I don't know how I feel about this video blogger:
twisted broad video blog on Louis C.K.
because I haven't seen enough of her. Her tag is "twisted broad" and she's a 40something wife and parent who opinionates on her youtube videoblogs.
However, this one video blog entry, linked above, struck me because she's talking back - politely - to the "most popular kid in class" culturally, and it's Louis C.K.
Her headline, when she works up to it, is YOUR KID IS NOT YOU.
The Louis C.K. reference was what caught my eye, because recently, talking to someone about VM, a someone who has to market themselves in their own work, and talking with them about LM ("Little Moir", Virtue and Moir's three year old daughter), the person I was talking to remarked that somebody ought to have told Louis C.K. not to discuss his small child's private parts in his act, because that would really suck when the girl got older. Nobody apparently said DUDE, NO. Louis C.K. is being all real, so he's gonna go there, he's an obviously compassionate guy, obviously loves his kid, and this is who he is. His intent is not to harm -- and his kid is material. And it's universal. And she'll have to deal. I guess.
Getting to the LM part: Here, twistedbroad is disputing Louis C.K.'s lament about smart-phone dependent kids, and how nostalgic he is for his own tech-free upbringing. Her perspective is smart phones are here, and someone of their generation, including her generation, can't relate to what it means to grow up with today's technology (versus adapt to completely new technology as it's introduced). She disputes his POV that smart phones rob kids of empathy, alienate them from human interaction and thwart human connection. She dislikes his generalizations and his personalization. She claims her own kids are capable of putting down their phones and having a conversation, and that's because she gets to know her kids and it's because all kids aren't the same, and it's because it makes a difference if you don't alienate yourself from the environment your children occupy. As I'm describing it here she sounds like one of those assholes, but she goes into it thoroughly, and I get what she means and she has a point. Her main point is - the kid with the smart phone isn't Louis C.K. Her point is HER kids aren't her. So she (and Louis C.K.) can't impose their nostalgia or their uninformed (because it's simply not their experience) perspective on how negatively the smart phone is going to impact their kid's maturation and ability to relate/empathize/connect. And it's also unfair to impose on your child the way you want to feel about things (that one made me think of Tessa).
AND she says - Louis C.K. has no idea what it's like to have a famous parent. He has no clue. His daughter does. He doesn't. He doesn't know what it's like to have a parent that's famous that everybody loves and maybe you feel like crap and you're keeping it secret (she's not saying his kid feels like crap, she's saying his kid is not him, and his kid is having an experience that is completely different than Louis C.K.'s experience in life and possibly the phone helps. YOUR KID IS NOT YOU).
That's when I thought about LM and some of the shit VM have done either without a fucking thought about the blowback when she's older, or with the almighty arrogance that they know how it's going to affect her. Irrevocable, no turning back shit, from the exclusion of her throughout their Olympic careers while they simultaneously shout out everybody from their neices to their SYTYCD choreographer to their freaking buddies, to the revolting salacious fake gf image litter all over the web, to the "reality" show where mom and dad are telling us how honest they are while lying through their teeth before turning around and showcasing every media whore in their lives including their families and closest friends, and exclude their child, and then they bang the drum telling the world this is the real them.
They apparently already have met 12 year old Little Moir and know it's going to be fine with her and she's not going to feel like shit. They already talked it over with 30 year old Little Moir and know it's fine with her she's not anywhere on the record in her storied parents' careers and she has nothing public to show her grandchildren. (History is public. It's not private. Otherwise wouldn't all the scrapbooks Scott's freaking "buddies" have, all their memories, all their images, all their shared experiences with Scott and Tessa be enough? All the home videos? Why do they need a reality show to show off to US? They treat us like garbage. Why the need?* Because it's PUBLIC. THAT's history. They then become part of the permanent record.).
Nope. Tessa and Scott have spoken with 12 year old Little Moir and 30 year old Little Moir and she understands she's meant to be grateful and think the same way they think.
Or maybe Kate signed off on it all and that's good enough. After all, she raised Tessa. How could she be wrong?
Look at the decisions Tessa and Scott have made - look at their choices, their choices not to do things, side by side with the proactive choices they've made - how there's no wriggle room. How everything is all in, no exit strategy, no safety net or gray area. There's no - what if we're wrong? They've left nothing in the margins for "what if this doesn't play out for her as we've been counseled it would."
Nope. All in. On a child's life experience as she grows, repeatedly and purposefully compounded with every word out of their mouths, so there's not even the potential of Scott and Tessa saying "We made a mistake." Or "We were caught up." It's deliberate. It's concerted. It's intentional. It's repeated. They're fully aware.
They have no idea what it's like to be her, or will be like to be her, left with the detritus of Scott and Tessa's decisions, and they did it anyway. It's good to see the humility and the empathy. Maybe we can blame Scott and Tessa's smart phones? I, personally, think Windsor U's psych program has a lot to answer for.
I also know that no legitimate family counselor or psychologist who wasn't a star fucker would co-sign 80% of what they've put in public, knowing they have a child.
