Geo1

I will be drinking good Japanese whiskey on the rocks – "Hibiki" by Suntory. A very pleasant way to anesthetiize yourself!

Hey, I'm in! This is my city! Looks like it's going to be held at UBC (my old Alma Mater) – the same venue as the Canadian Nationals this year (Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre). I guess it is too early to have a schedule of events?n

I don't know, but I think they are only guessing. Where did they get this information? Short of getting his income tax returns, how do you know for sure? I recall a Japanese article not long after the Sochi Olympics stating something to the effect that the JSF was allowing up to 5 CMs/endorsements per annum to skaters and that Yuzu's price was ¥80 million per CM/endorsement (approximately $719,000 U.S. currently). According to the article, he was the highest-paid skater. Daisuke Takahashi was receiving ¥50 million per CM/endorsement. The article did not state how much the JSF took as its cut, if anything. I also saw an article that he and other skaters received approximately $10,000 U.S. per show for appearing in such things as "Fantasy on Ice". Therefore, if he had two shows a day, he would receive $20,000. I don't know how reliable my information is, but, in my opinion, Yuzu is probably not being paid nearly enough for his CMs/endorsements/shows considering his selling power and the profits that the companies are probably making as a result of using him. Fortunately, Yuzu has been raised properly by his parents and has his priorities straight. He's not focused on money. I think that he received the same type of advice and upbringing from his parents that I did from mine. My parents always told me in Japanese, "hosoku, nagaku," which means "narrowly, long-term". I interpret this to mean living one's life on the straight and narrow with a long view of your life. No taking shortcuts. Face your challenges and overcome them. My parents taught me not to obsess about money. They taught me that if I lived my life honestly and put in my best efforts in everything I did, life would take care of itself. And it has. And this is why I admire Yuzuru. He is true to himself. He takes no shortcuts. He lives his life honestly, and very much on the straight and narrow. He not only faces up to challenges that are unforeseen and overcomes them, he goes out of his way to create his own challenges – like adding the quad Lutz in the Olympic year. (And this is the kind of stuff that he does that drives me to drink!)

Naah, just sit on Pooh's lap (until it's time to throw him).

You guys probably noticed that Jimmy Ma's short program hip-hop routine to DJ Snake & Lil Jon's "Turn Down For What" got quite a bit of media attention for being bold and upbeat. Amongst others, it was featured in USA Today, Sports Illustrated and Billboard. One of the local Vancouver news channels which never covers figure skating picked up on this and showed a bit of Jimmy Ma's routine, with the news team obviously impressed by his upbeat performance to music which to them was not traditional for figure skating. I don't expect anything to come of it, but I sent them an email which started as follows: I noticed that you guys featured a video from the 2018 US National Figure Skating Championships that are currently taking place in San Jose, California. It was the short program of Jimmy Ma which attracted a significant amount of attention in the US social media. I don't expect you guys to feature anything that I am about to refer you to, but I wanted to let you know for your own edification about a really amazing figure skater – Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan. I then went on to provide fairly detailed background information about Yuzuru and his accomplishments. After providing details of his credentials and accomplishments, I said that the reason for the email was to refer them to Yuzu's version of upbeat figure skating in the form of Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" and provided the link to the article by Maggie Hendricks in USA TODAY SPORTS entitled "How Olympic figure skating is going to sound different in 2018". Under the subheading, "MUSIC IS MUCH MORE RECOGNIZABLE FOR FANS", she said: "During the 2016-17 season, world champion Yuzuru Hanyu from Japan took an incredibly well-known song and turned it into what is one of my favourite programs of all time. (Press play. Your day will improve.)" http://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/01/lyrics-figure-skating-music-yuzuru-hanyu I also provided the direct YouTube link to the 2016 Grand Prix Final short program performance referenced in Maggie Hendricks article. I went more than a bit overboard and the entire email was about five pages long! I provided Yuzuru's background including the earthquake and tsunami, his desire since childhood to win two consecutive Olympic Gold medals, his incredible personality, humility, intelligence and insight. I also provided links to Yuzu's record-breaking performances at 2015 NHK Trophy, 2015 GPF, 2017 Helsinki WC FS and 2017 ACI SP. I provided the link to The New York Times article, "The Greatest Figure Skater Ever Is Michael Jackson on Ice Surrounded by Winnie The Poohs". Finally, I provided a link to the Olympic channel video of Yuzu's 2014 Sochi SP performance to Gary Moore's PW and said that it was serendipitous that I just happened upon this while channel surfing during the 2014 Olympics and it changed my life. (Actually, it was the team competition SP that I chanced upon, but I did not want to complicate my explanation!) I think I need to check myself into a Yuzuru Hanyu Addiction Rehabilitation Centre for intensive treatment...

I just came across this fan made video and thought that it was a very fitting tribute to Yuzu – "It's not easy (to be me)": Credit: smal58

New Year's Day is still almost 10 hours away for me, but I wanted to take this opportunity to wish Yuzu and all of you HAPPINESS and THE BEST OF HEALTH in 2018 and beyond.

