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I was looking for some articles or posts to share about Black Lives Matter, because I don’t live in America and I would never want to risk being insensitive or to treat what is happening with less care than it deserves.  At the moment, I find this statement by the Tumblr staff to be a good start. I’ll surely share more as we go, this 2020 is being so much more difficult than other years, we all need to face it with more sense and sensibility than usual.  Black Lives Matter. Queer Lives Matter. In this 21st century too many people are still suffering for what they ARE and many don’t pay what’s due for what they DID. I hope this is going to change. But changes are always difficult, especially because those who have privilege want to hold onto it as long as possible, thinking that recognising other people’s rights will take away theirs, instead of making for a better world. Rights are not a pie. They’re like love: the more is around, the more is available for everyone 

Today marks the first day of Pride 2020.

It also marks the seventh day of protests held in honor of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. It’s been 634 days since Botham Jean was murdered by a police officer, 233 days since Atatiana Jefferson was fatally shot by a police officer, 2,123 days since Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer, and 2,146 days since Eric Garner was choked to death by a police officer. 

It has been five days since Tony McDade, a Black trans man from Florida, was shot and killed by a police officer.  

At the time of this post, it has been almost 19 hours since David McAtee was shot and killed by the authorities. 

This week has served as a stark reminder that those who have power in this country wield it recklessly and violently against Black people, non-Black POC, and trans people. For some, the power is found in their badge. In others, it’s their skin tone, their socio-economic status, their cisgender privileges, or any other number of privileges one can have. In 2018, with at least 26 trans people who were murdered, all but one was a trans woman, and all but one was a person of color. According to data collected by Human Rights Campaign, this pattern is all too common. It should also be noted that the number of trans people who are murdered is grossly underreported, with many families and newspapers often misgendering those who can no longer speak up for themselves. 

On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall riots began as a response to the constant police raids of nightlife establishments frequented by the LGBTQIA+ community. That night sparked a revolution, with many eye-witnesses crediting Black and Latinx trans women for being brave enough to ignite what would become one of the most pivotal nights in LGBTQIA+ history. Without Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, there would have been no uprising. Without them, there would be no Pride. 

At this moment, it would be tone-deaf and insensitive to commemorate Pride in the same celebratory fashion we usually do. Instead, we’re asking you to make the commitment to better the lives of the oppressed. Do the work to become actively anti-racist if you are not Black. Spread the word that Black lives matter. Spread the word that trans people deserve to feel safe wherever they go. Reblog this post, make your own, or find someone in your life who doesn’t understand and do your best to make them understand. Donate if you can. 

The first Pride was a riot. We stand with you.

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Ambesi’s Winter Corner - 4CC

Another article where Massimiliano Ambesi talks about the 4CC, Yuzuru, and the Ice conditions (and also a jab to the judges :D) Here's the link and I put here the translation of the relevant part on the topic! Massimiliano, Let’s start by giving the prize for THIS WEEK ATHLETE. Who is your choice? “Without any doubt, Yuzuru Hanyu, who, for the first time in his career, stood out in the Four Contintents Championship, completing the “Superslam” of Figure Skating. The Japanese Ace has become the first Men Single skater to win any possible major competition in the Junior and Senior divisions. His endeavor becomes epic if you think that he managed to do it in three different decades, something that only Aljiona Savchenko, Ukrainian with German passport pair skater, was able to do before him.

To make the success conquered in Seoul even more unforgettable, Hanyu delivered one of the best performances in the short program, establishing another world record in his career spanning over 10 years. In this occasion, he brought back the faithful notes of the Ballad No.1 by Chopin, delivering a performance that might have scored even more than the almost 112 points it got. The three jump elements, all perfectly executed, deserved the maximum GOE available, and even the components score didn’t go up, and it didn’t completely reflect what was expressed on the ice. Let’s say that at least 1.19 points are missing on the technical score, and just as much on the program components. In any case, with a performance as good as this on every element, and with the same artistic quality, it’s not beyond Hanyu to get over 114, that is by the way the real value of the program skated in Korea.

Before the World Championships, the big part of the work will be on the free skate. Specifically, we’ll need to understand which quadruple jumps will be put in the definitive layout. In any case, he’ll need a perfect athletic condition to skate the demanding Seimei 3.0 at its best. On this regard, the fact that he won’t need to adapt in few days to a new time zone, as the competition is in Canada, could represent an advantage.

As for the rest, the Seoul performance in the free skate, beyond a slight physical drop in the final part, was conditioned by the state of the ice. As you can see by carefully watching the feet of the last three athletes on the ice, the zones they usually use to make the toepick-assisted jumps had holes of every size, in one case very deep and wide. For those who perform quadruple jumps, not having a high-quality take-off is highly penalizing, because it can give problems in reaching the usual height and the best rotation speed. The same can be said for the landing.In this season, several times the conditions of the ice haven’t been compliant to the regulation. This worrying fact needs to be understood. For some, it depends more and more by the increase of the number of electronic devices that, with a lot of public, might create imbalances in the environmental situation of the rink. A careful analysis of the problem, taking into consideration any correlation, has to be referred to the necessary experts, but we are in dear need of a solution”.

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Yuzuru Hanyu at the Four Continents Championship!

I want to share with you all Massimilano Ambesi’s posts on this HISTORICAL achievement... by winning the 4CC, Yuzuru Hanyu is the first Single Men skater to complete a Super Slam! https://www.facebook.com/massimiliano.ambesi/photos/a.277972812365504/1470080849821355/?type=3&theater&hc_location=ufi  Yuzuru HANYU didn’t take part to the first official practice of the Four Continents Championship, and, unless something new comes up, he should miss the second one too. By looking at the collocation and choice of the elements, he is presenting completely revised programs compared to the past. The impression is that the positioning and the choice of the elements has been done in order to maximize the quality and to earn as many points as possible on the GOE. Regarding the short program (Chopin Ballade No. 1), the 3A is put in Bonus Zone, instead of the 4T+3T combo, and the sitspin with change of foot (CSSp) goes in the second half, compared to the Olympic version. 4S, 4T+3T, x3A Base Value – 45.8 (BV+Max Goe 66.2) Max score available – 116.20 The free skate (Seimei 3.0), because of the new rules compared to the 2017-2018 season (the program is 30 seconds shorter and there’s one less jump), can be considered never seen before. There are a lot of changes, both regarding jumps and spins, as we have here a flying camel spin with change foot (FCCSp). In particular, the first triple Axel is made as third jump element, a positioning that lets us imagine future developments. It is, in any case, likely that this is a work in progress version. 4Lz, 4S, 3A, 3F, x4T+3T, x4T+1Eu+3S, x3A+2T Base Value – 92.63 (BV+Max Goe 132.93) Max score available– 232,93 P.S. It is still to be understood if both lay-outs will be confirmed on the field, considered that there are frequently mistakes in the communications.   

https://www.facebook.com/massimiliano.ambesi/posts/1474671912695582

The Waikiki Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul was the scene of the latest of Yuzuru HANYU’s sport endeavours, winner, for the first time in his career, of the Four Contintents Champaionship.The success has been beyond significative because hit allowed him to make the so-called “SUPERSLAM”, becoming the first Single men skater to win everything he could both in Junior and Senior major competitions.To give an idea of the greatness and of the agonistic longevity of the Japanese Ace, it is sufficient to highlight that already nine years have passed from the first podium got in the 4CC in 2011.

Today’s program wasn’t a bed of roses. The quadruple Lutz, made impeccably in the warm-up, was completed with a sort of step-out and putting a hand on the ice. Moreover, both quadruple Toeloops gave some problems, as the first was saved fighting tooth and nail, while the second, with a barely sufficient rotation, ended in a fall.  The other jump elements were executed impeccably, with a bonus mention for the quadruple Salchow and the two triple Axels, the second of those in combination with a triple Toeloop. There’s still a doubt on the call for unclear edge in the triple flip, that was completed without any problem. Taking into consideration that the program was “put together” in few weeks, today’s result is more than satisfying, but, it will be necessary to improve the physical condition in order to raise the bar. Hanyu missed the total 300 points for a few cents, going above 290 point for the 16th time, which had never happened before.

Runner up, with the highest score in his career, we have Jason BROWN (274.82), who was able to complete eight triple jumps, included well-made Axels for him. The USA athlete also got the highest score of the day in the program components.

Japanese Yuma KAGIYAMA’s (270.61) performance can’t go unnoticed, third at his international debut in a senior competition. The sixteen-year-old, born in the trade, executed two high quality quadruple Toeloops, adding seven triple jumps, included two Axels.

KAGIYAMA preeceded by a hair-breadth the Chinese Boyang JIN (267.67), that missed two of the four planned quadruples, and the Korean Junhwan CHA (265.43), penalized for some jumps with not quite sufficient rotation, but who was able to skate a qualitative high first part of the Free skate.Yuzuru HANYU gave to Japan the 8th success in the Men Single of the Four Continents Championship, one more than Canada.

https://www.facebook.com/massimiliano.ambesi/videos/781345589026589/ Yuzuru HANYU took a bit more than 10 years to complete the first SUPERSLAM in the history of the Men Single Figure Skating.🏅04/12-2009, JGP Final, Tokyo (JPN) 🏅11/03-2010, J.WCH, The Hague (NED) 🏅06/12-2013, GP Final, Fukuoka (JPN) 🏅14/02-2014, OWG, Sochi (RUS) 🏅28/03-2014, WCH, Saitama (JPN) 🏅09/02-2020, 4CC, Seoul (KOR) Before him, the skaters able to do this have been, in order, the Korean Yu-Na Kim (2010), the Russian Maxim Trankov (2014), the Canadese Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (2016), the Ukraine with German passport Aljona Savchenko (2018) and the Russian Alina Zagitova (2019).The twice world and Olympic champion has an open streak of international competitions where he got to the podium: 26 since 2014 (16|9|1). 

