Showing posts with label Italian heritage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Italian heritage. Show all posts

Ferrari

This post is for my stepdad. He loves and I mean LOVES anything Ferrari!! He has alot of Ferrari models in the basement in addition to a few T-shirt bearing the Prancing Horse.

Ferrari
-Sports car company in Maranello, Italy
-Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, they manufactured race cars and sponsored drivers before making street legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A in 1947








-This company is best known for it's participation in racing, especially in Formula One

History
-Enzo Ferrari never intended to make cars in 1928 as a sponsor for amateur drivers in Modena.
-Scuderia Ferrari literally means "Ferrari Stable" in Italian
-Ferrari successfully raced various drivers in Alfa Romeo cars until 1938, when he was hired by Alfa Romeo to head their motor racing department
-In 1941, Alfa Romeo was taken by the fascist government of Benito Mussolini for the war effort. Enzo Ferrari's division was small enough to be unaffected by the government.
-The first actual Ferrari car was called the Tipo 815.
-The first Ferrari road car was the 1947 125 S, powered by a 1.5 L V12 engine
-In 1988, Enzo Ferrari oversaw the launch of the Ferrari F40, the last new Ferrari to be launched before his death later that year. It's one of the most famous supercars ever made.
-From 2002-2004, Ferrari introduced the Enzo, the fastest model at the time, in honor of the company's founder. Since the cars were $1.8 million apiece, it was only limited to the most wealthy car owners
-On May 17, 2009, in Maranello, Italy, a 1957 250 Testa Rossa was auctioned o0ff, by RM Auctions for $1.2 million.

Competition Cars

Current
-2011 Ferrari 150 Italia
-2011 458 GTC
-2010 Ferrari 458 Italia Challenge
-2009 599XX
-2008 FXX Evoluzione
-2007 F430 Challenge
-2006 F430 GT

Sports
-1953 Ferrari Abarth 166 MM/53
-1960 Ferrari 250 TR 61 Spyder Fantuzzi
-1963 Ferrari 330 LM Berlinetta
Road Cars

1957-1960 250 GT Berlinetta/California Spider
1966 California
1968-1973 Daytona
1996-2001 550 Maranello
2001 Barchetta
2003-2005 Enzo
Drivers
-Fernando Alonso
-Felipe Massa
-Mario Andretti(my mom's favorite family of racing)
-Michael Schumacher
Names
  • M ("Modificata"), placed at the end of a model's number, denotes a modified version of its predecessor and not a complete evolution (see F512 M and 575 M Maranello).

  • GTB ("Gran Turismo Berlinetta") models are closed Berlinettas, or coupes.

  • GTS ("Gran Turismo Spyder") in older models, are open Spyders (spelt "y"), or convertibles (see 365 GTS/4); however, in more recent models, this suffix is used for targa top models (see Dino 246 GTS, and F355 GTS; the exception being the 348 TS, which is the only targa named differently). The convertible models now use the suffix "Spider" (spelt "i") (see F355 Spider, and 360 Spider).

  • GTO ("Gran Turismo Omologata"), placed at the end of a model's number, denotes a modified version of its predecessor. Indeed, those three letters designate a model which has been designed and improved for racetrack use while still being a street-legal model. Only three models bear those three letters; the 250 GTO of 1962, the 288 GTO of 1984 and the 599 GTO of 2010.
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    Hot Man Friday- Raoul Bova

    God this man is sexy!

    Raoul Bova

    Name: Raoul Bova
    DOB: August 14, 1971
    Where: Rome, Italy
    Occupation: Actor











    -Italian actor born in Rome to Calabrian parents.
    -At age 16, he became local swimming champ because he could do the 100 meter backstroke.
    -At age 21, joined up with the Italian Army and performed his military calling with the Bersaglieri(sharpshooters) corps.
    -In March 2000, married a woman named Chiara Giordano, who is a veterinarian. They have 3 kids: Alessandro Leon, Francesco and Sophia
    IMDb
    -Height: 5'11''

