Hmf.
Wanted to get that out of my system.
Later on I want to look at the "new" DW twizzles from last season, where they added "stuff" before the twizzles, consisting of leaping, and Charlie pulling and yanking on Meryl. IOW, once more speed-skater-ing themselves into an element because they can't generate rotational momentum from their edges.
Those Giselle twizzles - and Giselle itself - fall apart even more dramatically now that Scott and Tessa's new sd has been unveiled. I invite anyone who has spent time looking at Scott and Tessa's new Finnstep sd to look again now at Giselle. Everything about it.
In the Finnstep, I looked at the exit to Tessa and Scott's sd twizzles, I thought, okay, did they stop dead after the last twizzle in order to hit that dip? No. They actually have a running edge. They drop into that dip from a moving edge. In Giselle, Charlie and Meryl pivot onto their other foot the second the final rotation is completed.
I also read over on fsu a post from a fan who apparently believes VM are executing twizzles in the style of their music every single time out of the goodness of their hearts and simple personal artistic integrity, as this poster doesn't believe you get points for that. Yes, you do get GOE for that. You also get points for sustaining an edge upon your exit.
Of course Charlie and Meryl get points for both - and I'm going to look at Giselle in particular - even though for them "running edge" means leap UP and pivot onto your opposite foot the instant your rotation is complete (always be leaping), and "style of the music" means "not at all in the style of the music." They're pretty half-assed about that level 4 hop into them as well.
I am interested to know if DW fans bragging on how DW have enhanced their twizzles can explain what the almighty pulling, tugging and yanking from Charlie, as well as Meryl's backwards walk (walk, not glide), has to do with the style of the Giselle music or enhanced difficulty. It seems to me that to the degree Meryl and Charlie changing their orientation at any time during a program threatens to topple them over, it is difficult, but a simple upright straightfoward 180 doesn't seem as if it should challenge Olympic level ice dancers, and otherwise they've simply taken the opportunity to grab momentum from swinging their bodies into the air, and from Charlie yanking Meryl a few yards across the ice.
They do a minor variant of the hauling and leaping in Notre Dame, but it's the same stuff.
Here is Comment 2:56pm's video montage of DW and VM twizzling.
Why VM - or any skaters - bother with styling their twizzles in the character of the dance when one size fits all bombastic twizzles with the arms slung behind the back from either shoulder height or below suffices as "character of the dance" for DW, beats me. ISU doesn't want "innovation", so naturally in the Orwellian language of contemporary ice dance, staying the same, as DW have done season after season, fd to sd, becomes "innovation." They're the leading edge of being static. If ISU recognized that VM raised the bar in Carmen - look what is possible with twizzles in the style of the dance and a sustained edge out of the twizzle, for instance - the standard for level of difficulty and even GOE would be raised, which would mean DW would be getting lower scores.
Sweet Jesus sleep skyping is terrifying. Scott, it's past time to let this girl goooo.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree anon at 7:26 pm. Sleep skyping actually looks creepy and stalkerish. And seriously I don't care how romantic a guy is...this is not GUY initiated...lastly this cannot be good for Scott's health..sleeping next to an open laptop while sleeping...hello radiation waves...sometimes you wonder if the Moir family want to audition Scott for the next Bachelor..oiee..or with this gf...Big Brother...
DeleteScott is not sleeping next to an open freaking laptop. It's made up by the sham! He's married to Tessa and lives with her and tours with her - if they opened a laptop and stuck it between them while they slept it would get cramped.
DeleteThis is just more of Cassandra's weird, needy, romance-novel persona that she executes under the direction of Moirville. It's just another visual NOBODY NEEDS, fake or not.
8:35, we need a support group for those who agree something is off between VM but for whatever reason, can't accept the marriage theory.
DeleteMarriage is not a THEORY. It is a fact. I have said repeatedly this comments section is not the place to proceed as if the blog premise is a theory, and discuss your feelings about that. Don't have that discussion here.
DeleteWhy are you sensitive about this topic, OC? If it's a fact, then why not allow people to discuss and arrive at that conclusion?.
DeleteBecause it's a waste of everyone else's time. Most of the posters here are far past that and on to better and more interesting things to talk about. There's a difference between being sensitive and being fed up that people feel entitled to have the world accomodate whatever opinions they may have. You and I are guests of this blog, if you wish the blog to be something different than it is, go start your own.
DeleteI understand OC's position but I wish that alternate opinions would be more accepted (even though they are, indeed, opinions, whereas the marriage and baby thing is a fact). There aren't exactly tons of places where you can talk about this issue. Everyone is on a different spectrum with this. If you're new to the sham, the idea that Tessa was pregnant and they're hiding a child in plain sight is totally absurd if you have been eating the shit they and Skate Canada have been feeding for years. Many readers are new to the site since it took on a skating bent. I had heard about the secret baby rumors for a couple of years, but thought it was meant as a joke until I actually started going through this blog after Worlds. For the first few months, I too was more comfortable just thinking something was "off" and VM were probably dating - not married, and certainly not with a child. It took me some time to look back and realize it was true. I don't think it helps to chase people away who are open to the idea of some kind of sham. They'll see it eventually. You can't just tell people it's a fact with no marriage or birth certificate. They have to have the eureka moment on their own. Just my very, very humble two cents.
