#2019 Skate America

[figureskatingcostumes]

Bradie Tennell's free program costume at the 2020 Four Continents and 2020 Skate America. One of my favourite dresses of hers, so I'm glad she wore it for two different programs: Cinema Paradiso and Sarajevo/Dawn of Faith.

(Sources: 1, 2 and 3)

[austerlitzborodinoleipzig]

Hocke/Kunkel Skate America Champions !!!!!!!!

[cw-coffeeandice]

ESPN The Magazine

Author: @cw-coffeeandice

Title: ESPN The Magazine

Summary: When the family is featured in an ESPN article, Hannah feels a certain way after reading it. Based on the ESPN article published under the same name.

Comment: I wrote this while watching Team USA make history at the World Juniors after watching an incredible PWHL game between Boston and Montreal. In general, today was a great day to be a hockey fan.

If you enjoyed this, please feel free to let me know through an ask, like, comment, or reblog. I’m always open to prompts, suggestions, and feedback!

Please note this writing is unedited.

Keep reading

ESPN The Magazine - 2018

Five copies of the magazine arrived in the mailbox in a sealed envelope—one for each child, plus one for Jim and Ellen. Unofficially, Jim had started collecting articles, photos, and special moments featuring his kids, which he liked to keep in his office.

After a long week of school, practices, and ice time, the three younger kids were finally home, having been chauffeured around by Ellen for yet another round of practices. With Jack in the NTDP program, spending his days online for school, he was on the ice more than ever. Watching their older brothers excel at such a high level was tough for Jack and Hannah. Their natural instinct was to be jealous of all the extra ice time Jack had now. Seeing that now, multiple times each week while they sat in a classroom, room Jack was playing Hockey without them.

Later that evening, after dinner, a mini sticks game, and their usual nighttime routines, Hannah sat in bed, eager to read the article. Each sibling had been interviewed, and she couldn’t wait to hear what her brothers had said. As she flipped through the pages, she smiled at the photos of all of them together, laughing at something Luke had said. It was thrilling to see herself and her brothers featured,

Meet the Hughes brothers, America's future first family of hockey. ESPN The Magazine

The cover photo captures the entire family in their living room. Mom wears her college sweater, Dad proudly displays his Providence jersey, Quinn sports his university gear, Luke is decked out in his U-17 US national team kit, and Jack and Hannah are in their Batman gear.

The article introduced the family, opening with Jack’s viral video from November. While it focused mainly on the eldest siblings, highlighting Jack’s potential as the top pick in the 2019 draft and Quinn’s record-breaking college career, the piece also mentioned how all three boys were poised to become the future of hockey. There was even a nod to Hannah’s impressive performance as the lead scorer on her team, though she was still in the shadow of her brothers’ growing fame.

Raised by a mother like Ellen, who supported and encouraged her children’s passions with unwavering love, none of them had ever seriously questioned their dreams. However, as Hannah read about her older brothers' success and predicted futures in the article, she couldn’t help but feel the sting of being overlooked. There was no mention of her potential hockey success, no mention of her goal to play in college. It stung in a way she hadn’t anticipated, and before she could stop herself, tears welled up in her eyes.

She wiped them away quickly and threw the magazine on the floor as she settled into bed, letting herself cry, feeling a mix of frustration and self-doubt.

The next morning, Jack was practically buzzing with excitement over the article, not even a little grumpy as he devoured his breakfast, a pre-practice meal made by Dad. Luke was similarly energized by the piece, eager to show it off to his friends at school that Monday.

As usual, Hannah joined her brothers on the ice that morning. Her team had night practices, so she often tagged along to skate with them. Today, Jim had organized small group skating drills with other students and instructors to help hone the skills of his elite skaters. By the time Hannah made it downstairs, Jim had to guard her plate from her older brothers, who were ready to inhale everything in sight.

The boys spent breakfast dissecting the article: “Did you see how they described my goal?” Jack asked. “I knew I was the funniest in the family,” Luke added. “Maybe the funniest-looking,” Jack teased back. Jim noticed Hannah was quieter than usual—she didn’t even fight them for the front seat of the car.

At the rink, the kids warmed up and stretched before diving into dryland exercises. These were followed by nearly two hours of intense drills, culminating in a three-on-three scrimmage with the other skaters invited out.

Jim watched all three of his kids on the ice but kept his eye on Hannah. As she skated, he could see her carefully applying the coaches' feedback. By the time they moved into the scrimmage, Jim saw a spark in her he hadn’t noticed before. She was just as competitive as her brothers, but something was different.

Hannah wanted it all. She wanted to be seen like her brothers—she wanted to break records like Quinn, be a top draft pick like Jack, and earn the same opportunities that Luke has. She was determined to prove that she belonged. The article had stoked something in her. She was mad about how it made her feel—angry and hurt—and she used that emotion to push herself harder on the ice.

During the scrimmage, Jack broke away, skating toward the net. Hannah, now defending, pushed herself harder, determined to stop him. As Jack pulled for a shot, she tracked his movement, timed her back-check, and successfully knocked the puck out of his possession. Luke was closing in, but Hannah beat him to it, spinning around the net and pushing toward center ice. She felt her brothers' pressure behind her but didn’t back down. Jack, trying to catch up, checked her using the same move she just did to him.

It was a clean check , but Hannah did fall to the ice, so she let herself slide to a stop. Breathing hard, she got up to her feet, knowing she wasn’t hurt that bad, but she would be sore later.

"You good?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.

"Yeah," she said, brushing herself off.

“Next time, stay on your feet,” Jack joked, grinning.

Hannah rolled her eyes. “Sure, next time,” she muttered. She assisted on two goals, helping her team beat Jack and Luke’s team.

That evening, many of the girls on Hannah’s team had read the article and were gushing over how cute they thought Jack and Quinn were. Hannah found it strange and couldn’t help but roll her eyes. They clearly didn’t know her brothers like she did—they were just stinky, annoying boys.

That night, as she lay in bed, Hannah couldn’t stop thinking about the article. Was it because she was adjusting to playing on an all-girls team, was it because she felt distanced from her brothers, or was it the first time she truly felt like she wasn’t given the same chances as them? It didn’t seem fair, and she was going to prove them all wrong.

[kaleidodreams]

Updated 100 Memorable Skating Programs

Back in 2018, I created the original version of this list. (You can find the master post here.) Since 2024 marks my 30th year as an official fan of figure skating and there have been some more great programs created since the last time, I thought it was about time to update the list in honor of World Ice Skating Day. Same rules apply as last time:

Only senior competitive programs starting from the 1993-1994 season are eligible, since that's the first season I really started watching figure skating.

Each skater may only be listed once, unless a partner/discipline switch is involved.

Choice of music may also not be repeated. (Yes, there are two James Bond programs on the list, but Yuna and Wakaba use different music for the most part, so I'm letting it slide.)