    Trivia
    -Appeared with Madonna in a 1999 Max Factor commercial
    If this is him younger, omg! What a hot hunk of sexy Italian man!
    -Studied at the Italian Institute of Physical Education
    -His mother was a housewife while his father was an employee of Alitalia Airlines
    -Got his name Raoul from his great grandfather
    -From the region of Calabria, Bova is a common surname
    -Has 2 dogs named Jackie and Ophelia
    -Loves to cook
    -Is the face for Giorgio Armani and Gap
    -Nearly drowned in the ocean a a kid. To get over this fear, took swimming lessons and became a champ at 16
    -His mother in law is one of the most famous divorce lawyers in Italy
    -The first movie he ever saw was "Some Like It Hot"
    -Loves to collect bonsai trees
    -Shows an interest for Buddhism and Judaism
    -In 2000, made an all nude artistic calendar for the Italian magazine Max
    -Sometimes plays soccer with the Nazionale Italiana attori team in charity matches.

    Filmography



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    The Godfather: The Game

    The Godfather: The Game
    -Action adventure game developed by Electronic Arts.
    -2nd video game in the Godfather series and is based upon the 1972 film of the same name.
    -Noted for the return of several actors that appeared in the movie, to lend their voices. The actors are James Caan as Sonny Corleone, Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen, John Martino as Paulie Gatto, Abe Vigoda as Salvatore Tessio. And they had to replace some actors, such as Marlon Brando(because of his bad health and late death), John Cazale(due to his death in 1978), Richard Castellano(died in 1988) and Al Pacino(who chose to lend his image to the Scarface: The World is Yours game)
    Plot
    -The game starts in 1936 with a cutscene that shows the death of Johnny Trapani, the father of the main character, Aldo Trapani(the sequel confirmed that this is the name of the character) and the blowing up of the bakery by the Barzini crime family, one of the Corleone's rivals in New York. In the aftermath, Don Vito Corleone(Bill Melien), comforts the child, telling him that when the time is right, he will have his revenge.  The story fast forwards to 1945, at Connie Corleone's wedding. Aldo's mother is asking Don Corleone to look after her young son because he has fallen in with a local gang. Luca Brasi(Terry McGovern/Gary Chalk) is sent to find this young man and teach him the ways and magic of The Mafia. But when he finds him, he sees Aldo getting beaten in an alley. From this point on, Aldo is taken under the caring wing of the Corleone Family and works his way up in the family.



    -There are essentially 2 stories going on in the game that eventually intertwine: the first involving the major events of the film(with main character making contributions) and a personal story. In the former, Aldo witnesses Luca Brasi's murder, kills Luca's assassin, plants a gun for Michael to kill Virgil "The Turk" Solozzo and corrupt police captain McCluskey, helps Rocco Lampone put the head of movie director Jack Woltz's prized horse Khartoum in his bed, guards Don Vito Corleone in the hospital, witnesses the death of Sonny Corleone, kills Sonny's murderers, appears at the peace talk between the heads of the Five Families, and eventually kills the 4 other Dons during the baptism scene. He also kills Sal Tessio and Bruno Tattaglia, deaths not seen in the movie. In the other storyline, he befriends and later kills Corleone underman Mary "Monk" Malone because it turns out he was a traitor. He ends up falling in love with his sister Frances "Frankie" Malone. When she is killed, the main character is out for revenge. He kills Don Emilio Barzini as payback for killing his father as well as helping in the murders of the other family leaders.  













    -During the tutorial scenes, Aldo's character takes part in avenging the attempted rape and brutal beating of Bonasera's daughter



    After the story finishes, Aldo becomes an underboss. After taking over rival family compounds, be becomes the Don of the Corleone Family. Also, Aldo continues to participate in the business of taking over New York, taking warehouses, fighting mob wars and other things.



