Month: August 2019

Home / Month: August 2019

Lorenzo Puri, 100 boulder di 8A e oltre

August 15, 2019 | News | No Comments

Click:herbicide Defoamer

Intervista al 23enne climber trevigiano Lorenzo Puri che recentemente ha salito il suo 100esimo boulder da 8A in su.

Con una escalation importante – leggi in pochi giri a a Brione gli 8B di Vecchio Leone e General Disarray e la salita in stile flash del blocco di 8A Entwash direct- l’altro giorno Lorenzo Puri ha salito il suo centesimo boulder da 8A in su. È ovviamente un numero simbolico, ma che indica che il 23enne trevigiano trapiantato a Milano ha un talento, una capacità e determinazione oltre il normale.

Lorenzo, 100 8A… un’anno fa, l’avresti mai pensato?
No di certo, aver raggiunto questo risultato in così poco tempo sicuramente è uno stimolo nonchè una soddisfazione molto forte e importante, soprattutto perché mi fa capire che i margini di miglioramento sono ancora ampi e questo mi motiva a spingermi oltre.

Cento 8A ovviamente non nascono dal nulla… Stavi già bene diciamo, ma ad un certo punto qualche molla è scattata, no?
Sì, quando ho raggiunto una maggiore conoscenza interiore. Quando sono riuscito ad andare al di là del grado e capire di essere semplicemente davanti a un pezzo di roccia. Si tratta di fare ciò che realmente mi piace fare, sentirmi presente e gioire di ogni parte del processo.

Di questi boulder, che momenti ti rimangono impressi maggiormente e perchè?
A dire il vero ogni boulder ha la sua storia ed è questa la cosa più bella. Si parla di giornate passate con amici o da solo, a volte in situazioni particolari o poco piacevoli, a volte positive e stimolanti. E tutto questo fa parte di una serie di esperienze ed emozioni che alla fine vanno ad ampliare il mio bagaglio e che non scorderò mai.

Non sono tutte ripetizioni, giusto? Spicca il tuo nuovo 8B in Valle di Daone, tra l’altro il primo della valle
Sì, è stato un momento sicuramente importante, uno dei pochi blocchi in cui ho sofferto mentalmente, risolvendo i vari singoli abbastanza velocemente, ma per qualche ragione non riuscivo ad unirlo nel suo complesso, cadendo anche agli ultimi movimenti. Riuscire a venirne a capo è stata un’enorme gioia.

Ma quando non sei tra i boschi ad arrampicare con gli amici, dove sei e cosa fai?
Da qualche mese mi sono trasferito a Milano, lavoro come tracciatore alla palestra Urban Wall a Pero, sicuramente una delle più belle in Italia e con un team a dir poco favoloso. Qui ho la possibilità di confrontarmi ogni giorno con climbers fortissimi, potendo scambiare esperienze e punti di vista. Per di più logisticamente parlando è perfetta come punto di partenza per i vari spostamenti verso il Ticino con Cresciano, Chironico, Brione, la Val Bavona, ma anche la Val di Mello o la Valle d’Aosta.

Curiosità: come sei arrivato a quota cento? E adesso cosa farai?
Non era un sogno, semplicemente è arrivato da sè! Ora ho in mente di provare ad alzare un po’ l’asticella. Nelle ultime settimane ho salito alcuni blocchi di riferimento in Ticino molto velocemente e sono riuscito a realizzare qualche salita flash interessante quindi ora sono super motivato a mettermi alla prova con qualcosa di più difficile e continuare a scalare “a tutta”. Come sempre!

View this post on Instagram

>

GENERAL DISARRAY (8B) @andre_zedd @scarpaspa @scarpa_climb @e9clothing_official @docrock_official @27cragsofficial #bouldering #climbing #scarpaclimb #scarpaspa #e9clothing #e9team #climbing_pictures_of_instagram #climbing_videos_of_instagram

A post shared by Lorenzo Puri (@lorepuri) on Dec 5, 2018 at 12:03pm PST

8B+
1 Murano low Champorcher
2 Highlander Sustenpass
3 helicopters on beaches Albarracín / Techos

8B
4 Vecchio leone Brione
5 General Disarray Brione
6 L’ avenir nous reserve big bamboo Val daone

8A+
7 L’ uomo della dnb Val di Mello / Remenno
8 Steppenwolf Magic wood
9 Murano Champorcher
10 Ikarus Sustenpass
11 Incubator Zillertal / Ginzling wald
12 Pizz bill Gais / Altgais
13 Gioia stand Varazze / Potala
14 Fortunadrago Varazze
15 wrestling with an alligator Maltatal
16 Golden horse Zillertal / Sundergrund
17 Nem stand Varazze / Lilliput
18 Forever More sit start Brione
19 Sofa Surfer Magic wood / Hauptsektor
20 The bizarre Ride Magic wood
21 Unendliche Geschichte 1 Magic wood / Avers
22 Croce bianca Val di Mello
23 Pitbull Sustenpass / Traumland
24 Le Reve de faire Sustenpass / Traumland
25 Come un lointain Sustenpass
26 La Legge del Taglione Val daone / Nudole
27 Madrugada Sustenpass
28 Idea 92 Champorcher
29 Der listige Lurch Zillertal / Igent
30 Toy Boy Val di Mello / sasa remeno
31 Spiderman 2.0 Gais / neugais
32 Biceps power Can Boquet / Nou
33 El pollon Vilafames
34 Zarzaparrilla Albarracín / Parking
35 Valkiria Albarracín / Cabrerizo
36 Baila Morena Albarracín / loma de la tejeria
37 Esperanza sit Albarracín / Arrastradero
38 Bindu Albarracín / Techos
39 L’ avenir nous reserve rien de bon Val daone / dos dei aser
40 el gauhara Zillertal / breithlaner
41 Der nihilist Zillertal / zemmschlucht
42 Blue Arrow Val daone / Nudole
43 Masha e orso tesino / malga sorgazza
44 Bad Words Belluno
45 Doctor Jump Chironico

