AC Milan 2, Liverpool 1 - Forza "Rossonero"

Ciao a tutti,

ITALY WINS THE WORLD CUP AND NOW AC MILAN ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE AFTER WINNING THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TODAY 2 TO 1 AGAINST LIVERPOOL IN ATHENS!

FORZA ROSSONERO!

Filippo

P.S. When I was last in Italy, this past Fall, I got to attend a soccer game at the Rome Olympic Stadium. Since I got to sit in the press box I got to have a perfect view of the action, not only on the field but in the stands. It was like nothing I had ever seen at a game before in my life. The fans did all kinds of things I had never seen in the States, anything from shoot cannons to light smoke bombs.

In this video tribute to AC Milan you get to see what I mean. (Italian Soundtrack)

Da Un Mondo al L'Altro - From One World to Another

Ciao a tutti,

One of the aspects of what I am doing that I enjoy the must is all the interesting people I get to meet. I enjoy people and find us humans fascinating. And that combined with not know who I am going to meet when, and at what particular event, and not knowing what learnings I will have or experiences I will share with them makes my life very exciting for me.

This weekend at a beautiful house in Beverly Hills I had yet another one of those surprises and experiences. Take for example my getting to be introduced to Folco Terzani. Up until the introduction that evening we had each known of each other, him through a mutual friend, Paula Jackson, and I through his work and that of his father's.

His Father is Tiziano Terzani, one of the world's most respected journalists and writers. Folco was not only known in Italy because of his father but also because of the works he had done in Calcutta with Mother Teresa and the like.

Ironically, Tiziano, Folco's father, started out as a journalist in Italy reporting on wars and ended up being one of the most respected advocate of peace. His writings have been translated in many languages and are sold in many Countries and used as textbooks in schools.

But when father and son got together to collaborate on a book which was to be Tiziano's last opus, the roof broke through on the phenomenon that is the Terzani.


It all started when Tiziano wrote his son Folco a letter, who was in America at the time, and asked him to come home and spend his father's last days on earth with him. During that time he proposed that they would spend one hour a day in which Folco could ask him everything he ever wanted to ask of his father, his life, career, and life learnings, and he would answer.

And so it was. Folco recorded these daily conversations and the result was a touching book entitled "La fine e il mio Inizio," the end is my beginning.

Folco is now heading peace projects of a spiritual nature around the world and there will be much to share about him and his upcoming works. I cannot wait to do so. Folco was headed to India after we met but promised we would connect on his next trip to Los Angeles and I will get to interview him for our Filippo and the Chef Radio Show.

Above you will find pictured, Folco and I, then Music Producer Amir Efrat, myself, Folco Terzani, and Italian Music Composer Marco Missinato. Finally, you see Folco's beautiful free spirit shining through in the third photo. Ahh, were we to all be that free what a wonderful world it would be.

And speaking of being free and of meeting people from different worlds, I got to spend time with Dorothy Donahue of Love and Miracles, a spiritual healer/guide and conscious co-creator. She is free indeed and so open to all the Universal teachings, connections and dimensions you can imagine. And therefore, the connection to different worlds really does apply in this case.

I had had the pleasure of meeting Dorothy before and it was great to see her again and spend time in conversation. One of Dorothy's fortes is to work with energies and help people heal or move blockages in their lives. She works with individuals, groups, and even corporations in moving energies, be they in relationship, money or whatever.

It is interesting to note that in all the pictures we took with my camera that night, these spots appeared only in the ones with Dorothy in them. Dorothy refers to them as "Blue Apples," and says that they are there because of her and it is the energy by which she works. Interesting to note that in all the other pictures with her, the "Blue Apples," are around her, in this picture with me, the "Blue Apple," is right at her fingertips, over my heart.

See what I mean about the interesting people that I meet and the things that I learn and experience?

I am sure there are going to be many, many more experiences to learn and share with and about this group pictured here.