    Families

    In the game there are five mafia families that have been adapted from the The Godfather. Each family is distinguished by its members wearing specific color coats as well as a shield bearing the family's first initial in its color with the exception of the Corleones, whose shield bears a rampant lion.
    Nicknamed The Five Families, these consist of:
    • The Corleone family – The once-powerful crime Family is based in centralManhattan, in Little Italy, and are troubled by increasingly daring raids by the Tattaglias based in Brooklyn (even though every family has influence in Little Italy). Little Italy has streets of moderately poor local shops run by well-established Families. Their family color is black. In the game, the player meets many members of the Corleone Family, including Vito Corleone,Sonny Corleone, Tom Hagen, Michael Corleone, Fredo Corleone, Salvatore Tessio, Peter Clemenza, Paulie Gatto, Rocco Lampone, Al Neri, Willie Cicci, Jaggy Jovino, Jimmy DeNunzio, Luca Brasi, the Trojan and Marty "Monk" Malone. The Corleone family members wear black
    • The Barzini family – The Barzini family hails from Midtown, the richest community in New York City, making them the richest and most powerful family in New York City. Their family color is green. The Barzinis are headed by the main antagonist, Don Emilio Barzini, who rules with an iron fist. He ordered the murder of the main character's father, and is rumored to be in control of another New York Family (which is later revealed to be the Tattaglia Family). The Barzinis' consigliere is Domenico Mazza, and theirunderboss is Emillio Barzini Jr. Their three caporegimes are Pietro Testa, Giovanni Armanno and Big Bobby Toro. These guys wear green
    • The Tattaglia family – The Tattaglia family dominates Brooklyn, owning almost every business and racket on the Brooklyn waterfront. The Tattaglia family has a serious rivalry with the Corleone family because of their business expansion into Little Italy, the Corleone's turf. Their family color is tan. Don Philip Tattaglia heads the Tattaglia Family, and his son Bruno is next in line to become Don of the Tattaglia Family. Bruno has an alliance withVirgil "The Turk" Sollozzo. The Tattaglias' consigliere is Freddie Nobile, and their Underbosses are Bruno and Johnny Tattaglia. The Tattaglias' caporegimes are Tony Bianchi, Luigi Fusco and Donnie Marinelli. Under Bianchi are Soldiers Mikey Saleri and Squeegie McNeese. Under Marinelli are Soldiers Luigi Bonetti and Rocky Della Barca. These guys wear tan
    • The Cuneo family – The Cuneo family hails from Hell's Kitchen. The Cuneo family isn't as rich as the other families, owning few rackets and businesses. Their family color is red. Don Carmine Cuneo heads the Cuneo Family. They are ruthless killers, excellent marksmen, and always appear in large groups largely due to the environment of Hell's Kitchen, which is run down and filled with poor communities. The Cuneos' consigliere is Luciano Fabbri, and their Underboss is Marco Cuneo. Their three caporegimes are Ronnie Tosca, Michael Costa, and Mario DeBellis. Red is the color these guys wear
    • The Stracci family – The Stracci family is based in New Jersey. Don Victor Stracci heads the Stracci Family. During daytime the neighborhood looks quite peaceful, with fancy houses and well-groomed parks, but at night, it becomes much more dangerous. The Straccis are the most cruel and vicious family. Their family color is blue. The Straccis' consigliere is Jack Fontana, and their Underboss is Salvatore Stracci. Stracci caporegimes include Oscar Zavarelle and Leon Grossi. These guys wear navy blue
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    Casino (1995)

    Casino
    -Made in 1995
    -Directed by Martin Scorsese
    -Based on non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi

    Did You Know?
    -The F word is said 422 times, and the film holds a Guiness World Record for most swearing in a movie
    -Sharon Stone had back problems from an old injury and the gold and white beaded gown she wears during a casino scene weighed 45 pounds
    -The jewelry store Nicky robs is an actual Las Vegas jewelry store. The line "I just got a shipment of diamonds from Israel" was not scripted
    -The character K.K. Ichikawa was actually based on Akio Kashiwagi. He was a Japanese high roller during the 70s and 80s and was a big scene at Las Vegas casinos. By the end of the 1980s, he had used up all his casino credit, owing many casinos, millions of dollars. He was eventually murdered in his Tokyo home by the Yakuza(Japanese Mafia) in 1992.
    -In the movie, Nicky is placed in the black book. In real life, Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, the person De Niro's character is based on, is the one really in the black book.
    -The gray haired hitman in the sunglasses at the end of the movie was a real life mob member. His name is Frank Culotta. He is portrayed by Frank Vincent. Culotta was the chief lieutenant of Tony Spilotro in the 1970s and 1980s and entered the Witness Protection Program before the conrfield incident took place and was not present, unlike Marino.
    -Robert De Niro has appeared in at least 3 movies that use the song Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones in the soundtrack: Casino(1995), The Fan(1996) and Goodfellas(1990)

