Sunday 7 December 2008

allegro con fuoco


allegro con fuoco
Originally uploaded by chiararobbiano
The summer seems very far away. The yellow leaves have fallen from the trees and we have had the first show. Isabella grows and surprises us everyday. She can drink holding her own bottle, she smiles and laughs, she can look very concentrated, she inspects labels of toys, she makes many noises like "aaa" and "nghe". She is adorable. Almost everything has been photographed and... put on flickr.

Saturday 23 August 2008

We are back in Amsterdam











After the most happy and relaxing holiday - spoiled especially by my parents but also by family and precious friends, we are back.
The first part of the holiday was in Castelletto d'Orba —a small village in Piemonte, where we spent our days eating nice food, sleeping, reading, playing with Isabella, going to huge supermarkets and village festivals.
Then, when the weather became cooler, we went to Genova, where we could swim just across the street from my parents house, see friends and greatgrandparents, and enjoy the Centro Storico.

Would you like to see a lot of holiday's pictures? Please go to "Italian August with Isabella"

Monday 14 July 2008

2 films of Isabella + link to Isabella's pictures


Film: Isabella's dance
Originally uploaded by chiararobbiano

And if you want to have a look at Isabella's set with the new pictures, click here!

Tony Long about my book!

Please read, if you like, the words that prof. dr. A. A. Long wrote about my book on Parmenides in his review for the last issue of Phronesis:

"Chiara Robbiano, Becoming Being. On Parmenides’ Transformative Philosophy.10) This monograph, which began its life as a University of Leiden dissertation directed by the late C.M.J. Sicking, is a very stimulating contribution. Robbiano modestly calls her book ‘an integrated study’ of the poem’s literary and philosophical features, but what she actually offers is a full-scale paradigm shift in the interpretation of this perennially challenging and frustrating thinker. Rather than taking Parmenides’ project to be an analysis of reality that detaches the knower from the knowable, what primarily interests Robbiano is ‘the place of the knowing subject in a monistic reality’. She proposes that Parmenides offers his audience a ‘mental journey’ whereby ‘one who understands Being becomes Being’. If we initially balk at this proposal, on the ground that it is at odds with Parmenides’ metaphysical monism and denial of all becoming, Robbiano makes the fascinating suggestion that Parmenides’ monism should be interpreted perspectivally, as a way of learning to ‘see everything as unity’ and in that process becoming one with it. In this way, she is able to dissolve many of the standard paradoxes arising from metaphysical monism without losing her grip on Parmenides’ challenge to acceptance of the reality of empirical phenomena, substantive change, difference, and so forth. Among many fresh suggestions of detail, I single out Robbiano’s treatment of
Ananke and Dike which, together with Moira, she is probably right to capitalize and treat as literarily, though not ontologically, divine. The book is up to date bibliographically and very generous in its acknowledgements. She draws effectively on the recent work of Kingsley and Cerri as well as that of such classic authorities on Parmenides as Mourelatos, Mansfeld, Kahn, and Coxon. Only the most rigidly analytical readers will leave this book without having their understanding of Parmenides enhanced.11)

10) Chiara Robbiano, Becoming Being. On Parmenides’ Transformative Philosophy. International Pre-Platonic Studies vol. 5, Sankt Augustin (Akademia Verlag), 2006, pp. 240, ISBN 3-89665-383-0 €54.00.
11) In recommending this book, I should note that I am not a completely detached reviewer. I discussed Parmenides with the author before she finalised her work, and, in reference to my article, ‘Parmenides on thinking being’ (BACAP 12 (1996), 125-51), she thanks me for having influenced her approach, especially over the idea that Parmenides identifies being and thinking. However, Robbiano takes the idea much further than I did, and gives it a deeply suggestive meaning for Parmenides’ project in its entirety." (pp.296-297)

Long, A.A., 2008 "Presocratic Philosophy", Phronesis: A journal for Ancient Philosophy, Volume 53, Number 3 , pp. 290-302

Thursday 10 July 2008

More Isabella photo's on flickr

Click here and Enjoy!

