IM Italian magazine issue summer 2022

R&B

TRIBUTE TO FRANK LAFARO

Issue Summer 2022/EN

PRINCESS ON THE COVER

YP ASSMIN

UCCI

ENERGETIC ART BY

SIDRA

THE FUSION SOUND OF ANDREA ALGIERI

THE IMAGES HUNTER

ANDREA CUSCUNÀ

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Artist writers :

Roberto Sironi

M.G. Pia

Susanna Casubolo

Fabrizio Catalfamo

I’m Italian magazine ( ISSN 2688-0601 - online 2688-061X) is published quartetly by Hoffmann & Hoffmann Inc, 32082 Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA. © 2021 HOFFMANN & HOFFMANN Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited.

Editor on chief : Fabrizio Catalfamo

Photo credits : Agency: Luisa Mancinelli Manag/ Andrea Cuscuna`.

Graphic work by IM Italian Team Magazine Distribution by PDG International / PO Box 181- Allamuchy, NJ07820- Phone +1- 908 -813-8511 fax +1 908 813-8512 info@pdgmags.com www.pdgmags.com

(F. Guzzardi)

INDEX

38 06

THE FUSION SOUND OF ANDREA ALGIERI

PRACTICE ITALIAN

12

THE ENERGETIC ART OF SIDRA

Tribute to Frank Lafaro 20

48

The family law of karma chapter III

Made in Italy

26 Subscriptions in Amazon.com - www. imitalianmagazine.com Advertise in IM Italian magazine : info@imitalianmagazine.com

54The image hunter 62The art of living 66World

68 SOCIAL 70 FREE TIME 74 POSTING ABOUT REALITY

Y

assmin

Pucci

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THE INTERWIEW BY SUSANNA CASUBOLO

PAGE

PRACTICE ITALIAN

A PRACTICE ITALIAN

by Mariagrazia Pia

few days before the feast of the Italian Republic (on June 2, 1946 there were the first universal suffrage votes, including female suffrage), I wonder what it really means to be Italian: we are still parochialists, linked to our country village or to the city of province or regional capital, we belong to our single Region, yet, as well as Italians, we are in Europe, among the founders of this idea which was by G. Mazzini (Young Italy and Young Europe), both conceived in the first half of the 19th century by a republican like him, who had, in spite of himself, to accept that the Unification took place through the kings of Savoy and that Italy was a monarchy!

In short, being Italian means being republicans, Catholics, partisans, anti-fascists, pro-Europeans, workers, because the new constitution since 1948 states that our Republic is founded on work, a right, not just a duty and if there is no work, it is unconstitutional, State must guarantee it! Is it really so?

Then there is the family! This entity that cannot be questioned, can expand, shrink, can accept that the guardians of minors are called only parents and not father and mother, but it is always family! Instead, the Latin origin of the term gave to the pater familias, the head of the family, the power over wives, children, animals, things, slaves and family did not mean consanguinity, but property, the property of those “famoli” or servants, slaves!

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PRACTICE ITALIAN

Here is homeland, family, God: we are still fascists if we believe that these values are ​​ Italian, if we still have in mind the plow and the sword that defends the furrow, if we navigate between work ethic and military defense!

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ou cannot be an Italian if you do not have this obsessive sense of family, which even the Nobel laureate Pirandello at the beginning of the twentieth century had already clarified as a source of madness, hypocrisy, humiliation and Freud had made it the cause of every future action of the child. raised and cared for or mistreated in this family! The pessimism of Verga still sanctifies it, finds a redemption in regaining all that has been lost by the youngest son of the Malavoglias, Alessi (Toscano was the real surname of the protagonists, but by analogy or contrast the nicknames were born, as a penalty of the Dante’s retaliation used by the people)! Svevo jokes about the family with Zeno’s Conscience 1925, Pascoli, however, after too many losses, leaves us the idea that it is necessary to rebuild the family nest, even morbidly with the sisters and not with other women. The poet from Trieste Saba in the section “Il piccolo Berto” of his Canzoniere remembers himself as a small boy, loved more by the Jewish nurse than by the affective mother and jealous of that affection, who took the nurse away from him, abandoned by his father, tied to Trieste and his wife , compared to all mild animals and loyal to their owners. The wife was offended and I think not wrongly!

Mariagrazia P{ia

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If one is an atheist, can he call himself Italian? If he is of another religion he is certainly tolerated, included, not discriminated against, he now has an alternative to teaching the Catholic Religion at school! If an individual is against private property, as the mother of all injustices, as J.J. Rousseau (Essay on inequality) seems to be against Life, as if property were an inalienable right, as natural as the right to Life.

But to which life?

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PRACTICE ITALIAN

We are a people of artists, writers, poets, musicians, navigators, inventors, scientists, geniuses and even brigands, people who know how to get by and even at the expense of others .... no more than other peoples, in this case ... we are still the soft spot of Europe, as of the Rome-Berlin AXIS and the landing of the Allies in Sicily to free the south from Nazifascism was a new Spedizione dei Mille…. Italy was again broken in two by allied liberation in the south and partisan wars and massacres in the center north!

We are everything and the opposite of everything, we know, we can be nuns and prostitutes at the same time and in the same place, literally and metaphorically, but we know it, we have a sense of guilt or pride, we are reflective and certainly more self-harming than aggressive of many other peoples, even when we colonized, even when we applied racial laws! We are a people that over the centuries has mixed with too many other peoples to be well identified: from the Italic peoples, to the Celts, the Phoenicians and the colonizing Greeks, to the conquering Romans, to the Germans who have plundered and dominated us, (Vandals, Lombards, Franks, Normans, Swabians), from the Arabs, to the French, from the Spaniards to the Austrians ... we call ourselves Italians for literature!

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2JUNE

PRACTICE ITALIAN

The Savoy who unified us spoke French or Piedmontese and Italian was also an artificial, literary language for the tragic poet V. Alfieri, like Latin!

Ignorance does not recognize it, but if Latin universalized, it globalized, as did the Greek before from the time of Alexander the Great up to the Byzantines of the Eastern Empire (which only fell into the hands of the Ottoman Turks in 1453) ... l ‘Literary Italian is the only true unit from the thirteenth century onwards: difficult, with its history, its genres, even the gory and scandalous ones, which never enter school anthologies, as for Greek and Latin texts, which would to pale anyone today in art or in videos, in literature who wants to be provocative, anti-traditionalist, on the other hand it is fresh water compared to what Greeks, Latin and even Italians wrote in poetic, tragic, prose verses….

In short, how can we call ourselves Italians if not recognizing that only the Italian language makes us such, not religion (“Catholic” means “universal”), not Europeanist politics, (woe to say that we would like to get out of it, only the Great Britain, but for us it seems an offense to the sense of modesty), not membership of NATO or the UN or the WHO! If you want to be Italian, I tell my Italian students, learn Italian!

If you can, realize how mixed your blood is ...

How much history flows in this boot that many have worn and then thrown away when it was no longer needed.

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ART

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ART

THE ENERGETIC ART OF

BY ROBERTO SIRONI

SIDRA Piera Demurtas is first of all a dreamer who materializes her thoughts on paper in the form of writing or drawing. This peculiarity can have its negative and positive sides. I have not always lived it to the fullest, especially in adolescence, but growing up, she has given me so much satisfaction. I think admitting I’m a dreamer is the clear demonstration of mental, emotional and creative freedom that has allowed me to be Sidra today.

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ART

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Sardinian

T

ell us about your artistic origins.

At home I always sang and shared this passion with my older sister, who is also a singer. She started very early to perform on stages and to make her music known before her in Sardinia and now internationally. I enjoyed following her during her concerts, I was in the backstages or, sometimes, it happened to be one of her choristers. I observed his movements on stage, listened and assimilated, until, then, thanks to the victory of the “Piccolo Festival del Cantautore” competition, I landed during the Abbabbula Festival in the splendid location of Monte D’Accoddi, opening the concert of the Baustelle. From that moment began my journey as a singer-songwriter, a journey that unravels until today, a more mature and concrete path where I try to make my music known.

You are Sardinian: what is Sardinia for you? Is it just an island or something more?

Sardinia is a wonderful, magical place with very strong traditions. I have been living for a few years in Alghero, a fantastic city, but my origins are in the hinterland, precisely a village called Bitti, in the province of Nuoro. I am proud of my Sardinia but I must admit that being born on an island has positive and negative aspects. Sardinia is capable of giving a lot and at the same time taking away a lot. The very fact of being an island penalizes a lot of the possibility of expanding your catchment area, of moving to other places, and consequently of making yourself known. Of course now the internet facilitates this, but it is not quite the same thing. Being able to travel to the rest of the continent and play live is an emotional experience that remains etched in both the player’s and the listener’s mind.

In short, insularity places objective limits, also linked to the finances of a musician or a band. From an artistic point of view, I would like to see more communication and collaboration between us Sardinians.

I would like healthy and productive cooperation, which in my opinion is difficult to find on the island. For the rest, I believe that Sardinia has a lot to teach

ART

about important values ​​that have shaped my character, such as determination.

Whatever we decide to do, we carry it out with honesty, firmness, reasonableness and seriousness. I cannot help but appreciate this human side that I have found in very few places.

What is music for you, just the stage, or is it also something else?

Music

is sharing! Within this artistic sharing there are many variables, including a veiled form of help and a request to listen.

