• Do we always get what we pay for?

    mary batella

    Is there anybody in the audience who has been following up on the latest events of Italian politics, inclusive of the not so edifying example of verbal exchange which has the taken place in the Upper Chamber (Senato, these are the elected individuals of socalled senior stature and maturity) after the vote which has brought down  the Government coalition?Here comes a  question found in the mail from  Gilgamesh, a friend of mine:Do Italian politicians represent a mere distortion   of the  Italian Electorate or ratheraren’t they the true mirror of the Italian people …and their character?Ge… Read More

    January 27, 2008

  • Drink and Forget or Pain kills Pain?

    mary batella

    Once upon a time there was a friend of a friend of mine who all of  a sudden was abandoned by his wife.  Ever since he has been getting drunk  at night, every single day of the week, while crying and moaning about his runaway wife.  Fist observation: while he is drunk and drinking, he is totally absorbed by the thought  of his wifeIn the morning, every single day  of the week, he can  be found in the coffee shop  drinking gallons of black coffee, with a squeeze of lemon, which is known to take care  of hangover and headache from the  excessive drinking of the night before. Second observ… Read More

    January 27, 2008

  • Re: Re: How do you contribute?

    mary batella

    the idea that language is made much more powerful by unique recombination of words in creative ways is to me the very essence of (good) literarure, whether it be prose or poetry. This might also explains while extensive, if not compulsive, reading helps  anyone develop one's own writing skills, though only a few are bestowed with the gift of the art of writing. Read More

    January 26, 2008

  • Re: Time's Down

    mary batella

    Time is nothing else than the contrary state to stillness. Hence the owner of time is anything or anybody that  introduces a change in the state of things. What does time's down mean? As a non-English native speaker I don't think I have come across this expression before. Read More

    January 26, 2008

  • Re: How globalization is changing the way we eat

    mary batella

    Tanya, very pleased to hear that in your opinion what globalization has brought about is in fact the need to rediscover and appreciate the beauty of one’s own culinary culture,  taste  and flavors. It might be far fetched but  what if this could set the stage for the new modus vivendi of the melting pot which the world is turning into? Also thanks to the Internet. I also love what you said about bread and the uniqueness of old recipes.  A staple food which survives the storms of human history. Read More

    January 19, 2008

  • Re: infinite knowledge

    mary batella

    My personal feeling is that there cannot be a final piece of information which explains it all because that would mean  coming to an end. Without drive to discover, uncover and understand there would be no meaning to human life any longer. I also agree that perception is what makes the difference between you and I. Again, if perception would become one with absolute knowledge the human kind, and mind, would die of pure boredom Read More

    January 19, 2008

  • Re: Why won't my comments post?

    mary batella

    Hi Pete, thanks for the input. I have just started navigating here and already encountered the issues about lost comments. I do have a few more question of practical nature and hope your team can have those answered:a) Do i get an alert in email when comments or responses are added to an idea of mine posted on the site?b) is there anywhere where a track record is kept about my own comments or responses to other ideas?I think I am going to like this site and hope that, sometimes soon, it can be opened up to non English speakers. I am Italian, by the way. Thanks a lot, keep it up! Mary Read More

    January 17, 2008