I neglected to post pictures of the last two groups of students we hosted for dinner at our apartment. I wouldn't want anyone to feel left out ;) From left, Steve (Northern Michigan), John (BSU), Kim, Allea (Oregon) and Evan (BSU). I feel very confident saying that all of the students have enjoyed every meal, and they have also enjoyed learning to play euchre. In six weeks, I think Kim's team has won every week (meaning I have lost every time). The second photo shows Mike, Jason, Chris and Matt, affectionately referred to by everyone here as "the Jersey Boys." All

four are students at Rider U. They assumed they would eat us out of house and home. They left stuffed and there was still food left. Kim always makes an extra effort to cater to each specific group's tastes and food allergies. These guys commented on how they missed their Buffalo chicken. Kim made 3 pizzas: a barbecue, a spicy Buffalo chicken and her renowned garlic chicken (her brother's recipe). Jason actually ate so much he felt poorly but was still happy.

I wanted to tell you some other stuff:

• Our little section of Italy is very excited about the Oscars. The statue for Art Direction on Sweeney Todd went to Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo - LOCALS! He's in Boston working on a film with Scorcese, who he worked with when he won his last Oscar for Aviator in 2005. The local paper had an interview with him (in Italian, obviously).
• Last night, the 58th annual Sanremo Festival began, a six-night extravaganza. It's a competition, but it's much more. The contestants are only part of the evening - there are also guest performances by Italians and International artists (last night, Lenny Kravitz performed). The festival is live on TV each night. There's so much I can say about this festival. The main host, Pippo Baudo (71 years old), is hosting for his 13th time. The other three are first-timers. Only one of the two women hosts appeared last night, Andrea Osvalt. Andrea is a 28-year-old Hungarian immigrant. Last night she got emotional explaining what a thrill it was for her to make it to this point. Her immigration papers still list her occupation as "domestic" because to get entry as an entertainer is not easy to do. She said she was an example of what an immigrant could achieve.
• Lots of other TV and radio shows talk about what's going on at Sanremo.
• The TV listings this week said that you can even place bets on the winners, and listed the odds for each contestant. This contestant was the odds-on favorite. Not sure if any of these videos will play for you. Here in Italy we can't watch US network videos because of licensing issues. Not sure whether you'll be able to see these.
• Fifty years ago at Sanremo, a performer named Domenico Modugno introduced the song "Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu," known in the US as "Volare." They're making lots of allusions to it and him. This video on YouTube is not his Sanremo performance, but Eurosong (a pan-Euro music festival) from the same year, 1958. A current "legend" Gianni Morandi opened the festival with his version.
• You may know there's going to be an election in Italy April 13 and 14. All performers were required to sign a form stating that they would NOT make political statements. The festival adamantly wants to be apolitical. Piero (the other male host) cracked several jokes about that last night.
• The other media phenomenon to mention is a young man (47) named Rosario Fiorello. He's a multi-talented guy who has recorded more than a dozen CDs, does impressions, tells jokes, etc. In 2002 he teamed up with Marco Baldini and started hosting a radio show, Viva Radio Due. People thought he was nuts because radio is a dying medium. His show's numbers have pushed the radio ratings through the roof - people are listening in droves (live and to the delayed rebroadcast), and the show is available as a podcast, getting even more listeners. I guess I want to believe that great talent on a personality-driven program is a real growth possibility for radio, not just in Italy.