Probably one of the greatest fallacies of contemporary American journalism and cinema is the belief that making a point means ramming it home. One of the many gifts of first-time director J.C. Chandor’s fine thriller that it avoids doing just that. Filmed over 17 days in one location on a minimal budget, the film records how an investment bank unravels in a 24-hour period that … Continue reading Margin Call

Until a friend’s recent comment, I had almost forgotten that the standard airline baggage allowance was once two (large) suitcases. My friend and I laughed as we reminisced about the crazy things that people asked us to bring, or that we couldn’t seem to live without — on either shore. Later as I reflected, it struck me that the things I carried had deeper messages. … Continue reading Valves and Pullovers

I was recently asked to dispense advice to some cross-cultural couples who seemed to think that my 20 years of living here (plus a divorce) had given me insight into Americans involved with Italians in relationships and marriages. I’m not sure their faith is warranted, but I agreed. While these thoughts concern American women involved with Italian men, they probably apply to other combinations, and … Continue reading The 16 Points

I recently had several personal encounters with the Great Depression. None as a result of gloomy economic forecasts, but instead from being reminded of its remarkable legacy. Encounter One: While waiting in a long line in the Lebanon, New Hampshire post office, with its Formica counters and modern office décor, I noticed a mural on back wall that seemed to hark back to a time … Continue reading WPA Remembered

Today was too rainy for yard work, so I rummaged through several steamer trunks worth of family letters, albums and academic miscellany. They trace the path of a busy thoughtful family along the crucial arc of American history from the Civil War through World War II. The themes are varied: family news, academic achievement, mental illness and daily life. But travel dominates. There are hundreds … Continue reading Dear Kids

When Silvio Berlusconi was scheduled to appear in court on charges of prostitution of minors in April, news teams from 29 countries teamed up to create a media circus in front of the Milan courthouse. Berlusconi never showed up. But when Berlusconi did appear in court on June 18 charged with paying a $600,00 bribe to British barrister David Mills for false testimony (Mills was … Continue reading The Deeper Woe

It has been a busy few weeks. First came municipal elections in all-important Milan and several other major Italian cities. Recent reports in The Economist and the New Yorker had suggested that the Italian electorate was too dim to resist the tired rhetoric of old hands. Not so. Milan posters that tried comparing Italian magistrates to the Red Brigades backfired on the troika of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, his … Continue reading Graduation

In a new book I found as gripping as crime novelist Stieg Larrson’s triology, Italian investigative journalist Ferruccio Pinotti has produced a remarkable portrait of the charismatic Catholic movement known as Comunione e liberazione. In “La Lobby di Dio” (“God’s Lobby”) Pinotti persuasively argues that Comunione e liberazione — known in Italy as Cl — is more powerful than Opus Dei, more well-oiled than freemasonry, and more “plugged in” than … Continue reading Insidious Ciellini

Silvio Berlusconi and I spent a sunny Milan Saturday afternoon in a dark theater. Why? No one I asked would join me in seeing “Silvio Forever,” the “unauthorized film biography” of Berlusconi assembled by journalists Gian Antonio Stella and Sergio Rizzo and directors Roberto Faenza and Filippo Macelloni. Why did my friends turn me down? “I already know more than I want.” “I think I’d vomit.” “Pay … Continue reading Clever Boy

In late February, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi attacked Italy’s public school system. “Liberty,” he said in a speech, “means the possibility of educating ones children freely and freely means not being forced to send them to state schools where there are teachers who want to inculcate principles that are contrary to those of their parents.” His approach immediately produced a storm. Berlusconi’s words had two … Continue reading Berluscolandia