One more reason why I love Canada:
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Debate in Canada's parliament degenerated into shouts and catcalls on Wednesday when an opposition legislator committed what others saw as the sin of mispronouncing an Italian movie star's name.The disturbance erupted when Jason Kenney of the Conservatives claimed that a former government minister had been "rubbing shoulders with aging Italian sex kitten Gina Lollobreegeeda" -- whose name is in fact Gina Lollobrigida.
Politicians from the ruling Liberals, anxious not to annoy Canada's large Italian community in the run-up to an election, argued that the mangled pronunciation of her name was an affront and an insult.
"It's Gina Lollobrigida, idiot!" bellowed Human Resources Minister Joe Volpe, prompting Kenney to say he was sorry for "offending the aging sex kitten community."
Speaking afterward, Volpe made an apology of his own.
"I'm sorry I called him an idiot. I should have referred to him as an imbecile," he told reporters.
Lollobrigida, nicknamed "La Lollo," is 76 years old and was at the height of her fame in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in dozens of movies including "Trapeze" and "Beat the Devil."
Fantastic. You just can't make this stuff up.
Afterthought: I wish that the worst of issues facing government in the U.S. right now were as paltry as the mispronunciation of a movie star's name, or even as inane as the president receiving oral sex from an intern. Unfortunately, our problems are a whole lot bigger than that right now. Sigh. Moving to Canada sounds better and better. It's a shame I am so attached to this country. Our management fucking sucks.
Posted by Maria at May 14, 2004 04:49 PMCanada's a fab country to live in. I recently repatriated back to the US from Canada for a few reasons, a major one being to help work on any campaign that will prevent Dubya from getting a second chance at doing any more damage to the country I love first.
The management not only sucks, it is evil incarnate.
Posted by: cul at May 16, 2004 06:26 AMWhat is the fuss all about????
"The disturbance erupted when Jason Kenney of the Conservatives claimed that a former government minister had been "rubbing shoulders with aging Italian sex kitten Gina Lollobreegeeda" -- whose name is in fact Gina Lollobrigida."
I speak Italian. If he pronounced "Lollobrigida" .. 'Lollobreegeeda' it's absolutely PERFECT considering that's precisely as it's PRONOUNCED IN ITALIAN!
Fucking morons. Volpe (whose name itself is Italian for "fox") ought to know that! In fact HIS name is pronounced "vole'pay" when properly said in Italian.
He's the fucking imbecile not Kenney.
Posted by: Richard at May 17, 2004 06:58 PMOff topic Maria, sorry:
.. and may I say one big "HOORAY" for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts!! I just watched the first legal gay marriage taking place in Cambridge on the six o'clock news.
Odd. The world is still spinnng on it's axis :)
Posted by: Richard at May 17, 2004 07:01 PMCrack the hell up! I've always heard it pronounced Lola-bridge-ida. But that's just how the guidos in my neighborhood say it. Hahaa!
I just thought that whole scenario was hilarious to have occurred during a meeting of parliament.
HOORAY FOR MASSACHUSETTS! HOORAY! The bigots shall not prevail! Gays and Lesbians are Too Tough To Die.
Posted by: Maria at May 17, 2004 10:43 PMCi vediamo presto, spero carina... (We'll see you soon my dear) I'm off to Europe anon.
I laughed at your post M!! It's like watching the Sopranos and their bastardized southern Italian dialect. Half the time I'm screaming at the screen: "You morons. Pronounce your vowels!!"
You know Tony's boat the "Stu gatz"?? In Italian the real expression is "Questo cazzo" and means "What a prick" or "What a dick". And when they say "Marone" as a term of exasperation, it is really "Madonna" (our Lady).. and the worst possible expletive in Italy. And 'Pasta fazhool'?? It's really "Pasta e fagioli" - literally "Pasta and bean soup".
If I were Italian-American I'd boycott that show for the negative light in which it portrays Italian Americans. Well it's really Neapolitani and Siciliani it portrays anyhow and the rest of Italy would like to disavow a common nationality with that section of Italy.
A dopo la mia tesoruccia!! Molti baci!! ;-)
Posted by: Richard at May 18, 2004 09:42 AMRichard! Thank you for the little Italian lesson. I didn't know any of that stuff.
You know I used to watch the Sopranos and then when I moved I never added HBO on to my cable, so I miss a lot of good shows, but that's one I don't really feel like I'm missing. It sucks when I start making personal judgments about actors on tv. I really don't like James Gandolfini. He seems so freaking sleazy to me in real life, that I don't even like to watch him on the screen! Hahaa. As if I know him...
My Canadian neighbor moved away a few weeks ago and damn I miss her...she talked so much about her home that it has made me want to visit Canada at least once before I die and any country that exported, "The Kids in the Hall" can't be all bad..haha..
Posted by: sandy at May 18, 2004 05:35 PM