memae

I want him to be there soooooo bad.

On the advertising costumes: Basically they just want him something that looks like a figure skating costume without wanting to wait or fork out the money for it to be made to truly look like one that he'd wear. They look like figure skating costumes worn by actors in made-for-TV figure skating movies. Even if they did and used cheap fabrics and cut corners on the details (no need to do the sequins and sparkles one-by-one to make sure they don't fall on the ice, no need for lightweight high-performance fabrics) they'd still look odd because the heavier fabrics and more cut-and-paste kind of designs and details would be noticeable compared to the Satomi masterpieces we're used to seeing him in. They should just stop trying to remind everyone that he's a figure skater by putting him in costumes of costumes. If you know who he is, you don't need the figure skating reference in what he's wearing. If you don't know who he is, the tacky frills and badly fitted fake costumes aren't going to help. He's handsome enough to sell anything without needing to be a double Olympic gold medalist. They can always just put that in a caption anyway and let him keep his dignity. He must have the most astounding level of patience and humour to let them dress him in such awful outfits.

Thanks! I just realised I hadn't heard the BBC commentary either. The more I watch this footage though, the more apparent it is to me that he is pretty strung out on those painkillers. I have no idea how he managed to get his brain together to skate. I first thought so watching his reaction when he realised he won again after Shoma's skate (or maybe it was Javi's?) - he seemed so overwhelmed. He also just doesn't look so well as he takes his starting position- kind of clammy or pale or something. He looks how I feel when I'm in pain and trying to get through something. He truly is something else. Being an Olympic gold medalist is already amazing - doing it while you're less prepared than you'd like, in pain in the most crucial place for your sport, and drugged up on painkillers is an extraordinary feat.

In Australia on the 1st of the month you get to pinch and punch someone (gently, usually), so long as you say "A pinch and a punch for the first of the month" but if the other person says "White rabbit" you're not allowed to pinch and punch them.

Advertisement and gambling are where money is made in sport. If ISU events pull a big audience, the ads aired during it can be priced higher by the TV station, and the ISU is able to negotiate more money for those TV rights.

Hopefully Russia has something to say about that and it brings about a closer look at what's going on with the calls and judging so far this season.

The thing about a review would be that it comes with the risk of even more deductions/lower GOE of other parts of the performance as well, because of the additional scrutiny. It's like appealing grades for university assignments. People very rarely do it because it's likely to make them worse off. You have to be very, very confident in the scoring of everything else and very confident that the wrong calls you are appealing were indeed wrong and that under a second review, the judges will see that. In most cases it probably won't be worth the risk - but that could be a benefit because then the right to appeal wouldn't be abused. It would get used when shady calls mean the difference between qualifying for the Olympics or medalling or breaking records, etc.

Lol, all I could think when I saw that was how my violin teacher clapping aggressively (it's like angry stomping but with your hands, lol - she was a marvelous musician but this was her greatest talent) at me if my bow grip got lazy.

Yeah, you just need to get to the Olympics - or at least be in the vicinity of them.

Fun fact: Mary met the Prince of Denmark during the Sydney Olympics and that's how she became a princess.

Even the American skaters know it. Vincent looked dazed to be on the podium with Yuzu and Nathan at WC 19, and Nathan spent half the interview gushing about Yuzu. It's a shame that media and judges are trying to erase all signs of the respect and appreciation they have for one another. One of the things I love about Yuzu is that he really brought class to all his rivalries, even being capable of cultivating a close friendship with his biggest rival (Javi, obs). He is a perfect example of sportsmanship all the time and he's set a new standard for how athletes (at least in this sport) interact with one another and act in general. I think Nathan has followed his lead in that regard. I feel that any reporting that mentions their rivalry without mentioning their respect for one another does a disservice to the sport and that it undermines the character of both athletes too. They both have the attitude you'd want your kids to have if they're involved in sports but a lot of what's going on right now with the reporting and judging is making it seem like neither are the wonderful role models they actually are. It's not a bitter rivalry. They aren't out for each other's blood. They don't hate each other. Neither of them are terrible people despite being great athletes. I get that there's some sort of narrative about Nathan being the rising star and Hanyu being on the way out being pushed at the moment but if they don't tone it down they're going to end up bringing Nathan down with Hanyu by making him seem like the kind of athlete who is utterly lacking in sportsmanship.

