Word: italianity
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...years. Whenever the 11th man from any European town emigrated to the States, a football team got organized. Football, the real variety, is an American game, too. Since the 19th century, whether it was Scottish mill hands in New Jersey, Portuguese fishermen in Massachusetts, Ukrainian steel workers in Pennsylvania, Italian masons and Irish sandhogs in New York City, or German brewers and shopkeepers in Missouri, one ethnicity after the next established its community and its football, not necessarily in that order...
When I got to Europe as a journalist (and as a player when my club team toured) it was amusing to see teams replicate what I'd experienced in New York: the way an Irish team plays the offside trap; an Italian midfielder's pass to an outside back that is as predictable as pasta for dinner; the steely play of the Poles contrasted with the passion of the Greeks. New York City's Croatian teams impressed me with their technical approach; the Hungarians, once powerhouses, have faded; the Greeks are defending champions. Sound familiar...
Mixing alcohol, a depressant, with stimulants is nothing new. The Irish have their eponymous coffee, and any authentic Italian restaurant offers something called caffè corretto, a shot of espresso mixed with a shot of grappa or sambuca. (The wonderfully knowing name translates as "corrected coffee.") But alcoholic energy drinks are different because they are so obviously marketed to kids. Ads are found mainly online or in publications like Blender. The Sparks website looks like it was designed by a (very young, very Flash-savvy) student...
...SASKIA HAVEKES, florist I'd stroll along Bourke Street in Surry Hills to Danks Street, Waterloo, visiting the precinct's many galleries. Then, in Danks Street I'd call in to the Fratelli Fresh Italian produce warehouse, tel: (61-2) 9699 3161, collect a light picnic, and head to Beare Park in Elizabeth Bay. It has a beautiful pond, the gardens always have something lovely in flower, and there are delightful harbor views. Just across the park is Elizabeth Bay House, tel: (61-2) 9356 3022, a restored 19th century mansion that often has quirky exhibitions dealing with Sydney...
Federico Fellini's 8-1/2 is an obvious inspiration, and Kaufman comes close to the Italian master in finding the wild wit in artistic misery. This vast, tragicomic mural spans 30-plus years and two continents, and slips so deviously from toothache reality into nightmare fantasy that you have to work to keep up with it. But Kaufman, Hoffman and a large, sympathetic cast make the ride exhilarating. It's surely the all-time funniest movie about depression, despair and death...