Show # 125 -Franco Sala's Trattoria Antica Forno posted to Youtube soon

Still working on perfecting the show, but almost finished. Having the ability to edit, do my voice overlays, adding photos, and videotaping my parts simply has given us the ability to continually evaluate and critically appraise the product. The down part is that in many ways I liked the spontaneity of doing a live show unedited without continually revisiting the "finished" product and re-evaluating the video. I am the kind of person who likes to get to the end of a project and move on to the next one, so this has been a bit frustrating. Yet I know in my heart that the process of editing over and over makes for a better product and more satisfying experience in the long run.

Working at the college puts a crimp into the process because today would have been the perfect time for the final process of re-shooting some of the videos we do at home, but I will be busy now, probably until Sunday, perhaps if I could squeeze in some time tomorrow or Saturday, it may be sooner. The finished product will contain an extraordinary 22 minute cooking demonstration by Franco with Laura standing right in the kitchen a couple of feet away from him as he narrates what he is doing. It is both fascinating and hard to watch on an empty stomach! Also included will be a videotaped interview with Franco which took place several years ago in the lobby of the Hotel Duomo in Orvieto. During that interview I lead him through the key periods of his life which led him to own the restaurant Trattoria Antica Forno in Civita di Bagnoregio.

I will post the video on Youtube sometime in the next few days. Stay tuned.

Amazing!!!!!

Yes it is. My two hour lesson took place last Monday, August 15, 2016. After a hectic week I finally got around to trying to create a show using the techniques Steven Blauweiss taught me. After three hours on Monday, 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM, and then another hour or two working with Laura on a photo sequence on Tuesday, I tried to export the video from IMovie to my desktop. That is necessary in order to then upload to Youtube and create DVDs. The first attempt produced very poor sound and was useless. I tried again and the export process stopped in the middle and indicated that there was no room in my hard drive. I looked at my storage, and sure enough there was very little room. I went to bed with the thought of trying again the next morning. I dumped a lot of videos and movies I didn't need on my computer, and tried again and this time the show was successfully exported. Laura and I watched in amazement the finished product. We were stunned by the fact that this actually was created almost entirely by me with significant help from her. I am still stunned and worried that something may still go wrong. However, Alan's Italy Show # 124 - Return to Civita di Bagnoregio is now uploaded to Youtube for your viewing pleasure.

The show contains a lot of videos we took when in Civita last June, and many new images. It begins with a brief history of my association with the town and its significant restaurant owner Franco Sala, our dear and sweet friend who has shown us fantastic kindness over the years. I interwove photos and videos with my images appearing occasionally along with my voice over the photo sequence which takes the viewer on a "tour" of Civita down the narrow alleys, and passing some extraordinary scenes. The format is similar to what I used to produce in the studio with some slight modifications. The images are much better and the videos viewable as never before. I like the process of editing as it gives me almost complete control of what everything will look like and the timing of the images and videos. All the filming of me occurred in my living room sitting in my favorite chair. Everything else was moved from IPhoto to IMovie.

I am eager to get on to part 2 of the project which will be the story of our association with Franco, a biography of him and how he came to Civita, and finally a cooking demonstration with Laura taking an amazing series of videos right in the kitchen of restaurant during his busiest time. It will be a wonderful tribute to a great man and friend.

The New Alan's Italy

Apparently even the most OCD, rigidly comfortable with how he has done things rather successfully guy can change. After the last show which had blurry images and almost unwatchable videos, I made the decision to change the way Alan's Italy is produced. I decided to try to learn how to create my show through the process of editing using IMovie as my vehicle. First I told Ellen that I was leaving Woodstock Public Access Television as a live broadcaster. I will still give the station my DVD's but only after the show was completed. I then contacted Stephen Blauwiess, a well known and successful videographer in the Hudson Valley to give me a two hour lesson to begin my training. The lesson was obviously only the beginning of the process, but I was on my way. He taught me how to do some basic and sophisticated things to enhance the Alan's Italy experience. At this point I am putting together the two shows I was intending to produce before, Show # 124 - Return to Civita di Bagnoregio and # 125 - Franco Sala's Trattoria Antica Forno in Civita. The two shows will be based on our June 5, 2016 trip to the town I had visited three times previously, except that this time we videotaped our experiences especially a cooking demo by Franco himself. There will be a lot of videos, but also some stunning images that Laura took during the visit. Although I will mention Franco in the first part with the intention of doing a whole show on his marvelous restaurant, the entire sequence of the two shows will be dedicated to him and my extraordinary friendship with him. The second show will be the one where I will really give my viewers a peak into an amazing man complete with a biographical video I took several years ago in the lobby of the Hotel Duomo in Orvieto. Although I will not be able to really get started preparing the two albums until the weekend due to my absolutely hectic schedule this week, I have already begun the planning. There is no target date for uploading to Youtube, but knowing who I am and how I operate, I assume that in a week or two I will unveil the first show followed soon afterward by the second one. I ask my followers to be patient while I do my thing amid myriad things I am currently involved with including and especially the opening of my 45th year in education starting August 25.