As a group we call ourselves The Star Team and I will be happy to share more about that as the news on our development progresses. I will say this though, that we have a product we have created between the whole lot of us called "Love and Light," and we all play a part. Actually, we AAAALLLLL play a part, including all of you and all of everyone and everything else.

It is a beautiful project and I hope to share more on that later. Pictured here are Marco Missinato and Julie Smith at the top of the stairs, and Paula Jackson, Troy Ziel of Squared, Photographer and Graphic Artist extraordinare, and myself.

Yes, I am focused on a few special projects in my life and I like to get involved in so many things. The beauty is that they are all inter-related and they all are with people I love and enjoy and it all makes my life whole, complete and magical. I can't wait to share more of it.

Finally, here are two Italian musicians who have toured the world, together and separately, with some of Italy's, and for that matter, America's, biggest musical stars; Guitarist Simone Sello and Drummer Marco Piale.

Dr. Suess wrote a book long after he had written his famous children's series. It is a children's book too but much different than the "Cat in the Hat" type of books. It is called "Oh! The Places You Will Go."

In it he talks about not only the places but the people his protagonist met along the way. I am starting to feel like that very protagonist, and it is just the beginning.

Thanks for coming along with me.

Filippo

P.S. Here is a video I found on Youtube.com that well illustrates how Tiziano and Folco Terzani, Father and son came to write the book "La Fine e il Mio Inizio." (In Italian)

Rhythm is the Cure - Southern Italian Tambourine Techniques

Ciao a tutti,

It is amazing to me how so many ancient rituals and beliefs actually had truth and or merit to them. I think, at least for myself, in our "modern" society thinking, I have been "encouraged" to discount so much as "old fashioned" that I didn't always give credit to how much the ancients really knew about many things. In some cases I am learning that some tribes, cultures, peoples, etc., knew more than I think we even know now about some things.

In the book "Rhythm is the Cure, Southern Italian Tambourine" Alessandra Belloni, the world's leading Tambourine artist, teaches healing modalities using the centuries old techniques of tambourining. The book is dedicated to the healing power of the Tarantella Rhythms specifically.

The book is available through MelBay Publishing or at Alessandra's website, www.AlessandraBelloni.com.

I was invited to the release party for the book for many reasons. First of all, over the past couple years, Alessandra and I have become friends.

Secondly, the book is accompanied by an instructional DVD. Well, that DVD features none other than yours truly as one of her three students learning how to drum right along side of her.

About a year ago Alessandra approached me with this project and asked me if I would be interested in helping her out. I was surprised she asked me because, I had taken one of her workshops before and I thought it was obvious at the time that I would have needed much more practice before making a sound come out of the tambourine like she made.

The truth of the matter is that my grandmother used to tambourine and, let me tell you, it is a beautiful thing to grow up with that music in the house. Talk about healing music. Us children would gather around her whenever she would play the tambourine. And no matter where we were in the house, if we heard her playing, we would all come running.

I always did want to learn how to play like her and I thought the workshop would be a good place to start. And it was, but it was also so much more. In the workshop we learned dancing and chanting and connecting with our bodies, etc. You would think we were in a "modern" class, but these were all ancient rituals Alessandra was teaching.

Unfortunately, the hours we spent together learning how to drum were not enough, and I never took the time afterwards to practice. So when I agreed to do the taping of the video for her I took it as another opportunity to improve my tambourining skills, and the viewers can watch me learn right along with them.

And so it was.

At the release party at the Remo Center in Hollywood, Alessandra performed some of the pieces from the book and DVD, as well as many others, with the help of some of her friends and audience members. I took refuge behind the camera and took pictures instead. Here are some of the fun ones, including a couple friends of Alessandra's, actor and director Randy Vasquez and fellow Italian-American Actor Milo Bianchi in this second to the last picture.

By the way, yes that is me. What, you don't recognize me with my hair greased up and pulled back?

He, he, he...

Filippo

P.S. Here is a short video of a tambourinist in Italy demonstrating one of the techniques very similar to one of the ones that Alessandra teaches and demonstrates in her video. (Music Only)