Stuffed animals?

What's with full-grown Italian adults and their obsession with stuffed animals? In my many years on the Boot, I've seen males and females alike with stuffed animals in their bedrooms, cars, etc. And when I say "stuffed animals" I'm not talking about the modern kind, I'm talking about straight-up, old school kids' toys. I find it creepy and corny at the same time. Same holds true for the many Italian adults who wear Disney-themed clothing. Shouldn't there be an age limit on that stuff?
Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon?

Can you teach on old dog new tricks?

Apparently not... The trash saga continues. This note was taped up on my building after the garbage men came around yesterday. We're soooooo on their shit list now!
(very rough translation: AMA is pissed at my building because of what I described in my last post. They say they collected the illegal bags this time, but will not next time.)

Told you so...

A month ago I wrote a post about AMA's new trash collection process and expressed my doubts that this new and "improved" system would actually work. Some of you might've thought I was being overly cynical but... I told you so! Damn, I should've bet money on this one!

Here's the deal: the garbage men now go door-to-door in my 'hood to collect specific kinds of trash on specific days (Tues, Thurs, Sat- organic waste; Wed & Sat- plastic, metal, glass; Tues & Fri- paper; Mon & Thur- regular trash). Anyone with a microscopic amount of common sense would ONLY put out the specific bags on the day they're supposed to be collected, right? Hell no, we're in Rome! Outside of my building this morning I spied all sorts of bags of trash (paper, bottles, etc) heaped next to the organic waste bin even though today was the pick-up day for regular trash only.

Instead of keeping the trash in their houses, people are just dropping it outside anyway which TOTALLY defeats the purpose because then the garbage men pick up all the bags- even if they contain the wrong trash. So in the end, this huge effort and investment to better the recycling habits of Italy is NOT working. Like I said, AMA should've spent some money on public service announcements because Italians are not quick learners. All the pretty bags and bins in the world are not going to make them pay attention to the "rules".
Conosco i miei polli!

Fountain users beware

I've been meaning to write this post for ages but keep forgetting. You know those fountains on the sidewalks of Rome we all love?


Yeah, those. Well, you might want to think twice before drinking from them. Why you ask? In the past few years, as the number of dogs in the city has skyrocketed, I've noticed more and more dog owners- including crusties (or as we say in Italian "punkabbestia") with their rabid pack of dogs- letting their pets drink from these fountains... which would be fine and dandy IF their tongues didn't slurp all over the spigot in the process. I'm not fond of dog germs or dogs for that matter so I now only use fountains that are too tall for dogs to reach. Gone are the days when I would drink the ice-cold fresh water from these fountains without a care in the world, instead I now a stare at these germ-infested watering holes from a distance and walk in the other direction.

So wrong

I'm sure most of you have heard about the new Italian law which would oblige doctors/nurses to contact the authorities if they suspect the patient they're treating does not have a valid visa or work permit. It's wrong on so many levels that I can't even begin to put it into words. So instead I'll illustrate it through a story about a recent incident I had the misfortune of witnessing:
As I was walking in my 'hood, I passed by a beggar who's always on the corner of Viale Trastevere- I noticed there was a pool of blood beneath him and he was wiping away even more blood from his face. I don't think I've ever seen this much blood before in my life. A group of people were standing around him talking amongst themselves. "What the fuck is going on? Why isn't anyone doing anything?" was my first reaction, and naturally I stepped into the group of people to inquire. Apparently, two other homeless beggars had come by and bashed this beggar's nose in... and then just walked away. I started to get riled up asking if anyone had called the cops or called a medic from the hospital two steps away, but nobody had. Why not? Not because they didn't give a shit, but because they had no idea what this beggar's situation was. If he was an illegal immigrant, by calling the cops or doctors (who are now being forced to act as immigration cops) they would've basically been signing this guy's deportation papers. So rather than be responsible for getting him into trouble over his visa or lack of, everyone opted to stay silent and just stand around and stare. I was tempted to go call for help but realized that these people were right... And that, my friends, is one example of why this law is so wrong.

Casting Call: Anglo-Saxons needed!

I'm posting this on behalf of a friend who's working on this film:

MAORI FILM S.R.L. is looking for genuine anglo-saxons (both male and female of any age) interested in working as extras on the upcoming production “TUTTO L’AMORE DEL MONDO” to be shot in Rome from April the 20th on.
Only people from the EU or people with a valid permesso di soggiorno may apply.
Please send a full figure picture, your stats & contacts to: maoricasting@gmail.com