I Owe You Big Time

After a rather long hiatus, the longest during the time I have been writing this blog, I am now back on the horse. To my loyal readers I say, thank you for waiting and now I owe it to you to give you some details of my "Alan's Italy Life". Well, I must start by saying that four weeks go very quickly, and it hardly seems that so long a period of time has elapsed. During this time I had hoped to attempt to develop a lot of new shows, but, alas, I only worked on two of them, one that appeared last night, and the next, and last, one in the "Then and Now"series. The one last night, Tuscany, Then and Now, continues the theme with part 3, after the very successful Florence, Then and Now, Parts 1 and 2. I used one of the Alinari photo journals focusing on Tuscany, and although Florence is of course a part of Tuscany and was included in the book, after two shows, I tried to stayed away from that subject. Instead I planned to start with Pisa, continue through Lucca, Siena, San Gimignano, Pistoia, Volterra, Livorno, Pitigliano, Montepulciano, Carrara, and the rolling hills of Central Tuscany. I worked diligently scanning photos, trying to find the 21st century counterparts, and then performing the necessary function on my MacBook Pro to create the side-by-side image that gives the viewer such a fine chance to find the changes that occurred during the intervening 150 years. I honed the final draft almost right up to air time. I also included on the broadcast several photos of people at work at various occupations during the 19th century, a really fascinating look at how people made a living 150 years ago visually represented.

At the studio, of course, it surely felt good to be back, say hello to Ellen, and get started. Alas, and of course, since nothing in that place ever goes smoothly, the phone rang at 4:59. Some producer who had used the studio right before our show lost her cell phone and had to come back into the studio to attempt to find it. After Ellen's modest attempt to dissuade her, during the opening theme which lasts about 2 minutes and 30 seconds, the door to the studio swung open and she entered rummaging about the console area making me very annoyed. When she finally left and I was very into the opening, she returned doing basically the same thing. This time I felt like strangling her. She finally left and the show continued unabated. I made a few mistakes, as is quite normal for me after a lapse of time, but was generally pleased with the broadcast. The highlight for my granddaughter, Sofia, will be the 5 minute segment at the beginning with Flat Stanley (you will have to view that segment to see what that is if you do not already know).

At home I realized that there is a one minute period of dead space on the DVD until the show actually starts, but when it does, I like the way it eventually developed. It was downloaded to my computer, uploaded to Youtube, and I made copies for Sofia, and two for the carousel, which plays the live versions in repeat mode. The final stage, writing this blog, is now being executed. So Alan's Italy Show # 89, Tuscany, Then and Now, is there for the viewing!

Meanwhile, I continue to labor to create new shows with hardly any material left. I do an Italy, Then and Now, featuring 19th century photos from all over Italy, next sometime in April, and then I have two distinctly Florence shows, one on shopping and the other on the Streets of Florence, Part 2 (Part 1 was via della Scala). This time rather than focusing on just one street, I will concentrate on several. Then I have a very sketchy album that I started many months ago on Verona, but really not enough for a full show. Either I will get some more off the Internet or just add two others Veneto cities, Vicenza and Padua, all three comprising what I call the "Big Three" diversions from a long visit to Venice. I have actually made two reservations at the well-known Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, but once I arrive in Venice, I really have a very hard time extricating myself. By then we will have returned from our next trip to Italy with a lot of new material which then must be categorized to form new shows, not an easy job. After we return from the trip that will take at least a month for Laura to edit the photos and for me to fashion them into viable presentations. I will do a separate blog post which describes that two week trip in great detail.

I continue to do my real passion of teaching mathematics at the college level enjoying it more and more as the times goes on. I am already half way through the spring term. Imagine that! How quickly the time flies by. I have also finished my book on my 42 year career which will now face the final editing by me before submitting the manuscript to the online publishing company, XLibris.

So thanks for being patient and I shall return!

After a Week of Decision Making, a Great Show

After a week of thinking about how to modify the broadcast schedule to allow for the fact that I am running low on ideas for shows, and the time to think creatively, I nonetheless had a great show. First the dilemma. I am almost totally into my college teaching, sending e mails to students with progress reports, preparing lessons, traveling into the city, etc. I also work out the Y, am writing a book which is kindly being edited by one of my oldest friends, so the show has taken a back seat. I will be working most of today developing shows for the next few months. I have about 5 or 6 ideas, so if I did one a month I could then get to Italy and back with enough photos and fresh ideas to continue. Ellen told me I could cut back, so right now that appears to be the best way to go. I was reluctant to tell her because I know how much she likes to engineer the project. After today I will know more about the future.

Meanwhile, I finally did the show using the Alinari photos of 19th century Florence after a year and a half hiatus. Show # 24, Florence, Then and Now focused on the comparison of how places looked back then compared to how they look today. It is a fascinating concept to examine photos of a specific location and try to analyze how they changed and why. Part of the reason is obviously the passage of time, modern improvements, and social and political issues. Trying to research which of these considerations is the reason is the best part. Trying to recall all this during a live show, in front of the camera, and with very limited notes (my fault), it is very daunting. I still get stressed doing a show, and this after 88 now. I come off much more relaxed than I am, believe me. It has been and always will be a struggle.

So this was part 2 of the 4-part story of 19th century Italy, with Florence well represented in the first two shows. My next one will focus on Tuscany in general outside of Florence, and then all of Italy. Now I have to get to work, so for now, ciao.