You learn something new every day on the Planet! I LOVE THESE TARDIGRADES! According to Wikipedia, they are also known colloquially as water bears, space bears, or moss piglets. Tardigrades are one of the most resilient animals known. Individual species of tardigrade can survive extreme conditions that would be rapidly fatal to nearly all other known life forms, including complete global mass extinction events due to astrophysical events, such as supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, or large meteorite impacts. Some tardigrades can withstand extremely cold temperatures (close to absolute zero), while others can withstand extremely hot temperatures up to 420 K (300°F, 150°C) for several minutes, pressures about 6 times greater than those found in the deepest ocean trenches, ionizing radiation at doses hundreds of times higher than the lethal dose for a human, and the vacuum of outer space. They can go without food or water for more than 30 years, drying out to the point where they are 3% or less water, only to rehydrate, forage, and reproduce. Tardigrades that live in harsh conditions undergo an annual process of cyclomorphosis, allowing for survival in sub-zero temperatures. I hope Yuzuru has these miraculous powers of survival and recovery!

Nice to see another guy coming out into the open! You are the 3rd guy to identify himself as a male after Max Swagg and me. Congratulations! You are a member of a very exclusive club. Are you the 3rd male in the Demographics thread? I'm too old to be a "fanboy". "Fanman" is more appropriate.

Congratulations on being accepted to med school! This is a great accomplishment! I started law school in September, 1973, and that was the start of an exciting, challenging and fulfilling career as a trial lawyer. I hope that this is the start of an exciting, challenging and fulfilling life's journey for you! The years go by quickly, so savour every moment!

English language article in the Japan Times Sports entitled: "Yuzuru Hanyu could be out longer than expected because of injury" https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2017/12/13/figure-skating/yuzuru-hanyu-longer-expected-injury/#.WjFRvEqnHaQ

English language Japan Times Sports article: "Injured Olympic Champ Hanyu Still Unable to Practice" https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2017/12/10/figure-skating/injured-olympic-champ-hanyu-still-unable-practice/#.Wi11l0qnHaQ Yuzu will be able to compete or unable to compete in the Japanese Nationals regardless of how I or anyone else feels. My personal feeling is that he should avoid Japanese nationals and concentrate on preparing for PyeongChang. He only has two months to the Olympics and he should use all of that time to rehabilitate and prepare for it. He should not be distracted by any other competitions.

I have heard Simon Reed of British Eurosport referring to him as "The Prince" before the Sochi Olympic gold medal and as "The King" afterwards. Kurt Browning of CBC has always referred to Yuzu as a "Rock Star", even before the Sochi gold medal. I think of Yuzu as a YOLO Alien in the guise of a Space Kitty.

YUZURU, 23SAI NO OTANJOBIOMEDETO!!! HAPPY 23RD BIRTHDAY, YUZU! May all of your wishes and dreams come true. Hoping and praying for your health and happiness and that you will achieve all of your goals, including winning a second Olympic gold medal in PyeongChang!

WELCOME! Post often – you are among friends.

My gut feeling is that he will be pleased and that it will be a positive thing at the Cricket Club.

Commenting just on the men's outfits, I like them both. I was never fond of the light grey and dark slacks combination at Sochi. Navy blue blazers, white shirts, regimental striped ties and grey slacks are very classic, but never get old. I like both the single and double breasted blazers. Double breasted blazer is a little more dressy than the single breasted version. I hope they tailor the blazers so that they are a nice fit on the athletes and that the slacks are the right length.

Well, if you and @Fay are from the Jurassic period, I figure that I am a surviving species from the Triassic period.

In the meantime, in the alternate reality, it's 1981 – the year I met my wife. Brian Orser won the first of his eight national titles.

You're in the 21st century... I've got long hair and wearing flared jeans back in 1971!!! (I'm going backwards – I used to be at page 1972, but now it's 1971!)

Okay, I understand that a user has hidden his/her posts and that is why the number of pages have been reduced for us lowly members and that the admins/mods show the true number of posts to date. I have caught up with all of the posts and I am on page 1972. Is that the "correct" page number for the members?

The video is from 2012 – "Spirits of the Athletes": English subtitles can be accessed by pushing the cc button. The narrator in the video states that Yuzuru has been living in Toronto since May (of 2012). Yuzuru did not come to Canada alone The Japanese word "shitori" is used to denote a number – one– As in one athlete in high school or as translated in the subtitle "an athlete in high school went to Canada". Yuzuru came to Canada with his mother. In one of the early scenes, you can see Yuzuru eating a homemade Japanese lunch probably packed by his mother. I believe that one of the women that you can hear speaking in the scene in the dressing room when they are looking at the Mariposa ice show program and laughing at the mistakes in Yuzuru's name is his mother.

Yuzu came to Toronto and the Cricket Club in May, 2012.

I have no words. I feel empty. My heart goes out to Yuzuru as well as all of his fans, especially those that went to NHK Trophy expecting to see him. I pray for his quick and complete recovery.

I am still having problems with the Home page. Anybody else having the same problem? I can get here only by using Notifications.