blamebrampton: 15th century woodcut of a hound (Default)
blamebrampton ([personal profile] blamebrampton) wrote2010-02-19 11:22 pm

STILL not well, so you get men's skating.

Miles after everyone else on my flist has watched the men's skating final, it's shown here. We have only highlights coverage, so the top five or six, usually, and maybe someone who failed SPECTACULARLY. I'm also so VERY spoiled by you lot, so I am going to assume I am the last to know, and I am fairly certain my attention span will wander before I remember to mention who came first, second or third.

American Evan Lysacek: He's terribly good, but who choreographed this routine? He looks like a man fleeing giant spiders in a toffee factory. *Skate! Skate! Jump over spider! FLAIL! Have hands stuck to toffee and wave frantically!* Madness, sheer madness! All very excellent and precise and I have nothing interesting to say about him. Ho hum, he'll probably do very well.

Swiss Stephane Lambiel: Oh! He screwed up his first quad! (Does that mean he's mostly a man, Plushenko?) Who cares? He is SO PRETTY! And his choreography makes sense, even if it is tremendously Nureyev circa 1963 (actually, there's a lot of Nureyev about him). He can layover round here any time! And he has the haughty princess head toss (TM Roy & HG) down pat. I like the way he skates with his whole body rather than just remembering occasionally that he has arms and shoulders. And I liked his Loch Ness Monster hand puppetry in the spins, too!

Oh goody. Australian 'comedian' interlude. Sports coverage on commercial television here is as news coverage on commercial television in the US. Actually, now that I think about it, so's news coverage. Thank god for the ABC and SBS.

Japan's Daisuke Takahashi: Why is he wearing a PLO scarf? With an Adam and the Ants vest? But LOVELY choreography. Oooh! And he's down! And straight back up, bless. He moves beautifully, too. Not as many techy bits as Evan, but I like his style more. And he's v pretty, too. He and Stephane could come over and explain the finer points of figure skating to me, Or read from the phone book. Or just stand there ... His choreography has changes of mood! And cockiness! HURRAH! I thought I would be dead of earnestness by halfway through this. Bless you artistic Japanese skaters! I have no idea who the Australian female skating commentator is, but she sounds like Raelene Boyle and I keep waiting for her to tell someone to piss off. Ah Daisuke, you ended with the 'do you love me?' arms, and yes, yes we do. How could we not? Though you're not as cute in a tracksuit. But who is?

American Johnny Weir!!: I like him for no better reason than he makes Eddie McGuire look like an idiot (Australian insider joke). And he's also pretty! Not convinced by the Aled Jones memorial singalong music, but I suppose MCR would have been too obviously emo. Lovely air in those jumps, and a beautiful line to his body. The Australian commentator has just said 'he wants a medal'. Der!  Ooh, drama in the choreography! And yet nothing much is happening. I suppose it's emo drama, after all. I wonder if he's on lj? Very old school in his long lines of steps and changes, which I rather like, but I think he might need a bit more flash to win, which is a shame as this is the most convincingly artistic so far. Ooh! There's some flash! And spirit fingers! YES! Talking about fingers, say no to suits that look as though they have white hand prints on your black bum ... he screwed up his earlier spin, but that one is terrific! And the traditional American chest-bashing ending, ah bless you, lamby! And I like the flower wreath ;-) And Lady Gaga references. (I know you have a Gerard Way poster in your room, Johnny, you can't fool me (It IS Gerard, isn't it? Oh I'm Gen X, I don't care.)) Nice post-interview, too -- Aussie girl: We love you! Johnny: Me too!

And Russian Evgeni Plushenko: Wearing ego, mullet and really awful bodysuit. Very manly starting stance. I can feel the testosterone! QUAD! TRIPLE! I Wish I Was in Riverdance Arms! Most masculine. And now a minor cock-up, followed by some lovely jumps and a good spin sequence. No, seriously, did Michael Flatley choreograph this? Plushenko's very good, but about as appealing as Flatley in connecting with the audience. Does that matter in skating? I suppose the judges will let me know. And what's with the medallion? Great jumps, though. And some more. And some more ...Now crazy legs and I think he needs to wee. DAMN YOU FLATLEY! Since you, choreographers think they can just mix a bit of this and that and everyone will like it! NO! It's like mixing all the spirits at the end of the cocktail party: it never works well! I like his spinny end, though. He's technically very good. He just needs a really serious makeover. He should ask Johnny. Maybe they could come together and forge a beautiful friendship? Though Evgeni, if he says 'Yeah, white hands on black bums!' draw the line. Unless, you know, it's somewhere private and you have a safe word.

And that's it for us, apparently. Channel Nine, you suck.

In happier news, HAPPY BIRTHDAY yesterday for [livejournal.com profile] captainsiri  and today for [livejournal.com profile] kudilu , may you both have hot people of any flavour you prefer appearing with gifts and footrubs!

[identity profile] animeartistjo.livejournal.com 2010-02-20 07:41 am (UTC)(link)
Have you seen THIS yet? ;)

[identity profile] enchanted-jae.livejournal.com 2010-02-20 08:22 am (UTC)(link)
He looks like a man fleeing giant spiders in a toffee factory. *Skate! Skate! Jump over spider! FLAIL! Have hands stuck to toffee and wave frantically!* Madness, sheer madness!

OMG. Why are YOU not writing blogs for the Olympics? That is comedic genius, right there.

[identity profile] blamebrampton.livejournal.com 2010-02-20 09:33 am (UTC)(link)
Oh God no! I covered Sydney 2000, never again! Between official sensitivities and athletes with egos the size of, er, mine, it was demented! Although if I had the time and money, it would be fun to take a fortnight out and just do it as a personal project. And then I could be mean! BTW, you are far too kind!

