The Book Challenge: August Recap

I did a lot more reading than usual this month. Maybe all that vacation time had something to do with it. ;-)

27. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

28. Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown

29. One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell

30. The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory

31. Secrets of a Shoe Addict by Beth Harbison

32. The It Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar

33. That Summer by Sarah Dessen

34. This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

35. Skating Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

36. Thirteen by Candice F. Ransom

I read the last two books while I was up in S.F., visiting my parents. I have always been an avid reader, but I thought I had packed away or donated most of the books I read as a teen. It was a pleasant surprise to come across a stash of my old favorites in the guest room closet. Skating Shoes had actually been out of print for quite some time (it's being re-released this fall!) and I must have read Thirteen at least twice a year through junior high. It was interesting to see the similarity of themes in young adult fiction from twenty years ago (#35-36) to the present (#32-34). While today's stories feature a bit more sex, drugs & drinking, the underlying plots in both eras seem to focus on friendships, rivalries, body image and finding one's identity. Perhaps there is some truth to the saying, "The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same."

The Main Event

Since the main event of the week, the ladies' long program, wasn't scheduled to start until the late afternoon I spent the morning getting pampered at my usual spot. After leaving Marina's capable hands I met up with R and V for the yummiest lunch I had all week.
There should be a pic of the mixed appetizer platter here. I'm guessing we tore through it before I remembered to take a pic? Oh well. Gaze upon the beauty of my pork burger with yam fries instead.

The cinnamon water complemented our desserts well.

After fueling up for the main event we walked over to Staples. Along the way we encountered many members of Yuna Kim's fanbase. In addition to wearing matching shirts, they were passing out free South Korean flags outside the arena.

As with the men's winners, there was an outdoor public ceremony for the ice dance champions. See the dude in the black sleeveless shirt? Umm, he never looks that hot in any of his skating costumes. I mean, I really had no idea that he could look hot at all. It was a pleasant surprise for many of us.

Candace Didier of France wins the award for toughest girl ever. About ten minutes before I took this picture she had an insanely hard fall onto the ice 1/4 of the way into her program, right onto her hipbone. After lying motionless on the ice for a few moments in an arena that became dead silent, being assisted off the ice by a plethora of staff and screaming in pain for a few minutes as medical personnel examined her, she came back out and finished her program. That's pretty hardcore, especially when you consider the fact she had no shot at a medal even at her best.

This guy had a plea for resident headcase and U.S. champion Alissa Czisny.

Despite a crowd that filled Staples up to the rafters . . .

. . . Alissa held it together and had a lovely skate. Too bad she had messed up so badly in her short program. There was no digging out of the hole she had dug. Her final placement, combined with final placement of Rachel Flatt, was not enough to give the U.S. ladies three spots at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Do you know what happened the last time the U.S. could only send two ladies to the Winter Games? Tonya Harding's creepy husband decided to break out the club and take matters into their own hands to guarantee her a spot. It might be a little dangerous to be an elite female skater in these upcoming months.
It's too bad that none of the U.S. ladies in recent years have the type of consistency that the Kween had. I have to say, she also consistently looks fabulous. The color of her dress was awesome and she was perfectly accessorized down to the interlocking Cs on her handbag. It must run in the family; her older sister always looks spectacular as well. It takes a certain kind of woman to pull off wearing stilettos at an ice rink.

Of the top contenders, Mao Asada of Japan was the first to take the ice. One of the few women who can land a triple axel, she had two planned for the evening. Her first attempt was successful; the next one was not. She skated the rest of her program adequately, but a bit mechanically. While the Code of Points has helped increase the credibility of scoring in ice skating, it has also had the effect of producing a lot of performances that are skate-by-numbers. It saddens me that we may never see simple, beautiful moves anymore, like a perfect layback spin or a lengthy spread eagle, because it just doesn't offer enough points.

Miki Ando, also of Japan, skated next and with much more emotion that her teammate. A couple years ago, the Japanese skating federation all but gave up on Miki. She refused to slink away, however, and made a rousing comeback.

