Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Tessa Virtue's Brain

About the interview with Russian fans, here:



and here:


If Scott likes people who are "out of the box" he's got one in Tessa Virtue. But what I really think is, she's so tightly wrapped inside her box she's out of the box. The way it happens when someone travels so far up their own ass the only exit is via a foreign solar system.

Based on what we can see here, along with Tessa's tremendous willpower and drive, she's someone very narrowly experienced despite her precocious personal life and mega miles logged in international travel. Someone who insufficiently examines the things that inspire her.

I mean, let's HOPE that's it.

The meeting with the Russian fans was mostly pleasant and relaxed, but punctuated with outbreaks, at expected junctures, with the usual graph-spiking WTF-ery we've come to expect from Virtue and Moir.(i.e.: the mega face reddening, downcast eyes and huge pauses following: "What does partner mean to you", the reality show where the cameras are just following them around as they carry on their normal routine, the "hard" year they trained the Latin free dance - that was such a hard year, what with Tessa's surgery and all, and they loved the program but never got it where they wanted it to be, all your fault, Baby Moir, and the part where they probably won't write another book because there's nothing left to tell - everything's out there.)

Just based on some of her interview responses when the Russian fans interviewed Tessa, Tessa misses clear connections between particular ideas - doesn't follow their implications in any sort of reasoned sequence - and she likewise fails to place some of the material that inspires her (such as The Fountainhead) in any larger context. She seemingly approaches life with an extremely narrow focus, while repeating how much she wants to be balanced.

Compartmentalization isn't balance.

She also again presents as someone whose method of dealing with information that doesn't conform to her agenda is to tune it out.

That's fine when your agenda is skating, and potential distractions from one's training focus, but it's a little scary applied to the rest of someone's life.

With Tessa we have a woman who would take both The Fountainhead and To Kill a Mockingbird - novels with diametrically incompatible world views - with her to a desert island.

Granting her the benefit of the doubt, she must read The Fountainhead narrowly, and not absorb that, in Ayn Rand's world, there are the elite, and there are cattle, and, in Rand's world, compassion isn't just a waste of time, but against nature. And the riff raff that is ordinary people are personally arrayed as obstacles between you and your goals, cause it's all about you. They're litter cluttering up your path.

And contempt is a good thing. If you feel contempt, chances are you feel it because you're a superior being for whom the presence of so much waste of space (humans not on your level) is an affront to your sensibility.

I will assume Tessa just relates to the single-mindedness with which The Fountainhead's protogonists follow their passions, and relates to their belief that there's inherent value to their passions (architecture rising to the level of what Rand thinks is art in Howard Roark's case in The Fountainhead). And maybe she relates to the Randian disdain for emotion (weakness) and her elevation of passion (fuel), as if those things are in conflict.*

(I love how Rand kind of rates "feelings" on a scale of values, and how it's the opposite scale of values of nearly all religions, and nearly all ethical systems.)

My best takeaway with Rand is that passion is what you personally feel for those who are your equals, what you feel for your exalted goals and your agenda, and emotion is having any feeling at all towards the rabble, and emotion is also the useless, base and trivial feelings experienced by the rabble, by the useless multitudes who contribute nothing.

I love how in Rand's world everything is compartmentalized - everything CAN be compartmentalized. There's nothing holistic or organic. No cause and effect or integrated systems. It's all ruthlessly parsed.

I want to look into that Windsor U psych program some day. Seriously.

Maybe it's a Windsor - "Psych!" - program.

The Maya Angelou quote Tessa used in the interview with the Russian fans:

Disclaimer: I'm not a Maya Angelou fan. I think she's the epitome of hot air. She may be a very nice person, but her whole deal is the regal demeanor, the deliberate, portentuous cadence, and the sonorous tonality. What she says SOUNDS like it must be pretty meaningful, but come on.

Tessa's quote:
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Oh what bullshit. They certainly fucking do remember what you said and did. Virtue and Moir may WISH that people only remember how they made people feel, but people are going to remember and re-watch how they skated (that's what they did, isn't it?) and people are going to damn straight remember the epic, aggressive hoax, the bill of goods they sold to the public all the while proclaiming how open, honest and genuine they were being.

Let's look at some brand name famous people:

O.J. Simpson. I think people remember what he did.

Hitler: Same.

Miley Cyrus: Overdid the twerking.

Bloody Mary (Queen Mary I of England): She's called Bloody Mary cause people remember what she did.

Marie Antoinette: I'm pretty sure she's reputed to have said something people remember.

Henry VIII - What do people remember besides his break with the Pope and starting the Church of England (things he did)? He married six times and beheaded a couple of wives (things he did).

Kanye West: Imma let you finish.

Roger Federer: He played tennis really well.

John F. Kennedy: Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. Also, Marilyn Monroe.

Ted Kennedy: Drove a lady off a bridge and she died. Was a Kennedy. And a long term senator from Massachusetts.

Martin Luther King: People still watch his speeches on youtube.

Lance Armstrong: people are going to remember what he did. He won a bunch of Tour de Frances and was brought down by a doping scandal.

At holiday dinner tables around the globe people remember some hurtful thing said by mom, dad, sibling, cousin, etc. years before (especially if it's never been resolved). They remember that kind of shit more than the person who said it remembers. Same goes for the good stuff - they never forget when someone said the right thing at the right time or went out of their way to help.

