#2020 Four Continents

[figureskatingcostumes]

Emily Bausback competing in the short program at the 2020 Four Continents Championships.

(Sources: sn_figure and In The Loop)

[nutty1005]

Xiao Zhan | The simpler is more complex

Original Article: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Zkps0vHvP89ZrMWQIUZ3NA Original Author: JIAWEI This article was originally published on 10 August 2024 on ELLE’s Weixin Official Account 世界时装之苑ELLE.

Xiao Zhan believed that truth brings simplicity. But in performance, he is starting to like multi-sided and complex characters more, or rather, this is the true and real state of human existence. At a time when everything is being simplified, to be willing to admit the difference between people, to seek the possibility of communication, to be sensitive and defend complexity, this definitely requires passion, as well as courage.

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Two black curtains reached the top of the studio ridge, neatly separating the shooting area from the surroundings, there was a need to go through a maze of them to enter the small core space. Pure white, plenty of air conditioning, and the camera shutter sound was high-frequency and continuous.

Xiao Zhan wore black clothes and rarely made any unnecessary movements. For a while, the lights broke down and photography was suspended, so he maintained standing in the dark with one foot on the wooden box; when the staff and the photographer were discussing the photographs, adjusting the styling, he stood alone in front of the display screen, and the weak screen light enveloped his body. Very occasionally, he swayed slightly to the background music, his legs lean but muscular.

#01 I’m afraid of becoming dull

After entering the entertainment industry, these things quickly became part of his daily life – cameras, spotlights, monitors, and barriers. Because of his career and popularity, he had fissioned into countless “Xiao Zhans”, such as giant portraits on the facades of high-end shopping malls, the projections of an astonishing number of fans, or the appearance of characters in successive movies and TV series.

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Currently, in the dressing room after the shooting, Xiao Zhan was carrying his box of whole grain salad, vividly imitating the scene of meeting director Zheng Xiaolong.

“I was a little bit hesitant, so I asked the director if he wanted me to be thinner or stronger? He said, thin, of course thinner, so good looking, sharp.” After a while, Zheng Xiaolong saw him again while taking final costuming photographs, “He said, hey, you’ve done well.” From then till now, he has lost more than five kilograms.

Xiao Zhan, the source of all of this fission, was presentable and relaxed, to him the glamor seen by the outside world was a supplementary value. Sometimes he even forgot about it and said, “No one really cares about you.” Then he continued to talk about his work.

Recently completed was the 5-month filming of “The Legend of Zang Hai” in Hengdian. The previous film, also shot for 5 months, was the film “The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero” directed by Tsui Hark. This was often the case for large-scale movies and long-running television dramas, it took four or five months once you joined the group. In 2022, his filming work was mainly “Where Dreams Begin / The Youth Memories” and “Sunshine By My Side”, in 2021 it was “The Longest Promise”, in 2020 it was “Ace Troops”, in 2019 it was “Douluo Continent” and “The Oath of Love”.

Endless filming appointments. Hence, it was sometimes impossible to decide whether the interval between filming should be lengthened or shortened.

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In the second half of 2019, during the filming of “The Oath of Love”, Xiao Zhan was filming during the day and recording the variety show “Our Song” at night. Both sides were very challenging. The former was his first time playing the male lead in an urban drama, so he had little experience and was under great pressure; the difficulty of the latter lies in the harmonizing, “I had to memorize all the harmonizing that were different from the song’s tone, and not to be led astray. “

“Then, I thought it didn’t matter. I slept for an hour or two and woke up a good man again. But now, while my mind says it doesn’t matter, my body will make some protests.”

This year he was filming in Hengdian. Later, one day, he discovered that his tonsils were inflamed and it was painful to swallow, but he went to work as usual. Until the director came over and asked him, what happened to your eyes? Only then did he see his own swollen eyes in the mirror, held on until the afternoon, “completely like a frog.”

He had to go to the hospital, the symptoms themselves were very common and could be stopped by taking medicine. What can’t be done was exactly what doctors advised the most: you need to rest.

More importantly, “Perception will become dull. I am really afraid of this, afraid of becoming very mechanical and formulaic.” When saying this, the emphasis was on the word “really”. When he chatted with seniors, “They also said that you have to live life, you need to experience life.”

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The fact is that the life in the limelight is somewhat contrary to the life of ordinary people, but the profession of an actor requires him to be in touch with as many folds of life as possible.

A while ago, he watched a one-man show on a variety show, describing the current workplace situation of contemporary young people. Xiao Zhan had opened a studio and worked before entering the entertainment industry. He could understand the gloom caused by going to work, but the new vocabulary and tools that appeared in the workplace made his sense of resonance weaken. He found himself gradually uncoupling to a certain extent.

#02 The flavor of life lies in the details

In early June, Xiao Zhan took a short vacation and returned to his hometown of Chongqing. He loved walking very much, and one night he walked for several hours, visiting old streets, People’s Liberation Monument, and even around the place where he used to work.

In 2014, the 23-year-old Xiao Zhan graduated from university and worked as a designer in a design studio. Every weekday morning, he transferred from Line 2 to Line 3 at Niujiaituo Station, pushing through the crowds and squeezing onto the light rail, and several times he had been squeezed so hard that his face was pressed against the glass windows.

He simply stuck against the glass and looked at the Jialing River below, seeing the strange rocks exposed in the dry season and various people, including winter swimmers, joggers and fishermen, with a rather optimistic spirit.

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He still loved to observe the people around him——

“Why are you still here so late?”

“People walking in a hurry must be people who have just gotten off work and are rushing back, their behavior is just like when I was trying to catch the subway, when it’s the last train and you want to run, in a panic. Some food delivery guys are rush forward undauntedly. There are also some very leisurely people, sitting there drinking beer, then going home and starting a new day.”

“Everyone has an exciting story happening, and it is everyone’s life that makes up our society. So it is wondrous, everyone is the protagonist, we are all filming our own biographies, how will tomorrow’s story develop?”

At that moment, mixed in, he was like all those who have been busy working in a foreign land for a long time and finally had the time to go home, and discovered that “it had been a long time since I came here, and there had been quite a lot of changes.” “Actually, I’m not particularly happy or have any other feelings. I’m living, that’s all.”