I apologize

...to all my readers who keep waiting for a post. I have spent the summer in the fog of cataract surgery which, although many people say is a breeze, to me was a challenging period of my life. Although my vision now is very good and I am very satisfied with the surgery and my doctor, the road to this point took many strange and anxious turns. Surgery on my left eye (eye # 2) was postponed minutes before being wheeled into the operating room because the nurse and then doctor noticed an infection in my eye. I had to go home and wait a week and a half for that second surgery putting antibiotic drops in the eye to clear up the infection. That was hard for me. Then I kept having the feeling of something in my eyes, both, but worse in the first eye. Then of course the drops I was putting in my eyes for a total of 8 weeks and the antibiotic cream I rubbed on the left eye for several weeks every evening. The drops were actually the least of the issues as I had no trouble with that. Nevertheless, the process of cataract surgery is amazing and anyone who is contemplating surgery on one or both eyes should consider having it. I also recommend Dr. Roger Husted in Kingston for people who live in Ulster County. He was remarkably sensitive, accommodating, and understanding. His reassurance to me constantly was one of the things that got me through the whole process. And of course he was using the latest lenses, called Toric which not only correct the vision but also correct the astigmatism. In my right eye (eye # 1) my vision is now 20-30 and in the left, 20-25 which the Refraction Technician told me will shift between 20-20 under perfect conditions such as weather and dryness of my eyes to 20-25. The Toric Lenses are not covered under Medicare and it cost me extra. The prospect of not having to wear glasses for distance was too good to pass up. Of course I now continue to wear glasses for reading as I did before, but now I have no short vision for reading as I once did a couple of months ago. I am still able to answer my cell phone, see my food to an extent, and do a number of other close up things, but little else. I will try bifocals for times when I need near and far vision quickly such as eating meals for example. I will try, however, to only wear glasses for reading. I love not wearing glasses.

So, although I did do "normal" things and even produced a few TV shows along the way, my energy was being used for my surgical situation. I did a lot of Alan's Italy thinking however and did one show which did not turn out correct with blurring photos and even blurrier videos. I will revisit the possibility of editing my own TV show at home rather than doing the broadcast in the studio. My goal will be to create perfect images and videos and to make the process as simple as possible. The stress I always experienced that I wrote about at great length in these blogs is starting to get to me. I will pursue that possibility in the near future. If I can produce my own show, I will still upload to Youtube and give a DVD copy to WPAT. I will keep you posted. Until then Alan's Italy might not appear on Youtube for a while. Not sure at this time.

Back on the Horse

It was not a perfect performance by me. I made a few mistakes and did not at all feel that comfortable. I felt as if I were forcing everything although it is not that obvious that this was occurring. I appear for the most part relaxed, but I was not. I don't come out of traumatic experiences well and this was typical. Most people would wonder what I was was talking about after all I can now see with 20-30 vision in both eyes and have no residual effects so far. Nonetheless, the entire experience was quite unnerving for me and I am happy cataract surgery is behind me.

The show this evening had three parts. There was the summary of what we did on our last trip, what were highlights, and basically discusses why we love Italy so much. I also talk about our wonderful friends. In the second part I talk about all the things I discovered in Florence that were new and different from any of my previous 22 times there. Finally I do the "bridge show" focusing on several throughout Italy but primarily Florence and Venice. The enjoyed the first two parts much more than the third, although I must say that by then I was rather tired and eager to get home. As I said I made a few slight error, like calling Laura Lidia, mispronouncing several Italian words, and once again getting mixed up between east and west on the Arno River in Florence. Most people would probably like the show at least that is really what I hope. The original show # 123 has been deleted from Youtube since it was not what I wanted so if you saw that one five weeks ago then try this one also.