How you feel about people is CONNECTED to what they said and did.

Maybe if you're drunk all the time how something made you feel is all you're going to remember, but where else is that true outside of Moirville?**

Unless you're blowing hot air for a living like Maya Angelou (forgive me, again, not a fan), in which case the whole game is about creating a feeling-based atmosphere that distracts from what you actually did (wrote a lot of empty poetry) and said (a lot of empty poetry and quotes that fall apart). You hope that what you made people feel (or, more closely, I think, what you made people experience) - will be your ticket to immortality, cause your words and deeds aren't going to cut it.

Well sure, where Angelou is concerned. She didn't do or say much worth remembering, but she did read and speak like it was engraved on stone tablets.

With Scott and Tessa, people are going to remember what they said (how they lied and lied and lied) and what they did (how they skated). How they made people feel will be embedded with both of those things, not separate from it, and only an idiot would think what people say and do isn't CONNECTED to how they make people feel. That was one of the most asinine things out of Virtue's mouth, and that's saying something.

P.S. Scott's first idea for a desert island book was The Saint, the Surfer and the CEO, but he realized if he's the only one on a desert island he doesn't need a book telling him how to treat people. Which - WTF.

I do believe they think how you treat people only counts as what you do to their face. If people don't KNOW you're treating them like shit, manipulating and exploiting them, it doesn't count as treating them poorly. And now it's even expanded to be, it's okay if people know, as long as you don't have to acknowledge it.

Life is all presentation mark to Tessa and Scott. It's all pcs. It's all the real world version of skating skills.

A blurb about The Saint, the Surfer and the CEO:
Jack discovered a powerful philosophy to reshape his reality and access his destiny. In this revolutionary yet gentle guide to living your life at its most authentic level

That's just sad. Well, as long as they live their skating life at an authentic level, lying their asses off and exploiting those lies for profit doesn't matter I guess.
____________________________

*I did some more Rand googling, and got some bio details. Not such a surprise that in her life she was aided and abetted by the sacrifices of others - her family, and her husband (whom she apparently treated like crap). I can see if she's of the mindset that this was her due, but at the same time, just the fact that she needed these sacrifices by others in order to get anywhere refutes her ideas about superior beings achieving their goals through sheer force of their unfettered, inherent superiority. She was plenty fucking fettered at the start, and need tons of help to start climbing.

Furthermore, by doing a reality show and all of their other attention-soliciting of the rabble, Scott and Tessa are having it both ways. They're not being independent, proud artists. They're manipulators and exploiters who constantly go to the rabble for an attention fix.

**Okay, cheap shot.

P.S. - about another Tessa & Scott book - Tessa says not until they've lived a few more years and have had more experiences. That's easy to take as a signal there's going to be no reveal after Sochi. These people are consequence averse. They're accountability averse, especially to the rabble, as it were. So it sounds as if they want to get a whole bunch of miles (years) between themselves and their lies. That way Scott can continue to tout books that promote an authentic way of being without having his ass handed to him by everyone in sight.

2011 blog discussion of Tessa and The Fountainhead

71 comments:

  1. These videos are actually really enjoyable, for the most part. Scott in particular was pretty open and honest. He really cannot hide how much affection he feels for Tessa. Tessa obviously has a hard time letting her guard down but there were some moments where she seemed to relax a bit.

    Saying that she wants to be remembered as a good person will always bother me. Tessa, sweetie, right now, you're going to be remembered as anything but a good person. These fans are going out of their way to give them gifts that required a lot of time and thought and in return, Virtue-Moir are giving them a helping of their usual lies.

    It's obvious that most of the contempt they feel is reserved for their Canadian (and American, to some degree) fans but all fans, regardless of nationality, are being fucked over by them.

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    1. Well, isn't there an apparent connection with your last paragraph and Moirville? The hypothesis is the sham is a byproduct of Moirville's inability to acknowledge boundaries, how Moirville thinks Tessa and Scott's career is their career, and Tessa and Scott's lives are their business - literally. So the sham has evolved to manage the entitlements of family and friends, because Scott and Tessa, superior beings as they are, lack the courage to handle it. Unlike many of their athletic compatriats in Canada, they're craven and cowardly in that regard. It's not easy to set boundaries, but it's what adults do.

      That appears to be why the sham is so concentrated in Canada, and, not just in Canada, in Ontario. Prior to the Moir overinvolvement becoming so so evident, it was always very puzzling why the sham went seriously on parade in Ontario of all places. In Ontario, for every bit of sham stagecraft, there's a gossiping local telling incoming fans it's all sham stagecraft. There's a substantial number of community members in and around the competitive events that know the score. IOW, a lot of skating fans do already know, so putting up this huge sham wall is pretty much horse is already out of the barn as far as making sense.

      Unless the sham is a sham in itself, you know what I mean. Pretend we need a sham so we can divert our family/community to it and involve them in it, and that way they have an occupation that keeps them away from important things, like our training and our personal lives.

      But beyond that, it also seems as if Scott and Tessa view their relationship as proprietary information/material. I mean commercially. It's a commercial asset. They're not going to give it away - i.e., tell the truth. It's the hook. It's their mystique. It's how they set bait for their "business" endeavors.