Two and a half days later, Xiao Zhan left Chongqing and returned to Beijing due to work, then rushed to Shanghai, and then in turn to France. This time he brought his parents too. This was a long in coming family trip, within a week, they traveled from France to Switzerland and back to France. Every detail of the trip was magnified, they were happy, bickering, or just walking for a while, “it was all very vivid.”

On the day they parted, they had dinner at a restaurant in the south of France, the car to pick him up arrived and he had to leave first. Before leaving, his mother hugged him and told him to take care of himself. In a rare move, his father also hugged him awkwardly.

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The flavor of life lies in the details.

“I used to think that work was everything and life was not that important, it was nothing more than having a place to sleep, then getting up, going to work, finishing work, and resting. But now, when my parents have grown older, and I have not been with them for a long time, you will feel as if each other’s lives, even your family’s, would become further and further apart. “He especially did not want this to happen.

The way to avoid suspension and regain the real sense of life is not difficult. “When you have time, go out and see more. The important thing is to feel life and feel the world. Even if some of the things are bad and cruel, they are all life, and will burst out with energy when you need it.”

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#03 Stay innocent, stay complex

Halfway through the interview, Xiao Zhan suddenly said that he was ambivalent about long interviews. On the one hand, he was worried that he had not grown up enough and would show ignorance in the conversation, but on the other hand, he wanted to explore some subtle feelings through the conversation because he felt that he was not good at using words to record them.

Observation, feeling, understanding and expression are the essentials of why actors can bring creativity.

“Dialogue is also muscle memory.” Xiao Zhan said, “Although I am very introverted, I am not antisocial. Because I think actors need to learn to express, express your inner thoughts, and digest the content conveyed to you by the other party.”

Before the filming of “Sunshine By My Side” started, he met with the main creators and held several script meetings to deepen his understanding of one another and the characters. In the early stages of “The Legend of Zang Hai”, the producer also mentioned that he would discuss the script in detail and talk about a scene with a lot of his own understanding.

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Xiao Zhan is not an actor with a professional background, when he first entered the industry and filmed “Battle Through the Heavens” and “The Wolf”, he had strong doubts and asked himself, am I suitable? The constant negativity and self-refuting made him lose self-confidence.

Sometimes he would be asked what he would be doing now if he had not participated in the talent show, debuted, or entered the entertainment industry at the age of 23. He had thought about it, but did not look back.

If he was not good at acting, then he needed to spend extra time taking acting classes, review more in the monitors, and ask more advice from his seniors. He put his head down stubbornly, and with hard work, he slowly found the knack.

Later the filming of “Where Dreams Being / The Youth Memories” started, Xiao Zhan played Xiao Chunsheng, a young man from the military courtyard in Beijing, who was completely different from him, and even his accent was completely distinct. He felt insecure. Before filming started for many scenes, director Fu Ning would run over and whisper to him, “Don’t be afraid Zhanzhan, just speak bravely, if you feel it, just say it, the audience actually can feel your emotions and what you want to express.” .

He also gradually gained more self-awareness: “Techniques may not be my area of ​��expertise, I rely more on feelings. Only when I feel it myself then I can have the confidence to interpret it. If I rely solely on some techniques, I don’t think it is sufficiently moving.”

It had been 8 years since Xiao Zhan first acted, and his resume included leading male roles in films and television dramas of various themes. But he still felt that he is a newcomer and hopes to cooperate with more experienced production teams if there is an opportunity in the future.

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He would not think too much, he actually did not know his work plan divided by year. He only cared about the work arrangements for the next stage, rather than “asking about things that are too far away.”

“I still feel like a child now, but in fact I am not anymore. It seems like I am still in high school, but in fact I have grown up.” The nature of a child means curiosity, desire to explore, and power of imagination.

He placed the curiosity and desire to explore into his characters, “I mean, for myself, when I dig into the character’s background and past, I explore the complexity and contradiction of the character as a person, and present it. Only in this way can some of his choices and motivations be understood by the audience, and the work may then be good, and only then can you have the audience you have now, right?”

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#(Q&A)

ELLE: During the break, will you think about anything on the set? Xiao Zhan: Of course, I remember that just a few days after filming was completed, I was still dreaming that I was still filming, and the director and I were still discussing how to say that phrase on set? How to handle that scene?

ELLE: Do you actually miss the atmosphere on the set? Xiao Zhan: I like it very much, because I like the feeling of everyone creating together and working together to get something done.

ELLE: When you first entered the entertainment industry and your popularity grew very quickly, you said you felt it was a bit unreal and magical, but now you seem to be quite relaxed. How did this change occur? Xiao Zhan: Rather than being unreal or magical, after so many years, I feel that I hadn’t had time to adapt to such a fast pace at that time, so when I woke up from sleep, I was like where am I today? What am I doing? I think it is a process, just like when you first enter the workplace, you will be very excited, “Work here I come, please take good care of me”, “My highness is here, everyone get out of the way”, “I can do it, I will do it”. (Laughs) But after experiencing a lot of things, you will feel that it seems that everything needs to be considered in the long term.

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ELLE: In several interviews, you mentioned that you like to play roles that “can convey energy.” Why do you have such a preference? Xiao Zhan: Because I think this is the life of the character. The kind of energy I’m talking about is not just a single, generally understood positive energy, I’m talking about nourishment that can subtly influence and moisturize. I believe that every character has a complete storyline inside, this is what I like very much, and as long as you dig deep, you can move people. I don’t really like to call the villain a “villain”, as it seems to be a bad character from the beginning, but in fact it is not, he may have his own difficulties.

ELLE: It sounds like “transmitting energy” is just a general term, but is it actually about understanding different people through performance? Xiao Zhan: Yes, if you break it down to each character, what they convey is different. But if you want to talk about “good people” and “bad people”, then I don’t think it’s interesting.

ELLE: So do you think performance is a form of communication? Xiao Zhan: Yes, you can say that, I think it’s great to say that, (performance) is a bridge to communicate with the audience. Just like when a drama is broadcasting, I will read some of the audience’s comments and impressions after watching it, and I feel that they have a very rich feelings about the work. When I see some comments that are exactly the same as my thoughts during the filming, I will feel very amazed, as if the bridge is really connected, we don’t know each other in life and have never communicated with each other, but he suddenly understands my thoughts then, I’ll just feel that, oh, acting is a beautiful and magical thing.

