Sunday, July 14, 2013
My Bucket List and my Studi Di Lingua Italiano
As a person reaches that ripe old age of fifty something happens that brings that old bucket list more clearly into focus. I'm sure it's partly because you know you aren't really middle aged, for how many of us actually live to be 100. Yes there is something about 50 that creates that much welcomed sense of urgency that taps you on the shoulder every day and says, hey ... do you remember all that stuff you always said you wanted to do with your life... well you better get to it because you're running low on time outs and every day someone is trying to get the ball away from you to run their own set of plays. So when you feel that pressure take a firm grasp of those helmet ear holes, slide that helmet on your head, fasten the chin strap then call a play. And for God's sake break that huddle, place your hands under center, call the signals and run the damn play no matter what defense has been called on the other side of the ball.
Almost exactly a year ago this week I began to seriously study singing American Classic Jazz Standards. What led me to this glorious and fulfilling endeavor? Well I've been kind of a frustrated crooner my whole adult life getting the opportunity to scratch those sub-dermal itches at the occasional family wedding and party from time to time. One thing led to another and as luck would have it a dear friend invited me to sing with him at a neighborhood little league fund raiser. Fortunately for me I'm surrounded by dear friends and family who have always urged me to do this more seriously , most of whom attended the fund raiser and have seen me perform in the past. In 2012 I finally heeded their advice and took up singing more seriously. Since then I've had the great fortune to study with a true maestro and to perform in venues that go beyond the occasional family gathering. This has been one of the most life affirming experiences I've ever had. It's something I've been able to check off my bucket list or, at the very least, say its a work in progress that I hope will carry me as far as my vocal chords will allow.
Fast forward to this summer. Yet another itch has been slowly working its way to the surface. Since I was a second generation Italian boy growing up in a predominantly Italian neighborhood with grandparents and parents who spoke Italian when they didn't want us to know what they were talking about, I've always wanted to know how to speak fluent, Florentine style Italian. Nothing against the Italian that is spoken in southern Italy, but I figure if you are going to do it, keep it pure and simple. Dialects will follow in their due course as the need arises. So now here I am, eyebrows deep in Italian language books that run the gamut from verb conjugation, grammar, vocabulary, usage and believe it or not, simple Italian book readers. This is truly learning by immersion, much like they do it in the CIA. Since starting this journey I've surrounded myself with Italian movies, music and everyday usage. I'm driving my wife and friends crazy because I've taken to only texting in Italian thereby forcing them to translate my messages and respond only in Italiano. Fun for me, for them, not so much.
Long story short, this journey into teaching myself Italian has filled whatever free time I can muster with a tantalizing challenge that has been replete with frustration, reward, but most of all, flat out satisfaction and fun. It has become so much a part of me that I literally try to say every English sentence I utter in Italian either to myself or out loud. I'm far from crossing this off the bucket list because I've not yet achieved any level of fluency. However I'm well only my way and become better every day.
A very wise man once told me that there is really no teaching, there is only learning. What he meant was if you truly burn to learn something bad enough you will go out and find a way to learn it. That has never been truer than it is today with YouTube, Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, and the ever expansive and omnipresent internet.
So go check that bucket list of yours and commit to do at least one thing right now. If you truly want to learn it the tools are there. Use them and by the end of 2013 you will be amazed and fulfilled by how far you've come.
Please stay tuned for more Musings from Studio 618. If you like like them please tell a friend.
All my very best,
Anthony
Almost exactly a year ago this week I began to seriously study singing American Classic Jazz Standards. What led me to this glorious and fulfilling endeavor? Well I've been kind of a frustrated crooner my whole adult life getting the opportunity to scratch those sub-dermal itches at the occasional family wedding and party from time to time. One thing led to another and as luck would have it a dear friend invited me to sing with him at a neighborhood little league fund raiser. Fortunately for me I'm surrounded by dear friends and family who have always urged me to do this more seriously , most of whom attended the fund raiser and have seen me perform in the past. In 2012 I finally heeded their advice and took up singing more seriously. Since then I've had the great fortune to study with a true maestro and to perform in venues that go beyond the occasional family gathering. This has been one of the most life affirming experiences I've ever had. It's something I've been able to check off my bucket list or, at the very least, say its a work in progress that I hope will carry me as far as my vocal chords will allow.
Fast forward to this summer. Yet another itch has been slowly working its way to the surface. Since I was a second generation Italian boy growing up in a predominantly Italian neighborhood with grandparents and parents who spoke Italian when they didn't want us to know what they were talking about, I've always wanted to know how to speak fluent, Florentine style Italian. Nothing against the Italian that is spoken in southern Italy, but I figure if you are going to do it, keep it pure and simple. Dialects will follow in their due course as the need arises. So now here I am, eyebrows deep in Italian language books that run the gamut from verb conjugation, grammar, vocabulary, usage and believe it or not, simple Italian book readers. This is truly learning by immersion, much like they do it in the CIA. Since starting this journey I've surrounded myself with Italian movies, music and everyday usage. I'm driving my wife and friends crazy because I've taken to only texting in Italian thereby forcing them to translate my messages and respond only in Italiano. Fun for me, for them, not so much.
