I have decided to leave LiveJournal. It's been a good two and a half years but I feel that it is time to move on. I won't delete this journal but it will no longer be updated. From now on, I will be here: http://theevillewithin.blogspot.com/. Thanks for reading!

...I joined Twitter. If anyone cares: http://twitter.com/theevillewithin

It's been a while since we've been to the land of skating...

Music announcements have been trickling in over the last month or two and they seem to be singing a familiar tune. Carmen, Romeo and Juliet, and Scheherezade have all been announced at least 3 times already. Phantom of the Opera has been announced at least twice. I haven't been a serious fan for very long but I've been around long enough to know that some pieces are very popular and that serious fans seem to get in knots whenever they hear that a skater (or team) has selected any of these 4 pieces. I have to admit that I wasn't too thrilled to hear that Mirai Nagasu picked Carmen. Now why is that?

I think one reason is that they've been done so many times. Every year at least one elite skater or team has done one of these 4 compositions and it's always the sections that have been done to death that show up in the cut. If you've been watching for 10 years or more, it has to get tiring, especially if you can't stand the piece! So when they see that X is doing Carmen, they groan because they've heard it 10,000 times already. Of course, they haven't seen the program but in their minds, it doesn't matter because X will definitely pick Habanera as one of the pieces in their music cut. Phantom of the Opera is the least common of the 4 but it still gets a little groan of disappointment from fans when it is announced. People like new things so it's sort of understandable when they roll their eyes at Carmen and company. I even get a little dismayed when I see that someone has picked some of these pieces.

The other reason is that these compositions are associated with iconic performances. For some fans, anything that comes after these performances is second rate no matter what. Because of that, they think the skater associated with the iconic performance "owns" the music and therefore, present and future skaters have to find something else. This is something I struggle to understand because no one really owns music in that sense. It's free for any skater to use however they want.

I'm sure there are many other reasons why these 4 pieces (and some others) elicit such a negative reaction from fans but I think the above two are the primary reasons why. One is understandable, the other not so much. No matter what the reason, I think it's important that we put our initial feelings aside and keep an open mind. A cut we've never heard before could be used. Even if a familiar section is used, a skater or team could bring something completely new and wonderful to it and we'll be sorry that we doubted it.

End!

I missed Rafa Nadal. Knee injuries can be devastating (see Daisuke Takahashi). It definitely wasn't the same without him but the men's final was still a great show.

I was pulling for Andy Roddick (the underdog) but Roger Federer (the god of tennis) broke him to win after a insanely long 5th set. Now Fed is #1 and he now holds the record for most Grand Slam wins with 15. And he's a father-to-be too! Congratulations on everything! Poor Andy! You can really see the sadness and pain in his eyes. He is in desperate need of hugs right now. That second set tie breaker must be eating at him. He conducted himself very well in the interviews though. He even apologized to Pete Sampras for not being able to hold Fed off.

Serena and Venus were in the finals again on the women's side but it wasn't as spectacular as last year. Venus seemed a bit worn out after totally embarrassing Dinara Safina in the semis. Serena took it in straight sets although she didn't look like she was the greatest form during her semifinal match against Elena Dementieva. Then they turned around and won doubles the same day!

Michael Jackson songs have been common choices among figure skaters for their programs (competitive and exhibition). Out of all of them, I think Tomas Verner captured the spirit of MJ (mixed with his own unique performance quality) the best in his exhibition at worlds this year. Definitely my favorite program at the gala this year.

And here it is:



Enjoy!

Michael Jackson passed away earlier today. It's a sad day but the King of Pop lives on through his music. No artist has transcended the generations like MJ has. His biggest hits are enjoyed by many all over the world regardless of age, gender, or culture.

Growing up, I was absolutely captivated by his music and dancing. I was also impressed by the music videos he produced. In fact, it was Michael that changed the way music videos were made. Before Thriller, music videos had no story. They certainly didn't have the gloss of the videos we see today. If you look at his videos for "Rock With You" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough", they look quite cheap in comparison to the videos of today. When Thriller came out, it set off a trend that never left. Music videos became the huge productions we see today with story lines we expect in TV shows and movies. And it was Michael Jackson that started it off.

Michael Jackson is timeless. I venture to guess that in 2050 (if we make it there), his music will still be played and his dance moves will still be performed.