That, I think, is another component of the sham that makes people recoil from Scott and Tessa and knocks us sideways with the arrogance. They don't know shit about her because they don't know what it's like to have themselves for parents. They're imposing they're own piety on her (all of this is holy on our part because we're keeping her OUT of the public eye) without calculating the effect of the shit they choose to put IN the public eye.
Scott and Tessa are faux-private parents whose tech and social media savvy, culturally speaking, begins and ends at text messaging. That's obvious just watching them anywhere else. They don't know cause and effect, how a relates to b, they have no long game, they don't know what consistency means, they don't follow through the logical implications of about half of what comes out of their mouths.
For me, it's the two things in combination that are a horror. What they chose to keep out (HER) and what they chose to put in public.
When they make a choice about one, that needs, for her sake, to impact the choices they make about the second. It didn't. They wanted it both ways. It's keeping her out combined with what they chose to put in where the arrogance asserted itself. They didn't follow through on the respect they ought to have shown her, the respect that we must pretend initially drove their decision to keep her existence unacknowledged in the first place. If you keep someone out to protect them, following through means you have to be mindful of what you decide to put in. They weren't and aren't.
_______________________________
*Even Scott, a long time ago (way before the Olympics) was on his fb trying to get good, professional pictures of Skate Canada. What? Alma wasn't there with the camera? Why was Scott trying to get hooked up with the public material?
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Re-setting
I have been working/volunteering on a (non-blog-related, but computer-based) project that meant I couldn't stand the sight of a computer or do anything else while I was on it, but it's finally done. Apologies - usually I manage to show up and give a heads up as to still being among the living, blogwise, but in this case the time completely got away from me; throw in the holidays and that's where most of the month has gone. I did not even visit the blog, which is a first, so was not ignoring comments.
I don't have a "dog ate my homework" excuse. I was "helping" with something and it turned out to be so unexpectedly intensive, I couldn't muster the mental energy to keep up with anything else. Not just skating - nothing. Not politics, not gossip, not sports. It was purely computer-related brain fry - I could read a paper, read a book, watch a movie, but I couldn't read shit on the computer.
While catching up tonight, I have read this about Ayn Rand (author of Tessa's favorite book):
I am going to catch up with comments, and before doing so, wish to remark that when one is removed from the sham situation and then the brain returns to it, distance from it makes it look even MORE stupid and insane than we think it is. It is beyond retarded, and worthy of every potshot the blog and everyone else has taken. Absence does not put it into perspective - or rather, absence puts it in even clearer perspective - the self-importance and then the second-hand embarrassment at seeing the self-importance just rolls in waves off and around this thing.
Prior to being away from the blog, I'd understood that some of the VM facebook crowd were hoping that Scott and Tessa would be appropriately rewarded at the Olympics, as they had not been at the GPF. But Scott and Tessa were appropriately awarded at the GPF; it is Meryl and Charlie who were scored inappropriately. Even Cassandra's mother charged the judges with injustice to Scott and Tessa - which implies underscoring. Nobody is going after the Emperor's New Clothes of Meryl and Charlie's scoring, which is the core issue. Not even Tessa and Scott's non-Arctic Edge community.
OTOH, there's no problem with Meryl and Charlie using Scott and Tessa's reality show to polish their halo, as we see in this old trick from Lynn Rutherford:
Lynn Rutherford: For those who wondered: Davis&White say with so much media around this season, they're not distracted by Virtue&Moir's reality show filming.
The trick part is where you pretend to have received a lot of emails/inquiries about something so you can speak to a topic you're dying to address but don't want it to seem as if you're bringing it up yourself. Scott and Tessa use this ALL the time when they want to lay something off on fans, but of course, DW's partisans are using it where it counts.
Duly noted Rutherford declines to call it a documentary.
Congratulations to Piper Gilles for getting her citizenship - it's a good precedent that a skater in competition for the third slot on an Olympic team against teams that are already Canadian qualifies as contributing enough special services to Canada to be expressed to the front of the line. And congratulations to the MP who, without really explaining why, made her his special cause.
I don't have a "dog ate my homework" excuse. I was "helping" with something and it turned out to be so unexpectedly intensive, I couldn't muster the mental energy to keep up with anything else. Not just skating - nothing. Not politics, not gossip, not sports. It was purely computer-related brain fry - I could read a paper, read a book, watch a movie, but I couldn't read shit on the computer.
While catching up tonight, I have read this about Ayn Rand (author of Tessa's favorite book):
13 year old girls absolutely love her because the idea of doing exactly what you want, and not compromising nor putting anyone else’s needs before your own, is the fantasy of every teenager in the world.
Prior to being away from the blog, I'd understood that some of the VM facebook crowd were hoping that Scott and Tessa would be appropriately rewarded at the Olympics, as they had not been at the GPF. But Scott and Tessa were appropriately awarded at the GPF; it is Meryl and Charlie who were scored inappropriately. Even Cassandra's mother charged the judges with injustice to Scott and Tessa - which implies underscoring. Nobody is going after the Emperor's New Clothes of Meryl and Charlie's scoring, which is the core issue. Not even Tessa and Scott's non-Arctic Edge community.
