Love, actually
• 15: Campania awakens, II
• 15: Paris
• 15: Body heat
• 14: Bullies and heroes
• 12: Prosperous Friends
• 12: The hungry dozen
• 12: The Walk
• 11: The Tsar of Love and Techno
• 11: Subversive matchmaking
• 09: Ghost town
• 08: Dear Amazon
• 06: Ties worth unbinding
• 03: Mistress America
• 03: The unmarked
• 02: The End of the Tour

October 2015

• 31: V-man
• 31: Number one
• 31: Billy woes
• 31: Coffee wars
• 30: Not so fast
• 30: Thoughts on fresh meat
• 30: I know you. Or do I?
• 29: Denkmal in Berlin
• 29: No witch
• 29: The great divide
• 29: Getting dirty in “Purity”
• 27: Matchmaker, matchmaker
• 27: Price-sick
• 26: Dear Thief
• 25: The Detour
• 25: The brave
• 24: Don’t add it up
• 24: Vraiment?
• 23: Discovering home
• 23: Alchemy’s soundtrack
• 23: The ghosts
• 22: ASAIWBFY
• 19: A legacy-wrecker
• 19: Jacky Sutton
• 18: Dennis the Martian
• 16: Campania awakens, I
• 16: Loving the elephant
• 16: Man From Reno
• 16: 116
• 14: Submission
• 13: The Muse
• 10: The English world
• 10: A state of doubt
• 10: Bologna, inside out
• 10: The enemy of my enemy
• 06: A jury of my beers
• 04: Whatcheeria
• 02: Three Moments of an Explosion
• 01: A Cat, A Man, and Two Women

September 2015

• 30: Mondo paese
• 30: Myth-busting
• 30: Quan belongs
• 30: Endangered strikers
• 27: Southern discomfort
• 27: Results
• 27: Mal d’Italie
• 27: Crybaby world
• 27: No contest
• 27: Man of few words
• 27: Wanting the best
• 27: Ice music
• 27: A tougher pilgrim
• 24: Touching the afterlife
• 24: The Sheer Impossibility of Nothingness
• 22: Un-auntied
• 21: Carrère polishes Limonov
• 21: Postcard from “paradise”
• 21: Days of yore
• 20: Flavia and Maurizio
• 17: Watermelon man
• 17: Listening and learning
• 17: Little big man
• 14: Night moves
• 13: Southern gems
• 13: It Follows
• 13: Misprison of modern relief
• 12: Down the road
• 11: The summer of change
• 11: Vege’n it
• 06: The hunger
• 06: Sleep and fruit
• 06: Drink the water

August 2015

• 31: Synth and so much jazz
• 31: Z for Zachariah
• 31: Smart rules
• 31: Sexy armas
• 31: Flip-flopped
• 31: Which side of the fence?
• 31: Gore and the Glorious Bird
• 31: I raise you a childhood
• 30: Duck and run
• 30: My dirty secret
• 30: Smart dolls
• 30: H8RZ
• 28: The sham
• 28: Area B
• 28: Game of loans
• 28: A-t-t-e-n-t-i-o-n to me
• 25: Waiting to inhale
• 24: Disappearing water
• 24: Whose Watchman?
• 23: Pasture
• 21: Loud men
• 21: A different light
• 21: Jocasta’s brooch
• 18: The Illogic of Kassel
• 17: One tick at a time
• 17: Women in surgery
• 16: Mr. Smith
• 14: Stuff
• 14: In defense of dogs
• 10: Veering to beer
• 10: Goodbye August myth
• 09: Yes means risk
• 09: Erectile function
• 09: 71
• 08: Nectarine of the gods
• 05: Outside city lights
• 01: Voice in the night

July 2015

• 31: Pelvic adventures
• 31: Breezes past
• 31: Balls away
• 30: Vocal manipulations
• 30: He’ll have the octopus
• 30: Going home
• 29: Drama queen
• 28: Apples of memory
• 26: Daydream of the before
• 26: The bone boys
• 26: The forgotten ones
• 26: The perils of doing nothing
• 26: Flying Cloud
• 24: While We’re Young
• 23: No love lost
• 23: War in mind
• 23: The teacher
• 21: Mezzo Americano
• 21: Age in motion
• 18: A man and a woman
• 18: Arabian ice
• 18: Hey there!
• 15: Change-management
• 13: The debt game
• 12: The Mersault Investigation
• 12: Sandy’s world
• 12: Café anti-society
• 11: Cereal killer
• 10: Sacred eating
• 10: Rediscovering Lazio
• 10: Meet the novelist
• 10: The old writer speaks
• 05: Ghosts of the southern wild
• 05: Teaching tolerance
• 05: Greece

