Pigeon Chronicles

I don't understand pigeons.

 How does Darwin explain the evolutionary process of pigeons? They are the evolved version of a prehistoric bird species and after millenia of evolution they've ended up as the modern day pigeon. This is their peak of evolution to date! These birds scrounge around for food all day, on their feet! They can fly. And they can fly much better than they can walk. When they walk it looks like some sort of slinky toy, kind of like the dog in Toy Story. 

The beast is not meant to walk, and yet it seemingly prefers to do so. The Italian pigeons are very brave. My dad literally brushed them away with his feet while walking and they didn't fly away! It's as if they aren't afraid of their superiors. I don't see what their part in the food chain is. 

Today we spent the day around Venice. A very different city, more different than any other I've seen before. A city connected through waterways that people need to navigate through boats. (You wouldn't want to swim in these waters.). There are paths for people to walk but they seem to yield to the canals. The pathways are maze-like in design. One could get lost for hours without a map. 

Little narrow paths that seemingly lead to nowhere are in fact major pedestrian arteries. To get from point A to point B on foot is a game of snakes and ladders - taking one step back to go two forwards. 

On the other hand the canals are relatively straightforward and understandable. In fact, compared to some small town automobile streets, they are luxuriously wide and follow proper parking ettiquette. 

It's a backward place where land animals have chosen to live in a water-world. Kinda like pigeons. 

- L.P. 

PS. My mom is afraid of pigeons; she believes they will peck her eyes out. 

TMNT

Leonardo da Vinci is quite a legend here in Italy, as he is in most of the world. In Paris we saw the Mona Lisa and it was quite an ordeal just to get close enough to see it. We also saw a number of his works during our three weeks and most post museum shops have books or posters about him. He's known as the genius; artist and scientist and great ones at that. His place in history is secure. 

Michaelangelo, is also brilliant. Today we a little sculpture. 

It's pretty awesome. Hadnt really appreciated sculptures before  but this was really quite something. I think most other sculptures will be anti-climatic now, which means this may be the end my sculpture watching career. Even though Miggy was a sculptor, they asked him to paint a chapel. Apparently he was insulted (?) as he should have been known as a sculptor. Painting was an art form he had not practiced in years. So after accepting the request from the pope, Miggy paints a ceiling in seclusion, keeping his work a secret, and ends up with a masterpiece. Wasn't allowed to take any pictures. Fuji owns the photographic rights to the ceiling. 

Rafael was a gifted painter in his own right and was a contemporary of Michaelangelo. From what I remember during the tour of the Vatican, he was at the time, more of a celebrity than Miggy was because of his painting. He died at 37 though due to too many relations. Miggy surpassed him in accolades as he lived a long life and produced many works. 

But what about Donatello?

The only thing I found was a statue of him in Florence. 

I'm sure he was great, but doesn't seem to fit with the other three: Leo, Miggy and Rafa. 

Seems to me as though maybe three ninja turtles would have been enough. Who would have wanted to be named after the perceived lesser genius anyways?

It's like, these are my children: Isaac, Aristotle, Galileo and Tim. One doesn't seem to fit. (No offense to any Tim by the way.)

- L.P

Identifying non Italians in Italy

10.  On narrow sidewalks, non Italians will make room for pedestrians walking in the other direction. 

9. A non Italian can talk without moving their hands. 

8.  A non Italian will respect a lineup

7. A non Italian will know how to whisper

6.  A non Italian wears shorts in 30 degree weather

5. A non Italian will think its appropriate to wear sandals without socks

4. A non Italian will wonder about how Italy's ancestors were so organized

3. A non Italian will be surprised that there are more churches than Starbucks 

2. A non Italian will think this isn't suitable children's food

1. A non Italian wouldn't wear quilted jeans

Longer in than out

'Twas nine months ago that I left the inner sanctum of my mothers womb. I feel like I've accomplished so much and still have so much to do. Like, first of all, what is this?

 I found it months ago and it's useless. I put in my mouth (like everything) and nothing happens.  If I don't start using it for something soon I'm going to start to think like there's something wrong with me. 

Went to the pantheon in Rome.  Pretty cool. Funny how it's now a basilica. Changed from roman gods, to Christian saints. The planets however remained with the roman god names. I wonder if they tried to rename the planets to something like "Jesus" or "Allah". Or "Jehovah". I guess the problem is that when you have a singular deity... Too many planets to name. 

I have no idea what this is used for. 

 

On orchestral score

When travelling I've noticed that there is usually a song that I associate with the trip - a theme song, so to speak. When my dad went to Africa for the world cup, it was Shakira's world cup song. When he went to California it was "You've got another thing coming" by Judas Priest. During this trip, I don't think just one theme song will do. When in Paris it was "the girl from ipanema" (French version - not that I know the words in French). In Avignon, it was Frere Jaques. In Spain, anything from gypsy kings. While in Rome, I go between two movie soundtracks: gladiator theme music and the godfather. 

Anybody have any other suggestions?

- L. P. 

PS. There is a real theme song... I'll share it later. 

On returning to the homeland

It's not too often one can return to the land from where my in-utero name originated (baby Julius). I believe there is a temple honoring me (or Julius Caesar) that we will visit shortly. Nevertheless my celebrity status in Rome is confirmed as I have many people wanting to have their pictures taken with me. Follow me on twitter with #babyjulius !