I debated long and hard about whether or not I should still include programs from skaters who have proven themselves to be not so great people. I'm someone who has little difficulty separating the art from the artist, so in the end, I decided to keep them listed (although most of them got knocked down a few pegs). This list is more about the choreography than the skater anyway, although there are certainly some problematic choreographers out there, too. (Looking at you especially, Morozov!) So, just because a skater is listed doesn't mean that I'm a fan of them or that I condone their actions! I just think certain programs are still great regardless of the skaters' terrible behavior off the ice.

Choreographers are noted if known. If you know who choreographed the programs without a choreographer named, please let me know!

I've also created a handy playlist on YouTube if you don't want to click on all these links.

Ashley Wagner - Moulin Rouge (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2016 Worlds

Jason Brown - Melancholy (Rohene Ward) 2023 Nationals

Patrick Chan - Phantom of the Opera (Lori Nichol) 2011 Canadian Nationals

Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje -Je suis malade (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2012 Worlds

Meryl Davis/Charlie White - Kajra Re/Silsila Ye Chahat Ka/Dola Re Dola (Marina Zueva, Igor Shpilband, and Anuja Rajendra) 2010 Olympics

Mao Asada - Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 (Tatiana Tarasova) 2014 Olympics

Sui/Han - Rain, In Your Black Eyes (Lori Nichol) 2019 Worlds

Marina Anissina/Gwendal Peizerat - Romeo & Juliet 1998 Olympics

Cain/LeDuc - W.E. (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2022 US Nationals

Daisuke Takahashi - Blues for Klook (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2012 Worlds

Kurt Browning - Casablanca (Sandra Bezic) 1994 Olympics

Michelle Kwan - Salome (Lori Nichol) 1996 Worlds

Alexei Yagudin - Winter (Tatiana Tarasova and Nikolai Morosov) 2002 Olympics

Jamie Sale/David Pelletier - Love Story (Lori Nichol) 2002 Olympics

Jeremy Abbott - Exogenesis (Jeremy Abbott and Yuka Sato) Nationals 2012

Oksana Grishuk/Evgeni Platov - The Feeling Begins 1997 Worlds

Yuzuru Hanyu - Seimei (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2015 Grand Prix Final

Chock/Bates - Egyptian Snake Dance (Marie-France Dubreuil, Ginette Cournoyer, and Sam Chouinard) 2019 Grand Prix Final

Javier Fernandez - Guys and Dolls (David Wilson) 2016 Worlds

Vanessa James/Morgan Cipres - Sound of Silence (John Kerr and Silvia Fontana) 2017 Euros

Evgenia Medvedeva - Anna Karenina (Daniil Gleichengauz) 2018 Olympics

Nathan Chen - Philip Glass medley (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2021 Worlds

Gabriella Papadakis/Guilliame Cizeron - Elegie (Saxon Fraser and Marie-France Dubreuil) 2022 Olympics

Aljona Savchenko/Bruno Massot - La terre vue du ciel (Christopher Dean) 2018 Olympics

Kevin Aymoz - Bolero (Brice Mousset and Kevin Aymoz) 2023 Skate America

Julia Lipnitskaya - Schindler’s List (Ilia Averbukh) 2014 Olympics

Elena Berezhnaya/Anton Sikharulidze - Lady Caliph 2002 Olympics

Yu-na Kim - James Bond medley (David Wilson) 2010 Olympics

Shoma Uno - Buenos Aires Hora Cero (Mihoko Higuchi) 2016 Grand Prix Final

Michal Brezina - The Way You Look Tonight (Jeffrey Buttle) 2016 Skate Canada

Shae-Lynn Bourne/Victor Kraatz - Riverdance 1998 Olympics

Adam Rippon - O/Fly On (Benji Schwimmer) 2016 Trophee de France

Jeffrey Buttle - Bells of Moscow (David Wilson) 2005 Worlds

Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier - Vincent (Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs) 2019 Canadian Nationals

Rudy Galindo - Swan Lake (Sharlene Franke) 1996 US Nationals

Sasha Cohen - Malaguena (Tatiana Tarasova) 2004 Worlds

Aljona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy - Pina (Ingo Steur) 2011 Grand Prix Final

Samantha Cesario - Carmen (Inese Budevica) 2013 Trophee Eric Bompard

Tatsuki Machida - East of Eden (Phillip Mills) 2014 Worlds

Xue Shen/Hongbo Zhao - Turandot (Lea Ann Miller, Renee Roca, and Gorsha Sur) 2003 Worlds

Kaitlin Hawayek/Jean-Luc Baker - Liebestraume (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2018 Nationals

Olga Mikutina - My Nocturnal Serenade (Rostislav Sinicyn) 2023 Europeans

Lu Chen - The Last Emperor (Toller Cranston) 1995 Worlds

Giada Russo - Red Violin (Edoardo de Bernardis) 2016 Europeans

Junhwan Cha - Fate of the Clockmaker/Cloak and Dagger (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2022 Olympics

Han Yan - La La Land (Yuka Sato and Kurt Browning) 2019 Chinese Interclub League

Wakaba Higuchi - Skyfall (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2018 Worlds

Kazuki Tomono - Die Fledermaus (Misha Ge) 2022 Japanese Nationals

Yuma Kagiyama - Believer (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2024 Worlds

Karen Chen - On Golden Pond (Karen Chen) 2017 Nationals

Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani - Coppelia (Marina Zueva and Cheryl Yeager) 2016 Nationals

Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirov - Manfred Symphony (Peter Tchernyshev) 2014 Skate America

Philippe Candeloro - The Three Musketeers (Natacha Dabadie) 1998 Olympics

Alexander Abt - Songs from the Victorious City 1998 Nations Cup

Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir - Prince medley 2017 Worlds

Ekaterina Gordeeva/Sergei Grinkov - Moonlight Sonata (Marina Zueva) 1994 Olympics

Satoko Miyahara - Madama Butterfly (Tom Dickson) 2017 Japanese Nationals

Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha - The White Crow (Romain Haguenauer and Ginette Cournoyer) 2023 Four Continents

Anjelika Krylova/Oleg Ovsiannikov - Masquerade Waltz 1997 Worlds

Alena Kostornaia - The Departure, November (Daniil Gleikhengauz) 2019 Grand Prix Final

Nelli Zhiganshina/Alexander Gazsi - Two from the Grave (Ilia Averbukh) 2013 Worlds

Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov - The Man and The Shadow (Nikolai Morozov) 2015 Grand Prix Final

Stephanie Rosenthal - Rockit (Stewart and Christi Sturgeon) 2006 Nationals

Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue - Across the Sky, Caught Out In The Rain (Marie-France Dubreuil) 2018 Nationals

Mikhail Kolyada - The Nutcracker (Ilia Averbukh) 2021 Gran Premio d'Italia

Sinead Kerr/John Kerr - The Landing/Turn Around/Gravity of Love (Evgeni Platov) 2008 Worlds

Kaetlyn Osmond - Sous le ciel de Paris, Milord (Lance Vipond) 2016 Grand Prix Final

