I would like to kindly ask, what is the significance of this thread being marked as a "sticky topic"? Whatever it may import, and if it is intended toward me at all, I would like to earnestly state that it should not mean that I am an authority (although I am trying my best to educate myself) on the tradition of Neapolitan pizza—an "oral tradition" that, in my opinion, can not be essentially captured in words, and that it has to be captured and kept alive by living it the Neapolitan way.
As a further consideration, I do not consider any of the pizzas that I have prepared and posted their photos herein as authentic Neapolitan pizzas. (I am still in search of the authenticity!) At best they may be construed as simulations of the real thing as my home gas oven is deficient, not to mention my character. Nonetheless, I am proud of myself to have been able to come this far! Ideally, what should matter is how much we can inspire, encourage, care, and wholeheartedly orient one another to excel in this art which, for me, is ultimately about an experience of being alive. As the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche insisted, the end of an "art" is not the art itself, but "life", to say "yes" to life with all its sorrows and sufferings: "Creation—that is the great redemption from suffering and life's growing light." Art has the power to cultivate the practitioner's "character" and seduce her or him to "life", distinct from "survival". Good night, friends!
Respectfully,
Omid