OTOH, there's no problem with Meryl and Charlie using Scott and Tessa's reality show to polish their halo, as we see in this old trick from Lynn Rutherford:
Lynn Rutherford: For those who wondered: Davis&White say with so much media around this season, they're not distracted by Virtue&Moir's reality show filming.
The trick part is where you pretend to have received a lot of emails/inquiries about something so you can speak to a topic you're dying to address but don't want it to seem as if you're bringing it up yourself. Scott and Tessa use this ALL the time when they want to lay something off on fans, but of course, DW's partisans are using it where it counts.
Duly noted Rutherford declines to call it a documentary.
Congratulations to Piper Gilles for getting her citizenship - it's a good precedent that a skater in competition for the third slot on an Olympic team against teams that are already Canadian qualifies as contributing enough special services to Canada to be expressed to the front of the line. And congratulations to the MP who, without really explaining why, made her his special cause.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Scott's not a spinning stool
This comparison by Canadablue shows that Tessa isn't actually sitting on Scott's shoulders. Meryl is, however, lying on Charlie. I wonder what the mechanical texts on amazon.com say about those physics.
I think the spinning stool poster said Tessa using her thighs or butt made no difference, you just readjust your center of gravity. How did a retired engineer overlook that readjusting your center of gravity under these conditions takes tremendous core strength and a brilliant awareness/control of one's body in space?
Readjusting her center of gravity is something at which Tessa excels. She's a genius at distributing her weight and adjusting her balance. But this poster doesn't seem to recognize that adjusting your center of gravity is a skill. One that other ice dancers don't do as well after vaulting onto another human being off the edge of a skate blade.
Here's Virtue and Moir not being tight with their music, versus DW's own ballroom take on My Fair Lady.
Also some round up from the weekend:
Scott being a bad boyfriend:
 |
| This is just their "characters on the ice." Nice job, even though Tessa recently told us she's a terrible, terrible actress. Scott/Tessa and Meryl/Charlie are each platonic partners where the male partner is conspicuously dating somebody else off ice and the female's romantic status is unknown. Yet this sort of thing constantly breaks out when Scott and Tessa skate together, even at a GPF, and it never breaks out with Charlie and Meryl, even though they share a coach. |
Maybe next time they'll bring in that emotion the free dance was missing.
Someone who saw these photos joked that Scott can't say his gf is in the sport, so "she understands", but after Mama Hilborn's fb vents this weekend it looks like the Hilborns believe helping Scott and Tessa hoax the public has given them credentials. They're now in the sport.
Judge Shawn Rettstatt
I'm reposting this from goldenskate by request (not the request of the poster, Matt K. At someone else's request.)
It's about this guy:
Here's the link to the original post.
Matt K's goldenskate post about Judge Shawn Rettsat of the US
Can anyone confirm that Rettstatt is on the Olympic dance panel?
Matt K's post (other people's quotes to which he is responding are in blue and purple regular type and italics). His post is in bold and italics. His pdf links are live on his post or they can be cut-and-pasted from here, I believe, but the links in this re-post aren't live, obviously.
Quote Originally Posted by Macassar88 View Post
http://www.isuresults.com/results/gpf1314/SEG008OF.HTM
Mr. Shawn Rettsatt of the USA
Quote Originally Posted by Mrs. P View Post
Why are people assuming that it's him? Just because he's American? We don't know who gave what score (to all our chagrin), so I don't think it's fair to accuse him.
Shawn Rettsatt has been judging for years. If he was scoring people to undermine competitors, certainly he would have had a talking to by now.
ETA: If there's some history of him scoring V/M low in past events, then perhaps there's validity in the assumption, however please point that out rather than throwing generalities.
ETA2: Okay, apparently there was a judge at the 2011 4CC that gave V/M 5s in PCS and it happened to be that Shawn Rettsatt was on the judging panel. However correlation=/=causation. Unless it's been publicly declared somehow, there is no way to prove he was the judge in question in either situation. It's speculation at best. http://www.isuresults.com/results/fc..._SD_Scores.pdf
Since you asked I'll take you up on your offer. I researched the events that SHAWN RETTSTATT (USA) has judged V/M in from all the events from last year and this year. And in these events that Shawn Rettstatt was judging V/M, there is always one judge's set of marks for V/M that are significantly lower than the rest . Most interesting is at Worlds 2013 SD (where he sat on the panel and V/M got lowballed by one judge) vs the FD (in which he did not sit on the panel and V/M's marks rose again). I'll get to this near the end of the post.