The cheers started to fill the arena long before Yuna Kim stepped out on the ice. The amount of flags and signage was overwhelming. There's a better pic of one of the signs, as well as an explanation as to her preferred method of address, here.

Yuna skated to Scheherazade. Why is this significant to a skating? In 2002, Michelle Kwan also skated to Scheherazade for her long program and brought down the house at Staples. I remember the crowd being on its feet with thirty seconds still to go in her music. I can only imagine what Michelle must have been thinking while watching this teen dynamo skate to what was her music, in her "house". Michelle's version of Scheherazade is one of my all-time favorite programs and I feel fortunate to have seen it live in '02; I had a difficult time not picturing Michelle's moves at certain points in the music. I know I wasn't only the skating fan with that problem.

Yuna's performance was also magical. There was no doubt who the winner would be at the conclusion of her program.

Following the magic was one of the most spectacular meltdowns of the week and really, of the last twenty years. Like Yuna, Carolina Kostner of Italy also skated to a piece of music well associated with Michelle Kwan -- The Song of the Black Swan. Michelle's black swan was triumphant and led her to a World title in 2001. Carolina's swan most definitely did not do the same. She either fell or downsized almost all of her planned triple jumps. At some points she did single jumps. Dude -- I can do single jumps! And I know my level of skating has absolutely no place at Worlds.

The final standings.

There was only one way for us to end the night: drinks, junk food and admiring the handiwork of Yuna's fans:

Candles for Annaleigh

You can read about Annaleigh here. I became "acquainted" with Brooke through her cooking blog, which popped up as a recommendation in my Google Reader one day. It wasn't until several weeks later that I realized that the blog author was also a poster on one of my favorite messageboards.

Tonight my heart is breaking for that family. It all seems so unfair. The Candles for Annaleigh campaign was started on that messageboard as a way to show support. If you can spare a moment, please send positive thoughts or prayers their way.

The Book Challenge: July Recap

22. Mommy Tracked by Whitney Gaskell

23. Fat Girl by Judith Moore

24. Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

25. All I Want is Everything by Cecily von Zigesar

26. If I Am Missing or Dead by Janine Latus

I have to admit, most of these books (#23, 24 and 25) were rather depressing, covering topics such as physical & emotional abuse, sexual assault, co-dependency, etc. At times I felt as if I were reading just another case file from work. I think I need some lighthearted reads for August.

The Final Stretch

I realized this weekend that I better finish writing about my last trip before we head out on our next trip in a few weeks, otherwise I'd have no hope of ever catching up. Just two more skating posts after this one and I'm done!

Friday was a long day, starting with the ladies' short program at 8:30 am or thereabouts. With almost 50 entries, there were lots of zamboni breaks.

While some of the lower-ranked ladies skated inside, the mens' champions had a public medal ceremony just outside the arena. This feature was unique to Worlds. Judging by the crowds, the fans seemed to love it.

R and I opted to make a quick trip to Starbucks at L.A. Live and watched the festivities from across the street.Remember Brian Joubert (far right), who ended up in third place after some silly mistakes? He looked awful at the ceremony. Clearly someone had been drowning their sorrows the previous night.

When we walked back into the arena we glanced over our shoulders and had a Michelle Kwan sighting! The Kween wasn't scheduled to provide commentary until the following day, but she was there to take some notes on the top female competitors. Maybe she's trying to assess her chances for a comeback? One can only hope!!! I did feel slightly bad for some of the competitors though, since at certain points more people in our area were watching the Kween rather than whoever was on the ice.

Joining her in the booth was the legendary Dick Button. Uncle Dick has received some criticism for being too mean (he once infamously referred to a well-liked skater as a "refrigerator break" during a prime-time broadcast), but he just gets feistier and more un-PC with age. Consider him the Simon Cowell of skating commentators.

America's hopes rested on the shoulders of its reigning national champion, Alissa Czisny. Unfortunately, however, her shoulders could not handle the pressure. When she is on, she is truly an elegant, beautiful skater with unbelievable spins. But she is classified, with good reason, as a headcase. It's a shame. I hope that she is ale to straighten out her issues before the Olympic season begins.

