For some reason lately, our household has been on a bad joke kick. We've been making them up ourselves—even the kids. So, I thought I share a few... okay, more than a few.
A colleague of mine has a small herd of miniature donkeys. Cute little asses... endless comedic possibilities.
If you buy a mini-donkey, are you getting a little ass?
If you breed mini-donkeys for meat, can you get a little piece of ass?
What do you call your mini-donkey stable when it's really dirty? An ass-hole.
You know what they call the new brand of currying rags for mini-donkeys? Asswipes.
The new competitor uniform for the mini-donkey show event is the beret. It's an asshat.
If all your mini-donkeys run away, you have Noassatol.
If you're carrying your mini-donkeys and you chuckle so hard you drop him, you're laughing your ass off.
Know how to save yourself from a donkey attack? Stop, drop, and roll while giggling. That's right. Roll on the floor, laughing your ass off.
And how do they make miniature donkeys? Preparation H!
Think about it.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Meme Monday: All About Me
A friend does a "Meme Monday" on her blog and in the interests of being supportive, here's mine. I'm going to attempt to make this figure skating related...
I Am... A rabid figure skating fan
I Want... time to skate.
I Have... a blog about figure skating.
I Wish... Michelle Kwan could win the OOO gold
I Hate... people who hate this skater or that skater.
I Fear... that CoP has ruined the sport forever.
I Hear... figure skating music wherever I go.
I Search... for balance, on ice, wheels, and in life.
I Wonder... what color undies Matt Savoie wears for exhibitions—we all know what color Stephane Lambiel wears! RED! That was a joke. Matt's mom reads one of the major skating lists and I wouldn't want her to think I was serious.
I Regret... nothing. I learn from every experience.
I Love... the feeling of flying that skating—roller or ice—gives me.
I Ache... after I skate. Fact of life.
I Always... make excuses why I'm not getting back to the rink.
I Usually... enjoy myself once I get there.
I Am Not... in person, much like I am online.
I Dance... ballroom.
I Sing... mezzo soprano.
I Never... say never.
I Rarely... think before I speak. I save considered thought for email.
I Cry... when I'm angry.
I Am Not... skinny.
I Lose... weight—hey, we can all aspire!
I'm Confused... about the meaning of life.
I Need... some nyquil and a good night's sleep.
I Should be...not so hard on myself sometimes.
I Am... A rabid figure skating fan
I Want... time to skate.
I Have... a blog about figure skating.
I Wish... Michelle Kwan could win the OOO gold
I Hate... people who hate this skater or that skater.
I Fear... that CoP has ruined the sport forever.
I Hear... figure skating music wherever I go.
I Search... for balance, on ice, wheels, and in life.
I Wonder... what color undies Matt Savoie wears for exhibitions—we all know what color Stephane Lambiel wears! RED! That was a joke. Matt's mom reads one of the major skating lists and I wouldn't want her to think I was serious.
I Regret... nothing. I learn from every experience.
I Love... the feeling of flying that skating—roller or ice—gives me.
I Ache... after I skate. Fact of life.
I Always... make excuses why I'm not getting back to the rink.
I Usually... enjoy myself once I get there.
I Am Not... in person, much like I am online.
I Dance... ballroom.
I Sing... mezzo soprano.
I Never... say never.
I Rarely... think before I speak. I save considered thought for email.
I Cry... when I'm angry.
I Am Not... skinny.
I Lose... weight—hey, we can all aspire!
I'm Confused... about the meaning of life.
I Need... some nyquil and a good night's sleep.
I Should be...not so hard on myself sometimes.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
More Stupid Survey Tricks...
As if I needed to know what kind of car I am.
I'm a Chevrolet Corvette!
You're a classic - powerful, athletic, and competitive. You're all about winning the race and getting the job done. While you have a practical everyday side, you get wild when anyone pushes your pedal. You hate to lose, but you hardly ever do.
Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.
Interesting... in her later years (and in the serial version of On the Edge), Elayne drives a vintage Corvette.
I was always a 64 1/2 Mustang sort of girl myself...
Friday, March 24, 2006
I Made the Final Flight!
Read my Blogging for Book Entries about being a military spouse?
There were over 40 entries, which is a great turn out for a contest like this. In the first round, they chose 18. In the second round, they narrowed that down to 10. In the THIRD round, they chose 7.
I made the final 7!
Yippee!
You can read about it here.
If you missed my entries, they're here.
There were over 40 entries, which is a great turn out for a contest like this. In the first round, they chose 18. In the second round, they narrowed that down to 10. In the THIRD round, they chose 7.
I made the final 7!
Yippee!
You can read about it here.
If you missed my entries, they're here.
Figure Skating: 2006 Worlds Ladies Short Program
Warm-Up Group 2
They are playing Joan Jett and the Black Hearts "I Love Rock and Roll" during the warm up...
Literally EVERY girl in this flight is wearing red. And almost the same shade!
7 Valentina MARCHEI ITA 22 19.12
Red strappy dress with white stones and elbow length red mitts, diagonal skirt.
REALLY familiar heroic music... Carmen?
looooonnnggg edge 3Z fall. 2A. camel outside twist sit, ugh layback. ch sit inside catch nice. familiar tango music slow; she's being cutsie to it. steps into 3S 2footed. one handed beill spiral, steady COE nice, beill back spiral nice, nice side spiral to back spiral ugh not well done. fast music: SL: FW uppy downy swirly FW good speed and
flying sit outside twist weird cannonball. nice sideways lean to extreme layback with awful leg position, foot to head.
26.08 + 19.98 = 45.06 T = 64.18 (2nd)
8 Julia SEBESTYEN HUN 20 19.77
red with black sequins. black one sleeve, one no sleeve and the back mostly illusion. black illusion sleeve and elbow length mitt. A weird but attractive dress
Esperanza
steps 3F fall (way under rotated). 3Z-1T (3Z was a bit under rotated). fly camel inside nice donut upright. nice classic spiral COE ugh beill short nice forward side ugh spiral to back ugh. half beill not held any of them. 1A step out. nice sideways to so so layback foot to head beill???. C FW good expression, nice choreo, to the music. camel sit layback ch camel, donut, beill eh, inside upright.
19.39 + 20.14 = 38.53 T = 58.30
9 Teodora POSTIC SLO 24 18.96
red skirt, pinker halter top and ugly dress and a BAD color on her who is a white on white blonde with pale lipstick and eye shadow. She needs to get with Sasha and learn how to do her makeup!
Wild Time
she sticks her butt out when she strokes. 2L pop 1T. steps 2S. nice death drop. sideways eh foot to head, layback, all EH. SL FW okay speed, but is she even skating TO the music? wobbly FW really BLAH. she needs a back flip here. nice 2A maybe 2footed. ugh Forward spiral wobbly COE, UGLY hbeill back so so side spiral. camel outside nice sit ugh sideways lean ch sit, inside squat, cannon (not well done), scratch. She can spin but her positions are ugly, her jumps were AWOL and she needed a dose of excitement BADLY.
14.66 + 16.11 = 30.77 T = 49.73
10 Amanda NYLANDER SWE 19 19.79
more mulberry than red. fading to white at the bottom. a nicely understated srappy dress oh wait, the skirt has a long pointed tail in the back. belay that.
Bach Toccata and Fugue ?
NICE axel sit cannon. steps 3L nice. good speed. 3F 2T. nice sideways to layback foot to head, nicely to the music. SL FW fast uppy downy not too difficult otherwise though. 2A okay 2foot? back beill ugh COE okay. ugh forward spiral. ugh back spiral to side nice. camel cannon nice, layback foot to head ch sit okay, inside catch
Girl skates pretty fast and had nice, economical stroking. She's not "artistic" but I like her. And she says hi to "Mama" in the K&C.
27.27 + 19.03 = 46.30 (personal best) T = 66.09
11 Annette DYTRT GER 21 19.47
candy red strappy dress with diagonal skirt longer in back. pretty. she needs less bronzer though.
oh shit. Tocatta and fugue AGAIN
3Z under-rotated, 2foot 2T. arm waving. steps 3F badly under rotated 2foot. fly camel layover donut. ah, the hooked on classics version! very nice side catch spiral F 2hand beill back hand to knee spiral. 2A nice. nice sideways to okay LB foot to head half beill. C FW good speed. nice difficulty swirly well sold. camel outside cannon half beill ch sit catch scratch
Boy... what a contrast! This girls can't jump, but she had mature presentation. Other girl did easier jumps but landed them. And to have 2 tocatta and fugues back to back! Ie yi yi!
20.96 + 20.94 = 41.90
Her PCS were garbage. She's trying not to cry. She misssed her jumps, but was head and shoulders better than the last skater and her PCS didn't reflect that AT ALL.
12 Anastasia GIMAZETDINOVA UZB 23 19.00
Red straight skirt. Bodice and sleeves has red curlicues over illusion. More illusion than dress, yet not particularly attractive.
The Godfather Part II
3Z 2foot, pitch forward 2T. ugh muzak "From a Distance." steps 3S nice. fly camel inside donut hbeill? okay Forward spiral COE slow back hbeill. nice side spiral. to back steady. camel outside sit layback beill traveling all over. ch squat, twist. C FW swirly and uppy downy. but SLOOOOOW. sideways nise to layback foot to head beill.
Okay, I hated the music, but she has a nice quality to her skating. She has a VERY pretty camel position. Her spirals need a bit of work. Hug and kiss for her coach... who appears to be immune to being kissed by pretty girls.
29.27 + 20.23 = 49.50 (personal best) T = 68.50 (1st)
Deserved? Maybe they didn't catch those under rotated jumps!
End Group 2
Arina Martinova RUS
Moonlight Sonata
Black with open back and white stones and white underskirt.
3F wonky landing, whippy2T. a heavy metal moonlight. 3Z. 2A LOVELY. nice F classic spiral COE nice HUGE extension. back beill nice, nice side spiral. to nicer back spiral. fly camel inside, donut nice. serp FW swirly, uppy downy, fast and well sold. camel outside sit cannon layback beill ch squat sash catch. nice sideways to layback foot to head beill.
She's very flexible and her laybacks have a kind of betn turned out leg, but a VERY extreme back position.
29.59 + 19.37 = 48.96 T= 67.91
The judges are ON DRUGS. Those PCS scores are idiotic. She rough, but she points her toes and turns them out. She sold the program, though it was not a pretty-pretty program. She must be young and unfamiliar to them... that's it.
Katerina Gerboldt
red, illusion and gold lame in arabian pattern
Orient Qualibet
nice 2A. good stroking. 3L 2T. steps not flip slipped on the pick fall. fly camel inside nice donut upright. beill forward, nice COE not really nice position. side catch eh. back beill not nice. nice sideways to layback (ugly leg position, nice back) foot to head, beill not nice position. good speed though. C FW music is fast, she is slow and not selling it. she skates pretty and the music is not-pretty, bad match for her. camel outside squat layback, ch camel donut beill.
She's a VERY pretty girl, but she lacks the ability to really DO a beillmann so god knows WHY she's doing them. She neither presents well, nor sells the program. her jump landings are kinda wonky but generally clean.
19.44 + 17.15 = 36.59 T = 54.17
Warm-Up Group 3
13 Susanna POYKIO FIN 14 23.13
pink with silver criss crossy straps and skirt is 3 progressively darker layers of fringe. It looks nice, but down not move well.
One Mint Tulip, Girls Night Out
3Z2T NICE. steps nice 3F. fly camel inside hbeill. sexy music. easy 2A nice. eh back spiral to ugh side F spiral ugh COE ugh. back beill ugh sideways to layback foot to head beill eh. Sl FW swirly ell choreographed but slow. and not sold. awful music cuts/ camel sit layback beill, ch sit inside catch. She traveled all over the whole time.
