i was reading this

i was reading this article in the new yorker about alex ross's awakening to pop music, and he mentions 924 gilman. this world seems so small sometimes, like when i am reading on the bumpy, bumpy bus up to careggi and boopideeboop, out of nowhere (ok, maybe that isn't the best sound effect), comes a mention of a random punk palace in my old 'hood.

reading is cool.
smallworldfeeling is cool.
the bumpy, bumpy bus is not cool.

but it snowed today and that's cold.

bella italia

in case that other story is way too long for you, here is something much shorter with a similar "oh, italy" effect:

BELLA ITALIA

From a Tuscan travel brochure.

Spending a holiday by Mazzocchi-Marilli's like to find the hospitality of old friends. Beside you can feel an atmosphere of thoughtlessness and light-heartedness, which only a Tuscan farm can offer.

--from the Jan. 26, 2004 New Yorker