June 2015

• 30: The Making of the Zombie Wars
• 30: Turner’s Venice
• 30: Working the muscle
• 30: News of his death
• 30: It’s hard to love a chicken, II
• 29: A sheep story
• 28: Sexual combat
• 28: Sacred eating
• 26: Standing up
• 26: The emotional superhighway
• 26: Feeling Irish
• 25: On being participantly observed
• 25: Drinking up the morning
• 22: Greek to them
• 22: Noroc!
• 22: Market watch
• 21: Mrs. Townsend
• 19: Smitten
• 18: Klieg lights
• 17: Cup half-full
• 17: Feasible felines
• 17: The consultant
• 17: Red Army
• 14: The Country Road
• 14: A lesson from Woody
• 13: Chickens Eat Pasta
• 13: Slow West
• 13: New dawn for Daughn
• 13: Cultural competence
• 13: Footfalls
• 10: Hot plates
• 08: Small wonders
• 07: An American nightmare
• 07: Red summer
• 07: Curse me till I’m dead
• 05: Hardening into normal
• 04: Animal Mother
• 02: Chilling sips
• 02: Leviathan
• 01: American Sniper

May 2015

• 31: 9/11 at the dinner table
• 31: See no evil
• 31: The thrill is gone
• 31: The Long Good Bye
• 30: Little Oscars
• 30: Our disappearing fish
• 28: The nostalgic nomad
• 28: Josephine
• 28: North slope hots
• 27: Dignity
• 25: Mortality is so passé
• 25: Time Lapse
• 25: Roman Tales
• 25: The man
• 24: Cooling down
• 24: Checking on the water lilies
• 24: Stella and Giusy
• 23: Into Mediterranea
• 23: Something in the air
• 20: Motherland
• 18: Kid questions
• 17: Broken codes
• 17: Captain of all
• 17: The mind of the gut
• 17: Morata’s choice
• 15: Silver (screen) linings
• 13: A Love Affair
• 13: Black Sea
• 12: Happy accidents
• 12: 12 Edmonstone Street
• 10: Done got old baby
• 10: BFF
• 09: An easy roe to hoe
• 07: Having it once
• 06: Blood to wine
• 06: A sense of Venice
• 06: Scarred Hearts
• 05: Big Eyes
• 04: New kid; new words
• 04: Three kings and an old lady
• 04: Hollywoodland
• 03: All thumbs

April 2015

• 30: In charge
• 30: A new me
• 30: Anticipation
• 29: Momentous moment
• 29: The Lamborghini, V
• 28: Barbera and Red
• 27: The Comedians
• 27: My Documents
• 27: Who’s laughing now?
• 26: Gone, Baby, Gone
• 26: Al fresco
• 26: Ventures and gains
• 26: Siding with the sea
• 25: Domino effect
• 25: Barracks, lamb and beer
• 25: Bacon’ me crazy
• 25: The Unknown Known
• 24: Love Eternal
• 22: The calming unknown
• 21: The End of Days
• 21: The damage done
• 20: Aquarium
• 19: Pulling the Tigger
• 18: Pantry peeping
• 17: Exile’s return
• 17: All grown up
• 15: The Roman admonishment
• 15: Looking to heal
• 15: Christine
• 13: Robinson, Lila, and God
• 12: Eye to eye
• 12: The Chandor chokehold
• 12: Wooly mammoth
• 11: A Girl Walks Home at Night
• 10: As Good As Dead
• 10: Rabbit, run
• 10: The Canal
• 09: House of Cards
• 09: Race and marketing
• 07: Pope and presidents
• 06: Young Skins
• 05: Some like it hot
• 05: Adventures in Immediate Irreality
• 05: Brooch