Long story short, this journey into teaching myself Italian has filled whatever free time I can muster with a tantalizing challenge that has been replete with frustration, reward, but most of all, flat out satisfaction and fun. It has become so much a part of me that I literally try to say every English sentence I utter in Italian either to myself or out loud. I'm far from crossing this off the bucket list because I've not yet achieved any level of fluency. However I'm well only my way and become better every day.
A very wise man once told me that there is really no teaching, there is only learning. What he meant was if you truly burn to learn something bad enough you will go out and find a way to learn it. That has never been truer than it is today with YouTube, Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, and the ever expansive and omnipresent internet.
So go check that bucket list of yours and commit to do at least one thing right now. If you truly want to learn it the tools are there. Use them and by the end of 2013 you will be amazed and fulfilled by how far you've come.
Please stay tuned for more Musings from Studio 618. If you like like them please tell a friend.
All my very best,
Anthony
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Faith in the Face of Catastrophe...How Refreshing. May God Bless the Folks of Moore Oklahoma.
I, like most of you, have been rocked by the news over what has occurred in Moore, OK over the last two days. The unthinkable devastation that has taken place here should be enough to have us all counting our blessings. To emerge from a shelter to learn that everything you held sacred is gone in a matter of minutes is something that the folks who live in this part of the country know as a constant threat every spring. As I watch interview after interview I continue to find inspiration from these people who refuse to think of themselves as victims.
We are living in times where few if anyone, particularly politicians and celebrities, are grounded enough to take responsibility for their wrongdoings. The more exposure the they get the more likely they will find some sympathetic group who will shelter them with excuses and exploit them as a victim. The more they've been blessed with the more obnoxious they feel they are entitled to be.
When you juxtapose this behavior against the humble people of Moore, OK in the wake of this catastrophe it should really help us all put things in perspective. Once again true inspiration can be found in the humility so often displayed in America's heartland. Whether it be flood waters from rising rivers that wash away entire counties or tornadoes that leave schools, homes, hospitals and churches in piles of wood and twisted metal the response always seems to be consistently the same. Almost to a person, when asked where they begin to put the pieces of their lives back together the answer starts with prayer. Living in what many on both coasts love to derisively call the fly over states these people rarely get to take center stage unless it's brought on by tragedy. However, when the spotlight shines on them their souls shine back. The response may not always be as eloquent or as grammatically correct as the elite class would like but at least it's consistent and always based in a belief in something greater than themselves. It would be very easy to use this stage to spout some political agenda or some other beef they've been harboring and waiting to use to paint themselves as victims, but refreshingly that never seems to be the case. They come together as a community and together, rebuild. They display no sense of entitlement, only grace and gratitude for what little they've been left to work with.
To the people of Moore Oklahoma, Your response to this crisis is an inspiration and a lesson to us all. It's all much bigger than us. It takes true humility to know this completely. Unfortunately it often takes a tragedy of this magnitude so that people of your strength may shine.
To all those who suffered in this tornado's wake, I salute your courage. May God bless you and give you the peace and hope you so richly deserve.
Please stay tuned for more Musings from Studio 618.
All my very best,
Anthon
y
We are living in times where few if anyone, particularly politicians and celebrities, are grounded enough to take responsibility for their wrongdoings. The more exposure the they get the more likely they will find some sympathetic group who will shelter them with excuses and exploit them as a victim. The more they've been blessed with the more obnoxious they feel they are entitled to be.
When you juxtapose this behavior against the humble people of Moore, OK in the wake of this catastrophe it should really help us all put things in perspective. Once again true inspiration can be found in the humility so often displayed in America's heartland. Whether it be flood waters from rising rivers that wash away entire counties or tornadoes that leave schools, homes, hospitals and churches in piles of wood and twisted metal the response always seems to be consistently the same. Almost to a person, when asked where they begin to put the pieces of their lives back together the answer starts with prayer. Living in what many on both coasts love to derisively call the fly over states these people rarely get to take center stage unless it's brought on by tragedy. However, when the spotlight shines on them their souls shine back. The response may not always be as eloquent or as grammatically correct as the elite class would like but at least it's consistent and always based in a belief in something greater than themselves. It would be very easy to use this stage to spout some political agenda or some other beef they've been harboring and waiting to use to paint themselves as victims, but refreshingly that never seems to be the case. They come together as a community and together, rebuild. They display no sense of entitlement, only grace and gratitude for what little they've been left to work with.
To the people of Moore Oklahoma, Your response to this crisis is an inspiration and a lesson to us all. It's all much bigger than us. It takes true humility to know this completely. Unfortunately it often takes a tragedy of this magnitude so that people of your strength may shine.
To all those who suffered in this tornado's wake, I salute your courage. May God bless you and give you the peace and hope you so richly deserve.
Please stay tuned for more Musings from Studio 618.
All my very best,
Anthon
y
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