CoR 2012: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gprus2012/
V/M judge #5 SD:
GPF 2012: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gpf1213/
V/M judge #1 SD: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gp..._SD_Scores.pdf
V/M judge # 5 FD: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gp..._FD_Scores.pdf
GPF 2013: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gpf1314/
V/M judge #7 SD: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gp..._SD_Scores.pdf
V/M judge #1 FD: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gp..._FD_Scores.pdf
Worlds 2013, SD:
http://www.isuresults.com/results/wc2013
V/M judge #1 SD: http://www.isuresults.com/results/wc..._SD_Scores.pdf
In the FD, unlike the SD, SHAWN RETTSTATT (USA) was not drawn to judge on the FD panel. And surprise, surprise. In that segment, V/M didn't get lowballed by a single judge. In fact every single one of them gave them at least a 10.00 somewhere in PCS and all marks across the FD panel were consistently in the mid to high 9s - 10s: http://www.isuresults.com/results/wc..._FD_Scores.pdf
I think it's hilarious whichever judge gave V/M 5s in all PCS marks at 2011 4CC, though. Shawn Rettstatt or not, seeing those numbers on paper is pretty funny You'd think that she or he would know better and might actually be asked to provide some explanation in the roundtable discussions.
You mentioned that "But in the end, again, it doesn't matter because the scores were thrown out". But when marks are so close between V/M and D/W, it does make a difference. At this particular GPF in Japan this one judge's marks for V/M were glaringly obvious in both SD and FD (8s?) that I hope is looked into.
I think someone posted here that Shawn Rettstatt will be the US Olympic ice dance judge in Sochi. Oh Goody. When that time comes I'll keep my eyes peeled for a set of marks given to V/M that rivals that of Chock/Bates
***********
Rettstatt lowballs VM in skating skills and linking moves.
I love Mrs. P. Oh it couldn't be, because if one judge were consistently screwing over VM, he'd be given a good talking to!
Yes, because figure skating is so so so so on the up and up. And judges faithfully refer to the rulebook when they score skaters. They're not scoring who is "tight with their music" "gives 110%" or "the real deal"; they're not getting the dirt done in GOE and pcs. It's strictly by the rulebook.
All the practices required in the judging game are there to promote the impression of integrity and to cover their asses, not to ensure actual integrity. We all know there are businesses that do the same thing; it's not unique.
I haven't read all that many interviews with judges, but the ones who do speak out sound like morons. I don't know what they're doing at those seminars - maybe making sure they know enough to pass the tests that get them credentials, and then that's the end of applying their training to their judging. I'm not simply referring to the judge who posts on fsu, but the former judge quoted as saying Katerina Witt was Carmen and other incisive observations about skating merit.
I'm sure everyone's eyes are rolling in the back of their heads when some people wax sanctimonious about how the ISU regulates itself to assure integrity. The ISU regulates itself to assure its ass is covered.
The incremental dings in the scores that make sure this skating team scores lower than the other skating team. The fact that CoP is pseudo statistical means that the dirt can be done in the margins, with fractions and shades, a lot of little point leaks, and then the protocols sheet looks on the up and up. One of the ways to cook the scores is to be the outlier intentionally, so you're the one tossed and the lowest score that would have gotten tossed stays in. The lowest score could be from a judge scoring more conservatively across the board than the rest of the panel. So for Virtue and Moir, that judge is counted because you scored much lower and got your scores thrown out. For Davis and White, you don't need to score higher than the highest scoring judge, you just need to score higher than the conservative scoring judge, so Virtue and Moir get that person's low scores factored in, Davis and White don't.
And we can't even tell if Virtue and Moir's Judge 2 is Davis and White's Judge 2, for example, because the ISU even wants THAT secret (because of that danger of undue influence and bribery which secrecy actually promotes, so that's classic ISU up is down logic). The ISU is the mafia of sports.
After this weekend's event, Scott echoed earlier quotes from Charlie about what a great story is this rivalry. It is? A rivalry where one team is never permitted to defeat another, even when the winners are outskated? What kind of story is that? Virtue and Moir aren't allowed to beat Davis White.
As to the integrity of the sport, in 2010 Marina Zoueva and Igor Shpilband said they had no idea until the ice dance event itself if their teams would be allowed to prevail. Everyone agreed that the ice dance event at Worlds 2009 came down to who coached whom. I suppose since Meryl and Charlie started winning everything that's when the sport became clean.
Here are some quotes from a 2009 interview with Maia Usova:
What are your thoughts on ice dancing today? Do you follow it? Ever since I decided to become a certified technical specialist – yes. I don’t know why, but I suddenly thought of getting back into elite figure skating. I still can’t explain it. I guess it’s because of what I saw, that most technical specialists are Canadians and Americans. Until recently, there was only one of ours, Sergei Ponomarenko. I thought this was wrong, I guess. You can always see that even technical specialists have their biases. The fact that such a judge receives practically no compensation only exacerbates the problem. I think that if those people had a solid salary, they would at a minim fear losing it.
Do you like that work? Honestly, I’m not sure yet. If I didn’t have a husband that makes me feel safe and protected in every way, I wouldn’t be doing it. I wouldn’t live in Russia, either. What’s more, over the last two years I’ve acquired quite a few enemies because of my work. Some Russian coaches just expect that I must automatically give their athletes high levels. But I can’t do that when the stuff isn’t there. Sometimes, though, they just don’t understand.
