When I began planning this series of show on the Palazzo Bembo Exhibition as part of the 55th Venice Biennale, I had thought that this morning I would be placing the finishing touches on the project and moving ahead to other concepts. So now, as you know, I am retaping Show # 70 to make the gallery talk better, so that will occur Thursday of next week, my 3rd taping of the same show (!!!), a new world's record for Alan's Italy. But when the evening ended yesterday I thought at least it would just be that one last (hopefully!) time, but then when I came home, another catastrophe was looming. First of all in the studio as I watched the video gallery talks by the artists, I noted the sound was not synched to the lips moving, and this scared me into believing perhaps video interviews are not the best thing on which to base a show. Then when I came home and watched the DVD on my computer, I saw no such problem. Whew !!! However, Youtube was in uploading lock, not permitting me to get the show on their site !!! Maybe it's me. In fact yes it is me !!!! I immediately thought that perhaps I had reached the maximum quantity of time allotted for Youtube up loaders, and Alan's Italy had broadcast its last program to be viewed by the "world". Of course, had I been a different person, I would have simply come to the conclusion that maybe Youtube was down, experiencing technical difficulties. Then again had I been a different person, there may not have been Alan's Italy to begin with ! As it turns out I awoke this morning, tried again, and there it is, everything not only working smoothly, but in fact I noted two improvements in the site. First, two status bars, one for the upload and one for the entire finished project including what they refer to as processing. Second, and probably most importantly, I now have a choice of determining which thumbnail I can select to be the display image for each show uploaded to Youtube. For this particular show none of the usual three choices were acceptable, but then, as I was fully prepared to once again despair, I suddenly noted that there is a link to select my own photo from my vast library, providing me with a multitude of choices. Fabulous !!! Youtube, thank you.
The show (http://youtu.be/zh7_7BNXOXA) was pretty successful all things considered, and perhaps most importantly. Ellen and I have become quite smooth as silk, but there is always this looming threat of extinction. Again that could be my own paranoia and propensity for negative thinking, or just a reality. I often refer to this whole experience as Adventures in Broadcasting, a good subject for an expanded book (larger than the first I wrote that nobody read). I have to come to the realization, as I did during the night last night, that this cannot go on forever. When people ask me what I foresee to be the event that will initiate a swan song for Alan's Italy, I say, "Gee, I really do not know, but it just cannot go on infinitely. It just can't. Nothing does. " They ask me if I could possibly run out of ideas. No, I reply, I have a virtual (no pun intended) treasure trove of ideas, and indeed have about 2 dozen albums already initiated. Will they station disallow the show for some reason. No again, they basically allow everything. I suggest that I may get very bored, very old, very poor, very un-Italophilic, very something,...... Surely, however, when that time comes (hey even the TV show Mash eventually went off the air), it will be a bit traumatic, of that I can be certain. But until then here I am moving ahead. Next week is the beginning of several shows on Venice- long awaited, anticipated, and planned, an in depth look at the stunning beauty and uniqueness of this panoply of wonders. But remember being Alan's Italy, thus Alan's Venice, this will be my unique perspective, my point of view, and my interpretation of what may actually move ahead of Florence and Tuscany, as my number one destination !!!!
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