Her jumps were lovely, but she really didn't sell this program well, especially at the end.
30.08 + 24.20 = 54.28 T = 77.41 (1st)
Unfortunately, I am going to have to leave to go get my kids at school now. I'll probably miss the rest of this group. I'm recording, so I'll catch up on them later.
14 Viktoria PAVUK HUN 15 21.31
15 Elene GEDEVANISHVILI GEO 17 20.72
16 Idora HEGEL CRO 13 23.26
17 Nadege BOBILLIER FRA 18 19.89
18 Yan LIU CHN 16 21.16
Warm-Up Group 4
19 Kiira KORPI FIN 8 25.44
ballet pink with deep bscoop back and chiffon over lycra skirt. pink illusion sleeves
violin/symphony music Beatles?
3T-3T NICE! steps3F fall. nice side ways to okay layback. C FW swirly. nice 2A. camel cannon sit catch ch sit sasha catch nice speed. nice F Spiral argh COE bad, back beill sp., back side catch sp nice. axel sit outside twist. Music ends abruptly
She was doing SO well at first... the flip was gorgeous until she fell... She was fully rotated, she just landed very strangely, dug in where she could have flowed. It was a very weird fall. She bonks herself on the head when she finishes. I swear, the child looks like Barbie.... except that she has arms and legs (our barbies don't)
28.98 + 25.34 = 53.32 (personal best) T = 78.76 (1st)
Lots of hugs and laughter from the coach. Boy are they happy!
20 Carolina KOSTNER ITA 7 25.64
Something awful with clear sequins over zebra fabric and the pattern repeated in black stones on illusion on the arms with a white very short , very fluffy chiffon skirt that darkens to blue. with a light blue lame panty and she has a massive wedgie. The designer should be SHOT. And what does this have to do with an angel??!!
Gabriel's Oboe
3F fall. steps 2L popped. arabian camel variant donut upright. bad wedgie. nice side back sp. F classic COE nice. back catch side nice. back beill sp. nice 2A. serp FW uppy downy camel outside sit nice sideways ch squat camel hbeill. sideways lean to nice layback
22.98 + 26.97 = 48.95 T = 74.59 (4th)
21 Sarah MEIER SUI 10 24.64
Lemon yellow with white around the bodice top, strappy, nice chiffon skirt, it lays very well. I like this dress. so simple, so elegant...
Finding Neverland Soundtrak
easy 3Z 2T nice. steps easy 3F very nice/ camel outside squat twisted upgiht ch sit twist upright, inside. nice delicate, light quality about her. she's selling this well. back spiral COE abrupt. f hbeill sp. nice 2A. nice DD twist squat, variant. SL FW very swirly and uppy downy. Finishes her footwork and then--pratfall! Probably technically NOT a fall since she only put a hand down. NICE sideways lean to nice so so layback foot to head. Ends a bit after her music.
33.47 + 27.04 = 60.51 T = 85.15 (1st)
Well deserved...
22 Elena SOKOLOVA RUS 11 24.42
hot pink half-and-ice-dancer's dress. She looks determined
Turandot
LONG edge 3Z2T. steps 3L nice. arabian camel inside donut. h beill COE sp nice. back hand on knee sp. ugh side spiral to back spiral, smooth. 2A. nice sideways to ugh layback foot to head. C FW finally, she selling it. camel outside sit cannon layback ch squat hbeill upright inside.
She pumps her fist at the end. Finally she lays down a decent program. She was really tight and not even bothering to do anything but skate between jumps at the beginning, as she laid the jumps down, she loosened up and really started to make more out of the program. After the Olympics and a not so great qualifying at Worlds, this HAS to feel great.
33.24 + 27.74 = 60.98 (personal best) T = 85.40 (1st)
23 Yoshie ONDA JPN 12 23.39
dark salmon one shouldered dress, a somewhat longer than normal skirt that flutters a lot
Madame Bovary
3Z 2T nice. steps 3F ugly layback to sideways foot to head. ugh ugh ugh. F classic sp CEO ugh beill. back catch side sp. UGH back sp. steps nice 2A. Death drop squat twist. C FW, not sold well. good speed. camel outside sit cannon foot to head layback ch sit inside crossfoot. Good speed.
Why do they insist on giving Onda girls programs? I can see her saying to Josee, "but I WANT to be pretty-pretty" and unfortunately, it is like lipstick on a chicken. She just doesn't FEEL IT... and i wonder what there is that she DOES feel. She seems happy with how she skated and I guess she should be, it was clean.
29.49 + 23.00 = 52.49 T = 75.88 (5th)
24 Mira LEUNG CAN 9 24.77
strapless w/illusion mulberry fading to white... and the crowd goes WILD.
Freedom
steps nice 3F. steops 3Z-2L nice. sideways to layback nice leg foot to head beill nice speed. steps 1A ooooooohhhhh! beill sp nice steady COE to classic sp back side sp. back catch sp nice. fly camel inside donut. C FW she's tired and only selling it some. good speed. camel outside, sit, twist, layback foot to head, beill ch camel donut, beill nice, sasha catch.
Leung has made such a HUGE advance this year in her presentation and artistry that she should really be proud of herself no matter WHERE she places. She went from being a skater I hated to being someone I really like and am excited about seeing in the future. I can't WAIT to see what she becomes.
26.43 + 23.06 = 49.49 T = 74.26 (8th)
That is just WRONG. What the hell are these judges SMOKING? I know that she missed the axel. I expected low tech scores, but they are not watching the same skater I am! They seem to be seeing the skater she WAS, not the skater she IS. There was no interruption from the axel whiff... and to give her PCS similar to ONDA??? Someone GOT some of this shit? Cause it must be GOOD SHIT they are smoking... good shit.
Bad news... Dh is home and we MUST go run an errand before 5 PM. So off we go. Ladies last group later when I get home...
Warm-Up Group 5
25 Yukari NAKANO JPN 4 27.79
26 Fumie SUGURI JPN 2 28.47
27 Emily HUGHES USA 6 25.68
28 Kimmie MEISSNER USA 3 28.46
29 Sasha COHEN USA 5 27.59
30 Joannie ROCHETTE CAN 1 29.28
They are playing Joan Jett and the Black Hearts "I Love Rock and Roll" during the warm up...
Literally EVERY girl in this flight is wearing red. And almost the same shade!
7 Valentina MARCHEI ITA 22 19.12
Red strappy dress with white stones and elbow length red mitts, diagonal skirt.
REALLY familiar heroic music... Carmen?
looooonnnggg edge 3Z fall. 2A. camel outside twist sit, ugh layback. ch sit inside catch nice. familiar tango music slow; she's being cutsie to it. steps into 3S 2footed. one handed beill spiral, steady COE nice, beill back spiral nice, nice side spiral to back spiral ugh not well done. fast music: SL: FW uppy downy swirly FW good speed and
flying sit outside twist weird cannonball. nice sideways lean to extreme layback with awful leg position, foot to head.
26.08 + 19.98 = 45.06 T = 64.18 (2nd)
8 Julia SEBESTYEN HUN 20 19.77
red with black sequins. black one sleeve, one no sleeve and the back mostly illusion. black illusion sleeve and elbow length mitt. A weird but attractive dress
Esperanza
steps 3F fall (way under rotated). 3Z-1T (3Z was a bit under rotated). fly camel inside nice donut upright. nice classic spiral COE ugh beill short nice forward side ugh spiral to back ugh. half beill not held any of them. 1A step out. nice sideways to so so layback foot to head beill???. C FW good expression, nice choreo, to the music. camel sit layback ch camel, donut, beill eh, inside upright.
19.39 + 20.14 = 38.53 T = 58.30
9 Teodora POSTIC SLO 24 18.96
red skirt, pinker halter top and ugly dress and a BAD color on her who is a white on white blonde with pale lipstick and eye shadow. She needs to get with Sasha and learn how to do her makeup!
Wild Time
she sticks her butt out when she strokes. 2L pop 1T. steps 2S. nice death drop. sideways eh foot to head, layback, all EH. SL FW okay speed, but is she even skating TO the music? wobbly FW really BLAH. she needs a back flip here. nice 2A maybe 2footed. ugh Forward spiral wobbly COE, UGLY hbeill back so so side spiral. camel outside nice sit ugh sideways lean ch sit, inside squat, cannon (not well done), scratch. She can spin but her positions are ugly, her jumps were AWOL and she needed a dose of excitement BADLY.
14.66 + 16.11 = 30.77 T = 49.73
10 Amanda NYLANDER SWE 19 19.79
more mulberry than red. fading to white at the bottom. a nicely understated srappy dress oh wait, the skirt has a long pointed tail in the back. belay that.
Bach Toccata and Fugue ?
NICE axel sit cannon. steps 3L nice. good speed. 3F 2T. nice sideways to layback foot to head, nicely to the music. SL FW fast uppy downy not too difficult otherwise though. 2A okay 2foot? back beill ugh COE okay. ugh forward spiral. ugh back spiral to side nice. camel cannon nice, layback foot to head ch sit okay, inside catch
Girl skates pretty fast and had nice, economical stroking. She's not "artistic" but I like her. And she says hi to "Mama" in the K&C.
27.27 + 19.03 = 46.30 (personal best) T = 66.09
11 Annette DYTRT GER 21 19.47
candy red strappy dress with diagonal skirt longer in back. pretty. she needs less bronzer though.
oh shit. Tocatta and fugue AGAIN
3Z under-rotated, 2foot 2T. arm waving. steps 3F badly under rotated 2foot. fly camel layover donut. ah, the hooked on classics version! very nice side catch spiral F 2hand beill back hand to knee spiral. 2A nice. nice sideways to okay LB foot to head half beill. C FW good speed. nice difficulty swirly well sold. camel outside cannon half beill ch sit catch scratch
Boy... what a contrast! This girls can't jump, but she had mature presentation. Other girl did easier jumps but landed them. And to have 2 tocatta and fugues back to back! Ie yi yi!
20.96 + 20.94 = 41.90
Her PCS were garbage. She's trying not to cry. She misssed her jumps, but was head and shoulders better than the last skater and her PCS didn't reflect that AT ALL.
12 Anastasia GIMAZETDINOVA UZB 23 19.00
Red straight skirt. Bodice and sleeves has red curlicues over illusion. More illusion than dress, yet not particularly attractive.
The Godfather Part II
3Z 2foot, pitch forward 2T. ugh muzak "From a Distance." steps 3S nice. fly camel inside donut hbeill? okay Forward spiral COE slow back hbeill. nice side spiral. to back steady. camel outside sit layback beill traveling all over. ch squat, twist. C FW swirly and uppy downy. but SLOOOOOW. sideways nise to layback foot to head beill.
Okay, I hated the music, but she has a nice quality to her skating. She has a VERY pretty camel position. Her spirals need a bit of work. Hug and kiss for her coach... who appears to be immune to being kissed by pretty girls.
29.27 + 20.23 = 49.50 (personal best) T = 68.50 (1st)
Deserved? Maybe they didn't catch those under rotated jumps!
End Group 2
Arina Martinova RUS
Moonlight Sonata
Black with open back and white stones and white underskirt.
3F wonky landing, whippy2T. a heavy metal moonlight. 3Z. 2A LOVELY. nice F classic spiral COE nice HUGE extension. back beill nice, nice side spiral. to nicer back spiral. fly camel inside, donut nice. serp FW swirly, uppy downy, fast and well sold. camel outside sit cannon layback beill ch squat sash catch. nice sideways to layback foot to head beill.
She's very flexible and her laybacks have a kind of betn turned out leg, but a VERY extreme back position.
