#25 Ten things to talk about over coffee

Easter, synthetic food and AI

1. A letter from me

Hello friend,

This week in Sicily has been delightful; the days have been glorious despite the forecast of rain and storms. Even though we need some rain, I'm not complaining about it being well and truly Spring. 

It's already April, my favourite time of year in Sicily, with warm, pleasant days, green countryside, and everyone gearing up for Easter. Pasqua is a hugely important religious event in Italy, but in Sicily, it also celebrates a rich history of pagan and religious celebrations.

Every town has events dedicated to the Church's calendar beginning with today (Palm Sunday) and ending with Easter Sunday. Pasqua is filled with pageantry, colour, song and elaborate food preparations.

I'm writing a special post for the following newsletter, all about Sicily's most spectacular events every year for Easter. So start writing that bucket list and make it to Sicily one April sometime soon. I love it, and so will you.

2. Getting ready for Easter

My preparations for Pasqua have consisted of baking (not as much as Christmas, all done very much in collaboration with the Sicilian in-laws). This year I made some famous 'cudduri', a decorative Easter cake made with bread or biscuit dough.

I found a great Calabrian biscuit recipe a few years ago which I have made before. You simply make a batch of bread or biscuits, braid the dough in a decorative way, and insert eggs as decoration. Sometimes the eggs are dyed (but I didn't have time for that) and are given as Easter presents.

I also made a local sweet which is prepared especially for Easter. It is like a Christmas mince pie, made from a basic bland dough filled with your favourite cand fruits. They are made in a half-moon shape and can be decorated with icing sugar and colourful sugar sprinkles.

I like to make mine filled with candid almonds and a sprinkle of dark chocolate. They are very fiddly but are simply the most delicate little pockets of sweetness—such a special treat for Easter. Luckily you only make them once a year because they take forever.

3. In the news

This week in Italy, there was the most curious news item; I must mention the controversy surrounding grasshopper flour and lab meat.

Many news items have been dedicated to concerns about climate change and how it will affect food production in the future. Hence two solutions to future problems are to find alternative sources of food. 

One is using insects as a source of protein. There is a massive push in Italy for people to begin using flour made from grasshoppers. And Italians will not have a bar of it, despite some of the country's best bakers creating elaborate recipes showing off the new product proclaiming it to be like any other gluten-free flour on the market. Italians are shocked and abhorred by the entire concept.

The same can be said for synthetic laboratory-produced meat alternatives. A law has been passed to ban any meat product made in a petri dish.

I agree with the outrage. I cannot imagine not eating an authentic product on my plate. There are so many types of flour to use before we can be forced to eat insects. And the idea of artificial meat is undoubtedly a recipe for harmful health consequences in the future.

4. AI and the future of writing and creative work

Another topic of discussion not just in Italy but worldwide is the development of AI in all aspects of creative work. From design and art to writing to programs like ChatGPT, the development of AI is moving at an astounding pace. Even though we are at the beginning of these developments, there is still a long way to go until AI takes over menial tasks or replaces humans in specific jobs.

Italy has become the first Western country to block ChatGPT over concerns about privacy violations. Millions have used ChatGPT since its launch in November 2022. It answers questions using natural human-like language and can mimic writing styles using an online database.

While it is exciting to see how technology can help us with everyday things like messaging, writing and creating content, there is no substitute for human creativity and thought. While AI can mimic these things by following the rules and usages of grammar, humans still need to be active, communicate and control our own narrative.

AI has been around for many years, we all use spell checks, and I will inevitably check this article with Grammarly, an advanced grammar and tone editor. These are both extraordinarily vital and valuable tools. But even with spell check and other programs, the writer still has to control what is written. There is no substitute for reading back what you have written aloud for sense and meaning.

Something written by AI may be grammatically correct without spelling errors, but it risks making no sense unless it is controlled and read by a human mind. We ultimately write for other humans, and if there is no human filter, it eventually loses its meaning. Stories are a fundamental human process; we need to tell our own stories to make sense of our lives; it gives us meaning, context and collective wisdom.

I agree with critical figures in tech, including Elon Musk, who are calling for these types of AI to be suspended as the race to develop them is out of control.

5. What I am reading and watching: Daisy Jones and the Six

This week I happily have gone back in time to the 70s, first through Taylor Jenkins Reid's great book Daisy Jones and the Six and then through the tv series adaptation of the same name.

The book is a clever reimagining of the 1970s American music scene, pieced together through different interviews with fictional band members and those around them.

Based on Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac, the book is like watching a fascinating documentary about a band that wrote an immensely successful album, complete with all the personal struggles associated with fame and the temptations that come with it.