ELLE: Do you watch some science fiction movies, TV series, and literary works? Xiao Zhan: Yes, I used to like watching “The Three-Body Problem”, I have actually watched some science fiction movies recently, the American drama “Constellation”, and recently I am watching “Dark Matter”, which is about infinite flow and parallel time and space. Because I think maybe there really is a parallel time and space. Every choice you make will split out a different parallel time and space.

ELLE: Then will you imagine Xiao Zhan in parallel time and space? Xiao Zhan: I will really wonder, for example, is he still an actor? Maybe yes, but is he still filming now? Is he still singing now? Or is he also a designer? Is he an employee or is he his own boss? (Laughs) Really, I will.

ELLE: As for the future, what do you think it will be like? Xiao Zhan: Wow, I feel that the world may return to its original nature when the time comes instead, maybe the world will become a better place, and people will return to very essential communication.

ELLE: This is very interesting. Why do you think so? Xiao Zhan: Anyway, at least now I have a little aversion with this kind of ubiquitous Internet, when we were young, there were no mobile phones, everyone just chatted during meals, my friends would all come downstairs to play, hide and seek, and play various games, I feel that that time was very precious instead.

ELLE: Will there still be an actor career by then? Xiao Zhan: I think there will be. I believe that as long as life goes on, drama will continue. Because everyone needs an outlet, emotional resonance and sustenance, be it images or sounds. So I feel that even if the world is destroyed, as long as there are still people, drama will definitely exist.

[louisupdates]

Louis Tomlinson - does it ring with this name? As a singer of the British boy group One Direction, he was successful in the years 2010-2015. Together, the band decided to take a break. It has remained so to this day. In 2016, however, Louis began to take his own path. On his solo paths, the singer-songwriter has developed a style that takes up influences from British rock, alternative and indie pop. His music is often melodic, with catchy guitar riffs and a rather down-to-earth sound reminiscent of British bands of the 2000s. Already his first single Just Hold On sold 1.8 million copies. In 2020 and 2022, he released his two albums Walls and Faith In The Future. This was followed by two incredible world tours with over 170 concerts in 47 countries on 5 continents.

For this, an idea matured - a live album should be created, but a very special one. Thus, individual songs were recorded during the tour. On the 25th In April, the result was surprisingly published digitally. 14 songs have been released. Each of them was recorded in a different city. So the listener at home can also mentally go on a small trip around the world while enjoying the individual songs. Now the physical versions of the live album also followed, which make the concert feeling in the living room perfect. These include four more, exclusive tracks. In addition to the double CD, a double picture vinyl edition is available and it has it all!

The vinyl edition contains a special tour book. Fans were able to submit personal impressions about their concert experiences. And these are now included in this extra booklet. Louis decorated the recordings with individual hearts, smileys or crosses and handwritten the first names of the respective fans. This recorded, mutual appreciation is truly a magical highlight. The 28-page, regular booklet is no less lovingly designed. In addition to the lyrics, you will encounter the London set list, high-quality backstage photos and touching recordings made during the concerts.

Louis is happy about this release: "I have been lucky enough to tour the world twice in the last 3 years. The feeling I get when sharing these live moments will accompany me forever. The opportunity to record these songs anywhere in the world and release them as an album is something very special and a real tribute to the fans, who make every single show a unique and incredible experience. Thank you! Enjoy!"

Right at the opener The Greatest, you seem to be in the middle of the action with your eyes closed. In addition to the live sound, the fans can also be heard clearly. Louis invites them to tune in with him: "Sing it with me!" And they do! The spirited mood comes across clearly. In the meantime, the fans also get the space to sing alone. You get used to the choruses and the delighted shouts from the audience very quickly. In Bigger Than Me, the British singer gives space for personal growth and self-reflection. In the song, Louis describes how he deals with the changes in his life and realizes that life is bigger than himself. He talks about taking responsibility for his actions and decisions, especially with regard to his career and the people who support him. The song contains a powerful perspective on growing up and taking responsibility.

Holding On To Heartache puts the fans in great excitement. screams welcome the gentle song. This is about how difficult it is to let go of the pain after a breakup. It's about holding on to grief because it's connected with the memories of lost love, and it's not easy to finally finish with the past. The single We Made It is powerful. In the booklet, the single was translated into Filipino - after all, the recording comes from the concert in the Philippines. Although Louis sings the title in English, this hidden greeting is really adorable. By the way, this approach can be found several times in the booklet. For example, All This Time/She Is Beauty We Are World Class, the titles played in Munich, were also translated into German, for example.

High In California, for example, can only be found on the physical editions of the album. This lightness that the song contains is clearly noticeable. This is about escaping everyday life and getting lost in a state of freedom and lightheartedness. The lifestyle and atmosphere of California make you forget your worries and problems for a moment - just as is the case with Louis' concerts. Here you feel protected and can escape all negative thoughts.

Common People is about the appreciation of ordinary people and their experiences. The song deals with life in everyday life and how important it is to connect with the "ordinary" people and understand their perspectives. Challenges and struggles that many people experience should be taken seriously instead of romanticizing them. It is his tribute to the authenticity and reality of life. It therefore becomes gently rocking with All This Time/She Is Beauty We Are World Class. Here you rock with real fun from the sofa. The groovy guitars do the rest:

In Walls, delicate strings underline the song about emotional barriers and the struggle to show themselves vulnerable. Louis addresses the need to dismantle one's own walls in order to enable real connections with other people. It is an honest and personal song about vulnerability, love and the desire for closeness, despite the difficulties that can be associated with it. Louis calls on his fans: "Here we go! Scream" and together the fans sing with their idol: "But these high walls, they came up short. Now I stand taller than them all. These high walls never broke my soul. And I, I watched them all come fallin' down. I watched them all come fallin' down for you."

Out Of My System is then reached harder into the guitar strings. The drums are also picking up speed. With the fast track, the good mood is at a peak. This is about the internal conflicts and the difficulties of freeing yourself from the emotional burdens, while at the same time trying to find yourself and your identity. Overall, it is an energetic track about the process of leaving the past behind and starting over. In Paris, Louis is impressed by his crowd: "This looks fucking amazing!" With a warm voice, he performs Saturdays - a song that clearly reminds you of Oasis.

