I'm not inviting you to the Skating Federation's annual Christmas party!
So has anyone been watching the Olympics? I absolutely love the Winter Olympics (even more than the Summer Games) because of the skating - both figure and speed. Also, I like to watch the snowboard cross and snowboard halfpipe. I swear, the people who choose do participate in half of these events are either brave or clinically insane...I'll let you know when I decide.
But the pairs skating event was two days ago, and I am thrilled that Shen and Zhao of China won because they truly deserved it. And I was kind of happy that the Russian stranglehold on the Pairs gold medal was broken; I mean, Kavaguti and Smirnov were great, but they had an off day. But in the end, it's about how well you skate on the day, and Shen and Zhao skated both the short program and free skate amazingly.
But what I was really excited for was the Mens' Figure Skating! I'm a huge fan of reigning gold medalist, Yevgeny Plushenko of Russia, as well as the fabulous American Johnny Weir. Plushenko did well in the short program, showing all of the young skaters that even after a 3-year break from skating, he could still jump a quad better than the rest of them and hold first place. His artistry may have been less than others certainly, but he made up for it in his techinical precision. And his general amazingness (see: video below).
Currently in second place is the current world champion, American Evan Lysacek, who skated to Igor Stravinsky's Firebird. Lysacek gets majot points in my book for his music selection - at the World Champions, he skated to Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin for the short program, and now he did Stravinsky! My favorite composer! All he would have to skate to now was the Star Wars theme and he would take the prize for best skating music EVER. But onto his actual skating, he did wonderfully! He didn't attempt any quads, but he did execute all of his triples wonderfully. I was wondering what was up with his outfit though...usually, he goes with simpler, more masculine costumes, but last night he was wearing a slightly ruffled, feathered, and sequined Vera Wang number. Well, whatever works, I guess...
In sixth place is Johnny Weir! I love that fierce drama queen so much. I think he was severely underscored - his artistry is his greatest strength, and the judges did not give that enough credit. Even though he's amazing, I don't know that he'll medal...Plushenko and Lysacek are shoo-ins for the podium, and Takahashi, the current third place, is also a solid performer. They would all have to make major mistakes - which is unlikely - for Weir to medal. I still wish him all the best and will pray that he will manage to medal! I did love his outfit though...a black-and-hot-pink corsetted bodysuit with sequins and a pink shoulder tassel. Fabulous.
Weir & Lysacek:
NEVER FORGET:
But the pairs skating event was two days ago, and I am thrilled that Shen and Zhao of China won because they truly deserved it. And I was kind of happy that the Russian stranglehold on the Pairs gold medal was broken; I mean, Kavaguti and Smirnov were great, but they had an off day. But in the end, it's about how well you skate on the day, and Shen and Zhao skated both the short program and free skate amazingly.
But what I was really excited for was the Mens' Figure Skating! I'm a huge fan of reigning gold medalist, Yevgeny Plushenko of Russia, as well as the fabulous American Johnny Weir. Plushenko did well in the short program, showing all of the young skaters that even after a 3-year break from skating, he could still jump a quad better than the rest of them and hold first place. His artistry may have been less than others certainly, but he made up for it in his techinical precision. And his general amazingness (see: video below).
Currently in second place is the current world champion, American Evan Lysacek, who skated to Igor Stravinsky's Firebird. Lysacek gets majot points in my book for his music selection - at the World Champions, he skated to Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin for the short program, and now he did Stravinsky! My favorite composer! All he would have to skate to now was the Star Wars theme and he would take the prize for best skating music EVER. But onto his actual skating, he did wonderfully! He didn't attempt any quads, but he did execute all of his triples wonderfully. I was wondering what was up with his outfit though...usually, he goes with simpler, more masculine costumes, but last night he was wearing a slightly ruffled, feathered, and sequined Vera Wang number. Well, whatever works, I guess...
In sixth place is Johnny Weir! I love that fierce drama queen so much. I think he was severely underscored - his artistry is his greatest strength, and the judges did not give that enough credit. Even though he's amazing, I don't know that he'll medal...Plushenko and Lysacek are shoo-ins for the podium, and Takahashi, the current third place, is also a solid performer. They would all have to make major mistakes - which is unlikely - for Weir to medal. I still wish him all the best and will pray that he will manage to medal! I did love his outfit though...a black-and-hot-pink corsetted bodysuit with sequins and a pink shoulder tassel. Fabulous.
Weir & Lysacek:
NEVER FORGET:
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