Daily Entries for the week of
Sunday, September 27, 2020
through
Saturday, October 3, 2020
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It’s Saturday, October 3, 2020
Welcome to the 896th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Ada Byron, aged seven
by Alfred d'Orsay, 1822, Somerville College, Oxford.
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2.0 Commentary
Timing is off.
Assuming the President is planning on retaining the Presidency by force or one kind or another,
assuming his declaration of that intention during the debate,
his timing seems to be off.
Like Mother Superior, he jumped the gun.
He hadn’t prepared the rank and file of his party and
the powers outside of his administration are not following into line.
Plus his declaration has given the opposition time to strategize and unite against him.
Trump rarely makes such mistakes.
He’s made one here.
And now: Trump and wife are infected.
Victims of their own attitudes towards safety.
Tested positive for the coronavirus.
They are quarantined.
The President still wants to debate — no rule changes.
Mike Pence’s debate performance Wednesday- coming takes on added significance
as the President’s health takes a significant blow.
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting an essence
More research on the History of the True Cross.
Intellectually exciting but boring to report.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
I had to stop drinkin,
cuz I got tired of waking up in my car driving ninety.
~Richard Pryor
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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
This from John Hagan, builder-developer, good friend since 1970 when I had a restaurant and Jack worked for Tad Stahl.
Ada Byron, aged seventeen, 1832
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Thursday night my cousin put dinner together: a vegetable antipasto, ravioli, and a platter of meat: short ribs, meatballs, and chicken wings.
She’s learning coordination.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Pinterest, Pocket Cast, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
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Lord Byron expected his child to be a "glorious boy" and was disappointed when Lady Byron gave birth to a girl.
The child was named after Byron's half-sister, Augusta Leigh, and was called "Ada" by Byron himself.
On 16 January 1816, at Lord Byron's command, Lady Byron left for her parents' home at Kirkby Mallory, taking their five-week-old daughter with her.
Although English law at the time granted full custody of children to the father in cases of separation, Lord Byron made no attempt to claim his parental rights, but did request that his sister keep him informed of Ada's welfare.
On 21 April, Lord Byron signed the deed of separation, although very reluctantly, and left England for good a few days later.
Aside from an acrimonious separation, Lady Byron continued throughout her life to make allegations about her husband's immoral behavior.
This set of events made Lovelace infamous in Victorian society.
She did not have a relationship with her father.
He died in 1824 when she was eight years old.
Her mother was the only significant parental figure in her life.
Lovelace was not shown the family portrait of her father until her 20th birthday.
Lovelace did not have a close relationship with her mother.
She was often left in the care of her maternal grandmother Judith,
Hon. Lady Milbanke, who doted on her.
However, because of societal attitudes of the time—which favored the husband in any separation, with the welfare of any child acting as mitigation—Lady Byron had to present herself as a loving mother to the rest of society.
This included writing anxious letters to Lady Milbanke about her daughter's welfare, with a cover note saying to retain the letters in case she had to use them to show maternal concern.
In one letter to Lady Milbanke, she referred to her daughter as "it":
"I talk to it for your satisfaction, not my own, and shall be very glad when you have it under your own."
Lady Byron had her teenage daughter watched by close friends for any sign of moral deviation.
Lovelace dubbed these observers the "Furies" and later complained they exaggerated and invented stories about her.
Lovelace was often ill, beginning in early childhood.
At the age of eight, she experienced headaches that obscured her vision.
In June 1829, she was paralyzed after a bout of measles.
She was subjected to continuous bed rest for nearly a year, something which may have extended her period of disability.
By 1831, she was able to walk with crutches. Despite the illnesses, she developed her mathematical and technological skills.
When Ada was twelve years old, this future "Lady Fairy", as Charles Babbage affectionately called her, decided she wanted to fly.
Ada Byron went about the project methodically, thoughtfully, with imagination and passion.
Her first step, in February 1828, was to construct wings.
She investigated different material and sizes.
She considered various materials for the wings: paper, oilsilk, wires, and feathers.
She examined the anatomy of birds to determine the right proportion between the wings and the body. She decided to write a book, Flyology,
illustrating, with plates, some of her findings.
She decided what equipment she would need; for example, a compass, to "cut across the country by the most direct road", so that she could surmount mountains, rivers, and valleys. Her final step was to integrate steam with the "art of flying".
Ada Byron had an affair with a tutor in early 1833.
She tried to elope with him after she was caught, but the tutor's relatives recognized her and contacted her mother.
Lady Byron and her friends covered the incident up to prevent a public scandal.
Lovelace never met her younger half-sister, Allegra, the daughter of Lord Byron and Claire Clairmont. Allegra died in 1822 at the age of five.
Lovelace did have some contact with Elizabeth Medora Leigh, the daughter of Byron's half-sister Augusta Leigh, who purposely avoided Lovelace as much as possible when introduced at court.
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It’s Friday, October 2, 2020
Welcome to the 895th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Long Island City
King of Hearts / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0
Three-segment panorama of Long Island City, Queens, New York City.
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2.0 Commentary
16. Did they read yesterday’s blog?
The Commission on Presidential Debates issued a statement in the wake of Tuesday night’s melee in Cleveland, where frequent interruptions from Mr. Trump led to a chaotic and often incoherent event.
It did not elaborate on what those changes would entail.
This from the NYT:
Daily poll diary: Most voters pronounced Biden the debate’s winner in several instant polls. These surveys can be quirky, but the candidate who wins them tends to gain in the real polls, The Times’s Nate Cohn points out.
Over all, Nate writes, yesterday brought “some of Trump’s worst polls since the convention.”
Frank Bruni says that Joe Biden should refuse to debate Trump a second time: we’ll be collaborating with Trump’s effort to derail the election.
David Frum says that Americans know how to read what they see and the debates should go on.
The Commission in control of the debate format is planning significant changes to forestall Trump’s disruptions of Biden.
Their debate was civil and respectful.
On the medical front, we in Boston are slip sliding away into danger.
If this a result of the return of college students and their natural disregard of safety?
Demoralizing: thinking we were so superior only to find us in the city a part of the dreaded red zone.
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting an essence
Wednesday I continued writing thumbnails of the frescoes of The History of the True Cross.
No breakthroughs, just grunt work.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
I'm not addicted to cocaine.
I just like the way it smells.
~Richard Pryor
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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
Everyone’s talking about the debate.
“Trump’s meltdown” the consensus.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Wednesday night cousin Lauren made her first fried fish, serving it with Penne Pesto and cauliflower.
The pesto had been made, the cauliflower bought prepared from W Foods.
Even at that, Lauren learned lessons as to the number of steps it takes to bring a simple dinner for two to the table.
Valuable lessons when planning a menu.
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Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, New York City, on the western edge of Long Island.
It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Hazen Street, 49th Street, and New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek—which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brooklyn—to the south.