March 2015

• 31: Brandi and Bridget on hold
• 31: Crime wine
• 30: The Dream of My Return
• 30: Two countries
• 30: Washington George
• 29: It’s hard to love a chicken
• 29: The Italia dream
• 29: The Duellists
• 28: Wild Canaries
• 27: Little list of wonders
• 27: A human condition
• 27: Katagiri’s folly
• 26: Snap, crackle, words
• 26: Mommy the Martyr (retired)
• 24: The FATCA follies
• 23: Inherent Vice
• 22: Banshees
• 21: The right to write
• 21: Unconditional surrender
• 21: “Weigh your actions carefully”
• 21: The Buried Giant
• 19: The survival argument
• 19: Snow and the man
• 16: Exhausting intimacy
• 16: Doerr’s luminous light
• 15: Noir as night
• 15: The Homesman
• 15: Pumpkin man
• 15: One good relationship
• 15: Completely still
• 14: Duplex
• 12: Re-used, with love
• 09: A Minor Apocalypse
• 08: The creative knife
• 08: Fifty Shades of Grey
• 08: The vanishing
• 07: No love lost
• 07: March-ing orders
• 04: Whiplash
• 01: Blurt

February 2015

• 28: Memories of power
• 28: “To the U.S.A. commander…”
• 28: Chips must fall
• 28: Red side of the tracks
• 28: The Danish phase
• 28: Woman’s best friend?
• 27: Splitting cheese hairs
• 26: Memories of migration
• 26: Keep the belly
• 26: Lucifer’s treat
• 23: A proper mayor
• 23: Ego and perseverance
• 22: Après nous
• 21: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
• 21: The special one
• 21: Butterscotch candy
• 20: Wool!
• 19: Munro’s damaged lives
• 18: The home front
• 17: I also have a saw!
• 16: Giver & Mass
• 15: Shaky comparisons
• 15: The God tax
• 14: Wild Tales (Relatos salvajes)
• 12: A delicate uptick
• 12: Unplanned
• 10: Sympathy for the Devil: Four Decades of Friendship with Gore Vidal
• 09: Super-marketers
• 08: Growing up boys
• 08: Slices of life
• 08: Brian Williams
• 06: I Refuse
• 05: Keeping it simple
• 03: Trois couleurs: Blanc (Three Colors: White)
• 01: Blame the insurgents

January 2015

• 31: Parmesan, uncut
• 31: Don’t mind the gap
• 31: Cordy
• 29: A world of hurt
• 29: Life without Tyler
• 29: Super sized desperation
• 29: Zeroing in
• 28: Flavia’s passion
• 27: Chocolate chip
• 27: Winter oddities
• 25: Doctor talk
• 25: All Days Are Night
• 25: Multiple moons
• 24: “In other news…”
• 24: Bloody Teroldego
• 23: 47th & Mohammad
• 22: The Babadook
• 21: A mother’s Sherlock
• 21: Eden Lake
• 19: Jacobson’s Final Solution
• 18: Coccole
• 18: Human warming
• 17: A night to remember
• 16: Bro
• 15: St. Nick’s Bar & Grill
• 15: Snake and tail, repeat
• 13: The hospital illusion
• 11: At peace with terror
• 11: Tossing out the book
• 11: Franny and Zooey
• 09: Frank
• 09: Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation
• 08: Unfriended
• 07: Charlie Hebdo’s blood
• 05: Memex to the present
• 05: There Once Lived a Mother Who Loved Her Children, Until They Moved Back In
• 04: Moons past HAL
• 04: I Origins
• 04: Hoppin’ peas
• 02: Night Moves
• 01: Picking and choosing

December 2011

• 31: Shame
• 31: Detox express
• 31: In the blood
• 31: Crowpid Ledge
• 30: Rightful ownership
• 28: Santa is watching
• 28: Crazy Heart
• 28: Restless Nights
• 27: Pap Khouma
• 27: Il Duce and Papa
• 25: Tops
• 25: David and Greg
• 25: Havel
• 24: Who said simple?
• 21: Pandoro’s box
• 21: End-spliff
• 21: Young Adult
• 21: Broken wand
• 20: Contagion
• 20: Fair Game
• 20: Mr. Truffle
• 19: Dwarfed
• 18: Liberi di non credere
• 17: Broken toy
• 16: And the cradle will rock
• 16: Conflict
• 16: Malossol
• 14: Lady Claus
• 12: The pealing
• 11: Amici come prima
• 10: In the Electric Mist (Dans la brume électrique)
• 09: Go home and cook
• 09: Non si muove
• 08: The Maintenance of Headway
• 06: Sarah Marder
• 05: Full apocalypse
• 05: The Machinist
• 04: Starchy suppers
• 04: View
• 02: Sex, chips and dogs
• 01: Vitis hellenica

