Scary things to start your new year
Jan. 1st, 2006 05:54 pmFox to premiere "Skating with Celebrities" Jan. 18th.
Utterly horrifying, and yet strangely amusing at the same time. Pairs skating in six weeks? Ouch. They have a very flexible definition of "celebrity," I must say. An LA weather forecaster? Meh? The only two of them I'd heard of were Kristy Swanson and Debbie Gibson (which...DUDE).
But Renee Roca's doing the choreography, so that ought to be pretty. Speaking of pretty, John Zimmerman's one of the skaters. Lloyd Eisler (of the pairs team Brasseur and Eisler, aka the "OhmyGodIcan'twatchshe'sgoingtohitherheadaaaaiiieeeee!" team) and Kurt Browning round out the male skaters. Jenni Meno (who's blonde now--again, everyone changed their hair color in the past four years!), Nancy Kerrigan and Tai Babilonia (talk about a blast from the past) are the poor girls who get to be tossed about by the inexperienced guys.
I...think I have to watch this. Or, more likely, record it to watch over spring break, since any time I'll have for TV-watching this semester will probably end up devoted to the Olympics. (Which conflict with this. What bozo scheduled that? Anyone who might be watching this is going to be far more interested in the Olys.)
Speaking of horrifying things: The Cutting Edge II: Going for the Gold exists, and will come out in March. It's about Kate and Doug's teenage daughter (who, despite the earliest possible birthdate for her being the beginning of '93, looks considerably older than thirteen), a bitchy pairs skater (hmmm, this is starting to sound familiar...) who's scared off all potential partners (very familiar...) and must resort to a washed-up inline skater (now where have I seen this before?). Not only that, but Kate's not in the movie at all, and Doug is being played by some random guy, not D.B. Sweeney.
It's a direct-to-DVD release, which is prudent, because there is no way this can be good. None. Although I will probably watch it anyway, because I'm pathetic.
There were ways to make a sequel to this movie that might not have sucked quite so badly (Kate and Doug at the '94 Olympics? Kate and Doug go on tour with Stars/Champions on Ice?), but they bypassed all of them and went straight on to this. My brain hurts.
Utterly horrifying, and yet strangely amusing at the same time. Pairs skating in six weeks? Ouch. They have a very flexible definition of "celebrity," I must say. An LA weather forecaster? Meh? The only two of them I'd heard of were Kristy Swanson and Debbie Gibson (which...DUDE).
But Renee Roca's doing the choreography, so that ought to be pretty. Speaking of pretty, John Zimmerman's one of the skaters. Lloyd Eisler (of the pairs team Brasseur and Eisler, aka the "OhmyGodIcan'twatchshe'sgoingtohitherheadaaaaiiieeeee!" team) and Kurt Browning round out the male skaters. Jenni Meno (who's blonde now--again, everyone changed their hair color in the past four years!), Nancy Kerrigan and Tai Babilonia (talk about a blast from the past) are the poor girls who get to be tossed about by the inexperienced guys.
I...think I have to watch this. Or, more likely, record it to watch over spring break, since any time I'll have for TV-watching this semester will probably end up devoted to the Olympics. (Which conflict with this. What bozo scheduled that? Anyone who might be watching this is going to be far more interested in the Olys.)
Speaking of horrifying things: The Cutting Edge II: Going for the Gold exists, and will come out in March. It's about Kate and Doug's teenage daughter (who, despite the earliest possible birthdate for her being the beginning of '93, looks considerably older than thirteen), a bitchy pairs skater (hmmm, this is starting to sound familiar...) who's scared off all potential partners (very familiar...) and must resort to a washed-up inline skater (now where have I seen this before?). Not only that, but Kate's not in the movie at all, and Doug is being played by some random guy, not D.B. Sweeney.
It's a direct-to-DVD release, which is prudent, because there is no way this can be good. None. Although I will probably watch it anyway, because I'm pathetic.