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Hi Mr. Gaiman! I love you! I was wondering whose more sqeamish? Aziraphale or Crowley? Like if they read De Sade who would burn it and go drinking to forget and who would just shrug it off ?

I think Crowley would have pointed to de Sade as an example of how the highest highs and the deepest lows are inside the human heart, and the heart of the same human, and Aziraphale would have pointed to de Sade being imprisoned during the Revolution, after having been freed from the Bastille when it fell and made a judge, because of de Sade’s refusal as a judge to sentence people to death, as evidence that people are fundamentally lovely. Crowley would get bored reading 100 Days of Sodom, not squicked, while Aziraphale would read the whole book rapidly classifying its content as Something That People Do.

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Kiss & Cry Reloaded Ep 7 - Transcription and translation

It took almost a month because of my job and Christmas, but I finally managed to finish this. It’s a partial transcription (the whole podcast was over two hours, and it talked about Ladies’ single, Ice Dance and Pair skating too) and its translation. Feel free to share it but please add due credit: I’m happy to do this for the figure skating community, but it still took several days of hard job ^^. 

Here’s the original https://www.spreaker.com/user/talk-sport/kiss-cry-reloaded-puntata-7

Time tags are added when needed.

Please message me if you spot any kind of mistake! I’ll be happy to edit it!

And many many thanks to Massimiliano Ambesi, Angelo Dolfini and Francesco Paone for their insights and company!

Kiss & Cry Reloaded – Episode 7.

Partial transcription.

Transcription and translation by Costanza Bonelli

Legend:

A: Massimiliano Ambesi

D: Angelo Dolfini

P: Francesco Paone

[Italic Text in square brackets: my notes]

 Starts at roughly minute 10:30

P: ... Now, let’s get more in depth on several topics. Ok, Massimiliano, you mentioned the judgement in the Junior Ladies competition, you also mentioned Japan: let’s put it all together, because in the last three or four days there were a lot of talks and discussions about what happened in the men’s single competition, because, okay, Chen won, Hanyu got second, but looking at the scores, many people say “No, it can’t be like this.” I’ll let you talk.

A: I’ll start, but Angelo and I will go back and forth with each other, because, I mean, the topic is sensitive. Let’s put down the basis: Nathan Chen’s victory is legitimate, he got it on the field and this is not up to debate.

D: With full merit, absolutely.

A: With full merit He completed two clean skates (D: Yeah), without any major flaw, and thus this victory, considering Hanyu committed some mistakes, is right. Hanyu lost the competition when he didn’t complete the combination jump planned in the short program (D: Yes), this is a fact, because from that moment he is the one chasing after Chen, clearly with a lot in his mind, the will to make the free program so extreme to try an almost impossible come back... And after that, there’s the free skate with all we all witnessed, in my opinion with more positive sides than negative ones, to be honest.

D: I totally agree.

A: The problem is that if you go and analyse the different elements, you’ll realize that in the GOE attribution, the parameters to get +5, +4, +3 etc are not followed. I believe, and I’m utterly convinced of this, that this system cannot stand as it is, and not because the judges are incompetent or deceitful, I don’t think that, otherwise I wouldn’t be here to talk about skating, I’d be doing something else, and I’d spend my Wednesday evening with my dogs and family, but because the system is not applicable as it is.

Francesco, you are a direct witness because you’ve watched some competitions with me. Every year, I probably see 10,000 different skates, a lot of parents send me their children’s programs from when they’re 10 years old until 18 to know what I think about them, in Italy it happens a bit less, but I receive a lot of video from other countries, so I see a lot of different things. This to say that I’m used to seeing programs, to studying them and to giving scores. But in real time, when you have to judge 12 elements and to keep into consideration the PCS, you cannot objectively keep into consideration all the bullets and the detractions that you have to give to any jump with its GOE. It’s not humanly possible.

I dare the Italian judges to do this (there are some that are real “know-it-alls”), face to face, when they want, I’m here, just call me and I’ll be there. It isn’t possible to judge a skate correctly keeping that system in mind. Then, we can say that a jump is very nice: do we want to give it a +5? Then let’s do this, but the rules say a different thing. The judge is not able to apply said rules to 12 elements, one after the other. Someone will say, “OK, but after the program there’s some time to review it”. The time is not so much, though.

D: It’s a very short time.

A: Yeah, comparatively, very short time.

D: And there are the PCS to score too.

A: Exactly. And what else is there to consider? The fact that, when there’s a review, the call on the element may change.

D: Yeah.

A: And consequently, you have to, you know Use the rules, which call for a compulsory deduction on that element, based on the kind of call arrived.

D: Maybe the jump is under-rotated, or the edge is wrong.

A: Wrong edge, or dubious edge, there are a lot of cases. The consequence is that, with this system, it’s not possible to judge correctly a competition. This doesn’t mean that Nathan Chen stole something, because he deserved to win, but there are some Nathan Chen’s jumps that are judged incorrectly: the Italian Judge that gives +5 on Nathan Chen’s 3A has to explain the reason behind that +5.

For example. Or, the judges who award the 4S from Nathan Chen’s free skate with the same GOE as Hanyu Yuzuru’s one, and I encourage you to watch them both with attention starting with the take-off in both jumps, even if Hanyu simplified his free skate a lot, are - I don’t want to say incompetent - but  they weren’t able to judge the element, because in that short time it’s not possible to take into consideration every single bullet that is required. What they do, then, is getting a general idea and give +5, +4, +3, but this is not what the system wants the judges to do. I’ve said these things several times about the various 3A made by Hanyu in the competitions that preceded this final. So, the judges who said [?] +4. But when you give a +4, it means that you didn’t see two of the three available requirements to raise to +5.

What didn’t you see in Hanyu’s 3A? Doesn’t it match the music? It’s a joke, because he’s so insane about it that if it didn’t match the music, he’d rather fall on the ground, angry because he didn’t execute it as he wanted, so that jump does match the music: no.1. Isn’t the take-off preceded by an unexpected or difficult entry? Because if it isn’t so we can go home now. I’m talking about the short program. Isn’t the position in flight correct, perfect? It may have happened once that he was slightly off centre, but not enough to justify a deduction in the GOE. It’s a +5 for sure, and when you give a +4 instead, you have to explain why you didn’t see two of those three bullets. But I don’t want to think that the judge didn’t see them, I think that the judge didn’t even get to consider the bullets, because in their head it’s impossible to do that in that moment, so they say +4. But this is not what the rules say. And as we’re seeing a lot of cases like this...

D: Yeah, and I’d add, in this specific case, they judge, they see that something is missing, because they say “It’s slightly off centre”, from +5 I’ll go to +4, but it shouldn’t be like that, they should remember that the bullets are six and the skater might have fulfilled five of them, and as you correctly explained, it becomes very complicated to do all this.  

A: Why does it become complicated? Because I feel it myself without the pressure of being in a technical panel...

D: Yeah, that too...

A: ... And I see how it works. +

D: It’s very complicated.

A: I mean, either we find a way to simplify the score attribution, or this cannot go on.  Because the GOE assigned during the competition doesn’t match what the athlete did. This said, Nathan Chen did an exceptional performance from the athletic point of view, okay? But the fact that he completed all his jumps doesn’t mean that all his elements deserve the maximum GOE available, and that there are only positive aspects without any negative ones, this is what I mean. So, if we cannot evaluate the quality of the element for what it is, it becomes difficult to assist to a competition with a correct judgement, and thus a competition that mirrors the real values on the field. Hanyu did lose the competition for other reasons, and we said that everything starts from that failed jump, the missed combination jumps in the short program.

Because everything starts there. But, if you go and see the panel of the elements in the short program, you’ll see that elements that Hanyu executed perfectly, and I mean the triple Axel and quadruple Salchow, didn’t get the maximum GOE possible. And this needs to be explained too: the judge who was there has to explain “why +3?” Or “why +4?”, tell me what’s missing. And this is something that applies to Hanyu Yuzuru, or to Nathan Chen, or to a thousand other athletes. I want to stress and highlight that this system, as it’s thought out, is not good to judge the competitions of this speciality. And I mean Figure Skating. On the Ice Dance, I don’t even want to start the discussion, I’m not really interested in it and it’s based on a completely different approach, but it’s not possible to judge instantly 12 elements and to follow, thoroughly, as it should be, the current rules.

D: And it is complicated, really complicated.

A: Exactly. And I stop here, it’s your turn. It was better in the past, with the +3, because judging the elements was simpler, and then, even then you could get confused, and it was again “very good” = +3, “good” = +2, “good but with something off” = +1, “so and so” = 0 and so on, because the same exact thing happened to Plushenko too.

D: With more nuances, if you want.

A: Exactly, it was more believable, in the past, and now it’s your turn.

D: Yeah, I mean, beside the objective difficulty in correctly evaluating and judging the elements with this score system, that is quite beautiful and thought out, but very complex, and so it’s difficult to judge in such a short time, etc, I’d like to add another concept, in my opinion, that must be explained, and I mean: a lot of judges, especially judges who used to use the old system, a bit less with the newer ones, have always been used to comparing the skaters in front of them (and it still happens when you look at a skating competition), with the aim of saying... What’s your first goal?