29.59 + 19.37 = 48.96 T= 67.91
The judges are ON DRUGS. Those PCS scores are idiotic. She rough, but she points her toes and turns them out. She sold the program, though it was not a pretty-pretty program. She must be young and unfamiliar to them... that's it.
Katerina Gerboldt
red, illusion and gold lame in arabian pattern
Orient Qualibet
nice 2A. good stroking. 3L 2T. steps not flip slipped on the pick fall. fly camel inside nice donut upright. beill forward, nice COE not really nice position. side catch eh. back beill not nice. nice sideways to layback (ugly leg position, nice back) foot to head, beill not nice position. good speed though. C FW music is fast, she is slow and not selling it. she skates pretty and the music is not-pretty, bad match for her. camel outside squat layback, ch camel donut beill.
She's a VERY pretty girl, but she lacks the ability to really DO a beillmann so god knows WHY she's doing them. She neither presents well, nor sells the program. her jump landings are kinda wonky but generally clean.
19.44 + 17.15 = 36.59 T = 54.17
Warm-Up Group 3
13 Susanna POYKIO FIN 14 23.13
pink with silver criss crossy straps and skirt is 3 progressively darker layers of fringe. It looks nice, but down not move well.
One Mint Tulip, Girls Night Out
3Z2T NICE. steps nice 3F. fly camel inside hbeill. sexy music. easy 2A nice. eh back spiral to ugh side F spiral ugh COE ugh. back beill ugh sideways to layback foot to head beill eh. Sl FW swirly ell choreographed but slow. and not sold. awful music cuts/ camel sit layback beill, ch sit inside catch. She traveled all over the whole time.
Her jumps were lovely, but she really didn't sell this program well, especially at the end.
30.08 + 24.20 = 54.28 T = 77.41 (1st)
Unfortunately, I am going to have to leave to go get my kids at school now. I'll probably miss the rest of this group. I'm recording, so I'll catch up on them later.
14 Viktoria PAVUK HUN 15 21.31
15 Elene GEDEVANISHVILI GEO 17 20.72
16 Idora HEGEL CRO 13 23.26
17 Nadege BOBILLIER FRA 18 19.89
18 Yan LIU CHN 16 21.16
Warm-Up Group 4
19 Kiira KORPI FIN 8 25.44
ballet pink with deep bscoop back and chiffon over lycra skirt. pink illusion sleeves
violin/symphony music Beatles?
3T-3T NICE! steps3F fall. nice side ways to okay layback. C FW swirly. nice 2A. camel cannon sit catch ch sit sasha catch nice speed. nice F Spiral argh COE bad, back beill sp., back side catch sp nice. axel sit outside twist. Music ends abruptly
She was doing SO well at first... the flip was gorgeous until she fell... She was fully rotated, she just landed very strangely, dug in where she could have flowed. It was a very weird fall. She bonks herself on the head when she finishes. I swear, the child looks like Barbie.... except that she has arms and legs (our barbies don't)
28.98 + 25.34 = 53.32 (personal best) T = 78.76 (1st)
Lots of hugs and laughter from the coach. Boy are they happy!
20 Carolina KOSTNER ITA 7 25.64
Something awful with clear sequins over zebra fabric and the pattern repeated in black stones on illusion on the arms with a white very short , very fluffy chiffon skirt that darkens to blue. with a light blue lame panty and she has a massive wedgie. The designer should be SHOT. And what does this have to do with an angel??!!
Gabriel's Oboe
3F fall. steps 2L popped. arabian camel variant donut upright. bad wedgie. nice side back sp. F classic COE nice. back catch side nice. back beill sp. nice 2A. serp FW uppy downy camel outside sit nice sideways ch squat camel hbeill. sideways lean to nice layback
22.98 + 26.97 = 48.95 T = 74.59 (4th)
21 Sarah MEIER SUI 10 24.64
Lemon yellow with white around the bodice top, strappy, nice chiffon skirt, it lays very well. I like this dress. so simple, so elegant...
Finding Neverland Soundtrak
easy 3Z 2T nice. steps easy 3F very nice/ camel outside squat twisted upgiht ch sit twist upright, inside. nice delicate, light quality about her. she's selling this well. back spiral COE abrupt. f hbeill sp. nice 2A. nice DD twist squat, variant. SL FW very swirly and uppy downy. Finishes her footwork and then--pratfall! Probably technically NOT a fall since she only put a hand down. NICE sideways lean to nice so so layback foot to head. Ends a bit after her music.
33.47 + 27.04 = 60.51 T = 85.15 (1st)
Well deserved...
22 Elena SOKOLOVA RUS 11 24.42
hot pink half-and-ice-dancer's dress. She looks determined
Turandot
LONG edge 3Z2T. steps 3L nice. arabian camel inside donut. h beill COE sp nice. back hand on knee sp. ugh side spiral to back spiral, smooth. 2A. nice sideways to ugh layback foot to head. C FW finally, she selling it. camel outside sit cannon layback ch squat hbeill upright inside.
She pumps her fist at the end. Finally she lays down a decent program. She was really tight and not even bothering to do anything but skate between jumps at the beginning, as she laid the jumps down, she loosened up and really started to make more out of the program. After the Olympics and a not so great qualifying at Worlds, this HAS to feel great.
33.24 + 27.74 = 60.98 (personal best) T = 85.40 (1st)
23 Yoshie ONDA JPN 12 23.39
dark salmon one shouldered dress, a somewhat longer than normal skirt that flutters a lot
Madame Bovary
3Z 2T nice. steps 3F ugly layback to sideways foot to head. ugh ugh ugh. F classic sp CEO ugh beill. back catch side sp. UGH back sp. steps nice 2A. Death drop squat twist. C FW, not sold well. good speed. camel outside sit cannon foot to head layback ch sit inside crossfoot. Good speed.
Why do they insist on giving Onda girls programs? I can see her saying to Josee, "but I WANT to be pretty-pretty" and unfortunately, it is like lipstick on a chicken. She just doesn't FEEL IT... and i wonder what there is that she DOES feel. She seems happy with how she skated and I guess she should be, it was clean.
29.49 + 23.00 = 52.49 T = 75.88 (5th)
24 Mira LEUNG CAN 9 24.77
strapless w/illusion mulberry fading to white... and the crowd goes WILD.
Freedom
steps nice 3F. steops 3Z-2L nice. sideways to layback nice leg foot to head beill nice speed. steps 1A ooooooohhhhh! beill sp nice steady COE to classic sp back side sp. back catch sp nice. fly camel inside donut. C FW she's tired and only selling it some. good speed. camel outside, sit, twist, layback foot to head, beill ch camel donut, beill nice, sasha catch.
Leung has made such a HUGE advance this year in her presentation and artistry that she should really be proud of herself no matter WHERE she places. She went from being a skater I hated to being someone I really like and am excited about seeing in the future. I can't WAIT to see what she becomes.
26.43 + 23.06 = 49.49 T = 74.26 (8th)
That is just WRONG. What the hell are these judges SMOKING? I know that she missed the axel. I expected low tech scores, but they are not watching the same skater I am! They seem to be seeing the skater she WAS, not the skater she IS. There was no interruption from the axel whiff... and to give her PCS similar to ONDA??? Someone GOT some of this shit? Cause it must be GOOD SHIT they are smoking... good shit.
Bad news... Dh is home and we MUST go run an errand before 5 PM. So off we go. Ladies last group later when I get home...
Warm-Up Group 5
25 Yukari NAKANO JPN 4 27.79
26 Fumie SUGURI JPN 2 28.47
27 Emily HUGHES USA 6 25.68
28 Kimmie MEISSNER USA 3 28.46
29 Sasha COHEN USA 5 27.59
30 Joannie ROCHETTE CAN 1 29.28
Where IS My Figure Skating Coverage?
Anyone who got their Olympic reports and Junior worlds reports from this blog are probably screaming, "Where's the Worlds coverage!" The truth is, I haven't even watched it. The last few weeks have grown increasingly crazier and I just ran out of time, energy and oomph. However, I did record the RTR coverage and I'll be posting reports on some of the OES (Obscure Europeans Skaters), as well as better known favorites. Okay, so it's not spoilers. Sosumi.
I did take a FEW moments to be irresponsible—really, it wasn't even enough to watch a single long program--to find out what Operating System I am and which File Extension. For us tech geeks (which I am by trade if not by birth), these are imperative questions. I am surprised though, that I am neither a Mac nor a flavor of Linux.
Which OS are You?
And I don't blame my parents for my lack of lack of success... credit where credit is due.
Which File Extension are You?
Hey! I'm not flashy OR annoying!
Well, not MUCH.
If I ever get some time on my hands, perhaps I shall do a skating quiz or two for the blog... "Which Figure Skating Commentator Are You?" anyone?
I did take a FEW moments to be irresponsible—really, it wasn't even enough to watch a single long program--to find out what Operating System I am and which File Extension. For us tech geeks (which I am by trade if not by birth), these are imperative questions. I am surprised though, that I am neither a Mac nor a flavor of Linux.
Which OS are You?
And I don't blame my parents for my lack of lack of success... credit where credit is due.
Which File Extension are You?
Hey! I'm not flashy OR annoying!
Well, not MUCH.
If I ever get some time on my hands, perhaps I shall do a skating quiz or two for the blog... "Which Figure Skating Commentator Are You?" anyone?
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Figure Skating: 2006 Worlds Compulsory Dance
Ravensburger Waltz
Evening Note:
So here's the upshot. I've been working on this blog entry about half the day. There are still bits missing and I'm beat. This was a day from hell... the one where you find out that someone from Lower Slobovia has been using your debit card since November and has stolen $611.23 cents from you and then you have to chase around and do all the identity theft things... Yeah, THAT kind of day!
Not to mention I have TWO, count 'em, TWO work days when I am not volunteering and not doing the insane amount of laundry, dishes and housework this place seems to require just to stay marginally sanitary. And yes, THIS wasn't one of my two work days. I spent it making phone calls and filing reports instead of working.
Tonight, I have added links to several videos. Video links are beside each team's names. Eventually, I'll have links to almost everyone from Belbin and Agosto onward. Tonight, I'm just uploading the important ones from the top performers, because then I am going to go to bed and leave this miserable day behind me. Look later tomorrow for other videos.
These video files are upwards of 15MB each. You need broadband (cable/DSL/T1)to download them. For some reason, they do not play on Macs. Before anyone howls about that, please realize that my primary machine IS a Mac and if I COULD make the files work in RealPlayer for the Mac, I would.
(edited: 25 Sept 0-6. I have found videos of some of these skaters on YouTube and as long as they stay there, the links will work. They now play on the Mac.)
Standings thus far:
1 Marie-France DUBREUIL / Patrice LAUZON CAN 38.31 Video
him short black tails with white trim Her: silver chiffon with Ginger Rogers scarf (nice touch) but this costume is too see through for my tastes.
nice speed. clean feet. nice swingy swings. nice TW. far apart on MH nice even chasses. so so unison in back half. nice waltz ending. They had decent character. GOSH, their feet are CLEAN.... not even a hint of spray. His turns are also rather neat (though he doesn't get much to do in this one).
He looks like the love child of Brad Paisley and Orlando Bloom.
18.93 + 19.38 = 38.31
2 Isabelle DELOBEL / Olivier SCHOENFELDER FRA 37.30 Video
Him: LONG black tails. Her pink sequins and chiffon knee length dress with some pathetic ostrich feathery crap.
nice waltz opening. low swings not swingy okay TW far apart in MH even high chasses pattern a weird shape across the back. her TW is just weird to me... awkward. better TW in the L3 it may be that their lobes are deeper because they skate faster and cover the ice better. One thing it's really hard to tell on TV or webcast is if they are getting good ice coverage and if they have nice deep lobes. Replay shows he slipped behind one of her TW.
