The Rebel Palate

(Click here to jump to the recommended song, Comu si Beddra by Angelo Daddelli & i Picciotti!) Ciao, ribelli. Gangster media is a staple of American pop culture. Everybody knows about The Sopranos, The Godfather and Goodfellas. Sometimes we sympathize with Mob characters or fantasize about being in their shoes. They have just about every status symbol- money, power, and ways of showing their money and power. Plus people have a morbid fascination with crime. But at the end of the day, we don't want to catch ourselves thinking we like the Mafia. In real life, they're real trouble. And forget about joining them- even the movies can tell you it's not a good idea. The victims are real, but in Sicily, they're taking a stand. Addiopizzo (or "Goodbye Pizzo"), is a nonprofit organization based in Sicily. They have a travel service and an online store . They partner with local businesses that refuse to pay the pizzo, or...

Happy New Year, rebels. I've gotta admit something to you all. I don't think I've been terribly honest the few months I've worked on this blog. I didn't lie in any of my posts. Intentionally, at least. I like to believe all the information I share is accurate or otherwise accounted for (hence the constant "don't take my word for this, but..." disclaimers). I've been lying to myself , if anything. THE REALITY CHECK I intended The Rebel Palate's schedule to work for people with "real jobs". Initially I wanted one post every Monday and Thursday. Monday was to give people an extra hit of dopamine to get through the week, and Thursday was to keep them sane while waiting for Friday.  I always post at 1:37 pm, because I wanted it to be sometime in the middle of the day, and 1:37 in 24-hour time is 13:37. Add that to the "Ways I Pretend I'm Older Than I Actually Am" list. I think I was only semi-consistent during The Month of Th...