Incorporated as a city in 1870, Long Island City was originally the seat of government of the Town of Newtown, before becoming part of New York City in 1898.
In the early 21st century, Long Island City became known for its rapid and ongoing residential growth and gentrification, its waterfront parks and its thriving arts community.
The area has a high concentration of art galleries, art institutions, and studio space.
Long Island City is the eastern terminus of the Queensboro Bridge, the only non-tolled automotive route connecting Queens and Manhattan.
Northwest of the bridge are the Queensbridge Houses, a development of the New York City Housing Authority and the largest public housing complex in the Western Hemisphere.
Long Island City is part of Queens Community District 1 to the north and Queens Community District 2 to the south.
It is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 108th Precinct.
Politically, Long Island City is represented by the New York City Council's 26th District.
The city surrendered its independence in 1898 to become part of the City of Greater New York. However, Long Island City survives as ZIP Code 11101 and ZIP Code prefix 111 (with its own main post office) and was formerly a sectional center facility (SCF). The Greater Astoria Historical Society, a nonprofit cultural and historical organization documenting the Long Island City area's history, has operated since 1985.
Through the 1930s, three subway tunnels, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, and the Queensboro Bridge were built to connect the neighborhood to Manhattan.
By the 1970s, the factories in Long Island City were being abandoned.
In 1981, Queens West on the west side of Long Island City was developed to revitalize the area.
In 2001, the neighborhood was rezoned from an industrial neighborhood to a residential neighborhood, and the area underwent gentrification, with developments such as Hunter's Point South being built in the area.
Since then, there has been substantial commercial and residential growth in Long Island City, with 41 new residential apartment buildings being built just between 2010 and 2017.
By the mid-2010s, Long Island City was one of New York City's fastest-growing neighborhoods,
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It’s Thursday, October 1, 2020
Welcome to the 895th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
History of the True Cross
Arezzo. San Francesco. Vista de los frescos del presbiterio. Piero della Francesca.
Miguel Hermoso Cuesta - Own work
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2.0 Commentary
Two terrific Newbury St. store windows belong to the boutiques next to Thinking Cup café, itself located at 85 Newbury: Ralph Lauren and Tea Forte.
Ralph Lauren has perhaps the most fashionably displayed windows on a famous-for-windows street.
So Tuesday night we citizens were assaulted.
As an instrument by which we could gauge the better man, disastrous the debate.
So what now?
Cancel the remaining two.
Replace them.
At separate locations, at the same time, by a panel of respected newspeople, let each man be rigorously interrogated live on their policies.
Perhaps, in real time, they would be given an opportunity to listen to each other’s answers and respond to them.
We would lose the spontaneity and the emotional reactions that make for good television,
but we’d learn an awful lot more about the candidates’ views.
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting an essence
Having finished the major file reorganization, on Tuesday I resumed my research:
The Death of Adam, a part of the History of the True Cross.
Filing the details of this particular work took a little bit more time than it will take after I get a bit more familiar with the process.
Reading at length about my favorite subject is a great indulgence and opportunity of which I am keenly aware and appreciative.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
One aspect of appellate judging is we have to give reasons for all of our decisions.
And when you sit down and try to write it out,
sometimes you find that your first judgment wasn't the right one.
~Ruth Bader Ginsburg
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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
Our friend Colleen G is on the throes of publishing a most attractive blog.
After years of helping others in their writing efforts, she set Room to Write aside
while she pursues an outlet for her own wonderful writing.
We will benefit greatly from her efforts.
Stay tuned as we wait her official launch.
Thank you, Colleen.
We are looking forward to it.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Last night my cousin Lauren produced her first Broiled/Seared Swordfish, gochujang-style.
It was delicious.
She heated a cast-iron pan directly under the broiler.
Then generously brushed the swordfish with the sauce, set it sizzling in the cast-iron pan and
returned the pan with swordfish to the broiler, as close to the flame as possible.
Seven minutes gave the fish a spectacular color while retaining most of the fish’s juices.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Pinterest, Pocket Cast, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
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The History of the True Cross or The Legend of the True Cross is a sequence of frescoes painted by Piero della Francesca in the Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo.
It is his largest work, and generally considered one of his finest, and an early Renaissance masterpiece.
Its theme, derived from the popular 13th century book on the lives of saints by Jacopo da Varagine, the Golden Legend, is the triumph of the True Cross – the legend of the wood from the Garden of Eden becoming the Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified.
This work demonstrates Piero's advanced knowledge of perspective and color, his geometric orderliness and skill in pictorial construction.
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It’s Wednesday, September 30, 2020
Welcome to the 894th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
The Deposition from the Cross, 1525–1528
Pontormo - Book scan (Manfred Wundram: Renaissance, S. 69, Köln: Verlag Taschen 2007, ISBN: 3-8228-5295-3 / ISBN 978-3-8228-5295-8)
File:Jacopo Pontormo - Kreuzabnahme Christi.jpg
Created: from 1526 until 1528 date QS:P571,+1526-00-00T00:00:00Z/8,P580,+1526-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P582,+1528-00-00T00:00:00Z/9 (Renaissance)
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2.0 Commentary
Tuesday political report:
Joe Biden leads Trump by eight percentage points nationwide, 49 percent to 41 percent, in a new poll from The Times and Siena College. Polling on this presidential race has been consistent for months: Since May, Biden has led by between five and nine points, according to an average calculated by FiveThirtyEight. He probably needs to win the national popular vote by several points to win the Electoral College.
The new poll also found that 56 percent of voters said the next president should nominate the Supreme Court justice to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And 67 percent of voters — including 40 percent of Republicans — said they would support a national mask mandate to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
This poll seems to be in line with others released over the last week.
OOOPS!
New issues: the president’s taxes.
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting an essence
I finished the major restructuring of my files and am now ready to go forward with pure research.
The reorganization has proven greatly helpful to provide retrievable files for the information I will be gathering.
The notes will be invaluable once the trip starts.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
Work hard on each opinion,
but once the case is decided,
don't look back;
go on to the next case and give it your all.
It's not productive to worry about what's out and released, over and done.
That's advice I now give to people new to the judging business.
~Ruth Bader Ginsburg
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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
This from Howard D:
First, an apology in advance if you are already well-apprised of this situation.
I gather the antagonist here, the restaurateur “Salt Bae,” is something of a local celebrity, if only in his own mind.
He sounds like a self-aggrandizing idiot.
No one is saying it, but of the very few, probably utterly rare, benefits of this ordeal of social behavior re-engineering, as a result of our collective ordeal in the name of public safety, once we enter the light at the end of the tunnel, it (the process) will have weeded out at least some of the really flagrant Darwin Award nominees of the future among the set of food professionals who, whatever their culinary talents, are missing a few brain cells and/or a sense of their common humanity.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do about the behavior of the general public who provide his customer base, whose flagrant disregard for public safety, enabled, if not encouraged, by the lax service policies of this clown. The fact remains, there is no cure for stupid.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/09/27/metro/boston-orders-salt-bae-restaurant-shut-saturday-just-days-after-it-opened
stay safe
Howard
Blog-Meister replies: Perfect tone and sentiment for reactioin to the outrageous behavior.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Monday night I ate alone: a most delicious meatball sandwich: my meatballs; Tatte baguette.