DeleteI'm not sensitive about the topic. I'm adamant about it. I KNOW they are married. The comments section of this blog is not a forum for people who decide the blog doesn't know what it knows, is lying, or somehow mistaken, and yet want to use the comments section of this blog to discuss their alternate theories. That is absurd.
DeleteIf people want to come to the comments section and inform me they believe I'm lying or whatever, they can, and they have. That's fine. Of course, some of the people who have done that have also decided to use the comments section for their temper tantrums, to carry on a conversation with themselves, or act out in other ways, and when that happens, there comes a point when I pull the plug, particularly if it's derailing what is on topic.
The bottom line is, the blog is premised on a fact - Scott and Tessa are married and they have a child and this is something I KNOW. Agree or disagree, but the blog is not the place to talk about alternative theories as if its premise is just a suggestion.
The other places to talk about alternative theories are called "everywhere else on the web". Since people first became aware of Virtue and Moir, "theories" about their "real" relationship used to be the number one recreation of fans on, for example, fanforum and facebook. This place is not for that. It's the OPPOSITE of that.
Fair enough, except the topic of conversation isn't welcome anywhere else. You can get away with it for a while on Fanforum but someone comes along soon enough to shut it down. If you don't accept that Tessa and Scott are just platonic friends with a unique relationship and dating other people, you can just go and sit in that corner over there.
DeleteWell, I've actually read fanforum recently for the first time in quite some time and there are posters there who very matter of factly speak their belief that Scott and Tessa are married, and they're not attacked, not even by other posters who aren't sure or don't believe it's true. That forum has become more preoccupied with the skating and the judging situation, at least when last I read it, which was about two weeks ago.
DeleteThis is a blog with an extremely specific, factual premise. They're married. It's not a general topic Scott and Tessa blog. Therefore, it's distinct from a place like the facebook group that presents itself as a fan group but has a very political standard for what can be discussed, double standards left and right, hypocrisy and intolerance everywhere, and a habit of following the path of least resistance and caving into self-styled posting police and bullies.
This blog isn't general. Obviously it's ridiculous for a blog that was BEGUN specifically to assert the fact of Scott and Tessa's actual relationship to host "alternative theories" in the comments section. As I've said elsewhere, when the blog started it was pushback because both Moirville and fans behaved as if social media had a hierarchy based on status. Skaters at the top. Various "skating community" groupies and Moirville hangers on in the middle. Fans in a ditch somewhere, saying please sir, can I have some more.
Moirville could lie their faces off on social media and fans had to take it. They were the skaters, we were the peons. Fuck that. I knew they were lying. I watched how Moirville toyed with fans, got off on the games, loved poking a stick at fans and stirring them up. I watched the disingenuous, ungenerous, meanspirited ways they pretended to "share" something with the fans while actually making fun of the agitation caused by what was shared. They LOVE to ridicule Scott and Tessa's supporters. On top of it all, there was enough egocentric sanctimony to choke a horse. On top of all of that, the gall kept racheting up a thousand fold because Scott and Tessa made the rounds about dating others, fan fantasies, George Clooney, characters on the ice, and their platonic partnership while she was fucking PREGNANT. They were proactive. They sat next to each other, married, expecting a baby together, blinking back tears about a made up estrangement and discussing hyothetical dating scenarios, and on social media they were baiting and spamming fans with Jessica. They never shared candid Virtue Moir photos, even those taken in a public, professional or competition context because their feelings of privacy were so acute. EXCEPT when they decided to publish a book containing many photos similar to the photos they were spamming out with Scott and Jessica for free, only in the book these photos WERE of Scott and Tessa and they charged us money for it. It's not enough to lie, they wanted us to pay them.
THAT was why I started this blog. I am obviously an admirer of their skating, so I'm a fan, but never in my life did I sign on as an enabler. As it happens, like many other fans, I know they're full of shit. I know they're married.
Social media is egalitarian. I started the blog to make that point. I realized if I had my own site I could say exactly what I knew. I knew that facebook was public domain and the blog set out to demonstrate that as well. If Moirville had conducted itself with even a facade of basic professionalism, human decency and respect WHILE shamming this blog wouldn't exist.
The candid photos of Scott/Tessa from the book are nauseatingly similar to those taken of Scott/Jessica. There's shots of Scott with both ladies in front of the Team Canada condo that are almost identical. What does he do? Take a photo with Tessa and then mimic it with the girlfriend du jour? I feel queasy.
DeleteI've said this before, but, with classic Moirville aggression, hubris and ignorance, Moirville thought it could appropriate social media - an egalitarian platform - to promote a hoax that hundreds and hundreds of people also on social media KNEW was a hoax, and those people would just let Moirville control social media.
DeleteFurthermore, instead of conducting themselves according to the reciprocal culture of social media (reciprocal respect, basically - everybody's equal on it) - they used it to ridicule people, to make fun of the concept of Scott and Tessa fans and supporters, to demean them. Where did they get the idea social media was a one way street? Everything on it is public domain. A fan was every bit as entitled to take what they were doing and shove it back at them as they were to manipulate and belittle, and if it happened to be a fan that knew the score, well so what? Why did they think in WOULDN'T happen? IMO that was an important point to make.