Music is freedom of expression! The ancestral possibility of telling and stirring consciences while you analyze and let your most hidden soul blossom. It is not just a stage, it is an intrinsic force in the fibers of the human being and the world we inhabit.

There can be no world without music, nature itself if we listen to it carefully, it sings and composes melodies since its creation.

You are also a painter! In 2021 you won the Fabrizio De André Prize in the painting section with one of your works, “Donna con burca”!

Yes, I am deeply honored by this award.

Drawing, unlike the music that has had others and bases in my life, has always kept me company. I must admit that until some time ago I kept my painting skills a little hidden and I still wonder why I did it. I connect this to the discourse linked to the educational, social and scholastic system of our generation, which somehow admitted, but did not he quite welcomed creativity as a form of intelligence, considering it almost a “vacuous” alternative to more material work. In short, a virtuous form of creativity that could be seen as a hobby but not as a real job. I always drew, even while I was carrying out my studies in biological sciences; apparently it has nothing to do with art, but in reality it was itself the promoter of my artistic skills. I have always studied drawing, I listen better by drawing, I perceive more by drawing, even if since elementary school, they considered it a form of distraction, while for me it was a form of concentration.

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ART

SIDRA

C

an you tell us about the work and your feelings after winning such a prestigious award?

Donna con burca wants to be a message of hope and strength. She describes women who are unable to express themselves, their abilities, their intelligence, their dreams and their imagination. They are women who, however, with their pain teach us strength.

Women who bend but do not break, women who carry on with dignity, day after day. They are hidden women, or rather, women who are hidden by those who are afraid of comparing themselves as equals, of looking them in the eye.

The feeling I get after winning such a prestigious award is first and foremost that of disbelief. Every time I think about it I say "I don't believe it" and smile. This award, which arrived in a particular period of my life, was an incentive to go forward and to understand with joy that my pictorial expression is able to reach people directly.

What is painting for you?

It is a complete immersion in the pages of one's own inner book. It is a form of reflection that has no rules and that finds its logic in the imagination. When I paint I have to be alone, I don't admit other presences. I do not take a brush when I am upset, I only do it when the storm inside me is over to try to best describe it in its facets.

For me, painting is not an instant outlet, it is a form of mental metabolism.

In music and painting who are your teachers? Who are you inspired by? Are there any particular genres you feel most comfortable with?

In music I have had and still have different influences, I cannot define exactly who my teacher may have been. I can say that I have always been inspired by female characters such as Pj Harvey, Patty Smith, Cat woman, Courtney Love, Siouxie.

Over time I learned to refine the palate and listen to other genres such as opera: Cecilia Bartoli, Maria Callas, Montserrat Caballè. Today I “drug” with Agnes Obel, Larkin Poe, Càssie Eller, and many others, with different genres and styles. The musical genre with which I feel most at ease I would not know how to mention, I am still in the full phase of experimentation and I try to combine different styles as much as possible to put them on my voice. It is a continuous discovery, my musical dimension is constantly evolving. In painting, I certainly take a dip in surrealism and I cannot fail to mention Dali ‘, his philosophy, his expressive fluidity and her brilliant madness.

There are others that I like like: De Chirico, Dorothea Tanning, Kortan.

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ART

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ART

COME SCHIUMA

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ART

What do you think about the future of art in general?

Art is an energetic force, it is a spirituality that will never die under any circumstances.

It has no beginning and no end. Every event in our life will be marked by art, and although our system still tries to put it in the background compared to other disciplines, it resurfaces and comes to the surface.

It is a muffled cry but it does not go out, on the contrary, the more it is suffocated the more it has to say. It is the paradox of our time. We are going through a period that, on a political, socio-economic, health level, is moving the axes towards total despair and only art in all its forms can help us rediscover beauty and happiness.

Art smiles, cries with us but does not die. He cannot die.

Today I notice a lot of artistic ferment dictated by the suffering that is experienced in everyday life. This is the demonstration that art was born to reopen the doors and bring back new light.

Future projects?

To make my music and my painting known as much as possible.

Right now I invite you to listen to my EP titled “COME SCHIUMA” on Spotify and YouTube.

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TRIBUTE

R&B FRANK TRIBUTE

TO

LAFARO MY WONDERFUL FRIEND BY FABRIZIO CATALFAMO

Wandering around youtube, on a trivial day, when I started a new channel that I had decided to simply call Media. By chance, I came across a piece by Frank Lafaro and I listened repeatedly for at least an hour. Then happened, like many things in my life, an event that introduced another and another, again.

For the magical of algorithms in facebook, the name of Frank appears on my page and therefore I do not find better than to ask for a contact.

I wanted to write a piece about him and, I scheduled a meeting via zoom. I didn’t know it yet, but that would be the first and last time we would talk to each other.

Frank goes on video via his iphone, from a location called Media.

Transcribed here, part of the short interview we had on March 4, 2022. A few days later, I receved a message from his wife Betsy Corbi announcing that, Frank had passed away.

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TRIBUTE

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TRIBUTE

H

MARCH - 4 - 2022 i Frank, where are you?

I’m in Media and my niece helped me connect on video. I didn’t know how to connect in Safari and she showed me these buttons I didn’t know, so I’m going to get my car, I want to sit down.

Ok Frank, I want to thank you for accepting my invitation but for our readers in Italy who maybe they don’t know you: who is Frank Lafaro?

Who am I? An Italian American born in Philadelphia and has been singing since I was born. I love music, I took piano lessons from the nuns. I went to a large school that needed to be Italian to enter. It was in an Italian neighborhood and I started singing on street corners, with my friends since I was 13, so after I was drafted, I went to military service, did some records first and then in 1990 I started to sing professionally.

So that’s who I am!

The conversation went on with the story of some anecdotes of his life, Betsy sent me some pages written by Frank, and a handwritten biography.

WE’BROOKLYN RE PLAYING MEMOIRS OF FRANK LAFARO

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Like most Philly boys, I come from humble beginnings. All four of my grandparents came over from Italy at the start of the 20th century. My Dad’s people came from Naples & settled in South Philadelphia. My Mom’s folks hailed from Abbruzzo and made their home in an enclave comprised of other Italian and Irish immigrants. This neighborhood was known as 49thSt, in West Philadelphia.

tinkling of the keys.

At the age of six, I began taking piano lessons from the Immaculate Heart Of Mary nuns, at the convent of Our Lady Of The Angels Church, where I attended school. The lessons lasted for seven years.

At age 13, I recruited a couple of neighborhood pals and we began a little harmony group, copying doo wop groups that we heard on the radio. From that point on, I never stopped singing.

I was born an only child in the year 1945, and remained that way, all of my life. Mom’s parents lived around the block from us and my nonna watched me while my mom, a children’s dress designer, worked. My crib was placed next to the old player piano in the dining room, and the family would know when I awoke from my nap, by the

At age 17, my group had a name! We called ourselves Frankie & the Fashions, and we continue with that name till this day. There have been many members who have come and gone over the years, thus altering the configuration of singers.

We sang on streetcorners and subways all over the city.

I’M ITALIAN - SUMMER - 2022

Around this time, we went shopping around for a record label to record us.

The lead singer of a locally established doo wop group, Billy Carlucci, along with John Madera & Dave White (original member of Danny & the Juniors/At The Hop) signed us to Mercury Records.

Billy’s group was named, Billy & the Essentials. We used to sing a few of their songs on the corner. Billy, along with another member of the Essentials co-wrote a song for us called Funny Girl, which we recorded but unfortunately, the song was never released.

About a year after that, I was drafted into the United States Army and was shipped to Vietnam. I returned from that war with clinical depression & severe panic attacks that lasted several years. During that time, the only singing I did was in my house.

TRIBUTE

MEMOIRS OF FRANK LAFARO Skipping ahead to 1989 ...... I bumped into an old acquaintance who told me that Billy was booking acts through his agency, Southside Productions. I looked him up.

We hugged and shook hands, happy to be reunited. I was looking for work as a lounge singer/piano player. One of the Essentials happened to be leaving to sing full time with The Tokens (The Lion S l e e p s To n i g h t ) and Billy asked me if I wanted to join his band.

from the Army, prior to being shipped off to Vietnam, I drove up to visit them. They lived in a tough neighborhood known as Bedford Stuyvesant. I’d made several friends in the service from various areas of the borough.

Other than that, all I knew about Brooklyn was what I’d read.

I twas a warm, sunny evening in Spring when we packed up the van with our various instruments and sound system, microphones and

the place was the Brown Derby.

It was a social club of a New York Crime Family known as The Gambinos.

We lugged in our equipment and passed an ominous sight. To my left stood a four or five foot high brick wall, inside the building, along the entire front wall behind the large picture window. I began to get a mental image of what we were about to experience. I was not disappointed. We made three trips past this interior wall until all our equipment was set up and in place on the stage.

Once finished, we waited, waited then waited some more.

We made no pit stop on the road. I needed to use the restroom, found the door, entered and bellied up to the urinal to relieve myself.

I said sure, why not?

Two or three weeks prior to New Year 1990, I did my first gig as an alternate lead singer and background vocalist with Billy & the Essentials.

We played many of the Atlantic City Casinos, among numerous other venues over the next five years that I was with them. All during that time period, we had a homegig, a permanent venue at a restaurant/motor lodge called Mr. T’s, in Delaware County. Four nights a week, three weeks out of five, for five years. We had a ball!

Great times. We packed the place every Friday & Saturday night.