If I may borrow a quote from The Sandlot..."Heroes get remembered but legends never die". Michael Jackson was indeed a legend and he will never die in our hearts and souls. Regardless of what you think of him, you can't deny his contributions to music.

R.I.P. Michael Jackson

And if I may borrow an idea from my favorite figure skating blog, Axels, Loops and Spins, here's Evan Lysacek's Michael Jackson/Chris Brown EX. He moonwalks on ice!!!!

I am definitely 100% going to Skate America! Just got my tickets over the phone in less than 10 minutes! I'm in Section 8 for the whole thing but my seat flips between rows E, F, and G. Not bad!

This will be my first live competition ever and I'm so excited! November can't come fast enough now! I feel great right now! If I had waited any longer, I would have found some lame excuse to convince myself not to go. The tickets were the easy part though. The hotel won't be so bad because I already have a couple in mind. The hard part is the flights. The cheapest, most direct option is Cape Air but I'm a bit weary of those Cessna planes. Aaliyah died because one of those things were overloaded and I'm a teeny bit frightened of that. But other than that small, irrational fear, I think I can deal with the Cessna for 1.5 hours.

I plan to go to Skate Canada too. Daisuke Takahashi being assigned there sealed the deal. I realize he could withdraw but some of my other favorites will be there. Plus, it's right before Thanksgiving so I'll have this trip and only two days of class to follow it. This season is going to be so awesome. For the longest time, I've been longing to experience a competition live. Everyone seems to have so much fun at competitions and I've wanted to be a part of that. Now I will be. 2009 just got a whole lot better.

On a completely unrelated note, I'm really close to giving into the "evil" that is Twitter. I don't know how much longer I can ignore it especially since I'm really starting to tire of Facebook.

I like to pick up the Metro newspaper every morning to read during my morning break. It is free and I get news without tons of bulk. Anyway, they've been running a great series on gay marriage this week. It's been interesting to read about the issue from all sides. Yesterday and Tuesday's pieces proved to be the most interesting.

( Gays in the Black Community )

( Gay Marriage )

6/12/09: Today they ran letters and I'm upset that they only ran letters from the anti-gay/anti-gay marriage side. It would have been nice to hear from people on both sides of the debate. The letters they ran contained some of the most ignorant crap I've ever read! One letter in particular got under my skin. The person wrote that being gay is a "Caucasian" thing and that there are no such thing as gay black people. Not only is this anti-gay, it's downright racist! What a moron!

Twitter is like the hot new trend in figure skating. A couple of months ago, the only skaters that had one (that I knew of) were Tanith Belbin, Ben Agosto and Kimmie Meissner. Since then, a whole slew of other skaters have joined. Johnny Weir, Adam Rippon, and Yu-Na Kim are among the twittering skaters. Jeremy Abbott just joined today (By the way, Happy Birthday!). Evan Lysacek (Hopefully he had a better birthday yesterday than I did.) has one but he's not using it just yet. It's spreading like wildfire!

It's not just the skating world that's crazy for Twitter. Everyone and their momma seems to have a Twitter. Even Kim Jong Il has a fricking account! Kim Jong Il now! Who's next? The President of Iran? I mean really, in just a few short months, Twitter has taken over. MySpace is basically obsolete (not like I was on that anyway) and although Facebook is hanging in there, Twitter is the hot new thing. I can understand why it's popular though. It's very easy to update since short and sweet is the name of the game (you can't go over around 150 words). People with busy lives can update them without taking hours out of their day. On the skating side of things, it's great to see what your favorite skaters are up to during the off season (which can be a "painful" time for fans). As for me, I won't be joining up anytime soon. My life isn't interesting enough for it and plus I tend to write a lot more than the word limit. I will stick to LiveJournal and Facebook for now. Maybe when things get more interesting (like when I start traveling), I'll get one.

By the way, this is entry #500! Wow!

A few surprises...