There were ways to make a sequel to this movie that might not have sucked quite so badly (Kate and Doug at the '94 Olympics? Kate and Doug go on tour with Stars/Champions on Ice?), but they bypassed all of them and went straight on to this. My brain hurts.
A reccing we will go...
Dec. 25th, 2005 07:22 pm![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif){kind=small}
yuletide recs ahoy! I don't do much reccing, usually 'cause I'm way behind on the fic reading, but I liked these so much, I just had to mention them.* What Happens on Vega$ Stays on Vega$: Moonlighting fic, with detours into other fandoms. And I mean that literally. This goes beyond breaking the fourth wall in a rather spectacular sort of way.
* Wonderfalls got four entries this year, all of them quite nice, and often hilarious. But I think my favorite is this one: Apologetic Camel, which has some spot-on dialogue that I just love, plus Jaye attempting to deal with the weirdness of Mahandra/Aaron.
* I'm always so happy when I find Northern Exposure fic, and Merry Christmas, Dr. Fleishman, is no exception. I feel a warm fuzzy holiday glow coming on, people.
* The Mr. and Mrs. Smith story was fun, especially when I have a mind fart about who played John Smith in the movie and the first "John" my mind flashes to is John Zimmerman, 'cause I just watched some holiday on ice special this afternoon. Heh. [1]
* But oh, the best is this one: Ninety Nine Point Five. It's a Cupid fic, and my current renewed obsession with it may have had some bearing on why I liked it so, much, but...it's wonderful. You need to read it at least twice to get all the nuances. The ending--the whole thing, really, but especially the ending--is delicately balanced and beautiful, just like the show.
{1] Spekaing of figure skating...I also watched the Cup of Russia short programs tonight, and everyone I remember from the last time I was a serious FS fan (2002) has switched hair. Melissa Gregory is now a brunette, Tatiana Totmianina is now a blonde with really long hair, Galit Chait is a redhead, Sergei Sakhnovksy looks like one of those ubiquitous over-gelled blond boyband members (which, I grant you, is a much better look for him than the Dracula's understudy style he had going on earlier), etc. etc. Kind of amazing, really.
Family members of US ice dance team write letter opposing proposed bill to allow early citizenship for members of two other teams.
People! Does history teach you NOTHING? This didn't win anybody any favors in '94, and it won't do any good now! *headdesk*
*
In less annoying news, I got my hands on the Samba that was stuck in my head earlier this week. It definitely has more lyrics than I remembered--and one of them is definitely "where pandas eat bamboo" (only in Spanish). And there's something about smoking marijuana while playing the guitar. I'm not really sure what either of those things have to do with the continent of Africa. *shrug*
People! Does history teach you NOTHING? This didn't win anybody any favors in '94, and it won't do any good now! *headdesk*
*
In less annoying news, I got my hands on the Samba that was stuck in my head earlier this week. It definitely has more lyrics than I remembered--and one of them is definitely "where pandas eat bamboo" (only in Spanish). And there's something about smoking marijuana while playing the guitar. I'm not really sure what either of those things have to do with the continent of Africa. *shrug*
Under arrest by the fashion police
Nov. 28th, 2005 11:35 pmOkay, I'm certainly no fashion plate myself, but... Seriously. Do ice dance costumes really need to be this hideous?
Inoue and Baldwin usually have such good taste in costumes, but this one...overall, it's rather nice, except for that sadly-misplaced stretch of near-skin-tone fabric on Rena's chest... *shakes head*
My eyes, my eyes!
I think someone got too close to a nuclear power plant...
Nope, these two got closer.
In comparison, this looks sane.
*cries*
*cries harder*
There has to be two pictures to understand the full horror of these costumes.
It worries me that I haven't seen a single one I like yet...
Oh, wait, these are quite nice. Hooray for taste!
Hey, there are ice dancers with taste, too! Amazing!
I'll try not to make another post like this, at least no any time soon, but sometimes you just have to say AAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!, you know? I've seen really nice costumes! They exist! Why must people choose these horrible things???
