Montreal Rules Monopoly

While reading about the new Monopoly version, I was extremely curious to find out which cities would replace Boardwalk and Park Place, the two spots I would be able to kill for while playing the game. My husband knows the drill and even when he ends up with both of them, we still work out some sort of a deal and they become mine.
Big was my surprise (and disappointment) to find out that MONTREAL ( say what?) would be taking Boardwalk's place, while Riga would come in second, on the Park Place spot. Montreal, you say? How about Rome, Madrid, London, Barcelona? Why Montreal? And why are there three Canadian cities on the board? The answer is simple: Canadians are a very proud people, I have to give them that, and are French Canadians are even worse. They knew about the proposal, they voted, and they got it.
I know that from now on I'll be fighting for the light blue, red and orange properties, all for sentimental reasons.
The winning cities are:

Dark Blue: Montreal, Riga
Green: Cape Town, Belgrade, Paris
Yellow: Jerusalem, Hong Kong, Beijing
Red: London, New York, Sydney
Orange: Vancouver, Shanghai, Rome
Magenta: Toronto, Kyiv, Istanbul
Light Blue: Athens, Barcelona, Tokyo
Brown: Taipei, Gdynia

By the way, Toronto is so much more beautiful than Montreal. And Quebec is absolutely gorgeous. And I'm kind of sad that Bucharest (or Constanta :-D ) are not there, but what could I expect?

Source: CTV

New "CSI" Episode Featuring Italy

I've just read on Yahoo! that Italians have started fingerprinting Gypsies from the nomad camps outside Roma, Milan and Naples, which determined human rights activists to accuse them of racism and whatnot. I can't help but wonder how come that the U.S. are allowed to fingerprint every living soul entering their territory by plane, while a European's country way of protecting itself and the hundreds of children send to beg every day is seen as a major violation of human rights? I know Italy's main reason is that of controlling the incoming population, but why not take advantage of the fact that this might also reduce the number of children who have to steal and ask for money instead of playing and going to school? Maybe it would have been better if, instead of fingerprinting Roma people, Italy would have kicked out every Gypsy and every Romanian living there, followed by imposing visas on all Romanians willing to travel to Italy. At least that couldn't have been called discrimination, could it?

Image Source

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

My very good friend Gianluca singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" with his church choir. He had us sing this in Spain, but it sounds so much better here. Amazing job, guys, and it's so good to see you, Gianluca, in that atmosphere... again. I hope to have the chance to see you live once.

Another One Bites the Dust



Time has come again for my retrospective of the past year; without blinking, twitching or shaking I can say that this was my best year yet. I entered its door without expecting much: all I was hoping for was to have some fun in Spain and to be able to improve my accent... in the end, I got so much more than I was looking for.
This year, I've found myself. I've dropped my shyness and let my real self come out. I've learned to let go of things that harmed me, but to appreciate even more the ones who stuck with me. I've learned to love. I've learned that I cannot have everything, but that I have to make the best of what I have... which is a lot. I've discovered that my place might be in Spain. Could it be true that after 8 years of wondering, I'll finally be arriving home? We'll see. I've found out that there's more to life than spending it in front of the computer. I've discovered that regrets hurt more than remorses... sometimes. I've learned how to laugh at a bad photo of myself. Thank God for that, cause there are so many of them! I've learned about self-control... about elegance. I've learned that I am still allowed to behave like a child whenever I want to... because I don't have to ask for permission. I've learned that the grass is not greener on the other side. I've learned that I'm one of the luckiest people alive. I've learned that happiness does exist. I've learned that no words could ever describe what I've learned this year.
Thank you.

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Gianluca!

Eh, tenía que hacer un "video" para ti también, no quería que te enojaras :-). Otra vez, he cambiado la hora, porque en Italia ya es tu cumpleaños y no quise esperar demasiado. ¡Que coincidencia, son exactamente las 12:00 en Italia :-D! Lo divertido es que no yo escogí la foto que se ve cuando no estés mirando la "peliculita". ¿Que raro, no :-D?
No necesito decir nada más, ya lo sabes todo, como siempre :-).

¡Atención! Para visionar este "video" se necesita tener mucha indulgencia, leer muy rapidamente y usar un poco de imaginación, que ya sé que tienes :P.