He thinks they did a good job. I'm not so impressed.
18.35 + 18.95 = 37.30
3 Galit CHAIT / Sergei SAKHNOVSKI ISR 34.77 3 Video
Him short black tails her: white dress w/ sheer handkerchief skirt
far apart MH, uneasy chasses wild swings on swingy part TW are okay. They are pushing and you can tell. They don't have much character to speak of. In replay their edges are kind of wobbly and they throw a fair amount of ice spray. He has a REALLY bad colorist... very cheesy looking stripes in his hair. Hers looks great.
Ah, Zhenya Platov in the K&C is as hot as ever. Some guys age and get un sexy (like Sasha Zhulin) other guys age and just get hotter. And Zhenya's old enough to drool over and not feel guilty. Unfortunately, Z's hairline is receding. I suppose all good things must come to an end.
17.14 + 17.63 = 34.77
4 Anastasia GREBENKINA / Vazgen AZROJAN ARM 25.17
Begin live coverage...
5 Olga AKIMOVA / Alexander SHAKALOV UZB 23.67
I thought the UZB were better than they got credit for. They had clean feet, good unison and good speed, half decent character... I guess "skating while Uzbecki" is like "skating while Polish." not a good thing.
6 Alexandra KAUC / Michal ZYCH POL
him: long tails her: light yellow lace strapless w/ illusion dress with criss crossy back fading to white at knee length hem
a Gidget sort of cute opener. nice unison on 1st lobe swings, nice and close on center mohawk. eh unison on the back half. decent TW. he has high, even chasses on lobe 3. a bit uncontrolled on the back half. They are PUSHING and you can tell. Their edges weren't hugely deep, but they are pleasant dancers. He's ADORABLE.
15.09 + 11.73 = 26.82
7 Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI ITA
him: long tails. Her: backless black halter dress with black sequins and cow patches on sides
not very waltzy opener. low swings on 1st lobe. hard to see if close on center mohawk, camera angle sucks. swings are wild. TW okay. his chasses are AWFUL on L3, irregular and trippy. everything about this couple is irregular. Sometimes they swing at this height, sometimes they swing at that height. They are very imprecise. They throw a fair amount of snow from the blade. Her skirt is too heavy for waltz. Their hydroblade closer was kind of pathetic. If you can't hydro... DON'T.
Gosh, he looks like Elijah Wood with hair.
16.78 + 15.82 = 32.60
AH, they are not being held up like they were at the Olympics.
8 Xiaoyang YU / Chen WANG CHN
him: long black tails and huge white ruffle down front and cuffs shirt. her: nice pink satinish and chiffon dress with handkerchief ends of her sleeves. nice costumes.
not very swings swings L1. far apart on mohowk L2. not great unison on back part. chasses that aren't on L3. her Tws are merely okay. a so so dance all the way through. Was this a waltz? Do they have a clue HOW to waltz?
14.30 + 11.41 = 25.71
They were ABOVE the Uzbeckis? Sheesh.
9 Natalie BUCK / Trent NELSON-BOND AUS
him long black tails, her Pink sequined dress with satin hankerchief skirt
not so great swings of different heights, icky half-hopped TW. uneven chasses on him. poor unison in the back section. she doesn't point her toes at all. she's pulling him and his tails are a real distraction. They have no waltz character to speak of.
He looks like Jerry Louis.
12.32 + 9.09 = 21.41
I am having some bad buffering problems, so I'll probably miss the Munana's for now. I'll try to go back and get them from Russian TV... if the Russians show them.
10 Laura MUNANA / Luke MUNANA MEX
him: short black tails her: teal waltz chiffon with tea length skirt
Russian TV joins the CD live in progress.
Warm-Up Group 3
11 Nozomi WATANABE / Akiyuki KIDO JPN
Chacked...
15.30 + 13.17 = 28.47
12 Nora HOFFMANN / Attila ELEK HUN
White dress with uneven deep V neck and black boa around the longer skirt
15.16 + 13.31 = 28.47
Chacked...
She is happy to be in 6th.
13 Tanith BELBIN / Benjamin AGOSTO USA Video
him: long black tails her: white lace dress fading to light blue
nice opener. nice swings. nice and close MH. nice unison in the back half. nice TW L1. nice even chasses from him. good speed. very good character. replay shows a good bit of ice spray on every stroke. Hate to say it, but I'd put them behind Dubreuil. Their character was better, but D&L were more precise.
18.55 + 19.04 = 37.59
14 Jana KHOKHLOVA / Sergei NOVITSKI RUS Video
him: long black tails her: bright pink not waltz dress...
And unfortunately, I MUST go get the kids at school. I am recording this from webcast, so when I get home, I'll fill in...
Please come back later and look.
15 Sinead KERR / John KERR GBR Video
Warm-Up Group 4
16 Elena ROMANOVSKAYA / Alexander GRACHEV RUS Video
17 Kristin FRASER / Igor LUKANIN AZE Video
18 Alla BEKNAZAROVA / Vladimir ZUEV UKR Video
19 Kamila HAJKOVA / David VINCOUR CZE Video
20 Alexandra ZARETSKI / Roman ZARETSKI ISR Video
I'm back live now. I'll be filling in Group 4 from recording later.
Warm-Up Group 5
21 Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabian BOURZAT FRA Video
Him: long black tails Her: turquoise dress with the "wrap me in ribbon and pretend I'm not naked" bodice and the diagonal chiffon skirt that is too pouffy.
awful opening. nice swings, even and swingy. did she TW? nice MH close together HUGE chasses, uneven. okay back section. NICE TW so fast I missed it. they are pushing. or she is. he trails. in replay, he jumps his turns and they both spray a LOT of ice. She needs braces (I'm so American sometimes). He doesn't need anything except maybe the key to my room. Tssssst! Hot hot hot!
15.75 + 13.56 = 29.31
22 Oksana DOMNINA / Maxim SHABALIN RUS Video
White on white in white. IE Attack of the Good Humor Man and the Ice Cream Woman.... too bad, cause I like Shabby and the chick he skates with. She has bleached her hair very light... platinum. might even look good on her. Unwaltzy dress!
nice swings and good TW good MH lovely chasses. okay back half. Nice speed but pushing in the second round. They are spraying ice going into the third turn, especially him. I think he slipped a bit. She tripped some on one of her TW too. In the K&C she is not looking happy. They made mistakes.
17.04 + 17.04 = 34.11
And get held up.
23 Anna ZADOROZHNIUK / Sergei VERBILLO UKR Video
black pants and white shirt with BIG shoulder pads. Her white lace dress with deep diagonal V and half GR scarf. On half of her dress is lacey seashells and she looks half naked.
First round was nice, swingy swings, decent TW, sos so MH. eh chasses. spraying ice into the 3rd corner. awkward on the back half. Second round was slower, even less precise. Nothing to write home about.
14.94 + 11.09 = 26.03
The coaches look really disappointed but the team doesn't much.
24 Margarita DROBIAZKO / Povilas VANAGAS LTU Video
Him: black pants and draw green renassance vest with split in the back, white shirt. White lace crop top and odd gored knee length skirt Kind of renaissance feeling... kinda ... I like ti but damned if I can say WHAT it is.
nice swings. bobble on the TW. okay MH uneven chasses. nice 3rd corner. okay back half. losing character in the second round. very good speed though and not visibly pushing. They do look a TAD off balance. ON reply, they hop their turns and vary from a tiny bit to quite a bit of ice spray.
Maybe ahead of BelAgo but behind DubLau
17.89 + 18.63 = 36.52 In 4th... maybe that's right.
WAY behind BelAgo
25 Megan WING / Aaron LOWE CAN Video
Him: black pants cream shirt. Her: gold dress that looks MUCH better in person. I love how her dress moves. It looks very waltzy in person.
okay swings okay TW slow center pretty clean feet in 3rd corner. bobble on TW in L1 round 2. uneven chasses. poor unison on back half.
They close up on Megan in a replay. Did Aaron have his teeth "done" they look chickletty...
17.05 + 15.85 = 32.90
Warm-Up Group 6
26 Alisa ALLAPACH / Peter KONGKASEM THA Video
Him: black long tails. Her Wine Red dress, backless, strapless w/illusion and deep v nice skirt though.
hopped poor swings, nice MH though close. uneven chasses. wobbly 3rd corner turns. eh TW. so so L3 TW. poor unison on the back half. Not awful character.
I LOVE her dress and she's a real doll... simply adorable... and the color was great on her... but they were pretty bad. They aren't Transplanted Americans, are they? He looks a lot like a friend of mine from college who wasn't from Thailand.
12.36 + 8.86 = 21.22
She's not too happy, but he's clapping and smiling... "we're just happy to be here" kind of thing. Good sport he is. Good sport.
27 Albena DENKOVA / Maxim STAVISKI BUL Video
The green and purple nightmare again!
Now... i MUST remember to watch her TW... otherwise I'll just watch him.
nice swings nice MH. okay chasse. slip going into 3rd corner okay back half. nice TW trip coming out? another trip in the 3rd corner?? They have great speed and pretty nice waltz character... but it offends my sense of propriety to dress a stud like him (short though he may be) in a frou-frou outfit like that. She jumps her turns a little bit too and they spray a lot of ice.
I'd put them above DroVan and below BelAgo... above DelSho? Maybe... six of one half doz f another.
19.17 + 19.29 = 38.46
In first? I would NOT have put them in first. No way. Period. 3rd, maybe. But not first.
28 Morgan MATTHEWS / Maxim ZAVOZIN USA Video
black pants and smoking jacket. her pink satinish tip and chiffon skirt with darker underskirt.
low un-unison swings slow across the ice. not great coverage/ poor unison on back half. poor unison on swings. icky TW. barely there chasses but nice and even. in replay, lots of ice spray in some moves, almost none in others... that's better.
She's too tall for him and their swings are never going to match in this dance. This is exactly the problem Ben yammers about DelScho (he's too tall for her they never match, wrong lines). She has TOO MUCH bronzer!!! He has too little. Looks pasty.
15.43 + 13.66 = 29.09
A good start for them at their first worlds!
29 Melissa GREGORY / Denis PETUKHOV USA Video
Him: black long tails. her: white with ostrich and low back. I found his tails distracting
nice TW eh MH. nice chasse. smooth C3. not great back half. swings don't swing much no character to speak of. but nice TW. better coverage this round. They actually gained speed into the second round. Showy ending, very traditional waltz. They had a bobble in the 4th corner, she trips slightly. He needs to bleach his roots.
16.85 + 15.52 = 32.37 in 10th so likely a top 10 finish for them in the CD.
30 Christina BEIER / William BEIER Video
black bolero jacket white shirt. her: black halter dress with pink under skirt VERY NICE.
I tend to like this team better than the judges.
nice opener. so so TW. okay MH ick chassee. okay 3C. so so back ha;f. slowing. poor TW slow in L1. slow TW in L3 too. slip in L4? This team is slow and they don't cover much ice. They do have a nice waltz quality even if they don't get the rise and fall quite right. Their steps are hoppy, but their blades are clean. They don't throw a lot of spray.
He's a cutie and she has no eyebrows!
15.97 + 13.70 = 29.67 (13th)
Evening Note:
So here's the upshot. I've been working on this blog entry about half the day. There are still bits missing and I'm beat. This was a day from hell... the one where you find out that someone from Lower Slobovia has been using your debit card since November and has stolen $611.23 cents from you and then you have to chase around and do all the identity theft things... Yeah, THAT kind of day!
Not to mention I have TWO, count 'em, TWO work days when I am not volunteering and not doing the insane amount of laundry, dishes and housework this place seems to require just to stay marginally sanitary. And yes, THIS wasn't one of my two work days. I spent it making phone calls and filing reports instead of working.