1. Shen and Zhao are coming back to competition!!! I thought it was an old one when I saw their names but then I saw other names and realized it was true. They'll be at Cup of China and Skate America! I had hoped for Pang and Tong at SA but Shen and Zhao are just as good!
2. Davis and White not at Skate America. :( I had hoped to see them live this season but maybe next season.
3. Sasha Cohen gets 2 events? Evgeni Plushenko only got one (via host pick) and his circumstances are about the same as hers.
4. Delobel and Schoenfelder doing back to back events. Even with wanting to compete later, I would think they would have wanted to avoid back to back events.
5. Japan didn't pick Mao Asada.
6. The ladies series is quite lopsided! TEB is a huge gauntlet and the rest are enormously lighter. NHK is a gauntlet for the men's event but the rest, while lighter, are interesting in their own right.

( Where some ended up... )

Two more coaching changes have been announced. Last off season was the "Year of the Coaching Change". Could this season be shaping up to be one as well?

Jeremy Abbott Moves to Detroit

This is quite surprising. I thought Tom Zakrajsek and Jeremy had a great relationship. Still, a change of scenery might be good for Jeremy. He's got all the goods, he just needs to get his mind in the right place when the pressure's on. I think Yuka Sato is an odd choice since she mostly has experience as a choreographer but maybe she can teach him to relax. I'm very glad that he's keeping Tom Dickson as the choreographer for his long program. His Eight Seasons Tango was one of the best programs in terms of choreography. All the best for Jeremy!

McLaughlin and Brubaker Switch to John Nicks

Another interesting choice. John Nicks coached pairs long ago but he's mostly known for his work with Sasha Cohen. Dalilah Sappenfield did great work with Keauna and Rockne and I'm glad she's not bitter about the switch. It almost seems like she helped them to decide. Hopefully, John Nicks can help them fix their side by side jumping which caused them a few problems last season. If they can get all their elements down, they have the potential to be an amazing pair team. Good luck to them!

The flow of skating news had been stagnant...until today! All news is from IceNetwork.

First, Mirai Nagasu has moved to Frank Carroll. Interesting choice! I was not expecting this at all but I think this might be good for Mirai. I hope she does great next season.

Second, Evgeni Plushenko has officially announced that he's coming back. He says he has his triple axel back and will be putting two quads in his long program. Men's skating has changed quite a bit since he won the Olympics though. The quad is just one piece to the puzzle that is the complete skater. It wasn't even necessary for the last two world champions. The talent pool has increased as well. This time, the Olympic gold medal doesn't necessarily have one person's name on it with the rest of the field gunning for silver.

Plushenko is also expecting that Stephane Lambiel will come back. That's odd because in a recent interview with IceNetwork, Stephane said he was perfectly happy being retired and was not intent on coming back. I'd be happy to see him back but I won't expect it.

Great Finale!!!

( The Winners and Season Thoughts )

I hope season 15 is every bit as good as this season. I hope to see the super leg again. It would be really interesting if a team was eliminated in the middle of a double length leg. Until the fall!

But first some baseball news. Manny Ramirez has been suspended for 50 (count 'em, 50) games for...you guessed it, steroids. Put...the...'roids...AWAY!!!!

Now the real big news

Sasha Cohen's coming back to competition. I'm not sure what to think. She'll probably get invited to Skate America but if she's waiting until next month to start serious training again, I doubt she'll be ready. Still, her return might attract more people to SA which means I better hurry up and get my tickets. It might actually be interesting to see if Sasha can make the Olympic team. Best of luck to her!

I'm cutting straight to the elimination...

( Eliminated Team )

I had the day off from work yesterday and I managed to escape...to Rhode Island! Providence to be exact. It was raining off and on so I spent the whole day at the mall (which was conveniently located 2 minutes away from the train station!). The state house was nearby so I got to see the outside of it. I must say it was quite impressive! Anyway, I happened to stumble upon Lush while shopping. I decided to take a peak inside since I've heard so many raves about it from reading amazonstorm's journal. The guy who helped me was so nice! He really knew his stuff. I tried the hand treatment and it worked really well...just too much for me to do at home. I was looking around (and also going into sticker shock-some of the stuff was over $40 for a tiny amount) and I saw the facial products. I went in intending to buy nothing...I walked out with $100 worth of stuff (which amounted to 4 items...the stuff is expensive for how much you get but since you're really only supposed to use a little at a time, it'll last a while).

