For many Italians, few things more important than soccer.

Whether it be on the international level or the Italian league, the Serie A (formerly Calcio), Italian soccer has its own distinctive style; a very defensive style. During the 90-minute game, many times a team will only start mounting attacks in the last 15 minutes, having defended and worn down the other team first.

It always amazes me that a nation so stylish that it matches scarfs to socks would have a style of play that is so… well, not as stylish. Italy even pioneered the 5th defenseman, the “rover”, whereas most teams only use 3 or 4 players on defense.

Having said that, when an Italian team is « on », it’s a beautiful thing.

Most importantly, Italian futbol shows you things you won’t see as much anywhere else: Grown men falling, tumbling in what looks like excruciating pain, only to get up and play again – having been possibly touched by the opposing player – called diving. (See below: Diving practice. This one is even worse; though, to be fair, it shows players from everywhere diving, not just Italy.).* Players with their hands together, in prayer formation, telling the referee how to do his job or pleading for a penalty kick. Grown men crying. Fans yelling at their TV and fellow guests when a mistake is made. It’s a beautiful, passionate, italian thing.

Facts and favorites: The national team has won 4 world cups, more than any other country except Brazil, who has won 5. Top teams in the Serie A are Juventus (Forza!!!), AC Milan, Inter Milan, Napoli, Fiorentina, AS Roma and Lazio (almost forgot Lazio. Thanks Koko!). My favorite player has to be Fabio Cannavaro (retired), a real wall on defense, with Andrea Pirlo and Luigi Buffon close behind.

When to watch: In North America: In the morning, at a coffee shop, with an espresso or coffee in your hand. It will get knocked over if you leave it on the table. In Italy? Haven’t tried yet, but my guess is: whenever there is a game on.

La vittoria è vicina!

*Disclaimer: Portugal has now become the tumbling champion, with players falling and angrily staring down the referee for not calling a penalty – even if no other player was around when he tumbled. I’m looking at you, Christiano Ronaldo. Mamma mia!

This post has been brought to you by too many coffees and my love of all things Italian, which I am celebrating with you, beautiful reader, this May.

1. Pour some olive oil in a large pan, on medium, not too hot (like, 4.5?). More than just a few drops; enough to cover the bottom if you stretched it out.
2. Crush (or slice) 8 garlic cloves into the oil. Melt them or make them semi-transparent; don’t grill or let them get brown.
3. 5 min. piu tarde, add a jar of canned tomatoes (1L). A can of tomatoes could work , if you don’t have a jar of the good stuff.
4. Stir, wait, stir, let it boil a bit (as it boils with little bubbles, water evaporates, which thickens your sauce and concentrates the deliciousness), stir, +1 pinch of Cayenne pepper , stir, open the Chianti Classico and pour yourself a glass, etc. Let it thicken slowly, like, 45 minutes or more.
5. Add salt to taste.

You’ve cooked your spaghetti, right? Add the unrinsed noodles into the sauce and toss’em around, coating the noodles. Once in the plate, add a few leaves of fresh basil (or cut up some green onions, if you don’t have basil) and some Parmeggiano Reggiano cheese. And BOOM! As always, use the best ingredients; the best oil, the best noodles, the best cheese, the best REAL tomatoes and a decent Chianti. Poi, fare l’amore.

È molto buono!

This post has been brought to you by my love of all things Italian, which I am celebrating with you this May. Italia, Amore Mio.

The Giro is definitely Italian

Always taking place in May, it lasts nearly a month, with 21 stages which include cycling your way up and over several monster mountains. No one wins the Giro by accident, and winning it earns you a spot among the top cyclists ever. Somewhere on the route there is a monument to Marco Pantani, “Il Pirate”, one of Italy’s most cherished cyclists (the man was a beast) whose latter years were marred by tragedy. Forza il Pirate!

It’s (sort of) better than the Tour de France because:

• The leader wears a Pink jersey (maglio rosa) instead of a Yellow jersey;
• Less doping talk, more cycling talk. And hand gestures while talking.
• More wildcard racing, which means more racing, period. Many cyclists trying to win each race. It’s entertaining.
• The scenery is beautiful and you feel a bit more compassion for the pros, especially when these light-framed athletes climb a mountain only to find freezing temperatures near the top. Mamma mia!

The picture really says it all. This years Giro starts this Sunday, so get your espresso machine ready, and after the race get your bike out and ride. La vittoria è vicina!

Welcome to May: Italia, Amore Mio. My month long celebration of all things Italian that I love.

My trusty bike; Mr. Brown.

