beki

Boyang will have the last laugh, I think. He seems to be on a sound trajectory.

FaOI is gonna be so fun! Before this year, I never sought out shows or galas to watch, only competitions. I thought they'd be too cheesy and I would suffer secondhand embarrassment. But I have realized the error of my ways. And the plus side is, there's a ton of Yuzu material that is completely new to me.

Eventually it becomes too exhausting to do more than one discipline, and it is probably clear that one will be more successful than the other. This happened for Ashley Cain of the US. At times, she's done singles and pairs, and though she was a pretty good singles skater, her future in pairs seems brighter.

Of having to live up to the high standard he set every time. People do want that from him now. Godlike perfection always. That's why I don't like to focus too much on clean skates. It doesn't help him. To see him keep growing, keep performing, and not lose his love for skating is what I want.

I'm all for having huge variety in emoticons, including a thumbs down, for posters to express all their emotions. What I don't want is the option to downvote entire posts, like on reddit. It would make this a more negative place. The like button is good; we don't need a dislike button.

These two Cricket Club skaters do... and admire Yuzu

Ice dancing is probably the most challenging discipline to understand; I can't pretend that I do. But I like watching. I'm a fan of many couples but I don't uber anyone since Davis and White r****d. I was very curious to see how I would rate P/C and V/M against each other in Helsinki. I can't justify it, but in person I felt V/M are still ahead technically. And over the years they have demonstrated more versatility. What P/C have is that they are effortlessly fresh and modern. It's a little shocking to read them talking about Latin programs being cringeworthy and not working, but at the same time, I understand exactly what they mean. They are the only ice dance couple I've seen who completely refuse to play along with the corny side of figure skating. It feels like you could show their programs to anyone on the street without apologizing. They view themselves as artists, and they are true and convincing ones. The funny thing is that Tessa and Scott have done Latin programs that I actually like. It would be wonderful if Gaby and Guillaume grow enough to grab the gold. But if V/M do, they've made a case for GOAT status. I probably like P/C a little more at this point, but I'm not obsessed. I can relax :) Only Yuzu will drive me to drink. Hopefully they will be around for a while, as they are still quite young.

Too bad we don't have all the pro competitions anymore. Shizuka could have won so many titles with the content she kept up. When I watch the Japan Open, I frequently like the r****d skaters even better than the current competitors. Joannie Rochette was great in 2013. As were Jeremy and Nobu last year.

Even though I'm not qualified (maybe 1-1.5 out of 3 on Max's criteria), it would be fun to play along. We could all learn by doing the exercise, even if our scores don't count as part of the judging panel. It actually might be interesting to compile everyone's scores, regardless of their knowledge level, and compare it to the panel's, to see what kind of scores crowdsourcing produces. Although we aren't a neutral group, because we're all Yuzu fans.

I didn't want to say it! Too warhorsey! He could pull them off, but I might tear out some of my head feathers along the way. Maybe it's more of an abstract inspiration for him. I still think it could be Notte Stellata. That was sort of warhorse with a twist. I approve of that method. Just listened to One-Winged Angel. I like it, but I also find it kind of over-the-top cheesy I'd rather see that as a short program—a long would be too much for me, even though the music cuts would work better.

Feathers on the gum, feather on the blades, 翔 = to soar. There is an entire theme here. I wonder how it relates to his program choices...

Okay, queueing up the footage. Gillis Grafström 1A Triple gold medalist, and then a silver... a new goal for Yuzu? Dick Button 2A He is a wonderful inspiration for Yuzu, if you keep watching the video. First man to do a camel spin, invented the flying camel, first triple jump in competition. Double gold, obviously. Kind of insane—put the 2A in the day after landing it in practice. High standards that showed through in his commentary. He was critical but he had his loves, Mao being one of them. I just want Yuzu to channel Uncle Dick this year... Vern Taylor 3A Lost energy for the program after... a cautionary tale? Yuzuru Hanyu 4A This will do for now... 24 years from single to double. 30 years from double to triple. 39 years from triple to now. Time seems about right. Actually, realized I'm a little off. The axel was invented by Axel Paulsen in 1882, but we don't have film footage from that time. So it was 66 years from single to double... Yuzu, don't make me wait until 2044...

I like this video, even though it's a little misleading. John Curry was doing triples when he won, and Alexei Yagudin was doing quads. It might have made more sense to focus on one type of jump. Looking forward to a video of Dick Button landing the first double axel, Vern Taylor landing the first triple axel, and Yuzuru Hanyu landing the first quadruple axel

Wow! I am usually immune to this sort of thing, but the concept and design is so good I really want it!

Machida is a genius. Every skater needs to watch this fully-realized artistic performance. Yuzu needs to watch this. What Tatsuki achieved is his ideal of jumps as transitions. Even the doubles are impressive. Because of how they are placed in the choreography. It is the expression of the program as a whole that is so compelling, not any one element. He has so much control and verve. My husband always laughs at me when I applaud my laptop as if someone could hear me clapping. But I've admired him for a long time. I've even thought, 2014 could have had a different WC... The next time someone says Nathan Chen is balletic, I can point them to this video.

Interesting. I also couldn't Insert other media > Insert image from URL. I couldn't embed the image, I had to link it. Looks like people are doing ok in the photo thread. Don't know if these are mobile issues. I'm using Safari on iPhone

Yes, but still no go http://imgur.com/a/9vVUT

Looking into it further, she competed at the Cup of Tyrol in March, finishing 7th with 128.78. I don't know her training situation. I liked watching her, but I'm also curious about Spain's potential lineup for the team event. Her most recent score is still higher than Valentina Matos' personal best, even though Sonia lost Nationals to her.

Can we brainstorm how we can help the situation? I wonder how many of us can get tickets. I'm curious, are Yuzu's fans in Japan planning to go to Nagoya in person to get those convenience store tickets etc? It's crazy to me how they are sold. It's like gambling in Vegas.

I followed Hydro's instructions, but they aren't there

Is everyone seeing signatures now? I enabled them but they're not appearing.

Ok, I figured out how to do it on the iPhone. Hold down the reload button in Safari and it gives the option. Learning new things

Request desktop site is perfect, but I didn't see it. Maybe I'm a bit of a granny today (Embrace change! Change is good! I tell myself. But I'm a Taurus, so...)

Thank you! I'm on a phone, I just usually choose the full site option instead of the mobile skin on forums I visit because I like it better.