8A
46 Entwash Brione / fiume
47 Marilyn monroe Brione / Bach
48 Frank’s wild years Cresciano / filo a sbalzo
49 Il dominatore dell’ aria Tesino
50 Il Nalle Val di Mello
51 Vero uomo Val di Mello / Remenno
52 Unendliche Geschichte 2 Magic wood / /
53 Supersupernova Magic wood / Bach
54 Colorado Avalanche Gottardo
55 Cafelat e Campari Gottardo / Suworow
56 Orange madness Champorcher
57 King Size Sustenpass / King Size
58 King Rise Sustenpass
59 Früchte des Zorns Sustenpass / Steingletscher
60 Queens of the stonage Sustenpass
61 Traumland Sustenpass / Traumland
62 Fred’s Traverse Sustenpass
63 Big traverse Boscoverde
64 Come un pesce fuor d’acqua Val daone / Atlantide
65 Il Cappone Val di Mello / Bagni di Masino
66 Grandalbero Val di Mello / Bagni di Masino
67 Bestiale Val di Mello / Val Masino
68 Aspettando Fred Nicole Val di Mello / Val Masino
69 True Romance Zillertal / Zillergrund bach
70 Clockwork Orange Zillertal / Zillergrund Wald
71 Kill bill Gais
72 Dr. Mabuse Gais / Medizinerblock
73 El camino del exceso Albarracín / Colmenas
74 Indian secret garden Albarracin / Mezquita
75 Copa sta bisa Albarracín / arrastradero
76 Atreyu Albarracín / arrastradero
77 futuros clasicos bezas
78 Arrobi Albarracín / Arrastradero
79 Orion Albarracín / Techos
80 Umbria sx Albarracín / La fuente
81 El orejas de las regletas Albarracín / Arrastadero
82 Cosmos Albarracín / Techos
83 Alphacentauri stand Varazze
84 orgasmatron Maltatal
85 thor…the queen Val daone / nudole
86 X-ray Silvretta
87 right hand of darkness Magic Wood
88 Octopussy Magic Wood
89 Fotti la censura Val daone / nudole
90 you drive me crazy Val daone / nudole
91 Pressure drop Zillertal / Zillergrund wald
92 no horse no rider Zillertal / Zillergrund
93 silbeross Zillertal / sundergrund
94 Analdin und die wunderschlampe Zillertal / Zillergrund wald
95 Wenn kruadek butter war Zillertal / kaserler alm
96 Schiena dell’ orso tesino / malga sorgazza
97 Bitter emotion Val daone
98 walker on earth Chironico
99 le pilier Chironico
100 Mr. Segal Val daone

Click Here: titleist golf balls

Il racconto di Federica Mingolla che in Valle dell’Orco è tornata a salire la via di più tiri Itaca nel Sole. Una storica linea aperta da Gian Piero Motti e Guido Morello e risolta dalla climber piemontese in due momenti separati.

Due settime fa Federica Mingolla è tornata su Itaca nel Sole, la storica via al Caporal in Valle dell’Orco aperta da Gian Piero Motti e Guido Morello con l’uso dell’arrampicata artificiale, e poi liberata nel 2003 da Cristian Brenna che, trovando l’ispirazione con Marzio Nardi, è riuscito per primo a decifrare i due difficili tiri sullo Scudo superiore.

Federica Mingolla ha un debole per la Valle dell’Orco ed un legame profondo con questa linea, infatti l’aveva provata per la prima volta nel 2016 insieme al suo grande amico Adriano Trombetta, che le aveva trasmesso tutto l’amore per quell’arrampicata così particolare sul ruvido granito piemontese.

All’epoca Federica non era riuscita a salire i tiri chiavi in libera, poi con la scomparsa di Adriano le è comprensibilmente passata anche la voglia di riprovare la via. Fino a poco tempo fa, quando con Andrea Migliano è riuscita a risolvere il tiro di 8a. Poi, una settimana più tardi, ha salito in libera anche il tiro successivo, quello di 8b. Per essere precisi: non ha salito tutti i tiri in libera in giornata, bensì in due momenti separati. Ma a Federica evidentemente basta già così, come ci ha spiegato: ” A me bastava risolvere le lunghezze e sinceramente non ho mai pensato di farle insieme. Non la vedo come una prestazione sportiva questa, e non ho pensato al grado, ma al grosso significato che questa via ha per me.” Ecco il suo racconto.


ITACA NEL SOLE
di Federica Mingolla

Era il 2016 quando per la prima volta il Tromba, Adriano Trombetta, mi portò a provare lo “Specchio”. Era per me un periodo di continua scoperta ed evoluzione nel mio mondo dell’arrampicata, la mia attenzione si stava spostando sempre di più dalle pareti indoor e l’allenamento rivolto alle gare all’arrampicata su roccia ed in particolare a quella su granito.

La Valle dell’Orco si apriva davanti ai miei occhi di sognatrice nel momento di maggiore entusiasmo che abbia mai vissuto e mi svelava tutte le sue bellezze, tra cui anche Itaca. Avevo da poco scalato sul Caporal Il Lungo Cammino dei Comanches e Tomahawk Dance, due vie di grande impegno e di rara bellezza che mi hanno chiesto tanto, e ho iniziato a cambiare il mio modo di scalare e di approcciarmi all’arrampicata nel momento in cui ho iniziato a sentire il granito sotto i piedi e ai polpastrelli. Nel giro di poco tempo ho visto la mia mentalità crescere, il mio corpo entrare in simbiosi con quel mondo di pietra liscia e verticale e Adriano, vedendo il mio entusiasmo alle stelle, aveva deciso di portarmi a conoscere Itaca.

Itaca è stata la via simbolo del Nuovo Mattino, nonché uno degli ultimi viaggi di Gian Piero Motti che nel 1975 prende coraggio e decide di salire quegli specchi inviolati che sono l’anima del Caporal. Finalmente anche l’ultima linea, la più estetica tra tutte, era stata salita e si sa, quando un viaggio finisce lascia un vuoto e tanta malinconia, bisogna saper ripartire prendendo tutto il buono di quello che è stato, il Nuovo Mattino stava cedendo il passo a nuove idee e nuove etiche. Per Motti, troppe cose erano cambiate e non si dava pace, quindi conclusosi il suo viaggio, arrivato ad Itaca, decise di andarsene e non ritornare più.

Quella prima volta me la ricordo bene, eravamo sotto la prima lunghezza di 8a dello Specchio, faceva molto freddo e Adriano era emozionatissimo all’idea che io avrei potuto scalarla in libera al primo tentativo. Io pensavo fosse matto! Non andò così infatti, ma ci mancò veramente poco, all’ultimo movimento difficile che richiede un piccolo lancio al terrazzino dove poi termina la lunghezza ho deciso di cedere e di lasciarmi andare penzoloni sulla corda, vedevo l’abisso del Caporal sotto di me e gli occhi di Adriano rassegnarsi per la sconfitta.

Non passò nemmeno una settimana che mi convinse ad andare a provare il secondo tiro dello Specchio, l’8b, per me anche detto Il Mostro. Lì iniziò per me il calvario, tutto quello che pensavo di avere appreso dalla scalata in fessura e sul granito si vanificò in quei 15 metri di muro verticale e senza appigli.

Non mi davo pace e in quelle poche ore trascorse sulla piccola cengia continuai a fare tentativi, appendendomi ai chiodi sperando di riuscire a trovare una soluzione di continuità da uno all’altro, invano. Adriano mi teneva la corda e mi rassicurava, premuroso, che avrei capito come fare un giorno o l’altro, forse semplicemente non era ancora arrivato quel momento.

E non arrivò mai, almeno per i successivi 3 anni, in cui tornai su Itaca solo altre due volte ma senza nessun risultato, solo altre sconfitte ed un caldo torrido che mi annebbiava ancora più le idee su come risolvere la sequenza. Poi Adriano se ne andò e con lui anche la mia voglia di crederci.

