justmehere

I was so sad for Shoma. His skating is so beautiful, so fluid, and I hoped he'd at least be on the podium. Maybe the pressure of trying for a 3rd World Championship was an issue; who knows. But he was all smiles, even right after, which is amazing. I remember - I think it was 2019 - where he sat alone in the K&C after having fallen multiple times, crying. Working with Stephane has been a really positive thing for him. --It's selfish, but I hope he doesn't retire and can skate next year without pressure. I loved Deniss' blues FS and was dismayed when I read that he was changing it for Worlds, but his performance was amazing. It was Lion King wasn't it? Much higher energy than Hallelujah would allow. Congrats to Jason for maintaining 5th at Worlds. Edit to add: Here's a translated interview with Shoma. He sounds so good and so at peace with himself:

For those wanting full Worlds coverage: The basic plan on Peacock is $5.99/month, and you can cancel any time (i.e. after Worlds; I don't know if they offer a free trial). I haven't noticed commercials when watching skating live, though I have encountered a few on replays. They generally have a World feed, which covers all skaters, and a shorter one that is from the NBC feed with just the top groups. Replays are likely to be available only for 24-48 hours. Alternatively, you can watch the ISU YouTube coverage with a free VPN. I hear Opera browser still works, and Windscribe has a free option (along with a Fire TV/Stick app for TV viewing). There are others. Set the country to Canada or some other non-U.S. location (may need to experiment to find one that unlocks all the videos), and you can watch full coverage of all skaters. Replays available. Re: Windscribe - the free bandwidth is limited, but you can expand it for just a few dollars. The World feed through either of these options has different commentary than NBC - no Johnny & Tara - if that interests you. I enjoy it.

Jason received an award for his contributions to skating. It has only been given a couple of times in the past. Video of the ceremony (taken by his choreographer): https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2qou7JLT0N/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D Sinnerman. There are others.

Opinions obviously vary, but I don't understand this comment. First, I'm not sure how he's taking up space; he skates and earns his level like anyone else. The fact that he finished top 5 at Worlds last year, even without quads, is testament to his quality. (Ilia - with his quads - was only 2 places higher; Andrew Torgashev was 21st. Jason also earned silver at Nationals last year and this, and he was 6th at the '22 Olympics; still very impressive.) He's trying something different by not competing in the Grand Prix series (during which he is doing shows) and joining later. How long he will be successful with that remains to be seen, but the other U.S. men tend to be inconsistent, and so far - other than Ilia with his high tech score - they haven't bettered him. Jason does occasionally make mistakes, but he's generally more consistent than others. There's also the fact that his high placements earn future spots at Worlds (and the Olympics, I believe). He may take one of those spots, but if others don't place as well internationally, the U.S. would lose the spot (or spots?) anyway. --He is also still extremely popular. Given his popularity, his excellent skating, and what he gives to the sport (pushing artistic excellence), it's not ego keeping him in. Plenty of people (myself included) are grateful that he continues to compete, even if on a limited basis. Few people can get to shows, and this is the only way to continue enjoying his beautiful performances. (I will admit I wasn't as much a fan of his programs this season as I was of the last couple of seasons, so I was glad he went back to his Impossible Dream for the free skate today.) No one is compelled to like any particular skater, no matter how highly acclaimed or enjoyed by others, but saying that he shouldn't compete for the reasons stated doesn't make sense to me. (Same for "hanging around forever.") If he's doing well and wants to continue, more power to him.

And here's Hawayek/Baker rhythm dance. I love them so much. Original post: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2dBXPZPY6-/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D YouTube:

There were two moments between them that had me in tears. It's been several months since I watched (DVDs before knowing it would be on Prime), so I may get some details wrong, but they were so tender and touching, and both involved singing. One was during Shelley's pregnancy, when she was singing everything. They had set up the nursery, and Shelley was singing something like "Oh, my little pretty one", and Holling came in and sang with her to the baby - so sweet and loving. The other was in church, something Shelley needed or wanted with being there (I can't recall), and Holling stood in the back and sang Ave Maria in support of her. I was a mess both times, weeping at the love portrayed between them in those moments. I don't find the two of them skeevy or creepy. Maurice was creepy - thought of her more as a possession - but Shelley went with him willingly. She also didn't hesitate to leave him, feeling no obligation, (and he didn't try to force her to stay), when she met Holling and genuinely fell for him. She was at least 18 and showed agency in her choices. While it's a huge age gap, she was an adult, and it never creeped me out.

Oh, I am so sad. Hawayak and Baker are withdrawing from competition for the rest of the season. Not too surprising, but I had hope for Nationals. According to their Instagram post, they're evaluating future options, but this feels possibly like goodbye. They've posted video of what would have been their free dance... so, so beautiful. If they compete next season (and I dearly hope they do), I hope they keep this dance. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2ILJCgR1AS/?igsh=YTQ1aGg1ZzF5aGtj and here's the video on YouTube - for full screen, if you like:

Oh - wonderful! I didn't know they posted them on YT. Found it - thank you for the resource!

Thanks for the reply. Not the first time this has happened. Don't know what's wrong with my affiliate!

Something weird today - instead of the 2nd half of the finals from Friday, with Rotimi, Long, and Roy, I had a repeat of the first day of finals for another group (Jen, Dennis, and Nick). Did anyone else have a "wrong" episode or was it just my affiliate? If you did have the right one, who won? Thanks.

I don't know when this first occurred (I've been using a VPN for the ISU replays) or if it will last, but I just opened Peacock to watch some of the Europeans competition, and each of the replays for today (pairs and men's short programs) said that they were available for 29 days! A welcome return after the 24- or 48-hour windows (or whatever it's been) of the last couple of seasons. I hope this is real and lasting. I still didn't see a Figure Skating category at the top of the page, but everything was under Latest Replays (there's a View All link available - for when they aren't "latest" I guess).