During my first year with the band, Billy told us we were going to Brooklyn, NY to do a gig. Sounded exciting. I’d only been to Brooklyn once before. I had family there, on my father’s side. During leave

stands, and pulled out of Mr. T’s parking lot and headed north. The ride was bumpy. The vehicle was in desperate need of shocks, but it was destined to get us safely to our destination. We drove for well over an hour before we exited the New Jersey Turnpike and headed toward the Verrazano Bridge and into the Bayside area of Brooklyn. WE pulled up to this single story brick building. The first thing I noticed was a huge circular window in the center of the structure. The door was to the right. That’s where we would be schlepping our gear through to the stage area. We exited the van and stretched our legs after the long ride. It was dusk and still light out.

There was no identifying marquee but we were told that the name of

word.

A guy came in and took the one to my right. He placed a .22 on the porcelain shelf in front of him. I couldn’t help but give a quick side glance.

He noticed and offered a comforting

He said, “Don’t worry, we all carry them”. I nodded, rinsed off my hands and headed back to my friends. The place was packed.

Dozens & dozens of Italian men of various ages, well dressed and accompanied by these gorgeous women, dressed to the nines.

This was Sunday night. Sunday nights were not for the wives, but for the goomahs, the other women. I recall thinking that these femme fatales resembled to a Venus De Milo (with arms).

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TRIBUTE

WE’BROOKLYN RE PLAYING back to the club.

I recalled a very long table, resting on what appeared to be a stage, back against the far wall. There were 11 or 12 men, older Italian men in suits, seated there.

The men faced a crowd of dancing couples, folks milling around, laughing, d r i n k i n g , kibitzing, slaping one another on the back and just happy to be where they were.

After the waiting became tedious, I turned to Billy and asked him, “What time do we go on? It’s after ll PM?” He answered, “No, it’s not like that ..... somebody comes over and says, Play now! I!” So, about 11:30 or there about, we went on, played close to an hour, came off the stage and took a break.

The venue was sparse and no food was served there. Drinks, yes, but no food. I was hungry.

I noticed a restaurant just a short walk down the street from the Derby, so I headed there to grab a bite. None of the other guys were 26

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interested in coming along, so I went alone. It was after midnight.

There were only a few customers at one booth, and a few others At the counter sipping coffee and watching the TV overhead.

I seated myself at a booth. A waitress shuffled over, dropped a menu on the table and walked away. Perusing the offerings of the Venus Diner, I decided upon a Greek Salad. I’d had one once or twice before in Philadelphia, at Alyans, a middle-eastern haunt just off of South Street that I frequented on a regular basis.

I was relieved to be alone for a while. My thoughts drifted

Where they were, was a Mafia social club. The figures seated at this obviously venerated table were reminiscent of Last Supper paintings I’d seen in the Roman Catholic churches I’d grown up attending. later.

We were scheduled to go yet a third time, but were cancelled.

There were ‘bodies in the streets’. At the time, that’s all we were told. Years later, I was to learn that the Colombo civil wars were claiming the lives of several mob members and associates. One of the casualties was a made man named Vincent Fusaro who owned The Venus Diner . The Brown Derby was subsequently renamed The Turquoise Club. All this occurred between 1990-1991.

TRIBUTE

WE’BROOKLYN RE PLAYING

F

rank left on

March 19th, 2022, two weeks exactly after our conversation.

A

Special thanks to Betsy Corbi, wife of my wonderful friend FABRIZIO CATALFAMO FOR IM ITALIAN MAGAZINE

Frank wrote over 100 songs and created 25 CDs over his lifetime. Friends remember Frank for his corner Dao Wop performances with Frankie and the Fashions and Dino and the Dukes. Although Frank spent most his musical career as the lead singer of Frankie and the Fashions, he sang with many groups over the years, including Billy and the Essentials for five years during the 90’s. He could play just about every instrument including piano, guitar, violin, and trumpet. Frank often mentored children in the area of music. In addition to Philadelphia, Frank loved performing in New Jersey, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh. Frank’s work was inspired by Frank Sinatra, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and Elvis Presley, and many more ...

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MADE IN ITALY

ITALIAN EXCELLENCES IN GENEVA AND SWITZERLAND: SAIG AWARDS 8 ITALIANS

It took place on May 27 th May 27, in the magnificent setting of the Louise & Parquet halls of the Hotel d'Angleterre, the awards ceremony for the 4th edition of the prize of the Society of Italian Associations of Geneva (SAIG) "Italian Excellence in Geneva and French-speaking Switzerland ”, which saw 8 Italians awarded.

The partnership agreement between the prestigious Hotel and SAIG ​​made it possible to celebrate one of the two annual gala events that SAIG ​​organizes and was greeted very favorably by the numerous guests and professionals.

The "Italian Excellence in Geneva and Frenchspeaking Switzerland" Award, conceived by SAIG ​​in 2018, is intended as a thank you to that group of Italians for the important and continuous work carried out with the professionalism that distinguishes and defines them. Italians who, by choice or necessity, have moved abroad where, thanks to their Italian character, today they hold important positions that not only give prestige to Italy, but also contribute to the local economy and to the development of important projects. A showcase that affirms and confirms the fundamental role of Italian spirit in the Canton of Geneva.

The event, organized by SAIG, with the patronage of the Consulate General of Italy in Geneva, the Italian Cultural Institute in Zurich and the Geneva municipalities partners of SAIG, saw several personalities enrich this 4th Edition with the presence of the President of the State Council of Geneva, Serge Dal Busco, the President of the Municipal Council of the City of Geneva Amar Madani, the Mayor of the City of Vernier Mathias Buschbeck, Mons.Massimo De Gregori, the Director of the Clinique de l'Oeil Raphael Martin, Comm. Claudio Bozzo, the member of the CGIE Toni Ricciardi, the Coordinator of ITAL-Uil Switzerland Angelo Di Lucci, the Deputies of the Grand Council Daniel Sormanni and Jean-Charles Lathion and many other guests.

After welcoming the guests, the SAIG ​​Coordinator, Carmelo Vaccaro, opened the evening and greeted the authorities and those present at the award ceremony. The purpose of the evening is to recognize the added value that our compatriots bring in the various working sectors outside the borders of

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our homeland, professionals of undisputed value and high level. Countrymen little known to the general public, but widely recognized in the various sectors of their professions.

Therefore, SAIG ​​continues to pursue the search for compatriots residing in the Canton of Geneva and one in French-speaking Switzerland, in order to make known the other part of Italianity abroad that works, produces but is less known to the general public.

Presenting the award ceremony for this 4th edition, two high-profile professionals working in the Swiss canton: the Biologist and scientific researcher, Ilaria Di Resta, and the university professor of Literature, Laura Facini. To reward the 2022 Excellencies, the Presidents of the Associations belonging to SAIG​​ (who, together with local and non-local authorities, have delivered the plaques and parchments to the prestigious names that have enriched the palmares of Italian Excellencies chosen by SAIG for ​​ this edition).

Also for this edition eight successful Italians, four women and four men, have received this Award named by (SAIG), for having distinguished themselves, in their professional activities in Geneva and in French-speaking Switzerland, and which contribute to the increase of the prestige of the 'Italy abroad.

Philippe Boaron, musician (holder of a Master in Music Performance and Music Pedagogy at the conservatories of Geneva and Lausanne and with further experience through courses and masterclasses with well-known musicians of international caliber. Among other projects, he participated in the making of the Swiss short film Le dernier Cigare, taking part in the filming as an actor and recording the soundtrack. He also plays an important pedagogical activity, mainly as a piano professor at the Conservatoire Populaire de Musique, Danse et Théâtre in Geneva).

Followed by Dr. Fabio Campitelli, a dynamic SwissItalian professional (expert in creating and managing teams to improve performance and achieve goals in all aspects of the business.

He has lived in different countries growing both personally and Last May 27, in the magnificent setting of the Louise & Parquet halls of the Hotel

d’Angleterre, the awards ceremony for the 4th edition of the prize of the Society of Italian Associations of Geneva (SAIG) “Italian Excellence in Geneva and French-speaking Switzerland ”, which saw 8 Italians awarded.

The partnership agreement between the prestigious Hotel and SAIG ​​made it possible to celebrate one of the two annual gala events that SAIG ​​organizes and was greeted very favorably by the numerous guests and professionals.

The “Italian Excellence in Geneva and Frenchspeaking Switzerland” Award, conceived by SAIG ​​in 2018, is intended as a thank you to that group of Italians for the important and continuous work carried out with the professionalism that distinguishes and defines them. Italians who, by choice or necessity, have moved abroad where, thanks to their Italian character, today they hold important positions that not only give prestige to Italy, but also contribute to the local economy and to the development of important projects. A showcase that affirms and confirms the fundamental role of Italian spirit in the Canton of Geneva.

The event, organized by SAIG, with the patronage of the Consulate General of Italy in Geneva, the Italian Cultural Institute in Zurich and the Geneva municipalities partners of SAIG, saw several personalities enrich this 4th Edition with the presence of the President of the State Council of Geneva, Serge Dal Busco, the President of the Municipal Council of the City of Geneva Amar Madani, the Mayor of the City of Vernier Mathias Buschbeck, Mons.Massimo De Gregori, the Director of the Clinique de l’Oeil Raphael Martin, Comm. Claudio Bozzo, the member of the CGIE Toni Ricciardi, the Coordinator of ITAL-Uil Switzerland Angelo Di Lucci, the Deputies of the Grand Council Daniel Sormanni and Jean-Charles Lathion and many other guests.