There was also the reality that apart from being a lie/hoax, the sham as conducted was insulting. As in - okay, you're conducting a transparent, careless, illogical, sloppy, mean, hypocritical and degrading sham on social media - but it's good enough for us? We don't deserve professionalism? THAT said a lot to me. Boy, we really don't even rate the basics, do we. We're just here for entertainment. They can indulge their spiteful, mean girls side on us - something they apparently have in great supply in Ilderton.
Lastly, the blog hosts a lot of discussion - to say the LEAST - on the sham, speculation and conjecture and analysis of the possible agendas and motives, the personal and political dynamics among the principals and the hangers on, etc. There's plenty to talk about.
But I draw the line at having a sideline in fan discussion on "alternative theories" when *I* know what is true, and I started this blog because of that fact. It's not possible for the blog to ignore that while some discussion on something I KNOW isn't true (Cassandra/Scott) carries on here.
That said, I completely understand why some people just struggle with the idea that this is as big a fucking mess dug as deeply into a ditch as it is, and willfully compounded every season by Moirville and crew. But yes, it is indeed what it is - a huge deception, a complete hoax. They're married. They've been married since 2009. As to the size of the deception, its tone, methods, attitude, gall, hypocrisy, sanctimony, the way they try to redefine reality, the way they ridicule people for knowing the fucking truth and set themselves up as being in the superior, knowing position even though they're the liars - you don't look to the blog to resolve that horror. Look at them. It's not pretty, but that's where people should be looking for answers.
I think OC HAS let people disagree and vocalize that they don't accept the premise of this blog. But there's a difference between saying "this doesn't make sense to me" and "Well, what about this? And I think it might be this because of this, and this is how my neighbour's best friend's cousin acted in this situation, so I think this must be what's going on with V/M. And I think the baby is DP's" Exaggerated obviously, but it's when posters start discussing things as if their theory is equally valid that I understand where OC is coming from. That being said, I don't want people with valid questions chased away, because yes, for many of us, it's been a long journey to full acceptance when we don't have the advantage of knowing first hand.
DeleteOC, 9:41 is one of your best posts. It really lays it all out there. "Fans in a ditch somewhere, saying please sir, can I have some more." How sad.
DeleteWell, that's another thing that really bothered me, 4:57. I will never deny that fans can be boring, inappropriate, intrusive and a pain in the ass, but that's what professional sports managers are for. But the flip side of it is that on the internet, fans bent over backwards to be courteous. They accepted what Scott and Tessa said, because it was the polite thing to do. They knew Scott was on the internet, as were their teammates, and their families, and could possibly read what fans were saying, and they didn't want to question in public, as it was considered rude.
DeleteWas this attempt by many fans to be considerate and respectful treated with any type of consideration or appreciation or, God forbid - sensitivity or tact? No. It was beyond clear that they ENJOYED upsetting fans and they thought fans tip toeing around was hilarious.
Look at the Olympics with Scott dropping a hint about "Monaco" followed by Alma's facebook. Who does that? Why did they bait people? What did the continual baiting and setting fans up accomplish towards preserving Scott and Tessa's privacy? Nothing. It was like poking an ant hill for them. It was their entertainment.
There's also the reality that Scott had a "personal" facebook and his facebook accepted thousands of new fans after the Olympics, fans who'd loved him and Tessa in Vancouver. Nobody forced him to accept fans wholesale like that. He knew they were strangers, he knew they were fans of Virtue and Moir. He accepted them and then didn't so much as acknowledge the Olympics or anything else in his sports life. He didn't so much as post an out of focus phone snap of his gold medal. He was on facebook so when Jessica and others tagged him in photos where he masqueraded as Jessica's boyfriend, all the Virtue Moir fans would see him. As many of the fans had no idea Jessica was fake, imagine what they were thinking. (Oh and he was on facebook to tell us not to make a friend request to Tessa Virtue's fake facebook, as being fake on facebook isn't cool. You can't make shit up about these people, you really can't.)
Unlike every other skater on facebook, when Scott accepted fans, he didn't deign to share so much as a single image frame of his professional partnership, his partner, or a skating competition. Nope. That was for us to pay for in Steve Milton's rigorously vetted book.
He marketed his supposed personal life. As did his proud family. And of course when fans theorized why he would do this ("Hmmmm, maybe Jessica's insecure? Otherwise it beats me why he's parading his love life to strangers!"), it was considered funny. Oh fans and their theories are hilarious! They force fed this cruelty to fans, snarked and mocked when fans were confused, and then did it again.
And we can see by their initial following of Heather - who launched her twitter by ridiculing Scott and Tessa fans - that they haven't changed at all.
Not to mention Scott and Tessa then go to mainstream media and emphasize that neither one of them are on the web.
They treated people poorly. People who tried very hard to show them courtesy even when these same people suspected they were being treated poorly. And instead of appreciating it Moirville took it as their right. Well, it certainly is their right, and I decided that it's my right to have this blog and say what I know, and what I think about it.
oc
D/W ruined giselle for me :/
ReplyDeleteWatching D/W do "ballet" was physically painful for me.
DeleteThe style isn't even the point - look at the difference in the actual skating. It's absurd. Giselle is as empty as Die Fleudermaus. 77 freaking points! And listening to Marina talk about how the judges had to weigh in on if VM's music was appropriate (they approved). That sort of exercise is a farce when the judging of the actual skating is what it has become.