November 2011

• 30: Evidence
• 30: Bloodied luxury
• 30: Fair meets real
• 30: Gli anziani
• 28: Footwork, Sepalcure and South Bank
• 27: The ‘App King’
• 27: The Angel Esmeralda
• 27: Local Hero
• 27: Blood money
• 25: The gecko
• 24: Ma cosa vuoi?
• 22: Foodoo
• 21: A dog named Google
• 20: Picnic at Hanging Rock
• 18: Inglourious Basterd
• 18: Spooky tufa
• 18: So close
• 18: Billions
• 17: The Girl in the Polka-dot Dress
• 16: On books
• 14: Via dei Porcini
• 14: Twist and shout
• 14: Decades
• 13: Bicycle thieves
• 12: Sex in a vacuum
• 12: The Sunset Limited
• 11: McCabe & Mrs. Miller
• 11: Pop’s boat
• 08: Morzica la coda
• 06: Glamour’
• 06: Margin Call
• 06: 3a
• 06: The Sweetest Dream
• 06: Dark past blazing
• 05: On cocktails
• 04: Patsies
• 02: Of bio and brothels

October 2011

• 31: L’Histoire d’Adèle H. (The Story of Adèle H.)
• 31: Where she left them
• 30: Eurobabble
• 30: Mary Shelley
• 28: In Persuasion Nation
• 27: Christ Stopped at Louis’
• 27: Valves and pullovers
• 25: Just the facts, Miss
• 23: Koyaanisqatsi
• 23: The Piedmont factor
• 22: Red town, blue town
• 21: Death throes
• 20: Radio-Greene
• 19: A true fall
• 18: CELTA
• 18: Help me Steve
• 17: Damned
• 17: Sack of Rome
• 15: Mischievous satyrs
• 14: Letting go
• 14: Brokeback blur
• 14: Job and Me
• 12: Last Tango in Paris
• 09: Steve Jobs
• 07: Hot pilgrims
• 07: Non è normale
• 07: Goon-listening
• 07: L’homme de Rio (That Man From Rio)
• 06: Knox and Davis
• 05: Noir, as in pinot
• 04: Train Dreams
• 04: High on hilltops
• 04: Of mice and women
• 03: Eyes for him
• 02: The Guns of Navarone
• 01: Pepper lore

September 2011

• 30: Italy as Daley-town
• 30: The 16 points
• 30: True lies
• 30: Home ‘alone’
• 25: Auto Focus
• 25: Mexican blues
• 24: Happy days
• 24: Crimes against honor
• 23: Pasta and fruit
• 23: The lonely cellist
• 20: Y.M.C.A.
• 20: Hiatus end
• 20: Once upon a time
• 18: Wittgenstein’s Nephew
• 18: Non mollare mai!
• 17: Congratulations!
• 16: Kids’ soundtracks
• 15: The Manchurian Candidate
• 13: Risky copycats
• 10: What tortilla?
• 09: Midnight in Paris
• 09: Farewell to summer
• 09: Omega
• 09: Adam’s figs
• 04: WPA remembered
• 04: Filling the hole
• 04: Flux
• 03: 8MM
• 03: Mañana

August 2011

• 31: Valtellina love
• 31: Fried humility
• 30: The joy of grilling
• 30: Rocky crests
• 30: Nada
• 30: Molto Miami
• 27: The I-word
• 25: Atlantic City
• 25: The dilemma
• 24: Ruby in Paradise
• 23: Roma Amor
• 23: Post-summer
• 21: The tolling
• 21: The Seamstress and the Wind
• 21: The Tartar Steppe
• 18: Italy’s roof
• 17: Neo-nebbish
• 16: Bringing up baby
• 16: Run, Ali, run
• 14: The war gene
• 11: Napoletana
• 10: The Passion According to G.H.
• 09: Batman
• 08: Strictly seafood
• 08: Hideous men
• 08: Stendipanni
• 06: Between countries
• 06: Dear Kids
• 03: The best chill
• 02: You feel it
• 01: I scream

July 2011

• 31: The Curfew
• 31: Unforgiven
• 31: Just beachie
• 30: Decorum
• 29: The Long Season
• 28: August
• 27: Water and wine
• 25: Sisters
• 24: Fritti, fritti, fritti
• 24: The right thing
• 23: Pyro
• 22: Badlands
• 22: Noise
• 21: The magic mountain
• 21: Desperate Characters
• 21: Ectoville, U.S.A.
• 20: Read all about it
• 18: Playback
• 18: Heat
• 18: Little Meadow Widow
• 18: Juggernaut
• 17: Valentino
• 17: Paperboy
• 13: Friendly American Guy
• 12: The Illusionist
• 10: The rural life, darkly
• 09: Me Tarzan
• 08: Rome, Mexico
• 08: The pizza chronicles
• 08: Fireworks
• 04: The deeper woe
• 03: Correction
• 03: The Tree of Life
• 03: 21 cats