Non ho mai smesso di pensare a quella parete dorata e perfettamente liscia, le due lunghezze liberate da Cristian Brenna insieme a Marzio Nardi, e ripetute soltanto da Nicolas Favresse, mi tornavano in mente e ne parlavo con esasperata esaltazione a molte mie serate, invocando il mio amico e ricordandolo sorridente nel posto che lui amava di più.

Quest’anno Andrea Migliano, un altro amico nonché compagno di mille avventure, tra cui vorrei citare l’ultimo viaggio che abbiamo fatto insieme in America, mi ha ricordato di quanto quest’inverno povero di neve abbia creato le condizioni ideali per andare a scalare al Caporal.

Ebbene, dal giorno del nostro incontro le sue parole iniziarono a bussarmi prepotenti tutte le mattine in cui vedevo il sole brillare nel cielo e mi tornava in mente Itaca. Mi sentivo bene nonostante la stagione comunque sempre più improntata sullo sci e al ghiaccio, piuttosto che agli allenamenti in arrampicata. Ma soprattutto, cosa più importante di tutte, mi si era riaccesa la fiamma.

Ed eccomi finalmente di nuovo sotto allo Specchio, con un grande amico e la voglia di rimettermi in gioco, la paura di essere respinta è tanta ma questa volta sento che qualcosa è diverso. Dopo soli due tentativi riesco a realizzare il lancio del primo muro di 8a e la gioia è tantissima perché non ho mai avuto sensazioni così belle come in quel momento. Mi sento viva, per la prima volta dopo tanto tempo so che è possibile!

La settimana dopo ritorniamo, questa volta la mia attenzione è per il muro di 8b, il Mostro, il fessurino quasi sempre cieco che non ti permette di respirare perché ogni respiro equivale a perdere l’equilibrio. E quindi lo affronto come in apnea, mi immergo in quel tunnel di appigli e incastri precari e trovo finalmente quella soluzione di continuità che non avevo trovato 3 anni prima.

Click Here: Pandora Jewelry

Mi sembra chiaro. Difficile, ma chiaro. Provo a fare un secondo giro con la corda dall’alto e salgo fluida concatenando i movimenti ma senza ben capire ancora come mettere la corda nei rinvii perché l’equilibrio si sa, è molto precario. Eppure succede… Non subito perché il viaggio deve essere vissuto ancora un po’ ed era ancora troppo presto. Al terzo tentativo sfilo la corda e parto guerriera, sono presuntuosa e bramo la cima, quindi vengo punita, sbaglio a prendere l’ultimo appiglio della sequenza difficile e cado.

Non ho più energie e lo so bene, sorrido ad Andrea che sembra quasi più dispiaciuto di me e gli spiego che è stato un mio errore di arroganza, che ci vuole tempo e ci avrei ritentato il giorno seguente.

Il giorno dopo, il 20 marzo, ho scritto la parola fine sul mio diario di viaggio, sono arrivata ad Itaca ed è stato tanto bello quanto assurdo riuscire a salire anche quella lunghezza con un’innaturale semplicità quando fino a qualche anno prima mi era sembrata completamente estranea e impossibile. D’altronde i viaggi più sono lunghi e tortuosi, più ti insegnano e ti rimangono impressi nella mente.

Io questo viaggio me lo ricorderò per sempre come anche la persona con cui ho sognato di partire, poi si sa, anche se i programmi cambiano bisogna saper andare avanti, e il viaggio continua…

Federica ringrazia:La Sportiva,Petzl, adidas eyewear e Sherpa Mountain Shop

Links:FB Federica Mingolla,IG Federica Mingolla, IG Federico Ravassard

A Campitello (TN) oro per Marcello Bombardi e Silvia Cassol nella seconda prova di Coppa Italia Lead. Argento per Francesco Vettorata e Claudia Ghisolfi, bronzo per Filip Schenk e Sara Avoscan.

Questo fine settimana 42 donne e 49 uomini si sono dati appuntamento a Campitello in Val di Fassa per la seconda tappa della Coppa Italia Lead. Dopo due intensi giorni di gara sulle vie tracciate da Alberto Gnerro, Leonardo di Marino e Nicola Milanese sulla parete d’arrampicata ADEL, sono saliti sul gradino più alto del podio Marcello Bombardi e Silvia Cassol.

Nella finale maschile Bombardi è riuscito a raggiungere il top insieme a Francesco Vettorata e Filip Schenk, e i tre sono stati spareggiati dal risultato della semifinale. Assente Stefano Carnati, il vincitore della prima tappa a Pero, come assente d’altronde anche Stefano Ghisolfi che si sta preparando in funzione delle qualifiche alle Olimpiadi.

In gara femminile ci sono da segnalare l’assenza di Laura Rogora ed i cinque top raggiunti da Cassol, Claudia Ghisolfi, Sara Avoscan, Ilaria Maria Scolaris e Sara Caramella. Come per gli uomini, le atlete sono state spareggiate dal risultato della semifinale, tranne Cassol e Ghisolfi che, avendo entrambe raggiunto i top delle vie delle qualifiche, semifinale e finale, sono state spareggiate dal tempo: 3:44 la salita di Cassol, 3:57 quella di Ghisolfi.

Il prossimo appuntamento con la Coppa Italia Lead il 15 settembre a Mecenate (MI).

Clicca qui per tutte le foto diEdoardo Limonta

Classifica 2° Prova Coppa Italia Lead
Femminile1 Silvia Cassol
2 Claudia Ghisolfi
3 Sara Avoscan
4 Ilaria Scolaris
5 Sara Caramella
6 Tello Rojas
7 Elisabeth Lardschneider
8 Camilla Bendazzoli
9 Sara Morandini
10 Jana Messner

11 Jenny Lavarda
12 Viola Battistella
13 Evi Niederwolfsgruber
14 Sofia Bellesini
15 Federica Papetti
16 Federica Mabboni
17 Angelika Rainer
18 Nora Rainer
19 Katrin Mair
20 Adelaide D’Addario
21 Valentina Arnoldi
22 Matilde Monticelli
23 Greta Zappini
24 Miriam Fogu
25 Jana Sanin
26 Rita Oltramari
27 Giulia Rosa
28 Martina Zanetti
29 Giulia Costaguta
29 Maja Gritsch
31 Giorgia Manzo
32 Ludovica Merendi
33 Giulia Luzzini
34 Giulia Previtali
35 Giuli De
36 Beatrice Colli
37 Valentina Lanaro
38 Sofia Molinaro
39 Gaia Pedretti
40 Anna Aldè
41 Anais Sandrini
42 Benedetta Lucarelli

Click Here: Liverpool Mens Jersey

Maschile
1 Marcello Bombardi
2 Francesco Vettorata
3 Filip Schenk
4 Nicolò Balducci
5 Giovanni Placci
6 Giorgio Tomatis
7 Alberto Gotta
8 Davide Picco
9 Cesero De
10 Luca Malosti