DeleteThe style is relevant to CoP in the twizzles specifically. Performing the twizzles in the style of the music earns GOE - GOE DW have been awarded despite the obvious - there is no attempt whatsoever to do the twizzles in the style of the music. To the extent they added some stuff prior to the twizzles last year to give them less set up time, that stuff wasn't in the style of the chosen dance, was actually more launching-pad bullshit to get their rotation going from something other than their edges, and wasn't part of the actual twizzle. The CoP standard for superior twizzles includes exiting on a sustained edge, which DW most obviously do not do. They jump off or step off the finished twizzle edge immediately onto the opposite foot.
The stuff Scott and Tessa do with their twizzles - the exit and the style - is supposed to earn them points, not be taken for granted. It seems pointless, though, for them to bother actually doing those things when DW get points for those things without doing them.
they dont even capture the feeling of the polka. it feels more like a diluted polka to me. and IIRC the patterns for the short dance was polka, march, waltz, not polka, march, BALLET, waltz. their sd is more about ballet than polka.
DeleteThey're skating miles apart even when in hold. Their holds and their posture together are half-assed, their skates are miles apart from each other, you can drive a truck between them even when they're in an approximation of dance hold, and they do far more scurrying, toe-picking, leaping and, of course, hopping, than they do skating, and even that they can't do together- they have to take turns. It's sloppy. If I see more freaking LEAPING from Charlie White this coming season instead of skating I will scream. Enter him in the freaking hair and expansive gesture Olympics because he's a shoe-in for gold in that.
DeleteAnd that said - why should they bother capturing the style of the polka. How is that different from doing a free dance to waltz music the previous year and never once attempting the style of the waltz. That, too, was entirely pirhouettes, leaping (I don't know how Charlie's arms remained attached to his shoulders with all the throwing open his arms and flinging back his hair he did in that thing), running. The only time they "danced" to that waltz, they did a freaking two step.
DeleteDo you know if there is a rule about how many seconds you're allowed to spend out of hold? If there's not, there should be.
DeleteIt's the lack of quality in their hold that is obvious. Their torsos are miles apart, their feet are miles apart, they don't bother with unison of line.
DeleteJust looking at this is aggravating. Meryl and Charlie's programs can ignore the criteria for the highest standard, and the judges give them the pcs anyway. Scott and Tessa personify skating skills married to dance skills plus speed and power and adherence to every nuance in CoP, and the judges say "what else you got" and start jerking their chains like Scott and Tessa are the ISU's literal puppets.
DeleteAlso, as with Die Fleudermaus, there's very little skating going on in Giselle. The two of them use pushing steps, not even stroking. Look at how many pushing/rowing steps they both use. Row row row. Very typically, look at how often Meryl just stops freaking skating altogether and actually plain old walks herself through a transition or into the next hold with Charlie. She actually walks. Look how frequently they skate at arm's length with Charlie pulling her. Look how unfinished their steps are. Look at the exit from the lift - BAM, many seconds left in the program and they're both planted on two feet and stay that way, Meryl two-foot gliding miles away from Charlie, Charlie throwing two-footed leaps and gestures at the crowd, making sweeping arm movements. They don't skate. They run out the clock. It's insane.
DeleteIn footwork, it's leaps and hops between small footwork segments. "Doing something with the same leg at the same time" is as close they get to unison - otherwise they don't bother. This is the Nationals performance, the supposed stronger performance. What are the judges scoring? Where is the skating?
There is a rule regarding time outside of being in a hold outside of the required side-by-side step sequence but I cannot recall the exact requirement.
DeleteI wonder if Marina secretly gets off on her ability to craft these programs for D/W that manage to beat/stay close to V/M year after year? Maybe one day she will write her biography and we will learn her secrets!
One wonders if Marina and Igor stay up at night fretting over what kind of monsters they've created. In V/M, they've coached arugably the best ice dance team that has ever roamed the earth. There is NO comparison to them and D/W, and that D/W are "beating" and "winning" titles over V/M is insane. INSANE.
DeleteI always find her contention that the teams are opposites very interesting, because I don't think skaters really can be opposites. What is the opposite of extended run of blade, wonderful unison, intricate choreography executed with complex multidirectional skating performed with speed and power? What is the opposite of absolute mastery of the highest technique married to athleticism? All of that is Virtue and Moir, and more, and if you're the opposite of that you're not very good.
DeleteMarina always stays away from discussing the technical with these teams because she can't without lying.
As good as Marina is at packaging DW - or as good as she can be - once you start looking at the tricks she uses, they become extremely obvious. It's amazing how much Giselle is like Die Fleudermaus, how similar the tricks are, how it's the same near skating-free performance. How much theatricality is used to get them off their blades, to separate them, to kill time with non-skating flourishes. The ending of Giselle still absolutely kills me. A measure of music or so remaining and the two of them are just basically snowplowing and posing AND doing their favorite thing - gliding to opposite ends of the rink from each other. The best short program in the world right now! declared Tanith.
I am not claiming what DW do is easy. You need to be very fit, have a lot of stamina. I'm saying what they do isn't SKATING.
Basically she employs a bunch of tricks and non-skating transitions - hops, poses, more hops - to disguise the fact that Davis and White can't use their edges to transition. They are one directional skaters when it comes to working together. If they have to change direction they HOP to change direction, scurry or leap. They simply can't skate together THIS way and then skate THAT way using their skating. She also disguises the fact that their elements are the same elements they've used for years, requiring not nearly the skating skills of VM's elements, by dressing up the before and after with a ton of theatre that extends the element and deceives the eye into thinking it's the element itself.