I also gnawed on two chicken feet.
I did not growl.
Promise.
Nor was there at anytime during the devouring, gravy sliding down my chin.
Trust me.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Pinterest, Pocket Cast, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
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The large altarpiece canvas for the Brunelleschi-designed Capponi Chapel in the church of Santa Felicita, Florence, portraying The Deposition from the Cross (1528),
is considered by many, Pontormo's surviving masterpiece.
The Florentine artist Jacopo da Pontormo was among the earliest exponents of Italian Mannerism. Influenced by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) and Andrea del Sarto (1486-1531), he worked for the Medici, Borgherini and other patrons of Renaissance art in Florence, making his initial reputation with fresco works at the Medici villa at Poggio a Caiano.
Mannerism predominated art in Italy from the end of the High Renaissance in the 1520s to the beginnings of the Baroque style around 1590.
In this work, the figures, with their sharply modeled forms and brilliant colors are united in an enormously complex, swirling ovular composition,
housed by a shallow, somewhat flattened space.
Although commonly known as The Deposition from the Cross, there is no actual cross in the picture.
The scene might more properly be called a Lamentation or Bearing the Body of Christ.
Those who are lowering (or supporting) Christ appear as anguished as the mourners.
Though they are bearing the weight of a full-grown man, they barely seem to be touching the ground;
the lower figure in particular balances delicately and implausibly on his front two toes.
These two boys have sometimes been interpreted as angels, carrying Christ in his journey to Heaven.
In this case, the subject of the picture would be more akin to an Entombment,
though the lack of any discernible tomb disrupts that theory,
just as the lack of cross poses a problem for the Deposition interpretation.
Finally, it has also been noted that the positions of Christ and the Virgin seem to echo those of Michelangelo's Pietà in Rome,
though here in the Deposition mother and son have been separated.
Thus in addition to elements of a Lamentation and Entombment, this picture carries hints of a Pietà.
It has been speculated that the bearded figure in the background at the far right is a self-portrait of Pontormo as Joseph of Arimathea.
Another unique feature of this particular Deposition is the empty space occupying the central pictorial plane as all the Biblical personages seem to fall back from this point.
It has been suggested that this emptiness may be a physical representation of the Virgin Mary's emotional emptiness at the prospect of losing her son.
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It’s Tuesday, September 29, 2020
Welcome to the 893rd consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
View of the Piazza dei Miracoli
© José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro
Piazza dei Miracoli (Pisa)
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2.0 Commentary
Sunday was the first day I opened the file manager on my Surface Duo.
It is amazingly easy to navigate the files synchronized with both my Studio All-in-One desktop, as well as synchronized with my Surface laptop.
Which promises to fulfill the exact niche I had hoped:
a small, handheld device to take into a museum and bring up my notes on a work of art while standing in front of it.
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting an essence
Looking to the reorganizing of the files of the trip to Tuscany
to put the information at our fingertips.
So much fun.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
Each side takes the position of the man who was arrested for swinging his arms and
hitting another in the nose, and
asked the judge if he did not have a right to swing his arms in a free country.
'Your right to swing your arms ends just where the other man's nose begins.”
~Zechariah Chafee
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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
This from Sally C:
Being out of date and out of touch with most of the current cultural tides these days (music, entertainment, etc.), I don't know who Zach Galifianakis is, but I think he is a kindred spirit! His quotes that you post invariably make me laugh!
Blog Meister Responds: Me,too!
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Sunday I had a pasta dinner with cousin Lauren.
I bought some chicken feet for the occasion.
Before adding them to the slow-simmering gravy
I braised them for two hours @ 375* in a Dutch oven with a copious pour of red wine and a ladle of the simmering Gravy.
When they were duly tenderized, I added them and their sauce to the gravy.
They were delicious…if you like cartilage…if you like to crush soft bones and extract the juices…return to your roots as carnivore.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Pinterest, Pocket Cast, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
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The Piazza dei Miracoli, formally known as Piazza del Duomo,
is a walled 8.87-hectare area located in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy,
recognized as an important center of European medieval art and
one of the finest architectural complexes in the world.
Considered sacred by the Catholic Church, its owner,
the square is dominated by four great religious edifices: the Pisa Cathedral, the Pisa Baptistry, the Campanile, and the Camposanto Monumentale (Monumental Cemetery).
Partly paved and partly grassed, the Piazza dei Miracoli is
also the site of the Ospedale Nuovo di Santo Spirito (New Hospital of the Holy Spirit), which houses the Sinopias Museum (Italian: Museo delle Sinopie) and the Cathedral Museum.
The name Piazza dei Miracoli was coined by the Italian writer and poet Gabriele d'Annunzio who,
in his novel Forse che sì forse che no (1910),
described the square as the "prato dei Miracoli", or "meadow of miracles".
The square is sometimes called the Campo dei Miracoli ("Field of Miracles"). In 1987, the whole square was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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It’s Monday, September 28, 2020
Welcome to the 892nd consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
The new Surface Duo
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2.0 Commentary
Screens have altered the way we live.
For television viewing I have an 80” Pioneer,
the size particularly great for sporting events.
For computer work, in my apartment, I use a Surface Studio which,
according to Microsoft, “is the fastest Surface we’ve ever built. It has been engineered to give our most creative customers more of what they require – unmatched power, graphics and versatility. Surface Studio 2 is perfect for anyone who wants to let their ideas flow.”
At the café I use the Surface, imbued with “desktop power and the flexibility of a laptop, tablet, and portable studio.”
And working itself into my rhythm is the newest Microsoft device, the Surface Duo, no larger than a smart phone, where “Surface innovation comes to a dual-screen mobile device, featuring the best of Microsoft 365, every Android app in the Google Play store, phone calls, and more.”
Old enough to remember the advent of the first screen in the 1950s.
One of the first viewing events, the Estes Kefauver hearings into the Mafia infiltration into the trucking unions.
We’ve come a long way.
With the emergence of Bill Gates and manufacturers like Texas Instruments, the personal computer has stomped into our lives.
Faster and faster they run,
more and more pervasive they are.
Now integral to our functioning in almost any workplace.
Functioning recreationally.
Making plans.
I take great delight using these machines.
Can’t imagine life without them.
Young people take it all for granted.
God bless them.
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting an essence
Am writing the first pages of the travel book I’m compiling as the planning for our Tuscany trip proceeds.
Will be putting the pages here as I write them.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
If you read my blog, you know I'm a pilates freak.
And by pilates, I mean waffles.
~Zach Galifianakis
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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
A lot of conversations hinge on the return to school, or not.