The goal is to make a correct classification of the competition they’re evaluating in that moment, and it’s also understandable and right that it’s one of the goals. But, for how this system is thought out and built, it constitutes a more or less absolute judgement system, where competitions are comparable with each other, it’s possible to have and consider a “World record”, and it’s possible to have, let’s say, absolute scores, so they should be able to judge an athlete independently from their competitor, focusing only on what they see on the ice in that moment. Once, with the old system, it wasn’t like this, the comparison was explicit, so they only had to choose, as a judge, who to put first and who to put behind. It was simpler, if you want, but it was less precise, and more arbitrary. In this moment, in the moment when they have to go and judge the single elements, it’s simple to say “Ok, look, he executed it impeccably, it’s the most beautiful triple Axel I've ever seen.” Hanyu made it single in the free skate, for example… +4, +5. I understand this point of view, but then, reading the rules, it’s possible to say, “But... Maybe the entry is not that difficult”, it could still be a +5, we said so earlier, but let’s see, is the landing smooth enough? Are there /have there been smoother landings? Then they analyse it, but this is all in the space of a few seconds and it’s so difficult to do, it is then easier to go on the emotional wave of what one sees: Nathan Chen’s performance was astonishing because he was impeccable on everything, the flaws were really just minor, maybe some landings were not very smooth, but that’s all, and we’re talking about extremely difficult jumps, it’s obvious that something like that brings people to give very high marks, and it is also partially correct, obviously. Then, with a colder mind, maybe alone, you see that program, and you’re not evaluating it in the context of a Grand Prix Final, with the huge tension that was there, and you can make different analyses. In that moment, with that tension, with what they were competing for, it’s easy to evaluate a performance like that in an extremely positive way, and we could ask if it’s correct or not, it might not be that wrong, it’s not easy to weigh everything.

We can discuss about one element, we’re here to do that, we also like to try to understand what an athlete or the other is doing. For us, Hanyu presented excellent elements, and there were a lot of positive notes that he brings home from this final, the quadruple Lutz above everything else, we can say that, but quadruple Loop was great too, but the GOE accounts for a lot in this moment, and if you analyse the required bullets with attention, and you see that in any case the difficult entry is only one of those, but you have 6 of them total. Sometimes a difficult entry makes so that the skater misses everything else and gets less points, and this lets you understand how the judges judge a certain type of skating, and then we would need to see different scores on the PCS, especially on transitions, but even at a strategic level, if you analyse the new rules with attention, and the new bullets, you can see that a jump done with a good speed, very wide and with a good position in air can take a +4 if you get it on the music beat, and maybe even a +5.  

A: And then, the analysis of the men’s competition is very complex because everyone will ask why Hanyu ends up creating a program with those characteristics. Because the difficulty of that program is absurd, out of the normal range. Because it’s for all these reasons, for the lack of compression of the GOE given to a series of elements, that, for the skaters that can afford to do that, the idea becomes raising the base value as much as possible. And so, if you sum the elements that Hanyu had planned for the free skate up and compare them with Nathan Chen’s, you can see that Hanyu’s base value would have been higher, in a “clean program vs clean program” scenario. Then, Chen would have gained something in case of maximum GOE he could get, because he has a margin of 0.20 point on the base value of the spins, and that means 0.10 on the GOE, with a perfect program, and then he has a quadruple Flip instead of a quadruple Loop, those have half a point of difference, and it’s another 0.25 potential GOE.

Fact is that, putting all these elements together, Hanyu’s perfect program vs Nathan Chen’s perfect program would have given Hanyu 0.8 points. This just to silence some things that you can read around and that are wrong on this part. Hanyu knew this, because he calculates every part of his program, he had to catch up, and he decided to go all in, but what remains, beyond what some people might say (and I can’t understand why these people say falsehoods), is that Hanyu Yuzuru, in the practice programs and during the practice sessions, has almost always completed the quads he presented, on the short program run-through he make a mistake on the combination, as he did during the competition too, but after a couple of minutes he tried it again and executed it perfectly. He had wonderful completion percentages on every quad. Quadruple Lutz included, which he didn’t practice as much, but when he did, he completed it, as we can see on the free program day: he got it perfectly in the run-through, caught by the camera too, and it was one of the most beautiful quadruple Lutz ever seen, and then he repeats it, almost of the same level, even during the competition.

He had the amazing ability to raise the bar in the most important moment, he failed on the athletic point of view, there’s not much to say, because after two and half minutes he was objectively in difficulty, even though, and this needs to be said, he had simplified his program compared to his normal one, you can see some more crossovers, a bit more skating on two feet, but it’s clear that as he had to go all in with a different program than in the other competitions, he had to risk some more. This said, in practice probably, not here, but in Toronto, he proposes something similar, because his objective is bringing 5 quadruples of four different kinds as per rules with his free program, because he can repeat one, and he still had the satisfaction to complete all those jumps. He will surely need to grow in quality for the rest, and to get the ability to complete every planned elements, so, in this moment to beat an athlete as solid as Nathan Chen, you need perfection, you can’t escape this, but I cannot think that Nathan Chen could still be ahead of Hanyu Yuzuru if both of them skate a clean program, because if this was the case, there would be a problem with the rules. I heard someone saying “Well, on the skating skills and transitions, Nathan Chen is at Hanyu’s level now.”

D and P: embarrassed laughter.

A: You have to explain it to me, though.

P: But... Massimiliano, please allow me, there are a lot of questions about a certain topic, I mean... We all appreciate the way you’re trying to calm the situation down, but the impression is, from what we can also read on the Spreaker chat, that the blown up GOE are getting annoying, a lot of people is asking “but why are the mistakes always on the same person, is the system broken?”, and okay, they could be wrong, we could be wrong, but the mistakes always seem to be oriented in one direction. Shouldn’t this be a reason to reflect on: is there one more problem beyond all that we said until now?

A: Guys... What can I say, it’s from the start of this season that I’m trying to bring some situations to light. Not even from the start of the senior Grand Prix season, it’s from the Junior Grand Prix circuit, where we saw a ladies’ skater, Alyssa Liu, getting huge GOEs, out of proportion with the quality of the elements she presented. Sincerely I haven’t ever seen something like this happen. The nationality is the same as the one above mentioned, the origins are the same as him, we all know where the 2022 Olympics will be, these are factual data that cannot be denied. Still, you have to go on the ice and complete the elements. But I don’t want to call politics on this, because I’m not interested in that. Also, Nathan Chen didn’t steal anything, I don’t want to think that he’s stealing anything, but I want to point out that if I analyse element per element what Nathan Chen does between his elements in the short program, I see something different from what Hanyu Yuzuru does. And careful here, Hanyu Yuzuru might be wrong. How? I mean, when for the judges the “best that there is” is what Nathan Chen does, and that it has to be done that way, probably Hanyu Yuzuru takes risks and uses a kind of skating that is too demanding to be able to win. Because, okay, we can say that Nathan Chen, athletically speaking, is in better shape than him, he was more prepared, he has more resistance, etc... But Nathan Chen’s skating is half as tiring as Hanyu’s.

D: Yeah, these are all elements to be considered, it’s also right to underline how even Hanyu had to simplify his programs, going a bit that same route, but it was necessary because

A: In the free skate, Angelo.

D: In the free skate. In the short program, you know what I think about the short program, in a condition of clean skate vs clean skate, I don’t think we can put up any kind of discussion, although the score makes you think because even Nathan Chen got over 110, and it’s true, he had a higher base value in the short program.

A: It’s true. In the short program, yes. I’ll explain: Hanyu presents a quadruple Salchow that has BV 9.7, correct me if I’m wrong, the other presents a quadruple Lutz, that has a higher value: 11.5, e, careful, the advantage is not only on the BV, but also on the GOE, because Nathan Chen can get a 5.75, which is half of 11.75, Yuzuru Hanyu must stop at half of 9.7 which is 4.85. But if the two programs are skated perfectly, Hanyu has objectively something more, and let’s explain what: the triple Axel. Hanyu’s triple Axel is worth +5. And you cannot dispute it, if you dispute it you shouldn’t be sitting in the judging panel. Of any competition, a regional one or the Olympic final, the free program at the Olympics, it’s the same. This is not disputable. And if we consider the program components, in my opinion there’s a huge difference. Beyond the fact that some experts tell me “Eh, but Nathan Chen’s choreography is brilliant.”

P: Massimiliano, regarding what you said before, and I mean that in case of clean program vs clean program Yuzuru Hanyu would beat Nathan Chen in any case, we got a question on the Spreaker chat, in which... And I quote: “In a well-known Facebook group, an expert with experience on the ice, the same that said several times that Hanyu’s triple Axel is preceded by a bracket turn, has said that clean free skate vs clean free skate, Chen would beat Hanyu for 15 points”. I’m asking you to explain this.

A: Well... Angelo, this question seems a bit confused to me, sincerely, because an expert who skated that says that the Hanyu’s famous triple Axel is preceded by a bracket turn... They cannot be an expert who skated.

D: Heh, no, they can’t.

A: We’re talking about entirely another thing.

D: Exactly. It’s possible to do a bracket turn before the triple Axel, but it’s not what Hanyu does.

A: He did a different thing, that is called backward outside counter, we could define it this way, that has nothing to do with a bracket turn, so we have two possibilities here: either the quoted person committed a typo, but here they say that “they said several times”, or... I don’t know, really... For example, it’s like if someone wrote me... [okay, here Massimiliano made a Tennis reference to Roger Federer which would probably take me ages to understand because I don’t know Tennis enough, I trust what he says. What I got from it, it’s that although a thing might be similar to another in a very superficial way, it’s very easy to see that they’re not the same].

