The following is a picture and words are from an email we received from Sas Carey, an amazing individual doing great work through Nomadicare.



Dear Gramicci,
Every year I go to the countryside of Mongolia with my non-profit project, Nomadicare. To deliver healthcare to nomads, I have to ride a horse to the main settlement and ride reindeer to the surrounding settlements. One day while I was riding, wearing my Gramicci pants, of course, there was a severe rainstorm. When we arrived at the elder’s Siberian teepee, everyone was saturated. For me, I just had to sidle up to the wood stove in the center for a few minutes and I was dry. Everyone else had heavy wet pants for the rest of the day. That was when I began to appreciate more than just the comfort of the pants. I bought that pair of Gramicci quick dry pants at Cape Cod in 2000 and just found you on the web. There is probably not a piece of clothing I have worn more, so I was calling to place an order. I am working on a new website for Nomadicare, but you can get some info from the present links: www.nomadicare.org and my other work www.lifenergyheal.com. On You Tube you can see some shots of me in Mongolia when I am providing health care supplies to a clinic, delivering a solar panel to an elementary school dormitory with no lights, and taking medicines and health teachings to nomadic reindeer herders. The video is called Taiga Heart Song. I thought you night like to see me as I received my gift of a baby reindeer they named Sas after me! Please let me know what else I could share with you. I will be in Mongolia from the beginning of August until the middle of September this year. I would be happy to take some photos specifically for you (with horses, reindeer, teepees, nature, whatever), In the meantime, feel free to contact me. Thank you so much for your fabulous pants.
Sincerely,
Sas Carey, RN, M.Ed.
Director

NOMADICARE for Mongolia
http://www.nomadicare.org
NOMADICARE supports those who sustain our earth with simplicity and beauty

Film: Gobi Women's Song
Taiga Heart Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTi20-Nojwo

Life Energy Healing School
http://www.lifenergyheal.com

Our response to Sas...

Sas,
Thank you for the kind note and also for the great work you are doing. Please accept this pant as a small gift of appreciation and we will with your permission feature you on our site as an valued GramicciHeads.

Kind regards,
Gramicci

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Lucky for me, living in SoCal provides lots of nearby bouldering destinations year-round, but in lieu of the summer heat, we have to bid a sweet farewell to the bouldering Mecca of Bishop. But hey, that doesn’t mean we can’t squeeze in the ol’ CR-V and go out one last weekend with a bang!

Here’s Peanut, amongst a mess of crashpads and shoes. She’s always trying to get a better view.

Saturday: The Happys

Now, I traditionally prefer to go to the Buttermilks first— But we can’t always have our way. Besides, it’s more of a coin toss as to which one you want your fingertips to hurt less at. So, The Happys it is!

Spencer rokkin’ out on Disco Diva. He’s also rokkin’ out in our Gramicci Granite Short (new for Spring 2009).

MadRock Climber, Jess, on her proud send of Action Figure.

Here I am making quick work of Serengeti. Side note: Bouldering in a skirt doesn’t come so highly recommended. I guess not all of us can be like Lauren Lee.

Tap Project has an online radio station that gets DJ's to play their favorite music to raise awareness for the millions of children who don't have access to clean drinking water. Give it a listen and donate!

What is the Tap Project?
In 2007, the Tap Project was born in New York City based on a simple concept: restaurants would ask their patrons to donate $1 or more for the tap water they usually enjoy for free, and all funds raised would support UNICEF’s efforts to bring clean and accessible water to millions of children around the world.

Growing from just 300 New York City restaurants in 2007 to over 2,300 across the country in 2008, the Tap Project has quickly grown into a national movement. Restaurants, corporations, volunteers, advertising agencies, community groups, local governments and everyday diners participated to save millions of children’s lives.

During World Water Week, March 22-28, 2009, the Tap Project will once again raise vital donations and awareness for UNICEF’s water and sanitation programs. For every dollar raised, a child will have clean drinking water for 40 days. All funds raised support UNICEF’s efforts to bring clean and accessible water to millions of children around the world.

UNICEF’s Role
UNICEF has saved more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization, and UNICEF is committed to doing whatever it takes to achieve the goal of reaching zero preventable deaths. Currently, UNICEF provides access to safe water and sanitation facilities while promoting safe hygiene practices in more than 90 countries. By 2015, UNICEF's goal is to reduce the number of people without safe water and basic sanitation by 50 percent.

