Rebecca Helm-Ropelato's Blog, page 4

SPECK ‘N U: (24) Suddenly things seem so much brighter

Speck’N U is a cartoon series mostly about books by Rebecca Helm-Ropelato. To see more Speck cartoons, click here.

Project Europe is Angela Merkel’s to save, the writer says

As she was in the beginning (Angela Merkel)

What is the nitty gritty of what precisely is happening with the European Union — the Europe project — in these days? An answer to that puzzle is set out clearly, shortly and sweetly by Irishman Jason O’Mahony in a blog post today.

O’Mahony rests the matter of Europe’s future squarely on the shoulders of the remarkable Angela, the currentChancellor of Germany. Merkel faces a very clear choice between saving Europe or destroying Europe, O’Mahony argues...

Seeking insight into the “Greek crisis”

A few days ago in an email conversation with my daughter I mentioned that the political and economic turmoil in Europe had intensified this past two weeks. Writing back, she asked me to send her a few links to news stories that could give her some insight into the situation.

Harrumph, I mumbled to myself, I wish I could ask the same of some wise news guru.

And I suspect I’m not the only one. It’s much more difficult than it should be to find news reports that aren’t simplistic re-cyclings of va...

What Pebbles has to say about Monday

And I wholeheartedly agree!

Springtime flowering along via Appia Antica (Rome)

Two images from a walk we took Sunday along a short stretch of the old Roman road, via Appia Antica.

Books I read: “In Defence of Dogs” (John Bradshaw)

Our dog Amica

Why did I choose this book?

Although I love our dog in a way that keeps her front and center of my world much of the time, I knew very little about her world — the world as seen, heard, smelled, tasted, and “felt” by dogs. So a book written by a biologist offering to share with ordinary dog owners a bundle of recent scientific information and insight about that world was a must-read.

One backcover blurb:

Every dog lover, dog owner or prospective dog buyer should read this book. It w...

Italy loses a beloved musician: Lucio Dalla

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Yesterday, Italy lost one of its multi-generational popular music icons, Lucio Dalla. The singer-composer was on tour in Switzerland, according to news reports, cause of death a heart attack. Dalla was only three days away from his 69th birthday.

Outside of Italy, Dalla may be bestknown as the composer of the song “Caruso” which was recorded by several musicians, most prominently Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli, and Josh Groban.

Click on the screenshot above to see a video of Dalla performing...

SPECK ‘N U: 23 (“In Defence of Dogs” – John Bradshaw)

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Quotation is from the book “In Defence of Dogs” by John Bradshaw (2011)

Books I read: “Somebody Else’s Century…” (Patrick Smith)

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“Somebody Else’s Century/East and West in a Post-Western World” by Patrick Smith (2010)

Why did I choose this book?

I wanted to learn more about Asia, something beyond the usual news articles and television programs that only focus on politics and financial news. From such narrow reporting, it isn’t possible to have more than a vague idea about the countries and people and cultures in Asia.

I didn’t even know precisely which countries are East and why. I wanted to learn more about the distinctio...