She is genius at turning shortcomings into features, but once you're aware of it you can't unsee it. You can't unsee that neither Charlie nor Meryl can rotate without a momentum assist. They have to swing themselves into the rotation or leap into the rotation. These two with the reputation for fast spinning and fast twizzling actually can't get their rotation off their edges. This is likely why the second twizzle in their twizzle set slows down and doesn't get as much ice coverage as the first. The first is aided by their racing into it.
"It's the lack of quality in their hold that is obvious. Their torsos are miles apart, their feet are miles apart, they don't bother with unison of line."
DeleteAbsolutely, but I was referring to all the times they part and rush back together, as you say, running out the clock. Thanks 12:50! It is a bit of a Frankenstein situation, isn't it 1:55? But Marina seems...well, unbothered by it.
Marina is a coach. She works with not only DW, but under the close eye of the USFSA. It's not her job to police the entire sport. It's her job to choreograph, their job to skate, the judges job to judge.
DeleteWe don't know what bothers her or doesn't bother her.
That sleep skyping looks like the stupidest thing.
ReplyDeleteJust one more of those revolting lovely little gifts for their future grown-up child. Daddy all over on social media during his/her childhood pretending a sexual relationship with his honey, except not with Mommy. Barf.
http://www.theskatinglesson.com/scott-hamilton-weighs-in-on-putins-gay-propaganda-ban/
ReplyDeleteOT, but discussed on here before. This is priceless. In the worst possible way.
So he pretty much agrees with it, then?
DeleteThere was an article that included him in the list of out and proud Olympians like Buttle and Weir. Oops.
Even in the interests of being informed, I can't watch it. I absolutely can't stand him.
DeleteHe's pretty douch-y. If you read about how he treated those who stuck with him through his cancer treatments and how he treated them later it is really upsetting
Delete12:59, tell us more!
DeleteGeez, why doesn't he just say he agrees with it and be done. Guess he didn't expect to be asked that question.
ReplyDeletei think scott use skype from years poor cassandra!
ReplyDeleteAnon 8:49. I don't understand what you mean.
DeleteDo you mean that Scott doesn't use Skype, so poor Cassandra? I'm not sure what you mean either...
DeleteI think Scott knows how to use skype for years whereas it is a person who travels a lot so if you want to fall asleep with cassandra could use it the first day they were together. I do not understand why this sucks, how will they get out?
Delete@ 4:00 AM
DeleteI don't know if you are also 8:49 but this is still confusing. I'm not understanding what you're trying to say.
4:00pm may be saying that Cassandra tweeting "why didn't we think of this sooner" is a little ridiculous considering Scott has traveled for years and knows how to skype, and if sleep skyping was something he was into, he'd have done it from day one. So Cassandra's tweet comes off extra nonsensical, along with everything else in the sham.
Delete6:54 here -- Oh, ok, that makes sense. What about "I do not understand why this sucks, how will they get out?" Do you know what that might mean?
DeletePerhaps "I do not understand why! This sucks. How will they get out?" meaning how will they (Tessa and Scott) ever get out of this hole they've dug themselves into.
Delete8:10
DeleteOf course! Now it makes sense.
(Isn't punctuation wonderful?)
well well well look who decided to pay a visit to the comment section http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-LgTWNzkII
ReplyDeleteIKR. Way to backtrack....it's just the music that's boring. Hmm, I thought the problem was Muskrat Ramble was too intense or something? And for once I agree with binker!!
DeleteAre new comments not showing on the post below?
ReplyDeleteMy view is different but I believe all the comments don't display once they reach a certain number, and you need to click a "more" button.
DeleteThat's happened in the past, but now I'm not getting the more button...Is anyone else having this problem?
DeleteOk, it's working now on another browser, so I'll manage :)
Deletehttps://twitter.com/ach_nein/status/366521454860312576
ReplyDeletei dont understand how anyone with a brain can compare it to funny face.
and i dont understand how someone who likes M/C's NDDP can call it bland ;)
DeleteSince Notre Dame was the biggest snoozefest in recent history, I don't either.
Deletesomeone should tell @Antiloquy that skating to bollywood music doesn't make a program more interesting or ~raw~ ;)
DeleteHard to say without the replays and Kiss & Cry, but Tracey Wilson's commentary is very non-specific to D/W's actual elements...I wonder if that's intentional.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly with the FD:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv9M4E8eD8s (the camera angles in this this clip further highlight the hideousness of this dance and Meryl's expression)
Some false praise for sure to keep the network happy, but it is very noticeable when she commentates V/M's programs, its all about the details for her.
It was the same thing comparing her commentary for the Canadian Nationals SD between P/I (specifics about their elements, edges, knees, etc.) and G/P (tempo of their music, energy, excitement -- and she likens them to D/W). Tracy's brilliance lies in her ability to please all masters while letting those paying attention know whether they're watching skaters or "skaters." I adore her.
DeleteIndeed..her commentary of V/M's FD at this year's Nationals and Worlds was bang on about why they are simply awesome.