Rettstatt was on the USFSA board of directors, at least in 2005. He's a high profile member of the USFSA, appears at general conferences and seminars. He's one of their representatives. He's not somebody who is going to be taken aside. He's somebody who takes others aside.
www.usfsa.org/Content/2011InternationalSelections.pdf
www.usfigureskating.org/content/BOD-ROA-May-Nov-2007.pdf
He's not just a judge and former skater, his history is a high ranking voting member of the USFSA infrastructure.
Furthermore, if this is him, do we really think he's the only rotten apple in the barrel? That when you have a situation that we had this weekend, that the incremental differences leaving DW in first by an under two point margin is just how it all shook out?
When there's an off the grid mark, the purpose is to keep in the next lowest that would otherwise be thrown out. If it's Rettstatt, I'm sure he didn't invent this. If quick-on-the-uptake fans figured this out a long time ago, you know judging panels have.
Do we think there's only corruption in Russia among judges from former eastern bloc countries or countries with a big population from there?
Rettstatt IS fb friends with Jacquie White, but also with David Islam. Islam's a coach, though, not just a (grateful?) dad. It's like Tanith said - you need your judge there. And I guess not just to give you what you deserve, but to block your opponents.
Ice dance is corrupt. It's always been corrupt. It's corrupt today.
It's about this guy:
 |
| Shawn Rettstatt |
Matt K's goldenskate post about Judge Shawn Rettsat of the US
Can anyone confirm that Rettstatt is on the Olympic dance panel?
Matt K's post (other people's quotes to which he is responding are in blue and purple regular type and italics). His post is in bold and italics. His pdf links are live on his post or they can be cut-and-pasted from here, I believe, but the links in this re-post aren't live, obviously.
Quote Originally Posted by Macassar88 View Post
http://www.isuresults.com/results/gpf1314/SEG008OF.HTM
Mr. Shawn Rettsatt of the USA
Quote Originally Posted by Mrs. P View Post
Why are people assuming that it's him? Just because he's American? We don't know who gave what score (to all our chagrin), so I don't think it's fair to accuse him.
Shawn Rettsatt has been judging for years. If he was scoring people to undermine competitors, certainly he would have had a talking to by now.
ETA: If there's some history of him scoring V/M low in past events, then perhaps there's validity in the assumption, however please point that out rather than throwing generalities.
ETA2: Okay, apparently there was a judge at the 2011 4CC that gave V/M 5s in PCS and it happened to be that Shawn Rettsatt was on the judging panel. However correlation=/=causation. Unless it's been publicly declared somehow, there is no way to prove he was the judge in question in either situation. It's speculation at best. http://www.isuresults.com/results/fc..._SD_Scores.pdf
Since you asked I'll take you up on your offer. I researched the events that SHAWN RETTSTATT (USA) has judged V/M in from all the events from last year and this year. And in these events that Shawn Rettstatt was judging V/M, there is always one judge's set of marks for V/M that are significantly lower than the rest . Most interesting is at Worlds 2013 SD (where he sat on the panel and V/M got lowballed by one judge) vs the FD (in which he did not sit on the panel and V/M's marks rose again). I'll get to this near the end of the post.
CoR 2012: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gprus2012/
V/M judge #5 SD:
GPF 2012: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gpf1213/
V/M judge #1 SD: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gp..._SD_Scores.pdf
V/M judge # 5 FD: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gp..._FD_Scores.pdf
GPF 2013: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gpf1314/
V/M judge #7 SD: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gp..._SD_Scores.pdf
V/M judge #1 FD: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gp..._FD_Scores.pdf
Worlds 2013, SD:
http://www.isuresults.com/results/wc2013
V/M judge #1 SD: http://www.isuresults.com/results/wc..._SD_Scores.pdf
In the FD, unlike the SD, SHAWN RETTSTATT (USA) was not drawn to judge on the FD panel. And surprise, surprise. In that segment, V/M didn't get lowballed by a single judge. In fact every single one of them gave them at least a 10.00 somewhere in PCS and all marks across the FD panel were consistently in the mid to high 9s - 10s: http://www.isuresults.com/results/wc..._FD_Scores.pdf
I think it's hilarious whichever judge gave V/M 5s in all PCS marks at 2011 4CC, though. Shawn Rettstatt or not, seeing those numbers on paper is pretty funny You'd think that she or he would know better and might actually be asked to provide some explanation in the roundtable discussions.
You mentioned that "But in the end, again, it doesn't matter because the scores were thrown out". But when marks are so close between V/M and D/W, it does make a difference. At this particular GPF in Japan this one judge's marks for V/M were glaringly obvious in both SD and FD (8s?) that I hope is looked into.
I think someone posted here that Shawn Rettstatt will be the US Olympic ice dance judge in Sochi. Oh Goody. When that time comes I'll keep my eyes peeled for a set of marks given to V/M that rivals that of Chock/Bates
***********
Rettstatt lowballs VM in skating skills and linking moves.