As much as I love the sport, I know that one cannot live on skating alone. So I left the arena in the late afternoon to meet up with 10YearsTogether at the Wilshire Grand hotel. Coincidentally, that was the official hotel for all the skaters and officials.

We walked over to Chaya and got a head start on snacking while waiting for the other fab ladies (and one cool dude). If you are ever looking for a good happy hour location, Chaya would fit the bill. Much more food and several more drinks eventually made their way to the table, but I completely forgot about taking pictures once we all started talking.

Mr. Monkey took the official group picture. From left to right: Weezermonkey, 10YT, me, Insomniac, Wan and PinkObssessed.

As much as I wanted to stay, I had to tear myself away from the group and head back to Staples for the ice dance finals. As usual, the ice dance discipline provided the most interesting costumes. Roger took one look at the Israeli ice dance team during warm-ups and figured out that they were skating to Jesus Christ Superstar. Eventually the jumbotron confirmed his suspicion. The man is psychic.

The baby Italians had cute and slightly preppy outfits for their performance set to Love Story.

The French team continued to take its design inspiration from hookers. During one of the breaks I spied Frank Carroll in the next section over. Between his own accomplishments as a skater, the skaters he has coached to the most elite levels and the sheer number of years he has been entrenched in the sport, I truly hope he writes a book someday. I would snap it up in a heartbeat. With all the behind-the-scenes info he is sure to have, I'm sure it would be a scintillating read. The American teams did not disappoint. Belbin & Agosto performed passionately to Tosca. In light of the fact that they had sat out most of the season due to Ben having a major back injury, they were phenomenal. There was only one slight moment of hesitation before one of the lifts, which I probabky wouldn't have even noticed had we not been sitting so close.

Davis & White had an outstanding performance that sadly turned out to be the biggest "wuz robbed" moment of the competition. They finished just off the podium, despite the fact that they skated a difficult piece brilliantly and brought the crowd to its feet. The crowd actually booed when their scores were posted; they deserved much higher. But Meryl & Charlie, ever the class act, did not complain and instead attempted to quietly shush their booing fans while being broadcast over the jumbotron from the Kiss n' Cry area.

The final standings. The Russians were on top despite an underwhelming performance. And the Canadian team, who have been on the scene longer than Davis & White, just edged them out for third place. The more things change in ice dancing, the more things stay the same. My friend Lois was so disgusted with the judging that she boycotted the medals ceremony. I don't think she was the only one.

The Book Challenge: Spring Recap

I still have a few more skating posts to finish (insert your "yay!" or "boo!" here), but I figured I better update this little project in the meantime since I am old and forgetful.

April

12. Knit Two by Kate Jacobs

May

13. Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty

14. Dreams From My Father by President Barack Obama

15. Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

June

16. Gossip Girl by Cecily Von Ziegesar

17. You Know You Love Me by Cecily Von Ziegesar

18. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

19. The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

20. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

21. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfield

With half a year to go I am slightly less than halfway towards meeting the challenge. I think the remainder of the Gossip Girl series will help me make up some lost ground. ;-)

Not All Of Them Are Gay

If you haven't guessed yet, this post is mostly about the men's competition. Without fail, almost every non-skating fan I talk to about ice skating asks me at some point whether all of the guys in the sport are gay. Some of them are, but, no, they all aren't. Even if they are wearing sequins. And does it really matter? I've never quite understood why this question gets asked so much. So let's move on.

See all these Canadians that were sitting across from us at the arena?
I couldn't escape them all week. They were staying with a tour group in my hotel, crowding the bar and the elevators. They even followed me to Panini Cafe one morning for breakfast. This lone CA(lifornia) girl sitting on the side patio was forgotten about as the CA(nadian) mob overtook the front of the restaurant. The food at Panini Cafe was okay: good mimosa, good bacon, good bread, good coffee. But my eggs were overdone. Blech. I hate overcooked eggs.