Tuesday 8 July 2008

Isabella!!

Dear all,

Finally Isabella and I are at home! I am happy as I have never been before and completely in love with my wonderful daughter!

Isabella was born on the sunny morning of the 1st of July at 10.42.

The day after, a few hours after leaving the hospital, we had to go back: Isabella had a fever and the physicians decided to give her antibiotics in order to cure possible dangerous infections that, as it turned out after 3 days, luckily, she had never had.

She is a lovely sweet child: my husband, my mother, who joined us from Italy, and I are completely crazy about her.

We will put more pictures on flickr soon- in the meanwhile you can have a look at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeroenleijen/tags/isabellaleijen/

very warm regards,

Chiara

Wednesday 4 June 2008

maternity leave!



ik met buik
Originally uploaded by chiararobbiano
It's the 4th of June, I have completed week 36 and I am on maternity leave - which I have inaugurated with two siestas: one this morning and one this afternoon. I guess it's a good start.

Saturday 24 May 2008

Almost 8 months...


I am 34 and a half weeks pregnant - another 2 and a half week and my baby is "ready". However the due date is the 2nd of July...

Do you think that my tummy can grow much more than this?! It looks like I have hidden a balloon under my shirt, but I assure you that it feels much heavier than that.

Well, let's hope that it will be a June child...

Monday 5 May 2008

Chiara happy inside the Hagia Sophia

Some of Jeroen's pictures of our Istanbul's holiday are online: click here!


Inside the Blue Mosque
Originally uploaded by jeroenleijen

Friday 2 May 2008

Back from Istanbul...

... possibly the last holiday while we are still the two of us! It has been a wonderful experience: great city (look at the pictures), sultan-like hotel, and wonderful Jeroen.

Everyday we left the hotel just before noon and came back around seven. Even if this involved a lot of sitting, I do think I have managed to see a lot and really enjoy the atmosphere and the multi-layered quality of the city. Back to the hotel, after my crashing in bed (and falling sound asleep), we put our bathrobes on and headed towards the swimming-pool and other water amenities area.
Wonderful.
Something else: even if the city is very 'full' and to be trapped in a lot of traffic is normal, we often noticed and enjoyed some kind of peace. People often seem not to be stressed. They are efficient without being in a hurry. I never felt nervous on the streets, whereas e.g. I cannot help but being very nervous and stressed out while walking in Napoli or in Cairo.
We will go back sometime.

Thursday 17 April 2008

don't miss these photo's!


Chiara
Originally uploaded by jeroenleijen


Walking away
Originally uploaded by jeroenleijen
Jeroen posted new photos of our holiday on fickr, click here to see them!

Thursday 3 April 2008

Tonight I must give a lecture in Crete...

Jeroen and I spent two wonderful weeks in Greece and Italy.


In Greece I was invited to give a lecture in Rethymno, at the University of Crete, by dr. Chloe Balla who signed an Erasmus agreement between the University of Crete and of Utrecht together with dr. Teun Tieleman.
Chloe has been so nice to organise my invitation.

Would you like to see all my photos of these two weeks? Click here.

Before flying to Crete I received the most princess-like hospitality you can imagine In Athens at my friend Sylvana's place, enjoying her company. Sylvana is surrounded by special people, like Jilles, George Karamanolis and Aleka. To be with them has been like spending time with old, inspiring friends.


Gabriella and Chiara
Originally uploaded by jeroenleijen



In Italy I enjoyed my lovely family, friends, food, sun. It is so good to be spoiled and to relax and enjoy the company of beautiful people... especially when you yourself look like a seal and feel most of the time as a stranded little whale.

Please click here to see more of Jeroen's photos.

Saturday 5 January 2008

Happy New Year!!


vari panettoni e pandoro
Originally uploaded by chiararobbiano
I wish you a wonderful, warm, peaceful and special 2008 full of energy and nice thoughts.

Chiara

Click here to see more December pictures.