July 4th: My Guy Just Made the Big Times
Another video so soon? Yes, and this one's just for fun, not on a topic I am at all an expert in, just a little window into something I'm excited about on this historic day.
Some people have favorite sports figures or musicians they root for to get into their respective halls of fame. Me? I’ve been rooting for my guy Pier Giorgio Frassati for years and did not expect this day to come so soon. So come have a seat on the Frassati Couch and take a little inspiration that even in a challenging world it is possible to be good and do good.
Verso l'Alto,
Vi
Comments (23)
Hi, Im a nerd who somehow has become extremely Catholic, I wasnt feeling in the mood for saying my rosary immediately after waking up so I clicked on an origami pot Kickstarter in my email at 6am this morning which somehow led to me searching reddit to see if they were any good which led to an old post mentioning hexaflexagon linking to a deleted YouTube video which led me to think "oh its got to be that one from that person I used to have a nerd crush on 10 years ago, they deleted their YouTube account??" and I remembered your name was vi so I searched to see what had become of you and so found your patreon and subscribed clicked on the top video and it was about a Catholic saint??!? Well not too surprising I guess because this kind of thing happens to me all the time but its very funny and of course to me seems like a God-incidence even if we share the same birthday. As someone who is an "engineer" (OK programmer) and is currently trying to discern if Im supposed to leave my job to attend seminary this content is very interesting, I will learn more about this saint. Thanks!!!
Glad you found the right place, welcome! I've found him a fascinating and inspirational person to learn about, and I wish the same for you as well.
So, what's your guy most likely to become patron saint of? Do mountaineers have a guy yet?
If you're a mountaineer, he's already officially your guy! He's also known as the patron saint of students and youth. But you can look to any quality in a person that resonates with you, and saints have overlap. Saint Bernard would be an earlier mountaineer patron saint (and also the origin of the name for the mountain dog breed).
I love this! Thank you so much for sharing. I’m a very long way from Catholicism, but I share your values. Such an inspiring story! 😍
I really enjoyed your newest video before going off to a parade to make Sousa music with a piccolo in the parade and a following concert. I have enjoyed all of your amazingly original work and have enjoyed and appreciated your points of view. I have played your videos for my classes and our Math Club and they have been greatly enjoyed! Thank you for all of your intelligent work!
Thank you Dean, and hello to your Math Club!
I love this, it reminds me of a quote I used to have handy, and sometimes used to put in my ".plan" file (ask your parents, or maybe grandparents, about that file), that said something like "Take the good with the bad? No. The good comes with the bad, but even an amoeba knows which parts to ingest." Finding meaning in the parts of the world that have it makes a ton of sense.
I like that! I want to be a good amoeba!
Happy Pi(er Giorgio Frassati) Day!
Now you've got me looking up Tau saints!
It's my birthday and I just want to thank you for the great present! I wasn't even a childhood Catholic ( my wife was), but I happily adopt Saint Frassati as my birthday patron saint.
Happy Birthday! Having a special Birthday Patron Saint sounds extra fun!
I don't consider myself religious, but I do believe that for some having a belief helps them navigate the world. Helping and being kind to others I do think is the main point in life. Remembering someone who made a huge impact to others by being kind is a wonderful way of honoring their life. So happy Pier Giorgio Frassati day! Remember him by going out and do something kind to another person. It's also really cool that he was a mountaineer. I love being in the mountains myself. Tying into a rope with someone to achieve a common goal is a wonderful way of connecting to someone.
Happy Pier Giorgio Frassati day to you too, I agree that doing something kind is the perfect way to honor his memory. Verso l'Alto!
Hi, Vi! He's not an "aspiring engineer" anymore, he got his full degree in mining engineering post-mortem in 2001. As you can read here (in Italian, a post by the Italian society of mining engineers): https://it.linkedin.com/posts/anim-associazione-nazionale-ingegneri-minerari_il-7settembre-2025-il-beato-pier-giorgio-activity-7370837123496660992-S6SZ
I did not know this, thank you for bringing me the news! He worked so hard for that degree, I'm glad he finally got it.
Yay!
:D
Yay! Happy your-saint day! Have you seen the Italian docu-drama about him that came out last year, 'To the Top'?
I didn't know about that, I'll look it up!
This was wonderful. His feast day on the 4th feels profound. I feel uplifted and inspired. Thank you
Happy 4th! I could not help but feel the connections myself. Verso l'Alto!