Tonight, I have added links to several videos. Video links are beside each team's names. Eventually, I'll have links to almost everyone from Belbin and Agosto onward. Tonight, I'm just uploading the important ones from the top performers, because then I am going to go to bed and leave this miserable day behind me. Look later tomorrow for other videos.
These video files are upwards of 15MB each. You need broadband (cable/DSL/T1)to download them. For some reason, they do not play on Macs. Before anyone howls about that, please realize that my primary machine IS a Mac and if I COULD make the files work in RealPlayer for the Mac, I would.
(edited: 25 Sept 0-6. I have found videos of some of these skaters on YouTube and as long as they stay there, the links will work. They now play on the Mac.)
Standings thus far:
1 Marie-France DUBREUIL / Patrice LAUZON CAN 38.31 Video
him short black tails with white trim Her: silver chiffon with Ginger Rogers scarf (nice touch) but this costume is too see through for my tastes.
nice speed. clean feet. nice swingy swings. nice TW. far apart on MH nice even chasses. so so unison in back half. nice waltz ending. They had decent character. GOSH, their feet are CLEAN.... not even a hint of spray. His turns are also rather neat (though he doesn't get much to do in this one).
He looks like the love child of Brad Paisley and Orlando Bloom.
18.93 + 19.38 = 38.31
2 Isabelle DELOBEL / Olivier SCHOENFELDER FRA 37.30 Video
Him: LONG black tails. Her pink sequins and chiffon knee length dress with some pathetic ostrich feathery crap.
nice waltz opening. low swings not swingy okay TW far apart in MH even high chasses pattern a weird shape across the back. her TW is just weird to me... awkward. better TW in the L3 it may be that their lobes are deeper because they skate faster and cover the ice better. One thing it's really hard to tell on TV or webcast is if they are getting good ice coverage and if they have nice deep lobes. Replay shows he slipped behind one of her TW.
He thinks they did a good job. I'm not so impressed.
18.35 + 18.95 = 37.30
3 Galit CHAIT / Sergei SAKHNOVSKI ISR 34.77 3 Video
Him short black tails her: white dress w/ sheer handkerchief skirt
far apart MH, uneasy chasses wild swings on swingy part TW are okay. They are pushing and you can tell. They don't have much character to speak of. In replay their edges are kind of wobbly and they throw a fair amount of ice spray. He has a REALLY bad colorist... very cheesy looking stripes in his hair. Hers looks great.
Ah, Zhenya Platov in the K&C is as hot as ever. Some guys age and get un sexy (like Sasha Zhulin) other guys age and just get hotter. And Zhenya's old enough to drool over and not feel guilty. Unfortunately, Z's hairline is receding. I suppose all good things must come to an end.
17.14 + 17.63 = 34.77
4 Anastasia GREBENKINA / Vazgen AZROJAN ARM 25.17
Begin live coverage...
5 Olga AKIMOVA / Alexander SHAKALOV UZB 23.67
I thought the UZB were better than they got credit for. They had clean feet, good unison and good speed, half decent character... I guess "skating while Uzbecki" is like "skating while Polish." not a good thing.
6 Alexandra KAUC / Michal ZYCH POL
him: long tails her: light yellow lace strapless w/ illusion dress with criss crossy back fading to white at knee length hem
a Gidget sort of cute opener. nice unison on 1st lobe swings, nice and close on center mohawk. eh unison on the back half. decent TW. he has high, even chasses on lobe 3. a bit uncontrolled on the back half. They are PUSHING and you can tell. Their edges weren't hugely deep, but they are pleasant dancers. He's ADORABLE.
15.09 + 11.73 = 26.82
7 Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI ITA
him: long tails. Her: backless black halter dress with black sequins and cow patches on sides
not very waltzy opener. low swings on 1st lobe. hard to see if close on center mohawk, camera angle sucks. swings are wild. TW okay. his chasses are AWFUL on L3, irregular and trippy. everything about this couple is irregular. Sometimes they swing at this height, sometimes they swing at that height. They are very imprecise. They throw a fair amount of snow from the blade. Her skirt is too heavy for waltz. Their hydroblade closer was kind of pathetic. If you can't hydro... DON'T.
Gosh, he looks like Elijah Wood with hair.
16.78 + 15.82 = 32.60
AH, they are not being held up like they were at the Olympics.
8 Xiaoyang YU / Chen WANG CHN
him: long black tails and huge white ruffle down front and cuffs shirt. her: nice pink satinish and chiffon dress with handkerchief ends of her sleeves. nice costumes.
not very swings swings L1. far apart on mohowk L2. not great unison on back part. chasses that aren't on L3. her Tws are merely okay. a so so dance all the way through. Was this a waltz? Do they have a clue HOW to waltz?
14.30 + 11.41 = 25.71
They were ABOVE the Uzbeckis? Sheesh.
9 Natalie BUCK / Trent NELSON-BOND AUS
him long black tails, her Pink sequined dress with satin hankerchief skirt
not so great swings of different heights, icky half-hopped TW. uneven chasses on him. poor unison in the back section. she doesn't point her toes at all. she's pulling him and his tails are a real distraction. They have no waltz character to speak of.
He looks like Jerry Louis.
12.32 + 9.09 = 21.41
I am having some bad buffering problems, so I'll probably miss the Munana's for now. I'll try to go back and get them from Russian TV... if the Russians show them.
10 Laura MUNANA / Luke MUNANA MEX
him: short black tails her: teal waltz chiffon with tea length skirt
Russian TV joins the CD live in progress.
Warm-Up Group 3
11 Nozomi WATANABE / Akiyuki KIDO JPN
Chacked...
15.30 + 13.17 = 28.47
12 Nora HOFFMANN / Attila ELEK HUN
White dress with uneven deep V neck and black boa around the longer skirt
15.16 + 13.31 = 28.47
Chacked...
She is happy to be in 6th.
13 Tanith BELBIN / Benjamin AGOSTO USA Video
him: long black tails her: white lace dress fading to light blue
nice opener. nice swings. nice and close MH. nice unison in the back half. nice TW L1. nice even chasses from him. good speed. very good character. replay shows a good bit of ice spray on every stroke. Hate to say it, but I'd put them behind Dubreuil. Their character was better, but D&L were more precise.
18.55 + 19.04 = 37.59
14 Jana KHOKHLOVA / Sergei NOVITSKI RUS Video
him: long black tails her: bright pink not waltz dress...
And unfortunately, I MUST go get the kids at school. I am recording this from webcast, so when I get home, I'll fill in...
Please come back later and look.
15 Sinead KERR / John KERR GBR Video
Warm-Up Group 4
16 Elena ROMANOVSKAYA / Alexander GRACHEV RUS Video
17 Kristin FRASER / Igor LUKANIN AZE Video
18 Alla BEKNAZAROVA / Vladimir ZUEV UKR Video
19 Kamila HAJKOVA / David VINCOUR CZE Video
20 Alexandra ZARETSKI / Roman ZARETSKI ISR Video
I'm back live now. I'll be filling in Group 4 from recording later.
Warm-Up Group 5
21 Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabian BOURZAT FRA Video
Him: long black tails Her: turquoise dress with the "wrap me in ribbon and pretend I'm not naked" bodice and the diagonal chiffon skirt that is too pouffy.
awful opening. nice swings, even and swingy. did she TW? nice MH close together HUGE chasses, uneven. okay back section. NICE TW so fast I missed it. they are pushing. or she is. he trails. in replay, he jumps his turns and they both spray a LOT of ice. She needs braces (I'm so American sometimes). He doesn't need anything except maybe the key to my room. Tssssst! Hot hot hot!
15.75 + 13.56 = 29.31
22 Oksana DOMNINA / Maxim SHABALIN RUS Video
White on white in white. IE Attack of the Good Humor Man and the Ice Cream Woman.... too bad, cause I like Shabby and the chick he skates with. She has bleached her hair very light... platinum. might even look good on her. Unwaltzy dress!
nice swings and good TW good MH lovely chasses. okay back half. Nice speed but pushing in the second round. They are spraying ice going into the third turn, especially him. I think he slipped a bit. She tripped some on one of her TW too. In the K&C she is not looking happy. They made mistakes.
17.04 + 17.04 = 34.11
And get held up.
23 Anna ZADOROZHNIUK / Sergei VERBILLO UKR Video
black pants and white shirt with BIG shoulder pads. Her white lace dress with deep diagonal V and half GR scarf. On half of her dress is lacey seashells and she looks half naked.
First round was nice, swingy swings, decent TW, sos so MH. eh chasses. spraying ice into the 3rd corner. awkward on the back half. Second round was slower, even less precise. Nothing to write home about.
14.94 + 11.09 = 26.03
The coaches look really disappointed but the team doesn't much.
24 Margarita DROBIAZKO / Povilas VANAGAS LTU Video
Him: black pants and draw green renassance vest with split in the back, white shirt. White lace crop top and odd gored knee length skirt Kind of renaissance feeling... kinda ... I like ti but damned if I can say WHAT it is.
nice swings. bobble on the TW. okay MH uneven chasses. nice 3rd corner. okay back half. losing character in the second round. very good speed though and not visibly pushing. They do look a TAD off balance. ON reply, they hop their turns and vary from a tiny bit to quite a bit of ice spray.
Maybe ahead of BelAgo but behind DubLau
17.89 + 18.63 = 36.52 In 4th... maybe that's right.
WAY behind BelAgo
25 Megan WING / Aaron LOWE CAN Video
Him: black pants cream shirt. Her: gold dress that looks MUCH better in person. I love how her dress moves. It looks very waltzy in person.
okay swings okay TW slow center pretty clean feet in 3rd corner. bobble on TW in L1 round 2. uneven chasses. poor unison on back half.
They close up on Megan in a replay. Did Aaron have his teeth "done" they look chickletty...
17.05 + 15.85 = 32.90
Warm-Up Group 6
26 Alisa ALLAPACH / Peter KONGKASEM THA Video
Him: black long tails. Her Wine Red dress, backless, strapless w/illusion and deep v nice skirt though.
hopped poor swings, nice MH though close. uneven chasses. wobbly 3rd corner turns. eh TW. so so L3 TW. poor unison on the back half. Not awful character.
I LOVE her dress and she's a real doll... simply adorable... and the color was great on her... but they were pretty bad. They aren't Transplanted Americans, are they? He looks a lot like a friend of mine from college who wasn't from Thailand.
12.36 + 8.86 = 21.22
She's not too happy, but he's clapping and smiling... "we're just happy to be here" kind of thing. Good sport he is. Good sport.
27 Albena DENKOVA / Maxim STAVISKI BUL Video
The green and purple nightmare again!
Now... i MUST remember to watch her TW... otherwise I'll just watch him.
nice swings nice MH. okay chasse. slip going into 3rd corner okay back half. nice TW trip coming out? another trip in the 3rd corner?? They have great speed and pretty nice waltz character... but it offends my sense of propriety to dress a stud like him (short though he may be) in a frou-frou outfit like that. She jumps her turns a little bit too and they spray a lot of ice.
I'd put them above DroVan and below BelAgo... above DelSho? Maybe... six of one half doz f another.
19.17 + 19.29 = 38.46
In first? I would NOT have put them in first. No way. Period. 3rd, maybe. But not first.
28 Morgan MATTHEWS / Maxim ZAVOZIN USA Video
black pants and smoking jacket. her pink satinish tip and chiffon skirt with darker underskirt.
low un-unison swings slow across the ice. not great coverage/ poor unison on back half. poor unison on swings. icky TW. barely there chasses but nice and even. in replay, lots of ice spray in some moves, almost none in others... that's better.
