Fay

Er... sorry if I offended you. But there are ways for even most restrained people to find channels to become free. As I said before, Japanese skaters - Takahashi, Mao, Yuzu, Shoma, Wakaba, Kaori, Mai etc - are very intense and very unrestrained on the ice. The only restrained skater might be Satoko, though even she channels her emotions very well. Why do you persist the code of behaviour that insists you should behave in a restrained way should not be abandoned anywhere? It just isn’t what happens when someone performs.

Sorry, the question was - who among the SKATERS, not rock stars.

As a matter of fact, Mercury isn’t exactly your typical Western man - he’s from Zanzibar, a Farsi. And he was quite modest and pretty reserved in his ordinary life, they say. On the stage, a different persona emerged - with pretty flamboyant way of dressing and totally outrageous and fun way of behaving. Hugely talented and best to keeping the audience in the palm of his hand. You don’t have to be only Caucasian to become a rock star.

Yeah, but you’re confusing real ordinary life and performing on the ice. Every single skater aims at becoming a different persona while performing - and Japanese skaters are more successful at it than most. I’m a fair judge - as most of us are - because I’m non-Asian. And Yuzu just rocks. he’s a natural with stuff like PW and LGC.

By Japanese standards, Yuzu is anything but restrained - and he does have a rock star aura about him, you can believe me, I saw him live. He kept the audience riveted while doing nothing but crossovers in black UA - and he sure knew that. In fact, after seeing a number of Japanese skaters perform, I refuse to believe that fable of restrained Japanese skaters - our Russian skaters could do with a lesson of two of becoming so much at one with music and performing with it as well as letting their emotions take over. It’s just that LGC happens to be a competitive SP with a very difficult layout and crazily intricate steps - all of them earning points. So it’s an athletic program first and foremost, there’s no denying that. The late Prince didn’t have the daunting task of landing quads and doing spins - so there’s no way Yuzu could have lost control over what he did. We can hardly blame him for that.

Oh, I forgot about Gabi Daleman becoming a National title winner with two fantastic skates!

Has the video been released? I don’t know...

Looking back at the 2017-2018 season, I have to say it proved to be a fantastic experience, though really a wee bit too dramatic at times. The best moments in it have to do with Yuzu, of course - the whole experience of seeing him live in Moscow, the ACI SP WR, the epic story of the Olympics... every single moment treasured. But I thought it might be fun to share some moments concerning other skaters and their skates which we thought were special. There were so many for me - I’ll just mention a few in no particular order: - Wakaba Higuchi skates - especially her LP at the Worlds. Isn’t she special - powerful and commanding at her best! - Kaori Sakamoto - boy, she’s so fast and full of joy. While there’s room for improvement, the skates I saw were quite special. So thrilled she won 4CC - Kazuki Tomono at the Worlds - he did deserve the standing ovation both times. Great to see a newbie perform so well at his first Worlds ever - he did save the three spots for Japan. - Alena Kostornaya’s skates - that young lady is incredibly refined and polished for her age. Hope she keeps it and transitions well into the seniors. - seeing Savchenko and Massot live at the Worlds - that program was wow. And hats off to Aljona for persevering until she won that elusive Olympic Gold. - the exquisite Moonlight Sonate by Papadakis and Cizeron - I was lucky to see the program twice and I was absolutely mesmerized both times. - Yulia Lipnitskaya commentating - she was the answer to my prayers and I suspect she made other commentators on the Russian channel tone down their comments too. - seeing the three live competitions - Rostelecom, Europeans and Worlds. It was great to get to know the skating world close up, not just through the screen. - meeting so many of the satellites while at Rostelecom and Worlds. I was a bit more of a loner at the Europeans. These won’t be all, but this is a start. So, what were the highlights of the season for you? -

Send it over to me - I promise to take care of it...

One just happened before his reign started, that’s true...

Isn’t it three?

Just checking...

April 29th is our anniversary, so we’re not a year old yet.

April 1st prank from Misha?

I’d love to get Requiem too...

That was brilliant, thanks!

Chopin’s Ballade

As long as we don’t turn into a Nathan Chen Fan Forum for today, I’m fine with pranks

Hope and Legacy is a special program - it doesn’t grab you like Seimei does, it creeps surreptitiously into your heart and shows its beauty then. Love it and hum its tune all the time.

Some new shots in the PG commercial behind-the-scenes.

I protest. The original Pooh should be living in England...

Come, bees are nice. Very protective of their hives, though...

Yay, for once I have a head start - my father was a beekeeper...

I have to say this isn’t the worst art I’ve seen. So I’m sorta ok with it.

Just this century? You mean the previous one was ok?