After welcoming the guests, the SAIG ​​Coordinator, Carmelo Vaccaro, opened the evening and greeted the authorities and those present at the award ceremony. The purpose of the evening is to recognize the added value that our compatriots bring in the various working sectors outside the borders of our homeland, professionals of undisputed value and high level. Countrymen little known to the general

MADE IN ITALY

He has lived in different countries growing both personally and professionally in multicultural environments, developing managerial skills with excellent ability to relate to people of very varied cultures and traditions. He began his professional career in Fiumicino with US Airways, then in Geneva with Middle East Airlines, then moving on to Alitalia where he held various positions of great responsibility in the Middle East and then returned to Geneva with the role of Head of Switzerland.

Finally he managed the transition to ITA Airways where today he holds the role of National Manager of Switzerland and temporarily of Germany).

Another award-winning, Dr. Patrizia Carlevaro (who obtained her doctorate in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies at the University of Pavia and has dedicated most of her professional career. Co-founder of GenomSys SA, a start-up that develops technologies to improve compression, storage and transport of genomic data. As general manager of Otsuka SA from 2011 to 2015, she created the international branch in Geneva and Russia. Previously, she was Head Unit of Lilly where she developed the international unit , responsible for commercial and philanthropic initiatives, technology transfer and company policies for access to drugs and patents. She is also a member of the board of directors of LFB Biomédicaments, Medicines Patent Poll, Florence Nightingale International Foundation, the Cercle des Dirigeants d ‘ Entreprises of Geneva.

Member of the advisory board of the European Association of Women Executives in the Health Sector, HBA, (until 201 8) and the UNCTAD Empretec Women in Business award).

And again, Prof. Paola Gaeta, leader and international expert in criminal law and international

criminals (her research interests have focused on public interests such as the relationship between international human rights and humanitarian law. She is currently directing a research project on “Lethal Autonomous Weapons and War Crimes: Whose Criminal Responsibility Is?” In the past, Professor Gaeta was director of the Geneva Academy where she directed the master’s degree in international humanitarian law and human rights; she was adjunct professor at University L Bocconi University of Milan, Adjunct Professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies and Development and Professor of International Criminal Law at the University of Geneva. He is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of International Criminal Justice and of the International Spectator).

Walter El Nagar, a creative and self-taught Chef in the kitchen (after a few months at the helm of the “FiskeBar” of the Hôtel de la Paix, opens his own “Le Cinquième Jour”, a restaurant enriched by a strong concept of social inclusion: Saturday the brigade cooks free of charge for less well-off customers, refugees, the homeless. In 2020 he founded the MATER Foundation, which manages the “Refettorio Geneva” restaurant, of which he is executive director. Like Le Cinquième Jour, the refectory promotes social inclusion and fights food waste, and offers a free balanced meal every evening to people in precarious or exclusion situations).

Dr. Sabrina Pisu, journalist and writer, currently writes for L’Espresso (over the years she has followed some of the most important Italian and international events, producing services, articles and reports for various newspapers, including Euronews, Radio24-Il sole 24ore, Sky and Rai3. Among the books of which she is the author, we can mention at

least The Mattei case. The evidence of the murder of the president of Eni (Chiarelettere, 2017) written with the magistrate Vincenzo Calia, and I take the world everywhere sia. A life as a photographer between civil commitment and beauty (Einaudi, 2020) written with Letizia Battaglia, the greatest Italian photographer in the world, who passed away in April this year. She has received several important journalistic awards, including the Premio Giustolisi “Justice and Truth” for investigative journalism (in 2020) and the Cristiana Matano international journalism award (in 2021), sponsored by the European Parliament).

To conclude the award ceremony, Prof. Daniela Solfaroli Camillocci. Graduated in Modern Literature from the University of Pisa (arrives in Geneva thanks to a scholarship from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Institut d’histoire de la Réformation of the University of Geneva, obtains a Diploma en études réformées and continues her academic career at the IHR, as research assistant.

In 2017 she was appointed associate professor at the Faculty of Letters and at the Faculty of Theology. Since 2019 she has been Director of the Institut d’histoire de la Réformation and co-head of the Directorate of the Maison de l ‘Histoire de l’University of Geneva).

Giovanni Iacomini was unable to attend the event but will receive it next November.

SAIG thanked all those who actively participated in the realization of the evening and all the guests present, as well as the award-winning personalities who, like every year, represent the flagship of Italianness in the world and the national pride of us.

Italians.

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YASSMIN PUCCI

ON THE COVER

BY SUSANNA CASUBOLO

I

talian Actress of Persian origins was born in Rome and she studied acting in New York, the city where she lived for many years.

She starts with the classic apprenticeship of the stage and then moves in front of the camera.

She soon became passionate about writing which led her to write various screenplays and direct some social shorts, one of which on violence against women competing at the “Action for Woman” Festival.

She works mainly with foreign productions, shooting various leading films in English, between Germany, the United States and Italy.

In 2019 she writes with the director Emiliano Ferrera and her colleague Tiziano Carnevale “Oro & Piombo”, a western genre film.

She lends her face for some advertising campaigns and for some television series.

In 2019, together with her colleagues Tiziano Carnevale and Piero Olivieri, she opens a film production house, Old Type Production, to which another partner Mauro Canavese is added in 2021.

There are several short films and films starring the actress. Among her latest works, a film with the actor and director Ronn Moss which she joins as a co-star and a television series with Enzo Castellari which sees her as the

protagonist.

Won the award “Vincenzo Crocitti as International Actress in Career” in December 2019.

She wins the Best Actress 2020 ”award at the Vesuvious International Film Festival She wins the award for Best Actress at the Valdarno Film Festival 2020.

Wins Best Actress and Best Individual Performer at the MLC Awards 2021. While the film wins two other awards at the same festival as Best Western and Best Latin-flavored film.

She wins the Actress in Career award at Moda Movie 2021 of which she is also the godmother.

Presenter of the “Carlotta Bolognini, Golden Years Cinema Award, and George Hilton Award” which is held every year under the artistic direction of Carlotta Bolognini (daughter and granddaughter of the director and brother producer Bolognini respectively) An event that collects considerable interest every year by the press and the public both for the sober and friendly management and for the prominence given to the various artistic figures who cover various tasks in what has been the most envied cinema, mainly the most famous films shot in Rome in the years of dolce vita. Many celebrities from the world of entertainment were guests of the event.

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ON THE COVER

ACTRESS

W

e are here for IM italian magazine with Yessmin Pucci.

For our overseas readers, who is Jassmine Pucci?

I am an Italian Persian actress, I live in Rome, I have lived many years in New York. I studied acting at the actor study of New York University and in 2001 I returned to Italy. I continued to work as an actress, expanding my work as an actress with the screenplay and a few years ago I opened a small production company with two of my colleagues, Tiziano Carnevale and Piero Alighieri.

Let’s talk about you child, how were you as a child and what do you still carry inside of that period?

I haven’t changed in that long. in the sense that I unlike my classmates for example. In elementary school, I was seven, you know when they ask you the famous question: What do you want to be when you grow up?

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JASSMIN

All my little friends changed every month, so “I want to be a dancer, no, I want to be a nurse or an astronaut. But I’ve always said, I want to be an actress. If I have never changed my opinion on the type of work I wanted to take, I also have to thank a little experience I had just when I was seven years old. I was in a bathhouse in Fregene, an Italian bathing area where I grew up with my parents and not everyone knows, (because we address an Italian audience even if they are in the United States) that, the famous film Sapore di Mare due that some scenes were shot at Sogno del Mare, this establishment in Fregene where I also lived with my family and, I realized for the first time what a fantastic world the world of cinema could be. of some scenes. In the famous scene of the game of stealing the flag the blowguns on the skate that they threw at the poor lifeguard. I remember the wonderful figure of that beautiful woman who was Eleonora Georgi and I think she wasn’t shooting at that moment, maybe it was a moment of pause, I don’t know but, I was fascinated by that entourage, the cameras, the whole crew.

I remember my mother said to me: “go and ask her for an autograph if you want” but I was too ashamed and replied: “no, no but I want to be part of this world”!

And the phrase that I came up with is strange, that is, “I want to be part of this world” because it was as if I had already understood that working in the cinema is a world apart, in the sense that it is truly a world that sometimes risks alienating you and we artists are always a bit in the clouds, in our world. And on the one hand this helps you a little, because then the artist himself is always looking for ways to create a world of his own.

However, I was already inclined to writing and I have always kept a diary since I was little, from thirteen onwards I have all my diaries, all from there ... that my daughter reads them every now and then who is the same age as me. when I started writing and I must say that in all these diaries I recognize myself very much, that is, I have never changed, I have always written that I wanted to act anyway, I am fascinated by this world.

ON THE COVER

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ON THE COVER

I

also wanted to change things a bit in the entertainment world and particularly in Italy. Now, I don’t want to say that there is no meritocracy here but it is so hard to emerge. I was lucky enough to study for several years in New York and I must say that, they are not all roses even if there is a different professionalism and there is also an appearance for example, here we are rather animals, in the sense that the extras are not treated very well, in America everything was very different and I was lucky enough to see the differences. In America, if you can show that you are capable in some way, you can do it; you also need a lot of luck but the only fundamental thing, if you want to do this job, is determination!

Instead, a person from the world of entertainment who has inspired your path in some way?

