Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Way Back Wednesday....
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Diego Bianco
(1897-1934)
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My great-grandfather had a very short life, arriving in 1906 with his parents from Bianco, Provincia Reggio Calabria Italy. He was a very successful businessman by the time he married in 1917 to my great-grandmother. They had three sons, the eldest was my grandfather. He died after a prolonged illness in 1934, leaving a young family. His widow, having inherited a considerable sum of money at his death (during the great-depression) began to buy and sell real estate and turned it into a flourishing business which eventually made her a Millionaire and Icon in the Italian community here. I was fortunate enough to have known her, she passed away when I was 18.
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The reason I chose Diego for today's WBW is that I have just this past week started ordering the records from Massachusetts, Maine and Pennsylvania which I will eventually submit to the Italian Consulate here in Boston to apply for my heriditary Italian Dual- Citizenship. Diego never became a citizen of The United States. His children, as native born Americans had no need to ever apply. What this means is that no member of my family has renounced Italy because it was not necessary. This allows me and my sons to "re-claim" our Italian Citizenship rights.
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It is a lengthy process, and quite expensive (I ordered 14 Records from Massachusetts at $28 each plus $10 each for Official Certification from The Secretary of State of Massachusetts). But it is a project I am so exited about, as are my two sons. When it is complete, they register my birth and the births of my children in the town where Diego was born. It is the same as if we had been born there.
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The only pre-requisite for the type of Citizenship (Juris Sanguinis) is that you do not have an ancestor that became a citizen of The US via Naturalization, unless it was after the birth of their American born children, or if their children were Italian-Born, after they reached the age of 18. I have a great-grandfather on my father's side as well who died in his 30's and never obtained citizenship. I was eligible through both my parents, but I chose to go through Diego.
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Written at 10:34 AM by The Persian.
3 comments
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
If you grew up in the 80's....
This song will probably bring back memories... It is a tribute to the songs Rivers Cuomo (Weezer) grew up on, and which he calls his "heart songs". It's funny how I don't really look back and get sentimental about the music from my childhood. My tastes have always had a rather modern edge, although there are some exceptions, but mainly from my teens and early 20's.
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This song really gets to me .. Rivers and I are the exact same age so I experienced all of this and at the same time. It is really really ironic that one of his biggest inspirations was Nirvana's Nevermind.

"Back in 1991
I wasn't havin' any fun
'Till my roommate said
"Come on and put
a brand new record on"
Had a baby on it
He was naked on it
Then I heard the chords
That broke the chains
I had upon me
Got together with my bros
In some rehearsal studios
Then we played
Our first rock show
And watched the fan base
Start to grow "
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Nirvana was and is my favorite band of all time, and Weezer is a close second. The Irony...
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here is the full track...

Heart Songs
Written at 1:34 PM by The Persian.
0 comments
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
He's back....
Gavin's new solo Album "Wanderlust" comes out today. I was a huge Bush fan back in the day, since I first saw the Video for "Swallowed" on MTV's 120 Minutes back in '96. I got to see them play twice in Boston and Hampton Beach, NH. (I even spotted him outside our hotel window walking the beach on his cell and got it on film). He is an understated and under-appreciated talent with an amazing voice. They had a hard time making it after Razorblade Suitcase in 97. It was a tough album to beat, I hope he takes off this time. Good luck Gavin!! Check out his first video from the new album ...


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Written at 4:31 AM by The Persian.
2 comments