Inoue and Baldwin usually have such good taste in costumes, but this one...overall, it's rather nice, except for that sadly-misplaced stretch of near-skin-tone fabric on Rena's chest... *shakes head*
My eyes, my eyes!
I think someone got too close to a nuclear power plant...
Nope, these two got closer.
In comparison, this looks sane.
*cries*
*cries harder*
There has to be two pictures to understand the full horror of these costumes.
It worries me that I haven't seen a single one I like yet...
Oh, wait, these are quite nice. Hooray for taste!
Hey, there are ice dancers with taste, too! Amazing!
I'll try not to make another post like this, at least no any time soon, but sometimes you just have to say AAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!, you know? I've seen really nice costumes! They exist! Why must people choose these horrible things???
Toooooooepicks!
Nov. 26th, 2005 11:47 pmStill feeling my figure skating craving unassauged, tonight I was watching my copy of A/P's Jive OD from '98 for probably the first time since high school. I totally saw part of our Jive choreography from ballroom in there. They were doing the last half of it, the part with the standing-in-one-place-and-kicking-your-leg-out-and-around (that's totally the technical term for it). And sugar walks! Sort of. Sugar toe picks? It was as close an approximation as you can really get in skates, anyway.
(Yeah, I know, this shouldn't be surprising, since the compulsories and OD of ice dance purport to be ballroom on ice--well, mostly--but I don't remember entire steps being translated. Then again, I haven't paid a whole lot of attention to figure skating since I started ballroom, even though one of the original reasons I joined the club was because it was the closest I could get to actually doing ice dance my own self.)
Say, I should drag the other ballroomers over to a TV when a competition is on sometime this year...maybe the Olympics. This year's Original Dance rhythms are Rumba and Mambo and something else Latin, so if nothing else, there ought to be overuse of illusion fabric and gyno-lifts to mock. (Actually, these things are always present to mock, but excessively so in years with those particular rhythms, I feel.)
Tangent: Speaking of competitions, I reallyreallyreally hope Pechalat and Bourzat, the Marina and Gwendal clones, placed high enough at this week's Grand Prix event in France to make the cut in the ABC broadcast. I'd love to see how they skate.
(Yeah, I know, this shouldn't be surprising, since the compulsories and OD of ice dance purport to be ballroom on ice--well, mostly--but I don't remember entire steps being translated. Then again, I haven't paid a whole lot of attention to figure skating since I started ballroom, even though one of the original reasons I joined the club was because it was the closest I could get to actually doing ice dance my own self.)
Say, I should drag the other ballroomers over to a TV when a competition is on sometime this year...maybe the Olympics. This year's Original Dance rhythms are Rumba and Mambo and something else Latin, so if nothing else, there ought to be overuse of illusion fabric and gyno-lifts to mock. (Actually, these things are always present to mock, but excessively so in years with those particular rhythms, I feel.)
Tangent: Speaking of competitions, I reallyreallyreally hope Pechalat and Bourzat, the Marina and Gwendal clones, placed high enough at this week's Grand Prix event in France to make the cut in the ABC broadcast. I'd love to see how they skate.
Not doing much here
Nov. 25th, 2005 09:49 pmShould be:
- 45 lines of The Seafarer translated into modern English
- 40 lines of The Wanderer translated into modern English
- Books 5-9 of Paradise Lost read
- Two comps poems written, one completed/revised
- The second half of Persuasion looked at, with an eye to finishing sometime soon
Is:
- 45 lines of The Seafarer translated into modern English
- 10 lines of The Wanderer translated
- Book 5 of Paradise Lost read
- One comps poem started
- Another round of cursing at the poem that won't end completed
- Persuasion given several looks of revulsion
About par for Thanksgiving break, really. *shrug*
*
I felt cheated by "Trophee Eric Bompard" not being on this week (it's next week; I misread the schedule on Monday :(), so I popped in some of my old ice dance tapes. Lord, I'd forgotten what horrors in costuming were committed in the early nineties. Not that they ever stopped being committed; the ones in my icon are circa 2000, I believe, but...whoa. 1993 was just painful. Like, neon Spandex painful. Even illusion fabric usually isn't quite that bad. (Punsalan and Swallow and your lime green horror, I'm looking at you.) At least the skating was still nice. I'd forgotten about Roca/Sur's "Perhaps" program (to the Cake version of the song, no less). Heh. They're such good actors, in addition to the lovely skating.