So, I have a great passion for all cinema since the fifties, in costume, which is my passion. As for a person, there isn’t really an actor or actress, I have great respect for those who were the actresses of our grandparents, who made the cinema of the golden years in Italy, starting with Virna Lisi in my opinion they had an innate elegance, if you don’t have it obviously you build it. I have points of reference but there are many, let’s say Sophia Loren, I would have done everything to be able to pursue a career between Italy and the United States as she did, however, I also repeat and always a question of luck, I have this luck initially had thanks to my grandmother, who wanted to take me to New York to study English and opened a world for me, that is, she opened an important door for me and then fate brought me back to Italy.

In the various experiences you have had in the movie sets, is there one that has remained in your heart?

They are different because in my opinion every set gives you something, it is always a magical experience but undoubtedly the film that gave me a way of understanding many things was one of the last that I shot, this western with Emiliano Ferrera that gave me really given the opportunity to make that leap forward the film is called: “Oro e Piombo”, it is a film that unfortunately for the moment is only visible on amazon prime Italy, now I will do everything to even get it abroad.

It is a tribute to Sergio Leone. Ferrero.is a huge fan of this genre and he chose me as the protagonist. The first thing he said to me was: “I want you as the protagonist of my first feature film”, he had made many shorts of the same genre and we had already met. He had asked me to play his lead in another film, a short film but I was pregnant. So after two years he said to me: “So are you still pregnant or not this time? “I’m ready!” I answered and he: “But look at that, there is no money” (non c’e` una lira!) but I give you the opportunity to learn to ride, to fight, to know how to use historical weapons, and I rightly said immediately yes, alright!

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ON THE COVER

PRINCESS

YASSMIN

L

et’s talk about charm, so origins, are you also writing a book, is it an autobiographical book?

Exactly, it is a book that speaks of three generations, I say this also because it is not something that I am ashamed of. My grandmother was, because she unfortunately she died in two thousand, the twin sister of the last Shah of Persia. She was perhaps a very powerful woman until the years of the revolution in 79, when there was a dynasty in Iran, the country was a Western country and women like my grandmother fought a lot for education, to remove the chad, what women are wearing now, at the time was not there, there was no need, she abolished it, obviously in agreement with her brother.

So I really grew up like a fairy tale. My mother tried so much to keep me away from that environment, because she had grown up there and therefore she did everything to make me grow in Italy, an Italian culture, Italian schools. I grew up to all intents and purposes as a very normal girl from my environment.

However, I have always felt different from my classmates, although I had a type of life, I knew who my grandmother was, despite the fact that she met her then when I was 14 for a story that I tell in the book.

So what I am writing now is a story so powerful and so beautiful that I want to tell it, obviously I am not going to affect anyone on a political or religious level, because obviously this is not my purpose but only to tell. the private story of a woman. I know there are millions of books about my grandmother but my very intimate point of view together with my mother, colleague, such a powerful character, is such a unique point of view to tell that I really want to share it and so this I am doing now. at the end of May I will go to Cannes and I hope to find funding I want to make a television series from it, a bit in the style of the English royal family

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ON THE COVER

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ON THE COVER

PRINCESS YASSMIN

It's going to be about the Iranian Persian royal family, so it's a very ambitious project that will probably cost a lot of money but I'm going to try. I owe a lot to her because it was my grandmother who asked me to go to New York to study and I had to go there to study high finance because my parents wanted everything except me to be an actress, so when I found myself in New York I will remember always the terror in talking to grandmother I was convinced she would say no to me like my parents. Instead I found the greatest ally, she said to me: “do you want to do this? Ok I give you the chance "! And the funny thing is that she was friends with many characters including Oliver Stone who often went to her for lunch but she immediately said to me: “Don't expect me to ever introduce you to someone, do you want to do this job? I give you the cards to do it but you have to get there by yourself, if destiny is destiny. " Are you working on the novel now but are you also starting a job with another director?

Yes, it is a very fluent period for me because since we will start shooting our film next year I have the opportunity to write for another well-known director who is Enzo Castellani a person who also made the history of Italian western together with Sergio Leone, so in any case for me it is a great honor to work with him and with his son Andrea Giro who worked in “the English patient”, he too had a terrible apprenticeship and despite being “son of art “has made its way and has become what it is thanks to its potential.

So I’m really happy to be able to work, to have the opportunity to collaborate with these people with whom I wrote this miniseries, obviously under the supervision of Enzo Castellani, and we are giving them life.

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ON THE COVER

I

dream of being able to go back to work in the United States, I am also looking for an agency now but it is not easy. I am a native speaker of English, so maybe it is easier for me to act in English.

It was a pleasure to talk to you and thanks for your availability, your gift, it was also very pleasant for our readers who will be happy to read about you and maybe meet again later on these projects you told us about, and I look forward to reading your book.

Thank you very much Susanna and thanks to all readers of "IM Italian" really it was a great pleasure for me, have a nice day.

Susanna Casubolo for IM Italian magazine

Susanna Casubolo’s full and exclusive interview with Yassmin Pucci is available in the Yutube channel Media by Hoffmann & Hoffmann channel, as well as in the Media by Hoffmann & Hoffmann podcast, in all audio channels such as Spotify, Apple, Amazon.

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MUSIC

Mbrascatu A cross-pollination of numerous influences, including spaghetti Westerns, immigrant dance music of Eastern Europe, psych rock, folk, to create a unique blend of sounds. Along with bands like Calexico , Devotchka and Gogol Bordello, they infused modern indie music with a global flavor. Mbrascatu was formed in 2010 in Portland, OR by singer-songwriter and guitar player Andrea Algieri. They recorded their debut album, Mbrascatu (self titled) in 2012, followed by Tempo 2014, Elementi 2016 and Tutto Cambia 2021.

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MUSIC

Tour 2022

JUNE 17 TBD, SEATTLE, WA 98193 (MBRASCATU SOLO) 8PM JUNE 30 OLD NICK’S PUB EUGENE, OR 97402 JULY 2 FESTA ITALIANA SALINAS, CA 5PM

JULY 13 STELLA OLSON PARK, 22256 SW WASHINGTON ST., SHERWOOD, OR 97140 6PM JULY 15 MISSISSIPPI PIZZA, PORTLAND, OR 8PM JULY 16 ROBIN HOOD FESTIVAL, SHERWOOD, OR 97140 5PM AUGUST 2 THE RUINS 13 RAILROAD STREET, HOOD RIVER, OR 97031 6PM AUGUST 5 ESTHER SHORT PARK,605 ESTHER ST, VANCOUVER, WA 98660 6PM AUGUST 21 FESTA ITALIANA CEDARVILLE LODGE, 3800 W POWELL LOOP, GRESHAM, OR 2PM AUGUST 21 MILLENIUM PARK, 200 FIRST ST., LAKE OSWEGO, OR 97034 6PM SPETEMBER 17-18 FESTA ITALIANA SALT LAKE CITY, UT

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MUSIC

SHOP NOW IN AMAZON

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MUSIC

Mbrascatu THE FUSION SOUND OF

ANDREA ALGIERI

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MUSIC

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MUSIC

Andrea Algieri W

by IM Italian Team

e are here to meet an Italian singer-songwriter of Calabrian origin, Andrea Algieri

I live in Portland in Oregon and I am from the province of Cosenza, a small town called Lutri and specific, "from Lutri" I want to say because otherwise my fellow citizens will get angry.

So Andrea, how did you get to America?

As I said before, I am from Calabria, but I lived in Florence, I went there to study and there I met my American ex-girlfriend and after six years of living together in Florence, we decided to move to the United States. We moved to Ithaca, a town in upstate New York, below Buffalo and stayed there for a year.

How can you define your texts, what are your favorite Italian authors?

I grew up with a lot of music though, I sat putting on a list of my favorite songwriters let’s say the usual de Andrè, Fossati and I’m a huge fan of Vinicio Capossella even if I really liked the first one, now I like what he’s doing a little less. Then I’m someone who has always looked to new music, new in quotes, because there is never anything new, everything has been done.

Even being here in the United States, I always find out about what happens in our part of the world on a musical level, I really want to introduce artists who I believe are of great value to my American friends, especially to my musicians because, unfortunately in the United States when we talk about Italian music everyone thinks about “O sole mio, Pavarotti,

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MUSIC

Stereotypes

A

nd how do you respond in situations like these?

I have nothing to say when you talk about Italian music and think of these great artists, but the problem for me is that I have always played with a small group, in my country we used to go to patronal feasts, I always sang, I always played even in Florence I did some evenings in clubs doing some covers, I didn’t speak English at the time when I was in Florence so I always sang in Italian.

When I got here, I started singing in Italian and from the very first time I got good feedback So maybe I can keep doing this. At the beginning I didn’t have a band but there were parties, you know the Italian party that is held in all American states and every time I went to one of these parties and for a couple of years, I felt the same things, I heard bands who came from elsewhere and sang like: “or surdatu in love etc” and I thought but possible? Americans who have never come to Italy if they go now will be truly unhappy because they will find a world they will not recognize.

On a musical level, when I started, I had already started playing there and they had called me alone at the party asking me if I could make traditional songs. I replied: if you want me, I’ll make my own pieces. And from there I started but it was really a crusade, I thought that my music, who knows if they like it?

Instead people like it a lot here, we have a lot of Americans who come to concerts though, it was just a crusade, because of this myth that so many Americans have, that Italian music is that, when instead we have a lot of many things musically beautiful but, we always talk about food.