Daisy Jones was a trip back in time to a period which was wild and free filled with legendary musicians. A time when sex and drugs in the music industry represented a kind of wild west, where everything goes.

Taylor Jenkins is a highly talented writer and has crafted a beautiful tribute to the 70s and the power of music and creative talent.

Of course, the book is infinitely better than any adaptation because that's the nature of writing. You will always get more of the nuisances of the story through a novel because there is more space in a manuscript than there can ever be in a screenplay. You always need to pick and choose from the material and select the most substantial story beats.

All in all, the Amazon prime series is a pretty incredible experience. The actors underwent stringent musical preparations; they sang original songs mentioned in the story. You can even buy the album created by The Six if you are mesmerised by the performance.

The series is a beautiful homage to the 70s, and it's easy to slip into the nostalgia. There are a few moments, during the series, when there are very stilted references to present issues and very modern concerns, which were never even considered in the 1970s. There is a definite reference to the 'me too' movement and exploitation of women, which was rife in the music scene and beyond.

The novel also references race and LGBTQ rights that were absent in the book. While I'm not complaining about these elements, these would be concerns that people wouldn't even begin to address until much later in history, so it's obvious they have been inserted for modern audience viewers.

I also love how Daisy Jones is played by Elvis Presley's real-life granddaughter, Riley Keough. It seems like an apt tribute to the music of that time to have an honest and personal connection to one of the legends of contemporary American rock and roll.

6. What I am listening to: Fleetwood Mac

After binge-watching and reading Daisy Jones and the Six, I returned and listened to Fleetwood Mac's legendary 1977 album Rumours. It's been 45 years since its release, and is still magical. I heard and realised; I already knew all of the songs.

I must have subconsciously absorbed them by listening to them in the background on the radio throughout my childhood. That's the great thing about good music; it never seems to age and is always picked up and revived by new generations.

So I've added a few to our playlist too!

7. Poem of the week: Dedicated to my mother in law

Since it is nearly the first anniversary of my mother in laws death, I thought I'd dedicate this week's poem to her.

I wrote this poem a few days after her passing last Easter, and it has made it into my new upcoming poetry book, A Babel of Words which will be out soon.

Gone

The bride has gone to her groom

after years of suffering and doom

Her last breath left her body tonight

as she struggled through the last moments of life.

May she find peace and light

as the wailing grief of her children

floats upon the veil between us now.

Go, sweet lady, mother and child

find those who are waiting for you

beyond this life and the next.

You are gone, but you are here

in our hearts, memories and minds.

Go with peace and light as we

weep, our hearts will be forever

heavier at your loss, but it is

something we are destined to bare.

Go to your father and mother, they

have been waiting for so long.

There are so many there waiting for you, more than are here now.

She has gone to the home our restless souls seek, where all destinies end.

I pray for you to the holy Maria della Stella on the days Jesus defeats death. May he shine his light and guide Maria Stella to the heavens.

8. Netflix find: Wellmania with Celeste Barber

I have also stumbled upon Instagram superstar and comic Celeste Barber's new Netflix series. It has been so much fun to see and laugh-out-loud Australian comedy series. It reminded me of other Australian comedy classics like Muriel's Wedding, Priscilla and The Castle.

Wellmania, as the title suggests, pokes fun at the wellness industry but also explores the nature of contemporary Australian society, friendship, family and ex-pat identity, amongst other things. It's a fun, energetic and frantic comedy that I highly recommend. 

9. Newsletter love: Daily Stoic Newsletter

This week I have also been enjoying Ryan Holiday's Daily Stoic newsletter. Ryan Holiday is a famous author and modern Stoic who will inspire you to work harder, be productive and find joy in the minor elements of life. His Newsletter is filled with advice, affirmations and observations from the ancient Greek stoic philosophers. His insights are inspiring and ultimately comforting in today's superficial, frantic life.

10. Easter treats: Pasta Grammar's Calabrian biscuit recipe

Before I forget, I must give you the recipe for that Calabrian biscuit treat in time for you to try it for Easter. I found it on a YouTube channel called Pasta Grammar.

The channel was started during the pandemic by Eva and Harper to pass the time. Harper, an American cinematographer, is married to proud Calabrian cook and Italian teacher Eva, who could not return to Italy.

So to cheer his wife up a little, he made entertaining videos about their story, amazing Italian recipes, the difference between Italian and American food and eventually also travel blogs.

Here is their fun cooking video with some delicious Easter delicacies.

I hate to be long-winded, so I will stop here.

I'll try to share something worthwhile, well thought out and new here every week, perhaps more often if I get frisky or in some karmic writing zone.

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Speak again soon.

With love and light from RDB

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