*
( Snakes on a Plane meme )
*
I feel a strong desire to see some Invisible Man episodes. I wonder if I have any on tape anywhere. Or maybe I'll be really lazy and just make do with fic, thus not having to move from the couch...
- 45 lines of The Seafarer translated into modern English
- 40 lines of The Wanderer translated into modern English
- Books 5-9 of Paradise Lost read
- Two comps poems written, one completed/revised
- The second half of Persuasion looked at, with an eye to finishing sometime soon
Is:
- 45 lines of The Seafarer translated into modern English
- 10 lines of The Wanderer translated
- Book 5 of Paradise Lost read
- One comps poem started
- Another round of cursing at the poem that won't end completed
- Persuasion given several looks of revulsion
About par for Thanksgiving break, really. *shrug*
*
I felt cheated by "Trophee Eric Bompard" not being on this week (it's next week; I misread the schedule on Monday :(), so I popped in some of my old ice dance tapes. Lord, I'd forgotten what horrors in costuming were committed in the early nineties. Not that they ever stopped being committed; the ones in my icon are circa 2000, I believe, but...whoa. 1993 was just painful. Like, neon Spandex painful. Even illusion fabric usually isn't quite that bad. (Punsalan and Swallow and your lime green horror, I'm looking at you.) At least the skating was still nice. I'd forgotten about Roca/Sur's "Perhaps" program (to the Cake version of the song, no less). Heh. They're such good actors, in addition to the lovely skating.
*
( Snakes on a Plane meme )
*
I feel a strong desire to see some Invisible Man episodes. I wonder if I have any on tape anywhere. Or maybe I'll be really lazy and just make do with fic, thus not having to move from the couch...
(no subject)
Nov. 21st, 2005 03:06 pmNew ice dance icon in honor of me actually remembering to watch figure skating for the first time in forever. Trophee Lalique (or whatever it's called now) long programs tonight!
(BTW, this icon reminds me:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
spockette? Have you seen the English translation of D'Or et de Feu in the files section of the A/P list at YahooGroups? There are a few sections I think you'll find as vastly amusing and...illuminating...as I did, particularly on pages 4 and 7.)
Speaking of sports (how often do you hear that from me?), apparently the world is on the verge of apocalypse. Vandy beat UT in Saturday's football game, and Kenyon has had its first winning season in that particular sport in fifteen years. The world is ending! Run for the hills!
(BTW, this icon reminds me:
spockette? Have you seen the English translation of D'Or et de Feu in the files section of the A/P list at YahooGroups? There are a few sections I think you'll find as vastly amusing and...illuminating...as I did, particularly on pages 4 and 7.)Speaking of sports (how often do you hear that from me?), apparently the world is on the verge of apocalypse. Vandy beat UT in Saturday's football game, and Kenyon has had its first winning season in that particular sport in fifteen years. The world is ending! Run for the hills!
According to Skatefans, Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev are skating together again! Well, maybe. But not competing until next year. Probably. Actually, nobody really has a clue. But hey, hot Russian guy doing skaty things! It's all good.
*
All y'all who are starting summer vacation now are making me not want to work on these two essays I have to do. (1700 words on the film essay and a really awesome idea for the other one about Alice and Jaye trying to apply order to their insane worlds with no success, woot!) I'm working, but under protest.
*
Whitney's brother's friend is visiting along with said brother, and he loaned me the BSG mini DVD tonight(!!!!!!). Unfortunately, it quit working halfway through (something about a scratched or dirty disc--which it's started saying about the 3rd disc of my Wonderfalls box set, so I think it might actually be an issue with my computer's DVD player, not the DVDs themselves, which worries me greatly, but which I'm going to try to put out of my mind until I get back home and can get it fixed), so I'm all OMG WHAT HAPPENS NEXT AAAAEEEIIIII!!! But I won't spoil myself! Really, I won't! I can totally rent it at home. Can't I? (Can I wait that long?)
