Domenicholas

I don't know why, but Christy always sounds like Kate Middleton to me. And nice shout-out to poor Ian and Bingate.

I've heard somewhere (though I may be wrong) that one of the things that make British Sign Language and American Sign Language vastly different is that BSL often uses both hands to sign, but ASL (which is derived from French Sign Language), uses one hand for a lot, if not most, of its words. I liked how Paul spoke slower to Tasha and enunciated his words, which makes me assume that Tasha can read lips somewhat.

So, I'll preface this by saying that I like Buddha, I've always like Buddha, and he definitely deserved to win this season as the inarguable best chef of the season. If Top Chef was a fictional show, Buddha would be the cold perfectionist and technician who's been the frontrunner the entire competition only to be beaten by the plucky underdog in the final because, although their skills are not as refined as his, they have bomb flavors and heart. Since Top Chef is not fictional however, lo and behold, the technician that has been the frontrunner for most of the season wins it all.

I wouldn't mind one of the more personable Top Chef alums, like Gregory or Amar.

The Top Chef judges have consistently picked better-tasting dishes that don't follow the challenge over good dishes that do. It makes me wonder why chefs don't just make whatever they want and bs about how it's challenge-appropriate (e.g. this lasagna is mushroom-forward because its mushroom-shaped!) I loved how encouraging Ali was to his partner, and how Buddha described each thing for his, so I wasn't surprised that they were on the top. I was surprised that Sarah and her partner weren't higher since Sydney is Southern, so she would be familiar with Sarah's cuisine (although familiarity and ability to cook are two different things, as I can attest). Gabri reminds me so much of Dawn in her first season: manic in the kitchen, making things up as they go, giving themselves too much to do in too little time, forgetting to plate things (although Dawn did that a lot more), staying longer than more consistent contestants due to amazing flavors and, in Gabri's case, techniques. El Gato or Le Chat indeed. I was rooting for Ali to win, so I'm sad that he got kicked off. At this point, I'm rooting for Sarah (never thought I would type that), then Gabri (whom I've liked since the beginning). I really like Buddha too, but I don't like predetermined winners, and no one in this season has been predetermined like Buddha.

Wow. Imagine going to London, expecting it just to be another exotic destination, only for the Queen to die during your season. I'm glad Amar is doing so well here. I think his first season (12?) was a weak season overall, with only Kwame as a real stand-out, and even he was kicked out in the middle of that season. The only thing I remember about the winner, Jeremy, is that he taught his daughter that second place is the first loser. He hasn't appear on Top Chef since.

Apparently, if you have a VPN, you can watch the U.S. Nationals on the Olympic Channel: https://olympics.com/en/sport-events/2023-usfs-figure-skating-toyota-u-s-championships-san-jose-california/

My biggest worry for Hawayak/Baker is after Chock/Bates retire. There's always been a "wait your turn" mentality with regards to ice dancing, so H/B would logically would be America's top team afterwards. If they're not getting the love internationally, however, the U.S. may throw their political backing behind other teams like Green/Parsons, Carreira/Ponomarenko, Bratti/Somerville, or even newer teams like Brown/Brown or Zingas/Kolesnik. Ask and you shall receive

https://skatecanada.ca/2022/12/definition-of-team-updated-to-reflect-gender-diversity-across-the-podium-pathway/ Skate Canada refines the definition of "Team" for pairs and ice dance from "one man and one woman" to "two people" for domestic competitions. I think this is great for inclusively. I suspect that the immediate effect of this will be that nonbinary individuals like American Timothy LeDuc will be gendered correctly within the Canadian protocols, but I can't wait to see same-sex pairs and ice dance teams take advantage of the new rules. I also hope that this ruling catches on in other feds, especially the United States, although I know it would be an uphill battle for the ISU as a whole.