[identity profile] adevyish.livejournal.com 2010-02-20 11:52 am (UTC)(link)
It's a pity all the videos are getting pulled down just as fast as they were uploaded because some of the earlier skaters were just as entertaining, like Javier Fernandez stumbling around drunkenly to Pirates of the Caribbean and Adrian Schultheiss's insane laughter. (Although perhaps it's a good thing that the earlier skaters aren't broadcasted, since I handily embarrassed myself while cheering for newcomers Denis Ten and Florent Amodio.)

[identity profile] niennas-gift.livejournal.com 2010-02-20 04:42 pm (UTC)(link)
God, I was riveted to the men's skating! To the point of missing sleep. I was a total sucker for the brooding Russian skater schtick - mullet or no mullet (plus the drive around St. Petersburg). But your right about the (dreaded) Flatley thing. I hadn't noticed it at the time, thank God.

P.S. You might not know what the hell I'm talking about because it was NBC here in U.S. that put together the whole "I'm-an-angsty-Russian" montage . . . maybe you can see it on YouTube. It's very heavyhanded, which means I fell for it instantly :D

[identity profile] blamebrampton.livejournal.com 2010-02-23 02:14 pm (UTC)(link)
If only I had a lawn!

[identity profile] blamebrampton.livejournal.com 2010-02-23 02:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Mmmmmmm! Chicken soup! I need more Jewish friends in Australia, you know. Most of mine are in the UK or US :-(

[identity profile] blamebrampton.livejournal.com 2010-02-23 02:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Hee! Ah Torah, she's a classy chick :-)

That was the nicest thing about Johnny, he seemed to care about his sport as an artform far more than about the prospect of winning or losing.

[identity profile] blamebrampton.livejournal.com 2010-02-23 02:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Johnny Weir and Gerard would get along really well, I feel. They could critique each other's prancing techniques. ♥

*SNORT!* You just know they would hand-calligraph the score cards ...

[identity profile] blamebrampton.livejournal.com 2010-02-23 02:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh be fair, I am slightly taller than that!

And I have been saving up your Florence post till I am not swaying. SO JEALOUS!

[identity profile] blamebrampton.livejournal.com 2010-02-23 02:27 pm (UTC)(link)
You would regret it the minute she started offering you advice on everything from menus to picking up men in galleries!

[identity profile] blamebrampton.livejournal.com 2010-02-23 02:28 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm so sorry! Jaffa cakes are a bugger to get out. Though I am sure you have caused me cat-affecting laughter in the past, too ;-)

[identity profile] blamebrampton.livejournal.com 2010-02-23 02:30 pm (UTC)(link)
I think you have the right of it and those are just helpful guides for would-be gropers :-)

[identity profile] blamebrampton.livejournal.com 2010-02-23 02:31 pm (UTC)(link)
I found myself missing the French guy who did the musketeer routine, if only I could recall his name ...

[identity profile] blamebrampton.livejournal.com 2010-02-23 02:33 pm (UTC)(link)
If you can, get your hands on a DVD of The Dream or The Ice Dream by Roy Slaven and HG Nelson. I am as nothing before their greatness.

[identity profile] blamebrampton.livejournal.com 2010-02-23 02:35 pm (UTC)(link)
I could see so much of my life disappearing if I took a step down that path ... treacle_tarlet's daughter had me in stitches with her declaration over Weir: 'Oh Mummy, he's so beautiful!'

[identity profile] blamebrampton.livejournal.com 2010-02-23 02:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Takahashi was really under-rated! I think if he had not had that one deduction he should have taken the gold. Alas, we didn't even get to see Oda, stupid channel 9!
drgaellon: Men kissing (Kiss Me)

[personal profile] drgaellon 2010-02-23 05:08 pm (UTC)(link)
I didn't know that he's gay, but *winkwinknudgenudge* no one knows. (He does the Sean P. Hayes thing and just flat out refuses to answer, but it's just the worst kept secret.) That still leaves NO uncloseted gay men in figure skating; AFAIK, there hasn't been one since Rudy Galindo retired.
drgaellon: Sam and Dean: They're dorks, but they're our dorks. (Our Dorks)

[personal profile] drgaellon 2010-02-23 05:09 pm (UTC)(link)
It's REALLY HARD to manage the big jumps when you're that tall! Lysacek may NEVER pull off a quad.
drgaellon: My fandom don't need no stinkin' PHOTOSHOP! (Janto No Photoshop)

[personal profile] drgaellon 2010-02-23 05:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Plushenko isn't broody, just pouty. :D

[identity profile] bonfoi.livejournal.com 2010-02-23 08:03 pm (UTC)(link)
I think he may have but he broke his foot and the quad landing kills him with the pain.
fourth_rose: (Default)

[personal profile] fourth_rose 2010-02-23 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Philippe Candeloro - oh yes, I remember that routine!

[identity profile] alex-s9.livejournal.com 2010-02-24 10:23 am (UTC)(link)
We're even, then. *nod*

[identity profile] alex-s9.livejournal.com 2010-02-25 02:53 pm (UTC)(link)
It's me again, because it was too funny not to share.

Lysacek is extremely skilled technically, yet he is not the most graceful skater. In his black onesie, with his long arms and legs and his slicked-back hairstyle—a pomaded look that makes his head seem smaller than it is—he resembled nothing so much as a water spider that had woken up in Antarctica. He skittered and leapt and swiveled, his arms waving up and down (he seems to forget his hands are attached). Near the end, his hair came loose and popped up as he twisted into a spinning web of arms and legs. Powerful and flexible, he dominated the ice but didn't seduce it.

It's from this article and now I really must see this programme.

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