Ceramics, landscape and documentary photography, movies, music, Japanese Karaoke, Ferraris, pretty and not-so-pretty things in nature, cooking for myself or for someone(s) I care, making sushi, building wooden furnitures, making new friends, and riding my Aprilia scooter F*A*S*T. Go, Go, Go!!!!!!!
Scooter Videos/News
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Music
Nellie McKay, Peter Sarstedt, Sondre Lerche, Regina Spektor, Lilly Allen, Gianmaria Testa, Lambchop, DeVotchka, Kronos Quartet, Gidon Kremer, Nigel Kennedy, Belle and Sebastian, Kings Of Convenience, Brett Dennen, Van Morrison, Tom Waits, Cassandra Wilson, Nina Simone, Lucio Dalla, Paulo Conte, Zucchero, Carmen Consoli, Laura Pausini, Daniele Silvestri, Jovanotti, Tiromancino, Gypsy Kings, Caetano Veloso, Septeto Rodriguez, Kate Bush, Morphine, Violent Femmes, Crowded House, Poi Dog Pondering, BeauSoleil, TMBG, ebtg, Mother Tongue, Ozomatli, Roots, Radiohead, Green Day, Bjork, Sigur Ros, Celia Cruz, Julieta Venegas, Juana Molina, Maria Rita, Gal Costa, Maria Bethânia, Ibrahim Ferrer, Tania Libertad, Trio Los Panchos, Vincente Fernandez, Sinead O'Connor, Mel Torme, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Motown music, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Sarah Vaughan, Sarah McLachlan, Billie Holiday, Louis, Miles and Dizzy, Marvin Gaye, Taj Mahal, Ry Cooder, Ali Farka Toure, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Cowboy Junkies, Gustav Mahler, Federic Chopin, Frederick Delius, Maurice Ravel, Erik Satie, Antonin Dvorak, Leonard Bernstein, John Coltrane, Oscar Peterson, Cedar Walton, Cannonball Adderley, Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli, Bill Evans, Chet Baker, Inoue Yousui, Sakamoto Kyu, enka of Tendo Yoshimi, Tango and Astor Piazzolla, Fado from Portugal, Zakir Hussain, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Egberto Gismonti, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Ua/Ajico, Southern All Stars, Misia, Utada Hikaru, Kawashima Eigo, Nagabuchi Tsuyoshi, Chage & Aska, Sakamoto Ryuichi, Anzen Chitai, Kodo, Kina Shoukichi, Tereasa Teng, anything on KCRW played by Chris Douridas and Liza Richardson, anything on KUT played by Paul Ray and John Aielli, Billy Bragg, Talking Heads, Steely Dan, the Beatles, and my brother Jim.....(**See me as "the cashier" in Madonna's video below; hit pause @ 2':34")
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Some of my favorite singers: Yousui and Carmen.
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Movies
I have a few favorites: No Country For Old Men, The Darjeeling Limited, The Science of Sleep, Dan in Real Life, The Simpsons, Ladri di biciclette, The Departed, Little Miss Sunshine, Serpico, Tampopo and all titles by Itami Juzo, Hollywood Shuffle, Edward Scissorhands, Running On Empty, Wings of Desire, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Cinema Paradiso, "Paris, Texas", Baghdad Cafe, Ikiru, Rashomon and all titles by Kurosawa Akira, all titles by Miyazaki Hayao, all Fellini movies, all Peter Greenaway movies, all Sally Potter movies, Ugetsu Monogatari, Blade Runner, Sideways, The Station Agent, Il Postino, Red, White, Blue, Lawrence of Arabia, any Pedro Almodovar flick (see preview of his latest creation "Volver" below).....
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Television
Documentaries, The Simpsons, and the series "Homicide--Life on the Street." The rest is garbage on tv. Youtube has replaced tv for me.
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Books
Recommendations: "What Do You Care What Other People Think?" by Richard Feynman and "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera. Now reading "The Italians" by Luigi Barzini and "The Captain's Verses" by Pablo Neruda.
Heroes
People who help other people--Merle Hatleberg of Someone Cares Soup Kitchen of Costa Mesa, CA. Photographers: Walker Evans, James Nachtwey, Sebastião Salgado. Also: Kaneko Jun, George Nakashima, Saito Nobuo, Onodera Morihiro, Komizu Tetsuo, Mr. Oya, Dr. Uozumi, Kitaoji Rosanjin, Hamada Shoji, Teraoka Masami, Hayao Miyazaki, Miyamoto Musashi, Itami Juzo, Bruce Lee, River Phoenix, Takakura Ken, Richard Feynman (video below), Harry Shearer, MacGyver, Enzo Ferrari, Valentino Rossi, Constantine Bertucci, and my parents.
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About me:
A surviving artist. A world traveler and a lover of other cultures and people. Love things Italian. Love to cook. Love making furnitures. Care about education, family, the plight of the homeless, the powerless, and the environment.
Who I'd like to meet: You and all other fun, curious, kind, simple, smart, imaginative, strong, hard-working, multi-faceted, peace-loving, passionate people all over the world.
i did! i just watched it. i really wanted to go see him speak. i wish i could. but...i will not be able to vote at this comming election. :(. im going to miss it by a few months. IM TICKED. but i can still wear my "obama fo yo mama" shirt. what better way to support my candidate of choice?