BlackberryJam

Yeah...I worry so much about their training conditions and their punishments for not being perfect. Valieva and Zhu should bond and then escape.

She's probably an A cup but we are so used to no cup at all. She is an amazing skater, and this program is good, but I struggle feeling it because she is so young. Eteri is going to beat her with a ruler. RUN, KAMILA RUN.

Considering the Peng Shuai situation, I want to help all the Chinese female athletes escape.

Quoting myself, it was from Love Actually. Peng Shuai. Just let her leave, China, just let her run.

YAS!!!!

The Russian team managed to get Joe Cocker and the Commodores for their Rhythm Dance. There are better arrangements available. I feel like I'm watching cheerleading routine arm movements in the Russian free dance.

Tanith provides excellent technical information that's helpful in understanding the scores. That mustache is ....are they doing a Gone with the Wind program at some point? Why are all these songs shitty? I mean, not just something I don't like, but really shitty? Done.

The only thing I'm liking about the NBC feed is the music is so loud I can barely hear Tara and Johnny. At the same time, all of these programs are ...sad. I mean, the pandemic has been rough and we are all in weird places, but every routine is so sad.

I gasped. I had been bored to tears by the program and just wanted that dullness to end. The music was like what they play in a Disney film during the sad parental death. Then that horrible fall. I'm surprised no one broke a bone or bled.

That version of Fix You was painful.

I encountered my first TERF in real life, not just internet. Apparently, my support of trans girls using girl’s restrooms at school makes me a misogynistic tool of the patriarchy. I just blinked, repeatedly, and moved on.

Old photo, but Sven Kramer, my speed skating boyfriend.

I watched that mens 5000m and wow did the Swedish guy come back. Sven Kramer remains adorable.

The voiceovers were the best part of Burn Notice. They can always make a change for Season 2.

Figure skating gossip is always a wild ride, but this write up on Virtue/Moir is something special. This rivals the basement baby gossip on those two.

Well, there has to be a strip club involved, right? How else do we get the boob quota?

Johnny has worshipped all things Russian since back when he was skating. He's just pulled Tara along with him. I mostly feel bad for Eteri's skaters. If they want to succeed, I'm not sure there are any other options for them in Russia. Or they don't have the money to go elsewhere. Like the Chinese gymnasts from 2008. I understand not wanting Eteri to have nice things and wanting Johnny and Tara to shut up, though. I cannot invest in the American ladies for this Olympics. I love Mariah Bell. I love everything about her skating. I know she's at best a bronze, and that's only if she has a great day and someone else falls. I hope there are some other women who can challenge the Russians, but Valieva is just a real talent. Now, maybe next year, she'll grow 2" and lose all of her jumps, but right now, I love watching her skate.

At the moment, Reacher is nothing more than a trope. He's the Gentle Giant/Brilliant Bruiser, and that's it. If there is a season where he is carrying around a crumpled photo of his military buddies, one of whom died tragically while the other has become a drug dealer/arms dealer/bad guy, it'll check that box off too. I don't blame that on the show writers, but again, that the books haven't aged well. Arnold Schwarzenegger had a more unexpected and interesting personality in Terminator 2. I suspect the show will get a second season because it doesn't seem that expensive to produce, not like say, The Expanse. I'm not a fan of comic books or superhero movies, but I am a fan of hot shirtless men. Pantsless too. And speaking of that, I did appreciate that they showed full frontal of the crucified man, not because I was interested in his wang, but because they so often show full frontal of female murder victims. The nudity was appropriate for the story. I'll certainly watch a second season, but Reacher needs to get more of a personality, and I don't mean finding out that he meditates or is a good cook. Maybe having him do voiceovers would help? He'd seem less robotic.

If Valieva were three years older, I'd ship her with Kagiyama. They are both the future of their sport and it was an absolute delight watching both of them today. I love Nathan Chen and I like Shoma Uno, but Kagiyama is dripping with charm. I don't think there is any woman competing right now that can compete with Valieva in artistry, technique or content. She's the best for a reason, and she seems just like a lovely young girl. Johnny mentioned that one of her past times is sleeping and Kagiyama said the same thing, his hobby is sleeping. They are adorable, and in ten years. can be adorable together with some romantic "Met at the Olympics and reconnected years later story." ETA: I'll say it. I'm happy to never see Jason Brown fail at international competition again. He doesn't have the skills and it was painful to watch him try.

So...I watched this because, well, hot shirtless guy seemed reason enough. The acting was good, the fight scenes were good, the production value was high, yet this was dull. I know the books are decades old, but the whole, "tragic vet who stumbles into corruption and trouble, only to fight his way out without breaking a sweat, being right about everything, and getting the girl" is a dull story. This could have been condensed into three episodes, and even then it would have dragged. I was happy for the eye candy, but wow, was plot terrible. I read a review that described it as "Father's Day Fiction" and yeah, I can see that. But it hasn't aged well.

Well, that was not pleasing. Zhou seemed to be tilting in the air and then running out of steam. Poor guy.

But unfortunately, the programs don't build with it. Skaters are too tired at the end to make the pay off worth it. I almost liked this version of Jesus Christ Superstar until it morphed into a car chase scene soundtrack.

It almost feels like that was a different season altogether. Here she is..She of the ripped shirt and exposed dingy bra.

I love a well-done jump with arms over the head. It gives it a more balletic look. Wasn't it Slutskaya who did it and it was horrifically clunky? I wish the US ladies were better, but I acknowledge they aren't. I think Mariah Bell is a gorgeous skater with really mature programs, but I don't want to change the rules to make her the winner.

Okay...Kamila is fabulous. I'd not seen her perform, just read about her. She does have artistic skills. She extends on her movements. The only part I didn't like was one of the transitions in the spins. I fully appreciated Zagitova's programs last Olympics which were "I will read the code of points, memorize it and than fuck you over with a program tailored to it." But this young woman is next level.