Not if we consider physical presence on campus as integral to
the definition of ‘going to school.’
Given the alternatives some are facing, my daughter, Kat and her boyfriend Will,
lucked out.
Swarthmore is permitting Freshmen and Sophomores on campus first semester.
For second semester, they will study remotely and Juniors and Seniors
will stay on campus.
Great for Kat and Will, both seniors.
They will have their graduation ceremonies on campus.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Saturday night I slow-roasted a game hen, one hour per pound.
Then I spatchcocked it (cut the backbone out of the chicken so it can be finished flattened out.)
I dredged the two halves of the game hen, still warm from the oven, in cake flour,
dipped them into a beaten egg, and then covered them with cornmeal.
I fried the battered game hen in very hot canola oil, for five minutes each side.
I squeezed a half lemon over the game hens and ate
the juiciest, crunchiest bird I could have desired.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Pinterest, Pocket Cast, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
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The Microsoft Surface Duo, also known as the Surface Duo,
is a foldable device announced during Microsoft's Surface hardware conference on October 2, 2019 and officially released on September 10, 2020.
The device was announced alongside the Microsoft Surface Neo.
Unlike previous Microsoft products, which run a in-house operating system,
such as the recently discontinued Windows 10 Mobile,
the Surface Duo runs Android instead.
The device is generally regarded as a smartphone, however,
Microsoft itself is reluctant to use the term to describe the device,
instead referring to it as the newest member of the Surface family.
Microsoft announced the device at their October 2019 event,
alongside the Surface Neo, Surface Laptop 3, Surface Pro 7, Surface Pro X and Surface Earbuds.
The announcement was met with generally positive opinions from critics,
who praised its design and hinge mechanism.
While the device was initially designated to be released 'Holiday 2020',
the device was up for pre-order on August 12, 2020 and released on September 10, 2020.
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It’s Sunday, September 27, 2020
Welcome to the 891st consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Justice
© José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro
Capella dei Scrovegni - Padua
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2.0 Commentary
Celtics played very well and extended their Conference Finals series one more game.
Miami is ahead in games, 3-2.
Am enjoying working at the café more than I can ever remember.
Not sure why.
I guess I love studying the Tuscan art I’m planning to see when covid permits.
I confine my work on the trip to this daily 2-hour session.
Great weather.
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting its essence
Worked on Giotto’s Seven Vices and Virtues.
They fill the chapel’s dado, (the lower part of the wall of a room, below about waist height, if it is a different color or has a different covering than the upper part.)
Giotto painted fourteen personifications of the Virtues and Vices in faux-marble under the frescoes on the side walls .
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4.0 Chuckles/Thoughts
You know it's time to do the laundry when you dry off with a sneaker.
~Zach Galifianakis
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5.0 Mail
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
This from Ann H:
I'm so over the bike riders. Dodged one 3 weeks ago and really messed up my knee. Glad you loved La Voile - always great
Ann Heimlicher
Boston Spot-Lite, Inc.
"The Concierge Specialists"
50 Commonwealth Avenue #501
Boston, MA 02116
617-247-0001
visit our website at www.bostonspotlite.com
Blog Meister responds: We’re on the same page.
We got other correspondences supporting timely visits to a doctor.
One, unfortunately, a cautionary tale.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Friday night I enjoyed slow-roasted baby back ribs with gochujang sauce.
Steamed spinach with garlic, evoo, and crushed red pepper flakes.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Pinterest, Pocket Cast, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
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11.0 Thumbnails
The monochrome, faux-marble personifications of Vices and Virtues
The bottom tiers of the side walls feature 14 personifications in grisaille, representing single figures of Vices on the north wall and Virtues on the south wall.
The Vices are Stultitia, Inconstantia, Ira, Iniusticia, Infidelitas, Invidia, and Desperatio.
The Virtues are grouped as follows: the four cardinal virtues: Prudentia, Iustitia, Temperantia, Fortitudo, followed by the three theological ones: Fides, Karitas, Spes.
Each virtue and vice is embedded within a mirror-like marble frame.
The name of the vice or the virtue is written in Latin on top of each figure, indicating what these figures represent, namely, the seventh day (the time between Jesus's birth and the Final Judgement).
Vices and Virtues symbolize humanity's progress toward bliss (heavenly happiness).
With the aid of Virtues, humanity can overcome obstacles (Vices).
This is the philosophical-theological itinerary designed by Giotto's theologian, a learned theologian who drew his inspiration from Saint Augustine.
The Vice-Virtue section of the Arena Chapel illustrates the philosophical-theological message underlying the overall project and is key to clarifying several points previously considered to be either obscure or the result of Giotto's only approximate theological knowledge.
For instance, in the Arena Chapel the vices are not the traditional capital vices or deadly sins (Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony and Lust), just like the "corresponding" virtues do not reflect the traditional order, consisting in four "cardinal virtues" (Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance) and three "theological virtues" (Faith, Hope and Charity).
A twofold therapeutic path leading to salvation is presented. The first, composed of four virtues, brings a cure by means of the opposing force provided by the cardinal virtues. The arrival point in this first part of the itinerary is Justice, Iusticia, who makes peace possible and therefore ensures Paradise on earth and earthly happiness. The first Vice in this first section is Stultitia, namely the incapacity to distinguish good and evil. Its cure (opposite wall) is Prudencia, Prudence, which in classical and theological terms is not "cautiousness" but "moral intelligence" or the capacity to distinguish good and evil. The viewer is in the sphere of Knowledge. Next comes the pair Inconstantia, Inconstancy, (north wall) and Fortitudo, Fortitude, (south wall). Fortitude (moral and mental strength) triumphs over Inconstancy's lewd oscillations by means of will. "Inconstancy" is literally "the lack of a stable seat"; it is a mix of light-headedness, volubility, and inconsistency. "Inconstancy" is portrayed as a young woman rolling over a ball, ready to fall, on a motley marble floor signifying the lack of "unity" ("constancy") which characterizes an inconstant mind. Here is the sphere of Will. Wrath, the third vice, is "tempered" by Temperantia, Temperance. According to Saint Augustine, Temperantia is the inner balance which ensures the will's stable dominion over instincts and keeps human desires within the boundaries of honesty. It is the therapy necessary to prevail over passions, which are symbolized by Wrath, because Wrath is the most perilous of all the passions: it is sudden and destructive, even against own's dearest ones, and is therefore the passion that human beings first need to learn how to control. This notion is a tenet of ancient Greek and (in its footprints) Roman philosophy, which Saint Augustine made his own and Giotto's theologian transmitted to him, fusing together a number of Saint Augustine's writings.