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    2. Tessa also seems to confuse good person with nice person. A nice person is polite, well groomed, punctual, etc. That's a persona, a facade.

      Here is psychology today on the difference between personality and character.

      http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/happiness-in-world/201104/personality-vs-character

      Having character - actually being a good person - is harder to suss out about another person, and harder to BE. We can read in this article that Tessa is a fail in at least one essential of being a person of character. She and Scott both.

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    3. P.S. - and the bit about Scott and Tessa viewing their relationship as a proprietary asset ties in with Tessa getting pious about how "protective" she is of her family and friends. And yet she's trotting them out on a tabloid reality show hoax. If she's that protective, a reality show/hoax is the last exception she's going to make in that veil of protection she claims to maintain. But if what she really means by "protective" is she's protecting a commercial asset, then it makes sense that she'd trot out the good stuff where it's going to pay off commercially.

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  2. I'm a little uncomfortable with those videos being used to psychoanalyze VM. It's not really a media event put out for the public consumption or anything VM constructed to trick or bait fans. This was a personal fan meeting that those Russian fans put a lot of time, money, and effort into organizing and by all accounts was an extremely positive experience for them. If any of them read this blog, I'd imagine they'd hate to see the interview used negatively against VM. Of course, they put it on youtube and therefore anyone can comment on it, but it was a nice thing for them to do and I for one really enjoyed it. I would hate for them to be dissuaded from publishing these videos in the future. This was a nice chance to hear from VM some good tidbits about music choices, what skaters they like, and that they're doing the team event.

    Perhaps you can reconsider posting the videos and just make the post about Tessa's book choices...

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    1. No, because they know these meetings go on youtube. They're not naive. They continue to embed sham - Scott saying that he'll call Tessa to nag her about choreography. When they are in public Tessa and Scott are never NOT tricking and baiting fans. It's right there in this video. Their claims that they just go along with their regular lives and do nothing special as the reality show cameras follow - that's a lie. Scott and Tessa claiming there's nothing to tell in a book sequel - everything's been said. Scott and Tessa omitting why the year of the Latin free dance was so hard. They are themselves in this video - sincere and lying their asses off. This isn't some special exception. They KNOW this stuff gets distributed, and as with everything else, they handle it with that in mind. They also think there's nothing incompatible with sincerity paired with overt manipulation, and these videos are yet another example. It's on them, not the blog.

      It's no diss to the Russian fans to look at the corruption in this encounter. They're playing people every bit as much here as they do everywhere else. They're sincere, and they're lying where they're lying and baiting.

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  3. Tessa at :27 second mark of the second video, when asked if there would be a book sequel - "we need a bit of time, then there will be a tell-all" and the side eye/smirk she gives Scott. Perhaps a nod to this blog?

    I would love to have a body language expert interpret this video. I find it interesting how Scott leans his body in towards Tessa, even stretching his arm towards her and can't seem to keep his fingers still - almost as if he wants to play with her hair or at least be touching her in some way (remember his answer about ice dance - "connection") - but she remains rigid, either facing forward or turned away from him.

    She really stared hard at him as he struggled to find the three qualities he values in a person, and Scott's answer to the partner question was so interesting too. He finds her comforting, while she values trust, which could be read as "he doesn't drop me during lifts" ;-) or, if you subscribe to this blog's theories, "he keeps my secrets."

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    1. It's not a theory that V/M are married with a child, it's the truth.

      I thought there were enjoyable moments in this interview and also several points where V/M used it for the opportunity to spew out the talking points meant to reinforce the lies they tell the public: including those Russian fans they kept praising for their support and love.

      "Thank you for all of your support, time, and money. We can't say enough how much we appreciate it. We've been deliberately lying to you for years and are going to keep baiting and lying to you, even as we speak. But we hope that you remember us as sincere, kind people! We appreciate that you love our skating but more than that, we like to view you as wallets with legs we can manipulate with deliberate lies we've rationalized to ourselves as being nothing more than marketing strategies. Please watch our 'documentary.' It's a real inside look into our lives, except really the only look into our actual lives you'll get is when we're training on the ice in Canton. Everything else will be a largely scripted fictional account of who we want you to believe we are off the ice, not who we really are. Our real personal life is our business, not yours. But we really, really appreciate it when you give us money because you *think* what you're seeing is us being authentic. So thanks again!"

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    2. Those parts were tough. The qualities in a person (competence was one of Tessa's) and what does partner mean to you.

      Woody Allen isn't someone I admire but he did make some interesting comments about courage. He said that talent isn't something anyone can control but courage is something they can. I don't know if these remarks came from some oblivious disconnect embedded in him, but he remarked there are people who aren't gifted, people who aren't special, but they address themselves to life's challenges with integrity and courage. In some interview I read, obviously in connection with a movie, he said this.

      Life's challenges aren't always dramatic. For instance, being confronted with a physical challenge such as CES - that's dramatic.

      Being confronted with, say, community and family politics isn't all that dramatic, but appeasing the same in a way that betrays who you are is a failure.

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    3. "But we really, really appreciate it when you give us money because you *think* what you're seeing is us being authentic. So thanks again!'"

      So much so that we're going to proactively remind you over and over and over again that we are so authentic. We don't want you to just assume we are, we want to manipulate you into honestly believing it.

