Madain Saleh is the crown jewel of a Saudi Arabia that is trying to make its first inroads in mass tourism. It’s Petra’s sister city without the crowds.
I approached the group lounging outside the pub undecided if I had a bigger thirst for beer or human contact. I proceeded to get the first elbow bump of my life from my Belfast buddy, Patrick O’Byrne, and my Rome friend, Sergio Serra. A barman wrote “14” on my hand, and I waited until my […]
We take a break from our regularly scheduled update on the biggest human tragedy of our lives to bring you something almost as awful. My acting career. If you’ve followed my blog, you know I developed a side career as a film extra. I had a good 2018-19. I played an American cardinal in “The […]
I knew Rome was getting back to normal when I crossed my narrow street Monday, the first day of Italy’s Phase 2, and nearly got clocked by a car. I’ve been so used to no traffic when I made my 200-meter trip to the supermarket during lockdown I never bothered to look up my hill. […]
Both came from nowhere to lead their countries. Both lead the countries with the most Covid-19 deaths in the world. Both address their nations on TV. Both have a pulse — although I’m not sure both have hearts. The similarities between Italy prime minister Giuseppe Conte and U.S. president Fuckface von Clownstick pretty much end […]
The sidewalk cafes tempt you like the Sirens from a nearby shore. You can feel the sun’s warmth on your balcony but you can’t feel the sea. The last time you did the Italian double-cheek kiss was with your cat. Welcome to Porto Quarantina. Life in Italian lockdown is harder than most places. We live […]
So how do you like your company now? I see divorce filings are up all over the United States. Domestic violence is up in Asia. Netflix stock must look like Apple 20 years ago. In this time of international lockdown, people from San Diego to Shanghai are searching in the far corners of the Internet […]
Tuesday I had to make the risky move of traveling across Rome to a clinic using public transportation. As Italy becomes the western world’s most paralyzed country courtesy of the Coronavirus, I felt like the guy sneaking out of his shelter in a scene from “Night of the Living Dead.” My girlfriend, a third-generation Roman […]
Hello from Quarantine Centrale. Here in Italy we have become Europe’s red-headed, deformed stepchild. We are shunned, ridiculed and home bound. The Coronavirus has turned all 60 million of us into passengers on one giant cruise ship. We’re sitting motionless with no port accepting our wretched, damned souls. I myself am quarantined. Yes, it happened […]
(Editor’s note: I was planning on posting this Monday but yesterday was meant for remembering Kobe Bryant and not a relatively meaningless soccer game in Rome.Riposa in pace, Kobe.) It was a terrific idea to celebrate a birthday. Alessandro Castellani, my best Italian friend in Rome and veteran sportswriter, had gathered seven of his male […]
Six years ago this Saturday I retired to Rome saying I wanted to live the last third of my life in the most beautiful city in the world. Of course, I could’ve been leaping into a chasm of living hell. I had few friends, no girlfriend, a tiny cave of a flat and terrible Italian. […]
I grew up in the capital of the commercial world and now live in the capital of the Catholic world. It is Christmas time, a time when capitalism and religion merge into a big, sparkling Christmas ball — a green Christmas ball. Comparing Christmas in Rome to Christmas anywhere in the U.S. is like staring […]