11 Lorenzo Sinibaldi
12 Alessandro Larcher
13 Davide Colombo
14 Simone Mabboni
15 Luca Bertacco
16 Davide Carena
17 Giorgio Bendazzoli
18 Nicolò Sartirana
19 Moritz Sigmund
20 David Piccolruaz
21 Pietro Vidi
22 Francesco Berardino
23 Anselmo Bazzani
24 Johannes Egger
25 ManildoAlessandro Pucci
26 Paolo Sterni
27 Patrick Tirler
28 Luca Camanni
29 Ludovico Fossali
30 Falcis De
31 Gabriele Giorgio
32 Gabriel Nori
32 Leonardo Gontero
34 Davide Zane
35 Andrea Tebaldi
36 Matteo Zurloni
36 Ennio Morganti
38 Jonathan Pallhuber
39 Alessandro Santoni
40 Andreas Cagol
41 Fistican Gini
42 Giacomo Camisasca
43 Riccardo Olivier
43 Filippo Rabaglia
45 Daniele Preti
46 Hannes Grasl
47 Andrea Lidonnici
48 Tommaso Camisasca
49 Alessandro Mele

Oggi il K2 è stato salito senza ossigeno supplementare da Adrian Ballinger e Carla Perez. Poco prima la cima della seconda montagna più alta della terra era stata raggiunta, però con l’utilizzo di ossigeno supplementare, da Nirmal Purja e dalla sua squadra di sherpa.

Proprio quando la stagione pre-monsonica sembrava perduta, quando la stragrande maggioranza dei team attivi sulla montagna aveva dato forfait a causa dellepericolosissime condizioni di neve sopra il Collo di Bottiglia, arriva la notizia che alcuniteam sono riusciti ad arrivare in cima al K2, con i suoi 8611 metri la seconda montagna piùalta della terra.

Oggi, ad arrivare in vetta senza ossigeno supplementare, sono stati Adrian Ballinger e CarlaPerez che stavano salendo la via Cesen con un gruppo di supporto composto da EstebanMena, Palden Namgye e Pemba Gelje Sherpa.Questitre sono giunti in cima,probabilmente con ossigeno supplementare.

Perfettamente acclimatati, hanno fatto squadra con il 35enne Nirmal Purja, nepalese dinascita ed ex Gurkha che con l’aiuto dell’ossigeno supplementare sta cercando di saliretutti i 14 ottomila in 7 mesi.

Arrivato al Campo Base solo due giorni fa Purja si era subito messo d’accordo con Ballinger,chiedendo di poter tentare per primo la sezione sopra il Colle di Bottiglia che aveva bloccato le precedenti spedizioni. Con Lakpadendi Sherpa, Gesman Tamang, ChangbaSherpa e Lakpa Temba Sherpa ha velocemente raggiunto il Camp 4 a 7950m,mentre ieri alle 22.20 sono partiti per la vetta, raggiunta senza intoppi alle 7:50 questamattina. Dai primi report, ancora da confermare, appare che il vento degli ultimi giorniabbia spazzato via la neve pericolosa nella sezione sopra il Colle di Bottiglia e che sulla viasiano state istallate corde fisse fino in cima.

Attualmente tutti i team sono in discesa e sono attesi al Campo Base per maggiori dettagli. Con questa cima Purja ha salito 10 ottomila in poco più di 3 mesi(precisiamo doverosamente: a quanto pare anche con l’uso di ossigeno supplementare). Ilsuoprossimo obiettivo sarà il Broad Peak.

View this post on Instagram

>

UPDATE: “We did it! I in C4. I can’t believe it. I crying a lot ” – Adrian This morning @carla.perez.ec & @adrianballinger summitted #K2 without supplemental oxygen along with teammates @estebantopomena @namgye and @pembageljesherpa // More details to follow. Thanks everyone! // #liveyouradventure //@eddiebauer // #K2NoO2 // @estebantopomena

A post shared by Adrian Ballinger (@adrianballinger) on


Click Here: Liverpool Mens Jersey

View this post on Instagram

>

. Fixing team lead by @nimsdai successfully stood on the summit of #K2 few moments ago, being the first to summit the deadly mountain K2 this season, while opening the route to the summit. . This was a huge joint effort from Team #BremontProjectPossible and @sevensummittreks. Fixing team members includes: Lakpadendi Sherpa, Gesman Tamang, Changba Sherpa and Lakpa Temba Sherpa. . @nimsdai said “Once again Project Possible team made the impossible possible, as a result of positive mindset with outmost determination, teamwork and leadership. Thank you for all for your immense support.” . Stay tuned for updates @sandro.g.h #nimsdai #believer #uksf #bremontprojectpossible #bremontwatches #S300 #14peaks7months #persistence #nolimits #humanendeavour #limitless #selfbelief #determination #positivemindset #beliveinyourself #thrudark #hamasteel #digi2al #everence #summitoxygen #inmarsat #alwaysalittlehigher

A post shared by Nirmal Purja MBE – Nimsdai (@nimsdai) on

Sabato 18 maggio si terrà una mobilitazione popolare contro il progettato sentiero per disabili in Val di Mello, organizzato dal Comitato per la tutela della Val di Mello, le guide alpine della Val di Mello, Mountain Wilderness Italia e International.

Mentre continua a salire l’impressionate numero di persone che hanno firmato l’appello contro il previsto allargamento di un sentiero in Val di Mello – attualmente sono ben oltre 56.000 firmatari – è stata organizzata per sabato 18 maggio una mobilitazione popolare contro il progetto ERSAF del sentiero per disabili in Val di Mello.

Quindi dopo l’immediato “no” al previsto allargamento di un sentiero per renderlo percorribile da carrozzine e accessibile ai disabili da parte del Movimento per la tutela della Val di Mello, delle Guide Alpine della Val di Mello, del Club Alpino Italiano, dei Ragni di Lecco e persino dall’associazione operatori Val Masino, adesso è stata organizzata questa manifestazione pacifica per ribadire ancora una volta la contrarietà al progetto. Tutti sono invitati a partecipare e la catena umana, si legge nel comunicato pubblicato sotto, sarà un “gesto pacifico e simbolico fatto da chi ha a cuore questo piccolo ma fortemente simbolico angolo di natura.

VAL DI MELLO SABATO 18 MAGGIO

Sabato 18 maggio, dalle ore 14 fino alle 18, tutti in Val di Mello (Valmasino, Sondrio), “in punta di piedi”, a difendere quella traccia di sentiero minacciata da un progetto che rischia di cancellare un percorso meraviglioso e ancora intatto, all’interno di una riserva naturale considerata tra le più belle d’Europa.