Angelo, please, explain the difference between bracket turn and backward outside counter, I’ll go over the 15-point topic, that I believe might be my fault, because I didn’t really face this topic on Facebook, I was more on Twitter while explaining. No! There weren’t 15 points of difference, because, I repeat, the BV + GOE of Hanyu’s planned free skate was 0.8 points above Nathan Chen’s, go and sum the values up and you’ll see, if we only look at the BV, it was a bit higher still, as you [Angelo] explained earlier, Nathan Chen took something back with the maximum GOE, the Flip and a spin, I believe. Because I think that Hanyu does a Flying combination spin, a classic combination spin with change of foot and another flying

D: sit spin, yes,

A: flying sit spin.

D: A sit spin, yes.

A: that is worth 3 vs the camel change foot camel or change foot camel spin, call it as you wish,

D: That is worth, 3.20.

A: Exactly, Nathan Chen’s one, so 0.20 points are there, and then there’s the difference between Flip and Loop, so it’s not possible to have 15 points of difference. Maybe I should have written specific posts on the topic, explaining the score of every single element. Hanyu reasoned like this, most probably: he went and skated a free program that has higher Bv+max GOE because he needed it. I want to be very clear: I would have liked to see a different competition, I would have liked to see Hanyu skate a clean short program, being in front of Chen for one point or so (as Nathan Chen get very high scores), and then go for his classic program, clean.

D: he can do it.

A. to bring the maximum he could in the free skate, that was my dream for the final, because it would have been a fantastic competition from any point of view. Hanyu made a mistake in the short, mistakes are part of the competitions, and it ended as it did, but... The result is right, what is the base concept though? That 334, right? New World record, that, for what I think, it’s not valid, it’s not confirmed by what has been done on the ice. I mean, we need to detract a lot of points. Even in this case, Nathan Chen would have won the competition.

D: There no doubt about it.

A: I hope I answered the question, you tell me... For Bracket/counter is something not possible, this leaves me speechless.

D: No, I mean

A: I mean, I think the question is wrong.

D: Yeah, they’re very different things, and I’m going to try to explain this as simply as I can: the peculiarity of the triple Axel that comes from a backward outside counter is the fact that the exiting edge of the counter, and I mean after the turn, after the difficult step that brings you from going backward to going forward, is the same edge where you have to start the Axel.  It is possible to execute a bracket before the triple Axel, but it’s not on the foot from where the Axel starts, but on the other foot. When you have a bracket, you usually do it on a forward inner edge that puts you on the same curve, switching to the back outer edge, that is the typical preparation for the Axel, the one we all see, and then you turn and do your Axel, and it would still be a difficult entry, maybe Alex Takahashi, if I remember well, did this, so it’s possible to do that, but it’s a different thing. It’s very difficult, but maybe a little less difficult [than what Hanyu does] in my opinion. Just to explain this part.

P: And... Regarding Hanyu, people are asking if it’s true that he wants to change his technical staff, as he was alone in the Kiss&Cry.

A: No, okay, this must be explained. okay ay, for the Grand Prix final, each skater can be accompanied by only one person of his technical staff, so only one will be accredited. What happens? From Toronto, considering that there weren’t other Hanyu’s rinkmates qualified for the final, only one coach could leave, and the Japanese Federation didn’t put Orser’s name but Briand’s, who is, by the way, a person who is very close to Hanyu, he’s the person he probably spends most time with in Toronto, sort of a mentor. Orser explained this situation saying “I didn’t go, he (Briand) went because Yuzuru wanted to up the difficulty of the program, to up the technical score with more jumps, and Briand is the jump-specialist.

D: Yeah, he is.

A: You know it well, Angelo, you also did some stage with him, didn’t you?

D: Yes, I met Briand.

A: So, Orser not being there is linked to this situation, if Brown had got his qualification, as it would have been normal, Orser would have been with Briand, and it would have been better for everyone, because the coach’s role there is fundamental for the logistics and a lot of other small things. Then, Briand had problems with the flights, and he was stuck in Frankfurt, I think, and he arrived late, and Hanyu found himself alone to face the short program and the previous practice session, he made that mistakes, etc. The problem is that he was alone even for the successive practice session, the one of the day after the short program, and there, in the last fifteen minutes, he started trying quadruple Axels on top of each other, in some cases he was even able to complete the rotation and ended up falling badly, and those are not trivial, you can get hurt. If Brian Orser had been there, or Briand, probably nothing of that would have happened.

D: No…

A: He wouldn’t have started to practice the quadruple Axel at full speed, I don’t think the strategy for the free skate would have changed, because at that point he needed to go all in, he was 10 points behind, or something like that, and he had to risk everything he could. But probably, had Orser been there, some small situations would have been handled better but they’re not planning a change in the technical staff. Then, it’s clear that when a relationship lasts for a lot of years, there are highs and lows, aren’t there? It’s normal, but, as far as I know now [December 11th, 2019 TN] there’s nothing more than what I explained, we’ll see in the Japanese nationals who will be with Hanyu (who, by the way, hasn’t participated in the Japanese Nationals for quite a long time, for various reasons). Being there, alone, for such an important event, in a country you don’t know, and God knows what more, isn’t easy... No... Please, add something Angelo.

D: Yes, look, for sure we were all surprised to see him alone at the Kiss & Cry, but then it went exactly as you explained it. The problem is that it’s not easy to handle the emotions in these situations, and we all know Hanyu, and it’s true, what we saw at the practice at Palavela wouldn’t have happened if he had had his staff there. It’s a pity that things went that way, but we cannot go back. In the end Briand arrived, and he managed to fix some things, surely the Plan B had already been prepared, I honestly don’t think that the quadruple Axel had been, the one attempted in the practice, but, you know, those things can happen, but I think that Hanyu, in his interviews, has demonstrated times and times again his complete trust in the Toronto coaching staff, and I cannot see, or at least I don’t know of, problems in this sense. Besides, this union between Hanyu and the Toronto Cricket Club has surely bore fruits until now.

A: well, you know, we’re talking about two Olympic titles, besides two World championships titles, four Grand Prix Finals, etc, etc, etc. It is to be said, for those who are worried, that Hanyu lived the situation in a very serene manner, it’s sufficient to see his behaviour during the gala, when, at the end, he was one of the main protagonists, the pranks he did to the other skaters, the gags with the Russian female skaters, and more and more, but Hanyu is also this, and pay attention, because now a whole new game opens up, because what is to be tried, and I know Angelo won’t like this, it’s raising the BV of the short program. Because when that quadruple Lutz becomes a solid jump, everything changes. When the quadruple Loop is done smoothly, as it was, several times in practice, everything changes two times. Translated: we cannot imagine what’s in his mind, and this defeat, the second in a row against Nathan Chen, hurts, and he’ll probably do whatever he can not to have another one at the World Championship, where he is, “home”, as it’s in Canada. That Canada where finally he broke the taboo of the victory in the Grand Prix competition, in this season.

We can expect changes, that that free skate, as it’s planned, might become more stable in time, so that he may be able to skate properly the last part too, and I would like to make you think about the construction of the two programs, and I’d like to do this all together, because I think that from this point of view Nathan Chen is brilliant.  Nathan Chen is score-machine. Why? Because it’s true that both Nathan Chen and Hanyu have five quadruple jumps, but Nathan Chen builds his free skate so that the most valuable elements, without the bonus, are all in the first part. Look at which the first three elements presented by Chen are, and look at the value of those elements. He starts with three big jumps, which he faces fresh, there’s not much between these elements because, I mean, doing a quadruple requires a lot of physical effort, mental too, but he completes them all. Sum up Nathan Chen’s first three elements: they are three absolutely difficult elements, and he manages to complete them, as they were nothing.

D: Fifty points.

A: more than fifty points, and from this point of view, the strategy is brilliant. What does Yuzuru do? Yuzuru is very attentive to everything regarding the BV, and he knows that his premise is that he hasn’t the quadruple Flip, so he backloads the programs, so that he can have all his combination jumps in the second part. For sure, though, when you get around the 3-minute mark, or beyond, and you have to jump a combination of quadruple Toeloop, Euler, triple Flip, (that Nathan Chen does too, but after 45 seconds); and a never-seen before in competition sequence of two triple Axels, which is terribly difficult (and yes, he is able to do even four of them in a row, but when he’s rested)

D: For sure!

A: And then that quadruple Toeloop, triple Toeloop that sometimes gives him problems. One day, I’d really like to tell you Hanyu’s story starting from the Junior competitions. The combination with the triple has always given him a few problems, even when he was younger. When he was young, very young, a child, 15/14 years old, he didn’t do it with a quadruple

D: Lutz, Toeloop

A: I remember when he competed in Italy in the Grand Prix, and we’re talking back of an era, he was constantly working in practice on Salchow/Toeloop, Flip/Toeloop.

D: Yes,

A: Because that year at Junior level I think [here the voices were too mixed, I didn’t get it, but I imagine they were talking about the compulsory jumps in Junior].

D: It was the Lutz

A: Exactly, so, that was his first Junior season, but in general, that is the element that, more or less, has often given him problems in several occasions. This does not mean that he can’t do a combination quadruple Toeloop/triple Toeloop, because when he does that, I mean, it’s exceptional. It’s clear that presenting it after three minutes is difficult. In Turin he did a quadruple Toeloop/double Toeloop, but he had other intentions. What I want to show you, though, is that if we analyse how the programs are built, we realize how much easier it is to get points with Nathan Chen’s program, isn’t it? Hanyu has a triple Lutz as third element in this moment, and he has a lot of elements in the last two minutes, while Nathan Chen’s distribution of the elements is much more balanced, and allows him to get more breath between a part and the other of the program, between an element and the other. This is where the people making the program for Nathan Chen are very good at it, don’t forget that. It’s clear that Yuzuru risks so much that when he completes everything, he is automatically ahead. So, when we think about the programs, let’s think that these little parts regarding how they’re built, especially in a moment when only the last three elements get the bonus.

