Vowels at the end of every word...mama mia

I'm baaaaaaaack...for a few days anyway. Back from the land of Olio de Uliva, the land of after dinner drinks called digestivos, the land traffic cops with white purses, an the land of really old stuff. Thats right, I am back from Italy Had a great time...great food...great drink...and a really, really great workshop group...here are my peeps below. I just thought I'd throw a few pictures your way, for your amusment. This is where we had the workshop...not inside this building but on the grounds. Sunset right here....purdy. And here is the view from my apartment...which was totally awesome...except for the uphill climb...upside is that I am now ready for ski season. Okay we did get a bit of rain...but even that was cool...I love rainy cobblestone streets. After the class was over I decided to do a day trip to Firenze (Florence). Stacy (the organizer) was a little wishy washy at first "maybe I'll go...maybe not". Finally after a bit of persuading I convinced her to go. I had ulterior motives, Stacy went to school in Florence so I figured she would know some secret spots and cool things to see....and sure enough she did. The first stop was Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella...which was a surprise for me. It was one of the earliest apothecary shops in Florence, and still sell perfumes, soaps, etc. Here's the ceiling...I have a thing for Medusa...don't look. Here is a drawing room or study in the same building, and of course the cool cabinets filled with stuff I'd love to disect.

Now I said I had a thing for Medusa....this is one of my favorite statues. Celinni's Perseus Beheading Medusa. Amazing to see it in person in the Piazza della Signoria . I'm not quite sure what my Medusa thing is all about, and I know it didn't start with the Clash of the Titans, staring Harry Hamlin as Perseus. I think my fascination is that it is one of the most fantastical villains in all of mythology. Also in the Piazza della Signoria is the Fountain Neptune ...also quite impressive in person. And of course who could forget Michelangelo's David...which is a replica of the original now housed in the Accademia. Okay so I'll leave you with a picture of Neptunes butt.

Ciao...is it time for a cafe and a Limoncell0...or two?

na na na na na...wa...wa...wa

Howdy gang,

been busy trying to get some goodies together for book II. ..plus class proposals... plus trying to figure out Facebook...plus whatever else. Lots to do, no doubt...plenty of time to sleep when you're dead, right? I wanted to post some images of what I've been working on, but you'll just have to wait...top secret right now.

So I'm off to Italy next week...I know...I know...blah, blah, blah, life is rough...yeah, I know. Hey, I'm the first to admit that I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo friggin' lucky.

So, speaking of Italy, those of you who are familiar with my classes know that at the end of every class I play the theme song to "the Good, the Bad and the Ugly", the famous spaghetti western starring Clint Eastwood. After the song we do our class critique, (which isn't as ominous as it sounds)...so since the whole Spaghetti Western thing came from Italy (remember all the really bad dubbing) I thought I'd give you a treat.

My buddy, Kristy Duncan (KD) ...a music freak-a-saurus rex...forwarded me something waaaaaay cool in honor of my critique sessions.

the Ukelele Ochestra of Great Britain...check it out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3gp7B8WC4Q