La “voce di protesta” che si è costituita spontaneamente chiede che non si intervenga sul versante sinistro orografico per realizzare una pista – di fatto una ciclabile – accessibile ai mezzi per disabili, ma che invece venga sistemata, con i fondi destinati al progetto, la pista agrosilvopastorale già esistente sul versante destro orografico, più soleggiato, più sicuro e già antropizzato; una pista che con pochissimi interventi diventerebbe percorribile con carrozzine e joelette negli orari in cui non è previsto il passaggio dei mezzi di approvvigionamento alle strutture della valle.
In questo modo verrebbero salvaguardati sia l’accessibilità ai disabili sia un ambiente naturale di rara bellezza, unico e prezioso, nel rispetto delle future generazioni che lo vivranno.

L’appuntamento è all’”Isola” nel tratto tra Ca’ di Carna e Cascina Piana, sul lato opposto del torrente, nell’ideale centro della Val di Mello.
Da lì con una catena umana andremo a disporci lungo quel percorso che non vogliamo venga alterato e deturpato.

Un gesto pacifico e simbolico fatto da chi ha a cuore questo piccolo ma fortemente simbolico angolo di natura.

Lasciamolo così, non tocchiamolo!

Vi aspettiamo.

Click Here: toulon rugby shop melbourne

Fontainebleau boulder festival per donne

August 15, 2019 | News | No Comments

Il video del primo boulder festival per donne che si è tenuto a Fontainebleau in Francia nel settembre 2018. Il prossimo Festival si svolgerà dal 28-29/09/2019.

Nel settembre del 2018 era stato organizzato a Fontainebleau in Francia il primo Festival del boulder dedicato esclusivamente alle donne.

Quasi 100 donne hanno partecipato al meeting, regalando all’organizzatrice dell’evento Zofia Reych alcuni ricordi fortissimi “… vedendo così tante donne insieme, alcune sulle rocce, altre a parare le amiche, magari facendo un po‘ di stretching o semplicemente chiacchierando e facendo spuntini, è stato un momento incredibile. I miei occhi hanno lacrimato perché la prima ragione per creare questo evento era semplicemente portare più donne nella foresta di Fontainebleau: è così normale andare in falesia e trovarti circondata soltanto da uomini, nessuna donna con cui relazionarsi e condividere esperienze. Naturalmente non c’è niente di sbagliato nel condividere queste cose con gli uomini, ci possiamo ispirare a vicenda indipendentemente dal sesso, ma c’è qualcosa di speciale nel vedere persone con cui puoi davvero identificarti. Le donne sono portatrici di così tanto bene nella nostra comunità e volevamo solo vederne di più qui a Fontainebleau. Vedere il settore Elephant praticamente invaso da un centinaia di donne è stato qualcosa di incredibile e davvero forte.”

Il prossimo Festival si svolgerà dal 28-29 / 09/2019. Per tutte le info: www.womensbouldering.com

Click Here: cheap kanken backpack

20 celebrities who got inked for love

August 14, 2019 | News | No Comments

Image credit: Getty Images

There is no denying that celebrities have a penchant for inking their love for their significant others on their bodies. While some couples do so in the early stages of their relationship, like Ashley Benson and Cara Delevingne, others get tattoos to celebrate anniversaries and various love-related milestones, like David and Victoria Beckham. 

It’s important to note that it isn’t always a wise idea to make such a permanent declaration, as not all love lasts the test of time. In their whirlwind six-month relationship, Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande amassed around 13 couple tattoos between them, many of which they have had covered up following their split.

However, it’s fair to say that when love does prevail, these markings make a heartfelt statement of an individual’s feelings towards their partner, and we are all for the celebration of love. To find out which celebrities have gotten tattoos for love, scroll on. 

Image credit: Instagram.com/mr.k_tattoo

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner 

One year after they announced their engagement, and just months before their Las Vegas chapel wedding, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner made a trip to Bang Bang Tattoo in New York City, to permanently ink their love for each other on their bodies by way of a Toy Story quote. Jonas had the words “To infinity” tattooed on his wrist, and Turner had “& beyond” etched onto hers (above). The pair also have matching portraits of their late dog Waldo tattooed on their forearms.

Image credit: Instagram.com/jonboytattoo

Ashley Benson and Cara Delevingne

Although it has only been just over one year since Ashley Benson and Cara Delevingne were first romantically linked, the pair already have a number of tattoos dedicated to one another on their bodies. Delevingne has a red “A” inked on her ribcage, and Benson has a “CD” on hers. The font of Delevingne’s tattoo has fans of the pair convinced that it also serves as a reference to Pretty Little Liars, the cult TV show that catapulted Benson into the spotlight. The villain of the show is referred to as “A” throughout the course of the series. Most recently, celebrity tattoo artist JonBoy debuted Benson’s latest edition, a tattoo that references the pet name she gave her model girlfriend. Located on her hip, the ink reads “squish” (above).

Image credit: Instagram.com/chrissyteigen

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend

One of Hollywood’s favourite couples, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, went the extra mile and each got inked with a cursive script that is dedicated to both each other, and their two children, Luna Simone Stephens, three, and Miles Theodore Stephens, one. Tattoo artist Daniel Winter tattooed the words “johnlunamiles” onto Teigen’s forearm, and “chrissylunamiles” onto Legend’s (above).

Image credit: Getty Images

Beyoncé and Jay-Z 

Beyoncé and Jay-Z both have the Roman numeral for “4” tattooed on their ring fingers. The number reportedly references their birthdays, as Beyoncé was born on September 4, and Jay-Z was born on December 4. Following the Jay-Z cheating scandal, and the release of Lemonade in 2017, fans noticed Beyoncé had a line added to her ink, which looks to be connecting the “I” and “V”. While the reason behind this edit is still unknown, some people have speculated that it may serve to represent the strengthening of their bond as husband and wife.

Image credit: Instagram.com/jonboytattoo

Justin and Hailey Bieber

In November 2018, Page Six reported that both Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber had gotten tattoos dedicated to each other. “They each got a tattoo,” celebrity tattoo artist Bang Bang told the publication. “Justin’s tattoo is on his face, and I haven’t seen any photos of it — so he’s doing a good job of laying low. It’s really thin and delicate. And [it’s] also not a traditional couples’ tattoo,” he added. Tattoo artist JonBoy later revealed Justin’s ink on Instagram, which reads “grace” above his right eyebrow (above). As for what Hailey got inked? We are yet to find out.

Image credit: Instagram.com/davidbeckham

David and Victoria Beckham

David and Victoria Beckham, who recently celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary, have a number of tattoos dedicated to each on their bodies. The soccer player has his wife’s name tattooed across his right hand, as well as the number “99” on his right pinky finger (above), in reference to the year they were married. The tattoo-clad athlete also had 10 roses inked on this arm in celebration of the couple’s 10-year wedding anniversary in 2009. In celebration of their sixth wedding anniversary, the Beckhams both had “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine” tattooed on themselves in Hebrew, and to mark the renewal of their vows on May 8, 2006, they added the numerals “VIII-V-MMVI” to their bodies. The fashion designer also has her husband’s initials tattooed on the inside of her left wrist. 