Lunch later on that day at The Farm was a lot better. The fact that we waited twenty minutes for a table while standing shoulder to shoulder with the legendary Dorothy Hamill and current U.S. ladies' silver medalist Rachael Flatt had nothing to do with it. ;-) I swear, those twenty minutes were the most quiet we had been all week. We were desperately hoping to overhear some hot (or cool?) skating gossip. After we were seated I ordered ahi tuna, served three ways.

I also mooched off of V's cheese platter.

The men's short program had more interesting audio moments than visual moments. Did you know techno music is just not for raves? It seems the be the go-to music for most men.

The U.S. men's champion, Evan Lysacek, bucked the trend, but by skating to Bolero. For those of you not as obsessed as I am, Bolero is the iconic ice dancing piece skated by Torvill and Dean at the 1984 Olympics. Their performance revolutionized ice dance. Those two pretty much owned that piece of music for almost two decades. No one else dared to skate to it because how could one possibly live up to the expectations? Over the last five years though, Bolero has snuck back into the repertoire of skating music. I still raise my eyebrow when I hear someone skating to it; I expect them to bring it. Despite his excessive arm flailing, Evan brought it.

Evan's primary compeition was French skater Brian Joubert. Brian opted for a lively techno number, that seemed more like a piece for show skating. Much to the delight of tweens and cougars, he worked in some Chippendale-esque hip thrusts into his routine.

We ended up back at the Yard House that night. From left to right: R, Me, C, A, A's Fabulous Mom, V and L. L is the woman responsible for having brought most of us together. Back in 2002, when we were still all strangers on FSU, L arranged a block of group seating for FSUers for the '02 U.S. Nationals, which were also held at Staples Center. The area has changed quite a bit since then -- all for the better! C befriended us at the '06 U.S. Nationals in St. Louis. Having been seated in the row in front of us, he overheard all our snark and couldn't stay away. We were thankful we didn't scare him away with our chatter. We met A and her mom at Worlds, although A already seemed to familiar through her posts on the board.

The (over)use of techno made an appearance in the men's long program too. I forgave this guy for it as he was vastly entertaining, channeling his inner Mr. Roboto.

The other crowd pleaser of the evening was Italian skater Samuel Contesti. He skated a program with a spaghetti western theme. Plus he's easy on the eyes.

This is the joy of victory. Evan Lysacek skated a stellar long program to Rhapsody in Blue.

This is the agony of defeat. Brian Joubert skated a sloppy program to the soundtrack of The Matrix (for like the third season in a row). He broke the cardinal rule of being a good competitor and tried to change his program elements as he skated. That's a big no-no, since muscle memory is a vital part of being a good skater. Changing elements mid-program also shifts your mental focus. If it works out, then it's great. But more often than not it results in silly mistakes, as Brian learned the hard way, falling on what should have been an easy double axel.

The final standings. The pleasant suprise was the silver-place finish by Canadian skater Patrick Chan. He and Brian Joubert had quite the war of words in the press regarding the necessity of doing quadruple jumps. Patrick = no quad. Brian = quad. On this night, the quad lost. It was the first time a U.S. man has won the gold at Worlds since Todd Eldredge's win in 1996.

I only took this picture because Dr. Debi Thomas and Tiffany Chin were presenting the medals to the men. Those two were my idols when I skated as a kid. I still have some of Debi's performances on VHS.

The guys had to do a lot of posing for the media.

After all the media shots were done, the skaters stuck around for their fans. Brian Joubert came over to our section. L hustled down to the front and returned with the most funny and bizarre story of the week. L always gets the best stories and gossip:

Apparently a middle-aged woman came rushing down the stairs toward Brian, holding an envelope. She shouted at him, "Brian I have something for you," while handing over the envelope. Then she insisted that he open it. Most people assumed it was perhaps a photo she wanted him to sign, or a racy photo of herself she wanted him to have. Instead it was a picture of her cat. A cat she named "Brian Joubert", because she is such a huge fan. Skater Joubert politely smiled, thanked her, then tried to return the photo of Cat Joubert. The woman, however, refused to take it back and said she printed that photo out especially for him.

And you all thought I'm a crazy skating fan ;-) ......