Tuesday, December 14, 2010

This and That


Alissa Czisny's magical exhibition from the GPF.

Paul Wylie was on the ice to promote the National Championships in Greensboro.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are back training.  They are performing in a Christmas show this weekend.  It is interesting that Tessa was able to have her surgery in Canada without having to be put on a waiting list.  Tessa and Scott are hoping to be ready for Nationals.  Scott didn't train with a sandbag this time around because he was healing a minor back injury.

Cerasela Patrascu and Anamaria Tamirjan retired from gymnastics following the World Championships.


Andreea Raducan released her autobiography.  It is all about how she worked beautifully with Belu and Bitang.  The autobiography is about as realistic and detailed as Dominique Moceanu: An American Champion.




Marlie unveiled a new official website.

Alina Kabayeva is on the cover of this month's issue of Russian Vogue.








Finale of the Caesars Tribute
Urbanski and Marval at the Caesars Tribute

12 comments:

  1. Does anyone else notice that Alina has the same expression in every picture? A little surprising considering her flair for drama ...

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  2. It isn't that interesting at all that Tessa didn't have to wait. For non-emergency surgeries like Tessa's, athletes always get special consideration, nobody makes much of a fuss over it. I have a torn labrum in my shoulder (same injury that Sam Peszek had) and I am fine with knowing that elite athletes will get bumped ahead of me for months. Just like when I was more on an elite level a few years ago, I would have pissed if some fat bitch who swam twice a week for fun got put ahead of me!

    Incidentally, I am going to eventually be having my sugery at the same place as Tessa...home to many NHL'ers and Olympians.

    Should I go the show in London to see Tessa and Scott and report back?

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  3. That dress is WAY more flattering on Czisny than either of her competition dresses.

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  4. Kabaeva article isn't super interesting... softball questions and answers... talking about how she wanted to quit many times... "I remember, I was little and after a practice someone treated me with watermelon. I was in a tight costume, and, apparently my stomach was sticking out. [coach] Irina Alexandrovna Viner saw me and goes, 'get on the scale!' And I was only half a kilo heavier and Viner goes: 'well, that's it, pack up your things and go back to Uzbekistan!' And my mother, who was sitting right there, added, 'go on, I'm staying here.
    No one pitied me!"... :[

    Later, "You know, I have my own style. Trends come and go, but style doesn't go anywhere. I just have it inside of me. I feel the energy - of things, of people. It's not that I'm stroking my ego. And not that I am an expert. I just have this light inside of me - that's all."

    "'My phone broke today - couldn't handle my energy,' laughs Alina." [maniacally?!]

    "-Who do you respect in politics?
    -Those people, who are currently running the country." (...)

    "Imagine, my first meeting with constituents [she's a deputy in the Duma] lasted five hours! And there were tears."

    "-Do you believe that you can change anything?
    -I do! I can change a lot. I am confident that I can change the world!"

    Interviewer: "Looking into my eyes, she can say "I love this country!" - and say it so passionately that I feel something like jealousy because I love this country as many times a day as I hate it. But I understand the nature of Kabaeva's patriotism - she had to so often stand on the pedestal under the sounds of the Russian anthem and to feel in that moment that she is Russia."

    "-I know that your mother is a great cook, but the Uzbek kitchen is death for the figure. How do you deal with excess weight? Viner told me that you always led a half-starved life.
    -Not so! I'll now open for her a secret that we ate everything. Bananas, and chocolates we'd throw in our hoods. We were kids! How can you not eat chocolate? Not eat ice cream? And they thought all we ate was what they gave us in the dining room!...
    -What did you have for breakfast today?
    -Cottage cheese with honey and coffee...
    -Do you live outside the city or in the city- center?
    -In the center.
    -With your mother?
    -No, alone. I visit my mother. My mother, my grandmother, my litter sister Leysana, and my cousin all live here. I also have a nephew now, Arseniy. True, everyone thinks that he's my son (she laughs)"

    "...Even a strong, successful woman must understand that the man - is the most important, is the family's rock. Let's not lie to each other and say we do everything for ourselves. Where would be without men!
    -Men in our country fear strong women.
    -It seems to me that some of our women don't behave properly. At work you must be strong, but when you come home - a loving wife and mother."

    ... the sociological theories of Alina Kabaeva, etc.

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  5. Please do go see Tessa and Scott and even videotape if possible.

    Thank you so much for the Kabayeva translation!

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  6. That Alissa exhibition was just gorgeous!

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  7. Alissa shows everyone what figure skating is supposed to be. All of the tiny jumps tacked on to combos, leg grabs, pretzel spins, etc. that we see under the current system have nearly crowded out the beauty of the sport. Thank you, Alissa, for reminding us.

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  8. Alissa's performance was great, but I wish she'd picked some other version of "You'll Never Walk Alone". Sissel Kyrkjebø's, for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2s8kagz43E

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  9. Anonymous said...

    Alissa shows everyone what figure skating is supposed to be. All of the tiny jumps tacked on to combos, leg grabs, pretzel spins, etc. that we see under the current system have nearly crowded out the beauty of the sport. Thank you, Alissa, for reminding us.
    December 14, 2010 1:07 PM

    Ummm- she's beautiful but she does all of the above....

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  10. --Ummm- she's beautiful but she does all of the above.... --
    Not in that program.

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  11. That music was disgusting. As soon as I heard that awful screeching I knew I couldn't watch that routine, no matter how lovely it supposedly is. Your music is one of the most important elements of your program, and if you have nasty music, you do not get my audience.

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  12. To Anon 10:13 PM
    Just turn the sound off!

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