Silver Tongues is accompanied by a lively piano playing and you can really imagine how the euphoric fans on site shine with shere joy and rock them together again. "Krakow, you have been absolutety incredible tonight. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Sing this next one with me, here we go... as loud as you can!” And the crowd settles in: "You and me until the end. Wakin' up to start again. You and me until the end. Wakin' up to start again. There's nowhere else that I would rather be."

The record ends with Kill My Mind from Santiano. Louis sings of a roller coaster of emotions in a passionate, but also chaotic relationship. It's about the challenge of letting yourself be overwhelmed by the feelings and the inner struggle that arises when you are trapped in a relationship that is both exciting and stressful.

Louis Tomlinson and his crew have succeeded in a truly remarkable work. What is actually the advantage of a live album? You are not terribly sweaty, the way home is not imminent and you do not fall into the aftershow blues like a real gig afterwards, but can simply start all over again. 🙂

Louis Tomlinson's album Live was released on 23.08.2024 as a CD and vinyl via the label BMG.

Tracklist LOUIS TOMLINSON - Live (Vinyl Edition)

A

01. The Greatest - Live from London, 17.11.2023

02. Face The Music - Live from Nashville, 07/18/2023

03. Bigger Than Me - Live from Vancouver, 26.06.2023

04. Holding On To Heartache - Live from Barcelona, 06.10.2023

05. We Made It - Live from Manila, 16.07.2022

B

06. Chicago - Live from Chicago, 15.06.2023

07. High In California , Live from Amsterdam, 15.10.2023

08. Fearless, Live from Rio, 27.05.2022

09. Common People, Live from Sheffield, 10.11.2023

C

10. All This Time/She Is Beauty We Are World Class, Live from Munich, 22.10.2023

11. Walls, Live from Buenos Aires, 21.05.2022

12. Only The Brave, Live from Milan, 03.09.2022

13. Written All Over Your Face, Live from Budapest, 15.09.2023

D

14. Out Of My System, Live from Brisbane, 30.01.2024

15. Saturdays, Live from Paris, 14.10.2023

16. Silver Tongues, Live from Krakow, 10.09.2023

17. Kill My Mind, Live from Santiago, 15.05.2022

Tracklist LOUIS TOMLINSON - Live (2CD Edition)

Disk 1

01. The Greatest, Live from London, 17.11.2023

02. Face The Music - Live from Nashville, 07/18/2023

03. Bigger Than Me - Live from Vancouver, 26.06.2023

04. Holding On To Heartache - Live from Barcelona, 06.10.2023

05. We Made It - Live from Manila, 16.07.2022

06. Chicago - Live from Chicago, 15.06.2023

07. High In California , Live from Amsterdam, 15.10.2023

08. Fearless, Live from Rio, 27.05.2022

09. Common People, Live from Sheffield, 10.11.2023

Disk 2

01. All This Time/She Is Beauty We Are World Class, Live from Munich, 22.10.2023

02. Walls, Live from Buenos Aires, 21.05.2022

03. Written All Over Your Face, Live from Budapest, 15.09.2023

04. Out Of My System, Live from Brisbane, 30.01.2024

05. Saturdays, Live from Paris, 14.10.2023

06. Where Do Broken Hearts Go, Live from Tallinn, 05.09.2023

07. Silver Tongues, Live from Krakow, 10.09.2023

[yuzurujenn]

[2024.08.05] AERA x Yuzuru Hanyu: 24.8.12-19 No. 37

person in focus

"After all, it's frustrating when I can't perform well."

A session with photographer Mika Ninagawa for the first time in a year. In a long interview exclusive to this magazine, he talks about the ideals he pursues.

Writer: Takaomi Matsubara

Professional skater Yuzuru Hanyu

Born December 7, 1994 in Sendai. 2009 Won the Junior Grand Prix Final at age 14. 2010 Became the youngest Japanese male to win the World Junior Championships. 2011 While practicing at a rink in Sendai, the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred, and he had to live in an evacuation shelter. The rink where he was training was temporarily closed. 2012 First participated in the World Championships, coming in third. 2013 Graduated from Tohoku High School. Enrolled in a correspondence course at the Faculty of Human Sciences at Waseda University, studying human informatics and cognitive sciences. Won his first Grand Prix Final. Won four consecutive titles thereafter. 2014 First Asian gold medal in men's figure skating at the Sochi Olympics. First World Championship win. 2017 Second World Championship win. 2018 Second gold medal in men's figure skating at the Pyeongchang Olympics. 2020 Won his first Four Continents Championship, becoming the first man to win all major international junior and senior competitions. 2022 Participated in the Beijing Olympics. In July, announced his professional career. The ice show "Prologue" was held in Yokohama in November and in Hachinohe in December. 2023 In February, the ice show "GIFT" was held at Tokyo Dome. In March, the ice show "notte stellata" was held in Miyagi Prefecture. In March and April, he appeared in the ice show "Stars on Ice" (Osaka, Iwate, Yokohama). In May and June, he appeared in the ice show "Fantasy on Ice" (Makuhari, Miyagi, Niigata, Kobe). In November, the ice show "RE_PRAY" tour began at Saitama Super Arena. The following year, it was held at SAGA Arena in Saga in January, Pia Arena MM in Yokohama in February, and Sekisui Heim Super Arena in Miyagi in April. 2024 In March, the ice show "notte stellata" was held in Miyagi Prefecture. In May and June, he appeared in the ice show "Fantasy on Ice" (Makuhari, Aichi). On September 15th, he will be performing in the "Noto Peninsula Reconstruction Support Charity Performance Challenge" in Ishikawa Prefecture.

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It has been two years since he made a new start as a professional figure skater in the summer of 2022. In 2024, he led three successful ice shows: "RE_PRAY" (Saga, Yokohama, Miyagi performances), "notte stellata" and "Fantasy on Ice".

The shoot with Mika Ninagawa for the first time in a year began with a cheerful greeting from each other, "Thank you for your continued support this year," and "Thank you." When she said to him, "You're still as young as ever!", Hanyu replied with a smile, a little embarrassed, "I'm almost 30."