Carolina Kostner - Ave Maria (Lori Nichol) 2014 Olympics

Karina Manta/Joe Johnson - Sweet Dreams (Christopher Dean) 2019 Nationals

Gracie Gold - Firebird (Lori Nichol) 2016 Nationals

Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri - Atonement/Song For A Little Sparrow (Barbara Fusar-Poli and Corrado Giordani) 2022 Europeans

Keegan Messing - Singing in the Rain (Lance Vipond) 2018 Worlds

Elizabeth Punsalan/Jerod Swallow - Astor Piazolla medley (Igor Shpilband) 1998 Olympics

Rika Kihira - A Beautiful Storm (Tom Dickson) 2018 NHK Trophy

Mariah Bell - Chicago (Rohene Ward) 2016 Skate America

Brian Joubert - Rise (Evgeni Platov) 2009 Europeans

Stephane Lambiel - Poeta (Antonio Najarro) 2007 Worlds

Kaori Sakamoto - The Matrix (Benoit Richaud) 2020 NHK Trophy

Akiko Suzuki - O (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2012 NHK Trophy

Qing Pang/Jian Tong - The Impossible Dream (Shae-Lynn Bourne and David Wilson) 2010 Olympics

Takahito Kozuka - Io ci saro (Lori Nichol) 2014 Japanese National

Smart/Diaz - Mask of Zorro 2022 Europeans

Matt Savoie - Ennio Morricone medley (Tom Dickson) 2006 Nationals

Deniss Vasiljevs - Puttin’ On The Ritz (Benoit Richaud) 2016 Worlds

Caroline Green/Michael Parsons - Violin Concerto No.1 Eso Concerto, Clouds, The Mind on the Wind (Elena Novak and Alexei Kiliakov) 2022 Four Continents

Tara Lipinski - The Rainbow (Sandra Bezic) 1998 Olympics

Denis Ten - SOS d'un terrien en détresse (David Wilson) 2017 Shanghai Trophy

Valentina Marchei/Ondrej Hotarek - Tu Vuo Fa L'Americano (Massimo Scali) 2018 Europeans

Krisztina Czako - The Addams Family (Igor Bobrin) 1997 Europeans

Cheng Peng/Yang Jin - My Drag (Lori Nichol) 2016 GPF

Bradie Tennell - Mechanisms, Chronos (Benoit Richaud) 2020 4CC

Evgeny Plushenko - Tribute to Nijinsky 2004 Russian Nationals

Vanessa Gusmeroli - Rats D'Hotel 1999 Worlds

Julianne Seguin/Charlie Bilodeau - Monde Inverse (Shae-Lynn Bourne and Shae Zukiwsky) 2015 Skate America

Isabeau Levito - Dulcea Și Tandra Mea Fiară (Yulia Kuznetsova) 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva - Batwannis Beek/Sandstorm (Tatiana Prokofieva) 2015 Europeans

Kana Muramoto/Daisuke Takahashi - Soran Bushi (Marina Zoueva, Ilia Tkachenko, and Koyo Yanai) 2021 NHK Trophy

Amber Glenn - This Time (Kaitlyn Weaver and Randi Strong) 2024 Lombardia Trophy

Ivan Righini - You Raise Me Up (Ivan Righini) 2016 Europeans

Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte - Life is Beautiful (Liudmila Vlasova) 2017 NHK Trophy

[thyme-in-a-bubble]

a list of some winter movies/series ❄️

hello! your friendly neighbourhood little organisation freak of a goblin is here again to give you a list of winter movies and series. this isn't a christmas focused list, just winter vibes, there's only a very very small handful of christmas centred stuff on here. as always, just close your eyes and point somewhere on this little list, or even put the numbers in a generator and go with whatever the result is ♡

spring | summer | autumn

🧣 ‧₊˚ ⋅ movies ⋅˚₊‧

star wars franchise (1977-)

the shining (1980)

edward scissorhands (1990)

beauty and the beast (1991)

the muppet christmas catol (1992) 

batman returns (1992)

the bodyguard (1992)

the cutting edge (1992, 2006, 2008)

while you were sleeping (1995)

titanic (1997)

anastasia (1997)

snow day (2000)

bridget jones’s diary (2001)

save the last dance (2001)

monsters, inc (2001)

peter pan (2003)

the day after tomorrow (2004)

family stone (2005)

ice princess (2005)

the chronicles of narnia: the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe (2005) 

the holiday (2006)

last holiday (2006)

eastern promises (2007)

the curious case of benjamin button (2008)

the time traveler’s wife (2009, 2022)

sherlock holms (2009)

black swan (2010)

inception (2010)

new year’s eve (2011)

the girl with the dragon tattoo (2011)

red riding hood (2011)

they grey (2011)

captain america: the first avenger (2011)

the vow (2012)

anna karenina (2012)

snow white and the huntsman (2012)

frozen (2013)

the wind rises (2013)

iron man 3 (2013)

snowpiercer (2013)

the drop (2014)

winter’s tale (2014)

the grand budapest hotel (2014)

carol (2015)

the age of adaline (2015)

the revenant (2015)

everest (2015)

krampus (2015)

split (2016)

phantom thread (2017)

wind river (2017)

murder on the orient express (2017)

atomic blond (2017)

the mountain between us (2017)

night hunter (2018)

hold the dark (2018)

the nutcracker and the four realms (2018)

alita: battle angel (2019)

anna (2019)

little women (2019)

five feet apart (2019)

last christmas (2019)

happiest season (2020)

the world to come (2020)

silver skates (2020)

spider-man: no way home (2021)

the mauritanian (2021)

black widow (2021)

something from tiffany's (2022)

ghostbusters: frozen empire (2014)

🛷 ‧₊˚ ⋅ series ⋅˚₊‧

criminal minds (2005-2020, 2022-)

downton abbey (2010-2015)

game of thrones (2011-2019)

orphan black (2013-2017)

peaky blinders (2013-2022)

critical role (2015-)

daredevil (2015-2018)

wynonna earp (2016-2021)

war and peace (2016)

godless (2017)

the punisher (2017-2019)

anne with an e (2017-2019)

the bodyguard (2018)

killing eve (2018-2022)

the mandalorian (2019-)

young royals (2021)

shadow and bone (2021-2023)

vikings valhalla (2022-2024)

the last of us (2023-)

masters of the air (2024)

[muna-lesbians]

March 21, 2020 - British GQ

It's Sunday morning when I speak to MUNA down the line from LA. Lead guitarist Josette Maskin is drinking coffee in sweats on her sofa, while vocalist Katie Gavin is on her way to a composting workshop at a local library – possibly the most LA thing I’ve ever heard. In other words, they’re kicking it.

But that’s fair enough. 2019 was a big year for the electronic pop trio: they released their vibrant second album, Saves the World, and embarked on a 17-date tour of North America, plus two triumphant London shows at a packed Village Underground. ‘We’re not from London, but it felt like a homecoming, because London as a city has seen us grow so much as a band,’ says Gavin. ‘Everyone in the crowd was singing every verse.’