D: Exactly, so it changed the game a lot.

A: Someone asked why Nathan Chen doesn’t do two triple Axels, he could gain more points with two triple Axels. The answer is no, he cannot get more points with two triple Axels, before the final he did two triple Axels and had one less quadruple, do you remember it? He gives the second triple Axel up, that would be the last jump in combination, probably with a double Toeloop. Why? And he cannot do that with a triple Toeloop, because that would mean repeating the triple Axel, that he is already doing as fourth element, what is his reasoning? I do, as first element, the quadruple with the triple, right? This quadruple is the Flip, in this case. Then I repeat two quadruple Toeloops, then I go to the last element: I have two options: Option A, very risky, triple Axel/double Toeloop, BV: 9.3? Something like that?

D: Yes, 9.3.

A: And then there’s the bonus

D: there’s the bonus

A: Option B: triple Lutz, that I haven’t done yet, and I get to repeat the triple Toeloop. BV, let’s sum it up: 5.9 + 4.2 or 4.3, whatever: it’s more than 10 points already. And there the brilliance of how the program is built is evident, why? Because of Nathan Chen’s qualities, this program with five quadruple jumps completed, is the one that can get as many points as possible.

D: in relation to how difficult the elements are, too.

A: And even regarding the difficulty, because doing a triple Lutz/triple Toeloop for Nathan Chen [both voices at the same time].

D: It’s easy as pie

A: after two and half minutes, it’s like playing. And that triple/triple becomes, considering the bonus, one of the most valuable elements in his program.

D: Exactly. It’s a paradox.

A: So, this is one of Nathan Chen’s great qualities. In order to defeat Nathan Chen, you have to surpass yourself. Then, if the judgement is fair [he used the English here], a lot of things can be different [both voices at the same time].

D: But it’s right to highlight the strategy. Nathan Chen’s strategy and program-building, they are studied in every detail, fit to their skater, and you have to tip your hat in front of a skater that is able to complete cleanly a program with five quadruple jumps, it’s not easy.

A: Sure. Come on, Francesco, go on with the questions, I think there are a few on this topic.

P: Well, I’d say that on the Men’s competition there’s not much more to say, there’s a lot on the Ladies’ skate, if we want to close.

D: it was magnificent.

P: Well, yeah, it was magnificent.

A: Well, on the Men’s skate, I’d like to go back for a few on the program components we talked about earlier. If we talk about the short program, I cannot think for Hanyu to be considered at the same level of Nathan Chen, on skating skills and transitions there’s no competition. Beyond the fact that in Turin he may have skated at the 80% of his potential and not at the 100%, you cannot even compare them, I don’t know what you think about it, Angelo. And those two voices are the not subjective ones, okay?

D: Exactly. Yes, we’ve talked a lot of times about this: there’s less room for subjectivity, if you may.

A: On the other scores, you can call subjectivity in question, someone may like Nathan Chen, someone might say “Mi arriva” [this is something along the line of “he moves me” and “I get him”], which is a term that... When I hear “Mi arriva”, I immediately get angry, okay ay?  I don’t say it, other people do. In my opinion, that depends on the genre, on the style, depends on whatever you want... Maybe Hanyu has more room compared to Nathan Chen, so much that with a big mistake, still he’s ahead in all the components of the short program. Then, the difference should probably be higher. In the free skate in Turin, Hanyu simplified a lot.

D: Yes, this is to be underlined.

A: We need to remark this, and simplify a lot means going on the same level of the other, though.

D: And sure, sure, this might be a strategic mistake, even though, I don’t know, it’s difficult to evaluate, because in the end you need to complete a program with 4 or 5 quadruples, otherwise you have no ammo, you’re helpless. Hanyu has a big problem in this moment. The quadruple Lutz was exceptional, but he is usually less reliable on Lutz and Loop than Nathan Chen is (and demonstrated to be) on Flip and Lutz, and the game is there. Then, on whatever is left, you’re taking a risk, you’re raising the difficulty and start putting difficult entries left and right, it really risks to become too tiring, it’s a very subtle balance, but how Hanyu simplified his program on the transitions is evident to everyone, but he raised the technical difficulty really really a lot.

A: But this does not mean that he is behind Nathan Chen on this.

D: No, not behind. But the difference is not as much.

A: Exactly. Then, the transitions are not only about what you do with your feet

D: no, for sure.

Until 53:13

 Min: 1:52:00

P. There was a question getting back to Hanyu

A: uh, let’s go back to Hanyu

P: Let’s go back to Hanyu: they’re asking what is the BV difference between the Free skate in Turin and the one in NHK [this was my question actually].

A: Okay, let’s talk about the Turin’s program he had in his mind, what he wanted to skate and couldn’t because there were some small mistakes. I’d say there were... Almost ten points between BV and GOE, I only take into consideration the maximum you can get by summing the BV and GOE with all +5. So, there were 10 point, 9.70/9.50, something like that. The BV + GOE in Turin was, I think, 142.23, go and check, but from what I remember, it was something like that, while in the Grand Prix competitions it was slightly less than 133, so that’s the different, and it was a fundamental difference to catch up with Nathan Chen, he knew that Nathan Chen would be going from four quadruples to five, and so to balance the situation, he needed to create that program, and its difficulty is completely crazy.

 Min 1:54:35

P: I have also seen... this is a consideration more than a question. Having seen them skating live, I have to say that Trusova’s jumps are not only definitely higher than Chen’s, the Toeloop is basically as high as Hanyu’s, but she also has a way better ice coverage, plus she skates on one foot.

A: Oh, they, this is an interesting thing I wanted to day: when we talked about Hanyu’s skating being more tiring, in general, it’s because, yes, there are more segments on one foot only, but there’s also a bigger ice coverage that, in theory, should be considered for the composition score.

D: Yes.

A: Someone consider it in the skating skills, but in my opinion

D: it’s not correct.

A: I’d say no, rather than yes, but it’s in Composition that you have to judge that score. Chen is not the only one to have limits of that kind, even if he improved, if you look with attention at Zagitova’s, I’d say Medvedeva’s too, it’s not like they have a lot of ice coverage. A ladies’ skater who has an important ice coverage is Miyahara, and Rika Kihira too, I’d say. Kostornaia, Hanyu, and, okay  Hanyu is so... Hanyu takes care of this kind of details on his own, he calculates everything, the contrary would be surprising, but this is a very intelligent consideration, I’m happy that we have such a profound audience following us, I mean, it makes us proud.

[apassionfortranslation]

Ambesi’s Winter  Corner - Figure Skating

I’m a figure skating fan, I’ve been a casual one for some years now, and since last year, I’ve got more involved with groups and everything. I love learning new things, so I took the opportunity of being surrounded by so many people who know TONS about it and ran with it :D. I’m on an international fan group and one of the best commentators about the sport is the Italian Massimiliano Ambesi, who is really so interesting to read and listen. So sometimes, with other Italian fans, I help people in the international group by translating Ambesi’s commentary or articles. This is an extract from Winter Corner, where he talks about severl winter sports, and I translated the part about figure skating. I hope it’s useful somehow! This is the original article: LINK Q: Massimiliano, let’s start with one of our features in the feature. In your opinion, who was the ATHLETE OF THE WEEK? A: “Forever and ever Alena Kostornaia: in the Grand Prix final in Turin she was the clear-cut winner of the competition, with the highest technical level ever seen in the history of the sport, and she even allowed herself the luxury of establishing a new World Record. By the way, it is possible that in the sum of the components she could go even better, allowing her to get more than 250 points in a spotless competition, and all this without quadruple jumps. At the moment, she represents the best synthesis between technical skills and artistic quality. The only minor flaw in the final was that she was not the winner of every single segment of the competition, as she had been before. In the free skate her training companion Anna Shcherbakova preceded her by mere tenths of point. For this, it was determining the triple axel + triple toeloop combination although from a negative point of view, that she completed with less quality compared to the one at the NHK Trophy some weeks ago. In any case, Alena improved her personal records in every segment of the competition, both TES and PCS, and this, at the end of the game, is definitely resounding because, we can say it now, she competed with a problem of unknown gravity to one shinbone. The victory in the Grand Prix Final will probably guarantee her a place for the European and World championships regardless of what will happen at the Russian National Championship.” 

Q: A question arises then, if you want a bit obvious. Who can beat her? A:“There are three skaters that can have the chance to compete with her at the same level, both in this moment and in the future. As for the future, it’s impossible not to mention the Japanese Rika Kihira, although she needs to recover her full physical health, and, consequently, the triple Lutz she had to forcibly put aside. In the short-term, instead, Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova, who were preceded by Kostornaia at the Grand Prix Final and are ready to get their re-match in the imminent national Championship at the end of December. The other skaters, in a way or another, are several steps behind as demonstrated not only in the Grand Prix Final, but during the whole season, in which three of Eteri Tutberidze’s students have annihilated the competition in any context. Obviously, the staff directed by the coach with Georgian origins deserves a mention because they established a long series of records that, from now one, can only be matched.

 Q: As we opened with Figure Skating, let’s keep it as a topic. I’d like to have your comment on the results of the other competitions on the other Grand Prix Finals that were held in Turin. A: “We witnessed four competitions with clear-cut results, besides the final leads. In the single competitions, the victory went to two skaters, Kostornaia and Chen, who completed every planned element, improving the world record. In the Ice Dance and even more in the Pair Skating, the indisputable favourites of the eve won, Papadakis/Cizeron and Sui/Han, although there was some minor mistake here and there. The most problematic segment of competition was the Rhythm Dance: during that you could feel the competitors’ tension, but everything got back to normal for the free dance. 