DeleteI was just rereading that wtf twizzle conversation - I don't know if anyone else picked up on it, I missed it the first time - one of the posters is claiming that the super cool entries (later renamed Holds and Twists) D/W do are why they get a level four. Instead of that itty bitty hop thing.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/showthread.php?87432-Davis-amp-White-16-Magical-Wizard-Hair/page46
It's going to be like this all season - DW supporters twisting themselves into knots attempting to explain DW's superior skating. It's hilarious.
DeleteUnfortunately, I don't think they can ever admit their team is nothing but a bag full of tricks and cheated elements. If the scores started reflecting the reality of their skating - perhaps.
In the meantime, I think at every opportunity their ridiculous assertions about both DW and VM should be countered. The "real" skating journalists don't want to touch this. Well then, let the fan discussions continue shedding light on what is *really* going on - on the ice and in the judging.
Time to call BS on the journalists. The next time PJ Kwong posts a ridiclious piece on old vs processed cheese, comment on the comments page asking her to distinguish the teams as per requirements under COP. Same with Rosie di Manno and Ryan Payette. The next time the resident ice danceer of the Eurosport guys (Nicky Slater) commentates on D/W's "blindingly fast" twizzles, email them and point that it is cheated speed.
DeletePlant the seed of doubt of them.
Speaking of journalists, I see PJ is keeping up her relationship with Heather:
Deletehttps://twitter.com/skater_heather9/status/367455642283290624
"Plant the seed of doubt of them."
DeleteExactly!
The so-called journalists are too busy sucking ass.
Moirville is too preoccupied fancying themselves brilliant playwrights and actors in their own little home-grown sham production. They're tone-deaf to what the fans are really interested in (the skating, you morons, and appropriate off-ice news/photos of the V/M *partnership*, nothing personal). They also seem to be tone-deaf to Tessa and Scott's real need for advocates in Canadian media who can discuss skating and ice dance with a modicum of knowledge and intelligence.
Concerned fans seem to be the only ones talking about the current ISU corruption games in ice dance. All our discussions might as well plant some really huge seeds of doubt. You never know, there actually might be a response.
Honestly, I think if a piece of wood got on Twitter and asked PJ questions about skating, she'd probably respond. PJ needs to decide whether she's going to be a fan or whether she's going to be part of the media. It can't go both ways. She's regarded as someone "in the know" and yet, she responds to inane queries. #stopthemadness, PJ.
DeleteMost of skating media goes both ways. Skating is treated like entertainment and entertainment media is public relations. Figure skating "reporting" is personality-driven and when it comes to the skating nobody knows what they're talking about, and that includes many people inside skating.
DeleteI'm going to be talking about some of what this guy
http://www.manleywoman.com/episode-50-david-kirby/
says down the line. One of the things I found interesting in this article is how little so many people inside skating - coaches, skaters, etc. - actually know about skating themselves. Or perhaps the better way to put that is how little many of these people UNDERSTAND about skating. And how much personal dynamics can influence technical calls. This guy is extremely tactful but when you strip away how he couches some of his remarks, that is what he's saying.
Look at Steve Milton - lord knows I've looked at him. He's won recognition for his reporting on football, but if he reported on football as he reports on figure skating he'd never get hired. Imagine if he'd written fiction masquerading as biography for football the way he wrote "Journey From Childhood Dream to Gold" for figure skaters. His "skating book" are books about the personalities in figure skating, not about skating, because he doesn't know it.
The bottom line is most of the skating media are fans of the personalities and are drawn to the access and how easily one can make contacts, rub elbows, establish relationships - much more easily than in more popular sports where there's a huge organizational and managerial infrastructure around the athletes that acts as a barrier.
P.J. is actually neither fan nor media - her background is in skating itself. Her primary allegience is to the individual skaters and coaches with whom she has a relationship. So her "fandom" is built in.
Circling back to David Kirby (link above) and him calling out the skating media for treating the audience like idiots, I think one obstacle to changing that is the fact that the skating media understands jackshit about skating. They're just dressing up their own ignorance and selling it to the audience. Of course, the fact that they're not motivated to improve their understanding could reflect contempt for figure skating fans, but I think it's more they think it's just too hard to understand what the blades are doing out there and what they're supposed to be doing, so they excuse themselves and simply review audience reaction and performance, as if skating is theatre and not sport.
But then again, someone like Sandra Bezic - this is what she LIKES about the figure skating - the soap opera, the theatre, the emotion. If it became quantifiable - and remember, it's SUPPOSED TO BE QUANTIFIABLE NOW already - I don't know if there would be room for her as a supposed expert, the way there is now. For a lot of the ignorant, the ignorance of the audience ensures their job security.
oc
I was inspired by OC's GIF-ing to make a little something for you guys. Hope you enjoy :)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzT-33f5Enw
Love it. Well done!
DeleteI've finally figured out why D/W's twizzles get a level four. Its because it looks like they're about to wipe out when they take that ridiculous "hop" into their twizzle. It's a miracle they don't wipe out; they're being rewarded for some major risk here. Eureka!
DeleteLove it!
DeleteIs it just me, or in the set from ND, did they nearly twizzle into each other? Also, um, twizzles are supposed to travel. I'm pretty sure that second set did no such thing.
Bravo!
Delete:) want me to embed that in a post or would you prefer a link?
DeleteDW often appear as if they're going to collide in their twizzle set, and the second one doesn't travel/cover much ice at all. The ISU should get on that and add bonus GOE to hopping into the subsequent twizzles in a set. Why use your edges?