"Move freely."

With those words, he made expressions and gestures as he pleased.

Various scenes were set up in the vast studio. Hanyu, who changed costumes and was photographed in each scene, moved and made expressions freely, sometimes under instructions and sometimes as if he was imagining (creating) a story himself. The people watching repeatedly let out gasps of amazement as the images were displayed one after another on the computer monitor. It was nothing short of amazing how he instantly exuded various moods - from boyish with a hint of innocence to cool and seductive.

His creativity was not limited to the way he behaved as a subject. When the BGM was played during the shoot, his body naturally responded to the music, and he also requested songs himself when he saw the costumes. There was also a moment when he saw a prop that had been set up and asked, "Do you have one more of these?" This revealed his high level of creative awareness.

The shooting has completed.

"Thank you very much," he said, and there was something light-hearted and cheerful about it. After a year, what he showed in the studio was a more mature and expressive side to him.

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Exclusive interview with this magazine

[In pursuit of a distant ideal]

He is now in his third year as a professional figure skater. Reflecting on his days of taking on unprecedented challenges, he spoke about what he has gained from them and what the future holds.

Photo: Mika Ninagawa    Writer: Takaomi Matsubara

Yuzuru Hanyu, the journey continues

hair & make up: Noboru Tomizawa  styling: Masataka Hattori costume: NEEDLES    BED j.w. FORD    YUKI HASHIMOTO  prop styling: Ayumi Endo

Yuzuru Hanyu started out as a professional figure skater in 2022. In his first professional ice show, "Prologue," he performed the first solo ice show in history. He skated for nearly two hours, with a structure that richly conveyed his skating career. Following "Prologue," he then performed a solo show at the Tokyo Dome for the first time in history, "GIFT." The ice show filled the gigantic venue, which had never been seen before.  After "Prologue" and "GIFT," he held the performance "notte stellata" in March 2023, which was filled with thoughts and prayers for March 11. It has been a year since our interview last summer, following those three performances.

Changes in the "depth" of thinking

"When I was interviewed a year ago, it had just been a year since I turned professional. I had a desire to grow and learn more specialized things. In the year since then, I think that my technique, expression, and many other aspects have changed. Among them, I feel that I have had many more opportunities to think about expression. I have been thinking about expression even in my daily life. I think that the way I think about my show, the way I think about each program, the depth of those things has clearly changed." He talks about what triggered the change in the past year. "First of all, I had to spend more time thinking about writing a new ice story after GIFT and also about my own performance.” The new ice story was "RE_PRAY", under the title "ICE STORY 2nd".  It opened on November 4, 2023 at Saitama Super Arena. It was performed in Saitama for two days, on that day and the following day, and in the new year it was performed in Saga on January 12th and 14th, and in Yokohama on February 17th and 19th, for a total of six performances in three cities. After the premiere in Saitama on November 4th, Hanyu said the following. "First of all, I myself have learned from games, manga, novels, and various other sources, about what life is all about, how precious life is, and other similar things that everyone else roughly feels.

In games, the concept of life is really light in a sense, and you can repeat it, so you can use characters to do all sorts of things and push forward with curiosity. If you apply that to the real world, you might be a person who has the drive to grab hold of dreams, or conversely, from a different perspective, you might be a very terrifying person. But if you could do it all over again, I'm sure people would try it."

24 hours a day, always skating

In this story with a game motif, the question of "choice" is often depicted. We make choices in our lives, even if we are not aware of it. What if you choose a different option than the one you originally chose? Or would you choose the same option? This story asks the audience, which serves as an opportunity to reexamine their way of life. Of course, just like "Prologue" and "GIFT," the fact that this story was completed and received with overwhelming acclaim was due to the performance of Hanyu, who was the sole performer. And even after six performances, he did not try to stay in the same place. He continued to evolve. There were many evidences of this growth at the final performance of the Yokohama show, for example. The movements in the performance of "Chicken, Snake and Pig" where he moved forward as if resisting the shackles. The performance of "Megalovania", following a silent performance without music with only the sound of his edges resonating, was more integrated with the music than in previous performances. Not only in the production aspects, but also in the details of Hanyu's performance itself, there were traces of refinement here and there. After the Saga performance, Hanyu spent his days preparing more rigorously for the Yokohama performance.  "Of course, I trained and restricted my diet. Well, how should I say it, there are 24 hours in a day, but I spent the entire time on nothing else but skating. In other words, skating was always present, 24 hours a day.” "That's right. To put it simply, it felt like I was spending every day just working on 'RE_PRAY'." The reason he spent all his time facing skating was because he had regrets about the Saga performance. "After all, it's frustrating when I can't perform well." However, the standards of frustration have changed from when he was a competing athlete.

Still not enough

"Gradually, the focus is shifting from scores to an evaluation. If something technical that I had planned didn't go well, then my evaluation vector changes and my perspective shifts. I couldn't accomplish what I wanted to accomplish in Saga, so I was simply disappointed." After spending 24 hours focused on skating, the Yokohama performance came. After the final performance, he said, "I feel a sense of accomplishment like winning the Olympics." While he felt a sense of fulfillment, he wasn't completely satisfied. He also felt that his ability had not yet caught up with what he wanted to do. "So I feel like there are still things I need to study more. Of course, I think I'm evolving. I think I'm getting better. But I still feel like it's not enough. As I keep digging deeper and deeper, my ideals become higher, and the things I want to express are becoming more and more specific. The more my ideals become more concrete, the more I feel like I'm not catching up." He is aware that he still has areas where he needs to improve, especially in the finer details. This is something he realises now, which he didn't feel this way when he was competing in the sport. "It's impossible to realise this when you're a competitive athlete. After all, if you can jump, you win. To be honest, if you couldn’t jump, there was no point in talking about it, as the outcome of the competition was pretty much decided by how many types of quadruple jumps there are and where you put them in the program. For example, what memories do you have of this song, the background of this song, what is the story you want to express, how will the story and the song fit together, or what meaning is in the choreography, to be honest, there’s not much room to think about them. You have to complete all your technical elements in one go in the four minutes of a competition (free skate), so that's all you can focus on."