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    4. The partner question in particular was hard for Tessa - she was basically avoiding it altogether and only gave an answer after being prompted again. And here I am thinking - why would the partner question be so difficult? It looked that she wanted to plead the 5th...
      Otherwise - I enjoyed the interview and Scott in particular seemed relax.

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    5. "we're going to proactively remind you over and over and over again that we are so authentic."

      Tessa making a big deal of saying she's a terrible actress is very proactive. She's trying so hard to get the message out that everything we see in their ~documentary~ is real since of course, she doesn't act. She only ~acts naturally~

      Which ties in with this comment from oc:

      "They KNOW this stuff gets distributed, and as with everything else, they handle it with that in mind"

      They are never completely relaxed or genuine because they're busy looking for ways to slide in their agenda. In this case, that we should really really really know that anything we see of Tessa off-ice in that TV show is real. Because she doesn't act.

      Anyone believe her? (*rolleyes*)

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    6. Did some research, and discovered that Scott's reaching for her was his need for reassurance. Tessa's turned away body position and distance meant she wasn't buying whatever Scott appeared to be selling to her. I've noticed they have seemed "off" to me since the season began. Their skating and their interviews felt like lame ducks to me, but I thought perhaps it was just the pressure. I think Tessa is over it and has been for some time now - she seems to be only doing Sochi to please Scott. This was reinforced when they spoke of retirement in this fan interview. Scott's sad about it and Tessa seems relieved. Scott wants her to keep contributing to skating in some way after retirement and she seems completely disinterested.

      No matter what you believe about their relationship, it seems in a bit of trouble to me - platonic, married or whatever. Hoping Tessa was just having an off day, but I don't think so.

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    7. Anon at 5:22 pm - if I had to guess - both of them are probably mentally fatigued. I think having Worlds in London, the constant expectations from Moirville, Carmen not winning last year, the lack of support from commentators, perhaps Skate Canada, their training situation in Canton etc may have taken a toll on Tessa moreso than Scott. Then who knows if Tessa really loves this year FD...and let's not forget the double standard when VM compete - that they have to be perfect whereas DW are getting a free ride...if it's discouraging for us fans - I can't imagine the effect on Tessa - who is hard on herself. And who knows if her relationship with Marina is as encouraging as it was in the past. Lastly, add the documentary...you can tell she is not as comfortable with fans as Scott is - so I can't imagine that having a crew film you etc doesn't bother you - bullshit...I don't care how nice the crew may be - it's time consuming and not a real documentary - you are setting up scenarios....and my last two cents...although we know a bit about her friends - I don't think they are as tight as her relationship with her sister Jordan...
      And when was the last time - VM had real down time...over the last quad -- due to the judging situation - they have had to constantly change their programs...that has to take a toll...

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    8. I put the difference in their demeanor down to Scott being more comfortable in the situation than Tessa. He's more at ease.

      The situation isn't just a component influencing their demeanor - it's what is influencing their demeanor, particularly Tessa's. It's way more than another ingredient.

      The partner question wasn't super comfortable, but what seemed really uncomfortable for Scott, prompting a few of his twisted, face-swallowing facial expressions, and cueing veiled lids and side eye from Tessa, was the question about is skating all of their lives, or their whole life.

      She got very still and he got a little antsy, and they came out with "Yes." basically. Scott is good at answers that are related to the question but not a direct answer to the question. Here he stated the obvious - that if you're an elite athlete, most of your life is directed towards your sport.

      I'd LIKE to think the discomfort was down to here's yet another moment when they deny their child. There's nothing more important in their lives right now than skating. She's going to see this stuff. If they were comfortable with denying her, their faces wouldn't twist up like raisins (well, his does). Tessa becomes very guarded, angled and under the lids.

      Furthermore, as with most everything they do, it's pro-active denial of her, not defensive, protective denial of her. They never want to deal with built-in limits of their choices. Why shouldn't they marry, have a baby AND market their personal lives AND keep their real situation private?

      Nobody is forcing this reality show on Scott and Tessa. Nobody is forcing them to sit down with the Russian fans. In both situations they're going to deny their little girl. The reality show is particularly horrible, and because of that, Tessa's remarks that she's protective of her family and friends is loathsome. She's going out of her way to participate in a situation where her child's existence is edited out of their lives, and where the relationship upon which their child's security rests - their marriage - is going to be denied as well while Scott is portrayed as a man with a girlfriend who is not his daughter's mother. They CHOSE this. This isn't a reaction to the nature of their sport or the intense media interest.

      And we know it's true, because most of the articles on Scott and Tessa's own choices show exactly that the plan is to blame fans. They all make sure to mention it is the relationship that has created such interest. It's a set up for fans to take the fall.

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  4. I don't understand how anyone can find Ayn Rand enjoyable. Rand was a terrible person.

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    1. 7:11
      I think blogger is right in this entry. Tessa is intellectually clueless.

      Someone once described Princess Diana as having the "wisdom" of a woman's magazine. Tessa sounds similar in that it appears she reads quotes here and there she thinks sound cute or profound and she adopts them for herself without ever checking context or if it's a reflection of true character values.

      She needs to do some serious growing-up, in addition to reading - and understanding - some material of true substance.