I love how Charlie's expansive gesturing, head thrown back, lifted chest and sweeping arms are identical in Giselle and Die Fleudermaus. I especially love that he uses these gestures as Meryl is moving away from him. He turns to the audience, slaps on an angelic grin and sweeps his arm before leaping after her.
Same performance and choreography in both those programs, just changed the costume and the music. Same program. That's fine if both were stellar skating programs but both are twinkle toe-ing, leaping, two-footing, running away from each other, gesticulating, pose lifting and lunging programs.
The more I see them compared, the more obvious it is that Funny Face deservedly won and in fact ought to have crushed that mess (DF) the entire season. The twizzles alone in Funny Face are spectacular.
oc
Go ahead OC! Thanks guys :)
DeleteAlso wanted to point one thing out that I realized while making this. In a post two down, OC says this: "Boy, their twizzles are versatile. 2011 was a tango, and 2012 was a waltz, yet the same twizzles done the same way - no stylistic modifications in the performance of the twizzles themselves - are deemed to be in the character of any music DW are using. "
This isn't quite accurate, but the truth is even more hilarious. Watch closely as they wrap their arms around to the back for the second twizzle. In the tango, they do a bent arm shield type thing, and in the waltz, they do a sweeping their arms out thing. Even if you don't blink, you might miss it. So it's not that they decided it doesn't matter at all, it's that they tried to add something in and this is literally all they could manage hahaha
New pic of the lovely couple from Connor on Instagram ... Nice colour Scott !!!
ReplyDeleteI knew as soon as Connor posted a pic of the shirts with #TeamHilborn that we could expect to see a pic of Scott with them. But he's blue, so maybe we're not supposed to know it's him.
DeleteLOL - I like how Cassandra is somehow trying to pull off the Tessa knock-off sportsnet shoot- knee high socks in pink and hot pink shorts...I actually I'm laughing at Scott cuz he actually looks like he belongs with the blue man group - hahaha and he is dressed in very casual athletic wear for the run. Glad he wore the sunglasses...
DeleteAnon at 8:25 am - let's see if the bro actually posts more pics of the family...Scott the smurf...
DeleteAnd voila Scott has a costume for Halloween..at least Scott is a good sport...as an Olympic athlete that's how I want to spend my time on my day off - jogging 5k..I wonder if TeamHilborn golfs?
DeleteMy eyes are going to roll back inside of my head. I'm so sick of this.
Delete"I knew as soon as Connor posted a pic of the shirts with #TeamHilborn that we could expect to see a pic of Scott with them."
DeleteYep. I expected this also.
Think of all the possibilities for more sham photos. From Connor, other Hilborn family members and friends. How could they be expected to miss such a perfect opportunity. And at a very public event in London, too. Perfect.
Tessa is invisible again. The world of sham revolves only around #awesomestar Scott Moir.
Jessica loved to copy Tessa. Looks like the new GF is following in the same footsteps.
Way to go Scotty.
If possible when you guys are talking about these things can you provide a link to the pics? Thanks...
DeleteHere it is: http://web.stagram.com/p/524550616085762192_235080067
DeleteAnd here is the picture Connor posted yesterday with the T-shirts, showing the one with Scott's number.
Deletehttp://web.stagram.com/p/523796566889271947_235080067
Naturally, yesterday we didn't know the one T-shirt was Scott's but in today's picture we can see that.
that doesnt even look like scott
DeleteI've never seen anyone in a color run have a face completely one color and totally covered in one color with no flesh tone showing. What did Scott do, take the dye and rub it all over his face? Wait - of course he did.
Deleteoc
There's several reports from others on Twitter that Scott was at the run. Funny how he's always recognized when he's out with his girlfriend.
Deletewell this looks familiar
ReplyDeletehttp://31.media.tumblr.com/a0a0f132445311188022f5d9e609b7c5/tumblr_mroitvCBHS1qc5l9co1_500.jpg
but its obviously not dirty or inappropriate at all! its only inappropriate when V/M do it amirite??
No one said it was dirty or inappropriate except the few usual suspects. Are they ever going to like anything Virtue-Moir do? No.
DeleteBoth Stay and Carmen were very well received by skating fans and Virtue-Moir's fans adore both those programs. The opinions of the haters don't count for anything. (Shrug)
i know alot of C/L fans who called stay dirty
Delete4:35 - If C/L had been the ones to come up with the idea of Stay I'm absolutely positive their fans would have loved it.
DeleteWhen it's a favored team it's artistic, innovative, boundary-pushing (in good ways). If the fans hope a different team wins and this one falls on their face, then it's dirty.
I lurk in most of the usual places but I don't recall anyone really complaining about Stay. Mind you, it hasn't been performed outside of Stars on Ice (yet) and the haters would have had to have gone out of their way to check it out.
DeleteC/L have the chemistry at least to pull it off. Meh.
^ check twitter its the same people who said their prefer C/L carmen because it has no 'groping' or something. they also had a problem with stay because v/m kept on doing 'crotch lifts' or something. anyways it was long ago i don't remember everything exactly
DeleteThose people will hate anything VM do. Davis/White or any other team, really, could do the exact same thing and they'll adore it. Besides, C/L had the ultimate crotch lift anyway.