Prudence, Fortitude and Temperance pertain to each individual's ethical sphere of action and have as their goal the cure of each individual "self". Ethical virtue takes form in practical application, through action and behavior that pertain both to the personal and the social sphere and affect human relations. The notions of Justice and Injustice, the central "pair" in Giotto's Arena Chapel, emanate from this notion. Justice’ perfect centrality is visually emphasized by an architectural "die", a small cube that runs above each of the various personifications in a slightly slanted way, pointing either toward the apse or the counter-façade, everywhere but above the head of Justice (south wall) and Injustice (north wall), where the small die falls in a perpendicular line, marking at the same time the exact physical half of the chapel as well as Justice's curing function from a theological-philosophical viewpoint, without forgetting that Justice is what cures the soul of the sickening effects of Injustice (on the chapel's other side).
Those who have successfully progressed in their therapeutic path have attained Justice. Those who have not, have attained Injustice. Those who have attained Justice have practiced a soul's therapy that can be defined as "human" and that led them to earthly happiness. They used as their therapy the "medicina animi", the "soul’s medicine" provided by the cardinal virtues (in the sequence Prudence-Fortitude-Temperance-Justice), namely the moral and intellectual virtues with whose "medicine" human beings can be cured of, and are able to prevail over, the opposing vices.
Next come the theological virtues. In order to be able to aspire to heavenly Paradise one needs divine teaching, the revelation of truth, with which one overcomes and transcends human reason, and to practice the theological virtues. The "divine therapy" begins with the rejection of false beliefs (Infidelitas) through Faith in God (Fides). Only with the "medicine" of Charity (Karitas) can man overcome Selfishness and Envy (Invidia), which lead him to look with malevolent eyes (Latin in-vidēre) at his neighbour, who is also made by God in His likeness. Finally, with the aid (the medicine), Hope (Spes) can be contrasted with Lack of Hope, or Desperation (Desperatio). Hope is an attitude consisting in actively waiting for God's future blessings which descend from trust in God and in His word, and also consisting in love, through the love of God, of the whole of humankind.
The sources of this extraordinary program were identified by Pisani in a number of passages of Saint Augustine's works. Everything finds a perfect correspondence with something else. It is the theme of the "therapy of opposites", the sequential order of the cardinal and theological virtues, and the centrality of Justice.
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It’s Friday, October 2, 2020
Welcome to the 895th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Long Island City
King of Hearts / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0
Three-segment panorama of Long Island City, Queens, New York City.
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2.0 Commentary
Did they read yesterday’s blog?
The Commission on Presidential Debates issued a statement in the wake of Tuesday night’s melee in Cleveland, where frequent interruptions from Mr. Trump led to a chaotic and often incoherent event.
It did not elaborate on what those changes would entail.
This from the NYT:
Daily poll diary: Most voters pronounced Biden the debate’s winner in several instant polls. These surveys can be quirky, but the candidate who wins them tends to gain in the real polls, The Times’s Nate Cohn points out.
Over all, Nate writes, yesterday brought “some of Trump’s worst polls since the convention.”
Frank Bruni says that Joe Biden should refuse to debate Trump a second time: we’ll be collaborating with Trump’s effort to derail the election.
David Frum says that Americans know how to read what they see and the debates should go on.
The Commission in control of the debate format is planning significant changes to forestall Trump’s disruptions of Biden.
Their debate was civil and respectful.
On the medical front, we in Boston are slip sliding away into danger.
If this a result of the return of college students and their natural disregard of safety?
Demoralizing: thinking we were so superior only to find us in the city a part of the dreaded red zone.
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting an essence
Wednesday I continued writing thumbnails of the frescoes of The History of the True Cross.
No breakthroughs, just grunt work.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
I'm not addicted to cocaine.
I just like the way it smells.
~Richard Pryor
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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
Everyone’s talking about the debate.
“Trump’s meltdown” the consensus.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Wednesday night cousin Lauren made her first fried fish, serving it with Penne Pesto and cauliflower.
The pesto had been made, the cauliflower bought prepared from W Foods.
Even at that, Lauren learned lessons as to the number of steps it takes to bring a simple dinner for two to the table.
Valuable lessons when planning a menu.
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11.0 Thumbnail
Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, New York City, on the western edge of Long Island.
It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Hazen Street, 49th Street, and New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek—which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brooklyn—to the south.
Incorporated as a city in 1870, Long Island City was originally the seat of government of the Town of Newtown, before becoming part of New York City in 1898.
In the early 21st century, Long Island City became known for its rapid and ongoing residential growth and gentrification, its waterfront parks and its thriving arts community.
The area has a high concentration of art galleries, art institutions, and studio space.
Long Island City is the eastern terminus of the Queensboro Bridge, the only non-tolled automotive route connecting Queens and Manhattan.
Northwest of the bridge are the Queensbridge Houses, a development of the New York City Housing Authority and the largest public housing complex in the Western Hemisphere.
Long Island City is part of Queens Community District 1 to the north and Queens Community District 2 to the south.
It is patrolled by the New York City Police Department's 108th Precinct.
Politically, Long Island City is represented by the New York City Council's 26th District.
The city surrendered its independence in 1898 to become part of the City of Greater New York. However, Long Island City survives as ZIP Code 11101 and ZIP Code prefix 111 (with its own main post office) and was formerly a sectional center facility (SCF). The Greater Astoria Historical Society, a nonprofit cultural and historical organization documenting the Long Island City area's history, has operated since 1985.
Through the 1930s, three subway tunnels, the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, and the Queensboro Bridge were built to connect the neighborhood to Manhattan.
By the 1970s, the factories in Long Island City were being abandoned.
In 1981, Queens West on the west side of Long Island City was developed to revitalize the area.
In 2001, the neighborhood was rezoned from an industrial neighborhood to a residential neighborhood, and the area underwent gentrification, with developments such as Hunter's Point South being built in the area.
Since then, there has been substantial commercial and residential growth in Long Island City, with 41 new residential apartment buildings being built just between 2010 and 2017.
By the mid-2010s, Long Island City was one of New York City's fastest-growing neighborhoods,
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1.0 Lead Picture
History of the True Cross
Arezzo. San Francesco. Vista de los frescos del presbiterio. Piero della Francesca.
Miguel Hermoso Cuesta - Own work
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2.0 Commentary
Two terrific Newbury St. store windows belong to the boutiques next to Thinking Cup café, itself located at 85 Newbury: Ralph Lauren and Tea Forte.
Ralph Lauren has perhaps the most fashionably displayed windows on a famous-for-windows street.
So Tuesday night we citizens were assaulted.
As an instrument by which we could gauge the better man, disastrous the debate.
So what now?
Cancel the remaining two.
Replace them.
At separate locations, at the same time, by a panel of respected newspeople, let each man be rigorously interrogated live on their policies.
Perhaps, in real time, they would be given an opportunity to listen to each other’s answers and respond to them.
We would lose the spontaneity and the emotional reactions that make for good television,
but we’d learn an awful lot more about the candidates’ views.
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting an essence
Having finished the major file reorganization, on Tuesday I resumed my research:
The Death of Adam, a part of the History of the True Cross.