Q: You haven’t mentioned it, but I'd like to know your opinion about the multiple complaints about the scores in the Men's single competition. What is your idea about it? A: "First things first, Nathan Chen is the worthy winner of the final, and he deserved his result on the field, but his skating isn’t worth the scores that he gets. Right now, there's a clear problem on the attribution of the GOE and on the evaluation of the program components. More quadruple jumps can't automatically mean more PCS, and especially when the necessary requirements are not present, over-scoring the jump elements should not be possible, but it's not just that. The current score system doesn't work well right now. It's not only a problem of lack of proportionality between the TES and the PCS, which is well known, I also think that the situation was way worsened when they changed the GOE attribution system at the beginning of this Olympic four-year period. In my opinion, the current rules are not applied correctly because no judge, and I challenge anyone to prove otherwise, is able to evaluate in real/almost real-time the many elements of the programs, with precise references to the six bullet points that are to be referenced in the rules, to the possible deductions that may happen, and don't forget that at the same time they also have to evaluate the five scores of the components. With this statement, I'm not saying that the judges are not competent to do that, but simply that the current GOE assignment system is not applicable in such a short time as what they have. The example, in this sense, can be represented by any segment of the competitions in this season. I invite everyone to compare the quad Salchows made by Hanyu and Chen in the free skate in Turin, jumps that, inexplicably, obtained the same GOE. Thus, if it is not possible, for reasons that I think are understandable, to apply the rules as they were thought, maybe it would be better to create something different, so that anyone can adjust accordingly, and they can avoid losing credibility. Obviously, my premise is that there's no deceit, although, after having seen some people at work, I might have a doubt about that. In any case, I'll ignore it for now, and go forward, even if I'm quite perplexed. We need corrective measures, and we need them as soon as possible, but I'm not convinced that those who are in charge of these decisions may be able to intervene." 

Q: With an answer like this, I cannot help asking you if Yuzuru Hanyu can beat a Chen who, in fact, is able to carry out every planned element. A: "In a competition with spotless programs for both of them, the victory would go to the Japanese skater. I have no doubt about it, because he is one step ahead in every score entry. In the free skate in Turin, the base value planned by Hanyu, counting the highest GOE possible, was 0,8 points above Chen's. Thus, they are on basically even ground on this. It's clear that Chen is more at ease in completing five quadruple jumps. The American skater, in this sense, is favoured by his skating: he spends less energy because he clearly covers less ice and has more two-footed skating, and this advantage still remains even though Hanyu had to simplify his free skate, compared to the previous ones, to be able to put in five quadruple jumps as well. In any case, it needs stressing that the Japanese man's jumps are better in quality, which means more height (in the final, the height for every jump was measured and the difference was embarrassing), the width, the entrance, the exit position, and a lot of other elements. Chen demonstrated to be superior on the athletic point of view, and on this part Hanyu will have to work in order to overcome this situation. Besides, another important difference is where the jumps are placed. Chen starts with his three most difficult elements in the first half (not in bonus zone), and two of them are combination jumps, and has a second part that is lighter than Hanyu's, who instead wants to execute three difficult combinations as the last three jump elements. I think that in Toronto they'll need to think about this. In general, I still think that the comparison on the PCS is out of the question, because the Olympic champion has an advantage on every item, in particular on the less subjective ones, like skating skills and transitions. Especially in the short program, the difference is even higher. It is clear that it's still necessary for Hanyu to complete every planned jump. In Turin, for the first time in his career, he was able to complete five quadruple jumps, of four different kinds, Lutz included. Surely, this is an important starting point for the future. As for the rest, we can only wait for the next competition. 

[apassionfortranslation]

A sproposito degli Hobbit

Uno degli argomenti caldi di questi giorni, è proprio la resa di Samwise Gamgee come Samplicio Gamgee.

Riguardo i nomi propri Hobbit non ci sono indicazioni nella nomenclatura, se non occasionali, perché Tolkien dà istruzioni nell'appendice F, dove dice che i nomi femminili degli Hobbit sono di solito fiori o gemme, mentre quelli maschili NON HANNO SIGNIFICATO.

Sempre leggendo l'appendice F, Tolkien dà i nomi in lingua hobbit di Sam e suo padre Ham, e dice di Banazîr (nome di Sam) che vuol dire "mezzo saggio, semplice".

in specifico, Tolkien dice di aver modernizzato due parole di inglese antico samwís e hámfoest, ricavandone i molto simili Samwise e Hamfast. Però mentre samwís e hámfoest sono parole con un significato in inglese antico, le modernizzazioni Samwise e Hamfast sono PRIVI di significato in inglese moderno, quindi il riferimento è possibile solo per chi conosca l’inglese antico a sufficienza da riscontrare questi significati. Altrimenti, per il lettore medio, perdono di ogni significato e rimangono come nomi propri. Quindi, a rigor di questa logica, una possibilemodifica di Samvise avrebbe dovuto includere un riferimento ad una fonte almeno latina (perché l'inglese antico sta al moderno più o meno come il latino sta all'italiano, fatte le dovute tare), e mantenere almeno il gioco di parole o almeno il senso del gioco di parole in modo che però fosse comprensibile ad un latinista ma non necessariamente ad un lettore “medio”. Ora, questo sarebbe stato uno splendido esercizio di filologia, ma che trovo un po’ innecessario nello scopo primario del libro: raccontare una storia. Per di più Tolkien stesso dice che i nomi hobbit maschili sono privi di significato nella lingua di arrivo, quindi andavano lasciati intoccati, o al limite adattati per ortografia (in italiano la W non è frequente, ecco perché Samvise).

Una nota che invece mi interessa sottolineare qui sull’autore è questa: l’appendice F tratta di traduzione. Ma non della traduzione del testo del Signore degli Anelli, quanto della TRADUZIONE IN INGLESE delle varie lingue della Terra di Mezzo, inclusa la lingua degli Hobbit. Quindi quello che Tolkien ha fatto è stato almeno PENSARE ogni singola lingua (compreso l’Ovestron, oltre a quelle che ha poi creato tipo il quenya), poi scrivere l’adattamento/traduzione dei nomi in inglese e poi SPIEGARE COSA AVEVA FATTO facendo riferimenti filologici all’inglese stesso. Io non so se vi rendete conto DEL LAVORO immenso che è questo. Io scrivo per diletto, e la “costruzione del mondo” è una delle parti più complesse della scrittura di una storia fantastica… Se non altro, se una cosa buona è uscita da questa storia, è stata spingermi a riprendere questi libri che ho tanto amato alla fine della mia adolescenza e inizio dell’età adulta, e a rileggerli con diciotto anni di letture, studi di lingua e filologia, linguistica e traduzione in più alle spalle, e scoprire che ogni pagina adesso me la godo il triplo. Grazie Professore!

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Analisi e comparazione nuova traduzione de Il Signore degli Anelli - I titoli dei Capitoli

Non tutti i titoli dei capitoli sono cambiati, ma di quelli che lo sono, alcuni so già che faranno discutere. Ci sono soluzioni che trovo abbastanza indifferenti (nel senso che per me vanno bene entrambe, anche se l’impressione generale è che Fatica cerchi i sinonimi apposta per differenziarsi), alcuni sono invece proprio di grande rottura (e, a parer mio, non sempre azzeccatissimi)

L’immagine che vi metto riporta il titolo originale, la versione di Alliata e quella di Fatica, in corsivo sono riportati tutti quelli cambiati. Gli altri sono invariati.  

Prologo 1: Preposizione articolata vs preposizione semplice. Differenza impercettibile

Prologo 2: Voleva forse imitare la menta piperita come rierimento? La Piperina è la sostanza contenuta nel pepe, per me sarebbe un po' troppo vicino per scegliere piparina. Oggettivamente, se mi fossi trovata prima davanti erba piparina e poi erba pipa non so se avrei storto il naso o no

Prologo 4: "of the" Indica "a proposito". Nel titolo precedente è ignorato in entrambi i casi, quindi mantiene una certa coerenza eliminarlo anche in questo titolo. Finding HA questo doppio significato di scoperta e ritrovamento, quindi tutto dipende da cosa si preferisce.

Libro 1 - 1: La costruzione dell'Alliata è meno utilizzata, mette enfasi su quell'"a lungo" e mantiene la similarità con la più usuale costruzione inglese che anticipa l'aggettivo al sostantivo (mentre in italiano la disposizione è a piacere). La versione di Fatica traduce letteralmente, ma toglie un po' di enfasi a quell'"a lungo". Come titolo preferisco l'Alliata, perché i titoli hanno bisogno di qualcosa che li faccia risaltare, secondo me.

Libro 1 – 3: In questo caso giuro che non capisco perché Fatica traduca così, allontanandosi tantissimo dall'originale. Non è nemmeno questione di rendere una frase fatta, "Three is company" è stato utilizzato in seguito come titolo per la serie che da noi è andata in onda come "Tre cuori in affitto", ma non trovo ragioni per questo cambio, che non trovo affatto necessario.

Libro 1 – 4: La versione di Fatica è forse più letterale, la versione dell'Alliata aggiunge la relativa, in generale il significato non cambia eccessivamente.

Libro 1 – 8: Tumuli, come da indicazioni nella Nomenclatura, rimane. Tra l'altro in italiano "tumulo" dà già l'impressione di un monte di terra rialzato. Sto pensando se quel "poggi" non si riferisca al toscanissimo "Poggio" (chi non ricorda la mitica scena de "Il Ciclone" dove il bus con il manager milanese e le ballerine spagnole si perde, e Levante cerca di dare indicazioni dicendo "il poggio più 'n giù" e non venendo capito? Ecco, io sono di Arezzo e da noi "poggio" è usatissimo ed usato anche nei toponimi. Non è orrendo, mi piaceva di più Tumulilande per l'allitterazione. Forse non è facilissimo per i non toscani capire quel Poggi (sempre che la spiegazione sia quella che ho dato io eh!).