I love Mrs. P. Oh it couldn't be, because if one judge were consistently screwing over VM, he'd be given a good talking to!
Yes, because figure skating is so so so so on the up and up. And judges faithfully refer to the rulebook when they score skaters. They're not scoring who is "tight with their music" "gives 110%" or "the real deal"; they're not getting the dirt done in GOE and pcs. It's strictly by the rulebook.
All the practices required in the judging game are there to promote the impression of integrity and to cover their asses, not to ensure actual integrity. We all know there are businesses that do the same thing; it's not unique.
I haven't read all that many interviews with judges, but the ones who do speak out sound like morons. I don't know what they're doing at those seminars - maybe making sure they know enough to pass the tests that get them credentials, and then that's the end of applying their training to their judging. I'm not simply referring to the judge who posts on fsu, but the former judge quoted as saying Katerina Witt was Carmen and other incisive observations about skating merit.
I'm sure everyone's eyes are rolling in the back of their heads when some people wax sanctimonious about how the ISU regulates itself to assure integrity. The ISU regulates itself to assure its ass is covered.
The incremental dings in the scores that make sure this skating team scores lower than the other skating team. The fact that CoP is pseudo statistical means that the dirt can be done in the margins, with fractions and shades, a lot of little point leaks, and then the protocols sheet looks on the up and up. One of the ways to cook the scores is to be the outlier intentionally, so you're the one tossed and the lowest score that would have gotten tossed stays in. The lowest score could be from a judge scoring more conservatively across the board than the rest of the panel. So for Virtue and Moir, that judge is counted because you scored much lower and got your scores thrown out. For Davis and White, you don't need to score higher than the highest scoring judge, you just need to score higher than the conservative scoring judge, so Virtue and Moir get that person's low scores factored in, Davis and White don't.
And we can't even tell if Virtue and Moir's Judge 2 is Davis and White's Judge 2, for example, because the ISU even wants THAT secret (because of that danger of undue influence and bribery which secrecy actually promotes, so that's classic ISU up is down logic). The ISU is the mafia of sports.
After this weekend's event, Scott echoed earlier quotes from Charlie about what a great story is this rivalry. It is? A rivalry where one team is never permitted to defeat another, even when the winners are outskated? What kind of story is that? Virtue and Moir aren't allowed to beat Davis White.
As to the integrity of the sport, in 2010 Marina Zoueva and Igor Shpilband said they had no idea until the ice dance event itself if their teams would be allowed to prevail. Everyone agreed that the ice dance event at Worlds 2009 came down to who coached whom. I suppose since Meryl and Charlie started winning everything that's when the sport became clean.
Here are some quotes from a 2009 interview with Maia Usova:
What are your thoughts on ice dancing today? Do you follow it? Ever since I decided to become a certified technical specialist – yes. I don’t know why, but I suddenly thought of getting back into elite figure skating. I still can’t explain it. I guess it’s because of what I saw, that most technical specialists are Canadians and Americans. Until recently, there was only one of ours, Sergei Ponomarenko. I thought this was wrong, I guess. You can always see that even technical specialists have their biases. The fact that such a judge receives practically no compensation only exacerbates the problem. I think that if those people had a solid salary, they would at a minim fear losing it.
Do you like that work? Honestly, I’m not sure yet. If I didn’t have a husband that makes me feel safe and protected in every way, I wouldn’t be doing it. I wouldn’t live in Russia, either. What’s more, over the last two years I’ve acquired quite a few enemies because of my work. Some Russian coaches just expect that I must automatically give their athletes high levels. But I can’t do that when the stuff isn’t there. Sometimes, though, they just don’t understand.
Rettstatt was on the USFSA board of directors, at least in 2005. He's a high profile member of the USFSA, appears at general conferences and seminars. He's one of their representatives. He's not somebody who is going to be taken aside. He's somebody who takes others aside.
www.usfsa.org/Content/2011InternationalSelections.pdf
www.usfigureskating.org/content/BOD-ROA-May-Nov-2007.pdf
He's not just a judge and former skater, his history is a high ranking voting member of the USFSA infrastructure.
Furthermore, if this is him, do we really think he's the only rotten apple in the barrel? That when you have a situation that we had this weekend, that the incremental differences leaving DW in first by an under two point margin is just how it all shook out?
When there's an off the grid mark, the purpose is to keep in the next lowest that would otherwise be thrown out. If it's Rettstatt, I'm sure he didn't invent this. If quick-on-the-uptake fans figured this out a long time ago, you know judging panels have.
Do we think there's only corruption in Russia among judges from former eastern bloc countries or countries with a big population from there?
Rettstatt IS fb friends with Jacquie White, but also with David Islam. Islam's a coach, though, not just a (grateful?) dad. It's like Tanith said - you need your judge there. And I guess not just to give you what you deserve, but to block your opponents.
Ice dance is corrupt. It's always been corrupt. It's corrupt today.
Friday, December 6, 2013
Piggybacking
Here they are
This is not dissimilar to B/S versus W/P at Rostelcom, in that the dirt is done in the short dance.
