Thursday, June 6, 2013

How to Document A Trip Filled with Magic and Amazement

We returned from our trip to Italy and it will be very hard to put into words how utterly wonderful this experience was. Nonetheless, as many of you are aware by now, I do not have much trouble expressing myself, especially when things go well. This trip had two distinct parts, our usual vacation traveling around Umbria and Tuscany with an extended stopover in Florence, and the most unusual aspect of Laura being part of the Venice Biennale and my being a recognized correspondent. I will be translating these two distinct parts into at least 25 new TV shows, but possibly closer to 30 depending on what the photos and videos look like and how creative I can get.  This series which will hopefully begin in July will give a clear documentation of this journey, the latest and perhaps greatest of them all !

Although I have yet to organize actual shows or therefore create a schedule, it now appears likely after reviewing my video interviews that I will not do either Florence nor Venice as separate entities, but rather go by generalized themes. For example I can envision doing two shows on the Jews of Italy centered around several fascinating interviews I did with people at the two synagogues in Florence and Venice. Perhaps this will initiate the series. Then I would like to focus on the Biennale in Venice for probably two shows, and Laura Gurton's exhibition participation at the Collateral Event of La Biennale di Venezia for three. For the former we have several hundred photos of the art and for the latter about twenty on site gallery talks performed by the actual artists standing in front of their work. They range in time from a couple of minutes to almost a full half hour. After those shows I will focus on locations and in that regard I have many ideas for shows on Venice including a ride down the Grand Canal, everyday life in Venice through photos, a discussion of the neighborhoods, our experience with staying in three different hotels, a stroll through Venice at night, and several more shows entitled "Venice Scenes." For the Florence part I have wonderful interviews with the leaders of the Five Star Movement (Movimento Cinque Stelle), interviews at one of our favorite restaurants in town, La Grotta di Leo, and some well known venues around town. Then there are shows on towns in Tuscany, more Italy Then and Now centered around the Alinari Brother's 19th century photos of the country (similar to my Florence: Then and Now performed last year), and some analyses of art.

Despite my severe jet lag and trying to organize literally thousands of photos of the trip, I was behooved to write this blog to my loyal supporters to inform them of my plans. I hope you enjoyed having the best understanding of how my documentation of this extraordinary experience will unfold; several friends have asked me and can now begin reading this blog if they wish. Meanwhile on Saturday I will write about the show I will do tomorrow, Show # 66: Roads and Streets of Italy, my first live show since 3 weeks ago. It will focus on interesting and evocative streets in Italy and throughout history. I hope you tune in either live at Woodstock Public Access (who knows it may actually stream at 5 PM at Woodstocktv.org). I hope to see you then.

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