Filing the details of this particular work took a little bit more time than it will take after I get a bit more familiar with the process.
Reading at length about my favorite subject is a great indulgence and opportunity of which I am keenly aware and appreciative.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
One aspect of appellate judging is we have to give reasons for all of our decisions.
And when you sit down and try to write it out,
sometimes you find that your first judgment wasn't the right one.
~Ruth Bader Ginsburg
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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
Our friend Colleen G is on the throes of publishing a most attractive blog.
After years of helping others in their writing efforts, she set Room to Write aside
while she pursues an outlet for her own wonderful writing.
We will benefit greatly from her efforts.
Stay tuned as we wait her official launch.
Thank you, Colleen.
We are looking forward to it.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Last night my cousin Lauren produced her first Broiled/Seared Swordfish, gochujang-style.
It was delicious.
She heated a cast-iron pan directly under the broiler.
Then generously brushed the swordfish with the sauce, set it sizzling in the cast-iron pan and
returned the pan with swordfish to the broiler, as close to the flame as possible.
Seven minutes gave the fish a spectacular color while retaining most of the fish’s juices.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Pinterest, Pocket Cast, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
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11.0 Thumbnail
The History of the True Cross or The Legend of the True Cross is a sequence of frescoes painted by Piero della Francesca in the Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo.
It is his largest work, and generally considered one of his finest, and an early Renaissance masterpiece.
Its theme, derived from the popular 13th century book on the lives of saints by Jacopo da Varagine, the Golden Legend, is the triumph of the True Cross – the legend of the wood from the Garden of Eden becoming the Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified.
This work demonstrates Piero's advanced knowledge of perspective and color, his geometric orderliness and skill in pictorial construction.
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It’s Wednesday, September 30, 2020
Welcome to the 894th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
The Deposition from the Cross, 1525–1528
Pontormo - Book scan (Manfred Wundram: Renaissance, S. 69, Köln: Verlag Taschen 2007, ISBN: 3-8228-5295-3 / ISBN 978-3-8228-5295-8)
File:Jacopo Pontormo - Kreuzabnahme Christi.jpg
Created: from 1526 until 1528 date QS:P571,+1526-00-00T00:00:00Z/8,P580,+1526-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P582,+1528-00-00T00:00:00Z/9 (Renaissance)
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2.0 Commentary
Tuesday political report:
Joe Biden leads Trump by eight percentage points nationwide, 49 percent to 41 percent, in a new poll from The Times and Siena College. Polling on this presidential race has been consistent for months: Since May, Biden has led by between five and nine points, according to an average calculated by FiveThirtyEight. He probably needs to win the national popular vote by several points to win the Electoral College.
The new poll also found that 56 percent of voters said the next president should nominate the Supreme Court justice to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And 67 percent of voters — including 40 percent of Republicans — said they would support a national mask mandate to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
This poll seems to be in line with others released over the last week.
OOOPS!
New issues: the president’s taxes.
Going to press.
Too late to publish the fall out.
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting an essence
I finished the major restructuring of my files and am now ready to go forward with pure research.
The reorganization has proven greatly helpful to provide retrievable files for the information I will be gathering.
The notes will be invaluable once the trip starts.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
Work hard on each opinion,
but once the case is decided,
don't look back;
go on to the next case and give it your all.
It's not productive to worry about what's out and released, over and done.
That's advice I now give to people new to the judging business.
~Ruth Bader Ginsburg
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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
This from Howard D:
First, an apology in advance if you are already well-apprised of this situation.
I gather the antagonist here, the restaurateur “Salt Bae,” is something of a local celebrity, if only in his own mind.
He sounds like a self-aggrandizing idiot.
No one is saying it, but of the very few, probably utterly rare, benefits of this ordeal of social behavior re-engineering, as a result of our collective ordeal in the name of public safety, once we enter the light at the end of the tunnel, it (the process) will have weeded out at least some of the really flagrant Darwin Award nominees of the future among the set of food professionals who, whatever their culinary talents, are missing a few brain cells and/or a sense of their common humanity.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do about the behavior of the general public who provide his customer base, whose flagrant disregard for public safety, enabled, if not encouraged, by the lax service policies of this clown. The fact remains, there is no cure for stupid.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/09/27/metro/boston-orders-salt-bae-restaurant-shut-saturday-just-days-after-it-opened
stay safe
Howard
Blog-Meister replies: Perfect tone and sentiment for reactio to the outrageous behavior.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Monday night I ate alone: a most delicious meatball sandwich: my meatballs; Tatte baguette.
I also gnawed on two chicken feet.
I did not growl.
Promise.
Nor was there at anytime during the devouring, gravy sliding down my chin.
Trust me.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Pinterest, Pocket Cast, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
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11.0 Thumbnail
The large altarpiece canvas for the Brunelleschi-designed Capponi Chapel in the church of Santa Felicita, Florence, portraying The Deposition from the Cross (1528),
is considered by many, Pontormo's surviving masterpiece.
The Florentine artist Jacopo da Pontormo was among the earliest exponents of Italian Mannerism. Influenced by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) and Andrea del Sarto (1486-1531), he worked for the Medici, Borgherini and other patrons of Renaissance art in Florence, making his initial reputation with fresco works at the Medici villa at Poggio a Caiano.
Mannerism predominated art in Italy from the end of the High Renaissance in the 1520s to the beginnings of the Baroque style around 1590.
In this work, the figures, with their sharply modeled forms and brilliant colors are united in an enormously complex, swirling ovular composition,
housed by a shallow, somewhat flattened space.
Although commonly known as The Deposition from the Cross, there is no actual cross in the picture.
The scene might more properly be called a Lamentation or Bearing the Body of Christ.
Those who are lowering (or supporting) Christ appear as anguished as the mourners.
Though they are bearing the weight of a full-grown man, they barely seem to be touching the ground;
the lower figure in particular balances delicately and implausibly on his front two toes.
These two boys have sometimes been interpreted as angels, carrying Christ in his journey to Heaven.
In this case, the subject of the picture would be more akin to an Entombment,
though the lack of any discernible tomb disrupts that theory,
just as the lack of cross poses a problem for the Deposition interpretation.
Finally, it has also been noted that the positions of Christ and the Virgin seem to echo those of Michelangelo's Pietà in Rome,
though here in the Deposition mother and son have been separated.
Thus in addition to elements of a Lamentation and Entombment, this picture carries hints of a Pietà.
It has been speculated that the bearded figure in the background at the far right is a self-portrait of Pontormo as Joseph of Arimathea.
Another unique feature of this particular Deposition is the empty space occupying the central pictorial plane as all the Biblical personages seem to fall back from this point.
It has been suggested that this emptiness may be a physical representation of the Virgin Mary's emotional emptiness at the prospect of losing her son.