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    2. Every time she mentions The Fountainhead I wince. And I have to assume she really doesn't get what Rand is about. She's only reading the story and tuning in to the parts she thinks relate to her, and not to the horrific things Rands writes about, you know, people who aren't her protogonists. People who aren't special, which is most people. It's gas chamber type thinking - the language Rand uses in the fountainhead towards ordinary "worker bee" type people is filthy. It's twinned with Aryan nation type attitudes, only it's a meritocracy of talent, intellect and what she sees as a necessary ruthlessness. She's completely lacking in compassion and full of contempt. And Tessa reads this and what - edits all that shit out?

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    3. I am not surprised she loves Ayn Rand. If anything, it's fitting, looking down on the masses (fans and the "folksy" people of Moirville). There's an Aryan-like + princess complex going on.

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    4. "And I have to assume she really doesn't get what Rand is about."

      That's where I come down on it too: I don't think she gets it. Tessa strikes me as a very "fortune cookie philosophy" type of person.

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    5. It's not just on Tessa. Look at the Moirs. There's been profiles of the Moir sisters, skating crazy from an early age. I think Alma's been teaching skating at UWO since 1978. This is their passion. From time to time, although not recently - THANK GOD - they've held fourth on the skating fandom in the same patronizing and yet unexamined and yet self-assured way the rest of the sport and the skating media discusses the fandom and the public. A bunch of no life having yokels, basically.

      That's Alma's verdict on the figure skating public. If we want to look at it as - the "need" for the sham is a pretense - it occupies Moirville and it allows Scott and Tessa to treat their relationship as a proprietary asset, an exclusive commodity under their control - every single piece of how Moirville has conducted itself in this sham shows a ludicrous elitism that's not incompatible with Rand - even though Rand would probably find them jokes. But they're elitest. They're smart, other people aren't smart. Everything's funny to them - especially other people. They couldn't even bother marketing Shoeless Joe's with sincerity - it was all a hoot and Scott ended up looking like a fool. Why should they stoop to make their case for that restaurant? A bunch of fans were going to be watching that video - we can't be respectful.

      This is a family that lives and breathes figure skating and has contempt for the public that follow it.

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    6. you all do know you can enjoy something while knowing its problematic. for example, just because one reads and enjoys american psycho or game of thrones doesn't mean they're a raging misogynist. perhaps she just enjoys rand's style of writing (which one can argue is also shit) rand is such a stark contrast to maya angelou and harper lee anyway like she doesnt belong.

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    7. It's also a book where a woman gets raped and falls in love with her rapist.

      A long time ago, when I was reading something else - an article or another book, there was a remark about how library copies of The Fountainhead fall open to the rape scene because it's the most titillating part of the book - or apparently some people think so. A superior woman thrilled to finally find somebody who can humiliate and degrade her. I guess being so superior all the time was a burden and she was glad to realize there was someone who could conquer her. It's the worst crap ever.

      And as you say 11:44 am, Rand's writing is the worst. It's the content that attracts. The book is one of Tessa's touchstone books.

      I don't know if Tessa reads Maya Angelou or just picked up the quote somewhere.

      It's really impossible to enjoy Rand's style or writing if you're missing what she's saying. Unless it's just Dominique falls in love with the guy who forces himself on her that is the appeal.

      There's really no angle to look at this other than to believe it's unfortunate.

      oc

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    8. Maybe it's just as simple as Tessa doesn't have time to take many classes, doesn't read a lot of books, and mentioned the last 3 books she remembers being assigned to read and not hating?

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    9. Who cares if The Fountainhead is her favorite book? You're taking it too far. Atlas Shrugged is one of mine. Get a grip people.

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    10. 3:24, NOPE. She's mentioned The Fountainhead as a favorite for years.

      It's not a trivial book. It's a very influential book among some of the most reactionary factions in America, for example.

      And since this blog is at least partially trying to get to what the hell is the mindset behind the conduct of the sham, and since this blog started in the first place because of the obnoxious, asshole way Moirville set up, baited, mocked and stung fans on social media, a completely unnecessary manner in which to run a sham, it's interesting to see that one of Tessa's favorite books is by an author who promoted a philosophy of ruthless self-interest and complete disregard for other people, someone who believed in a system where superior people got their way and the rest were just parasites and wastes of oxygen who should be left to die. The Fountainhead is also famous for a rape scene in which a superior woman is raped by a superior man and gets a big thrill out of it. Tessa has repeatedly said this is a favorite book. It's not a random choice.

      4:13 - I just explained the relevance.

      As to Atlas Shrugged, it sucks. If it's your favorite, there's no accounting for taste but you're not what the blog is about. Tessa's taste in books wouldn't be relevant if it weren't something she's repeatedly mentioned (The Fountainhead), and if she weren't again mentioning it as a favorite book while lying her head off about basic facts of her life. Not to mention, the second book she'd take to a desert island - To Kill a Mockingbird - is as dissonant a choice as it gets along with The Fountainhead.

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    11. Rand is also an odd choice for an athlete who has expressed her gratitude to the at least partially government supported program that supports rehab for qualified athletes.

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  5. I've always said tessa is the mastemind between both her and Scott. She is so calculated. The fact that shemsaid she is not amgood actress. I pissed myself. Who does she think she is trying to kid. What a joke.

