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justmehere

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Posts posted by justmehere

  1. 19 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

    This Masters is strange--IMO, not fun like the first Masters with the professor (& his "bring it!") + the comradery amongst that special group.

    Totally this.

    • Like 6
    • Applause 1
  2. 3 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

    Something's going on with him. I noticed it a couple nights ago. His whole demeanor has changed. This isn't the James we'd become accustomed to.

    Emphasis mine.

    Previously, he would select across all the highest-value clues first, and he hasn't done that this time. Times I expected him to buzz in, he appeared to be merely watching. He's also getting things wrong.

    It just seems strange that all the previous participants are doing less/worse than before. Surely they have the buzzer skills. I know Victoria is fast, but James was only beaten once in the last tournament, IIRC - almost never getting an answer wrong - and yet he's only won once so far and was 3rd in this last game. Maybe he simply didn't have time to prepare? But the other returnees have fallen behind, too. It's not what I expected. 

    • Like 5
    • Applause 1
  3. 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:

     

    • Like 1
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  4. 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.

  5. 46 minutes ago, anniebird said:

    ... all he's doing now is taking up space in competitions that he will never win. At this point, it feels like pure ego.

    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. 

    • Like 7
    • Applause 10
    • Love 4
  6. 12 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

    Holling is very deferential to Shelley....

    I’m thinking, “Can’t we just have Shelley and Holling as he proprietors of The Brick and leave it at that?”

    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. 

    • Like 3
  7. 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:

     

    • Like 1
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  8. 3 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

    Very odd. But at least you got some Jeopardy!  My station preempted entirely, in favor of some sort of sportsball. But I was able to find it on YouTube. My permanent first option for recent search is “Jeopardy full episode today”. 

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

    • Like 2
  9. Just now, ams1001 said:

    It was fine for me. Long won, even though they all got it wrong.

    Rotimi wins for best answer-when-you-have-no-clue, though: Who is: I lost the buzzer race but I just won $10,000! :)

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

    • Like 2
  10. 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.

    • Like 1
  11. 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).

    • Useful 1
  12. On 12/10/2023 at 1:04 PM, aghst said:

    I guess people who've read the books would know but it sounds like the author would keep the Spider character around for comic relief and as foil for River.

    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. 

    • Like 5
  13. On 12/24/2023 at 10:11 AM, Mirabelle said:

    Other than no jumps, is there a big difference between solo ice dance and singles? Are certain moves required in one and proscribed in the other? 

    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:

    • Like 1
  14. 9 hours ago, Ancaster said:

    IF they had read through the instructions with the correct timing,

    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.

    • Like 4
    • Useful 2
  15. 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.

    On 11/4/2023 at 1:53 PM, SeanC said:

    Shame about Ellie Kam.

    -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? 

  16. 5 hours ago, Anduin said:

    Is there a reason she has an English accent rather than Japanese? Maybe raised in England, or something similar?

    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.

    • Like 3
  17. 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. 

     

    • Like 2
    • Sad 1
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  18. 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.

     

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