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It’s Tuesday, September 29, 2020
Welcome to the 893rd consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
View of the Piazza dei Miracoli
© José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro
Piazza dei Miracoli (Pisa)
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2.0 Commentary
Sunday was the first day I opened the file manager on my Surface Duo.
It is amazingly easy to navigate the files synchronized with both my Studio All-in-One desktop, as well as synchronized with my Surface laptop.
Which promises to fulfill the exact niche I had hoped:
a small, handheld device to take into a museum and bring up my notes on a work of art while standing in front of it.
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting an essence
Looking to the reorganizing of the files of the trip to Tuscany
to put the information at our fingertips.
So much fun.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
Each side takes the position of the man who was arrested for swinging his arms and
hitting another in the nose, and
asked the judge if he did not have a right to swing his arms in a free country.
'Your right to swing your arms ends just where the other man's nose begins.”
~Zechariah Chafee
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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
This from Sally C:
Being out of date and out of touch with most of the current cultural tides these days (music, entertainment, etc.), I don't know who Zach Galifianakis is, but I think he is a kindred spirit! His quotes that you post invariably make me laugh!
Blog Meister Responds: Me,too!
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Sunday I had a pasta dinner with cousin Lauren.
I bought some chicken feet for the occasion.
Before adding them to the slow-simmering gravy
I braised them for two hours @ 375* in a Dutch oven with a copious pour of red wine and a ladle of the simmering Gravy.
When they were duly tenderized, I added them and their sauce to the gravy.
They were delicious…if you like cartilage…if you like to crush soft bones and extract the juices…return to your roots as carnivore.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Pinterest, Pocket Cast, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
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11.0 Thumbnail
The Piazza dei Miracoli, formally known as Piazza del Duomo,
is a walled 8.87-hectare area located in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy,
recognized as an important center of European medieval art and
one of the finest architectural complexes in the world.
Considered sacred by the Catholic Church, its owner,
the square is dominated by four great religious edifices: the Pisa Cathedral, the Pisa Baptistry, the Campanile, and the Camposanto Monumentale (Monumental Cemetery).
Partly paved and partly grassed, the Piazza dei Miracoli is
also the site of the Ospedale Nuovo di Santo Spirito (New Hospital of the Holy Spirit), which houses the Sinopias Museum (Italian: Museo delle Sinopie) and the Cathedral Museum.
The name Piazza dei Miracoli was coined by the Italian writer and poet Gabriele d'Annunzio who,
in his novel Forse che sì forse che no (1910),
described the square as the "prato dei Miracoli", or "meadow of miracles".
The square is sometimes called the Campo dei Miracoli ("Field of Miracles"). In 1987, the whole square was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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It’s Monday, September 28, 2020
Welcome to the 892nd consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
The new Surface Duo
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2.0 Commentary
Screens have altered the way we live.
For television viewing I have an 80” Pioneer,
the size particularly great for sporting events.
For computer work, in my apartment, I use a Surface Studio which,
according to Microsoft, “is the fastest Surface we’ve ever built. It has been engineered to give our most creative customers more of what they require – unmatched power, graphics and versatility. Surface Studio 2 is perfect for anyone who wants to let their ideas flow.”
At the café I use the Surface, imbued with “desktop power and the flexibility of a laptop, tablet, and portable studio.”
And working itself into my rhythm is the newest Microsoft device, the Surface Duo, no larger than a smart phone, where “Surface innovation comes to a dual-screen mobile device, featuring the best of Microsoft 365, every Android app in the Google Play store, phone calls, and more.”
Old enough to remember the advent of the first screen in the 1950s.
One of the first viewing events, the Estes Kefauver hearings into the Mafia infiltration into the trucking unions.
We’ve come a long way.
With the emergence of Bill Gates and manufacturers like Texas Instruments, the personal computer has stomped into our lives.
Faster and faster they run,
more and more pervasive they are.
Now integral to our functioning in almost any workplace.
Functioning recreationally.
Making plans.
I take great delight using these machines.
Can’t imagine life without them.
Young people take it all for granted.
God bless them.
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting an essence
Am writing the first pages of the travel book I’m compiling as the planning for our Tuscany trip proceeds.
Will be putting the pages here as I write them.
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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
If you read my blog, you know I'm a pilates freak.
And by pilates, I mean waffles.
~Zach Galifianakis
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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192
A lot of conversations hinge on the return to school, or not.
Not if we consider physical presence on campus as integral to
the definition of ‘going to school.’
Given the alternatives some are facing, my daughter, Kat and her boyfriend Will,
lucked out.
Swarthmore is permitting Freshmen and Sophomores on campus first semester.
For second semester, they will study remotely and Juniors and Seniors
will stay on campus.
Great for Kat and Will, both seniors.
They will have their graduation ceremonies on campus.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Saturday night I slow-roasted a game hen, one hour per pound.
Then I spatchcocked it (cut the backbone out of the chicken so it can be finished flattened out.)
I dredged the two halves of the game hen, still warm from the oven, in cake flour,
dipped them into a beaten egg, and then covered them with cornmeal.
I fried the battered game hen in very hot canola oil, for five minutes each side.
I squeezed a half lemon over the game hens and ate
the juiciest, crunchiest bird I could have desired.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Pinterest, Pocket Cast, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
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1.0 Thumbnail
The Microsoft Surface Duo, also known as the Surface Duo,
is a foldable device announced during Microsoft's Surface hardware conference on October 2, 2019 and officially released on September 10, 2020.
The device was announced alongside the Microsoft Surface Neo.
Unlike previous Microsoft products, which run a in-house operating system,
such as the recently discontinued Windows 10 Mobile,
the Surface Duo runs Android instead.
The device is generally regarded as a smartphone, however,
Microsoft itself is reluctant to use the term to describe the device,
instead referring to it as the newest member of the Surface family.
Microsoft announced the device at their October 2019 event,
alongside the Surface Neo, Surface Laptop 3, Surface Pro 7, Surface Pro X and Surface Earbuds.
The announcement was met with generally positive opinions from critics,
who praised its design and hinge mechanism.
While the device was initially designated to be released 'Holiday 2020',
the device was up for pre-order on August 12, 2020 and released on September 10, 2020.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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It’s Sunday, September 27, 2020
Welcome to the 891st consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com
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1.0 Lead Picture
Justice, from the Scrovegni Chapel
© José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro
Capella dei Scrovegni - Padua
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2.0 Commentary
Celtics played very well and extended their Conference Finals series one more game.
Miami is ahead in games, 3-2.
Am enjoying working at the café more than I can ever remember.
Not sure why.
I guess I love studying the Tuscan art I’m planning to see when covid permits.
I confine my work on the trip to this daily 2-hour session.
Great weather.
For walking.
For sitting outdoors at a cafe.
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3.0 Tuscany, extracting its essence
Worked on Giotto’s Seven Vices and Virtues.
They fill the chapel’s dado, (the lower part of the wall of a room, below about waist height, if it is a different color or has a different covering than the upper part.)