Everyone going to the Grand Prix Final: Men: Ilia Malinin, Shoma Uno, Kao Miura, Sota Yamamoto, Daniel Grassl, and Shun Sato Women: Mai Mihara, Loena Hendrickx, Kaori Sakamoto, Yelim Kim, Isabeau Levito, and Rinka Watanabe Pairs: Miura/Kihara, Knierim/Frazier, Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps, Chan/Howe, Ghilardi/Ambrosini, and Conti/Macii Ice Dance: Gilles/Poirier, Guignard/Fabbri, Fournier Beadry/Sorensen, Chock/Bates, Fear/Gibson, and Hawayak/Baker

I had to laugh when Philip said to Elizabeth "What your relatives did to my relatives." Sir, you both were related to the Romanovs. A picture illustrating how alike George V and Nicholas II looked:

So NHK Trophy this weekend is going to be a bloodbath in singles. Skaters competing include: Men Cha Jun-hwan (Skate America bronze) Shoma Uno (Skate Canada gold) Matteo Rizzo (Skate Canada bronze) Adam Siao Him Fa (Grand Prix France gold) Sota Yamamoto (Grand Prix France silver) Kazuki Tomono (Grand Prix France bronze) Women Kaori Sakamoto (Skate America gold) Amber Glenn (Skate America bronze) Rinka Watanabe (Skate Canada gold) Starr Andrews (Skate Canada silver) Kim Ye-lim (Grand Prix France silver) Rion Sumiyoshi (Grand Prix France bronze) This weekend will definitely impact who ends up in the Grand Prix Final.

I found out something interesting about the Al Fayad family after this episode. Dodi's mother was Samira Khashoggi. Now I don't want into trouble for posting about politics, but google the last name if you want to find out about a really interesting family connection.

It's cool that they recreated this in the episode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyVZCiPGeYQ

Aemond was looking at Daemon like "Oh, if only Targaryens could marry nephews, not just nieces."

Every time I see him, all I can think of is “Where the Smurf? Smurf! SMUUUURRRFFF!”

Maybe MIDA with Greg Zuerlein and the Whites?

Diana Davis was born in the US, and I believe that her father is American. From what I saw somewhere else, she would have to sit out international competition for one year after the Olympics free dance (the last time she and Gleb Smolkin represented Russia). Yeah, it's going to be an uphill battle for her considering Chock/Bates, Hawayak/Baker, Green/Parsons, Carreira/Ponomarenko, Wolfkostin/Chen, Brown/Brown, and even Bratti/Somerville. Useless she's switching to singles, which is a whole other beast. There's also the question of Gleb. If they were planning on representing the United States at the 2026 Olympics, he would have to get American citizenship. I wonder if the fact that he's train in the United States for the past couple of years count towards his residency. ---- On a different note, the ISU approved gradually the senior age limit from 15 to 17.

So This is Us ended with a whimper, not a bang.

Wasn't Galveston also hit hard by a hurricane a couple of years ago? Also, I remember when Monique was on the show that she talked about feeling reduced to the role of Mom after she became one, and she wanted to regain her passion for her role as Chef as well.

So Randall goes from a stocks forecaster to a congressional senator and Kate goes from Kevin's assistant having a master's degree and creating programs for California? The Pearsons are really the prime example of falling up. I love how when Phillip tried to criticize Beth and Sophie making fun of the Pearsons for their theatrics, Beth told him that he was years too early for that conversation. Could you imagine how funny the conversation would be if Kate was still married to Toby? If I were Rebecca and Jack woke me because of a poop emergency, I would have rolled back over to sleep.

And now that Fanyus are upset because only Yuzuru Hanyu should be able to land the 4A.

Me and my mom, who are both around Kate's size, laughed hard at that. My mom was like "We ain't never gonna see Kate get in that car."

Congratulations to all the long-time Kophie fans! For so long, I've been Anti-Kophie, but Alexandra Breckenridge is such a good actress, and she and Justin Hartley had great chemistry, so now I'm sold. I like how, even though the trailers made it seem like Kevin had three options, in the show proper Sophie was the only option. I especially like that Cassidy states that, even though they were both in better places, they're not each other's person. (Leaving the door open for my crack ship, Future!Matty/Annie) I do wonder if they will make Kevin and Sophie have a baby. It's possible, but with Sophie more than likely trying in her late 40s, it would be much more difficult. Unless they adopt, although I believe that most places don't let you adopt unless you or your partner are 45 or younger. Naturally, of course, you can have a loving and meaningful relationship without children, like Rebecca and Miguel. Speaking of Miguel, I know that next episode is going to break my heart, and I' looking forward to every single second.