    -Robert De Niro stars as Sam "Ace" Rothstein, a Jewish-American gambling handicapper who is called by the Mob to oversee daily business at the fictional Tangiers casino in Las Vegas. The story is based on Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust, Fremont adn Hacienda casinos in Las Vegas for the Chicago Outfit from the 1970s until the early 1980s.
    -Joe Pesci plays Nicky Santoro, Sam's hot tempered, hair trigger tempered friend, based on real life mob enforcer Anthony Spilotro. Nicky is sent to Vegas to make sure no one messes with Sam or skim money off the top from the Tangiers and that the mobsters in Vegas are keeping their toes in line.
    -Sharon Stone plays Ginger McKenna, Ace's wife.
    -In the scene where Nicky and his brother Dominick are beaten and buried in a cornfield, that actually happened. The real guys, Anthony Spilotro and his brother really were beaten and buried in an Indian cornfield in 1986.

    Plot
    -Sam "Ace" Rothstein (Robert De Niro) is a sports handicapper and mob associate who is sent to Vegas to run the Teamsters-funded Tangiers Casino on behalf of several midwest mob families. Sam becomes the Tangier's boss, while taking advantage of the gaming laws allowing him to work while his gaming license is being considered. He doubles the Tangier's profits which are skimmed by the Mafia before the records are reported to the income tax people. Because the bosses are impressed by Sam's work, they send Sam's friend, mob enforcer and caporegime Nicholas "Nicky" Santoro (Joe Pesci) and his gang, which includes Frank Marino (Frank Vincent) to protect Sam and the whole casino. Nicky, unfortunately, becomes more of a problem than solution as his aggressive attitude quickly gets him barred from virtually every casino in Vegas and his name into the black book, which has only one name in it, Alphonse "Scarface" Capone. With his name in the black book, Santoro's name has been grilled into the mind of virtually every police officer and FBI agent and other law enforcement officers. So Nicky then gathers his own crew and begin running burglaries from other businesses and houses.

    -Sam, however, meets and falls in love with Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone), who is a hustler. Despite her hesitance, they soon marry and conceive a daugher, Amy. Their relationship takes a turn for the worse when Ginger is caught by Sam and Nicky aiding her former boyfriend, a con man named Lester Diamond (James Woods). Sam also makes an enemy out of Clark County Commissioner Pat Webb (L.Q. Jones) by firing Webb's brother in law Donald Ward (Joe Bob Briggs) from the casino for not doing his job right. Sam refuses to rehire him, despite pressure from Webb to do so. Webb gets payback by pulling Sam's casino license application from the backlog, forcing Sam to have a license hearing, while seeing to it that gaming board and State Senator Harrison Roberts of the State of Nevada (Dick Smothers) to reject the application. Sam responds by appearing on TV and openly accuses the city government of corruption. The bosses, angry at this, ask him to return home. But he refuses and stubbornly blames Nicky's lawbreaking for his mess. In a heated argument in the desert, Nicky tells Sam to never "go over his head" again.

    -The bosses hire Kansas City mob underboss Artie Piscano to run the skim and reduce the amount local mobsters are keeping for themselves. But with his big mouth, he keeps incriminating ledgers and is caught on an FBI bug discussing the skim of money from the casino. Sam almost loses patience with Ginger after she and Lester are in L.A. with plans to run away to Europe with his daughter Amy. He talks Ginger into bringin Amy back, but Ginger's drug addictions anger him so much that he kicks her out of the house. She returns, on Sam's word that she carry a beeper at all times to contact her when he needs to. Ginger turns to Nicky for help in getting her share of the money from her and Sam's shared bank account, and they begin a sexual affair, which according to mob rule could get the 2 of them killed, along with Nicky's crew for covering it up. Sam reaches the boiling point with Ginger when she ties Amy to her bedposts to have a night out with Nicky. Sam tracks her down and finds her in Nicky's restaurant The Leaning Tower and he confronts her and disowns her. She turns to Nicky, but he has reached his limit with her too. The next morning, Ginger goes to Sam's house, creating a domestic disturbance, and uses the distraction to get the key to the safe where their money is. She takes some of the savings, but then is arrested by FBI agents