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    1. She's a terrible actress. She's a terrible liar. She's right about that, even if she's not trying to be truthful when she says it. What is disturbing about them is how they project their so-called personas. As the blog said before Tessa plays her own self like a violin. They both use attributes that are natural in them and apply them to their lies. And they're excused a lot because some of these attributes are actually who they are, and people find them appealing (sweetness, politeness, a certain amount of being genuine) - but then they use it to manipulate and hoax.

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  6. whats with all the godwin's law?

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    1. yeah, when you're talking Ann Rand we're not really having a Godwin's law moment in the comments section. There are obvious parallels if we're talking about the philosophy of this particular author of one of Tessa's favorite books. It's right there.

      oc

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    2. i never read ayn rand's books. all i know is that she is a terrible person.

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    3. She was.

      I remember when I first read her books (I got through most of Atlas Shrugged and most of The Fountainhead while flipping and skipping ahead because I GOT IT ALREADY AYN).

      I was all the hell? I couldn't understand why her books were famous, she was so primitive, so lowest common denominator while fronting as an ambassador for the elite. The speeches Howard Roark makes are embarrassing - if they were from a soap opera the script would get sent back for a re-write.

      But she wasn't just famous, she influential - or rather, her influence is cyclical. She had a big resurgence among right wing factions in the States.

      Of course there's an industry on the web making fun of her too, which is only to be expected.

      The post is called Tessa Virtue's Brain. I think anybody will agree that what Scott and Tessa are doing is extreme. Married four years now, parents of an almost three year old, pro-actively going around interviewing about their platonic lives and signing up for a reality show to chronicle it and yet not holding back from congratulating themselves on being private and protective. They don't want celebrity, not them (Tessa used to say that).

      They've still yet to articulate even a good lie about this reality show. They've yet to explain exactly why they're doing it. And they're still parading sham girlfriends around. What are they thinking?

      Things like favorite books are clues but of what I don't know. After this interview I'd say the best case scenario is Tessa is intellectually shallow, as mentioned up above. Worst case is she really thinks the ends justify the means - ANY means - which is the exact opposite of, as the blog has said, most ethical systems, which, okay if that's who they are, but then she also wants to be thought of and remembered as a good person, and that doesn't fit.

      So they're crazy in a sad way, maybe.

      Back in 2009 she said she was reading The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet (that was a massive best seller about the building of a cathedral in England and the development of Gothic architecture). That sounded just like something she was reading. I don't recall her mentioning it again. It was just a book.

      The Fountainhead has been a constant since at least the Olympics, and it's notorious. When someone keeps saying that's a favorite book, it's worth pointing out what's in it.

      Delete
    4. I'm wondering if Tessa read the Fountainhead and To Kill A Mockingbird on such a shallow level she thinks Atticus Finch and Howard Roark are kindred spirits, both bucking the system.

      They're opposites, but somehow I could see that getting past her.

      Delete
    5. The more I read about Ayn Rand and her books, the more I am appalled. Yet somehow bemused that Tessa mentions Fountainhead in the same breath as Mockingbird.

      Delete
    6. My guess would be those are the last books she had to read for a Lit class in high school and since then hasn't had time to read fiction. So when she's asked the books question, she remembers these books as having "profound stuff" (even if she doesn't really know what that is) and feels clever mentioning them. I would be surprised if she has any idea what the themes really are.

      Delete
    7. 7:58, but as I said up above, in 2009, when she was well out of high school, she talked about her reading habits - I think she said she always likes to have a book going - and was currently reading "Pillars of the Earth."

      oc

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    8. I was reading quotes from the Fountainhead and was surprised that many of its themes are linked to the qualities Tessa likes in a person:

      Sense of humor

      “One loses everything when one loses one's sense of humor.”

      Competence

      “It's easier to donate a few thousand to charity and think oneself noble than to base self-respect on personal standards of personal achievement. It's simple to seek substitutes for competence--such easy substitutes: love, charm, kindness, charity. But there is no substitute for competence.”

      Confidence

      “My dear fellow, who will let you?"
      That's not the point. The point is, who will stop me?”

      It doesn't necessarily mean anything but I would think her favorite book has influenced her in some way.

      Delete
    9. Yeah but you have to wade through a horror show to get to the useful parts and you have to take the useful parts out of context.

      There's plenty of books out there about courage, independent thinking, holding yourself to high standards, sticking with it, without clinging to The Fountainhead.


      And they're not solo flyers. In the sham, they've had help from the media (if not for the media they'd be shit out of luck), the skating community, plenty of fans, and more.

      In skating, a lot of it was luck, not self-determination and self-reliance.

      In skating it was a lot of the same thing. Good fortune. And then they made the absolute most of their good fortune, and that is to their credit. But they've used and benefitted from so many resources outside their own inner drive and talent, including government resources, that it's plain twisted to take inspiration from Rand. There are hot and cold running inspirational books keeping athletes on track stuffing every bookstore on the continent that aren't authored by her, and don't come with everything else she's pushing.

      Delete
  7. NDP had more content than Carmen? http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/showthread.php?89967-V-amp-M-vs-D-amp-W-Help-from-dance-experts-out-there!-(no-uber-fans-please)&p=4058250&viewfull=1#post4058250

    The hell.