She's too tall for him and their swings are never going to match in this dance. This is exactly the problem Ben yammers about DelScho (he's too tall for her they never match, wrong lines). She has TOO MUCH bronzer!!! He has too little. Looks pasty.
15.43 + 13.66 = 29.09
A good start for them at their first worlds!
29 Melissa GREGORY / Denis PETUKHOV USA Video
Him: black long tails. her: white with ostrich and low back. I found his tails distracting
nice TW eh MH. nice chasse. smooth C3. not great back half. swings don't swing much no character to speak of. but nice TW. better coverage this round. They actually gained speed into the second round. Showy ending, very traditional waltz. They had a bobble in the 4th corner, she trips slightly. He needs to bleach his roots.
16.85 + 15.52 = 32.37 in 10th so likely a top 10 finish for them in the CD.
30 Christina BEIER / William BEIER Video
black bolero jacket white shirt. her: black halter dress with pink under skirt VERY NICE.
I tend to like this team better than the judges.
nice opener. so so TW. okay MH ick chassee. okay 3C. so so back ha;f. slowing. poor TW slow in L1. slow TW in L3 too. slip in L4? This team is slow and they don't cover much ice. They do have a nice waltz quality even if they don't get the rise and fall quite right. Their steps are hoppy, but their blades are clean. They don't throw a lot of spray.
He's a cutie and she has no eyebrows!
15.97 + 13.70 = 29.67 (13th)
Monday, March 20, 2006
A Wearer of the Ice Blue Habit...
...posted this restrospective video of Michelle Kwan. I can live without Carrie Underwood's insipid so-called music (I am SO not CU's demographic), but this video clip has some nice highlights of La Kwan and the ending is bittersweet...
Just the perfect touch.
Just the perfect touch.
Figure Skating: 2006 Worlds Pairs SP
Petrova & Tikhonov RUS
Black SP outfits
Sarabande
sbs 3T. S2T hands over head nice. T3L turns out, but huge. sbs fly camel sit ch sit catch, bad unison break in the beginning pairs spin camel-sit, camel-sit ch spin ch camels h beill, sits. between the legs to one handed star lift double twist out, nice ice coverage and strong turns. SL FW nice unison. but slow. shoot the duck to poor entry to FI DS.
33.99 +29.05 = 63.04
Aganina & Knyazev UKR
red with black pants, red dress with straight skirt
La Boheme
sbs 2A nice. T2A, nice. FW nice S2T not so big split though. slow SL FW fair unison sbs fly camel upright h sit AWFUL unison break uprights. one handed starr lift. shoot the duck all the wy into FI DS. camels sit-catch ch camels sit-h beill sits.
25.05 + 16.12 = 41.17
4 Jessica DUBE / Bryce DAVISON CAN
Him black pants and shirt, her red satinish dress with low back and straight skirt
Hasta Cou de Conochi (sp?)
sbs 3S nice. good speed. star ch one handed star lift to upside down set down nice footwork and steady. camels sit catch pairs sit sit-uprightish. S2T. eh. nice energy and choreo. T3L NICE. good cha cha character sbs camels sit catch ch sit nice cannon she falls out bad unison break. SL FW good speed, so so unison but nice otherwise. SalPel entry to FI DS VERY NICE.
I love this team, though they are quite young. They actually attempt to express the music a bit. They have nice speed and pretty good positions and the footwork in his lifts are not scary.
32.92 + 25.89 = 58.81
5 Tatiana VOLOSOZHAR / Stanislav MOROZOV UKR
freaking video dropped out on me and I totally missed them.
6 Qing PANG / Jian TONG CHN
black unitards with silver sequins. I like her better in pants than in the shirt she wore earlier in the season for this program.
Variations on Paganini
sbs 3T so so unison. T3L. over the head into FI DS change of hands nice. flying camels bad break sits ch camels sits catch. one handed to star to one hand set down very fast and great coverage very confident footwork in the lift. steps to S2T wow. SL GFW nice unison to mirror camel-sit upright-sit ch camels uprights sit-h beill
35.53 + 29.45 = 64.98
7 Rumiana SPASSOVA / Stanimir TODOROV BUL
brown costumes, her with no shoulders and a deep V neck lots of illusion
Renaissance Medley
Sailor's Hornpipe (Popeye's theme) a la Hooked on Classics huge S2T nice. T3S 2footed? SBS 2L. Anchor's aweigh: star to reve direction of rotation. beill spiral to nice FI DS sbs camels sit poor unison ch sit catch. SL FW mirror not bad unison. camels sits ch camels can-opener nice.
At this point, without warning, my internet connection cut off and I had to reboot the WHOLE network.... after I got my daughter from daycare.
8 Maria MUKHORTOVA / Maxim TRANKOV RUS
Warm-Up Group 3
9 Julia OBERTAS / Sergei SLAVNOV RUS
cornflower blue
Concerto for Whiny Bitches--I mean, Coloratura (God, I hate this music)
SBS 3T she falls out, he turns out. T3F pitch forward hand down. star to one handed overhead lift. S2T eh, no handed catch but ugly. SL FW nice unison eh speed. spiral to poor entry FI DS not very low because he's not low enough. fly camel sit catch upright ch sit catch so so unison, one big break, but very close together. pairs camels sits ch camels sits uprights.
I've seen them skate this better.
29.12 + 26.48 = 55.60
10 Dorota ZAGORSKA / Mariusz SIUDEK POL
him black overall white shirt. her white dress
La Vie en Rose/ Mack the Knife
sbs 3T him hand down. T3S? nice. camels U break sits catch ch sit inside. steps S2T NICE. paris camel-sit sits ch camels sits. SL FW nice unison. cartwheel to one handed flying inverted star flip out fantastic. nice split entry to nice FI DS Her body position was strong throughout... not sticky can here.
This is about the most engaging program I think they've ever skated. God, I LOVE their lifts. And he actually kisses her at the end of the program. Very cute. I hate that flippy haircut she has, but it looks cute on her and really fits the music
29.45 + 25.60 = 55.05
11 Emma BRIEN / Stuart BECKINGHAM AUS
black pants and narrow referee stripe vest with black back. her same bodice with white skirt. He's BALD
S2T low. star lift poor position. sbs 2A she steps out. he falls after 1A. fly camel bad unison sits catch ch upright T2L. poor entry to FI DS but nice once she gets in. SL FW so so unison. pairs spin: camels upright-camel ch camels upright-h beill.
19.86 + 12.88 = 31.74 And there's another pegging of the PC to the TC... improperly IMO.
12 Aliona SAVCHENKO / Robin SZOLKOWY GER
black unitards with white sequining and the crissy crossy back for her
SE to sbs 3T (S? she 2 footed). through left to S2T nice. spiral to T3S she touched down and turned out. SEs to star ch overhead NICE good FW for him. fly camel sits inside catch ch catch so so unison. SL FW mirror nice swirly but not uppy downy. spiral to FI DS not great entry or position he changes hands and she gets very low. pairs sits ch camels can-openerish sit-hbeill.
32.33 + 28.91 = 61.24
Warm-Up Group 4
13 Dominika PIATKOWSKA / Dmitri KHROMIN POL
him black pants w/B&W striped top with black sleeves her black hose with skirt and white sleeves and B&W ZEBRA striped bodice with cut out back. Awful, awful AWFUL costumes. What is it with unattractive B&W stripes this year?
Black Cat, White Cat soundtrak
sbs 3T (S?) sos S2T. shoot the duck to star lift eh. T3S eh. sbs fly camel sit inside upright ch sit upright outside. SL FW very close, okay unison. shoot the duck to poor entry to FI DS but nice and low in it. pairs camels uprights ch upright-catch was that second spin a reverse spin?
26.24 + 18.43 = 44.67 personal best
14 Valerie MARCOUX / Craig BUNTIN CAN
her red strapless dress, him black pants, white shirt and vest with red tie
Hey Big Spender
sbs 3T nice but far apart. good speed. star slow turns and not steady or perhaps it's just the feed, her position not great. sbs fly camel sit ch camel uprights outside nice unison. steps S2T nice. hydro SE to T3L nice. pairs sits nice ch camels ch sits nice uprights. SL FW nice unison break. FAB SalPel entry to FI DS NICE very low, GREAT.
They get a rousing standing O and it is very well deserved.
34.77 + 27.89 = 62.66
15 Julia BELOGLAZOVA / Andrei BEKH UKR
him black pants. turquoise top with black underarms and sides. her turquoise with black down one side.
Greetings to Morricone
steps S2T nice. sbs 3S him, her 2S fall. T3S pitch forward hands down. spiral to NICE star lift variant position. spirals to sbs camels sit uprights ch sit outside. SL FW so so unison small breaks. beill to shoot the duck to POOR entry to FI DS, nice and low once in though. pairs camels uprights sits ch camel-sit beill-sit.
WHY do they do the sbs 3S? I have NEVER seen her land it. Not ONCE. Even in practice at SA she was maybe 1 for 5. However, her lift position is beautiful.
21.08 + 17.72 = 37.80
16 Rena INOUE / John BALDWIN USA
him black/black with chest hair and her pretty white fading to turquoise dress with tassles at the shoulder.
pardon me for a moment of partisanship... GO RENA AND JOHN!!!
Adiago in G Minor
nice star gentle set down. T3A NICE!!!! okay, a bit pitched on the landing... 1/4-beill to FI DS NICE him: change of hands?. sbs 2A nice. sbs fly camels sit inside upright ch sit catch outside. S2T with hands over head catch. nice sbs serp FW decent unison. pairs camels sit-hbeill ch camels sit-camel upright-catch.
They were on tonight... very lovely. Too bad they don't have a sbs triple though... how well can they really do without it?
34.30 + 26.60 = 60.90 (which is within a point or so of their personal best)
We are now getting an EXTENDED fluff piece on pairs and Shen and Zhao which consists of highlight moves over and over from different programs set to the Chinese version of My Heart Will Go On (from Titanic)... while they cut the ice?
GOD HELP US, I keep thinking... PLEASE don't let the Zhangs be World champs. PLEASE.
Warm-Up Group 5
17 Marylin PLA / Yannick BONHEUR FRA
black pants red/black shirt. her black dress with bare back and tattered skirt. and red flower at the breast
Blues for Klook
Sigh... CCTV5 just froze. it's buffering and buffering and not really doing anything at all... totally missed them... not getting any picture. nice T3 something. eh S2T. between the legs and then nice star to eh star frozen again. really poor entry to FI DS but very low in the sDS
24.64 + 20.91 = 44.55
18 Stacey KEMP / David KING GBR
Black unitards with crissy crossy neon yellow stripes... looks like they are skating to TRON. VILE costumes even so.
ages 17 and 21.. they are babies.
Krit krit? drummy, electric guitar piece. background music, skated OVER not TO.
steps S2T pretty good. pairs camel-upright uprights ch came;s uprights. SBS 2L turn out. eh star lift slow turns and careful exit. circle FW slow and careful not bas unison. Ina Bauer to T3L? fall. sbs fly came; sit inside ch sit catch fairly good unison one break. shoot the duck to FI DS very low. Nice. cartwheel upside down ending was interesting.
22.14 + 15.00 = 36.14
She looks unhappy, but that was about what they deserved.
19 Dan ZHANG / Hao ZHANG CHN
Black with black and gold glittery stuff. Same ones they been wearing all season.
Kashmir
eh star to side airplane nice. T3L nice huge as usual strong landing. spirals h beill to FI DS nice and long, good speed. steps 3S NICE, close together. sbs fly camels inside sits catch ch sits catch nice one small unison break, maybe 2 . serp FW not close but good unison. steps HUGE lateral S2T with arms over head the whole thing. pairs camels (traveling badly) sits beill-upright ch camels canopener
I hate to say it, but they deserved this one. I have never seen them skate with anything close to intensity and this one, they had... they were in the moment THERE.