Whenever anyone mentions Jason, I just need to pop in to say I love Jason!

I put forward 'Drums' by Oh Mercy. It's a bit ridiculous, but super cool. Figure skating could use a heavy dose of falsetto to go with all the theatrics. It would bring out that special Hanyu rockstar swagger we all know and love.

I've been watching his SP from Worlds again and again and again. It's so good. And that 3F is breathtaking. It's just so fluid and elegant that it surprises me every time because he just seems to float into it. Would love to see him do a 4F. I feel like I maybe heard him and Zhenya say in an interview or something that they were both training a quad each. Maybe I dreamed it out of wishful thinking. I want Jason to have a killer season so he's at the GPF and I can see him skate there.

If he's recycling a SP, I hope it's the Prince one. It was so flipping good and fun and challenging and he just never quite managed to get it perfect. He's ready for it now. As for Origin, I think maybe he just takes a little while to perfect a program (to his standards) and feel done with it. A season isn't that long and I guess if he sees room for improvement in something, he goes after it. He doesn't strike me as the kind of person to leave something unfinished or with more potential. He didn't get Origin to its very best because of that injury. I like that he recycles his programs. I think he polishes them up to a standard beyond what can be achieved in a single season and the results are always outstanding. I know he succeeds because of his talent and his dedication and effort (and those knees!), but I think he also benefits from spending longer on his programs to truly maximise their potential points. More skaters should follow his example. I'm surprised they don't, since he's the legend of the sport.

I wonder how much of the flailing was the jacket. Just watching it flap around was annoying me lol

I feel like there's nothing that could be worse than trying to interpret and perform than Caravan, and he managed that pretty well. Playing the music is hard enough (it still stands out to me from everything I ever played across 3 instruments, including my exam pieces, because it was just impossible to get right). I'm still baffled by how anyone was able to skate to it. I think he'll polish up his 2 new programs just nicely by the time they're in competition. Both sound like they have a bit more room for bringing out the performer in him too. I hope he manages to get them together because they'll be great to watch if they're done well.

This looks like the start of something fun and special. And now that we know what he's up to, surely Yuzu will come to the program announcement party soon. There's no one left to steal his thunder.

That 100m fly at Rio was the best race that ever happened. Phelps looked so pleased for Schooling and it was just such a great show of sportsmanship, plus Singapore got their first medal in swimming, Schooling also broke the OR, and the competition was so close that 3 people tied for silver. That one race was so meaningful to the sport.

They should be in a museum somewhere, with the Seimei costume and some of Shoma's. Satomi Ito should just have a permanent exhibition in a nice metro art museum somewhere. The Origin costume is spectacular. Every time I see a picture of it I notice something new. I can't fathom how someone would be capable of conceiving the idea of such a spectacular costume and then actually bringing it into being. Absolutely masterful.

Lol, don't be sorry for that

The amount of muscle he's packed on recently hints as much as well - it'll help him avoid injury, so the extra weight is worth the extra effort if he's looking forwards with Beijing in mind. He looked stronger than ever at FAOI.

Language stuff is my area of expertise, and in my professional opinion his English is much better than it seems from what we see in interviews. There's a lot of other performance and register demands, etc, during those kinds of interviews, particularly in the context he is usually doing them in. He clearly understands what's being said around him (you can tell by the listening cues he uses while he listens to other skaters respond in-depth during panel interviews) and he knows when he needs to switch to Japanese because the nuance of meaning is important enough to him that he doesn't want it to get lost in the gaps of his second language. He's also got a good personality for language-learning - he likes being successful and he likes attention and he seems to enjoy being a bit of a goofball who can laugh at himself when little things go wrong.

What's this I hear about Zhenya attempting a 4S (but landing double footed)? TSL mentioned it but I want to know more/see footage.

I guess it makes sense because "Shoma" ends like a girl's name. But the -ochka suffix sounds so feminine to me. Like using "Ruby" as a nickname for a guy named Reuben.