Libro 1 – 9: Prancing vuol dire tante cose, ma riferito ai cavalli è spesso e volentieri impennarsi. Seppur vero che inalberarsi si usa come sinonimo di impennarsi per i cavalli, è altrettanto vero che il suo campo semantico include un sottotono di "arrabbiatura" più legata agli umani. Ora, Pony non è un puledro, quindi Cavallino se proprio non si vuole usare Pony (che comunque è attestato anche in italiano e non avrebbe sfigurato) non è errato, "Cavallino Impennato" sarebbe stato, per me, più preciso. Puledro imPennato mi sembra peraltro un tentativo di mantenere un minimo dell'allitterazione tra Pony e Prancing, e probabilmente Fatica nel voler usare Cavallino ha cercato di fare la stessa operazione con inaLberato.

Libro 1 – 10: … ok, lo ammetto, ho dei problemi con "Passolungo", perché, da brava tecnica, lo associo al passo delle auto. Lungopasso l'avrei apprezzato di più. Qui, a gusto mio, vince la Alliata ^^.

Libro 2 – 4: Sinonimi, credo volesse distaccarsi, entrambi validi. L’impressione è che scelga sempre i sinonimi quando può, a volte per una differenziazione che risulta una lacrima forzata.

Libro 2 – 10: La Alliata usa il verbo corrispondente a "breaking" e gli toglie la sostantivazione, Fatica la mantiene. Forse in questo caso terrei la versione di Fatica, ma è abbastanza indifferente. Edit: Valentina Marconi, che opera spesso come mia betareader di fiducia e pignoleria massima, mi fa notare che in effetti "La Compagnia si scioglie" è più immediato in italiano e corrisponde di più al senso di immediatezza dell'originale (anche perché in effetti mentre "breaking" è una forma coniugata del verbo "break", “scioglimento” è invece il verbo “sciogliere” sostantivato dall'aggiunta del suffisso -mento, quindi necessita di una scomposizione per essere compreso, cosa non necessaria in inglese). Potrei aver cambiato idea dopo l'edit in effetti.

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Analisi e comparazione nuova traduzione de Il Signore degli Anelli - I Toni

Aiutata da Valentina Marconi, la mia fida socia fissata del Signore degli Anelli e di linguistica che sopporta i miei sfoghi, ci siamo messe a leggere parte del secondo capitolo. Io ho letto i primi due finora (ci sto mettendo un secolo perché continuo a fare riferimento da una versione all’altra della traduzione E all’originale, non riesco a farne a meno).

Parliamo prima delle cose positive.

In alcuni tratti, il tono di Fatica sugli hobbit è davvero pittoresco e interessante. Mi piace che abbia mantenuto alcuni errori grammaticali del parlato che ci sono in originale (e che erano stato eliminati dalla Alliata), e mi piace che abbia abbassato un po’ il tono di parlata del popolo hobbit. Sam è veramente gradevole (a parte quando dice “questo genere di storie mi piace assai”… perché questa costruzione quando è completamente assente in ogni altro punto?), un po’ titubante, rende molto Sam.

Un punto che ho trovato molto bello è stato quando Frodo decide di partire, dicendo che anche se la Contea gli mancherà, sarà più tranquillo sapendo di avere un punto fermo dietro di lui, anche se non potesse tornarci. La versione di Fatica risulta un po’ più diretta e meno arzigogolata dell’Alliata, e ne lascia intatta l’anelito e la nostalgia che si sente già in Frodo.

 Sul tono, in generale, però, riscontro diverse problematiche (non parlerò di singole scelte lessicali ora, altrimenti stareste qua quattro ore).

Nel tentativo di abbassare il livello di italiano per renderlo più fruibile e meno “alto”, è incocciato in due errori a mio parere:

Ha abbassato i toni di Bilbo e di Frodo che invece nella Contea si distinguono proprio per quelli (anche con errori grammaticali che non esistono nell’originale, per esempio “[omissis] ho trovato gli abitanti indicibilmente stupidi e ottusi, e ho pensato che un terremoto o un’invasione di draghi gli farebbe bene” vs “[omissis] I thought the inhabitants too stupid and dull for words, and have felt that an earthquake or an invasion of dragons might be good for them”: ovviamente quel GLI non è accettabile in italiano rivolto ad un sostantivo plurale, ed in inglese il pronome è correttamente al plurale, quindi non andava inserito così. Sarebbe dovuto essere “farebbe loro bene”). (Edit: mi informano che ultimamente l’utilizzo del GLI come plurale, sappiate che io sto piangendo tantissimo per questa cosa e per me rimarrà ORRIBILE).

 Ha abbassato (e questo lo trovo ancora più grave) il tono di Gandalf. Mi trovo con un Gandalf che dice parole come “Bailamme”, “sciroppato” (questo l’ho trovato particolarmente fuori luogo al posto di un “I had weary days of it”) e che parla come un vecchio brontolone. Questo in particolare, se Fatica avesse letto le Lettere (ed Bompiani, “La Realtà in Trasparenza” Ed. Rusconi e Bompiani precedente), è un errore che non avrebbe dovuto fare. Nella lettera 210 (cito da “La Realtà in Trasparenza”, ed Rusconi 1° edizione 1990), quando scrive ad Ackermann riguardo l’adattamento di Zimmermann, dice al punto 3.

“Gandalf, per favore, non dovrebbe “borbottare”. Benché possa sembrare a volte irritabile, abbia senso dell’umorismo e assuma un atteggiamento paterno nei confronti degli hobbit, è una persona di grande autorità e grande dignità. La descrizione del Vol. I a pag. 290(1) non dovrebbe venir dimenticata”. Cito dallo stesso volume la nota 1 per completezza: “Gandalf era più basso di statura rispetto agli altri due, ma i suoi lunghi capelli bianchi, la fluente barba argentea e le ampie spalle lo facevano somigliare ad un saggio re delle leggende antiche. Nella sua faccia segnata dal temo, sotto le candide sopracciglia cespugliose, i suoi occhi neri sembravano carboni che potevano ardere da un momento all’altro.”

Trovo questo rendere Gandalf più “vegliardo” che “anziano” fastidioso sin dal primo capitolo: è uno degli Istari, non il primo vecchiaccio che passa, anche se ne dà l’impressione con le vesti.

 Anche nella parte narrativa, lo stile passa dall’essere molto terra-terra a momenti aulici e viceversa, questo tende a tirarmi fuori dalla storia e a farmi fermare per raccapezzarmi.

 È vero che la Alliata si prende diverse libertà col testo, fondendo frasi assieme, a volte parafrasando dei pezzi. Ma è anche vero che questo tende a rendere più “italiano” lo stile di scrittura. Fatica tende a seguire pedissequamente la struttura sintattica dell’originale, che è una paratassi serrata. La paratassi però non è così naturale in italiano, anzi! Questo, unito al fatto che alcune frasi tradotte si “accorciano” dà l’impressione di un testo fatto di sole principali, che abbassa ulteriormente il tono del racconto, cosa che non succede in inglese che da questo punto di vista ha una struttura naturale ben diversa.

Il proclama di Fatica nell’intervista di aprile scorso di evitare il traduttese e di essere più fedele all’originale sinceramente nei primi due capitoli non lo vedo rispettato. Tendendo a ricalcare la struttura di una lingua così diversa dall’italiano, cade proprio nell’errore principale del traduttese. Dimentica un po’, sempre a mio parere, che il lettore tipo di un libro tradotto (e necessariamente adattato) non è chi sa l’inglese, ma l’italiano che parla solo italiano.

 Mi riservo di cambiare idea proseguendo nella lettura. Per ora queste sono le mie primissime impressioni, che butto giù anche come promemoria e per discuterne passo passo con voi.

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Puntini sulle “i”, trattini sulle “t”.

Torno con un papier, perdonatemi ma quando un argomento mi sta a cuore divento veramente pedante (come un certo professore)

Sto leggendo, nell'ottica di preparare l'articolo che voglio dedicare all'analisi della nuova traduzione, una serie di saggi online e non sulla questione politica che circonda la pubblicazione del Signore degli Anelli (perché era un aspetto che avevo sempre tralasciato e sembra essere uno dei motori fondanti di quest'operazione... se qualcuno volesse venire a farmi un riassuntone gliene sarei molto grata), e comincio seriamente a pensare che sia doveroso un discorso, un disclaimer che dir si voglia.

Premettiamo subito che credo che la lettura politicizzata del Fantasy sia una CAGATA PAZZESCA. Non vado ad usare mezzi termini, la mia posizionè è veramente netta su questo punto di vista.

Il mio schieramento politico, da atea, convinta sostenitrice dei diritti LGBTQIA+ e da una che pensa che sarebbe meraviglioso se non esistessero frontiere (badate bene, non culture diverse, ma frontiere. Le diversità ci arricchiscono, le frontiere di chiudono in una piccolezza inquietante), mi serve qui solo per dare un punto di riferimento a chi legge di quella che è la mia personale impostazione, nel cercare di chiarire da che mondo esattamente io venga.

E sono perfettamente consapevole che il Professore Tolkien avesse ideali diversi dai miei. Il che è fantastico, dicevo prima che le diversità ci arricchiscono, no?