    That's possibly one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read on FSU.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The whole thread is ridiculous...the D/W ubers are still sprouting BS, and this one so-called expert (so-called because they took a ice dance seminar) is talking about useless shit like D/W give it 110% and V/M should have changed coaches. So skirting around the issue of the ACTUAL SKATING.

      "Also there is one thing that D&W do so well is to give 110%. I have never seen them leave anything out there unanswered and their commitment is undeniable.

      Personally after last season I would have thought V&M needed a coaching change."
      http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/showthread.php?89967-V-amp-M-vs-D-amp-W-Help-from-dance-experts-out-there!-%28no-uber-fans-please%29&p=4058250&viewfull=1#post4058250"

      Delete
    2. I'd really love to know why a person who has confessed to being confused by the Finnstep key points is being hailed as an ice dance expert now.

      Delete
    3. That's right! That judge said that they couldn't describe the Finnstep key points because they confused her and made her head hurt. Instead a fan on the board actually explained the key points with videos.

      The thing is, the ISU seminars I imagine are built to reinforce what is happening in the judging right now, so they will put a spin on things in a way that DW seem superior (though I feel like it is so obvious they are not that I wonder how they can get away with this). So judges come away from these seminars thinking DW are superior and deserve to win.

      Delete
    4. Seems like the scoring in ice dance has come down to lowest common denominator - what makes it easiest for tech/judges/no brain views to understand. Ahh yes, that would be fast & faster, let your partner do all the work to make everything look HARD, tell everyone how hard you have worked, look exhausted every time you finish, let your "fans" & "family" tell how wonderful you are and how you were robbed of winning every competition you enter.

      So now, instead of rewarding & differentiating the excellent over the good, we are calling good = excellent and rewarding mediocrity. Instead of upping what gets you the higher levels, we have instead lowered our standards. Un-friking-believable.

      V/M have raised the bar so much over the past 4 years that the stupid rule book should have seen a number of changes being made to reflect the difficulty of what they do, just like they have in pairs and singles. Some elements are done with more difficulty than others yet are not rewarded in dance.

      As a single skater, a triple axel is worth more than a triple toe. Why? Because there is more difficulty with the the axel (3.5 revolutions) than there is with the toe (3 revolutions). Oh, do some footwork/transitions INTO the jump like you are supposed to? Base mark goes up. Don't do it, oops, that element takes a hit on it's base and the GOE cause you didn't do it right.

      So how is it that the difficulty that V/M perform in so many of their elements is NOT rewarded in terms of at least a higher base? Because the ISU in the NOT-so-infinite wisdom decided it was far easier to reward the simple, the fast, the OK rather than change the rules to reflect the difficulty that is taking place on the ice.

      ISU's marking for dance = grade of F.

      Delete
    5. If we're talking real speed, it's not fast and faster. DW aren't fast, not with their stroking and their actual skating. They're not covering tons of ice.

      As the blog said before, look at other teams known for power and speed, in today's era and the past. They look nothing like D/W. They look like V/M. That's because D/W don't use their stroking and their blades to cover a lot of ice fast. They use running, flinging, lunging, hopping, pulling and sliding. They also "cover ice" by separating so there's a literal big footprint - Meryl here, Charlie there

      Delete
    6. P.S. - the base values in ice dance are criminal. It's in base value where DW are held up the most, because that's what puts them on par with VM out of the gate. Then GOE delivers the win.

      There is no rationale to an element's base value in ice dance. It's all what it looks like. In pairs, and singles, the sport works hard to discriminate between between easier and harder elements. In dance it's all clutter and what it looks like, so that the most primitive lift in ice dance - that melon ball, fetal thing DW do where they begin by both bending at the waist on two feet and clutching each other around the torso - gets the same base value VM's lifts. It's a scandal. Of course the commenting will bleat it's difficult. They said the old spin where Charlie actually swung Meryl into the spin - a clear rotational assist by the most elemental laws of motion - was "difficult".

      oc

      Delete
    7. "NDP had more content than Carmen?"
      How can any judge believe this? What do they do to these people at those seminars?

      Delete
    8. Anon at 5:46 am - how the hell one tries to sell VM not being tight with their music is ridiculous...and then if this poster actually attended a seminar and this was the selling point for DWs win - then they should have questioned it period...the mind boggles...did DWs win with the tango in 2011 - feel like a real tango - have they had a real latin flavour with their SD in 2012 - was Giselle really a ballet? Have they ever really translated a dance on ice besides Bollywood - hell even this year - their SD is more of a waltz rather than a foxtrot..

      Delete
    9. Giselle was an abomination. Never mind there was no skating in it, how did that relate to a ballet, and more importantly, how did that relate to a yankee-fucking-polka? All the criticism of V/M's SD last year that it was a waltz with a polka shoe-horned in. I though the program (and the music) transitioned seamlessly from the waltz to the polka (the most ridiculous dance if there ever was one), and V/M captured the beauty of the waltz in the rest of the dance. D/W's DF freedance of 2012 was 4 minutes of waltz, and that DID NOT capture the spirit of a waltz. A waltz is supposed to be elegant and sweeping, and D/W are none of those.

      Delete
    10. Well said anon at 6:25 am. Quick question - is Marina at the Cup of Russia? supporting one of her pair teams in Canton - Caitlin Y and her new partner ? just wondering...