June 2011

• 29: Whaskly Wabbit’
• 26: Super 8
• 26: The Adjustment Bureau
• 25: Frankly, dear…
• 25: Terminals
• 24: Read all about it
• 24: Culture laws
• 23: 10 years after
• 22: Summer dough
• 22: Fa caldo
• 20: The Free World
• 20: On a Day Like This
• 20: Shutter Island
• 19: Heat Cheerful’
• 19: Proximity
• 18: OMG
• 17: Helen
• 16: Pasta pairings
• 16: Risky hygiene
• 15: Alex Zhang Hungtai
• 13: Graduation
• 12: Pop disguise
• 12: “Me”
• 11: The challenge
• 11: Being there
• 10: The Insufferable Gaucho
• 10: The Road
• 10: Vertigo
• 07: From the abbey
• 06: Take this man
• 06: That lovely hare
• 06: Wilton Wynn
• 05: Il postino
• 05: The Thomas Crown Affair
• 03: Dough for dough

May 2011

• 31: A new sound
• 30: Tutti i colori
• 30: Upgrade
• 30: Bottom of the 33rd
• 30: Bonsai
• 29: Taxi Driver
• 29: The End of Violence
• 25: Super-land
• 24: Vignarola
• 23: Gaglioppo
• 22: Days of Heaven
• 22: Strauss-Kahn
• 22: While the Women are Sleeping
• 22: In the Wake
• 21: Commandments
• 21: Wild child
• 20: Paolo Sorrentino
• 20: Kids only
• 19: Miracle in Petrignano
• 18: Inondazione
• 17: The ritual
• 16: His Girl Friday
• 16: Nikita
• 15: 5-star picnic
• 15: I Like the Way You Lie
• 15: Sonic geography
• 15: Lunch
• 14: Biopic as death
• 13: Insidious Ciellini
• 13: Reinventing Diana
• 11: A moment’s pause
• 09: To Disney and back
• 08: Kilim
• 08: Eagle Claw snapped
• 07: Iron Man
• 07: JFK
• 07: Troubling Love
• 06: Ratman
• 06: Bathing beauty
• 02: Pulse
• 02: The wolf and the lamb
• 01: Proprium beati
• 01: 3 Women

April 2011

• 28: Biodynamics
• 27: Natasha and Other Stories
• 25: Kiddy plus
• 24: Marina Jarre
• 23: Because the night
• 23: The Girl Next Door
• 23: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
• 23: The She-Devil in the Mirror
• 22: Colpo d’aria
• 21: Stranded
• 21: A Visit From the Goon Squad
• 20: Precious scrap
• 20: Anarchist bastards’
• 17: Titus
• 17: Unfamiliar Fishes
• 17: The Book of Eli
• 16: Poly-Anna
• 16: Jellied legs
• 16: Clever boy
• 16: Fire-eaters
• 14: Bridges
• 13: Sixteen again
• 13: Amnesty way
• 12: Ghetto fare
• 11: Wittgenstein’s Mistress
• 11: The Tiger’s Wife
• 11: Necessary women
• 11: Missing Malice
• 10: Il Duce’s crackers
• 09: After the rains
• 09: Tango neutral
• 09: Stella (A Minute’s Silence)
• 09: Blade Runner
• 08: Up and under
• 06: Shoots on steroids
• 06: Pajama tastings
• 05: Cradle Will Rock
• 04: Jacobson’s Jews
• 04: Nice You Wat
• 03: Sunset Park
• 03: No way, Hervé
• 03: Maket

March 2011

• 30: What if…
• 29: Sam’s ossobuco
• 29: Talk Radio
• 27: Interpenetration
• 27: Il Crocifisso di Stato
• 25: Ordinary People
• 24: The Question of Bruno
• 24: Lost Paradise
• 22: Table for two
• 20: La moglie perfetta
• 20: Creature featured
• 19: Orphans
• 17: The Accident
• 16: Berluscolandia
• 16: Winter’s Bone
• 15: The thin frail line
• 15: Deluge
• 14: Heat
• 14: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
• 13: A special place
• 12: The roadmap
• 11: Picnics past
• 11: Rural rosary
• 11: The Literary Conference
• 11: Unformed Landscape
• 11: Gallipoli
• 11: Kramer vs. Kramer
• 10: Winter crostata
• 08: Nothing but caress
• 08: Practiced perfection
• 08: Above the voices
• 08: Sweet toothed
• 06: The Hill
• 06: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
• 06: Last Vanities
• 06: Men in black
• 05: The ride down
• 04: La fine del mondo nel nostro solito letto in una notte piena di pioggia (A Night Full of Rain)
• 04: Georgia
• 03: Conspiring Rome
• 02: Vermi d’inchiostro
• 01: Shock values