I look forward to creating more shows and have many ideas as I already indicated. Ric Hirst has consented to join me on August 26 for a discussion about why he loves Italy and indeed bought a house there spending 5 months a year until recently.

And Now.......Alan's Italy

Well cataract surgery now, hopefully, behind me, I will try very hard to produce my first show in several weeks. I will ask Ellen to test the studio equipment before I get there and let me know if it is not working. No telling how many more problems and cancellations I can deal with. The show will be a rebroadcast of # 123, the one I already did but took off the internet because I didn't like it. Then I must get back to the drawing board, but I have a tentative idea of what the next few shows will be.

Show # 124 - Return to Civita di Bagnoregio featuring a very close look at this extraordinary hill town in Alto Lazio.

Show # 125 - Franco Sala's Trattoria Antica Forno in Civita di Bagnoregio

Show # 126 - Siena and the Hotel Palazzo Ravizza

Show # 127 - Volterra, A Day out With Lidia, Part 1

Show # 128 - Monteriggioni, A Day out With Lidia, Part 2

Show # 129 - San Quirico d'Orcia, A Day out With Luca and Greta

Show # 130 - San Donato with Lidia, Sabrina, Giulio, and Simone

Show # 130 - Panoramic Views of Italy

Show # 131 - A Stroll Around Florence

The Rest TBA.....

Cataracts, Anxiety, and Different Strokes for Different Folks

So I went for my second cataract surgery on June 28 doing the prep with drops of three different kinds, and gearing myself for the final chapter. Ten minutes from being wheeled in to the operating room, my doctor came out (at the apparent urging of my nurse), and told me I had an infection in my eye about to be worked on and I would have to postpone the procedure. I became very upset and went home now trying to put a new prescription of drops intended to clear up the problem. On I went with the strange interim period with one farsighted eye and one nearsighted.

Eight days later my doctor told me that the infected eye was improved and he would schedule me for two days hence, Fri, July 8. Again I did the prep drops, but this time had to go to a different location for the surgery. Again I was prepped for surgery with drops for numbing and pupil dilation. I even started on the sedation drip I requested for the procedure. This time I was wheeled in the operating room, surrounded by doctors and nurses who began to set me up for the eye surgery. Suddenly my doctor realized that there was a mistake and that the special lens he would implant was probably at the other location (where I should have had the second surgery on June 28). Someone would have to get the lens and meanwhile out I went back to the holding room where I waited about an hour and a half. Once again I was wheeled into the operating room and the same scenario. Finally my doctor did the procedure. As with the first one, I was aware of everything that was happening since the patient must be awake enough so that they could respond to directions from the doctor (look left, look up, etc). Although I was thoroughly sedated, I was nonetheless anxious and apprehensive. Finally back to the recovery area where I celebrated by having my first buttered corn muffin in 25 years with the best tasting apple juice I ever had.

I am now almost a month removed from the first surgery. My vision without glasses and long-distance is stunningly amazing!!!! My second eye, however, has not made the immediate progress I did back on June 14 with the first eye. Although my vision in the second eye would probably be categorized as excellent, there is a mild blurriness. Since when I came home after the second surgery my vision was so blurry I could hardly see, the blurriness is most likely about 80 % better. My doctor assures me it will get better yet. I visit with him on Wednesday. I now do not wear glasses for long distance, but drug store reading glasses, 2.75, for close up seeing, computer work, and sometimes dining in low light places. Eventually I will get progressive (bifocal) lenses, but haven't yet decided whether to wear them or to just keep using a separate pair of readers. After 63 years of wearing glasses, this is amazing to not have to wear glasses for most situations beyond about 5 or so feet away. My pupils are still dilated in the recent surgical eye after over 72 hours, but I believe that is normal.

Next time I have any kind of surgery, I will speak with nobody about their experience. I learned the hard way that everybody has a different experience. Some comments varied from, "oh, it's a piece of cake having cataract surgery," to "gee, I don't remember," to other reassuring comments. It is possible that people were protecting me from possible apprehension. Nonetheless, my experience was spoken of by no one not even including the infection on the 28th and the missing lens on the 8th. I do not think it was a "piece of cake," nor is this a trivial experience - at least not for me.