All of the members of MUNA are queer, an integral facet of the band’s DNA. After the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, their soaring track I Know a Place became an unofficial anthem of resistance for the LGBTQ community, sung at vigils by grieving fans. ‘We didn’t write the song for it to be a way to remember the people who died,’ says Gavin, ‘but the fact that’s what it’s been used for is an honour I don’t think we could have imagined.’ Although at first MUNA were wary of being labelled a ‘queer pop group’, they’ve leaned into it. ‘A lot of our story has been about learning to accept the responsibility,’ says Gavin. ‘We love our community and want to be put to use.’

To be silent in the age of Trump would have felt like complicity. ‘We do live in hell, to be frank,’ says synth player and guitarist Naomi McPherson of the president. They regretted not making a political statement ahead of their appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2016. When the opportunity to perform on the late-night institution came around again a year later, Gavin wrote an extra verse for I Know a Place, with the lyrics ‘He’s not my leader, even if he’s the president’. The verse has become a fan favourite, bellowed by US crowds in defiance of the racist, sexist Trump. ‘We do the extra verse when the spirit strikes us,’ explains Maskin. ‘For when it feels right.’

Being a political band in the era of Trump is a heavy mantle to bear. Although MUNA don’t plan to stop engaging politically, ‘We want to make music about pleasure and fun also, in opposition to the constant news cycle and oppression we feel,’ says McPherson. Besides, writing music about queer love and desire is an inherently political act. ‘Right now we’re writing straight-up sexy songs,’ says Gavin of the band’s ongoing studio time, ‘but the fact they’re about the relationships we engage in, and to be a queer woman openly singing about desire, is political. It doesn’t matter what we write, everything we do is political and personal at the same time.’

I ask MUNA whether they feel queerness has been appropriated to shift product, in the same way big brands bastardised feminism to hock scented candles and self-care bath foam. ‘I feel like any radical movement is at risk of being commodified and sold back to us,’ says McPherson. ‘That’s been happening for years since Pride became a corporate event. They put Che [Guevara] on T-shirts!’ But MUNA feel that, on balance, any representation is better than none. ‘Visibility is important,’ Maskin adds. ‘It can mean a lot to some kid somewhere to see queer people represented.’

Speaking to MUNA, it’s clear they’re genuinely good friends. They formed in high school (not at a college party, as is often reported). “We’re definitely homies,” McPherson says with a laugh. ‘Jo and I live together, so we spend every waking minute in each other’s presence.’ They recently went roller-skating for Gavin’s birthday: she’s a good skater, the others less so. That strong base helped MUNA when they were coming up in the industry. ‘We’ve always had the privilege of having each other as protectors,’ says Maskin. Having creative control is of paramount importance – they stand in opposition to the high-polish, PR-workshopped pop bands dominating the charts on any given day. ‘We wouldn’t have been able to exist as a band unless we were the ones controlling and making what we do,’ Maskin says.

When the band toured with Harry Styles in 2017, they saw up close the effects of international celebrity on an individual. ‘When we first met, I felt a lot of concern for him,’ says Maskin. ‘It’s such a crazy life he lives. But he takes it in his stride – he’s such a nice person and really cares about his fans. That level of fame is insane and unfathomable!’ But as MUNA continue to carve out a special place in the hearts of their fans, queer or otherwise, global fame looks set to be coming for them, whether they like it or not.

[myjunkisyuzuruhanyu]

ISU released an article about Shoma

Two-time ISU World Champion and three-time Olympic medalist Shoma Uno of Japan has announced his retirement from competitive skating after a long and distinguished career and is ready to open a new chapter in his life.

“I have decided to retire from active competition,” Uno wrote on Instagram. “I am very grateful to have been able to continue skating for 21 years since I was 5 years old, and to have had a wonderful athletic life.”

The Japanese star will talk in more detail about his retirement and future plans in a press conference scheduled for May 14.

The 26-year-old looks back at a career with many highlights and also difficult times, but he always came back, proving his talent and showing resilience. When five-year-old Shoma went to the ice rink in his hometown of Nagoya with his father to have fun, he had no idea that he would become a World Champion, Olympic medalist and super star of the sport. He only knew that the enjoyed skating and kept coming back to the rink, taking lessons. He trained with Machiko Yamada, the coach of Japanese skating icon Midori Ito and also with Mihoko Higuchi for many years and worked his way up in the skating world.

Uno debuted in the ISU Junior Grand Prix in 2011 and was so tiny that he was unable to look over the boards. He won a few medals on the Junior circuit but his breakthrough came in what was his last Junior season in 2014/15 when he qualified for the first time for the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final where he claimed gold. Shoma went on to take the ISU World Junior title in 2015, in what was his fourth and final appearance at the event (climbing from 10th in 2012, 7th in 2013 and 5th in 2014).

Once at the senior level, Uno quickly became one of the top Skaters in the World. In his World debut in 2016 he placed 7th but then the next year won silver, his first of a total of four World medals. In his first Olympic Winter Games in 2018, Shoma skated off with the silver medal and returned on to the Olympic podium four years later, earning the bronze. In 2022 and 2023 Uno crowned himself ISU World Champion.

However, in between there was a time of struggle. In the 2019/20 season, for the first (and only) time in his career, Uno finished off the podium in the ISU Grand Prix Series. He had left his coaches since childhood and struggled with confidence.

“At first, to be honest, I was thinking about finishing my career,“ he said in an interview at Skate America 2021 about this time.

“I did not know how much longer I would keep going. But imaging the end (I thought) maybe I'll enjoy the rest of this career as an athlete.“

Uno started to work with two-time World Champion Stéphane Lambiel as his coach and choreographer in fall 2019 and soon came back strong. He grew as an athlete and a performer with beautiful programs that highlighted his versatility: “Turandot” (Free Skating 2017/18), “Great Spirit” (Short Program 2020/21), “Bolero” (Free Skating 2021/22) and “Spiegel im Spiegel” (Free Skating 2023/24) to name a few.

At the same time, the Japanese star always pushed the limits technically and made history by becoming the first Skater to perform a quadruple flip in competition in 2016.

“When I train and want to become better, it's not good for me to work on what I can already do. If I'm satisfied with just giving 80 per cent, I'm not good. The right training for me is to push my limits,” Uno said in an interview.

The Japanese Skater has an independent mind and a fun personality. He has a Youtube Channel where you can meet his three toy poodles Emma, Baron and Toro.

“When I am on the ice, I am totally focused on my sport, but when I'm off the ice, I am sure most people know I am just a lazy slacker, but I thought that would be a good way to show to the people how I am off the ice, but still this is Shoma Uno,” he explained.

When asked who inspires him the most, Shoma’s surprising answer was:

"Myself. Of course, I think I am inspired by many people and heard some good words from everyone, too, but in the end when you break it down, I do feel that it is myself that inspires me and sadly, I don't listen to anyone. Sometimes I listen, but mostly I go with my own mind,” he added.

For sure Uno will follow his own ideas in the years to come but you can certainly expect to see him gracing the ice in shows for a while.