February 2011

• 26: As saints look on
• 26: The Illumination
• 25: Audition
• 25: Pizza, pasta, Mafia
• 25: Lurch
• 24: Green Zone
• 23: Anelli’s bolgia
• 23: Pairings
• 22: Fred and Barney
• 21: Spud solutions
• 21: The Last Seduction
• 21: The Days of Abandonment
• 21: The Return
• 20: Titicut Follies
• 20: Schioppettino
• 20: The headmaster
• 20: Dulcet tones
• 20: Them!
• 19: That’s amore
• 19: State of play
• 18: Inception
• 18: Io sono l’amore (I Am Love)
• 18: Black Swan
• 18: True Grit
• 18: The King’s Speech
• 17: The fourth wall
• 17: Wanted: New ideas
• 17: Flash and burn
• 16: Aliens
• 16: Maledetto il giorno che t’ho incontrato (Damned the Day I Met You)
• 16: Lamerica
• 16: Frailty
• 15: Il Muro di Gomma (The Rubber Wall)
• 15: Dissolute, resolute, in charge
• 14: Blue Valentine
• 14: Pizza with goats
• 12: Franz Joseph
• 12: Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie (The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie)
• 12: It’s personal
• 12: The Fictions of Bruno Schulz (“The Street of Crocodiles”/”Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass”)
• 09: State of death
• 08: Total darkness
• 08: Beeetching and moooaning
• 08: Frank learns to drive
• 08: No Country for Old Men
• 07: Plooral
• 07: La notte di San Lorenzo (Night of the Shooting Stars)
• 06: Manna
• 06: Enthrall me
• 06: Chapman’s Odyssey
• 06: The super-optimists
• 04: Mi Ami
• 03: À nos amours (To Our Loves)
• 03: Ignition
• 03: Steam-coated
• 02: Backpack
• 02: Avatar

January 2011

• 31: Romanzo: Love and Corruption Italian Style
• 30: Borrowed time
• 30: The Social Network
• 29: Vinum + mustum
• 28: Shrines
• 28: Sheffield, burning
• 24: Blood Meridian
• 24: Somewhere
• 24: Marta’s fear
• 24: Caffésito
• 23: The Fall
• 22: Green wins
• 22: Pasticciere
• 22: The rhino
• 21: The Russia house
• 21: L’albero degli zoccoli (The Tree of the Wooden Clogs)
• 20: Black bear memories
• 19: Happily ever after
• 19: The pilgrim
• 19: Comedy in a Minor Key
• 19: Kiss the Girls
• 18: The fix
• 18: House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival
• 17: Supersized parenting
• 16: Dirty-for-dirty
• 15: Inner thighs
• 15: Sentimental values
• 15: The importance of clubbing
• 15: Teroldego and Lagrein
• 13: Lean, mean & more
• 11: Brothers past
• 10: 11’s the year
• 10: The Mouse That Roared
• 10: Bleak freedom
• 10: 900 stairs
• 08: Ex-
• 03: Dryers and salmon
• 03: In the Valley of the Kings
• 01: Bridge Over the River Kwai
• 01: Putin

December 2007

• 25: A Man for All Seasons
• 23: Dumbdown
• 23: Diary of a Bad Year
• 16: Straw Dogs
• 15: Lazy
• 11: The Secret Agent
• 10: We Were Soldiers
• 08: Caprice
• 06: The Reluctant Fundamentalist
• 04: Duel
• 03: Echoes
• 03: Michael Clayton
• 01: Ball and chain
• 01: Luigi’s Bardom
• 01: Kissy’s first
• 01: Via Dei Malcontenti
• 01: Mike Stocks
• 01: The half-life of Romano
• 01: The favor of their voices
• 01: Smoke Gets In My Eyes
• 01: A Whole Lotta Lentils
• 01: Red tomato blues
• 01: Learning to feed
• 01: One man’s game
• 01: Labeled with love
• 01: Pian, piano
• 01: Eight songs later
• 01: Broken Flowers
• 01: The Kingdom
• 01: O Jerusalem
• 01: Transformers
• 01: Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
• 01: The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million
• 01: Nancy Cunard: Heiress, Muse, Political Idealist