• You can find awesome old-school, all-steel, unbreakable bikes for next to nothing if you search a bit.
• Old bikes are generally better than newer, low-to-middle end bikes. They break less and are easier to repair when they do.
• A comfortable seat is gold, baby.
• I like big racks. On bikes too.
• Gents, there are racks that actually look manly, and are really, really useful. Make sure you can fit a decent size case of beer, know’m'sayin’? Look for “porteur” racks, or get a plastic milk box, if that’s your thing. Brooks, CPNHGN, mine is a Gamoh.
• Learning to fix your own bike is a smart idea.
• Every town has at least one place specialized in used or old bike parts. Find them. Become friends. (Tip: these usually don’t have hardwood floors, and you may have to dig through dirty bins and remove parts from bikes. It’s a beautiful thing, really).
            In Montreal, I go to Velo Makak (514-937-3553) and my local bike shop.
  The late Sheldon Brown left an amazing legacy of bicycle knowledge online. Thanks, Sheldon!
• Fenders + chain cover or  brown pants. Your choice.  
• Lights for night time riding are a must, and a dynamo light (a light powered by the rotation of your wheel) is the coolest one of all.
• Lock your bike. An increase in hipsters means an increase in demand for old-school bikes, which means more theft.

Wonder why crazy people do crazy things, while you hit pause on your favorite gritty show, where you root for a serial killer or a hit man.

Control? It’s cultural, it’s social, it’s mental. It is who WE are becoming – there is no us-and-them. Control is outcome-management, not problem solving.

We have a fever, and deep down, I have no idea of what it takes to treat it.

(Like that first sentence; brief and to the point.)

Examples include :
• This journalist [name withheld] is a jerk.
• Taxes are too low.
• This new hospital wing is a smart investment.
• There will never be a cure for [insert disease name here].
• I am underpaid. (or: “I have started looking at my other options, professionally”)

From there, develop. Provide the reasoning and the information you have used to get to that point.

From the get-go, people will either a) agree with you, b) disagree, or c) feel uninvolved if the subject is not compatible with their interests. Either way, your audience can commit immediately.

They will spend the rest of the time [1] nodding in approval, [2] thinking of a reply to show you that you are wrong or [3] will already have moved on. Notice how all three possibilities imply actions?

Otherwise, if you start by developing the idea, building up to your statement, you risk losing people’s interest, within seconds.
“Where is he going with this?”
“Do I agree or disagree with these points?”
“What’s the big idea?”

or, worse still;
“What the #$%^ is he talking about?”.

So there we have it. Make sure that you start off your point by making a clear statement. An interesting and honest one. No point in pushing someone else’s ideals here, you’ll get shafted trying to explain something that isn’t emotionally yours.

From there, explain your statement, and the ideas and concepts that justify it.

Avoid all that ambivalent questioning, and make it clear where you stand.

Your audience will thank you for it with their attention and interaction. Even if they hate you…

…those bastards.

Note : Don’t be afraid to rub some people the wrong way when doing this – and you probably will! Crowd pleasers never changed the world anyway. If there are people who hate you for it, that means you probably stood up for something. Good on ya!

Well, imagine if you had grown up with the best of everything, traveled, played any sport you wanted to, tried exotic foods, been to exclusive schools and organizations…

…tell me; what exactly would you want to change about that? 

…Exactly.

The ones who change the world come from a world that NEEDS changing. I’m pretty sure that instead of trying to be a hero, they simply act because they must.

Anyhoo, that’s how I see it.

So instead of “I want to give me child everything she deserves (?!?) and everything I never had”, why not try instead to teach them to be as strong as they can, as resourceful and as inventive as they can be.

Teach them to dream the impossible and to figure out ways to make it happen. Let them screw it up by themselves. Let them fight their fights. Let them fail. Let them get hurt. Every scar tells a story. Let them put their own band-aids on, and make their own lunch.

Let them learn that nobody owes them anything (especially not you), and that everything is earned. Let them grow.

Let them grow.

Maybe they’ll see the world with their own eyes, instead of through your goggles. They may even grow up to change the world.

Some of them even deserve to be called what you just called them. Most don’t, though.

Just get a beer, relax, pick up your guitar, and go fuck yourself.

It doesn’t really matter, does it?
 

Then I wonder; why do I do that?

I don’t actually have an answer, but I know I’ll keep doing it, because I enjoy it. I think I do it to remind myself that I’m calling the shots, and that my body is there to help.  Maybe because energy is a state of mind, and at the end of the ride, I like to wake up.

Maybe I do it to see the look on the face of my fellow rider. Maybe I’m challenging her (though she never races). Maybe I’m challenging myself.

Maybe I know the ride is almost over, and this is my last chance to have some intensity.

I don’t know.

But I know I’ll keep doing it. So should you. If you enjoy something for reasons that don’t really add up, fuck the math, and do it anyway. That’s just who we are.

Until they held me back, that is.
You see, templates are great at quickly bringing us up to speed. As soon as we have them, we can:

• replicate previous successes,
• manage problems,
• quickly clear the inbox/ticketing system/CRM,
• follow up with prospects,
• tell candidates that their nomination was great but not great enough,
• send out a press release,
• update investor fact sheets,
• bla bla,
• bla.

Up to speed, yes. As good as what we did last time, fo’ shizzle.

But we haven’t invented anything. We haven’t brought anything personal to the mix. Same old, same old. It’s a copy+paste world, amigo

And that’s why templates hold us back. Because they prevent us from starting anew.    That, and they make us easily replaceable, if we create enough of them.