[fierycavalier]

Intro to Scouting for Nancy Drew Fans

i love to see Ace's Eagle Scout status come up in fics. Although it was almost a throw-away line, I think it informs Ace's character and fleshes out his backstory well, beyond just knowing knots and navigating the woods. But I see a lot of awkward phrasing, and I see a lot of missed opportunities to bring it up, and it got me wondering if a little primer would be helpful.

Things Ace could say: "I learned this in Boy Scouts." "My troop leader took us out here all the time." "This trail didn't go this way back when I was in Scouts." "Don't worry, they love me here--my eagle project was to clean up this beach." "Don't talk to me about Jared Spriggs-- I'll never forgive him for what he did to my derby car when I was 14."

Eagle Scout is a rank and an honor that he achieved, not a program he was in. The program is Boy Scouts of America (BSA). People familiar with the program will just say Boy Scouts or Scouts. After 100 years of only allowing boys to participate, the program became co-ed in 2019, so it's now called Scouts BSA, not Boy Scouts. Ace would have grown up in the program before then since he turned 18 in 2016.

If Ace started in scouting before he was 11, he would have been in Cub Scouts. At 11, he could move up to the scouting troop. There are ranks in scouting, tied to the number of merit badges you've earned. Eagle Scout is the top rank and must be achieved before the age of 18. It involves a certain number of merit badges, hours of volunteer work, and a main Eagle Scout Service Project that they must plan and execute themselves (with assistance from scout leaders and parents).

I think it highly likely that the Captain was a troop leader or otherwise involved in scouting, especially before his accident. I can see his mom stepping in as well- if I remember right, women could be pack leaders even before 2016.

Although most people work toward Eagle as 16-17 year olds, it's possible to achieve it earlier, especially if you're smart and committed like Ace. So his pot-smoking days could come after he earned Eagle and lost interest in Scouts, or they could coexist. Your call.

Although people assume scouting is about wilderness preparedness, the program's goal is to create well-rounded, responsible citizens. Ace would have the Oath and Law memorized.

Scout Oath

On my honor I will do my best

To do my duty to God and my country

and to obey the Scout Law;

To help other people at all times;

To keep myself physically strong,

mentally awake, and morally straight.

Scout Law

A Scout is: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, Reverent

As you can guess, being Jewish might have been tricky for Ace in a program that's culturally Christian as many 20th century American institutions are. That'd also depend on what his troop was like--was there one troop for the whole town, or maybe his synagogue hosted a troop?

There's a Sea Scouts program. Where I'm from is landlocked so I don't know anything about it, but Horseshoe Bay or a nearby bigger town would definitely have Sea Scouting!

Lastly, here are the current Merit Badge categories: it covers a lot more than knots! Ace often gets into hacking in pre-series fics by hanging out at the library with his mom after school. But what if he was introduced to programming in Scouts? And I'm sure Florence helped him complete many merit badges.

Automotive Maintenance

Backpacking

Bird Study

Camping

Canoeing

Chemistry

Coin Collecting

Cooking

Digital Technology

Engineering

Fire Safety

First Aid

Fly-Fishing

Golf

Indian Lore

Insect Study

Journalism

Law

Mining in Society

Nuclear Science

Photography

Plant Science

Programming

Radio

Safety

Scouting Heritage

Skating (I know we never see him on a skateboard but come on)

Surveying

Sustainability

Swimming (the way Ace is built heavier in top looks like a competitive swimming shape in my experience!)

[yuzu-all-the-way]

Yuzuru Hanyu's K&C reactions to breaking World Records (Through the Years)

Historical world records (during the +/-3 GOE ISU scoring system)

1) October 19th, 2012 (Skate America) - Parisienne Walkways 95.07

2) November 23rd, 2012 (NHK Trophy) - Parisienne Walkways 95.32

3) December 5th, 2013 (GPF) - Parisienne Walkways 99.84

4) February 13th, 2014 (Sochi Olympics) - Parisienne Walkways 101.45 (Yuzu was the first men's single skater in history to score above 100 points)

5) November 27th, 2015 (NHK Trophy) - Ballade No. 1 106.33

6) November 28th, 2015 (NHK Trophy) - SEIMEI 216.07 (Yuzu became the first men's single skater in history to score above 200 points)

7) November 28th, 2015 (NHK Trophy) - Total 322.40 (Yuzu became the first men's single skater in history to score above 300 points)

8) December 10th, 2015 (GPF) - Ballade No. 1 110.95 (Yuzu was the first and remains the only skater to score above 110 points before the 2018-19 season*)

9) December 12th, 2015 (GPF) - SEIMEI 219.48

10) December 12th, 2015 (GPF) - Total 330.43 (Yuzu remains the only skater in history to score above 330 points prior to the 2018-19 season)

11) April 1st, 2017 (World Championships) - Hope & Legacy 223.20 (Yuzu became the first and remained the only skater in history to score above 220 points in the free skate prior to the 2018-19 season)

12) September 22nd, 2017 (Autumn Classic) - Ballade No. 1 112.72

Modern World Records (*during the +/-5 GOE ISU scoring system introduced in the 2018-19 season)

13) November 3rd, 2018 (GP Helsinki) - Otoñal 106.60

14) November 4th, 2018 (GP Helsinki) - Origin 190.43

15) November 4th, 2018 (GP Helsinki) - Total 297.12

16) November 16th, 2018 (Rostelecom Cup) - Otonal 110.53 (Yuzu became the first skater in the new system to score above 110 points)

17) March 23rd, 2019 (World Championships) - Origin 206.10 (Yuzu became the first skater to score above 200 points in the new system)

18) March 23rd, 2019 (World Championships) - Total 300.97 (Yuzu became the first skater to score above 300 points in the new system)

19) February 7th, 2020 (Four Continents) - Ballade No. 1 111.82

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 12.15

Holidays

Army Day (Indonesia)

Bill of Rights Day

Birdland Day

Cat Herders’ Day

Coonskin Cap Day

Court Workers’ Day (Ukraine)

Cricket Day (French Republic)

Esperanto Day

Greek Operation Victims Remembrance Day

Homecoming Day (Alderney, Channel Islands)

Human Rights Day (Kiribati)

Koninkrijksdag (Kingdom Day; Netherlands) [Unless a Sunday, then 16th]

Local Charities Day (UK)

Men’s Society of Piu Festival of Mirth, Peace, Honesty, Joyousness and Love (14th Century London)

National Headband Day

National HST Day (UK)

National Play Minecraft Day

National Regifting Day

National Wear Your Pearls Day

Navidades begins (Puerto Rico; until Three Kings Day)

North Wind’s Prayer (Elder Scrolls)

Pakistan-Turkey Friendship Day

Power Engineer’s Day (Kazakhstan)

Remembrance Day of Journalists Killed in the Line of Duty (Russia)

Rugby World Cup Victory Day (South Africa)

Second Amendment Awareness Day (South Carolina)