Delete^^yep! what a shame
DeleteSo the wise heads over at The Skating Lesson have deemed the SD music too choppy, Jenny didn't like Tessa's recycled dress, and basically talked nothing about the actual SKATING.
ReplyDeleteOh, and D/W are going to ace this dance because they have deeper edges. Bahahahah!
http://www.theskatinglesson.com/this-and-that-818/
Anon @ 11:40
DeleteGeez, could they be any more transparent as a direct propaganda tool for DW?
How can anyone take them seriously. I hate that anyone can post comments about figure skating on social media and they're deemed "experts" regardless of their ignorance and stupidity.
On what planet do D/W have better edges?
DeleteAlso, why are people hung up on Tessa re-using an older dress for a summer competition. I'm pretty sure that she'll have a new one before their first international competition.
Yeah, I know it's TSL...
What is TSL?
DeleteTSL = The Skating Lesson, a podcast run by Jenny Kirk and some fanboy friend of hers (I think he's "Aunt Joyce"). I wish people would just stop posting their opinions unless it involves them actually interviewing someone who knows skating giving an opinion.
DeleteAnd Scott and Tessa no longer stroke as deeply or as fast as they did in 2010!
DeleteIn what other sport could fans saying the opposite of what is actually happening position themselves as experts?
IMO many people inside skating have a big stake in fans not knowing or caring or able to see what the hell is happening on the ice, and that goes for media too. It's how they like it. It's not that hard. If gymnastics can have an informed audience and an informed commentariat, why can't figure skating? Ignorance has to serve a purpose.
Figure skating (especially ice dance) is the rare sport that you can enjoy solely as theater, knowing nothing about the scoring or fundamentals. Which is fine. People should feel free to enjoy it that way, but why do they also have the need to say that their unabashedly uninformed opinion should mean anything about the results?
DeleteI wonder if Jenny Kirk has issues around Tessa. She briefly skated pairs with Fedor. Don't know what happened there. She also bearded Lysacek before Tanith, clearly not as successfully as Jessica bearded Scott or Tessa Fedor. From some of her old blogs I got the sense she was annoyed/jealous that she basically gave up a lot of her personal life, bearded a gay guy, and suffered from an ED, and all she got was this lousy t-shirt. She put in the political "work" and got nothing from it, cause she didn't have the talent. No surprise that she would support Davis/White, then.
It does seem that there is a sorority of some sort - whose goal is to take swipes at Tessa ...I mean for Jenny Kirk to criticize V/M for using old costumes for a summer competition..I mean really? That's what you have to say?
DeleteDave's deep edges comment was beyond ridiculous, but to be fair - I was expecting worse from reading these comments. It didn't seem to me like Jenny knew it was an old costume, in which case....why not talk about it? They were discussing costumes for other skaters as well. Is is the top thing a SKATING show should be talking about? Probably not, but I didn't think that aspect was particularly taking swipes at V/M.
DeleteI wonder if a lot of the ignorance about V/M vs D/W is just that dance isn't as popular in the States, and therefore people miss the details that make up the larger picture. We all immediately recognized the dress, but maybe Jenny has never followed dance enough to have that register. It does maybe mean they shouldn't talk about dance at all then :D
And WTF does Dave know about Finnstep patterns and how big they should be? Dick all.
DeleteIs he seriously saying their patterns aren't big? Is the guy trying to claim DW have deeper edges and bigger patterns? Because who knew outright lying was going to be that facebook's hallmark.
Deleteoc
He should just go all in and announce Davis and White have better alignment and unison and have the edge on musicality. This is a joke.
Deleteoc
I love how he goes on that V/M "aesthically" look like Olympic champions, and then goes on to cut-up their small patterns and shallow edges. What is it gonna be, Dave? Are they being judged on their actual skating or just their music cuts and looks? Make up your fucking mind.
DeleteThe "small patterns and shallow edges" sounds like the same strategy of someone else who said on icenetwork that VM needed to work on their connection.
DeleteSeriously? The very things VM are known to do better than anyone in the whole world. This has been the strategy all along for promoting DW. If they say something is true they hope it's picked up by fans and other skating commentators as a fact. No matter what is reality.
It's infuriating there's no outrage and orchestrated pushback. Only this blog and some dedicated VM fans on fsu have been trying to talk about where and why these kinds of statements are dead wrong. I'm not sure anyone takes all these pushback comments seriously - they seem to be generally swept under the rug of "crazy VM fans."
And isn't that another insult. The VM fans are crazy and their opinions are freely mocked but I'm not seeing the same categorization of the DW fans when they say stupid things like DW are such great technicians. It's just accepted as fact. VM's superior skills must be proven, a statement isn't just accepted.
Dave's comments are typical of the uneducated fan trying to sound educated. Read up just enough to know what's good (deep edges) and what's bad (small patterns). Then say that the skaters you like for your own emotional/preferential reasons have the good qualities and that the skaters you don't like have the the bad qualities (or as I suspect in Dave's case, say what your audience wants to hear).
DeleteIt's fool proof. No one can say "but DW's edges aren't as deep as VM's!!!" because - look at that skating skills score. You can't get a 9.5 skating skills without deep edges!
If you look at it empirically and objectively it is as ridiculous as saying Chan never falls, or Volosozhar/Trankov have a tiny triple twist, or Sasha Cohen isn't flexible. It flat out isn't true.
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