Image credit: Getty Images

Dakota Johnson and Chris Martin

Just nine months after Dakota Johnson and Chris Martin were first romantically linked, the pair were spotted with matching tattoos. The Fifty Shades of Grey actress debuted the ink – an infinity symbol complete with two X’s above her left elbow – at the 2018 Venice Film Festival, just days after Martin was seen with a similar tattoo in the same location. 

Image credit: Instagram.com/adamlevine

Adam Levine

In 2017, Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine had the words “true love” tattooed on his knuckles (above) by tattoo artist, Bryan Randolph. His wife, Victoria’s Secret model Behati Prinsloo, took to  Instagram Stories to share that she too was getting a tattoo on the same day. While Levine’s ink was dedicated to Prinsloo, the model had her daughter’s name “Dusty” tattooed onto her forearm.

Image credit: Instagram.com/jonboytattoo

Ashley Graham 

Click Here: Discount Golf Appare

According to Teen Vogue, at a party celebrating Revlon’s Live Boldly campaign, model Ashley Graham had her husband Justin Ervin’s initials tattooed behind her ear (above) by celebrity tattoo artist, JonBoy. 

Image credit: Getty Images

Kelly Ripa

Actress and Live! with Kelly and Ryan co-host Kelly Ripa has her husband of 23 years, Mark Consuelos’s, last name tattooed on the inside of her wrist.

Image credit: Instagram.com/daxshepard

Dax Shepard

Dax Shepard has a bell tattooed on his ring finger, a symbol of his wife Kristen Bell’s surname. The actor also has a “K” tattoo, as well as an “L” and a “D” for his children, Delta Bell Shepard, four, and Lincoln Shepard, six.

Image credit: Instagram.com/benjaminmadden

Benji Madden

Good Charlotte guitarist Benji Madden, who married What Happens In Vegas actress Cameron Diaz in 2015, has his wife’s name tattooed in large script across his chest. The musician debuted the ink on Instagram shortly after their nuptials, captioning the post: “Thinking bout you ❤️❤️❤️ #LuckyMan”

How to pull off the ultimate Cinderella act

August 14, 2019 | News | No Comments

Doe-eyed Diana Matsur is a young model fresh from post-Soviet Bellarus. Barely speaking English, let alone French, here she was on photographed her first Paris haute couture season casting circuit. Arriving on set in her T-shirt and shorts, she was the very vision of the girl-next-door. Then, when she put on that tulle dress, there she was, on the romantic streets of St Germain, transformed. She’d pulled it off an instant Cinderella act.

Above: model wears Alexander Arutyunov dress and Tibi bodysuit.

While the runways of haute couture week are all about such fairytale transformations, the professional woman is expected of nothing less than a Cinderella act on a weekly, maybe bi-weekly, basis. Dressed in the sombre, matte shades of her office pant suits by day, she is to emerge from the sliding glass doors in equal parts femme fatale and gentlewoman – implicitly sexy and effortlessly put together. 

Above: model wears Zadig & Voltaire top, Romance Was Born dress, Marine Serre tights.

Most of us secretly want to walk into the work party and have co-workers and friends jaw-drop, incredulously asking themselves, “is that Jan?”. But a basic Cinderella act is not as acrobatic as all that. Almost any tailored ensemble with a fitted silhouette will go from day to night and back again – think the shift dress, skinny pantsuit, or blazer. For the finishing touch, pop on those statement earrings in your desk drawer, and change into the black pumps next to your seat, faithfully at the ready for just such occasions. Formal and feminine are almost synonymous: a cinched waist, tapered leg, and pointed toe. Voila!

Above: model wears Stand Official jacket, stockings as belt, Tibi shoes.

But this routine does not a true Cinderella act make. If the purpose was simply to hit the minimum requirement of appropriately dressed, then we can get by with a wardrobe of one indistinguishable black mass of various iterations of the LBD.

Above: model wears Toni Maticevski top, Marine Serre tights, By Far sandals.

Is transformation relegated to the exclusive domain of the red carpet beings of the Oscars and the Met Gala? But of course, we too, dream. Let us assume that once in a while, the after work drinks outfit switcheroo is taken out of the equation. What would you wear? Now you’re in the realm of the high-gloss metallics, diaphanous chiffons and the parties, well and truly, in the back. It’s the moment to find your nocturnal alter ego.

Above: model wears Toni Maticevski dress, Alighieri earrings, Jimmy Choo shoes.

Have a gown or two in your arsenal with clouds of tulle, gravity-defying ruffles, or those side splits that show off just enough. But don’t be afraid to deal in separates that encroach into your daytime repertoire. Break the rules. Think a light refracting going out top with your fitted office pants and a barely-there sandal. Layer a sheer dress over a collared shirt. Show off those curves in a pair of slick biker shorts. Wielding the element of surprise, go forth and change their minds forever in your own Cinderella act.

Above: model wears Amédée Paris scarf, Alain Mikli sunglasses, Zadig & Voltaire top, Amiri jeans, Jerome Dreyfuss‎ bag, Balenciaga shoes. 

Photographed by Jiawa Liu, styled by Eugenia Book, production assisted by Jinjiibadam Gankhuu, hair and make-up by Martina Gentili.

This is a blog by Jiawa Liu of Beige Renegade. Visit the blog here, or see Jiawa’s Instagram here. 

Click Here: Discount Golf Appare

Julius: The Story of a Premature Birth

August 14, 2019 | News | No Comments

The first hint that something was going wrong with Zoraida’s pregnancy came on the morning of Thursday, May 20, 2004. I got out of bed early to attend to our eighteen-month-old son, Marcus, who had woken up coughing. A few minutes later, Zoraida emerged from our bedroom. “I’m soaked,” she said, clutching at her pajamas. She called her obstetrician, and I got Marcus, who was still coughing, ready to see the pediatrician. At the time, we were both more concerned about Marcus’s condition than Zoraida’s. She’d just had her five-month checkup, at which she’d been told that everything was fine. We even had a series of smudgy gray closeups of Julius’s head and organs, like photographs of a poltergeist, to prove it. Marcus, on the other hand, had suffered from asthma symptoms for much of April, and the heavy spring pollen was giving him trouble. We hailed a cab and stopped first at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, where Zoraida had been instructed to go. Then Marcus and I went on to the pediatrician’s office, on the East Side.

Click Here: cheap pandora Rings

Marcus’s ears and lungs were clear, and he was having no difficulty breathing. It was a cold; that was all. The pediatrician gave us a sample of Benadryl and sent us home. However, back at our apartment, in Inwood, there was a voice message from Zoraida telling me to come to the triage area of the Children’s Hospital. “It’s not good news,” she said. “The doctor will explain.” I feared that Zoraida would have to spend the next three months on bed rest. Marcus and I went back downstairs and took our second cab ride to the hospital.