I will say now that it's very, very S:AABy. Like, I'm expecting Morgan Weisser and Kristen Cloke to show up any moment now. Also, I had no idea that Starbuck and Kara were the same person. Um, I'm dumb. Speaking of that one, dude. They stole Kathe, made her blonde, and put her on TV. No, really.
Also, was it just me, or does Gaius Baltar really, really, really look like Alexander Siddig (Dr. Bashir)? It got to the point where I had to pause the DVD and look up the cast list on IMDB, because I was sure it had to be him. It wasn't, but whoa.
*
All y'all who are starting summer vacation now are making me not want to work on these two essays I have to do. (1700 words on the film essay and a really awesome idea for the other one about Alice and Jaye trying to apply order to their insane worlds with no success, woot!) I'm working, but under protest.
*
Whitney's brother's friend is visiting along with said brother, and he loaned me the BSG mini DVD tonight(!!!!!!). Unfortunately, it quit working halfway through (something about a scratched or dirty disc--which it's started saying about the 3rd disc of my Wonderfalls box set, so I think it might actually be an issue with my computer's DVD player, not the DVDs themselves, which worries me greatly, but which I'm going to try to put out of my mind until I get back home and can get it fixed), so I'm all OMG WHAT HAPPENS NEXT AAAAEEEIIIII!!! But I won't spoil myself! Really, I won't! I can totally rent it at home. Can't I? (Can I wait that long?)
I will say now that it's very, very S:AABy. Like, I'm expecting Morgan Weisser and Kristen Cloke to show up any moment now. Also, I had no idea that Starbuck and Kara were the same person. Um, I'm dumb. Speaking of that one, dude. They stole Kathe, made her blonde, and put her on TV. No, really.
Also, was it just me, or does Gaius Baltar really, really, really look like Alexander Siddig (Dr. Bashir)? It got to the point where I had to pause the DVD and look up the cast list on IMDB, because I was sure it had to be him. It wasn't, but whoa.
Because I know you geeks will get a kick out of it, here's a video of 2002 Olympic ice dance champions Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat doing an exhibition to Star Wars music. (Scroll down a bit; it should be the first clickable item on the page.) The avi file is slow and jerky, at least on my computer, and it was taken during an actual performance under less-than-spectacular lighting, but does that really matter when you have skaters fighting with lightsabers? Come on, now.
(Also, Kim, there are videos of the extended flamenco, L'Adeiu, and Diavolo en mi! Wheeeee!)
(Also, Kim, there are videos of the extended flamenco, L'Adeiu, and Diavolo en mi! Wheeeee!)
More uncontainable excitement!
Dec. 3rd, 2004 06:01 pmEeee! Outdoor ice skating in London when we're there! At Christmastime! Pretty! In Zone 1, not out in Zone 4 or in Surrey! Look!
No, I did not just drink a heavily-sugared cup of tea. And I haven't been avoiding work all day. Of course not.
Wheeeee!
*zooms around the room*
No, I did not just drink a heavily-sugared cup of tea. And I haven't been avoiding work all day. Of course not.
Wheeeee!
*zooms around the room*
International Ice Dancers of Mystery
Sep. 8th, 2004 06:07 pmSo not only are Shae-Lynn Bourne and Peter Tchernyshev partnering up (which still boggles the mind), but Peter's going to try to get Canadian citizenship in time for the 2006 Olympics. Um, he just got United States citizenship in, like, 2001. This would make, what, three countries he's a citizen of? Holy crap.
Would be entertaining if they could trade citizenships between Peter and Tanith Belbin (Canadian ice dancer skating for the US; our best hope for an Olympic medal in dance). Heh.
Would be entertaining if they could trade citizenships between Peter and Tanith Belbin (Canadian ice dancer skating for the US; our best hope for an Olympic medal in dance). Heh.
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