All roads lead to Rome

Jake has been found and it looks like it movie magic time

Jake was photographed today in Rome out for dinner a stroll and bit of tour at local church.

The Church of St. Louis of the French (Italian: San Luigi dei Francesi, French: Saint Louis des Français, Latin: S. Ludovici Francorum de Urbe) is a Roman Catholic church in Rome, not far from Piazza Navona. The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, to St. Denis the Areopagite and St. Louis IX, king of France. The church was designed by Giacomo della Porta and built by Domenico Fontana between 1518 and 1589, and completed through the personal intervention of Catherine de' Medici, who donated to it some property in the area. It is the national church in Rome of France.

The church's most famous item is the cycle of paintings in the Contarelli Chapel, painted by the Baroque master Caravaggio in 1599-1600 about the life of St. Matthew. This include the three world-renowned canvases of The Calling of St Matthew, The Inspiration of Saint Matthew, The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew.

But that might not be only church he saw today.  A tweet of Jake from inside San Pietro (St. Peter's) appeared this afternoon too.

Source

Everest is set to start filming on set in Rome for part of the movie before moving on to Pinewood Studios in England.

From the looks of him, Jake looks like he is ready to be captive on the side of a mountain, but he does get some points for carrying an actual book to read. (#booklove)

Read - you're it

 Now that Jake's  read a children's book and a classic novel,  it's time to branch out. What will he read next?

Top Ten Audio Projects Jake will do next:

10. Poor Little Bitch Girl by Jackie Collins

9. The Jumbles in the Comics Section

8. What to Expect When You are Expecting

7. The picture directions to the IKEA Hemnes 8 Drawer Dresser

6.  I, Toto: The Autobiography of Terry, the Dog who was Toto by Willard Carroll

5. Don't Hassel the Hoff: The Autobiography by David Hasselhoff

4.  A Night Without Armor : Poems by Jewel

3. The police blotter from the Anamosa, Iowa newspaper, The Anamosa Journal Eureaka

2. Mr. T: The Man With the Gold : An Autobiography of Mr. T by Mr. T.

and the number one audio project next for Jake:

1. Monthly PTA minutes from NYC PS218

Ban the Ban

What do The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and And Tango Makes Three* have in common? Books and Jake and Austin's bookshelves? Maybe. But that are also books that have been challenged to be removed for American public libraries this year.

This week is the American Library Associations 27th Annual Banned Book Week which celebrates the intellectual freedom afforded by the first amendment here in the U.S. And for an English major, and a book lover who supports the American Civil Liberties Union, you can see how they fit with today's post.


For OMG'ers from outside the U.S, access to books, movies, other media can be more or less restricted in certain areas or subjects but American public libraries provide access to all kinds of books and information. The criteria is that it must be of merit as a publication or product. So yes, American libraries can have Playboy, as well as the Torah, The Bible or The Koran. They can have Judy Blum books and well as Janette Oke. They provide access to information to the public, and all the public, not just some of the public. While some materials may be offensive to some people, it is the right to create, access, read, watch and use that is the real point here. Yes there are books that have been prohibited in the U.S. over the years since the Bill of Rights, the list is not that large and some that were banned in decades ago were removed from the list. Will there always be people challenging books, you bet. There's nothing wrong expressing your opinion, that's free speech, just like writing what you want write about.

When books are challenged to be banned because the conflict with personal viewpoints of a few it should make you stop and think. What if my favorite book is banned because someone thinks is offensive? What does that mean? Who's right is it to decide what I can and can't read?

So to celebrate these books that have been challenged - go to you library, bookstore, or shelf in your house and pick up one of them up and act. How? Read it. Radical huh.

* And Tango Makes Three is a 2005 children's book written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson and illustrated by Henry Cole. The book is based on the true story of Roy and Silo, two male Chinstrap Penguins in New York's Central Park Zoo who for six years formed a couple. The pair were observed trying to hatch a rock that resembled an egg. When zookeepers realized that Roy and Silo were both male, it occurred to them to give them the second egg of a mixed-sex penguin couple, a couple which had previously been unable to successfully hatch two eggs at once. Roy and Silo hatched and raised the healthy young chick, a female named "Tango" by keepers, together as a family.

And Tango Makes Three is the most challenged book in U.S. public libraries in 2007

Between the covers

When a book lover and English major collaborate - Instant Classic


Great Expectations? Call of the Wild? All's Quiet on the Western Front?

What's it called on your must read list?

Acting up

No one knows what Austin, man of mystery has been up to lately, but it seems books might be involved in some way. Recently Austin gave a rave review of a friend and mentor's book . (Old news to some, new news to others.) The friend is Markus Flanagan and the book,"One Less Bitter Actor".

I have had three incredible teachers along the way; Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Bettany, and Markus Flanagan. The book is brilliant. It is like a college for film and television actors. I spent 11 years learning all the things that he has written down in his book. Trial by fire for me. Now there is One Less Bitter Actor for everyone else. Austin Nichols-HBO’s John from Cincinatti

One Less Bitter Actor is a primer for any actor and actress, telling it like is really is in film and televsion. Flanagan shows how to balance the business of acting with the craft of it and still maintain the love for it. Giving a map to the seen and unforeseen. The issues, traps and pitfalls in the life of an actor. Auditioning, casting and what to do after getting the part, appreciating the work, ignoring the hype, focusing on the creativity, being prepared, persistent and positive.

The book gets rave reviews for it honesty, which in Hollywood is rare. And from the reviews it is not only for actors and but those who want a real glimpse of an actor's life.

More Big Love for the Big Apple

Taking another bite out of the Big Apple topic of the week, there is this, Jake's gift to New York and children everywhere.

The story is The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. Written by Mordicai Gerstein it tells the story of Philippe Petit's tight rope walk between Manhattan's World Trade Center towers in 1974. Jake reads the lyrical story of that not only tells of Petit's incredible feat but a beautiful memorial of the Twin Towers.


Thanks Rattler!