It does tell us that the judges have decided they can score DW ahead of even a perfect VM as long as DW don't make more than one mistake. So it's DW that now have the one mistake cushion.
The scores themselves are determined by how VM skate. If VM skate a world record, it doesn't matter how DW skate, DW's score will automatically be piggybacked onto VM's score with a +. We can see that here. If DW went first, no matter how they skated, they'd get the 77 baseline and, depending on how VM skate, VM would score fractionally below or a few points below.
As Tanith has been working hard all year to tell us that the non-skating free "dance" Scherherazade is the best free dance today, that's always going to be about three points ahead of VM. That's what this looks like, if the GPF is going to Rostelcom itself, if Rostelcom was actually the shoe drop to let us know how the Olympic scoring is going to work.
With B/S versus W/P, B/S's free dance is a hot, screaming mess. The judges surely know that. So they need a short dance cushion.
With VM versus DW, the VM short dance destroys the DW short dance. So tie them. Hell, as long as we're tying them, stick DW ahead. If the short dance were scored fairly, VM would be several points ahead of DW for the free, and if VM skated the free well, it would be difficult for DW to pull in an overall win even if they won the free. So because VM's short dance is so incredible, the important part is to never let them pull ahead in the short.
This is not dissimilar to B/S versus W/P at Rostelcom, in that the dirt is done in the short dance.
It does tell us that the judges have decided they can score DW ahead of even a perfect VM as long as DW don't make more than one mistake. So it's DW that now have the one mistake cushion.
The scores themselves are determined by how VM skate. If VM skate a world record, it doesn't matter how DW skate, DW's score will automatically be piggybacked onto VM's score with a +. We can see that here. If DW went first, no matter how they skated, they'd get the 77 baseline and, depending on how VM skate, VM would score fractionally below or a few points below.
As Tanith has been working hard all year to tell us that the non-skating free "dance" Scherherazade is the best free dance today, that's always going to be about three points ahead of VM. That's what this looks like, if the GPF is going to Rostelcom itself, if Rostelcom was actually the shoe drop to let us know how the Olympic scoring is going to work.
With B/S versus W/P, B/S's free dance is a hot, screaming mess. The judges surely know that. So they need a short dance cushion.
With VM versus DW, the VM short dance destroys the DW short dance. So tie them. Hell, as long as we're tying them, stick DW ahead. If the short dance were scored fairly, VM would be several points ahead of DW for the free, and if VM skated the free well, it would be difficult for DW to pull in an overall win even if they won the free. So because VM's short dance is so incredible, the important part is to never let them pull ahead in the short.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
So much for Rosie DiManno
Rosie's back to being ignorant
Months ago the blog tried to hope that Rosie DiManno saw an opportunity and was attempting to fill the gap where quasi-informed figure skating journalism ought to be but isn't. To do this, she would have had to educate herself about figure skating. Nobody was looking for her to be in-depth, just understand some fundamentals of technique and basic skating that can be self-taught.
Maybe she never tried, maybe she tried and it took too much time away from the bar.
In this article she comes up with a caustic but apt name for Meryl Davis on the ice (I don't find it apt based on Rosie's description of Meryl's face, but apt as to how Meryl functions on the ice in lifts), and then declares Davis White the most technically proficient team in ice dance and also declares that nobody, not even Virtue and Moir, can match their blazing speed.
Yeah, Virtue and Moir are faster. This last demonstrates that DiManno isn't even looking. She attends the competitions but she thinks speed is defined in a special way when it's on a rink and not on turf or asphalt, I guess. A lot of term definitions become inverted when it comes to figure skating, that's how people can call a team the best out there when they're not actually skating.
This is what it's like with figure skating "journalism". You read something like Rosie DiManno and get all worked up contemplating registering with a screen name to comment, and then realize it's like pouring a thimble of water on a campfire. There's no push back on the ignorant. The many people/erzatz journalists who write about figure skating "for fun" LIKE that they don't have to know anything about it to write about it with authority and make sweeping declarations. It's a vacation from actually researching their real articles, or knowing what they're talking about.
These quotes:
From Scott: But at the same time we like to measure up — measure ourselves up to the best in the world. This competition, not only with Meryl and Charlie but the top six teams in the world — it’s always fun for us competing against that calibre of skater.
Charlie: Technically, I think we’re a very strong team and always have been. That’s always been our base. But certainly the maturity that we’ve shown on the ice, the storytelling, the character and just making it believable.
support some comments to the post below this that Virtue Moir are always happy to recognize their competition, while Davis White are self-referential. And for the untutored, what Charlie means by "technically" is "technicalities". They do all the work arounds the rulebook allows - and the ice dance rulebook leaves plenty. That's not even taking into consideration that some low level ISU seminars pro-actively instruct novice judges to disregard the rulebook and look for "being busy with the music and doing lots of stuff. Also, give 110% and don't be too pretty."
"Technically" Meryl and Charlie are not proficient in the skating sense. But that's not important in ice dance.
