Karavansara

East of Constantinople, West of Shanghai


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Travels of the mind (and one day, maybe, the body)

It all started with an impromptu sort of thing.
Meeting a friend after a long time.  It’s been quite a while since we spent some time together, we have a lot of catching up to do.
So we decided to meet in the next few days, in Turin, and spend a whole day rambling around the Egyptian Museum. We both love Egyptian antiquities, and the old museum was one of our favorite haunts..
And there’s climate control in the museum – so we could stroll among the mummies and talk, in the cool air. Then maybe a bite somewhere reasonably cheap but quality.
So, why not?

Well, let me tell you why not.
A quick check with the Egyptian Museum website tells me the ugly truth. Continue reading →


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Brushing up the language of the Caesars

I started doing Latin in middle school – Latin was not part of the curriculum, but my Italian teacher was really old school and he considered Latin to be essential fr the intellectual education of us kids.
Which makes sense.
This meant I got to high school – where Latin was part of the science curriculum – with a basic knowledge of the language and grammar.
It was a disaster.
For the first time in my student life I faced teacher hostility – I was “the upstart” who had “cheated” by studying Latin before.

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What was really shattering to me was my poor performance in translating Latin.
I’d be the first to acknowledge that my knowledge of the grammar was not organized and orthodox, but I did have a knack for languages (or so I thought), and translating Latin had never been a problem for me.
And yet all my translations came back loaded in red marks.
My average score was 3/10.
And while all students in my class had started poorly as I, suddenly, after the first trimester, a lot of them made a quantum leap and started getting very high marks, while I kept being a disaster. Continue reading →


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Buscafusco is (almost) back

buscafusco ghosts & shadows smallAnd with an extreme delay, the second BUSCAFUSCO story is done, and is currently being lovingly manipulated by Mr Bezos’ gnomes.

This one is called Ghosts & Shadows, and is set during the Montferrat Winter – following the Autumn exploits of the first story in the series.
The idea is to do four volumes, covering four seasons – the next one therefore should be Spring.

As in Women & Children, once again Buscafusco will be tackling two cases at the same time – a kidnapping and a haunted house. Continue reading →


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Hatari!, 1962

Hatari_(movie_poster)What with the death of Elsa Martinelli and all that, I went and re-watched Howard Hawks’ Hatari!, a movie shot in 1962, partially in Africa, and scripted by the great Leigh Brackett, featuring John Wayne, Red Buttons, Hardy Kruger and the above-mentioned Elsa Martinelli.
Ass to that the soundtrack, composed by Henry Mancini, and you have the perfect recipe for a big hit.
And indeed, in 1962, Hatari! was the eight highest grossing movie in the US.

I never liked Hatari!
Yes, the African wildlife scenes are gorgeous, the action is breathtaking and – bear with me as I repeat myself like a broken record – Martinelli is breathtaking.
But the movie is… bah.
Continue reading →


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Elsa Martinelli – 1935-2017

I just learned that Italian model and actress Elsa Martinelli passed away yesterday at the age of 82.
Most viewers will probably remember her in Howard Hawks’ African adventure Hatari!, the John Wayne movie written by Leigh Brackett.
She also appeared in a number of other movies, including The Tenth Victim (from a Sheckley story), The Indian Fighter with Kirk Douglas and in the French swashbuckler Le Capitain (mysteriously re-titled Captain Blood for international audiences).

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Elsa Martinelli was so beautiful it hurt, and was one of my (too many) movie star crushes.
May she rest in peace.

 


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The Mask of Dimitrios

I was rather surprised, a few hours ago, finding out that Eric Ambler is almost forgotten in my country.
What a strange fate for one of the fathers of espionage fiction, author of novels from which popular movies were made, and he himself an Academy-nominated screenwriter.

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Finding out about this strange state of affairs made me go back to the The Mask of Dimitrios, a novel I read in my first year in university, in a well-thumbed used copy I bought somewhere.
I was familiar with the 1944 movie adaptation featuring Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet, but the novel was quite a discovery. Continue reading →


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Tools of the freelance writer: spaghetti

I was telling my brother this morning that noodle days are back again.
With summer, work dries up – more time to write my stories, but a lot less translation gigs and articles, that are still the backbone of my meager income.
So, we cut expenses – and that means going back to that long-time staple of writing life: spaghetti.

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Cheap, quickly prepared, and with a wide variety of possible seasonings, traditionally a freelance writer can live indefinitely on a serving of spaghetti per day.
And believe it or not is cheaper, healthier and more fun than burgers or chicken nuggets or deep-freezed microwave pizza.
It’s the sort of cooking that does not require a degree, won’t take up too much time – about 15 minutes tops – and yet it requires a modicum of discipline. And discipline for writers is important. Also, it gives you extra swank points when you are cooking for your friends, and it’s a great conversation item.

So, as a tool for my fellow writers, game creators and freelancers, here’s some quick and easy spaghetti wisdom to help you through those dry spells.
Continue reading →