    -Wth Ginger arrested and the FBI's discovery of Piscano's records, which are then matched with skimming operation, the casino crumbles beneath everyone's feet and the bosses are arrested. During a meeting, they decide to cut all ties and eliminate everyone who was involved to keep them from testifying. This includes the head of the teamsters and several casino executives. At the same time, Ginger dies practically poor in L.A. of a drug overdose and Sam is almost killed in car bomb, which he suspects Nicky planted. Nicky and his brother Dominick are called to a meeting in a cornfield after all the heat in the city blew down. Upon arriving, they are held down and beaten to within an inch of their lives with aluminum bats by Frankie and his gang before being buried alive. Sam narrates that the bosses were fed up with Nicky and his lawbreaking in Vegas, and ordered Frankie and the gang to "make an example" of him and his brother

    -With the mob out of power, the old casinos are bought by big companies and torn down to make way for gaudy casinos bought with junk bonds. Sam laments that the new "family friendly" Las Vegas lacks the same glitz and glamour it once had, and lacks the same kind of catering to players the old Las Vegas had. In the final scene, it shows an older Sam living in San Diego, once again a sports handicapper for the mob, or in his words "...right back where I started."


    Cast
    Robert De Niro: Sam "Ace" Rothstein
    -Based on: Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal

    Joe Pesci: Nicholas "Nicky" Santoro
    -Based on: Tony "The Ant" Spilotro

    Sharon Stone: Ginger McKenna
    -Based on: Geraldine McGee Rosenthal

    Frank Vincent: Frank Marino
    -Based on: Frank Culotta

    Don Rickles: Billy Sherbert
    -Based on: Murray Ehrenberg

    Pasquale Cajano: Remo Gaggi
    -Based on: Joseph Aiuppa

    James Woods: Lester Diamond
    -Based on: Leonard "Lenny" Marmor

    Kevin Pollack: Philip Green
    -Based on: Allen Glick

    Alan King: Andy Stone
    -Based on: Allen Dorfman

    Philip Suriano: Dominick Santoro
    -Based on: Michael Spilotro

    Vinny Vella: Artie Piscano
    -Based on: Carl "Tuffy" DeLuna

    Joseph Rigano: Vincent Borelli
    -Based on: Nicholas Civella

    Nobu Matsuhisa: K.K. Ichikawa
    -Based on: Akio Kashiwagi



    Soundtrack
    Disc one
    1. "Contempt – Theme De Camille" by Georges Delerue
    2. "Angelina/Zooma, Zooma Medley" by Louis Prima
    3. "Hoochie Coochie Man" by Muddy Waters
    4. "I'll Take You There" by The Staple Singers
    5. "Nights in White Satin" by The Moody Blues
    6. "How High The Moon" by Les Paul & Mary Ford
    7. "Hurt" by Timi Yuro
    8. "Ain't Got No Home" by Clarence 'Frogman' Henry
    9. "Without You" by Nilsson
    10. "Love Is the Drug" by Roxy Music
    11. "I'm Sorry" by Brenda Lee
    12. "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac
    13. "The Thrill Is Gone" by B.B. King
    14. "Love Is Strange" by Mickey & Sylvia
    15. "The 'In' Crowd" by Ramsey Lewis
    16. "Stardust" by Hoagy Carmichael

    [edit] Disc two

    1. "Walk on the Wild Side" by Jimmy Smith
    2. "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)" by Otis Redding
    3. "I Ain't Superstitious" by Jeff Beck Group
    4. "The Glory of Love" by The Velvetones
    5. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by Devo
    6. "What a Diff'rence a Day Made" by Dinah Washington
    7. "Working in the Coal Mine" by Lee Dorsey
    8. "House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals
    9. "Those Were the Days" by Cream
    10. "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)" by Tony Bennett
    11. "Slippin' and Slidin'" by Little Richard
    12. "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You" by Dean Martin
    13. "Compared to What" (Live) by Les McCann & Eddie Harris
    14. "Basin Street Blues/When It's Sleepy Time Down South" by Louis Prima
    15. "St. Matthew Passion (Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder)" by Johann Sebastian Bach (Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Georg Solti)
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