Pinteresting

In the interest of blogistic research I peruse Jessica Dube's pinterest from time to time both to note continued sham placemarks (such as Monaco, and Mexico - although she doesn't seem to shout out the Dominican) and to check the inspirational words board for possible indicators about the upcoming competitive figure skating season, as any good creeping skating fan would do.

So far, based on themes running through the bumper sticker sayings of the day, it's possible to speculate that she is trying to let criticism about dumping Bryce roll off her shoulders while bravely going forward with the brave decisions she's made; also maybe looking back nostalgically while resolutely looking ahead; easy to see that she is determined to supplement her rigorous figure skating training regimen with as many targeted keep-fit tips as she can find, bolstered by delicious and easy recipe ideas; and yet at times one wonders if she and Sebastien are unexpectedly history, leaving her to scan the pinterest mantra-and-motto universe for reassurance that the future still holds great promise.

So, in terms of hints about the upcoming season, pinterest is not too helpful, although I always come away feeling very, as the saying goes, special snowflake-y after reading the copious number of affirmations and I'm-okay-and-if-you-don't-agree-you're-not-worth-it type virtual pep talks.* And in fairness, much of this is de rigueur for all pinterest users, not particular to Jessica.

But, I do feel as if other parts of her pinterest sheds further light onto why she and Bryce perhaps didn't progress as far as their potential led people, including Bryce, to hope they would. 

Back when the blog began, I posted this:

I'm scrolling through Jessica Dube's pinterest and there's this:

Style ideas: 

So many ideas.

Or hair (a/k/a "beauty"):

Which should she choose?

I feel less than clean making fun, but in a way I can't quite put my finger on it's like things just keep circling around and around and around a pretty narrow circumference without developing and there's something familiar about it all, skating-wise, without my being able to bullet point it yet. Not just stylistically, but with how her actual skating has developed and grown (or not) versus her claims about it.

I mean okay, long, bouncy, messy, beachy-textured dark-toned brown hair! Let's placehold that ninety times and also, incidentally, routinely repost the same photo several times because it's not recognized as the same old photo you've already posted?

I could pull up a "braids" section too that could turn your eyeballs to pinwheels, but pretty much the point is, how much do you need to twiddle over the idea of a hair style that looks exactly like your current hair worn exactly the same by 10 different demi celebrities and upload them all to remind yourself you like it? Don't you make yourself catatonic at some point?

How would it be if Scott were on pinterest and he had to upload stuff to a board called "Photo Ideas" before he was able to pose for facebook?

Scott's Facial Expression Ideas:

Decisions, decisions.

Without pinterest, would he forget to remember to do this?

Would never happen. He has douche-faces cold.

Or this?

I want Tessa on pinterest so I can lull myself to sleep with a board called "shoes":

The shoes are really pretty but as they're variations on the same shoe by the same label, I don't think she'd need to pin every shoe.

That last phrase is getting closer to the running theme in Jessica's figure skating that I keep seeing, but I'll keep working on it. Maybe it has something to do with believing you've got a fresh idea or are doing something new but when you circle back it turns out you're at the same place and are stagnating, and insufficiently motivated to recognize this. You see "change" and "the same" as equivalent, or you make them equivalent.

This (the mood and expression), I understand. Same spiral.
One to Umbrellas of Cherbourg the other to The Way We Were -
It could be argued that the spiral occurs at similar mood points
 in otherwise divergent programs.Who knows? Both are schmaltzy.

Annie Barabe said the programs with Sebastien would not be love stories.
We clearly see this difference between D&D and D&W. On the right is D&D's
3-hankie Way We Were, Jessica pre-swoon, preparing to heave a large sigh
 as she and Bryce set sail for memory lane. On the left, Sebastien and
Jessica begin their abstract long program to the minimalist, dissonant
composer Philip Glass's theme music from "Heroes", while Jessica swoons
and sighs with the delight of expanding her stylistic horizons.

Most figure skaters have characteristic facial expressions during certain programs. Speaking literally, we all only have the one face. Therefore, when Scott Moir skates Umbrella of Cherbourg, Mahler, and Valse Triste, his aspect of romantic yearning is going to look similar in all three during the parts where he's supposed to be yearning romantically. Likewise, when Scott skates a non-party Latin-esque cd, od, sd or lp, hair slicked, eyes bearing down on Tessa, in all of them he's pretty much going to look as if he's not about to let lunch - nor dessert - get away.

So, too, with Jessica:



Left is D&W's sultry, athletic, playful blues short. Center is D&D's 
intense, dramatic, angsty, angry short. Right is D&W's 
abstract, non-dramatic, minimalist long.

One can certainly see why there are fans who insist Jessica dumping Bryce and partnering with Sebastien has reinvigorated her figure skating. She's practically born-again.

One also understands the fans who insist Jessica and Scott had to have been real. For one, they're a perfect fit. Jessica is never boring**, and Scott is, if nothing else, the poster child for patience. Second, even if things became a little dicey over time, in a male-centric sport like figure skating, there would be no other opportunities for a heterosexual 20something male World and Olympie Scott to have sex other than with an accident-prone teammate based at a training center 575 miles away.
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*no better way to convince everyone how little your critics matter than to pin virtual posters about how little they matter. Such a poster conveys your conviction that you've got a lot of critics, but if you put up a poster about how much you don't care, everyone will realize you're above it all. It doesn't in any way communicate a put-upon, pissed off and overly self-involved personality.
**"Age cannot wither, nor custom stale, her infinite variety". It's like Shakespeare knew she'd come along.