Small Update

The new old lamp is installed

Two months ago I posted the last post - and it was about this lamp. It is now installed and Angelo sent me the picture recently, since nothing was happening on my blog ...

I know, the post "summer with friends (part II)" is still missing! And now it's almost Christmas. Maybe when the post is ready I will upload it quietly with an older date - to make it fit to the season?

If you are a frequent or subscribed reader, you will know that our family has moved to Bangkok, Thailand last year. So you might also have heard about the flood in Thailand and around Bangkok. That is what kept me "busy" - at least mentally - for a couple of weeks.

We were lucky, since we live in the flood spared dry heart of the city. But nobody knew that we will stay dry. Everybody was prepared for 1m high flood allover Bangkok. We stocked up drinking water and ready to eat food, we bought candles and water filters, we had sandbags allover the place, sometimes 2m high - everyone in houses had moved furniture upstairs, and some have bought a boat, just in case. Everything was just in case and we were living from day to day, not sure if we were still able to move around the next day. But the flood kept invisible. And Bangkok people - who did not evacuate to home countries or to beach resorts - started "suffering" from invisible stress. Some started to call it "flood-burn-out".

Of course this is a joke - nothing in comparison of what all the other poor people around the dry heart of Bangkok have been suffering. The media has moved on to other subjects long ago. But there are still people flooded in Bangkok! Of course now, all the help can concentrate to dry out the last districts (before year end is target from the government).

So, I have been more on my new Bangkok blog to write about this subject that was in everybodies' heads for more than a month - the FLOOD. If you are interested come over for a visit - maybe for a dry Christmas Walk through Bangkok.

Since the holidays are approaching fast, I want to wish all my readers and supporters

 Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and all the best for the New Year 2012 !

Hope to see you here again next year!

decorating our Xmas tree in Bangkok (32 degree Celsius in afternoon sun)

A new old lamp

old wrought iron gas lamp

My Italian family likes to stroll antique markets and browse antique shops. Variety and prices are more attractive in Italy than in Germany. The latest find of my mother-in-law in Northern Italy is this old wrought iron chandelier that used to have a gas supply in the center of the lamp.

modified by adding new lamp shades and electrical wire

My father in law modified the gas lamp into an electric lamp by adding adding electric cables. Also the three small lamp shades of red glas are newly added. If I want, he said, I can have it for my bed room. Of course, I want! It would go along well with the red in the floor tiles.

original cement tiles with red swastika, an over 3,000 year old symbol for good luck

we had an expert restoring the old flooring 

I am looking forward to see a picture of the chandelier hanging from the ceiling in our bed room. The pictures above were taken in my parents-in-law home in Calabria and in our house in Pizzo.

Calabria: The Richest and the Poorest - The Pope slams mafia

Bangkok Post article about Pope and mafia in Calabria 10/10/11

While sitting this morning in Bangkok over my daily Bangkok Post briefly checking the WORLD section, my eyes got caught by a report from "Lamezia Terme" ...  

I learn about the Pope visiting Lamezia where he denounced during a Mass the "inhuman" mafia of Calabria, the so called 'Ndrangheta, which is already more powerful than the Sicilian mafia (see article above).
Indeed, there are those very rich mafia families in Calabria on one side and on the other side Calabria is said to be the poorest region of Italy with 27% unemployment. 

These statistics of course do not consider those who happily work "in nero" without ever paying tax. But still there is this gap. Although it is not that visible since this "honorable society" does not show off. 

I wonder what they think about the Pope's speech. Do they bother? They probably all go to church on Sundays. Maybe the mafia is one of the largest employer in the region after all. 

Difficult subject. Comments are most welcome.

A Fish from Seminara

Once upon a time, there was a big big fish from Seminara, he was green and blue. He looked ugly and was too big. The fish was a ceramic art work. He was created as a jar but now, on top he had large lamp shade. First, I did not bother what my mother-in-law had standing on her window sill. You can't argue about taste. But when I heard that it belongs to my husband, I started to not like him - the fish ...

a fish from Seminara

Apparently, CC went to Seminara once I wasn't in Calabria. Seminara, a little village around 7 km from Palmi, is known to "insiders" for its pottery and ceramic art work. When you google the site, you do not find much. Maybe something about a battle in 1495 on wikipedia. If you search further, you might find something more interesting about Seminara's golden age during Renaissance here.