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MUSIC

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MUSIC

SItalian inging in

I

also refuse to sing in English but, only because the music does not need to be explained, in the sense that when I sing my songs, which are in Italian, I try to explain what I'm talking about, however, two lines and nothing special.

I remember that from young boy I went to the concerts of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, I like a lot of my friends.

We liked them but no one understood the words.

The methods of spreading music in general have changed a little, I am thinking of the explosion of groups like Manneskin, due in part to social media, especially in youtube I have seen various influencers (paid of course) who have made this group explode.

Now, in the relationship with social media, how do you propose yourself, how important do you think this is?

Well ... I’ll tell you the truth I feel a little old, because I struggle a little, in the sense that in any case (I don’t even know how to explain it) many people and even my girlfriend tells me: “Andrea you have to be more active in social media! “ But I want to be active in music, I don’t want to put myself in front of a computer and make selfs to say things that have nothing to do with it, I’m not capable.

We are living in a virtual world, but I’m talking about music I’m a musician.

So I’ll ask you a question a little more about music: four names, I don’t know if you know everyone, De Andre`, Claudio Lolli, Flavio Giurato, Paolo conti, which of these do you think got much less than they deserved?

I don’t know Flavio Giurato but Claudio Lolli certainly didn’t get the recognition he deserved in my opinion.

What would you give up in your life in America, for a final evening in Sanremo?

Sanremo as an immense advertising communication vehicle, not so much as a performance honestly I would like to be in Sanremo to make my music known in Italy.

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I

tell you the truth, I have a child here called Francesco, he will be seven years old in May, I miss Italy, I would like to return but the only thing that keeps me here is my job, which in any case we now have in quotes a first name. But I would like to return to Italy and I could give up everything (apart from my son), to be in Sanremo (oh well not my girlfriend for God’s sake but maybe she would follow me.

Andrea, one last question: your favorite American dish that you would not give up?

The chiken wings, Caesar salad, especially if it is made with radicchio, I must say that the only problem is that the radicchio, the long one, cannot be found. One finds the ball and one that is a little bit more bitter in flavor.

I love Italy but if I find something good that is American I gladly try it. There are a lot of restaurants and even if those who run them are American or even in the kitchen they are Americans, they do a very good cuisine and sometimes I have to say much better than some restaurants that are run by Italians.

Because we have this bad habit, everything that is not Italian is not good and this is not true! Because there is so much good stuff from any nation.

Andrea I thank you so much and I wish you the success you deserve. I also remind our readers that they can find you on various platforms: Youtube, spotify etc. Just type “Mbrascatu”, by the way what does Mbrascatu mean?

It is the family nickname my grandfather who had his face all dirty due to work and in Calabria mbrascatu means dirty, so people started calling him mbrascatu and from there if you go to my country we are the mbrascatu.

I remember that when the letters arrived, in addition to the name of my father who was Francesco, they put the nickname in brackets.

Talk to you soon, thank you.

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BOOKS

THE FAMILY LAW OF KARMA - BY F. GUZZARDI

MR. GERARD V. “THE DRUG” CHAPTER III

BY F. GUZZARDI

T

he choice of the divorce lawyer was truly casual and linked more to the proximity of my work than to his professional skills.

It happened that, after my dear wife's last borderline show, in public and in the presence of the children, I decided that it was time to avoid further stress for my children. Thus, the following day I announced to my dear bride, my intention to part our ways. Of course, I wasn't expecting some financial or child management deal from her, but I tried anyway, getting one more borderline narcissistic show.

For this reason, the same day I made an appointment with the already announced lawyer.

I tell you right away that, lawyers in general (at least those who operate in the Volusia County, Florida family law area) have an attitude of apparent great attention in what you say, only until you pay the first installment. After that, most of the time, they become untraceable. In my case, Mr. Gerard V. "The Drug", kept telling me that, he would work on my case (but doing his job for a fee is an option)? considering that I seemed to him a good person... (sic).

However, Once the divorce petition is submitted with clear references to the

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reasons (alienation of the children as well as of myself) that forced me to forward it, the situation at home becomes even more unsustainable. The kind wife, in fact, begins to go into ever higher escandescence, to the point of preventing the children from going to karate courses where I accompanied them 3 times a week. Taken by an instinct of a "good Samaritan", I make a sign with my eyes at the children indicating the exit door that they take while running. At that point the woman tries to close the door before the second child and I could cross it; I still manage to go out with the second child, tugging on him a bit.

At that point, after having accompanied the children to karate, I decide to call the police, explaining the problem. An officer reaches me at the exit of karate, and transcribes my statements. At that point, she announces that she, she would go to my house to hear from my lovely wife about what happened.

The officer contacts me after an hour and asks to join her in the parking lot of my apartment where the children and I go after about fifteen minutes. At that point one of the two officers, explaining to me that his beloved wife has given a different version of events, asks to be able to hear the children. I agree after asking the children themselves. The policemen interrogate the children out of my sight for about 5 minutes, after which they tell me that they have to jail the beloved wife and I have to go away with the children.

So we go for a drive while I call my

lawyer explaining what happened.

Mister Gerard V. "The Drug", advise me to leave the apartment with the children, as this was no longer a safe place for us. And that, in the meantime, he would have asked the Court of Daytona for permission to leave the house. So I rented an apartment nearby where I moved with the children. Meanwhile, my lady appears before the court with a lawyer (paid with her family's money, according to her statement) on charges of domestic violence in the presence of children.

While "The drug" rushes to the court, only warned by a phone call from the opposing lawyer, according to him. I show up at the door of the courtroom waiting to testify with "The Drug" and my beloved's new lawyer nearby, intent on confubulating. Shortly before entering the courtroom, "The Drug" approaches and advises me to withdraw the complaint; I accept, considering that she still is the mother of my children and that I have a broadly sufficient empathy to cover even her shortcomings. Then the woman she’s sented home while I go back to the new apartment with the children.

Meanwhile, the Daytona Beach "law of karma" machine, was set in motion under the orders of Mr. Armstead W. "Don Corleone", who had already warned "The Drug" and brought it under control easily, given the criminal record of the latter (Suspended for two years for drug use and mental disorder) .

BOOKS

CHAPTER 3

MR. GERARD V. “THE DRUG”

BASED IN A TRUE STORY

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ometimes there is no justice among men and you feel tossed about, like a leaf in the wind, and find no other explanation that refers to your logic or that of Plato, Socrates, that which allowed you to live in this world according to principles cultural heritage of our millenary society. And then, the only philosophy that can explain the events in any way, is the law of karma, and you have to accept, a karmic anal fuck..

THE FAMILY LAW OF KARMA BY F. GUZZARDI, WILL BE PUBLISHED IN NOVEMBER 2022.

ACTUALY YOU CAN READE UP TO 8 CHAPTERS ON THE PLATTFORM KINDLE VELLA

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ON THE SPOT

THE IMAGES HUNTER

BY ROBERTO SIRONI

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HUNTED IMAGES BY

ANDREA CUSCUNÀ

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The Image Hunter

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by Roberto Sironi

ho is Andrea Cuscunà?

Andrea Cuscunà is a Milanese photographer born and raised in the southern suburbs of Milan.

I have worked and work on locations in different parts of Europe and the world.

Despite my studies in the commercial field, I have always been interested in photography and from the very beginning my aim was to make it my job despite my parents wanting me to go to work in a bank. With perseverance but also with a little luck I was able to make my wish come true, also through meetings with people who allowed me to start working in the advertising photography sector!

How did you approach photography?

In 1985 the meeting with a friend who worked in the graphic field introduced me to this fascinating world. In the 80s I started as an assistant at an advertising photographic studio in Milan where I learned technique, professional photography management, organization, both in the studio and on location, the photographic genres that developed were food, still life, people, etc. They were the most beautiful and exciting years for photography, creativity was at its peak and we also enjoyed working but, we worked hard.

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hat is your relationship with the camera?

Like everyone else in that era, I started photographing with an analog camera, first with the reflex camera and then in the studio with the excellent bench and medium format, then digital came along.

Always analogue or digital, the camera is only a means to best represent one's ideas, sensitivity, composition, technique and in the case of commercial photography, being able to interpret and implement requests ... After all, CartierBresson used a simple machine , essential but made extraordinary photos.

What's your style, your technique?

In addition to my wealth of knowledge acquired over the years of professional work, my style and technique are also part of a language that is as natural as possible in terms of lighting and framing, taking advantage of what technology offers us today but, without abusing them so as not to make the images appear "fake", I always try to get the maximum possible during the shooting phase by taking care of the lines, the photographic rules of composition as much as possible and putting my interpretation of the space I am going to photograph, then what happens later on the computer is intended only to be an improvement and not a distortion of the image.

Speaking of gender, what’s yours?

I work mainly in the field of architectural and interior photography but still life and food are part of my professional background. I started my professional activity by opening a studio in Milan and dealing with Still Life and Food photography working for large national and international companies but, my real passion is towards the architecture of exteriors and interiors, and this is what I currently have above all. lucky enough to be able to do.

What interests you most in an image?

In an image I am immediately interested in what you want to represent and how this happens! The chosen framing, the light, the composition, the attention to detail are essential in trying to best enhance the subject in front of us and in my case the environments or architecture in front of me. In all of this, the moment of the day in which to shoot is also essential, that fleeting moment that you have to guess! It is also often true that you have to know how to give up temporarily and wait for the best moment ... In a sense it is a hunt, a “hunt for the image!”