A world not in first place

Win the match. In a competition, that is set as a goal. "Since I had already achieved that, there was no way I could go any higher. If you think about it in the world of competition, I won first place, so even if I tried harder, I couldn't get any higher than first place. In other words, I just tried to see how long I could maintain that first place position.

But in the world I'm in right now, even if I think I'm in first place, it may not be. It’s a place where I can think, "I'm still at the bottom". When I look at the various works of art or technically excellent things from around the world, I feel that there are still many things I can't do, so I think that I still have a long way to go." When he moved from the world of competition, which was fixed in a sense, to a new world, it was no longer a confined space. However, whether one knows its vastness or not, whether one feels that there is an endlessly wide world out there, is up to the individual. So even though the world is infinite, some people only notice a limited space. Or, there are those who limit the space themselves.

Right now, Hanyu thinks, "I still have a long way to go." He feels like he's at the bottom. This is because he knows that the world is endlessly vast. The reason he feels this way is because he has the ambition to move forward without being content with the present. So instead of seeing the place he has arrived at as the end point, he knows that there is still space to go beyond that.

Ideals evolve

"I may have surpassed the ideal I had a year ago. But the sense of distance between me and my ideal is probably the same as it was a year ago. For example, if the distance between me and my ideal a year ago was 10 meters, it may be 10 meters, no, 11 meters now. That's how I feel. I'm living and experiencing life, I see information every day, and in the midst of that, my ideal evolves. My ideal gets further and further away. But at the same time, through what I have seen and experienced, I'm sure I’m also one step closer to my ideal." Then, after a short pause, he continued with a smile. "As long as I want to, I think I can continue for the rest of my life." The skater is still on his journey, striving towards the ideals he has built with his own will. 

Source: AERA issue 24.8.12-19 No.37, pg 9-15 Info: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0D89L6LS2

[blutopaz15]

It wasn’t until Summer 2020 that I finally began watching The Dragon Prince. It was July, I’d seen some hype here and there, knew Aaron Ehasz’s name from my (also obsessive) love of ATLA as a young teen…and so I decided to watch! I remember my main takeaway when I first watched was—hmm, I know that voice is Jack DeSena, and I can’t unhear this Callum kid as Sokka! (lol, in hindsight, given the way that Callum is my absolute *fave*)

I would be lying if I tried to pretend like rayllum isn’t what hooked me. Immediately, all I wanted to do was think about their future. I rewatched the show a couple of times, blew through AO3 looking for fluffy, romantic S3 fics…and lurked for about a month.

Then, I started to write.

I posted my first fic in late August 2020, desperate to find some connection to other fans and share the rayllum that was bouncing around in my brain 24/7 with someone, *anyone*. Over the next couple of months, I made my way back to tumblr after a decade away and to discord for the first time…and started chatting with other likeminded rayllum fans.

Eventually the folks I became friends with became more than just fandom friends, but true friends made *through* fandom. We support each other when times are hard, enable each others’ (silly and serious) creative ideas, and encourage each other, across time zones and oceans and continents. I have truly never felt so authentically me with a group of friends as I do with the people I have met and bonded with through this beautiful, wonderful show. Because of their love and support, I have felt more myself than honestly *ever* these past few years, even when things have been hard.

The Dragon Prince has helped me embrace my true self and the things I really enjoy. So much of those things (fandom, creativity, fantasy in general!) fell by the wayside with the stress of high school and college and starting my career, to the point that I really feel like I’d *lost* myself in other people’s expectations of me. Through this fandom, not only have I embraced all those forgotten parts of myself, but I’ve written over 460,000 words in the past four years—more than I ever have before.

There are so many reasons to love The Dragon Prince—characters we love, lore we love to explore, representation like none of other—but the long-lasting friendships I’ve made through my love of this show and the creativity it’s helped me connect with again are the biggest reasons why I love this show and always will. #continuethesaga!

[yuzu-all-the-way]

Yuzuru Hanyu Through the Years MasterPost (senior)

Yuzuru Hanyu's first and last* senior competition figure skating costumes, White Legend (SP) & Ten to Chi to (FS)

*Technically the last costume is the Haru Yo Koi gala costume, but I'm focusing on the competition itself

1) Olympics Through the Years (2014; 2018; 2022)

2) Grand Prix Series Through the Years (2010-2019)

3) Japanese Nationals Through the Years (2010-2015; 2019-2021)

4) Four Continents Through the Years (2011; 2013; 2017; 2020)

5) World Championships Through the Years (2012-2017; 2019; 2021)

6) World Team Trophy Through the Years (2015; 2017; 2021)

7) World record-breaking reactions Through the Years

___________________________________________________________

This concludes the summary of Yuzuru Hanyu's senior competitive years.

After turning pro on 19th July 2022, Yuzu has continued breaking "world records", this time related to what ice shows look like and what can be done within an ice show.

[mariacallous]

When U.S. President Joe Biden defeated former President Donald Trump in 2020, Europe breathed a sigh of relief after four traumatic years.

A return to diplomatic normality would, many hoped, provide headspace for the old continent to recover from what had been a tumultuous period. European leaders and diplomats had been shocked by an American president who made policy decisions, from 2017 to 2020, that seemed driven by anger and had scant regard for how they impacted allies.

Multiple officials in institutions such as the European Commission and Parliament privately admit that they set alerts for Trump’s tweets on their phones while he was president, as his sudden swings were often the dominant news of the day.

The damage of Trump’s first term hasn’t gone away. The former president’s scrapping of the Iran nuclear deal, agreed under the auspices of the European Union, emboldened the anti-Western hard-liners in that country. Pulling out of the Paris climate accord created space for climate skeptic figures to gain influence across Europe at a time of soaring energy bills, and encouraged anti-green rhetoric to creep back into mainstream politics across the continent. And Trump’s comments on NATO led to uncertainty and disagreement about how Europe should be protected and who should pay for it.

European officials predicted that the MAGA presidency would leave exactly this kind of contrail, which is why his defeat at Biden’s hands presented an opportunity to Trump-proof Europe. The calculation that officials made in 2020 was that while Trump had lost the election, the divisions in the United States that led to his rise had not gone away. If he happened once, then Trump—or some other carrier of the torch of isolationism and aggressive hypernationalism—could happen again.