Nowadays, Seminara is known in Calabria for it's interesting unusual and sometimes bizarre pottery. The fish above seems just harmless among some grotesque faces and babbuino masked objects. The scary faces originally were supposed to protect from evil. Similar like it is found in some Turkish and Greek art work. Due to trading around the Mediterranean sea the styles influenced each other. Therefor, you find egg. in Seminara and Sicily these ceramic heads, influenced by Arabic Moors. And I guess, that's why it's possible that Seminara craft men might have influenced Picasso (France) and Dali (Spain).

Calabrian jar from 19th century with bubbuino mask via Christie's  (!)

Interesting are also the jars that are imitating by the look of sea urchins (ricci) and artichokes (carciofi).

Seminara jars via flickr

artist Paolo Candurso in his shop via flickr - in the back ceramic heads, even more popular in Sicily

market day in Seminara with its typical ceramics

Seminara jars and vases in form of artichokes, urchins - and more fishes

When we finally moved into our house, I realised that the lamp - the one with the big ugly fish from Seminara - would actually look not bad on the chest of drawers in the living room. The next day it was delivered... and - surprise - the fish was not too big anymore in our big living room! It looks even rather small! And with the sea under the windows, the fish suits very well. It even does not look ugly anymore. It is a piece of art!

Seminara fish jar modified into lamp stand

The not so big and not so ugly fish found its place into a house at the sea.

A perfect match.

Another more detailed source about ceramics from Seminara is cultura italia in italian language.

From what I know, two of the most successful artists in Seminara are Paolo Candurso and Domenico Ditto.

If you have more information about Seminara's pottery and its artist, please leave a comment.

Can you trust Google Affiliate Network? - A bad experience with SIXT

When you blog for so many years like I do, slowly your blogs move up in the page ranking and advertisers become interested in your page. That is as flattering as getting comments from readers, I have to admit. So I had some advertisers over the years and made some pocket money on the side. When Google Affiliate Network came up with advertisers that could match, I never joint any program until I saw SIXT, the German car rental company from Munich.

Every tourist who comes to Calabria rents a car at the airport, unless they drive all the way down to Southern Italy. So I thought, why not give it a try with my Italian blog.

Just this summer holiday, my friends needed to rent a car. They decided to do it online in advance rather than on spot at the airport. They compared prices and thought that SIXT is competitive. This is when I suggested to them to book the car via my blog. I said this is the best way to find out how the Google Affiliate Network Program with SIXT works.

And I found out: It does NOT work!

When I asked the agent who was indicated by Google Affiliate Network for help, he seemed customer oriented in the beginning and asked for my customer ID etc. But then I never received any explanation. And another month later, when I asked again what he found out I got this reply by email:

Mark DeBenedetto from Direct Agents, the agency that handles SIXT via the google affiliate program, did not give any explanation why there was no commission for an online booking. He does not even bother or apologise. - Why is he an agent? What for? - Oh, here no more answer at all.

I do not see any help center at the Google Affiliate Network site where I could complain directly about this agent. And I have no interest in waisting my time to search for any SIXT contact person.

The only way I can complain, is to blog about it.

Usually, I do not abuse my blog to talk about bad experience with restaurants, airlines or other public entities because my personal experience might be coincidence. But in this case, I write about it because I have no other voice. Also it is in the interest of other bloggers who trust these programs which are not directly under their control.

I assume that SIXT was too new to the program and I was a victim of a technical error.
But then, at least I want an apology.

Today, I removed the banner of this company from my blog roll. Never again I will sign up for any other affiliate program (beside the one from amazon, the one I know and trust since many years).

Please leave a comment if you have any good or bad experience with affiliate programs. It is an interesting topic.