NewYork-Presbyterian is like a city within a city. It occupies a half-dozen blocks around Broadway and Fort Washington Avenue, south of the George Washington Bridge. The streets are full of doctors, medical students, nurses, and E.M.S. workers. The Children’s Hospital, where Zoraida was waiting for me, sits on the corner of 165th Street and Broadway. It is a new building, made of sand-colored stone and shimmering glass. That morning, the ground-floor atrium was hosting a health fair for kids. Flocks of grade-schoolers were being shepherded into the building to join the carnival of noise in the atrium. Marcus and I made our way through the din to the main desk, where I was informed that I could not proceed with a toddler. That was a blow. Why wouldn’t they let Marcus in? Then I remembered the word “triage” in Zoraida’s message. Emergency rooms were no place for children. They were also no place for pregnant women who were doing just fine.

I called Zoraida’s sister, Wilma, who lived nearby, to see if she could look after Marcus, who, by then, had succumbed to the Benadryl and was asleep in his stroller. I told Wilma to meet me at Coogan’s, an Irish saloon on Broadway and 169th Street. While Marcus dozed, I sat at the bar, sipped a pint of Guinness, and ate a sandwich. The place had just opened and, except for the bartender, I was alone with my thoughts. I tried to prepare myself for the worst. I actually said that to myself: “Be prepared for the worst.” But what did that mean? That we’d lose the baby? As long as my sister-in-law didn’t show up, I wouldn’t have to find out.

Eventually, Wilma came to collect Marcus, and I walked back to the hospital and went up to the tenth floor. There I was directed to a wide, windowless door that led to the triage ward, a clean, quiet corridor with a nurse’s station at the end. A nurse looked up from her computer screen and directed me to one of the half-open doors. Behind the door was a sun-filled room where my wife was sitting up in bed.

“I’m three centimetres dilated,” she said. Her face contorted as she tried not to cry. “He’s coming out. I’m sorry, Jon. There’s nothing we can do.”

She explained, and then the obstetrician came in and explained it again. Zoraida’s cervix had started to open. Now that it had begun dilating, there was no going back. The amniotic sac had been exposed, and there was a serious risk of infection to the mother and the fetus. Julius was too premature to survive outside the womb.

For some time, I sat on the bed, holding my wife and absorbing the news. Ridiculously, a scene from the movie “Titanic,” which had been released during our first year together, and which Zoraida had only gone to see with me against her will, kept replaying in my mind. Late in the movie, after the ship has struck the iceberg, Kate Winslet encounters the Titanic’s designer on the stairs. He looks at her and says, “In an hour or so, all this will be at the bottom of the Atlantic.” I started weeping.

The obstetrician returned some time later to explain our options. Each was worse than the one before. The first option was to wait, to see if Julius might stay inside Zoraida until he reached a more viable age. He was twenty-two weeks and three days old. At that time, the earliest a premature baby could be born with some expectation of survival was twenty-four weeks. Even then, Julius’s chances would be slim, and there was the likelihood of severe brain damage. It wasn’t until twenty-six weeks that a premature child might be expected to live with a good chance of normal development. We’d fallen a month short. The doctor cautioned us again that waiting might result in infection to the mother and the child, and, given that Zoraida was three centimetres dilated, the possibility that we would make it through the weekend—never mind the next eleven days—was small, indeed.

The second option was not to wait but to induce labor. Zoraida would deliver Julius with the knowledge that he likely wouldn’t survive.

The third option was a late, second-trimester abortion. The doctor, sensing our mood, did not give us a description of this procedure. We questioned her at length about the details of the first two options. She answered every question and then left us, saying we could take as long as we needed. We could stay in the hospital overnight if we didn’t want to decide until the morning.

We agreed, without much discussion, that the only course of action we wanted was to induce labor. “You know what’s killing me?” Zoraida said, touching her belly. “As long as he’s in here, he’s safe. Why can’t he just stay in there?”

When informed of our decision, the obstetrician said that she would need to speak to hospital administrators to be sure that this would not pose a problem. Our son was on the cusp of being viable outside the womb. If he came out breathing, would the hospital be compelled to attempt to resuscitate him when he died? An hour later, the obstetrician returned. “I’ve spoken to just about everyone in this building,” she said. “Your decision is fine.” She told us that we would be taken to a delivery room and that Zoraida would be given a drug to accelerate labor.

It was late afternoon. I went downstairs to get something to eat and to make some calls to our families. Then I went back up. Zoraida’s delivery room was like the studio apartment that everyone in New York dreams of having: high ceilings, honey-colored wood flooring, and a wide picture window overlooking Washington Heights, the Hudson River, and the midtown skyline.

Our decision made, we entered a brief state of blissful denial. We were feeling relieved about having made this terrible bargain, without yet having to face the consequences. It still seemed, somehow, that everything might be all right. There was time yet for a miracle. Perhaps Julius was more advanced than we thought. Perhaps he would survive and thrive, against all odds. We did not speak these thoughts, but, as I sat beside my wife on the bed, we talked, even making a few jokes. It was during these moments that Zoraida and I placed our hands on her belly and felt Julius kick for the last time.

A nurse came in and talked to us about what to expect. She told us what the baby would look like at this age, warned us that his eyes would be closed and that he might not take a breath. She asked us what we wanted to do with the body. She took our address and other information and then left us alone. Beyond the window, the sun was setting, and the lights of the city were coming on.

And so we waited for the drugs to take effect, waited for the contractions to begin. Perhaps the most disquieting part of the experience was that it was exactly like Marcus’s delivery, except that we knew from the start that Julius would not survive. I held my wife’s hand, held her leg, told her to breathe. I told her she was doing great, because she was doing great. She was being incredibly brave. I watched the monitor and called out the contractions as they began and faded. The only difference was that, during Marcus’s birth, the amplified heartbeat was with us through the entire labor, a goad, and solace. This time, we could not hear the fetal heartbeat.

I kept coaching Zoraida through the contractions, but my attention was increasingly drawn to Julius. I’d forgotten that he was breech, and I tried to discern his head; soon enough, I realized my mistake and saw that he was coming out ass first and bent double. On the next contraction, his legs were released, and, on the following, his head. His umbilical cord was wrapped twice around his neck, and the obstetrician unwound it like a sailor working a rope. His body could be held comfortably in her hand, with his legs and head flopping slightly with the gentle movement of her unwinding. On the downstroke, I thought I saw his mouth open, as if he were trying to breathe. Then the umbilical was cut and he was gone, taken to a nearby cart, with no word from the doctor. There followed the second part of the labor, in which the placenta was expelled. A moment later, the doctor told us that Julius had shown no sign of life, that he had died either during delivery or immediately after.

Some time passed before we got to hold him. We must have been talking to the doctor or the nurse, because I remember that I kept looking over at the little cart where he lay, covered by a swaddling cloth. He was so small that I could not see the outline of his body among the folds of the cloth. The nurse wrapped him the same way Marcus had been wrapped and brought him to us, with only his face showing. His skin, mottled purple and red, felt recognizably like skin, though cooler. He looked like Marcus. They had the same face shape, the same small nose, the same cleft chin. His head was bald, except for a few stray curls near the eyebrows. As we had been told, his eyes were closed. Zoraida cradled him in her arms, talking to him very much as if he were alive.