Quello che trovo necessario dire ora e subito, prima ancora di partire col primo post davvero dedicato alla traduzione, è che non saranno tollerate discussioni politiche su questo argomento. Potete vedere in Sauron l'incarnazione di Stalin o di Hitler, a me non interessa. Perché la questione è che Sauron è un ARCHETIPO, così come tutti i personaggi del Signore degli Anelli lo sono, e sono fatti apposta per permettere al lettore di immedesimarsi. La lotta contro Sauron è la lotta contro un dominio completo, e poco importa chi è il dominatore e chi il dominato, se il risultato è comunque la mancanza di libertà.

Se proprio proprio devo tracciare un parallelismo, io ci vedo tanto il Manzoni con la sua Divina Provvidenza, specie nel modo in cui l'anello viene distrutto... è la tematica dell'uomo che ha bisogno di qualcosa di divino per fare quello che deve, perché la sua volontà non è sufficiente. Sono d'accordo nella vita reale? Io no, ma per lo sviuppo dei personaggi nell'ISDA ci sta benissimo, narrativamente nell'impianto dell'opera è perfetto.

L'analisi verterà il più possibile in esclusiva sugli aspetti tecnici e di traduzione, in relazione anche alle considerazioni dell'autore riportate su testi reperibili (per esempio nomenclatura e lettere), e qualsiasi discorso riguardo i toni del parlato etc, sarà riferito proprio al tono del testo, non alla lettura che io voglia o non voglia dare (tanto più che io l'ho sempre preso in modo molto apolicizzato).

Sul serio, non tollererò offese di alcun genere, né che l'argomento politica venga tirato in ballo nell'interpretazione del libro, anche perché mi pare proprio di capire che il problema di fondo sia stato proprio prendere Il Signore Degli Anelli e dargli significati che non gli appartengono.

Tolkien voleva scrivere un seguito de Lo Hobbit, che poi gli prese la mano e si scrisse da solo. Voleva dare un mondo alle sue mille lingue, voleva ricalcare ed ispirarsi ad un impianto mitologico antico che ha le sue radici aldilà della formazione delle nazioni. Era orgoglioso di essere inglese, ma ciò non gli impediva di vedere il bello e il meraviglioso nelle altre culture (questa è sempre stata l'impressione che ne ho ricavato leggendo le lettere e i suoi scritti), e mi piacerebbe tanto fossimo tutti un po' così: capaci di accettare il diverso da noi senza annichilire ciò che è in noi.

Sono un'idealista, lo so.

p.s. Vi allego anche la risposta di Bompiani alla mia domanda se avessero intenzione di mantenere la traduzione precedente... non so se la risposta mi tranquillizza.

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To Lucca and Back Again Giorno 3

Oggi bellissima giornata con un po’ di sole… mi dicono da fuori, perché io ho visto il sole giusto giusto mentre guidavo (negli occhi, maremma…) e poi stand, stand, stand.

Sono stati venduti 88.345 biglietti oggi, sfiorando il cap di 90.000 biglietti al giorno. Per domani già venduti oltre 70.000, vedremo la giornata cosa ci riserverà.

Per la serie “i cosplay che non ti aspetteresti mai”, un improbabile ma delizioso crossover tra La Bella e la Bestia e Star Wars :D… BB Tockins mi ha preso di sorpresa, ma Ciubecca/Bestia è stato particolarmente azzeccato!

Vi lascio presto stasera, sto cercando di incamerare la lettura di qualche altro brano de “La Compagnia dell’Anello”, non è facile, arriviamo a sera stanchissime, ma domani cercherò di fare del mio meglio per raccogliere appunti e fare domande (sempre che il tempo sia sufficiente…)

Veniteci a trovare allo stand SMR 214 con Stardust Atelier, Calicò Ricami, L’Artigiano delle scarpe e Magical Vows!!

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To Lucca and Back Again Giorno 2

Oggi giorno piovvigginoso, siamo di nuovo finite in stand all’alba (no, dai erano solo prima delle 8… aiut), e io non sono uscita finché non siamo tornate all’auto… uh mamma, la reclusa O.o…

Vi faccio anche oggi la carrellata dei cosplay belli che ho visto: una deliziosa Luna Lovegood 

con tanto di copia del Cavillo, sempre da Harry Potter due spettacolari signore 

vestite da Sibilla Trelawney/Cooman e Molly Weasley (no, davvero, anche l’interpretazione era fantastica) e poi…

Il mio mito di oggi

L’epicità.

NESSUNA RECALCITRANZA

Un Ryōji Kaji dotato del famoso dialogo!!! Ammetto di aver urlato non poco quando l’ho visto.

Per altre cose, è stata una giornata stancante, ma tranquilla, con tante persone venute a trovarci.

Mi raccontate che combinate voi a Lucca in questi giorni? Cosa vedete di bello? Condividete con le vostre standiste chiuse in una reggia tetra ;).

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To Lucca and Back Again Giorno 1

30 novembre, mercoledì, primo giorno. Si inizia!

Sveglia alle 6 per poter essere pronte a partire alle 7 e salire con l’auto allo stand per lasciare le ultime cose. Pesanti. Tipo 5 giorni di cibo. La sopravvivenza è necessaria.

Le previsioni danno pioggia, e in effetti un po’ piove, ma tutto sommato non il nubifragio che ci aspettavano. Anzi, la giornata è tiepida.

Come prima missione, esco alla ricerca dello stand della Bonelli. L’omonimia è completamente fortuita, credetemi. Arrivo costeggiando lo stand della Panini dove una lunga fila si dipana a serpente. Giungo infine al mio traguardo e… faccio la fila. Breve, ma fila. Mi doto dell’agognato bottino e finalmente posso tornare vincitrice allo stand.

Prima quest, superata.

Il primo giorno di Lucca Comics è sempre una giornata un po’ esplorativa, si cerca di capire dove sono gli stand, si corre a prendere quell’edizione specialissima che si trova solo qui, si vanno a prendere gli accrediti. File, file, file.

Quest’anno la Citadel è ufficialmente a pagamento (si entra con biglietto e bracciale) e non sono sicura se questo ci abbia regalato qualche attimo di respiro o se sia perché era il mercoledì e il primo giorno e quindi c’era a prescindere meno gente.

Ai posteri l’ardua sentenza.

Ah! Tornando allo stand ho trovato questa deliziosa coppia di angeli… sì, sì, lo so Crowley, sei un demone malvagissssssimo, non ci sono dubbi!

Stare ad uno stand a Lucca Comics, oltre ad essere faticoso, ha anche dei lati positivi: ci passano davanti dei bellissimi cosplayer!

I miei preferiti di oggi?

Thirteen!! Oooh, io ho adorato la 11° stagione di Doctor Who, e Jodie è il mio salvaschermo del cellulare da più di un anno ormai!

 Ad un certo punto vedo aggirarsi una signora con una crocchia, camiciola bianca, gonna scura e mantellina e… un violino. Quando mi passa davanti le chiedo… ma lei… è Frau Blucher?? Ho sentito nitrire i cavalli.

Era lei!

Accompagnata da nientepopodimenoche… Igor! Ah, no, scusate, AIGOR.

Geniali!

 Non poteva certo mancare il mondo di Harry Potter, e ci sono passati a trovare Newt Scamander e Tina, accompagnati da cestino pieno di Snasi che sembravano parecchio interessati ai gioielli in mostra… capisco perché li tenessero in gabbia!

Nel pomeriggio  mi sono presa una breve pausa per andare filata all’Area Self per prendermi il 5° volumetto di Cthulhu Chronicles: 5/5 volumetti autografati!!  

Ma io lo so che vi state leggendo questo papier perché volete sapere se l’ho fatto.

Sì, sono andata all’AIST e ho preso il libro… ho anche chiesto se sarà possibile fare domande alla conferenza, e mi hanno detto di sì, anche se non sanno quanto tempo potrà essere dedicato ad essere.

Li ho lasciati anticipandogli LA domanda che al momento, col poco che ho letto, mi rimane più inspiegata: ma perché fare una nuova traduzione non seguendo la nomenclatura di Tolkien?

Sabato spero di potervi dare qualche risposta, intanto, mi prendo il libro…

Ah, il libro è SOLO la Compagnia dell’Anello, mi hanno detto che le Due Torri è finito e che il Ritorno del Re deve essere completato… E anche questo mi fa sorgere degli interrogativi…

E a voi?

Fatemi sapere, avete ancora fino a sabato alle 16 per mandarmi le vostre domande!!

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To Lucca and Back Again

Viaggio al centro di Lucca Comics and Games.

Il giro di Lucca Games in ott… no, ok, la smetto di adattare titoli di libri!

 Era una notte buia e tempestosa, o almeno lo è in questo momento. Sono gioiosamente ospite a Lucca e siamo reduci dal montaggio dello Stand di Stardust Atelier e Calicò Ricami d’Arte, siamo partite presto con l’auto piena (la foto su Magical Vows dell’auto è indicativa) e domattina contiamo solo di dare gli ultimi ritocchi (e a portare le vettovaglie di sopravvivenza alla fiera: dolcetti, caramelle, vitamine… ahem…).

La fase di montaggio è sempre estenuante, ma ormai siamo rodate, ognuna di noi sa cosa deve fare e quando, e questo rende il lavoro senza dubbio più facile.

Come sempre, lo stand pullula di abiti e ricami, copricapi e collane, libri magici, borsine strategiche, scarpe, foto… siamo pronte a dare il via alle danze, e non vedo l’ora che ci veniate a trovare. Sperando che il meteo non ci rompa le uova di drago nel paniere!!

 #luccacomicsandgames2019 #toluccaandbackagain #viaggioalcentrodiluccacomics #ilgirodiluccacomicsin...

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Apro questo blog con la stessa immagine che ho nella copertina di Facebook, una citazione di uno dei miei autori preferiti in assoluto, e una gran verità riguardo la traduzione! Questo è un assaggio, e spero che faremo un bel viaggio assieme!