As I rode my beloved "Booger Green" bike to work today and passed a certain pothole I couldn't help the internal dialogue that started in my head and caused me to shake my head and laugh. That certain pothole has cost me in so many ways...over a thousand dollars in hospital and doctors bills, the pain of forking over a benjamin or two for a new cellphone, the premature death of my favorite pair of denim pants, not to mention the permanent protrusion from my left clavicle, hours of pain and sleeplessness, the temporary inability to cough or sneeze, and the humiliation of having hairless patches on my forearm. A few months back I was on my evening ride home from work, that pothole reached up and grabbed my wheel and caused me to slam into the asphalt at about 25mph... I thank the Lord that the large black SUV that was about to pass me was able to avoid using me as a speed bump. The nice gentleman in the SUV stopped and helped remove my tangled mess of body and bike parts from the center of the road. While he was debating dialing 911, I gingerly pulled my cellphone from my front left pocket piece by piece. As we realized that my phone was about as good as a paper weight, he asked if I would like to borrow his to call someone who might be waiting for me to arrive home before they started eating the dinner they had carefully prepared. Since his phone didn't have the convenience of my contact list and I just had my bell rung , we both just starred at his phone for what felt like forever, while I tried my hardest to decipher the electrical signals being swirled around inside my scrambled cranium...This is a good time for me to thank the fine folks over at Pro-Tec for making outstanding helmets that saved me from sustaining any damage to what small amount of mental capacity I own. NEVER, EVER ride without a helmet! By the time I had remembered and dialed my home number and the shock was wearing off, I was beginning to comprehend the reality of my injuries. As I sat on the roadside, for what seemed like forever, for my brother-in-law to come and pick me up, I cursed that pothole in every way imaginable. When I rode by the pothole this morning and recalled the incident, I took back everything I had said about that pothole. After all I can't really blame the pothole, I was the one holding the handlebars when I decided to steer right through the same hazard that I ridden by many, many times before. Man does it feel good to be holding those handlebars again on my ride to work.

Hopefully this evening's ride will be much less eventful.

To find out the 6 reasons why potholes are neato...click read more to see the email that was sent to my co-workers the night of my accident to notify them of my situation.

Andy McKee
You know those people who come along ever great once in a while and are so amazingly talented, that they take what ever it is that they are dedicated to, to a whole other level. Andy McKee shatters what whatever it is we might have thought to be true about fingerstyle guitar playing. He truly has a "gift" that shows through his songs and his connection to his guitar. He almost seems to be pouring his soul and feelings into it when he plays...nearly meditative. As a listener, it's hard not to get sucked in and almost consumed by the experience, as well. His music "has a peaceful feeling that harkens back to younger carefree days". He is a true master of his craft and inspiration for anyone that aspires to rise the bar of their desired craft. Maybe his selfless motives are part of the eqaution to becoming a true master. "Most of all," he says, "I hope my music communicates something to the listener. I don't just want to be recognized for my technique. I hope listening to my music is an emotional experience!" To learn more about Andy and see if he'll be playing at a location near you...check out AndyMcKee.com.
See you at the show.

By Ian Widmer

Life takes you in many directions sometimes leaving you feeling lost, or looking backward. For me and my friends we are at a crossroads where we are no longer recent college graduates, but not quite settled into our lives either. Many of us are unsure where we will end up, but now is that time where we can take chances, because soon the responsibilities of the “real world” will prevent us from taking that leap, that little chance that could be a life changing experience for not only ourselves, but those who we encounter.

For Thousands of Miles is a film about the long term shift in perspective after traveling alone, for thousands of miles, by bicycle from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic ocean. The goal of this film is to share people's reasons and motivations to leave everything behind and to understand what they each take away from their overwhelming and painful journeys.

This project is so captivating and inspiring it had to be shared. Stop by the site For Thousands Of Miles to get and in depth look into the production and some behind the scenes insight from some truly amazing and inspiring people...makes me want to get on my bike and not look back. I can't wait to see the final product.

December 10th marks the annual celebration of Human Right’s Day across the world. Gramicci would like to invite you the join us in celebrating and promoting the right to live, and to live peacefully. The world has a whole needs to stand up to ensure everybody’s right to equality, their right to freedom, and the ability to fight poverty. We hope you feel as passionately as we do, and encourage you to celebrate the day as you see fit.
There is a need to educate people about their rights, and we feel CALL + RESPONSE is truly an amazing venture where everybody can join in and help.