Rocco Galatioto, nice photos and good food

Marsala,  most noted  as the place where Garibaldi landed in June of 1860, has a truly complex history that dates back to the Elimians. But it's true fame comes from the wine that bares it's name. It is a wealthy town that although on the sea shore,  has little fishing as most of it's activities are focused on making wine. The centro storico ,  historic center, is denoted by it's porte or  entrances that are arched. Fortunately this is a large pedestrian mall where cars are banned.

This is truly sad news. We were sort of in a state of denial when Kodak announced that it was going out of business. This brings it home and makes it real. Kodak has announced it will sell its Personalized Imaging and Document Imaging business units, to focus on 'commercial, packaging and functional printing solutions and enterprise services,' ending Kodak's role as a consumer-facing photographic company. The Personalized Imaging business includes print kiosks and consumer film, while the Document Imaging business includes scanners and commercial document management. In the meantime, the company stresses that products and support will be available and both businesses will be sold as going concerns. ...

Flash Memory Turns 25 - SanDisk Drops some Stats Flash memory is a standard in memory cards, portable electronics and is increasingly common in laptop and desktop hard drives.  It's come a long way in its 25 years, but the spread of flash memory is even more impressive when you attach some numbers to it. Take, for example, the very first product SanDisk ever made.  It was a 20MB solid state drive that ran just about $1,000.  Now, a drive 100 times larger can be had for around a tenth of the price.  Of course, we're going to need plenty of space considering all the data people are using. This year, it's estimated that 2.7 zettabytes of data will be created and consumed.  That's right around 2.7 billion terabytes or 2.7 trillion gigabytes.  It's a lot of data.  Within three years, cloud storage is expected to reach 8ZB in size.

Mozia, saline shot with the soft focus filter.

The saline doi Mozia or salt flats of Mozia, are basically salt gathering areas in a very shallow sea called lu stagghiuni or lagoon were barriers are placed to let the salt water in and then the sun  's magic  by the water and thus the salt remains to be scooped up.what remains eventually is salt. The wind mills used to ne used to grind the salt because it is originally in large crystals.Today modern equipment is used but the wind mills have remained  as attractions.  It looks a lot  like Holland and it is very pretty. Needless to say this sea salt is absolutely fantastic.

Dynamic indeed, is the best adjective to describe the closing fireworks of the feast here in Castellammare. Choreographed with a mix of classical music and popular songs, and aided by the echo from the mountains overlooking the gulf, this show was the best so far. The town is slowly turning to it's normal self and I can even move my car so that I can find a parking spot when I return. These were all hand held shots taken from aboard a boat docked almost below the fireworks display.

Before Cefalu became very touristy, it's main attraction was and of course still is, it's monumental  cathedral whose mosaics rival hose of Ravenna.  Connoisseurs have always raved about them and it;s easy to see why. Built by king Rogers the Second, a Norman, it precedes the wonderful Gothic cathedrals that were later built in France. This  style was never popular in Italy whose sole example is the duomo di Milano that is not a full fledged Gothic cathedral. Italian preferred to go on with the Romanesque style that although laden with superb works of art both in paintings ans sculptures, architecturally, at least, was not as spectacular. Of course the Renaissance churches in Florence with their amazing cupolas were architectural feats of unsurpassed complexity and achievement. What we have in Cefalu is a rather spartan church from the outside but absolutely glorious on the inside. The same can be said of the cathedrals of Monreale and Palermo, among others. Have a won...

With the Sicilian summers being so hot, humid and at the same time producing an arid looking countryside where the trees are green but the soil has parched grass - a total change from the winter grounds that are resplendent with flowers and verdant with grasses - my thoughts wander to those superb lawns and summer gardens in the States, at least in the norther parts, that although ephemeral, provide for cool looking photos, at least. There's something almost refreshing in the way all that green surrounds the homes and shades the streets. It is very inviting. These photos are all from Milford, Pennsylvania.

Insalata di polipi

This ancient fishing town east of Palermo has been for many years a tourist Mecca. It is a lovely place but it's main  cultural attraction is it's cathedral with it;s mosaics; more to follow on this topic. We ate lunch in a place that appeared to be a cafe,  I had linguine allo scoglio , linguine pasta with sea food, while my dear Marcy had spaghetti alle vongole, spaghetti with little local clams. Both dishes were delicious. At first we were hesitant to eat here as the place  was somewhat touristy but the food turned out to be memorable.

La festa   started today, August 19th  and will end on the 21st of August. Tonight,  the statue of the Madonna was carried to the marina  in a procession  consisting of dignitaries,  the music band and a large crowd of followers. She was then  placed aboard a large boat. As tradition dictates  she  was followed  by a large number of other crafts. Ergo, a processione a mare , or sea procession  started. It concluded with a small fire works display when the Madonna returned. The large procession on the 21st of August will conclude with a really spectacular display of fireworks. The town is all tied in  knots traffic wise and the bancarelle or stands have been set up selling all sorts of goods, mostly for children. The main streets have been illuminated with  festive lights. It is a very fun time and the continuation of a long tradition goin back to the times when feasts and fairs were the sole forms of entertainment for...