Giotto painted fourteen personifications of the Virtues and Vices in faux-marble under the frescoes on the side walls .
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4.0 Chuckles/Thoughts
You know it's time to do the laundry when you dry off with a sneaker.
~Zach Galifianakis
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5.0 Mail
We love getting mail.
Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
This from Ann H:
I'm so over the bike riders. Dodged one 3 weeks ago and really messed up my knee. Glad you loved La Voile - always great
Ann Heimlicher
Boston Spot-Lite, Inc.
"The Concierge Specialists"
50 Commonwealth Avenue #501
Boston, MA 02116
617-247-0001
visit our website at www.bostonspotlite.com
Blog Meister responds: We’re on the same page.
We got other correspondences supporting timely visits to a doctor.
One, unfortunately, a cautionary tale.
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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Friday night I enjoyed slow-roasted baby back ribs with gochujang sauce.
Steamed spinach with garlic, evoo, and crushed red pepper flakes.
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7. “Conflicted” podcast
Conflicted, by Dom Capossela, is a spiritual/fantasy story about a sixteen-year-old mystic-warrior conflicted internally by her self-imposed alienation from God, her spiritual wellspring, and, externally, by the forces of darkness seeking her death or ruination.
https://soundcloud.com/user-449713331/sets/conflicted-dom-capossela
The podcasts are also available on Sound Cloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Pinterest, Pocket Cast, and Facebook.
Search: dom capossela or conflicted or both
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11.0 Thumbnails
The monochrome, faux-marble personifications of Vices and Virtues
The bottom tiers of the side walls feature 14 personifications in grisaille, representing single figures of Vices on the north wall and Virtues on the south wall.
The Vices are Stultitia, Inconstantia, Ira, Iniusticia, Infidelitas, Invidia, and Desperatio.
The Virtues are grouped as follows: the four cardinal virtues: Prudentia, Iustitia, Temperantia, Fortitudo, followed by the three theological ones: Fides, Karitas, Spes.
Each virtue and vice is embedded within a mirror-like marble frame.
The name of the vice or the virtue is written in Latin on top of each figure, indicating what these figures represent, namely, the seventh day (the time between Jesus's birth and the Final Judgement).
Vices and Virtues symbolize humanity's progress toward bliss (heavenly happiness).
With the aid of Virtues, humanity can overcome obstacles (Vices).
This is the philosophical-theological itinerary designed by Giotto's theologian, a learned theologian who drew his inspiration from Saint Augustine.
The Vice-Virtue section of the Arena Chapel illustrates the philosophical-theological message underlying the overall project and is key to clarifying several points previously considered to be either obscure or the result of Giotto's only approximate theological knowledge.
For instance, in the Arena Chapel the vices are not the traditional capital vices or deadly sins (Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony and Lust), just like the "corresponding" virtues do not reflect the traditional order, consisting in four "cardinal virtues" (Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance) and three "theological virtues" (Faith, Hope and Charity).
A twofold therapeutic path leading to salvation is presented. The first, composed of four virtues, brings a cure by means of the opposing force provided by the cardinal virtues. The arrival point in this first part of the itinerary is Justice, Iusticia, who makes peace possible and therefore ensures Paradise on earth and earthly happiness. The first Vice in this first section is Stultitia, namely the incapacity to distinguish good and evil. Its cure (opposite wall) is Prudencia, Prudence, which in classical and theological terms is not "cautiousness" but "moral intelligence" or the capacity to distinguish good and evil. The viewer is in the sphere of Knowledge. Next comes the pair Inconstantia, Inconstancy, (north wall) and Fortitudo, Fortitude, (south wall). Fortitude (moral and mental strength) triumphs over Inconstancy's lewd oscillations by means of will. "Inconstancy" is literally "the lack of a stable seat"; it is a mix of light-headedness, volubility, and inconsistency. "Inconstancy" is portrayed as a young woman rolling over a ball, ready to fall, on a motley marble floor signifying the lack of "unity" ("constancy") which characterizes an inconstant mind. Here is the sphere of Will. Wrath, the third vice, is "tempered" by Temperantia, Temperance. According to Saint Augustine, Temperantia is the inner balance which ensures the will's stable dominion over instincts and keeps human desires within the boundaries of honesty. It is the therapy necessary to prevail over passions, which are symbolized by Wrath, because Wrath is the most perilous of all the passions: it is sudden and destructive, even against own's dearest ones, and is therefore the passion that human beings first need to learn how to control. This notion is a tenet of ancient Greek and (in its footprints) Roman philosophy, which Saint Augustine made his own and Giotto's theologian transmitted to him, fusing together a number of Saint Augustine's writings.
Prudence, Fortitude and Temperance pertain to each individual's ethical sphere of action and have as their goal the cure of each individual "self". Ethical virtue takes form in practical application, through action and behavior that pertain both to the personal and the social sphere and affect human relations. The notions of Justice and Injustice, the central "pair" in Giotto's Arena Chapel, emanate from this notion. Justice’ perfect centrality is visually emphasized by an architectural "die", a small cube that runs above each of the various personifications in a slightly slanted way, pointing either toward the apse or the counter-façade, everywhere but above the head of Justice (south wall) and Injustice (north wall), where the small die falls in a perpendicular line, marking at the same time the exact physical half of the chapel as well as Justice's curing function from a theological-philosophical viewpoint, without forgetting that Justice is what cures the soul of the sickening effects of Injustice (on the chapel's other side).
Those who have successfully progressed in their therapeutic path have attained Justice. Those who have not, have attained Injustice. Those who have attained Justice have practiced a soul's therapy that can be defined as "human" and that led them to earthly happiness. They used as their therapy the "medicina animi", the "soul’s medicine" provided by the cardinal virtues (in the sequence Prudence-Fortitude-Temperance-Justice), namely the moral and intellectual virtues with whose "medicine" human beings can be cured of, and are able to prevail over, the opposing vices.
Next come the theological virtues. In order to be able to aspire to heavenly Paradise one needs divine teaching, the revelation of truth, with which one overcomes and transcends human reason, and to practice the theological virtues. The "divine therapy" begins with the rejection of false beliefs (Infidelitas) through Faith in God (Fides). Only with the "medicine" of Charity (Karitas) can man overcome Selfishness and Envy (Invidia), which lead him to look with malevolent eyes (Latin in-vidēre) at his neighbour, who is also made by God in His likeness. Finally, with the aid (the medicine), Hope (Spes) can be contrasted with Lack of Hope, or Desperation (Desperatio). Hope is an attitude consisting in actively waiting for God's future blessings which descend from trust in God and in His word, and also consisting in love, through the love of God, of the whole of humankind.
The sources of this extraordinary program were identified by Pisani in a number of passages of Saint Augustine's works. Everything finds a perfect correspondence with something else. It is the theme of the "therapy of opposites", the sequential order of the cardinal and theological virtues, and the centrality of Justice.