35.82 + 29.76 = 65.58 in 1st by a point
20 Marcy HINZMANN / Aaron PARCHEM
black pants, loose maroon shirt. pink strappy dress with sequins.. very delicate.
GO MARCI AND AARON!
The Mission (soundtrack)
steps S2T okay. T3L nice, easy landing. sbs 3T NICE. FROZE argh. )(&)(&^&*%$&^%$(&^#&^$%)(*#%&)(^!@#&%^$@#)($*&^#@^%@($^#*^%#$((*&@*& sbs camels sit ch sit upright inside traveling. pairs camels sit-camel. uprights layback ch camels upright-catch nice exit. lovely star to one hand to one hand exit easy. fab FI DS very low. Lovely. By the sound of it, they did well. they pretty much brought the house down.
I love this program for them. It really fits their strengths. There weren't enough gimmicks to make ti score really high under CoP unfortunately. it was just moderate difficulty done sublimely.
28.92 + 23.92 = 52.84
Okay, Obertas and Slavnov MUST have paid off the judges to place over BOTH Zagorska and Shuidek and Hinzemann and Parchem. But other than that, I don't have real problems with the placements.
I wonder when the US TV coverage is... unfortunately, the teams I missed will never see US TV.
Official Results
Black SP outfits
Sarabande
sbs 3T. S2T hands over head nice. T3L turns out, but huge. sbs fly camel sit ch sit catch, bad unison break in the beginning pairs spin camel-sit, camel-sit ch spin ch camels h beill, sits. between the legs to one handed star lift double twist out, nice ice coverage and strong turns. SL FW nice unison. but slow. shoot the duck to poor entry to FI DS.
33.99 +29.05 = 63.04
Aganina & Knyazev UKR
red with black pants, red dress with straight skirt
La Boheme
sbs 2A nice. T2A, nice. FW nice S2T not so big split though. slow SL FW fair unison sbs fly camel upright h sit AWFUL unison break uprights. one handed starr lift. shoot the duck all the wy into FI DS. camels sit-catch ch camels sit-h beill sits.
25.05 + 16.12 = 41.17
4 Jessica DUBE / Bryce DAVISON CAN
Him black pants and shirt, her red satinish dress with low back and straight skirt
Hasta Cou de Conochi (sp?)
sbs 3S nice. good speed. star ch one handed star lift to upside down set down nice footwork and steady. camels sit catch pairs sit sit-uprightish. S2T. eh. nice energy and choreo. T3L NICE. good cha cha character sbs camels sit catch ch sit nice cannon she falls out bad unison break. SL FW good speed, so so unison but nice otherwise. SalPel entry to FI DS VERY NICE.
I love this team, though they are quite young. They actually attempt to express the music a bit. They have nice speed and pretty good positions and the footwork in his lifts are not scary.
32.92 + 25.89 = 58.81
5 Tatiana VOLOSOZHAR / Stanislav MOROZOV UKR
freaking video dropped out on me and I totally missed them.
6 Qing PANG / Jian TONG CHN
black unitards with silver sequins. I like her better in pants than in the shirt she wore earlier in the season for this program.
Variations on Paganini
sbs 3T so so unison. T3L. over the head into FI DS change of hands nice. flying camels bad break sits ch camels sits catch. one handed to star to one hand set down very fast and great coverage very confident footwork in the lift. steps to S2T wow. SL GFW nice unison to mirror camel-sit upright-sit ch camels uprights sit-h beill
35.53 + 29.45 = 64.98
7 Rumiana SPASSOVA / Stanimir TODOROV BUL
brown costumes, her with no shoulders and a deep V neck lots of illusion
Renaissance Medley
Sailor's Hornpipe (Popeye's theme) a la Hooked on Classics huge S2T nice. T3S 2footed? SBS 2L. Anchor's aweigh: star to reve direction of rotation. beill spiral to nice FI DS sbs camels sit poor unison ch sit catch. SL FW mirror not bad unison. camels sits ch camels can-opener nice.
At this point, without warning, my internet connection cut off and I had to reboot the WHOLE network.... after I got my daughter from daycare.
8 Maria MUKHORTOVA / Maxim TRANKOV RUS
Warm-Up Group 3
9 Julia OBERTAS / Sergei SLAVNOV RUS
cornflower blue
Concerto for Whiny Bitches--I mean, Coloratura (God, I hate this music)
SBS 3T she falls out, he turns out. T3F pitch forward hand down. star to one handed overhead lift. S2T eh, no handed catch but ugly. SL FW nice unison eh speed. spiral to poor entry FI DS not very low because he's not low enough. fly camel sit catch upright ch sit catch so so unison, one big break, but very close together. pairs camels sits ch camels sits uprights.
I've seen them skate this better.
29.12 + 26.48 = 55.60
10 Dorota ZAGORSKA / Mariusz SIUDEK POL
him black overall white shirt. her white dress
La Vie en Rose/ Mack the Knife
sbs 3T him hand down. T3S? nice. camels U break sits catch ch sit inside. steps S2T NICE. paris camel-sit sits ch camels sits. SL FW nice unison. cartwheel to one handed flying inverted star flip out fantastic. nice split entry to nice FI DS Her body position was strong throughout... not sticky can here.
This is about the most engaging program I think they've ever skated. God, I LOVE their lifts. And he actually kisses her at the end of the program. Very cute. I hate that flippy haircut she has, but it looks cute on her and really fits the music
29.45 + 25.60 = 55.05
11 Emma BRIEN / Stuart BECKINGHAM AUS
black pants and narrow referee stripe vest with black back. her same bodice with white skirt. He's BALD
S2T low. star lift poor position. sbs 2A she steps out. he falls after 1A. fly camel bad unison sits catch ch upright T2L. poor entry to FI DS but nice once she gets in. SL FW so so unison. pairs spin: camels upright-camel ch camels upright-h beill.
19.86 + 12.88 = 31.74 And there's another pegging of the PC to the TC... improperly IMO.
12 Aliona SAVCHENKO / Robin SZOLKOWY GER
black unitards with white sequining and the crissy crossy back for her
SE to sbs 3T (S? she 2 footed). through left to S2T nice. spiral to T3S she touched down and turned out. SEs to star ch overhead NICE good FW for him. fly camel sits inside catch ch catch so so unison. SL FW mirror nice swirly but not uppy downy. spiral to FI DS not great entry or position he changes hands and she gets very low. pairs sits ch camels can-openerish sit-hbeill.
32.33 + 28.91 = 61.24
Warm-Up Group 4
13 Dominika PIATKOWSKA / Dmitri KHROMIN POL
him black pants w/B&W striped top with black sleeves her black hose with skirt and white sleeves and B&W ZEBRA striped bodice with cut out back. Awful, awful AWFUL costumes. What is it with unattractive B&W stripes this year?
Black Cat, White Cat soundtrak
sbs 3T (S?) sos S2T. shoot the duck to star lift eh. T3S eh. sbs fly camel sit inside upright ch sit upright outside. SL FW very close, okay unison. shoot the duck to poor entry to FI DS but nice and low in it. pairs camels uprights ch upright-catch was that second spin a reverse spin?
26.24 + 18.43 = 44.67 personal best
14 Valerie MARCOUX / Craig BUNTIN CAN
her red strapless dress, him black pants, white shirt and vest with red tie
Hey Big Spender
sbs 3T nice but far apart. good speed. star slow turns and not steady or perhaps it's just the feed, her position not great. sbs fly camel sit ch camel uprights outside nice unison. steps S2T nice. hydro SE to T3L nice. pairs sits nice ch camels ch sits nice uprights. SL FW nice unison break. FAB SalPel entry to FI DS NICE very low, GREAT.
They get a rousing standing O and it is very well deserved.
34.77 + 27.89 = 62.66
15 Julia BELOGLAZOVA / Andrei BEKH UKR
him black pants. turquoise top with black underarms and sides. her turquoise with black down one side.
Greetings to Morricone
steps S2T nice. sbs 3S him, her 2S fall. T3S pitch forward hands down. spiral to NICE star lift variant position. spirals to sbs camels sit uprights ch sit outside. SL FW so so unison small breaks. beill to shoot the duck to POOR entry to FI DS, nice and low once in though. pairs camels uprights sits ch camel-sit beill-sit.
WHY do they do the sbs 3S? I have NEVER seen her land it. Not ONCE. Even in practice at SA she was maybe 1 for 5. However, her lift position is beautiful.
21.08 + 17.72 = 37.80
16 Rena INOUE / John BALDWIN USA
him black/black with chest hair and her pretty white fading to turquoise dress with tassles at the shoulder.
pardon me for a moment of partisanship... GO RENA AND JOHN!!!
Adiago in G Minor
nice star gentle set down. T3A NICE!!!! okay, a bit pitched on the landing... 1/4-beill to FI DS NICE him: change of hands?. sbs 2A nice. sbs fly camels sit inside upright ch sit catch outside. S2T with hands over head catch. nice sbs serp FW decent unison. pairs camels sit-hbeill ch camels sit-camel upright-catch.
They were on tonight... very lovely. Too bad they don't have a sbs triple though... how well can they really do without it?
34.30 + 26.60 = 60.90 (which is within a point or so of their personal best)
We are now getting an EXTENDED fluff piece on pairs and Shen and Zhao which consists of highlight moves over and over from different programs set to the Chinese version of My Heart Will Go On (from Titanic)... while they cut the ice?
GOD HELP US, I keep thinking... PLEASE don't let the Zhangs be World champs. PLEASE.
Warm-Up Group 5
17 Marylin PLA / Yannick BONHEUR FRA
black pants red/black shirt. her black dress with bare back and tattered skirt. and red flower at the breast
Blues for Klook
Sigh... CCTV5 just froze. it's buffering and buffering and not really doing anything at all... totally missed them... not getting any picture. nice T3 something. eh S2T. between the legs and then nice star to eh star frozen again. really poor entry to FI DS but very low in the sDS
24.64 + 20.91 = 44.55
18 Stacey KEMP / David KING GBR
Black unitards with crissy crossy neon yellow stripes... looks like they are skating to TRON. VILE costumes even so.
ages 17 and 21.. they are babies.
Krit krit? drummy, electric guitar piece. background music, skated OVER not TO.
steps S2T pretty good. pairs camel-upright uprights ch came;s uprights. SBS 2L turn out. eh star lift slow turns and careful exit. circle FW slow and careful not bas unison. Ina Bauer to T3L? fall. sbs fly came; sit inside ch sit catch fairly good unison one break. shoot the duck to FI DS very low. Nice. cartwheel upside down ending was interesting.
22.14 + 15.00 = 36.14
She looks unhappy, but that was about what they deserved.
19 Dan ZHANG / Hao ZHANG CHN
Black with black and gold glittery stuff. Same ones they been wearing all season.
Kashmir
eh star to side airplane nice. T3L nice huge as usual strong landing. spirals h beill to FI DS nice and long, good speed. steps 3S NICE, close together. sbs fly camels inside sits catch ch sits catch nice one small unison break, maybe 2 . serp FW not close but good unison. steps HUGE lateral S2T with arms over head the whole thing. pairs camels (traveling badly) sits beill-upright ch camels canopener
I hate to say it, but they deserved this one. I have never seen them skate with anything close to intensity and this one, they had... they were in the moment THERE.
35.82 + 29.76 = 65.58 in 1st by a point
20 Marcy HINZMANN / Aaron PARCHEM
black pants, loose maroon shirt. pink strappy dress with sequins.. very delicate.
