Tuesday, September 4, 2012

This and That

The Shibs get their Geisha on.
 Yes, the Shibs are going to be skating to Memoirs of a Geisha. That team we are supposed to love is getting in touch with their Japanese heritage while hoping we forget what geishas are all about. I don't know that Maia and Alex are the ones to act it out, but I'm anticipating a more generic program in kimonos somewhat similar to Mirai's botched effort. It will just be trained about 10,000 times more than Mirai ever managed to.


Gabby, McKayla and Kyla at a VMAs presser (Jordyn and Aly were at LIVE with Kelly.) Will we ever see them compete again?


Jordyn and Aly on LIVE with Kelly.

Katia Gordeeva and Ilia Kulik opened their own ice skating training session. Imagine her skating skills with his jumps. To. Die. For. The drama of the 'are they or aren't they together' aspect of Russian marriage should entertain the skating moms year round.

Larisa Iordache has recovered from her broken sole. Catalina Ponor and Sandra Izbasa have both decided to continue their gymnastics careers despite Ponor's initial claims of retirement.





Ricky Dornbush's short from Golden West.


Doug Razzano's short


Sean Rabbit's short

34 comments:

  1. Kyla? yes. we will see her compete again. she will at least be on the podium at usa nationals and at worlds for aa and beam. the other four? ummm no. doubtful. perhaps a disasterous event or two at classics. but on the intl stage? the other four are done

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  2. This is one of the youngest teams the US has had in recent memory. All the fame and attention will die down after the tour...so I think/hope at least 2 of them will keep going.. I'd actually love for all of them to continue...therefore I'm actively rooting against all of their potential entertainment/DWTS opportunities for now. Sorry, kids.

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    1. Hopefully the media doesn't ruin their chance for another Olympics. I think that Gabby, McKayla and Kyla have a shot.

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    2. You are both high... There is so much depth in the juniors! No room for a one eventer like mckayla. Gabby will be a media star/ whore by then. Lyla is a shoo in if she doesn't get hurt.

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    3. Just because McKayla was a one eventer is this Olympics, doesn't mean she can't compete on the other events. Her FX is actually pretty good. Well maybe except for that dumb always OOB third pass. However, I'm pretty sure Martha was going to use her for quals over Kyla had she not broken her toe. So yeah.

      It would such a shame not to be able to see her future TTY. Unless that is just talk for media attention. Like Sasha Cohen's quad. lol.

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  3. how is it that mckayla and kyla always manage to dress so nicely, yet gabby always shows up in something either hideous or trashy? her outfit on david lettermen was tacky and trashy, although the other four were dressed nicely, and the dress here is hideous, yet mckayla and kyla have cute, nice dresses on. given how rich gabby is about to become, she could at least put a nice dress on for media appearances.....

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    1. I actually think Gabby's look in this picture is classy and flattering...

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    2. I think Gabby's dress looks pretty nice here - at least what I can see of it (the angle gives sort-of a restricted view). I wasn't feeling her Letterman outfit all that much - but it is a stretch to say that everyone else looked nice on Letterman but Gabby. I hated Jordyn's outfit - with that blocky-shaped gold-lame blouse, or whatever it was. It did her no favors.

      I think Kyla is the best-dressed much of the time - classy and tasteful. Maybe part of it is the way she carries herself - and her bodytype (as my Mom and Grandmother have said - some people just have bodies that look "dressy" in clothes). At her young age, Kyla is already the anti-Kerri Strug.

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    3. Speaking of clothes and how one looks - you know who always looks nice (at least for a woman her age)? Marta Karolyi. She may be the devil - but that is one baadd bish. Hair always coiffed, nails always done...always manages to look dressy even in a tracksuit. And her body is the business for a woman pushing 70!

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    4. Hello idiots. Criticizing someone's outfit DOES NOT make someone a racist. It's idiots like Anon at 8:23 that have helped to completely DEVALUE the issue of racism. Every time someone disagrees with a person of color, they're automatically "racist." As a result, the whole issue of "racism" is a complete joke now - it's just a way to shut down an argument or opinion you don't like. Shame on anyone who chooses to use that term in such a thoughtless way.

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    5. True anon @ 11:00, but it wasn't a criticism of her outfit. She was called Trashy (anon @ 6:00), and that is different than just criticizing Gabby's dress (which is knee length and covers her chest... what's trashy there?) What is different about her that makes her trashy compared to her teammates? Maybe the person who made the comment is not a racist, maybe they are, who knows in the anonymous blogosphere? That aside, there is an intense hatred of Gabby on these blogs for absolutely no reason. A lot of the Gabby comments do have a racist undertone, and it is sickening. Look at any blog post about her over the past year on this blog, I'm sure you'll find plenty of examples in the comment section. Anon @8:23 has an excellent point, but it was probably better placed on one of the millions of more overtly racist comments that appear on AJ's blog posts. And Racism is not a "complete joke". It is serious and its an issue that permeates American society. Whether or not society chooses to admit it.