She handed him to me and I started weeping a quiet but unstoppable stream of tears. I felt the weight of all that we had lost with him.

Zoraida said, “Don’t you want to take him to the window?” I did, very much. I walked him across the room and held him up before the panorama of the midtown skyline at night. “This is New York City,” I said. “This is where you were born.”

For a quick lesson in how political insults are born, look no further than Fredo. On Monday night, the name was trending on Twitter, thanks to a viral video showing an altercation between the CNN anchor Chris Cuomo and a guy at a bar in Shelter Island, New York. The man had called Cuomo “Fredo,” having apparently picked up the nickname from “The Rush Limbaugh Show.” “Punk-ass bitches from the right call me Fredo,” Cuomo retorts, getting in the man’s grill. “My name is Chris Cuomo. I’m an anchor on CNN. Fredo is from ‘The Godfather.’ He was the weak brother.” Cuomo goes on, “They’re using it as an Italian aspersion. Any of you Italian? Are you Italian? It’s a fucking insult to your people. It’s an insult to your people. It’s like the N-word for us. Is that a cool fucking thing?” The man stammers, claiming that he thought it was Cuomo’s actual name, and Cuomo explains, “You call me Fredo, it’s like I call you ‘punk bitch.’ You like that?”

Cuomo’s detractors were soon posting videos of CNN commentators using “Fredo” to diss Representative Devin Nunes and Donald Trump, Jr., as proof of Cuomo’s hypocrisy. Sean Hannity offered an unlikely defense, saying that Cuomo “has zero to apologize for.” CNN backed up Cuomo, too, stating that he had been “verbally attacked with the use of an ethnic slur,” which prompted Trump, Jr., to call Cuomo’s self-justification an “excuse just as fake as his news.” Conservatives gleefully decried the false equivalency between “Fredo” and the N-word. The gun-rights advocate Dana Loesch tweeted, “Is Fredo a pejorative? Yes. It refers to the dumbest Corleone. Is it racist? No. . . . This is all so mind-numbingly idiotic.” Just when you thought things couldn’t get more mind-numbingly idiotic, the President of the United States, aroused on Tuesday morning by the smell of a fresh taunt, weighed in. “I thought Chris was Fredo also,” he tweeted. “The truth hurts.”

Political metaphor tends to flatten all cultural references. Kabuki theatre, a rich and venerable art form dating back to seventeenth-century Japan, has become Washington speak for “empty spectacle.” “Groundhog Day,” the genius existential Bill Murray comedy, is code for “mindless repetition.” It’s dismaying to see Fredo Corleone, brilliantly played by John Cazale in “The Godfather” and “The Godfather: Part II,” reduced to a political weapon, deployed in a disingenuous spat over what constitutes racist hate speech. Trump, Jr., was likely embracing the chance to fling the nickname at someone else and make it stick, having been dubbed the Fredo of the Trump family since his father rose to political power. (For my money, I get more of a Fredo vibe from Eric Trump. Don, Jr., is more like the hot-headed Sonny, with Ivanka as the stealthy, power-hungry Michael, and Tiffany as Connie, the little sister who mostly sits on the sidelines.)

The implication of calling someone Fredo, like that of the alt-right insult “cuck,” is of weakness, specifically a failure to live up to the masculine ideal. But Fredo is more of a complex, tragic figure than political mudslinging would allow. In Mario Puzo’s original novel, Vito Corleone’s second son is described as “a child every Italian prayed to the saints for. Dutiful, loyal, always at the service of his father, living with his parents at age thirty. He was short and burly, not handsome but with the same Cupid head of the family, the curly helmet of hair over the round face and sensual bow-shaped lips.” Cazale, whom Francis Ford Coppola and his casting director, Fred Roos, spotted in the Off Broadway play “Line,” looked nothing like that: he was drawn out and pale, with a forehead notably lacking in curls. And yet he fit the character perfectly. Cazale, one of the great (and undersung) character actors of the nineteen-seventies, excelled at showing weakness, cowardice, and pettiness. He was usually cast alongside a more robust leading man, whether it be Al Pacino (in the “Godfather” movies and “Dog Day Afternoon”), Gene Hackman (in Coppola’s “The Conversation”), or Robert De Niro (in “The Deer Hunter”). But he never reduced his characters to their most mockable flaws, infusing his performances with understated humor, sweetness, and melancholy. Think of him as the slow-witted accomplice to Pacino’s bank robber in “Dog Day Afternoon.” When Pacino asks him if there’s any special country he wants to escape to, Cazale whispers, “Wyoming.” The line—both funny and heartbreakingly innocent—was Cazale’s ad lib.

Coppola had a soft spot for Fredo, who reminded him of his less accomplished uncles. “I think Italians that come from that little-town mentality are very hard on their own, and very cruel unto those who don’t quite cut the mustard at the same level that the star brothers or the star uncles do,” the director once said. In “The Godfather,” Cazale gave Fredo that sense of well-meaning haplessness, as when he fails to protect his father from an assassination attempt at the market. The second “Godfather” film brought Fredo into the foreground (not his natural place in the family portrait) and deepened him. Fredo’s involvement in a bungled attempt on Michael’s life (“I know it was you”), which leads Michael to succumb to his darkest instincts and commit fratricide, is at the movie’s tragic core, and it gives Cazale the most beautifully acted scenes of his career. The most iconic is the brothers’ conversation in the boathouse, when Fredo pitifully pleads for respect: “Send Fredo off to do this. Send Fredo off to do that. Let Fredo take care of some Mickey Mouse night club somewhere. . . . I can handle things! I’m smart! Not like everybody says!” Cazale delivers this feckless rant with wide-eyed rage and self-pity, flopping up and down in his lounge chair like a beached guppy.

But my favorite moment comes just before he’s whacked, as he sits with his young nephew Anthony by the lake with their fishing gear. Fredo recalls the time when he was a kid and went fishing with his father and brothers, and he was the only one to catch a fish—the secret, he tells Anthony, is to say a Hail Mary every time you put your line down. It’s probably the only time Fredo ever outshone his brothers, and you get the sense that he would have led a perfectly content life if he’d been born into a clan of, say, mild-mannered dentists. Fredo’s death is as wrenching as it is only because we care so deeply about him—he’s pathetic, sure, but he has reserves of humanity that he never got to express, holding himself to an impossible yardstick of power and violence when all he wanted to do was go fishing.

Like the character he became famous for, Cazale had a knack for getting passed over. He made only five films, but each was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Cazale never got a nomination. He died, from cancer, in 1978, at the age of forty-two, with his girlfriend, Meryl Streep, at his bedside. If there’s any solace in seeing Fredo become a political slingshot ball, it’s that Cazale’s portrayal is indelible enough to merit the attention. More than four decades later, Fredo’s still not getting any respect, but at least he’s getting noticed.

Click Here: cheap pandora Rings