Trump-proofing, a term that gained popularity among officials and experts after the end of his term, meant different things to different people, but essentially boiled down to three points:

The first was to stop European security being reliant on the goodwill of the United States through NATO. The second was Europe developing a foreign policy that was sincerely independent from that of the United States, which meant divergence on issues such as China. And the final objective was a true diversification of economic partners, leaving Europe less vulnerable to trade wars with the United States. These objectives would be achieved through institutions such as European Union and NATO and would serve two purposes: to make Europe itself more stable and, in turn, give Europe a stronger voice on the world stage.

These are all complex problems that require sophisticated solutions—and funds. Over the past four years, global conflict, pandemic hangovers, and inflation have created even more obstacles. But the biggest obstacle to Trump-proofing over the past four years has been disagreement between European nations.

The result? As we count down the days till the U.S. election, few officials sincerely believe any meaningful progress has been made on these priorities. Bluntly, whoever wins the election, Europe is still stuck as the United States’ little sibling, fatally dependent on Washington for both military and economic security.

Most agree that defense and security are the most pressing international challenges for Europeans. The war in Ukraine revealed not just how ill-prepared Europe was for a land war, but also how divided European countries were on how to protect the continent.

For years, European leaders have talked about common defense policies that would consolidate spending, procurement, and even troop-sharing. The European Commission published its Strategic Compass, a plan that addressed some of these issues at the Brussels-level. But when push came to shove, some leaders were not comfortable moving away from the NATO model and spending more money on something that they didn’t believe to be a priority.

Ukraine forced European NATO members to take a hard look at themselves. What they saw was the brutal reality that Trump’s criticism—that Europeans weren’t spending enough on their own defense and relied too heavily on America—was true.

In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion, most European countries agreed to supply Ukraine with arms and money, as well as increase their domestic defense budgets. However, plans for common industrial and procurement strategies that would make Europe less reliant on Washington soon shifted focus to meeting minimum requirements to keep the United States engaged.

“NATO hasn’t functioned as a true alliance for years – it’s lopsided; American-dependent,” said Benjamin Tullis, the director of the Democratic Strategy Initiative, a Berlin-based think tank.

“In the long term, we need to return NATO to a mutually beneficial alliance,” Tullis added. “Right now, as a minimum, we need to meet our financial and military targets, whoever ends up in the White House. But we are not even collectively doing that.”

Even with a war on their doorstep, getting European leaders to agree on a defense policy has proven tricky. Hungary, in both NATO and the EU, has dragged its heels on almost every proposal to send weapons to Ukraine or impose sanctions on Russia. France has objected at various points to EU money being spent outside the bloc—including in the United States—even as stockpiles of European weapons and ammo evaporated.

“In terms of defense, we are a vassal state of NATO, which is a vassal state of America,” said a senior European diplomat who agreed to speak under the condition of anonymity. “When we saw that it would take 20 years and a lot of money to genuinely build up European defense, we gave up, and our strategy became ‘keep America happy’ because why bother blowing up something that benefits us when we can spend our money on other things?”

“Strategic Autonomy” is Brussels speak for diplomatic independence. In simple terms: By balancing diplomatic and economic relations between several allies, Europe can avoid overreliance on one partner. In even simpler terms: Find ways of working with both the United States and China so you don’t get squashed by either.

In December 2020, the EU and China finished their seven-year negotiations on the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment. Economic ties with China had been a key EU priority in the 2010s and became a central plank of aspirations for strategic autonomy.

One small snag: In the intervening years, the EU—along with the United Kingdom, United States and Canada—imposed sanctions on Chinese officials alleged of involvement in human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims. China responded by sanctioning members of the European Parliament, and the pact has been on ice ever since.

European countries are divided on the path forward with China. Lithuania, for example, caused a diplomatic stink—and a headache for the EU—when it allowed a de facto Taiwanese Embassy to open in Vilnius. However, many other Eastern and Central European countries are reliant on Chinese investment, while wealthy (read: frugal) Western European nations, such as Germany, see trade with China as a lucrative export market and as the cheapest way to reach their climate targets. Why build our own solar panels or electric cars when China has warehouses full of them?

Disagreement on Chinese engagement can even be seen in the fudge of Brussels’s formal position on China. The European Commission officially adopted a “de-risking” policy for security reasons earlier this year, but didn’t go so far as to “decouple”.

The EU has, for example, launched its own plan to rely less on China—or any other power—for semiconductors. And some European countries, notably the usually cautious Netherlands, are in favor of U.S.-style hostility toward China in the so-called chip wars. The difficulty, however, is finding sufficient commonality among 27 countries with different economics and priorities.

Even under Biden, the United States has taken an increasingly hard line on China. It is unlikely that this will change any time soon, and it’s expected that if Trump wins, he will put maximalist pressure on Europe to make a choice. That could get messy in a dangerous world where Europe’s economy remains sluggish but also relies on Washington for security.

Economically, meanwhile, no amount of diversification can mask the harsh reality that the United States is still Europe’s largest export market. No amount of EU directives can change the fact that U.S. protectionism hurts European countries. Under Trump, talk of secondary sanctions for companies working with Iran and threats of trade wars sent Eurocrats into meltdown. Major disasters were averted, but the United States is not a bastion of free trade. Europeans were extremely unhappy with the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, claiming that its subsidies for U.S. companies unfairly discriminated against European firms.

Europe does have tools at its disposal if a trade war kicks off, and it has used them in some cases—most notably the Boeing-Airbus dispute, during which each side accused the other of using subsidies to give its plane manufacturers an unfair advantage. Both imposed tariffs on other goods as punishment, but they ultimately resolved the issue in 2021.

Yet diplomats fear that in the current geopolitical climate, getting into a dispute of this scale would spill into Europe more than the United States. The United States has recovered far more successfully from the COVID-19 pandemic, which is still dragging on the European economy.

Many of these problems go back to Europe’s fundamental divides. There is a maxim in diplomacy that only a nation with stable domestic politics can have a meaningful foreign policy. The idea is that for foreign policy to be taken seriously, you need to know that it has the support of your own legislature.