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    6. I'm sorry, but this is the most pathetic excuse for an "argument" that I have ever heard. Calling a person or their outfit "trashy" DOES NOT make someone a racist. It means they have a frigging opinion. I have called plenty of people of my own race "trashy" - am I racist against my own kind?

      Frankly, all you are doing is projecting your own paranoias and your own judgmentalism ("Everyone who criticizes Gabby is a racist!") onto me. MLK would be ashamed of people like you, who pull the race card every time they are offended or don't agree with someone's opinion. By doing that, you are completely devaluing the entire issue of racism.

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  4. Anon @ 8:11: Geishas are certainly not prostitutes but Arthur Golden's book (and the movie to a much greater extent) perpetuates the myth of the geisha-as-sex-worker. Sayuri's relationship with the Chairman, which appears to be the relationship Maia and Alex will portray, is ultimately sexual. Sayuri's journey in Memoirs is sexual - remember the pivotal deflowering scene? Even if they don't play it as romantic, the connotations will be there and the audience is going to recoil. It's clear that Marina has absolutely no idea what to do with the Shibs' talent. They need to move.

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  5. Looks like the puberty bug has already bit Maroney, the that I think could least afford to be bit. ( gymnastics wise that is, she looks great)

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  6. I think the only one who I think is really, truly done is Jordyn Wieber. Then again, it's possible that the opportunities from endorsements will be too great for Gabby to pass up. You bitches all know in your heart of hearts that Aly Raisman will be with us forever.

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  7. Aly is a workhorse, she already said she misses being in the gym and I sincerely believe her.

    Kyla is back in the gym, and I think she has some room to upgrade and improve.

    Jordyn may have already peaked but she may not be done yet, depends on how she comes back from her injury.

    McKayla is an enigma wrapped in an enigma. She strikes me as one who works really hard but doesn't want to show that so much.

    Gabby is in no way done, she can also still improve and make some changes depending on the next CoP.

    All but Kyla are pro so they are liable to go in any direction the wind may take them.

    What's so exciting is there is so much talent still left to tap into (eligible for 2013 Worlds):
    Sarah Finnegan
    Maddie Desch
    Elizabeth Price
    Lexie Priessman
    Simone Biles
    Kennedy Baker
    Katelyn Ohashi

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    1. Good points! Will be interesting to see what happens!

      With I feel that Gabby is physically capable of doing so much more than what she performed at the Olympics-- hopefully she can stay focused and not let Sheryl Shade take over. I think Aly will continue but she may have peaked. But I love her, and want to see more! And McKayla needs some time off but I really want to see that triple!

      Will be an interesting quad... I'm particularly curious to see how well Norah Flatley from Chows and Laurie Hernandez from Monmouth might fit into the mix a few years from now..

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    2. And that's just the Americans. The Russian juniors are something fierce. Mark my work Kharenkova will be a major player in 2016. The Americans won't have room for any of the fierce 5 if they want to compete for gold.

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    3. I sort-of got chills when Liang Chow said on Oprah's Next Chapter that Gabby hasn't reached her full potential. It would be nice if we got to see more of her full capabilities - but why do I have my doubts that we will?

      The day she won the all-around, I felt strongly that she should retire - just go out on top, quit while she is ahead. I guess now, my feelings are mixed - I'm always for people developing their full potential. I'm just worried about her mental-game - how all of the burdens of being AA champion will affect her already-shaky consistency. And she has all of these sideshows going on (her father, the various controversies) that may complicate things further.

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  8. @Anon 8:41... I read Golden's book and saw the movie. I felt that either portrayed Geisha's as out and out prostitutes. Her love for the Chairman was a very soul mate type relationship. However, to say that Geisha did not at one time have a shade of prostitution is not accurate either.

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  9. MYKAYLA SKINNER FOR 2016!!!

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  10. The Shibs freak me out.. Incest always comes to mind when I watch them... It's hard to believe their programs because they can't portray romantic love

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  11. Shibs skating to Memoirs is a little weird....alex as the chairman and maia sayuri? But whatever, anythings gotta be better than another perky jazzy number

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  12. hon, you're completely ignoring alex's arms, aside from the proverbial jpeg or gif, which indicates your lack of nuance and closeted putin fetish. same difference, if you knew your history. forget convention charades. feed your habit of western nostalgia and go see the premiere of allegiance the musical at the old globe for campy theatrics.

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  13. the incessant racism, anti-semitism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, and islamophobia on this blog, not to mention the laziness (occasional moderation is not that difficult: google american censorship and censorship in america for a clue) is risking foreclosures and boycotts.

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    1. Debt Collector, how exactly does one "Foreclose" on a blog? It's not AJ's fault if people make rude or tasteless remarks.

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  14. oops, *with a lot of comments that use racism

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