This lady doesn't even speak English, yet the international sign of "photo" was clearly understood. It almost looks like she's trying to steal me. I have a grandma in Ponoka that would have something to say about that!

So far, Rome has been quite excellent. The ancient buildings merged into modern Rome is quite something. The area and size of the ruins is much larger than I was expecting. Despite all the grandiose history, one of the more amazing things was captured in the following image. 

This has to be one of the smallest gas stations I've ever seen. Maybe I'm just used to seeing the large luxurious stations where people can get out of their vehicles and stretch their legs, get a Starbucks, stop at Wendy's or Tim Hortons and take a nap, but this seems like a Lego gas station starter set where you want the impression of a gas station with the least amount of peices possible. In contrast to the colosseum, which is about 200 meters away, this seems out of place. 

I've also taken to heart what I've learned at the "le louvre". A sculptures is 3D art and it should be appreciated as such. Here's a statue viewed from the wrong side. 

It may be 3d art but it's definitely not the part that people look at. I'm not sure how many people take time to notice the backside of a sculpture. If it were a scultpure of a mountain, with no front or back I could see the need for 3d. I guess it does make it more life like - something that a painting can't do even though it has the advantage of color. The statues do make a nice backdrop for more photos of me though!

- L.P.

PS. You guys need to try this at some point.  Yummy cow stomach! Tastes like chicken!

Fighting rude with rude

Service in Europe has been a story of extremes. There have been really good sotries and some really bad ones. It is unfortunate that the poor experiences tarnish the memories even if they do make up the minority of the instances. 

It is difficult to maintain a level of civility and patience when people are so clearly being rude. 

What recourse do patrons have? Argue with the waiter and have an unpleasant experience for the rest of the dining experience. It could even go worse if you get a sneeze in your food! One could just grin and bear it, although that does seem to just condone the behavior. One could fight rude with no tipping or just leave when the behavior is unacceptable.  

My strategy is to fight rude with cute. I think it works pretty well. 

-L.P

On the origin of original thought

Pablo Picasso knew how to paint from a very young age. It was if he was born with a gift - the ability to  capture images with paint, realistically and then later on in somewhat abstract forms. Seeing his early works in a museum in Barcelona today made me appreciate his work to be more than just his polygonal representation of people. I think like with most great artists, the greatness comes from beyond just accurately replicating an observation but also to illicit thoughts or emotion. As his career progressed Picasso led the way in exploring new artistic forms of expressing ideas. Moving away from such realistic portrayals of what was observed actually made me think more of what Picasso was trying to share with the viewer. Maybe it was nothing at all and just a way of showing what he saw through his kaleidoscope-like brain. 

Eventually I wondered how he came up with new ways to think, new ways to express himself. Or how anyone comes up with original ways of doing things. Or if anyone actually has any original thoughts at all. Picasso seems to have influences from many different cultures and he's borrowed many of the methods he's seen and made them his own. Perhaps original thought is really just taking what previous thnkers, people, and/or cultures have done and pushing the limits just a bit more. More than what is the norm, more than what is expected. 

Perhaps just as my dad built upon what his dad had done, I will stand on his shoulders and reach new heights!

Maybe I'll have Picasso-like gift! Maybe I'll discover how to travel at the speed of light! So many paths I could take. 

But first I need to master walking on my own. 

- L.P.

Dress code is business homeless

Barcelona is a really nice city. Maybe better than Paris. Hard to say because the weather is so much better in Barcelona. Being near the coast is a nice bonus as well. It doesn't match the Parisian variety and quantity of incredible buildings but it does have Gaudi. 

Gaudi was alive during the late 1800's and early 1900's. He was basically an architect that rethought gothic techniques and popularized modernism. Walking throughout the city one can see a number of Gaudi buildings. 

The buildings aren't like any I've ever seen. It's almost like they are too crazy to be taken seriously. It's as if a child designed the castle, asking for an inordinate amount of towers, candy lining the roof tops and then having it built. 

La sagrada familia is still being built over 75 years since Gaudi's death. He died in 1926 after being run over by a tram. Apparently he dressed very shabbily and somewhat like a homeless person so that when he was run over, no one recognized him as "Gods architect". It wasn't until a couple days after that he was recognized but at that point he had succumbed to his injuries and died at the age of 73. 

Walking back to the apartment we are staying at after a long day of walking and sight-seeing, we saw a man in the corner of the apartment building laying down on a mattress with a sleeping bag reading a book with his Armani reading spectacles and dressed in a suit. He was dressed quite formally (business homeless). It made me wonder if he was like Gaudi. A genius, dressed like a bum. He must see the world quite differently than anyone else, living his life the way he does. It allows him to see perspectives and beauty in things we take for granted. Maybe he was reading some philosophical works of masters long gone. Maybe he was reading up on the latest in nanotechnology. 

Given that a Gaudi comes a long once a millennium, it's likely that he's average (and special) just like everyone else. It's fun to wonder though. 

I tried dressing like a genius would. I'm not sure if it's working. Mostly this is just a place on my head that I just can't seem to reach. The arm length to head circumference is working against me at this point. Maybe I could become an evil genius - the large head size would give me a great evil nickname! El McBraino! A name that would pay homage to my heritage and my melon.