Is photography an art or not?

Photography is an art when it is realized in a particular creative research or that represents something particular and original in terms of subject and creative development. I have often seen images for sale such as Photo Art but which communicated very little to me in terms of creativity and originality. To be art, it must have something more in this sense and catch the

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IS Black and white and color .... What do you think?

In some ways, black and white in the digital age has lost a bit of charm and quality, printing on "baryta" paper in the darkroom had a completely different flavor and was always difficult to achieve, only some professional laboratories knew print well, the craftsmanship gave it uniqueness.

Today Black and white or color are both effective if there is still a creative idea behind them, even if their use often has no quality.

Black and white is very useful in architecture because it best represents shapes and volumes Does the photographer's eye see or look like everyone else?

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think the photographer's eye is different from others in seeing things.

To reach his own image, to "find it", a photographer draws on his sensitivity and experience to better photograph the subject. In some images, sometimes there is also the good fortune of being in the right place at the right time but, on other occasions, the search for the shot and the construction of the scene are fundamental and often require time and organization. It is not necessarily the case that the photographer's vision is better than others, but it is certainly different, personal and professional.

What role does photography play in the virtual era?

Today, with new and increasingly innovative technologies, photography is certainly within everyone's reach! Everyone can make good images and with the help of software be able to make them even excellent.

We are invaded by images everywhere because anywhere and anyone can take them at any time and in any situation, photography has lost the charm of that artisan activity in which the photographer shot without knowing the final result based only on his experience and often completed the work of craftsman in the dark room.

Unfortunately, today everyone is a photographer, and in order to stand out, the professional must put something of himself into the images, he must bring all his wealth of experience and creativity into the images.

New projects ?

My next project is an urban architecture reportage on the achievements of the architect Giò Ponti in Milan. Being an architecture photographer, I could only create images that concerned my city and the architect who had the most influence at the time of the development of the city of Milan.

Today some of his creations are still at the forefront. The work was done almost completely in black and white. It started in 2021 and should finish by this year .

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THE SIRONI METHOD

The art of living

by Roberto Sironi

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he last known destination is a goal, the end of a daydreamed journey!

Beyond that line, life continues as if nothing had happened and yet, beyond that much coveted segment, the world changes color and time seems to stop behind a memory!

We all have a goal to cross, to overcome, a moment in which we know whether we will win or lose our race against time ... That invisible trait that we crave with all our strength gives us the measure of being or becoming, of the present and of the future, it is a sometimes imaginary, sometimes unreally real trait that communicates to us the distances of our aspirations, our desires, our ambitions!

The race of life is a beautiful race between the green of hope, the red of passion, the white of candor, the blue of infinity, the yellow of light and the black of mystery in the most immense of landscapes, in that kind of rainbow that time has given us on the palette of days to make our existence pure art!

Silhouettes, figures and shadows follow us and chase us in a play of colors, in a set of shapes and appearances! Fictions and truths, illusions and disappointments, images and appearances make up the great picture of life, the sublime masterpiece that all together, day after day, we create with or without an awareness of our talent and our knowledge! After all, in this mad race against time, we are all artists, musicians of our daily soundtracks, sculptors of our present, painters who have painted all kinds of eras, writers who will leave pages and pages of real life to posterity, poets of the our past, actors of this infinite comedy made up of gestures and words, of laughter and tears, of lights and shadows ...

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THE SIRONI METHOD

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little comic, sometimes acrobats, dramatic and funny, tragic and witty, protagonists or just characters of this existential play translated into all known languages, on this immense natural stage we all play our part, sometimes in a low voice, sometimes screaming, but always remaining human in an inhumanity that is more and more latent!

Our Art of living makes us complete in every action we take, makes us unique and inimitable, exclusive and unparalleled! We are the exception that may or may not confirm any rule because without us the meaning of life would make no sense ...So here it is that goal every time to cross, always there waiting for us one after the other, without any specific order of arrival! Beautiful or ugly, good and bad, we run all our life in search of a life that finally gives us the reason to know our existence in the smallest details! Here is the picture, the ultimate representation of what we have been and what we will be in the most artistic of visions!

The art of living is an art that has no equal! It is a unique art, as ancient as the breath, as ancestral as memory, primitive and primordial, perhaps never definitively defined and with uncertain origins, but with established principles!

The Art of living is the Art of living, of being, of acting and reflecting, of existing and passing, from the beginnings to the epilogues, from the roots to the most unknown extremities of thought, from the sources to the foci ... L ‘Art of that living, makes us in our unparalleled presence, the most extraordinary of presences!

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e are a work of art in the largest living museum in a boundless, infinitely unknown, fantastically unlimited universe!

We navigate the routes of cosmic visions in search of the impossible! Our journey to reach the unimaginable, crossing the seas of the understandable and the incomprehensible, is a journey that will have no return! Day after day, night after night, doubt after doubt, it is always us, solitary sailors in search of the islands of creation, driven by the wind of inspiration that blows stormily on our fantasies!

We are divinities in the absence of a hypothetical sacredness! We are dexterity and mastery, ingenuity and talent, genius and nature, we are all that proves that existence exists and that that goal, which awaits us at every moment at the end of the race, will not only not be the end of a story, but the beginning of another story, a story that will still need us to be told, narrated, exhibited on display in the extraordinary and inexplicable Universal Exposition of the future, in that linear conception of time, in that spacetime in which all events have yet to happen and in the mystery of that imagination, we will still be there with our Art of Living to create works of infinite beauty, works that will go beyond any logic and any abstraction!

Yes, after all we are all artists, lovers of illusions, worshipers of utopias, fans of daydreams and madly in love with hopes! All of us, each with his own personality, with his own character, with our inclinations and dispositions, with the courage and fear, with our style and with our taste, with our virtues and with the inevitable defects, we are real performances in movement that inhabit, house, stay and populate this Planet Earth always busy, like us, in another movement and which has chosen the Sun as a travel companion! A little sad, sometimes melancholy, dreamers and realists, visionaries and empiricals, idealists and practical, protagonists or just characters of this existential play translated into all known languages, on this immense natural stage we all play our part, sometimes under voice, sometimes screaming, but always remaining human in an inhumanity that is more and more latent!

Sometimes prophets, sometimes wise men, philosophers by chance and fortune tellers by superstition, we investigate reality in its most remote corners, in the most lost and forgotten folds.

Ethics and aesthetics unite us and separate us from the obvious, curiosity and indiscretions attract us into bizarre traps of extravagance and rarity! In the Art of this life we ​​are the artists, true protagonists inspired by enigmatic thoughts! Who knows, maybe a little crazy, maybe too whimsical, by nature eccentric and genius by obligation, but as always the main actors of this show of varied art that in its variations to the bitter end seduces, fascinates, enchants and conquers this having always come from who knows where called man!

We are soul and body, essence and intuition, substance and instinct, passion and apathy, love and hate! We are a perfection in perfect balance between being there and existing!

Our goal is always there waiting for us at the end of the race, with that last known destination that for the sake of brevity we have called the finish line, the end of a daydreamed journey!

Beyond that line, life continues as if nothing had happened and yet, beyond that much coveted segment, the world changes color and time seems to stop behind a memory!

From then on, only the Art of Living, in its most sublime meaning, will reveal the meaning of this crazy and unrepeatable race through time that began from the beginning to end in the heart of the mystery of life, showing us the secret of the greatest of interpretations: living!

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RESOLVING PLASTIC CONTAMINATION

WORLD WORLD RESOLVING PLASTIC CONTAMINATION

At the worst “hotspots” - including a beach used by the rare “Godzilla” marine iguana - more than 400 plastic particles were found per square metre of beach.

Solving Plastic Pollution and Climate Change Simultaneously Plastics contain and leach hazardous chemicals, including endocrinedisrupting chemicals (EDCs) that threaten human health.

An authoritative new report, Plastics, EDCs, & Health, from the Endocrine Society and the IPEN (International Pollutants Elimination Network), presents a summary of international research on the health impacts of EDCs and describes the alarming health effects of widespread contamination from EDCs in plastics. Plastic in Galapagos seawater, beaches and animals

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Plastic was also found inside more than half of the marine invertebrates (such as barnacles and urchins) studied, and on the seabed.

The findings suggest most plastic pollution in Galapagos - a worldfamous biodiversity haven - arrives on ocean currents.

The study also identifies Galapagos marine vertebrates most at risk from swallowing plastic or getting entangled - including scalloped hammerheads, whale sharks, sea lions and sea turtles.

“The pristine image of Galapagos might give the impression that the islands are somehow protected from plastic pollution, but our study clearly shows that’s not the case,” said Dr Ceri Lewis, of Exeter’s Global Systems Institute. “The highest levels of plastic

we found were on eastfacing beaches, which are exposed to pollution carried across the eastern Pacific on the Humboldt Current.

“These east-facing beaches include Punta Pitt, a highly polluted site that is home to Godzilla marine iguanas which like so much Galapagos wildlife - are found nowhere else in the world.

“There are less than 500 Godzilla marine iguanas in existence, and it’s concerning that they are living alongside this high level of plastic pollution.”

Speaking about microplastic particles found inside marine invertebrates, lead author Dr Jen Jones, of GCT, said: “These animals are a crucial part of food webs that support the larger species that famously live on and around the Galapagos Islands.

“The potential health effects of plastic ingestion on marine animals are largely unknown, and more research is needed.”