GO MARCI AND AARON!
The Mission (soundtrack)
steps S2T okay. T3L nice, easy landing. sbs 3T NICE. FROZE argh. )(&)(&^&*%$&^%$(&^#&^$%)(*#%&)(^!@#&%^$@#)($*&^#@^%@($^#*^%#$((*&@*& sbs camels sit ch sit upright inside traveling. pairs camels sit-camel. uprights layback ch camels upright-catch nice exit. lovely star to one hand to one hand exit easy. fab FI DS very low. Lovely. By the sound of it, they did well. they pretty much brought the house down.
I love this program for them. It really fits their strengths. There weren't enough gimmicks to make ti score really high under CoP unfortunately. it was just moderate difficulty done sublimely.
28.92 + 23.92 = 52.84
Okay, Obertas and Slavnov MUST have paid off the judges to place over BOTH Zagorska and Shuidek and Hinzemann and Parchem. But other than that, I don't have real problems with the placements.
I wonder when the US TV coverage is... unfortunately, the teams I missed will never see US TV.
Official Results
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Awful Ugly Death Spirals
So, I was considering the comment made by one of my readers about how difficult the BO death spiral done by Demers-Boutin and Joncas at Jr Worlds was and why that makes it NOT an awful, ugly DS. The commenter said it got a Level 4 and has been used as an example of how to do a death spiral by Skate Canada (the org not the event), meaning it must have been done spectacularly well.
So, I found the video of their performance online and downloaded it... because frankly, I had already lost the visual in my head. Having too much to be responsible for tends to drive relatively unimportant things out of your head rather quickly. I've uploaded D-B&J's Long Program at 2006JW to YouSendIt here. That link will be good for 7 days at most, if it wears out, you might try asking for their program to be reposted in the 2006 Jr Worlds forum at FSVids. The recording is really crappy quality. Sorry about that, I didn't make it.
So, was D-B&J's death spiral awful and ugly or was it a Level 4 DS spiral done spectacularly well.?
Let's take a look at it step by step:
On entry, D-B performs a "difficult" side catch spiral in an extreme position. She holds this position on a shallow edge for 3 seconds and then lowers her leg into a more classic entry position in a controlled manner. I'm going to begin counting rotations from the time that she hits this position. Technically, the ISU does not begin counting rotations until the man sets his toe pick, so I'm spotting them a extra rotation that they should not get credit for under ISU rules.
My take: a pretty stunning position, though the edge was nothing to write home about. I liked it: +1
Now, take a look at this next pic, which is 1/2 a rotation into the death spiral. Look at her position. Her free foot is rotated in instead of turned out. The foot underneath her is way under her, not extended as it should be. The harsh bend in her knee makes a very ugly line. And also note that with her foot right under her like that, she's not really on all that deep of an edge. It's not edge control that's keeping her "up" it's that her foot is right under her. She's not terribly secure with this spiral. He's doing his job pretty well, but he's very "up" on his knees, not down into them.
My take: this is REALLY ugly. I hated her position and the spiral's poorly executed as far as she is concerned: -2
This next pic is 1/4 of the way into the second rotation. I know that the pic is blurry and it's hard to see, but notice how straight her back is. There's no arch there. In fact, there is no arch in her body at all. The hard bend in her knee is still there, only barely extended, her back is straight. The twist in her back and how her head drops to the ice, makes you THINK she's arched when in reality, she hasn't arched at all. Nada. In fact, her butt is sticking out. You can't see from this angle, but she is edging less shallowly (note: I don't say "more deeply" because her edge is still not very deep). Her free foot (along with her free hip) is STILL turned in.
My take: still a rotten position and still not great as far as execution goes. But since she's a tiny bit more into the edge: -1.
Now, finally, here's a picture from 1/4 turn into the second rotation. D-B has pulled her leg down and crouched it behind her bent knee. Finally, she's fairly deep into the edge a mere half a rotation before she pulls out of the spiral. Her back is still not arched. Her free foot, knee and hip are still turned in. Now she has TWO ugly bent knees instead of one! Her head in thrown back to simulate arch and closeness to the ice, but look at her body, look at her back. Look at the shoulder she's NOT twisting. She is not all that close to the ice, is she? Nope. She's not. All the close she IS to the ice is from that way-under-her bent supporting knee, NOT because she is on a super deep edge. This is not a well executed spiral. The low to the ice should come from the depth of the edge, not from the bend in the supporting knee.
My take: ugly position, no arch, optical illusion fake-out. Not fooled here: -2
I should note that putting her free foot behind her knee, which disguises her poor position is a "feature" under CoP that gives her a higher level. That twist in her back and dropped head which makes her look closer to the ice when she's really not? Another "feature." In software development, we have a saying when the customer comes at us with a fault that we should have fixed and didn't, "hey, that's a feature not a bug." Let's take away those features and see what kind of spiral we have.
Bent supporting knee.
Shallow edge.
No arch in the back.
Poorly executed.
He's not low to the ice.
Is it a good one?
No, it isn't.
Now, here's one that's better (Hinzeman and Parchem at SA 2006). No, this isn't the best BO DS I've ever seen, but it's got a lot going for it. Though you can't quite see it at this angle, Marci's supporting leg is pretty straight and her knee is extended. She's staying up pushing against the edge, not by putting her weight on a supporting leg that is bent under her. The "low" in the DS comes from the depth of her edge and the attractive arch in her back, not from a bent supporting knee. Her head is thrown back and the the shoulder is twisted but only to the extent that her back is arched. It complements the arch, rather than hiding the fact that there isn't actually any arch to speak of. The free foot is turned out (not as far as it could be and it's not pointed... but as I said, this is not the best BO death spiral I've ever seen. Note also, that Parchem is very deep into his knees. He's sunk down as low as Marci has rather than staying high (which is easier) and letting her dangle.
.
I wish I could find a good picture of Berezhanya and Sikhuralidze doing their BO DS or better yet, Gordeeva and Grinkov. Gordeeva's edge control allowed her to get WAY close to the ice.
At any rate, when one is taking notes in split seconds, sometimes a great deal of analysis gets condensed into "AWFUL, UGLY." I thought you might be interested in the thought processes behind the extra, short summarized version.
This is the nature of the beast in CoP. Sometimes you can use "difficulty" to hide poor execution and positioning. But then, I am the kind of person who would rather see the moderately difficult done sublimely, than watch the "very" difficult done poorly. I put "very" in quotes because I'd argue that it is ten times as hard to really get down into a deep edge in a death spiral than it is to grab your leg or tuck your free foot behind your knee.
As my coach always said, "It's a gimmick and you don't need gimmicks."
So, I found the video of their performance online and downloaded it... because frankly, I had already lost the visual in my head. Having too much to be responsible for tends to drive relatively unimportant things out of your head rather quickly. I've uploaded D-B&J's Long Program at 2006JW to YouSendIt here. That link will be good for 7 days at most, if it wears out, you might try asking for their program to be reposted in the 2006 Jr Worlds forum at FSVids. The recording is really crappy quality. Sorry about that, I didn't make it.
So, was D-B&J's death spiral awful and ugly or was it a Level 4 DS spiral done spectacularly well.?
Let's take a look at it step by step:
On entry, D-B performs a "difficult" side catch spiral in an extreme position. She holds this position on a shallow edge for 3 seconds and then lowers her leg into a more classic entry position in a controlled manner. I'm going to begin counting rotations from the time that she hits this position. Technically, the ISU does not begin counting rotations until the man sets his toe pick, so I'm spotting them a extra rotation that they should not get credit for under ISU rules.
My take: a pretty stunning position, though the edge was nothing to write home about. I liked it: +1
Now, take a look at this next pic, which is 1/2 a rotation into the death spiral. Look at her position. Her free foot is rotated in instead of turned out. The foot underneath her is way under her, not extended as it should be. The harsh bend in her knee makes a very ugly line. And also note that with her foot right under her like that, she's not really on all that deep of an edge. It's not edge control that's keeping her "up" it's that her foot is right under her. She's not terribly secure with this spiral. He's doing his job pretty well, but he's very "up" on his knees, not down into them.
My take: this is REALLY ugly. I hated her position and the spiral's poorly executed as far as she is concerned: -2
This next pic is 1/4 of the way into the second rotation. I know that the pic is blurry and it's hard to see, but notice how straight her back is. There's no arch there. In fact, there is no arch in her body at all. The hard bend in her knee is still there, only barely extended, her back is straight. The twist in her back and how her head drops to the ice, makes you THINK she's arched when in reality, she hasn't arched at all. Nada. In fact, her butt is sticking out. You can't see from this angle, but she is edging less shallowly (note: I don't say "more deeply" because her edge is still not very deep). Her free foot (along with her free hip) is STILL turned in.
My take: still a rotten position and still not great as far as execution goes. But since she's a tiny bit more into the edge: -1.
Now, finally, here's a picture from 1/4 turn into the second rotation. D-B has pulled her leg down and crouched it behind her bent knee. Finally, she's fairly deep into the edge a mere half a rotation before she pulls out of the spiral. Her back is still not arched. Her free foot, knee and hip are still turned in. Now she has TWO ugly bent knees instead of one! Her head in thrown back to simulate arch and closeness to the ice, but look at her body, look at her back. Look at the shoulder she's NOT twisting. She is not all that close to the ice, is she? Nope. She's not. All the close she IS to the ice is from that way-under-her bent supporting knee, NOT because she is on a super deep edge. This is not a well executed spiral. The low to the ice should come from the depth of the edge, not from the bend in the supporting knee.
My take: ugly position, no arch, optical illusion fake-out. Not fooled here: -2
I should note that putting her free foot behind her knee, which disguises her poor position is a "feature" under CoP that gives her a higher level. That twist in her back and dropped head which makes her look closer to the ice when she's really not? Another "feature." In software development, we have a saying when the customer comes at us with a fault that we should have fixed and didn't, "hey, that's a feature not a bug." Let's take away those features and see what kind of spiral we have.
Bent supporting knee.
Shallow edge.
No arch in the back.
Poorly executed.
He's not low to the ice.
Is it a good one?
No, it isn't.
Now, here's one that's better (Hinzeman and Parchem at SA 2006). No, this isn't the best BO DS I've ever seen, but it's got a lot going for it. Though you can't quite see it at this angle, Marci's supporting leg is pretty straight and her knee is extended. She's staying up pushing against the edge, not by putting her weight on a supporting leg that is bent under her. The "low" in the DS comes from the depth of her edge and the attractive arch in her back, not from a bent supporting knee. Her head is thrown back and the the shoulder is twisted but only to the extent that her back is arched. It complements the arch, rather than hiding the fact that there isn't actually any arch to speak of. The free foot is turned out (not as far as it could be and it's not pointed... but as I said, this is not the best BO death spiral I've ever seen. Note also, that Parchem is very deep into his knees. He's sunk down as low as Marci has rather than staying high (which is easier) and letting her dangle.
.I wish I could find a good picture of Berezhanya and Sikhuralidze doing their BO DS or better yet, Gordeeva and Grinkov. Gordeeva's edge control allowed her to get WAY close to the ice.
At any rate, when one is taking notes in split seconds, sometimes a great deal of analysis gets condensed into "AWFUL, UGLY." I thought you might be interested in the thought processes behind the extra, short summarized version.
This is the nature of the beast in CoP. Sometimes you can use "difficulty" to hide poor execution and positioning. But then, I am the kind of person who would rather see the moderately difficult done sublimely, than watch the "very" difficult done poorly. I put "very" in quotes because I'd argue that it is ten times as hard to really get down into a deep edge in a death spiral than it is to grab your leg or tuck your free foot behind your knee.
As my coach always said, "It's a gimmick and you don't need gimmicks."
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