This season has deviated from the book it's based on quite a bit. The first two seasons were pretty close to their books; this one not as much - more like following broad strokes. I'll just say that Spider's part is different than what they're showing. --The books are very good. I highly recommend reading.

I don't skate, but it seems there's a big difference in skills and requirements between singles and ice dance, with dance requiring a much higher level. Here's a thread from another board. It discusses skating with a partner, but there's also info about the overall skills needed and the difficulty of dance:

New home on Nat Geo: https://deadline.com/2023/12/stanley-tucci-returns-to-italy-nat-geo-1235666618/

Paul mentioned the time needed, but I don't recall technical challenges ever mentioning it. It almost always happens that someone says that it isn't listed and they have to guess. With so many of them guessing 20-ish minutes, I doubt that the instructions mentioned baking for 40 minutes. Generally knowing the length of time required for steaming puddings is another matter, and apparently none of them did.

Finally finished watching this weekend's competition. -So happy to see both Yuma Kagiyama (love that Carolina Kostner is coaching him) and Wakaba Higuchi again. -Isabeau is really growing on me - she's quite a lovely skater. -Hope Adam Siao Him Fa can keep landing his jumps as the season progresses - he's so good when he does. Shoma is going to have some competition this year - but he's still my favorite given that Jason isn't competing fully (and doesn't have the tech levels). (Camden Pulkinen can be really good too, if he lands his jumps.) -Loved Lim & Quan - their Free program is so beautiful and moving. I really got caught up. Guignard and Fabri's lifts were great and their Free program was lovely. -I so enjoyed Kam and O'Shea's short program. All I heard about the withdrawal was a fall in practice. Ellie seems to fall a lot. Is there any other info?

Not unless they've changed something. It's a little disconcerting to hear (after the brilliant Yoko Shimada in the original series). But - no judgement until seeing the new one. BTW, the book is epic. There's time to read before February! Finally an air date, or time frame, anyway. I was beginning to wonder if it would ever happen.

I hope they can be well in time for Nationals. They've had such a difficult stretch. But good for them, taking time they need.

Looks like Jason Brown is competing in the Challenger Series Warsaw Cup in mid-November: https://results.isu.org/events/cspol2023_Men.htm The competition site mentions a live stream, but there's a big time difference for the U.S. (ISU w/VPN for replay it is!). https://cspol23.pl/index.php?lang=en

Re: criticism of Chock/Bates slower skating for the FD: So, they should skate fast even if it doesn't fit the music? Too much out there where music and performance are out of sync. I loved their artistry and I loved the program. Overjoyed and heartbroken for Amber Glenn. That 3A was stunning. Saw on another board (Reddit) that Hawayek and Baker have withdrawn from Grand Prix France. Obviously health comes first (sounds like she's having long-term concussion issues), but this is also heartbreaking. Nothing yet about their second assignment at NHK.

His PCS was third with that great free program, but his technical was last! The jumps mostly were not good. It is disappointing. http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2324/gpusa2023/SEG002.htm Shoma got over his jumping issues w/Stephane's coaching, but Deniss is still having trouble.

VPN is your friend for skating access. It's legal. It's pretty easy to set up, and some have TV options as well (I use an app on my Firestick). There are lots out there. Some are free and some are paid but can be reasonable. I use Windscribe, but here's a thread with other suggestions: https://www.reddit.com/r/FigureSkating/comments/17cdoag/dumb_question_what_vpns_are_yall_going_to_watch/ Whichever you choose, set the VPN for a non-blocked country, pull up the ISU channel on YouTube, and all the programs are available. (If you don't see all the programs, then try a different VPN location.) Also, you can turn off the VPN if needed, whether on a computer or TV - and I assume phone - if it causes any access problems for non-skating needs, or to save bandwidth.

Deniss Vasiljev FS preview - placeholder jumps only, but if he can land everything and keep this expression... wow:

Agreed. Give everyone a chance to get over opening jitters and then send home 2 in the second week. Great first competition and a great group. I'm encouraged by the straightforward bakes. Hope that less-convoluted challenges continue, which hopefully means enough time to complete the tasks. It was nice that so many had really good flavors even if appearance wasn't the best. Couldn't pick a favorite this early, but definitely enjoy listening to Nicky's accent.

My thoughts about CJ as COS and Donna as over-rated have already been noted by others. I didn't hate the Kate character though I didn't really warm to her. However, I like Mary McCormack a lot, so that tempered my view of Kate a bit. The whole tone of the show changed so much, which made it harder to care. There was a lot of dry policy talk all around without the personal feeling it had before - less balance in the writing, less or little heart. I also couldn't warm up to Annabeth - much as I like Kristin Chenoweth - though she had a more personal vibe. My unpopular opinion is that I often had trouble taking Josh seriously in such a high-level position. To me, he too often came across as a clown, not to mention ineffectual - thinking he would easily get something done and then falling on his face. He was loyal to Leo; we saw that clearly, and I loved that about him. On the other hand, we were told how much he did and how capable he was, but I often couldn't see it. The time Jed detailed all that Leo had done in a day, I believed it. When there was mention of the number of staff Josh was responsible for and all he did, I thought, "really?" I certainly liked Bradley Whitford, but it felt like there was a disconnect between how the character was written and portrayed and what the position must entail. Toby I believed. Sam felt somewhat balanced. CJ was great as press secretary. I liked Josh as a person but had trouble believing his position. I'm not saying he should have been serious all the time or been 100% successful in everything. None of the others were either. I don't know. It's just how I felt.