The Italian cult novel La Voce della Pietra will soon be in production for the big screen. According to Variety, director Hideo Nakata will begin filming next spring. The movie, to be titled "Voice From the Stone," "...centers on a female psychologist who takes on the case of a young boy who made a promise to his dying mother to remain silent until her spirit returns. The psychologist begins to realize that the boy's dead mother has manipulated her in order to take possession of her body so she can be reunited with her son."

Can you say incubo?

New York University's Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò presents a concert of Italian baroque repertoire with three of Italy's most important specialists in early music (with works by Corelli, Veracini, Vivaldi, Tartini). Concert is Monday, November 9, at 6 PM.

La Macchina dei Verbi Italiani (Italian Verb Machine) is a Flash application that allows users to practice Italian verb conjugations, either by tense or by person. The software can be used online or in a downloadable format.

One useful method for studying verbs is to take an excerpt of several paragraphs—print out an article from an Italian newsweekly—and highlight every verb. Then translate each verb and identify the tense. Parse it out—write out the infinitive, look up the word in a dictionary if you don't know it, and be sure to clarify the tense. You will improve your comprehension immeasurably since verbs are the key to the language.