Source: Exeter

University

of

WORLD WORLD MAINTAIN YOUR MENTAL HEALTH AND EMOTIONAL WELLBEING DURING COVID PANDEMIC What are Symptoms of stress to look out for?

“We see more patients presenting with stressrelated symptoms stemming from fears of going outside and/or of COVID-19 infection and deep concern about recently reported traumatic events like shootings and acts of violence.

Stress can manifest in the body as loss of sleep or frequent waking in the night, abdominal pain, diarrhea, heart racing, racing thoughts, dizziness, sweating or unexplained fear of certain situations. Fearful episodes can be triggered by daily, seemingly routine tasks, such as visiting the grocery store.

“Toxic stress can be just as damaging as other physical ailments so it is

important to take time to practice self-care by turning off the phone and limiting exposure to social media/media that may bring traumatic images to mind. Also take time to eat well, exercise and get at least eight hours of sleep.

In addition, there are a number of meditation apps that can help people recenter and find peace, even if used for only for 10 minutes per day.”

Source: Keck medicine of usc How Covid-19 pandemic severely impacts mental health of young people?

The Covid-19 pandemic severely impacted the mental health of young people, with increased levels of clinical depression being identified, a new study published in the journal Psychiatry Research reports. A decrease in alcohol consumption was also identified amongst young people during the pandemic.

depression symptoms and a reduction in overall wellbeing during lockdown compared to the previous autumn. Levels of clinical depression in those surveyed were found to have more than doubled, rising from 14.9 per cent in autumn 2019 to 34.7 per cent in May/June 2020.

Sleep quality was not seen to decline in the overall sample but, importantly, a correlation was seen between the rise in depression and lower sleep quality under lockdown. Also of concern, researchers identified a significant shift towards ‘eveningness’ (a preference to go to sleep and wake later), which has previously been associated with higher levels of anxiety and a greater prevalence of minor psychiatric disorders.

Source: University of Surrey

Researchers found evidence of a substantial impact on the mental health of these young adults due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with a significant rise in

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BULLYING BASED ON STIGMA HAS ESPECIALLY DAMAGING EFFECTS

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tudy examines strategies used to help victims targeted based on race, sexual orientation or other characteristic Bullying is an issue that is constantly in the news - either as a standalone story about a particularly egregious case or as a major contributor to much larger issues, including school shootings.

In a new study, two UD professors are looking at bullying based on stigma where one is treated unfairly or unjustly due to one’s race, sexual orientation, gender, or other characteristic - and examining the methods used to prevent this type of bullying and address it when it happens.

“I became interested in this because we’re realizing that being bullied due to a stigmatized characteristic or identity is really harmful. I started wondering what people are doing about it, and whether they are doing the right things about it,” said lead author Valerie Earnshaw, a professor of Human Development and Family Sciences.

In a study released recently in the journal Developmental Review, Earnshaw, Assistant Professor Tia Barnes and their colleagues found that although there has been an increase in stigma-based bullying interventions, there are some issues with how these interventions are being implemented and evaluated.

Earnshaw said that although research has not made strong connections between gun violence in schools and stigma-based bullying, some signs are there.

The perpetrator of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida had connections with a white supremacy group, she said.

Other perpetrators of gun violence have histories of engaging in genderbased harassment and/or violence.

“Perhaps intervening early on these stigma-related factors could have downstream effects on preventing gun violence,” Earnshaw said.

An intervention to address bullying could be a focused, one-on-one effort

Earnshaw said that some strategies like bystander intervention, where students not involved in a bullying incident speak up or intervene in an incident, could be helpful to address all forms of bullying.

But specific strategies that address stigma, like reducing stereotypes and prejudice, may be necessary to address stigma-based bullying.

Stopping bullying before it starts

While this is a positive, it also means that interventions aren’t evenly distributed across stigmas.

Barnes, who focuses more on racebased bullying, said the team could only find two types of interventions used at schools that addressed race. But she said she wonders if the recent shift in political climate, where students are targeted because they are Muslim or even appear that way to perpetrators, could boost that number.

“We talked a lot about what future research directions should be,” said Barnes, whose PhD is in special education. “It would definitely be that we do need more research on race-based bullying and more interventions at the school level.”

And that is perhaps the most important finding: That more findings need to be made. In other words, Earnshaw said, stigma-based bullying interventions should be rigorously evaluated to see how and why these interventions work.

“Stigma-based bullying has always been around, but I think that there have been some recent societal shifts that have led people to pay more attention to it,” Earnshaw said.

Earnshaw is already in the process of developing new research based on the study. One project focuses specifically on increasing the capacity of school health professionals to address LGBTQ bullying. It aims to develop and pilot an intervention that can help these professionals prevent, identify, and address bullying of LGBTQ students, particularly of multiracial backgrounds and those who identify as transgender.

and support for gay marriage seems to have brought the issue of LGBTQ bullying to the fore.

with the victim or a perpetrator, or it could be a preventative measure imposed on a whole school.

The study shows an increase in interventions to address stigma-based bullying (such as bullying of young people with stigmatized identities, like LGBTQ youth, overweight youth and youth with disabilities).

“Overall, stigma-based bullying is a complex phenomenon that takes an ‘all hands on deck’ approach to address,” Earnshaw said. “Students, teachers, parents, healthcare providers, coaches, religious leaders, and policymakers all have a role to play in ending it and improving the wellbeing of youth who are affected by it.”

by University of Delaware

Between 2000-2007, six were published in the peer-reviewed literature. From 2008-2015, 16 were published.

“This is good,” Earnshaw said.

“People are realizing that stigma-based bullying is harmful, and they’re trying to do things to stop it or help youth experiencing it.”

The reason seems to be issue-oriented: for example, the momentum for equality and civil rights for LGBTQ individuals

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POSTING ABOUT THE REALITIE S OF LIFE TOMA ISTOMINA TOMA IS DEPUTY CHIEF EDITOR AT THE KYIV INDEPENDENT – AN INDEPENDENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER IN UKRAINE. FOLLOW HER ON TWITTER @TOMATOMTOMMY AND READ ALL HER STORIES FOR THE NEWSPAPER, HERE KRISTINA KORBAN IN STARK CONTRAST TO HER VIDEO IN FEBRUARY IN A ROOFTOP SWIMMING POOL, KRISTINA KORBAN’S NEXT VIDEO ON HER TIKTOK SHOWS HER WATCHING MISSILES FLY THROUGH THE SKY RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER EYES. “LIVE FROM UKRAINE,” SHE SAYS. “WE ARE INVADED. LAST NIGHT MY HOUSE SHOOK WITH EXPLOSIONS.” SINCE THEN, SHE’S BEEN POSTING ABOUT WARTIME MEALS AND WAYS TO HELP. SHE’S STILL IN KYIV AND POSTED AN UPDATED JUST THIS MORNING. “I’M SEEING MORE AND MORE MEDICAL FACILITIES BEING DESTROYED,” SHE SAYS TO CAMERA. “IT’S JUST HORRIBLE.”.

OLGA TOKARIUK OLGA IS AN INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST BASED IN UKRAINE, SHE HAS BEEN POSTING UPDATES ON HER TWITTER @OLGATOKARIUK. OLGA ALSO HOSTED THIS INSIGHTFUL UKRAINE WORLD PODCAST EPISODE ABOUT HOW RUSSIA USES DISINFORMATION AS AN INSTRUMENT OF WAR. VALERISSSH PHOTOGRAPHER VALERISH HAS BEEN MAKING TIKTOK VIDEOS ABOUT THE REALITIES OF LIVING IN A BOMB SHELTER AND WHAT IT’S LIKE TO HAVE TO EVACUATE YOUR COUNTRY. HER HUMOUR AMONGST THE DEVASTATION IS HUMBLING, ESPECIALLY IN THIS ONE ABOUT HOW TO MAKE COFFEE WITHOUT ELECTRICITY. ALINA VOLIK BEFORE RUSSIA’S INVASION OF UKRAINE, ALINA WAS A TRAVEL BLOGGER POSTING VIDEOS ABOUT HER ADVENTURES. NOW SHE MAKES TIKTOKS ABOUT THE REALITIES OF LIVING THROUGH AND FLEEING WAR. “MY MOM AND I GOT ON THE TRAIN ON THE THIRD TRY,” SHE WRITES IN A VIDEO. SHE SPENT 30 HOURS SHARING A BED WITH STRANGERS. AT THE END OF THE VIDEO, ALINA HAS MADE IT TO BUDAPEST AND SHE SHOWS HERSELF SMILING WITH HER HOST FAMILY. ANNA MYRONIUK ANNA IS A JOURNALIST AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE KYIV INDEPENDENT. “IT WAS EIGHT O’CLOCK ON FEB. 26. THE FAMILY OF MAKSYM KARAUSH GATHERED FOR BREAKFAST IN THE KITCHEN OF THEIR KYIV APARTMENT. A FEW MINUTES INTO THE MEAL, A RUSSIAN MISSILE HIT THEIR BEDROOM,” ANNA WROTE, IN THIS POWERFUL STORY, KYIV UNDER SHELLING: ‘FIRST THING I HEARD WAS MY CHILD’S SCREAM,’ ABOUT TWO FAMILIES WHO WERE NEARLY KILLED BY SHELLING. YOU CAN FOLLOW HER ON TWITTER @ANNAMYRONIUK.

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ANSWERS SPRING 2022

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