November 2007

• 30: Norwegian Wood
• 25: Swimming Pool
• 18: Ally allies
• 15: The Foreign Correspondent
• 12: Lawrence of Arabia
• 11: Spleen
• 05: Non c’è più
• 02: The Usual Suspects
• 01: Land Of 8
• 01: Between the lines
• 01: A course in assets
• 01: Si ti queres sanu…’
• 01: Man bites dog
• 01: Eat Your Heart Out
• 01: Thieving Anglos
• 01: Milan Healthy
• 01: Regional carcinoma
• 01: C’è la partita!
• 01: E-taste test
• 01: Open The Fenster’
• 01: Knocked Up
• 01: No Reservations
• 01: Sleuth
• 01: Jews Without Money
• 01: To the Castle and Back
• 01: Little Stalker
• 01: The Unknown Terrorist

October 2007

• 29: 108
• 29: Travels with Herodotus
• 21: From My Mother’s Sleep
• 14: Miner
• 07: The Skim
• 07: Awesome America
• 01: An Italian Thankgiving
• 01: The Internet Connection
• 01: Sorry
• 01: Twice upon a Carla
• 01: The English teacher
• 01: Faith and Dewinder
• 01: Lesson 1
• 01: Devils in paradise
• 01: Da sola
• 01: Legends of the fall
• 01: Post-proposal issues
• 01: The Better Butter
• 01: Dog in catlands
• 01: Berry, Berry Good

September 2007

• 30: Pushing Tin
• 27: Civility
• 23: My dollar’s lifetime
• 22: On Chesil Beach
• 16: Worms
• 09: Phosphorus and Hesperus
• 02: The Tyger
• 01: John Dickie
• 01: Going Home Again
• 01: Paws on the run
• 01: Non Est Italia’
• 01: Anger at heart
• 01: Death-by-disco
• 01: One Miracle Among Many
• 01: Banishing The Magic
• 01: Love ’em & leave ’em
• 01: Paracetamol baby
• 01: Clean Dreaming
• 01: Fish Out of Water
• 01: Manning’s show
• 01: Domino
• 01: Lonely Hearts
• 01: World Trade Center
• 01: Blindness

August 2007

• 27: Morse
• 19: Very cool
• 16: Clemente, The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero
• 15: Tucker: The Man and His Dream
• 12: The good Lord
• 05: Dora
• 01: Under the Placuna Sun
• 01: In Her Absence
• 01: Canal Dreams

July 2007

• 29: Tarragon Olga
• 21: Numismatist
• 17: Monterey Pop
• 15: Millions
• 15: Face Off
• 15: Rome Zenophobia
• 10: Affliction
• 08: Ottoman lesbians
• 01: You Old Son Of a Bitch…
• 01: Vortex
• 01: Commercial From Hell
• 01: Bad news priests
• 01: Chinese Virgin
• 01: Nonne, Nonnine
• 01: For starters
• 01: Marry Meee!’
• 01: Beware the Bee-bee-cu
• 01: Lose the recipe!
• 01: Closer to saints
• 01: Shoot Me In The Dark
• 01: Every Man for Himself
• 01: The Final Solution
• 01: Amulet
• 01: Casino Royale

June 2007

• 30: Sexy Beast
• 23: Wink
• 17: Matilda
• 15: Italian girlfriends
• 10: Ein Berliner
• 03: Tan Man
• 01: Butt I mean but
• 01: Sardinia without a map
• 01: Dating OOOma Turman
• 01: Etiquette and artichokes
• 01: Dozens injured
• 01: Time of white
• 01: No pervert
• 01: Try Some Tachipapollo
• 01: Light And Color
• 01: Dead Cody does Ireland
• 01: The Hoax
• 01: Falling Man
• 01: The Death of Innocents: An Eye-Witness Account of Wrongful Executions

May 2007

• 27: Falling
• 20: The Flavor Of Wind
• 20: Twelve Angry Men
• 13: Anterior Half
• 11: Resistance
• 07: Know Nothings
• 01: Shell Dream
• 01: Death By Wanderlust
• 01: Make Sure They Pass
• 01: Siticibo Samaritans
• 01: Last resorts
• 01: Who’s your dentist?
• 01: Sta Americana cooks
• 01: Limoncello’s secrets
• 01: It’s the dog, stupid
• 01: Attack Of The Wolf Peaches
• 01: Jesus and Yahweh: The Names Divine
• 01: After Dark
• 01: The Uses of Enchantment
• 01: In the Cut
• 01: An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter

April 2007

• 29: Pleasing a princess
• 23: Get Shorty
• 22: Dinosaurs
• 22: The Accidental Tourist
• 19: Fox
• 15: Amanda’s Breasts
• 08: Rerun
• 04: Summer of ’49; October 1964
• 01: Calmor
• 01: Dream On
• 01: Spill the water
• 01: Eire, Mon Amour
• 01: Milan, Ohio
• 01: Anti-Prozac
• 01: One Good Bagóss
• 01: The castration syndrome
• 01: The Leg Doesn’t Fit
• 01: A Sport and a Pastime
• 01: Piercing
• 01: The Box Man
• 01: Night Train
• 01: Restless
• 01: Last Evenings on Earth
• 01: A Scanner Darkly

March 2007

• 26: The Spool
• 22: Swimming to Cambodia
• 18: Flux
• 15: The Ice Storm
• 11: Vaguely
• 05: Java
• 02: To Have and To Have Not
• 01: Dead man walking
• 01: Claudio Cappon
• 01: Collection Of Hope
• 01: Mani di Bacco
• 01: Sleeping around
• 01: Nothing Gold Can Stay
• 01: What Men Want
• 01: Table manners
• 01: Rock solid bonking
• 01: Ostriche,’ please…
• 01: Todd, meet Mowglie
• 01: Accident: A Day’s News, A Novel
• 01: The Woman Who Waited
• 01: Autobiography of a Face
• 01: Gimme Shelter

February 2007

• 25: Shorthand
• 20: Angelo’s Look
• 13: Tomorrow
• 10: Cosa Nostra
• 04: Table
• 01: Sassy Sicily
• 01: The dud
• 01: Ask my mother
• 01: Ignoble Farmhouse
• 01: Felsinaville Birthday
• 01: Second Hand Saturday
• 01: Exploding rouge
• 01: Slow Transit
• 01: Breaking up
• 01: To Cry For
• 01: The Stomp
• 01: Milan Quiz
• 01: Dream Stuff
• 01: By a Slow River
• 01: The Nimrod Flipout
• 01: Never Let Me Go
• 01: House of Meetings
• 01: Travels in the Scriptorium
• 01: DeNiro’s Game
• 01: The Unbinding
• 01: The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating
• 01: The Man Who Saved Britain: A Personal Journey Into the Disturbing World of James Bond
• 01: The Secret of Scent
• 01: I Feel Bad About My Neck
• 01: The Brief History of the Dead

January 2007

• 30: The Ring
• 29: Free Beer
• 23: The End of the Story
• 21: House
• 15: Magnolia
• 14: No more summit
• 13: Close Encounters of the Third Kind
• 08: Meds
• 04: The Parallax View
• 01: And then there’s Chinese
• 01: Jewish Venice
• 01: Harm & Foul
• 01: Cool Venice
• 01: Campania felix
• 01: Andrea Bargnani
• 01: Don’t forget Lazio
• 01: The Moby Of Moo
• 01: Waste makes waste
• 01: Dog girl
• 01: The human factor
• 01: Sex & lizards
• 01: After the Wedding (Efter brylluppet)
• 01: Between Salt Water and Holy Water: A History of Southern Italy
• 01: The Lady in the Palazzo: At Home in Umbria
• 01: The First Hurt
• 01: Shopgirl
• 01: Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures
• 01: A Thousand Splendid Suns
• 01: Vibrator
• 01: Philosophy Made Simple
• 01: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
• 01: My Father’s Secret War
• 01: Beethoven
• 01: La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind
• 01: Hulk

December 2003

• 31: Anagrams
• 29: In the Bedroom
• 29: Parma: Notes From a Year in Serie A
• 28: By Night in Chile
• 26: Before Sunrise
• 25: The Diving Bell & the Butterfly
• 24: When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi
• 21: The Wasp Factory
• 17: The Bug
• 14: Black Widow
• 13: Training Day
• 11: The Devil’s Larder
• 07: Network
• 04: Air Force One

November 2003

• 30: Twelve
• 29: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
• 23: Shuttlecock
• 06: Doctor T. and the Women

October 2003

• 23: Silent Running

July 2003

• 01: Dreaming in Cuban

May 2003

• 19: The Body Artist

April 2003

• 01: Be My Knife