      Delete
  8. Speaking of skaters who are full of b.s., looks like Piper is still working the press for her "special case": http://gritmag.com/almost-canadian-nearly-an-olympian/

    My favourite part is when she says she "censors herself" for events like the Fourth of July. Best delete your tweet then dear.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She's way ahead of you on that.

      Delete
    2. Oh, Piper. Wearing shirts with the maple leaf on them and cheering only for Canadian teams does not make you a Canadian. Nor does going back and deleting (aka censoring) your tweets relating to US holidays.

      Delete
    3. She doesn't even tweet about cheering for freaking Canadian hockey teams! She's a fan of the Chicago Blackhawks and Colorado Avalanche! It's like she doesn't even know how to TRY.

      Delete
    4. Tweet is still there, same crap as before: "Today marks the day of Americas freedom. It is the day that we celebrate our independents and the day we wear our colors proud Happy 4th!!!!

      Delete
    5. Trying to become Canadian because you suck too much to be successful in the US and your mommy's backdoor application not helping you does not equate to special service to Canada.

      Delete
    6. But they've got an MP advocating for them. How did that happen and on what grounds does he think her citizenship should be fast tracked?

      Delete
  9. The tweet from the 4th is still there. Along with lots of other rah rah America crap n her twitter. Not to mention that she refers to taking Paul "home" to the states ner the end of that article. It disgusts me. These clowns have no business trying to get special status for her.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Today marks the day of Americas freedom. It is the day that we celebrate our independents and the day we wear our colors proud Happy 4th!!!!
    Same crap as before.

    ReplyDelete
  11. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153454675415500&set=a.203759865499.258650.835015499&type=1

    This is a new angle with sham. Now they're trying to tell us that Cassandra is Tessa?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's not the new angle. The "new" angle (not new at all) is using the unexpected random person as their social media conduit to keep the sham public but pretend they're private.

      Delete
    2. Using a random person didn't surprise me. Labeling Cassandra as Tessa did. I thought it might have been a bungle with the sham, but you think that part was on purpose?

      Delete
    3. I cannot fathom why it would be labelled as Scott with Tessa. Did this person just assume that was Tessa and they didn't bother to correct her because hey, they knew that picture was going straight to the internet, bonus! Kind of begs the question of why Scott was hanging out with Cassandra anyway. He seems awfully fond of her and spends a lot of time with her for a fake girlfriend. Maybe there are problems in the marriage and what started out as a sham has become reality.

      Delete
    4. The photo was likely labeled that way so it would be found in a search for "Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir." It's just another way to make it easier for fans to "happen upon" public photos of Scott and his fake girlfriend. It's a set-up, as always.

      Delete
    5. Who is Tessa? Oh please OC make a post about this photo...

      Delete
    6. Scott's not "hanging out with Cassandra". This is a scam. This woman has the photo as her freaking profile picture. What would justify making Cassandra Hilborn her profile picture? Oh, I know, the woman's going to pretend she thought it was Tessa.

      I always figured pretended confusion between Cassandra and Tessa would be a popular gambit, but I thought it would be from the fans at events that like to make shit up, not on facebook.

      I thought the usual suspects among fans (the ones who always saw Scott with Jessica, every time) would use the Cassandra has long black hair angle to go - when I first saw her I thought it was Tessa! I had no idea Cassandra was even there! I only looked because I thought it was Tessa!

      And shit like that. We could see that coming.

      Here, this woman pretending she thinks it's Tessa justifies putting it as her profile picture. She's making like a clueless fan who just happened upon Scott Moir at Angelo's market and asked him to pose for a photo with the woman he was with, thinking it was Tessa. In reality, we're supposed to believe, she saw Scott in a real life moment with his real life girlfriend. That's how they're going with this now. Fake fans.

      Delete
  12. 11:34
    I agree with your assessment. Not only that, what a *coincidence* it should be posted exactly one week before TEB. Just like all the other sham drops that coincide with VM's competitive schedule.

    Who knows when this photo was taken (short sleeves in November in Canada? ok, if you say so). But the timing follows established and predictable patterns.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And this new angle (fake fan) is just one upmanship. That's the asshole.

      Why are they doing the reality show? Have they provided an actual reason?

      Why do they need to sham? They don't need to sham. These are small minded people who are hooked on this game.

      Delete
    2. Folks you have to laugh at this picture. First of all - as a "random" fan - if you recognize Scott Moir as a skater in London Ontario and ask him to take a picture of him - then you know what the hell Tessa Virtue looks like. Wouldn't you say as approach them for a photo - hey I am big of fan of your skating - do you mind if I take a picture - then Cassandra would have corrected her and said I am not Tessa Virtue and probably if she was normal would have said do you want me to take a picture of Scott and the random fan...

      Delete
    3. But Tessa and Cassandra look so much alike!! :P

      Delete
    4. Yes, but a judge on fsu said in her mind it was perfect.

      WHAT was perfect? The actual skating? Where was the actual skating? To her, she seems to be judging the package. The package matched the music. What does "using every beat" have to do with a short dance? You're supposed to use the music, and one uses music in a variety of ways, rise and fall, shifts in intensity, the flow of the melodic line observed in how the skaters flow across the ice.

      Based on this person's remarks, good skating is now a liability. An extended run of blade isn't doing enough. Better just chop up the ice with your toe picks. You'll use more beats that way.

      Delete