Sleep Comfort Day

Trivial Pursuit Day

World Ice Skating Day

World Martial Arts Training Day

World Otaku Day

World Strengthened Immunity Day

Yuletide Lad #4 arrives (Þvörusleikir or Spoon-Licker; Iceland)

Zamenhof Day (Esperanto)

Food & Drink Celebrations

International Tea Day [also 5.21]

National Cupcake Day

National Gingerbread Latte Day

National Give a Wine Club Day

National Lemon Cupcake Day

Olmeca National Tequila Day (South Africa)

Independence & Related Days

New Massa (Declared; 2015) [unrecognized]

Prudentianopolis (Declared; 2019) [unrecognized]

3rd Sunday in December

Hammock Day (Australia) [3rd Sunday]

Hang the Mistletoe Day [3rd Sunday]

Serene Sunday [3rd Sunday of Each Month]

Seven For Sunday [Every Sunday]

Smörgåsbord Sunday [3rd Sunday of Each Month]

Story Sunday [3rd Sunday of Each Month]

Sundae Sunday [Every Sunday]

Sunday Funday [Every Sunday]

3rd Sunday in Advent [2nd Sunday before Xmas] (a.k.a. ... 

Advent Sunday

Detinjci (Serbia)

Gaudete Sunday

Joy Sunday

Rose Sunday

Zoology Day [3rd Sunday]

Weekly Holidays beginning December 15 (3rd Full Week of December)

Gluten-Free Baking Week (thru 12.21) [Week before Xmas]

Festivals Beginning December 15, 2024

Christkindlmarkt (Lancaster, Texas)

Cocktails at Christmas (Middletown, Virginia)

Night of the Proms (Bremen, Germany)

Feast Days

Alcyone (Greek Kingfisher Goddess)

Betty Smith (Writerism)

Candlenights begins (pan-religious, pan-sexual, personal pan pizza winter holiday; from Adventure Zone & My Brother, My Brother, and Me)

Centipede Boot-Making and Shoe-Repair Season Starts (Shamanism)

Consualia (Ancient Roman festival to Consus, god of the harvest and stored grain)

David Teniers the Younger (Artology)

Drina Martyrs (Christian; Saint)

Drostan (Aberdeen Breviary; Christian; Saint)

Dumanios (Darkest Depths; Celtic Book of Days)

Edna O’Brien (Writerism)

Eusebius, Bishop of Vercelli (Christian; Saint)

Feast of Winter Veil begins (World of Warcraft) [thru 2.2]

Feralia: Day of Purification (Pagan)

Francesco Zahra (Artology)

Friedensreich Hundertwasser (Artology)

George Romney (Artology)

John Horden and Robert McDonald (Episcopal Church; USA)

Joseph "Le Petomane" Pujol Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Kurt Schaffenberger (Artology)

Lagrange (Positivist; Saint)

Maria Crocifissa di Rosa (Christian; Saint)

Mesmin (Christian; Saint)

Muriel Rukeyser (Writerism)

Navidades (Puerto Rico; Everyday Wicca) [until 1.6]

Nicholas P. Dallis (Artology)

Nino (Christian; Saint)

Othmar the Grouch (Muppetism)

Sattar Bahlulzade (Artology)

Stupid Inventions Day (Pastafarian)

Stupid Toy Day (Pastafarian)

Valerian of Abbenza (Christian; Saint)

Virginia Centurione Bracelli (Christian; Saint)

Virgin of Cotoca (Roman Catholic) [Bolivia]

Lunar Calendar Holidays

Full Moon [12th of the Year] (a.k.a. ... 

Beaver Moon (Amer. Indian, Colonial, Traditional)

Dark Moon (Celtic, North America)

Digging Moon (Traditional)

Flower Moon (South Africa)

Freezing Moon (Alternate)

Frost Moon (Alternate)

Hunter’s Moon (North America)

Ill Full Moon Poya Day (Sri Lanka)

Loy Krathong (Floating of the Lamps Festival; Thailand)

Palden Lhama Festival (Tibet)

Rutting Moon (Traditional)

Sassafras Moon (Choctaw)

Snow Moon (England, Wicca)

Southern Hemisphere: Corn, Flower, Hare, Milk

Tazaugmone (a.k.a. Thasaung Mong; Festival of Lights; Myanmar)

That Luang Festival (Theravada Buddhism; Laos) 

Trading Moon (Cherokee)

Tree Moon (Neo-Pagan)

Whitefish Moon (Traditional)

White Moon (China)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [48 of 53]

Perilous Day (13th Century England) [30 of 32]

Prime Number Day: 349 [70 of 72]

Sensho (先勝 Japan) [Good luck in the morning, bad luck in the afternoon.]

Unglückstage (Unlucky Day; Pennsylvania Dutch) [30 of 30]

Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [59 of 60]

Premieres

Alaska (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1930)

Alice in the Jungle (Ub Iwerks Disney Cartoon; 1925)

Alice the Piper (Ub Iwerks Disney Cartoon; 1924)

BBC incorporated (UK Broadcast Network; 1922)

Beatles ’65, by The Beatles (Album; 1964)

Birdland (NYC Jazz Club; 1949)

Buddy the Dentist (WB LT Cartoon; 1934)

Carol and the End of the World (Animated TV Series; 2023)

Charlotte’s Web (Film; 2006)

Choclat (Film; 2000)

The Chronic, by Dr. Dre (Album; 1992)

The Concept of Mind, by Gilbert Ryle (Science Book; 1949)

Driving Miss Daisy (Film; 1989)

Dude, Where’s My Car? (Film; 2000)

The Emperor’s New Groove (Animated Disney Film; 2000)

Ferdinand (Animated Film; 2017)

Folsom Prison Blues, by Johnny Cash (Song; 1955)

Gabriel Churchkitten (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1944)

Gone With the Wind (Film; 1939)

The Ice Pond (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1939)

In Venice (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1933)

Jumanji (Film; 1995)

Little Buck Cheeser (Happy Harmonies MGM Cartoon; 1937)

Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (Animated Film; 1979)

The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom, by James Burnham (Political Theory; 1943)

Madame Curie (Film; 1943)

Mothership Connection, by Parliament (Album; 1975)

Never Say Never Again (UK Film; 1983) [James Bond non-series]

One Piece Film: Z (Anime Film; 2012)

One, Two, Three (Film; 1961)

Out on a Limb (Disney Cartoon; 1950)

The Pink Panther Strikes Again (Film; 1976)

Pollack (Film; 2000)

The Rachel Papers, by Martin Amis (Novel; 1973)

Revolutionary Road (Film; 2008)

Sabrina (Film; 1995)

Schindler’s List (Film; 1993)

Sense and Sensibility (Film; 1995)

Silent Night, Holy Night (Hanna-Barbera Animated TV Special; 1976)

Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi (Film; 2017)

Stormy Weather, recorded by Lena Horne (Song; 1941)

Superman (Film; 1978)

To Hare Is Human (WB MM Cartoon; 1956)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith (Novel; 1943)

Tweet Tweet Tweety (WB LT Cartoon; 1951)