The first practice report mentions that Virtue Moir struggled a bit with the forward facing lift and then did it properly many times in succession. I also hope they did the footwork sequence properly many times in succession. I'm sure everything is going to be perfect at the event itself, no aggravating glitches that hand Davis White their 47th GPF win in a row. There's no reason to expect anything but a winning performance, since Virtue and Moir hit the ground running earlier than usual after last season, and since their mental game is stronger than ever. The reality show hasn't been even the slightest bit distracting.
Months ago the blog tried to hope that Rosie DiManno saw an opportunity and was attempting to fill the gap where quasi-informed figure skating journalism ought to be but isn't. To do this, she would have had to educate herself about figure skating. Nobody was looking for her to be in-depth, just understand some fundamentals of technique and basic skating that can be self-taught.
Maybe she never tried, maybe she tried and it took too much time away from the bar.
In this article she comes up with a caustic but apt name for Meryl Davis on the ice (I don't find it apt based on Rosie's description of Meryl's face, but apt as to how Meryl functions on the ice in lifts), and then declares Davis White the most technically proficient team in ice dance and also declares that nobody, not even Virtue and Moir, can match their blazing speed.
Yeah, Virtue and Moir are faster. This last demonstrates that DiManno isn't even looking. She attends the competitions but she thinks speed is defined in a special way when it's on a rink and not on turf or asphalt, I guess. A lot of term definitions become inverted when it comes to figure skating, that's how people can call a team the best out there when they're not actually skating.
This is what it's like with figure skating "journalism". You read something like Rosie DiManno and get all worked up contemplating registering with a screen name to comment, and then realize it's like pouring a thimble of water on a campfire. There's no push back on the ignorant. The many people/erzatz journalists who write about figure skating "for fun" LIKE that they don't have to know anything about it to write about it with authority and make sweeping declarations. It's a vacation from actually researching their real articles, or knowing what they're talking about.
These quotes:
From Scott: But at the same time we like to measure up — measure ourselves up to the best in the world. This competition, not only with Meryl and Charlie but the top six teams in the world — it’s always fun for us competing against that calibre of skater.
Charlie: Technically, I think we’re a very strong team and always have been. That’s always been our base. But certainly the maturity that we’ve shown on the ice, the storytelling, the character and just making it believable.
support some comments to the post below this that Virtue Moir are always happy to recognize their competition, while Davis White are self-referential. And for the untutored, what Charlie means by "technically" is "technicalities". They do all the work arounds the rulebook allows - and the ice dance rulebook leaves plenty. That's not even taking into consideration that some low level ISU seminars pro-actively instruct novice judges to disregard the rulebook and look for "being busy with the music and doing lots of stuff. Also, give 110% and don't be too pretty."
"Technically" Meryl and Charlie are not proficient in the skating sense. But that's not important in ice dance.
The first practice report mentions that Virtue Moir struggled a bit with the forward facing lift and then did it properly many times in succession. I also hope they did the footwork sequence properly many times in succession. I'm sure everything is going to be perfect at the event itself, no aggravating glitches that hand Davis White their 47th GPF win in a row. There's no reason to expect anything but a winning performance, since Virtue and Moir hit the ground running earlier than usual after last season, and since their mental game is stronger than ever. The reality show hasn't been even the slightest bit distracting.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Virtue Moir versus Davis White 2009-(projected) 2014
Once again, thank you canadablue.
Some DW fans claim the reason Davis White's scores have risen is they've surpassed Virtue Moir (and I guess since some fans can't demonstrate how Davis White have improved, they instead claim Virtue Moir have declined, while being unable to demonstrate that, either).
The video is depressing, but instructive. But after CoR, the sport did show its ass. Or is it only B&S who are getting score inflation?
Again, great skating skills look the same from team to team, skater to skater. Technique in elements from one to another may vary. For example, Sergei Grinkov continued to glide when throwing his partner into the 3 twist or a jump, and Trankov pops off the ice in both, but both skaters have great knee compression, deep, powerful run of blade/ice coverage, and real speed. Both skaters skate their program. How come Davis White are the only skaters out there whose basic skating doesn't resemble any other skater before or since with great skating skills?
I was looking at a pilates tape the other day. All of the advanced moves involved extending the plane of the body away from the core while maintaining control. Every single lift Davis White do reduces the move to cores and centers of gravity pasted together while pinning limbs with limbs or while hooking limbs - or by dispensing with control all together (Charlie swinging a splayed-legged Meryl up under his shoulders).
With Meryl, especially, she cannot control her own body weight (that's right, Meryl Davis can't control her own body weight no matter how she whittles down her size) without resistance. Resistance means give her weight over to something external and pushing against it, or have something external push against her. Or locking her limb in (for example, in the transitional move of a lift last year, she actually pushed down/gripped her own leg because she couldn't keep the leg extended without using her arm/shoulder to press down).
She can't control herself in space with her core and control of her body. She always uses external resistance. This simplifies moves even in training tapes for the at home consumer, but in ice dance, these moves score the same base value as moves that require truly superior body control and skating skills to execute.
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