In other randomness, U.S. skater Brittany Rizo is taking season off to enjoy freshman year...at my university! That first year can be tough (especially here) but it's definitely doable. If she does co-op, don't expect her to come back to competitive skating. Northeastern ended up being a bad fit for me and I hope it's a better one for Brittany. Katrina Hacker and Curran Oi are also taking next season off to focus on college. Katrina will be at Princeton while Curran will be at MIT. Congratulations to all of them and I wish them the best.

Today, we will be examining 4 instances where the costume (or costumes in the case of pairs and dance teams) were so fugly that they were funny. These skaters skated with total confidence while wearing these...or at least most of them did.

( LOL Fugs )

No work tomorrow!! Too bad it's going to rain. :( If it's just light rain, I think I'll go shopping in Providence. I need to get out of Boston.

It's been a while since I've talked about TV. My DVR conked out on me so I lost all of the Heroes, Smallville, and Supernatural episodes I had been saving to watch. I also lost my recordings of worlds and I'm especially sad to lose the free dance. I liked to turn it on sometimes and watch Tanith and Ben and Meryl and Charlie. There is YouTube but it's not the same as watching it on TV. :(

Heroes had its season finale last night so I really need to catch up...I'm at least 10 episodes behind. The same could be said for Supernatural which is looking good now that they've gotten back to the major plot of the season. As for Smallville, I'm about 2 or 3 episodes behind. I'll have to catch up on all this online.

I also discovered this new sitcom on ABC Family called Roommates. Well technically I didn't discover it because I knew about it and had been meaning to check it out. Anyway, I watched 4 episodes yesterday and it was pretty funny. Tamera Mowry's in it and she's still got good comedic timing. She was awesome in Strong Medicine but comedy has always been her strong suit. Actually, all the actors are pretty good. The show revolves around two guys (Mark and James)and two girls (Hope and Katie)who share an apartment. Mark is totally in love with Katie (typical element for this kind of sitcom) and is too shy to admit it. There's also Mark's friend Thom who doesn't live there. He's pretty funny but the funniest character is James. Shame that ABC Family is stepping towards canceling the show but maybe they'll bring back Lincoln Heights (just read that they will...except I have to wait til August...at least Army Wives is coming back in June...)

Part 3 in my "The Costume Makes the Skater" series. These are a few of my favorite costumes from each discipline. In this segment, these costumes were worn from the first competition to the last (there might be an exception or two...).

( Men )

( Ladies )

( Pairs )

( Dance )

Coming up next on "The Costume Makes the Skater"-Working the Fug: Skating Great While Looking Fugly! This is going to be so fun...and of course I mean no harm to the skaters. In fact one of the features will have a favorite of mine.

The teams head to Beijing. Tension between Margie and Luke and Kisha and Jen still exists. I guess they didn't work it out at the Pit Stop. Margie and Luke really know how to hold a grudge. Anyway, the Roadblock involved a traditional Chinese foot massage. It was quite painful. Cara looked like she was in labor during the task! LOL! Next the teams head to the Detour which involved swimming and diving. Everyone did the swimming challenge but Tammy and Victor and Kisha and Jen started with the diving. Jen can't swim so she had a real hard time with it. Phil mentioned Michael Phelp's time on the 400 IM. If teams had to meet that, everyone would be eliminated!!

Now my favorite part...Jaime and Cara get to the Pit Stop and Phil says they're the first to arrive...but this leg is not over!!! Yes! The Super Leg returns! The KF will really start kicking in (as if it hasn't already!).

Next week: Star fish, crickets, and all kinds of stuff! This looks like the Roadblock because only one team member was doing it.

Now we're getting down to the end. The only team I really want to see win is Tammy and Victor. They compete but they know how to have fun at the same time. The way they've bounced back from Romania is amazing. There's a huge difference in their team. Plus, they haven't done anything to annoy me. Last week severely dimmed my opinion of Margie and Luke. Luke has become a bit too aggressive. The last two episodes, he has been coming off as a bit of a spoiled brat and Margie just feeds it. Jaime has treated the locals horribly ever since Thailand although she wasn't too terrible this week. Cara is actually quite likable and if she was racing with anyone else, I'd root for her. As for Kisha and Jen, they really haven't done anything to annoy me but I'm not really rooting for them either. On the unfortunate chance that Tammy and Victor are eliminated next week (oh I hope not-especially not in China!), I'd prefer to see history be made with the first all female team winning the race. Although Margie and Luke winning would make a great story, I'd rather not see them win.