U.S. considers 100% tariffs on Italian food and wine: Links to write to your representatives in congress
As you are probably already aware, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is currently considering the implementation of 100 percent tariffs on food and wines produced in the European Union, including Italian products. The USTR already imposed 25 percent tariffs on Italian cheese and other food products in October of last year. The fallout for Italia...
Italian American Law Professor and Gay Rights Pioneer Releases New Memoir
“Boys’ Secrets and Men’s Loves” is a poignant, timely memoir by David A. J. Richards that sheds light on the trauma that patriarchy inflicts on men. Drawing from his own life and experiences, Richards explains how patriarchal norms harm boys and men, forcing them to forgo their authentic, emotional selves in order to conform to the rigid stereotype...
Sunday, growing up in an Italian-American home
I remember it all too well. Our large family, Ma and Dad, six kids, and my Nonon, my grandmother, who would WALK over to our house, to help my mother every day, all cramped in a small three-decker apartment. The radio playing, set, every Sunday morning, to a local AM station that played Italian songs: "... volare, oh oh, cantare, oh oh oh oh ..." A...
'The New Pope': TV Review
Three years ago, Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Young Pope” crash-landed onto American airwaves. The Italian auteur’s series, which envisioned a sharp-tongued New Yorker bringing the Holy See to heel, was so surreal that it tended to elicit responses of confusion and revulsion from mainstream observers, but for those on its wavelength, it was both an aptl...
Food Trends: Is Lasagna the “Meatloaf” of 2020?
Kale, Brussel sprouts, avocado toast…and lasagna? You may have noticed that this baked pasta favorite is enjoying a culinary moment right now, popping up menus across the country and even getting its own dedicated cookbook. (Released earlier this fall, Anna Hezel’s Lasagna features dozens of unique recipes for the dish, from Fried Lasagna Bites to...
John Baldessari, Who Gave Conceptual Art a Dose of Humor, Is Dead at 88
John Baldessari, the influential conceptual artist who helped transform Los Angeles into a global art capital through his witty image-making and decades of teaching there, died on Thursday at his home in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles. He was 88. His death was confirmed on Sunday by Virginia Gatelein, his studio manager and the chairwoman o...
How Vince Guaraldi Made Charlie Brown Cool
In early 1964, a short piece in the San Francisco Chronicle mentioned that local jazz composer and pianist Vince Guaraldi would write the music for a TV film about Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts newspaper strip: a documentary to be titled A Man Called Charlie Brown. The April 1964 issue of San Francisco magazine gave additional details. The planned 60...
The Real History of The Godfather Movies and Book
The Godfather is a historic film that made and remade historical past. Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of Mario Puzo’s best-selling household novel is persistently rated within the prime three movement photos ever made, usually at #1. Some critics and movie historians imagine the sequel, The Godfather Half II, was a good higher movie, solidifying...
The Extraordinary Career and Legacy of Dino De Laurentiis
Producer Dino De Laurentiis was one of the most prolific filmmakers ever, having produced or co-produced more than 600 films during a career that spanned seven decades. His legacy continues not only through the work of his children and grandchildren but also by a new generation of filmmakers in his Italian hometown. De Laurentiis was born in the sh...
An Easy Hand-Rolled Pasta Perfect for Slow Winter Days
There’s something deeply nostalgic about having a meal prepared for you by your grandmother or grandfather—eating a dish that’s been passed down from generation to generation. This special dish is often not written down, but kept stored away in a grandparent’s head, a recipe whose ingredients and proportions may change with the weather. But a new c...
The Italian American Dream
Italian Americans have made their mark on American history since arriving from Italy during the late 1880’s. By 1920, more than four million Italians called the U.S. their home. While the majority suffered prejudice and hardships, many were able to turn those difficult times into prosperity. Notable Italian immigrants and children of immigrants bec...
‘Ford v Ferrari’ editors keep the tension high, with help from the ‘Zamboni Pass’
Director James Mangold’s “Ford v Ferrari” race car epic has a lot of moving parts, and not just on the track. The 2 ½-hour tribute to Le Mans star Ken Miles and genius engineer Carroll Shelby piles conflict upon conflict. Besides the heroes’ schoolyard fisticuffs, the film pits Henry Ford II versus Enzo Ferrari; Shelby versus Ford’s corporate minio...