Two-Gun Mickey (Disney Cartoon; 1934)

War Is Over ad campaign, by John Lennon & Yoko Ono (Peace Advertising; 1969)

The Who Sell Out, by The Who (Album; 1967)

Wonka (Film; 2023)

Woody the Giant Killer (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1947)

Young Frankenstein (Film; 1974)

Today’s Name Days

Carlo, Christiane, Nina (Austria)

Marin, Valerijan, Viktorija (Croatia)

Radana (Czech Republic)

Nikatius (Denmark)

Kalli, Kelli, Killu, Kulla (Estonia)

Heimo, Nooa (Finland)

Ninon (France)

Christiane, Nina, Paola (Germany)

Anthea, Eleftherios, Elevtherios, Lefteris, Sossana, Sylvia (Greece)

Valér (Hungary)

Cristiana, Nino, Valeriano (Italy)

Jana, Johanna (Latvia)

Gaudenė, Gaudenis, Kristijona (Lithuania)

Hilda, Hilde (Norway)

Celina, Fortunata, Iga, Ignacja, Ignacy, Krystiana, Nina, Walerian, Waleriana, Wolimir, Żegota (Poland)

Antia, Elefterie, Suzana (Romania)

Ivica (Slovakia)

Valeriano (Spain)

Gottfrid (Sweden)

Adlai, Adler, Carney, Mirella, Mireya, Tanner (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 350 of 2024; 16 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of Week 50 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Ngetal (Reed) [Day 22 of 28]

Chinese: Month 11 (Bing-Zi), Day 15 (Gui-Chou)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 14 Kislev 5785

Islamic: 13 Jumada II 1446

J Cal: 20 Black; Sixthday [20 of 30]

Julian: 2 December 2024

Moon: 100%: Full Moon

Positivist: 14 Bichat (13th Month) [Isaac Newton]

Runic Half Month: Jara (Year) [Day 9 of 15]

Season: Autumn or Fall (Day 84 of 90)

Week: 3rd Full Week of December

Zodiac: Sagittarius (Day 24 of 30)

[loveramoureux]

intro post !

(even though i rarely post)

welcome 2 my blog :)

you can call me amoureux or ayahuasca

i am 7teen and go by she/her

im bisexual

im a baguette enjoyer (🇫🇷)

i skate , play drums , and write

i do photography

#1 llama enjoyer

i love urban exploration , horror movies , and true crime

studying psychology & criminology

capricorn , if that means anything (12/25)

dni list : no one . literally anyone can interact with me i dont care

extra stuff :

i post everything and anything , im working on starting a journalism blog and will soon have a website

im currently living in philidelphia and moved to america around 2018/2019

i love all types of music and will literally listen to anything , i fear that if i were to list all of my favorite artists id go over the character limit

my favorite song is lola by the kinks !! specifically the 2020 stereo remaster !!!

i have a cat named Gray Cat (very creative, i know)

thats all :)

🦙

[thanktrusova]

american media: its effects on the teenage prodigy

For those who don't know, one of my favorite skaters is Alysa Liu.

Alysa is a 2x US national champion, junior and senior world bronze medalist, and 2022 Olympian.

But, one thing about her is when you look her up, one of the subheadings on her wikipedia is "2021–22 season: International senior debut, Beijing Olympics, World Championships, and retirement".

What happened to her? What was so troubling about the 2021/22 season that caused this all to happen at once, and at the age of 16?

From my limited research but somewhat extensive knowledge, the one thing I can connect this early retirement to is the American media.

Before I start, I just want to preface that I am very glad they retired on their own terms, and not due to injury or something worse. Though I do miss them.

-

Alysa was 13 when she won her first senior national title in January 2019, the youngest female to win US nationals as of today. She defended her title the next year, winning back-to-back nationals at only 14 years old.

Also in the 2019/2020 season, they had their international junior debut. During this, they became the first woman to complete a triple axel and quadruple jump in competition, as well as achieving the status of the first non-Russian girl to win a Grand Prix event for around 20 competitions. They went on to win bronze at the World Junior Championships in March 2020.

This bout of success caused eyes of every American media outlet to be focused on young Alysa. They started deeming her as an American prodigy, the only hope to have an Olympic medal in Ladies' Single Skating at Beijing 2022. This was still two years away from the Winter Olympics, and she was only 14.

The next year, 2021, Alysa underwent a growth spurt, which, obviously, is normal for a 15 year old girl. Because of this, she lost her triple axel and quadruple lutz jumps, causing American media to forget her, or worse, doubt and even berate her. If she can't beat the Russians at the next Olympics, who can? The media gave up hope on her and did not care about the effects of doing so.

Cut to the 2021/2022 season, Alysa's international senior debut. She officially secured the third spot for US ladies at the Olympics, and performed average at her Grand Prix assignments, placing fourth at both. She had to withdraw from US Nationals due to COVID, but still managed to petition for a spot on the 2022 Olympic team thanks to her performance history. Once again, she was America's "only hope" for a spot on that podium.

Overall, she placed 7th, the highest out of the three American female skaters. She claimed she was pleased with her performances, and that she was just happy to be in Beijing. A little over a month later, she won bronze at the 2022 World Championships, being the first American woman to medal since 2016.

Months later, they announced their retirement, and have not (publicly) skated competitively or professionally since.

They also archived all social media.

While other reasons can be argued for this happening, the main one is the pressure put on Alysa at such a young age to be the saving grace of American figure skating.

I know you're wondering, has the media learned and changed?

And as an answer, I will point you in the direction of 18 year old Ilia Malinin, who media has dubbed "heaven-sent for US figure skating", or even tell you to keep an eye on 15 year old Isabeau Levito, "America's new hope".

[sunskate]

What do you make of where Soucisse/Firus are with their skating? On the one hand, I felt for them as they got overshadowed in Canadian skating and at IAM by some teams switching to Canada and others moving into seniors. On the other hand, I can’t say I’ve noticed much improvement or progress from S/F either. Will they qualify for Worlds this year?

they have their minimums for Worlds, so i think they're going

i had to refresh my memory, and 👀 they had good programs from Gadbois in 2017-18. that was their 2nd season together, and they won silver at 4CC (in an Olympic year, but still) and were on the Worlds team and were 14th. they had a different energy about them back then - they had a sense of hope and potential

idk why the wheels came off so soon after that - they stayed at IAM 2 more seasons til April 2020, but 2018-19 they had a misfire of an FD - does a good program with music by The Weeknd exist? it was a stretch, and maybe an attempt to be more contemporary and edgy, but it didn't play with the judges, and they look a little labored. then 2019-20 was when they had a lot of big mistakes. maybe their confidence was shaken for the reasons you said, maybe they were injured along the way? because they were recycling lifts and not getting better

when you see teams like LaLa and CPom really improving, they deserve so much credit- to increase in speed, power, skating skill, artistry, mental toughness under pressure - the closer you get to the most elite level, each step takes exponentially more understanding and growth to integrate. and it's harder to correct weaknesses after they're habitual

S/F stabilized and looked happier after they moved to Carol Lane in 2020, but i don't know that they've really changed much about their basics. and i don't think you can rise without that. their recent material hasn't been particularly memorable - the Charles Aznavour FD they're doing now is a revised version of the one they did for 2021-22. i get that Worlds is in Montreal, and Aznavour is a good fit for that, but they weren’t competing for an entire year - why aren't they skating something new?