Si no funciona muy bien aquí, lo puedes ver en este sitio:
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-198505465057803408&hl=en-CA

Roberto Benigni Between Principessas and Tigers


At first, there was "Life Is Beautiful" ("Vita è bella"). In my book, I mean, since that was the first Roberto Benigni film I saw. I had heard about this famous movie, I had seen the director and actor jump like a monkey on his way to the Oscar stage, but I hadn't gotten an occasion to see the movie. I finally got it this spring, in the most suitable company there is. I never thought I could laugh at a movie about the Holocaust. "Life Is Beautiful" interweaves tragedy, laughter, tears and romance in a story that tries to teach us that love of all kinds can survive in the most challenging circumstances. The audience can't help but fall in love with this Jewish Italian family (actually, the mother is not Jewish, which gives the movie a sweet and sour twist). The first part of the movie lets us in the adorable, smart and humorous way in which Guido Orefice charms Dora and convinces her to become his wife. I mean... this may not be the best looking man out there, but I simply fell in love with him... in between falls of laughter and sighs, that is. In the second part, the two and their little boy are taken to a concentration camp, where Dora gets separated from the men of her life. All I can say is that the laughter doesn't stop, no matter how much sadness one might feel. I was never torn between emotions so much; one minute I was laughing, the other one I felt like crying... but couldn't, because Roberto Benigni would give me a reason to at least smile in the next instant. I could not describe all the feelings this movie made me aware of, but every other day I still find myself saying "Buongiorno principessa!", trying in vain to imitate Benigni's joy. I thought the cards scene from "Love Actually" was romantic, but the one from this movie beats it by far, and has much more profound implications.
Tonight I had a second taste of this Italian's boundless personality and sensitivity. Cavilers might argue that "The Tiger and the Snow" ("La tigre e la neve") follows the storyline of "Life Is Beautiful", but I beg to differ. It's true that it presents the horrors of another historical conflict (the Iraq war) and that the plot is based, again, on the intricate ways of love, but this should not lead to underestimating the movie's substance and original humor. Attilio de Giovanni, a poet and university professor, goes to Irak after finding out that his ex-wife, whom he's still in love with, was hurt in an explosion and might die within the next hours. I wouldn't say I liked this one as much as "Life Is Beautiful", but it reinforced my desire of looking for as many of Roberto Benigni's movies as I can. I mean, the guy talks to camels, has keys falling from the sky on request, is smart, incredibly funny and would make the most romantic gestures for his wife (at least in the movies, although I doubt this is the case).

Buon compleanno, Alessia!

Perché voglio che tu lega cuesto messaggio domani (o dicciamo oggi anche se non e ancora il tuo compleanno in Canada), ho cambiato l'ora del mio blog, perche non mi piacerebbe che i miei auguri sianno apparsi con la data del 23 agosto. Vedi la fatica che faccio per te? :-P
Mi dispiace essermi dimenticato scrivere alla fine del video "¡Feliz cumpleaños!", ma spero che abbia capito che quest'era l'essenza :-).
Ti voglio molto bene (possiamo dirlo con il "molto"?) e spero vederci molto pronto :-).

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-3367938352413757243&hl=en-CA

Buon compleanno, Cristina!

Anche se mi piacerebbe potere scriverti un messaggio in italiano (non detesto l'italiano, lo sai? :) ), non sono ancora capace di farlo, perciò ho fatto la cosa che so fare un po' meglio: ho guardato delle foto e t'ho fatto un piccolo video :). Spero que ti piaccia un po'.
Ti voglio benne, benne, benne! Oppure TVB :)!

P.S.Ho scritto tutto (c)questo da sola, con un po' d'aiuto del dizionario. Si vede che sonno molto orgogliosa, verro? Forse non dovrei... :P

P.S. 2 Si resulta difícil verlo aquí, usa este sitio, debería ser más fácil:

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-6945248121025338376&hl=en-CA

Welcome Back?

Back in Montreal after an absence of 6 months... The same streets, same sad-looking people, same humid heat that dries your throat and sends you hiding inside the house... nothing's changed, but me. And I'm not pretending that that's a good thing; it's just the way it is.
I already feel tired, but I'll just assume this is due to the time change... I refuse to let myself be absorbed by what I've been running away from all these months.
I went to Romania; as I've said, I didn't feel at home back there, no matter the way I was judged for stating this. On a positive note, nevertheless, I had the chance to finally meet some of the people I had been talking to for a fairly long time, some of whom I had already gotten to consider friends. It was a very nice surprise to discover that I hadn't been wrong and that the virtual impression I had was not too different from the real one.
And last, but surely not least, there were, again, Cristina, Alessia, Gianluca and Sacha. They're always there, in my heart, so how could they not do their best in charging my batteries before coming back to Canada? Now and then I still get a strong ache that fills the emptiness in my stomach, but I'm learning how to deal with it.
There's one thing I know for sure: I'm tired of this virtual life... I need to live the real one :).