2022 Skate America in Norwood had a really knowledgeable and supportive crowd that was warm and appreciative of the skaters, lots of love all around. so it was strange that the one team the crowd went lukewarm for was S/F. the energy left the building for them. for me, it’s hard to get a sense of who they are, and too often it looks like they're skating while music plays - sometimes it looks like the audio on their programs is off because they're so disconnected from the music. i'm glad they have new opportunities, glad when they look a little sharper in their RD, but ultimately, i find them kind of frustrating

[runningonneptune]

Flannels #2

When I was growing up, I found it difficult to connect with my mother. She and I are very different people. While she loves to wear dresses, I adore pants. While she loves to roller skate, I prefer to keep my feet preferably off anything that has wheels. My mother was not happy when I was child. My father was emotionally and physically abusive and unfaithful. I wonder if even if he hadn’t been any of those things if she and I would have gotten along better when I was growing up and all my interests were more masculine. I loved to play soccer, which she decried as a man’s sport. I wanted to run around with my male friends, even though she told me I should not be friends with just boys. I just wanted to play the guitar, but she encouraged me to choose the piano instead.

However, she did encourage one of my interests, which was reading and writing. The problem was that she did not really know what books I was reading because they were in English and American. There was one book that she did mention one day that made me want to read it so that I would have something in common with her: Little Women. For whatever reason, I thought that she had read Little Women when she was growing up, so that made me want to read that book. When I read Little Women, all I see is me in Josephine March’s character. I am Jo: passionate, scared of her anger, masculine, motivated, smart, reckless. Later in life, I found out that my mom has actually never read Little Women and that she had only watched the 1994 movie. It didn’t matter to me. In an attempt to bond with my mother, I had found a book character that I have not bonded with any other in the same manner.

In many ways, Little Women has helped me in hard times. After a painful breakup with an ex boyfriend that still hurts to this day because of how I hurt him, Greta Gerwig’s Little Women was released in 2019. In that moment more than ever, I understood how and why Jo was so scared of her anger and her desire to not lose herself when she is filled with rage. One of my recurring nightmares involves hurting the people I love and feeling immense rage that I cannot control. I am scared of myself, but I am improving. When the pandemic occurred and I had to complete my last college semester in my home, my productivity ranked as I was faced with writing 30 pages for my undergraduate thesis. Inspiration was hard to find and it was easy to get distracted. More as a joke than anything else, I started to put on the first flannel I ever purchased in an attempt to mimic Jo Marsh when she was in a writing frenzy and she put on a coat and hat. I never put on a hat, but I did put my flannel on as I wrote about the moral implication of God telling Abraham to kill his only son. Somehow, I turned in a product that earned an A and I graduated with honors. I doubt the flannel contributed much, but it was the first time I would wear it in front of my mother and it made me feel like my literary hero. Jo Marsh is frozen in time as the epitome of a young woman that struggled to fit in the society of civil war America. I am unfortunately not frozen in time, but I still struggle to figure out where in society I fit in. All I know is that what I had in common with Jo March as a 13 year old reading Little Women for the first time is very similar to what I have in common with her as a 24 year old. While I no longer wear that flannel when I am in a writing frenzy, I do long for the time when I shut myself in my room and wrote away in the night in 2020 just like she did in the 1860s. I think if Jo March existed today, she would definitely be wearing flannels as she types away in a coffee shop or library, ready to inspire future generations of young women.

[faacethefacts]

6, 13, 20, 33 & 43 for the music asks >:)

6. Who's an artist you really like but it's embarrassed to admit it?

I dunno! I try not to be too embarrassed abt things i enjoy, i mean the only ones i could kinda think of r like Fall Out Boy n IDKHOW n i do not listen to those artists as much as i used to. See 43.

13. Who’s the most popular/mainstream artist you listen to?

Probably Hozier.

20. A song or album from the 2010s:

Braindrops by Tropical Fuck Storm (2019) is a fucking amazing album, + Some Time Alone, Alone by Melody's Echo Chamber and They're Cheap (I'm Free) by Skating Polly came out in 2013 and 2018 respectively.

33. Your favorite artist from your city/state/country?

Uhhhhhh i have no idea if i listen to anyone from my specific state lol, and i live in america so like most of the artists i listen to r american. Closest i can think of is The Mountain Goats from NC.

43. Do you enjoy musicals? If so, what’s your favorite?

THIS is the one thats kind of embarrasing. I fucking love musicals but i definitely am not as into them as i was when i was like 13, my favorite rn is probably like Beetlejuice or Heathers but i really really really really really REALLY wanna go see Parade at some point.

[restless-soulz]

May i add mine?

My soft memory begins among the blinking lights of a skate land arcade.

We were just coming out of lockdown, but everyone was still wary. I watched a mother disinfect everyone of her child's hands after they touched a red lever or shiny button. Employees offered gloves to go with the roller skates and knee pads.

My mom thought it would be a good idea to just get out of the house, invite some friends to come with. Everyone of of my siblings got a few friends to come along, but I declined, knowing that my only two friends were both sick with covid after hanging out together without me.

I was 14, still awkward and gangly limbed and terribly lonely, when I looked up to see a group of college people or at the very least, seniors in high school, set foot onto the rink under the disco lights. I watched them for a bit, and then I noticed a girl with the prettiest braid i've ever seen anxiously gripping onto the wall as her friends skated onwards.

I didn't even think about it. I fumbled towards her and offered to teach her how to skate. The girl looked at me funny, and I promised her that she wouldn't fall.

She took my arm as if I weren't real, and we slowly worked around the rink. I introduced my self, and the speakers squawked when she tried to say her name. I didn't ask for her to repeat it out of embarrassment for not listening. She told me how she was in a student exchange program, came to America from Vietnam in 2019 and has been with her host family since Vietnam is still on lockdown, so she hasn't seen her family in years now.

We joked and chatted, and by the end of it became pretty good friends by the time skating was over. She even tried out a competition for one of those kiddie prizes and got third place: a little rubber duck that she turned around to hand to me.

My mom didn't stop me when I walked with her group back to their car to keep talking with her. She gave me a hug as they were leaving, thanking me for "just listening, and your kindness". Her host sister also gave me a hug, thanking me for teaching her how to skate. And then the guys turned on Pitbull, and their car shot out of the parking lot, joining the meandering line of cars on main street.

I got to my mom, and she didn't say anything, only a smile, as my siblings shouted out the window to each other their friends goodbye, and I held the rubber duck up to the fading light. It was obnoxious pink.

I'm now 16, much less awkward (I hope), and I still think of her often. I hope she got to hug her family again.

Tell me a soft memory