In Europe, this is multiplied across the 27 EU member states, the non-EU countries that are reliant on the bloc, the European institutions, and NATO. If that wasn’t complicated enough, few European countries have stable internal politics. Recent gains from populist groups whose priorities range from being rampantly nationalist to overtly aggressive will have a knock-on effect.

It is not just the case that on issues such as defense, economics, and foreign policy, Europe has a binary divide; each country has subtly different positions on each issue. In many cases, because of the fact that many European governments are formed through coalition, those positions are not even consistent within their own governments.

“The EU’s inability to assert a unified leadership role on the global stage, particularly in response to crises like the Ukraine war, reveals a political vacuum,” said Velina Tchakarova, a leading geopolitical strategist based in Austria.

“As a result, Europe may find itself increasingly reactive to U.S. decisions rather than charting its own course, especially if Trump returns to office with a more unpredictable foreign policy. … Should Trump adopt a more isolationist or transactional approach, these divisions within Europe could deepen, weakening its ability to respond to global challenges,” Tchakarova added.

Division breeds inertia, which leaves vacuums that must be filled. And with the world looking so unstable, the United States is still the best answer to many of Europe’s toughest questions. Whoever ends up in the White House, Europe must make its case on Day One for Washington to remain interested and actively friendly. It simply doesn’t have the bandwidth to deal with upsetting the one constant truth that has played the most important role in stability for decades: Europe needs America.

[rabbitcruiser]

Alaska (No. 1)

Alaska is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. It is in the Western United States region. The only other non-contiguous U.S. state is Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the northernmost, westernmost, and easternmost (the Aleutian Islands cross the 180th meridian into the eastern hemisphere) state in the United States. It borders the Canadian territory of Yukon and the province of British Columbia to the east. It shares a western maritime border, in the Bering Strait, with Russia's Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. The Chukchi and Beaufort Seas of the Arctic Ocean lie to the north, and the Pacific Ocean lies to the south. Technically, it is a semi-exclave of the U.S., and it is the largest exclave in the world.

Alaska is the largest U.S. state by area, comprising more total area than the following three largest states of Texas, California, and Montana combined, and is the sixth-largest subnational division in the world. It is the third-least populous and most sparsely populated U.S. state, but is, with a population of 736,081 as of 2020, the continent's most populous territory located mostly north of the 60th parallel, with more than quadruple the combined populations of Northern Canada and Greenland. The state contains the four largest cities in the United States by area, including the state capital of Juneau. The state's most populous city is Anchorage, and approximately half of Alaska's residents live within its metropolitan area.

Source: Wikipedia

[laferocia]

I was thinking about it just a few days ago. Mr. Bungle is touring across four continents this year, including Asia, where they have never been before. My thought was: is this the end? They are all almost 60, and there are no indications of a new album. Strangely, Mike hasn't released an album since 2020, and Ian, Trevor, and Dave have their own significant projects. It seems like a farewell.

Who knows if Mike will join FNM for a last tour in 2025 and if that will mark his retirement from touring.

[solarpunkbusiness]

Meet three startups, from Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo, that are harnessing technology to provide simple, viable solutions to energy and food security in Africa.

1. Meier Energy, Morocco’s standard-bearer for energy efficiency

Founded in 2020 by Fouad El Kohen, Meier Energy offers businesses tailor-made solutions to kick-start their energy transition. In just four years, it has established itself as one of the leading start-ups in Morocco and is already exporting outside the country. “It’s a young company dedicated to the development and marketing of energy efficiency, electricity and smart grid equipment,” says founder El Kohen. “Our ambition is to support the ecological transition in both Morocco and Africa.”

2. BioAni, the Ivorian start-up that wants to bid goodbye to chemical fertilisers

BioAni sells organic fertilisers produced using black soldier fly larvae, products that are much cheaper than chemical fertilisers. All that remains is for them to convince farmers to change their habits.

It all began in a garage in Abidjan’s Cocody district with food waste and a few larvae. The insects transform this bio-waste into a particularly effective organic fertiliser. Founder Arthur de Dinechin wanted to get involved in an environmental project in Africa, his adopted continent. After trying his hand at plastic recycling, his thoughts turned to agriculture.

“Here in Côte d’Ivoire, millions of people make their living from farming. There are very few resources in place to help them make a profit from this activity,” he says.

3. GreenBox, the storage solution changing Congolese farmers’ lives

GreenBox enables farmers in the Democratic Republic of Congo to store their fruit and vegetables for three weeks instead of two days, using new technology that gives farmers access to remote control of solar-powered cold rooms. These refrigerators also make it possible to establish the state of ripeness of a stored product and ensure its traceability. Its five installations, spread across as many villages, enable customers’ harvests to be monitored in real-time.

Founder Divin Kouebatouka says: “Storage is centralised for the whole village. The cold room is managed by a cooperative. We make racks available to farmers so that they can store their produce. We can’t rent to everyone, so it’s first come, first served.”

For CFA200 a day (around $0.10), farmers are provided with a locker that can hold 30kg of food. “Small farmers, our core target, can’t buy a cold room. That’s why we’ve introduced daily, weekly and monthly rates. Everyone can choose the subscription that suits them best, which is nothing compared to the value of the products they entrust to us,” says Kouebatouka. In addition to his team of 12 employees, a group of five women is responsible for the daily maintenance and management of the cold rooms.

[myshkafs]

ON NATIONALITY SWITCHES, AND THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION:

Recently as of maybe a few months ago, we've seen two Russian athletes switch nationality in the span of 2 weeks. Sofya Samodelkina switches to Kazakhstan, and Sofya Titova switches to Armenia for the upcoming season.

Is this the first time we've seen Russian girls switch nationalities? No. Will it be the last? Definitely not. However, it is the first time that students of such a high profile coach (Evgeni Plushenko) and coaching team (Angels of Plushenko) have switched, and the first time that 2 have switched in such quick succession.

There have been rumours about Samo's switch since august of last year, so this isn't so surprising. She ranked 11th at RusNats, and was not a top skater at her time at CSKA, before she was kicked, so it makes sense for her to want to switch out. She was relatively competitive in the JGP back when Russia was still eligible for intl. starts, and was pretty decent on the junior circuit, including a silver medal at the 2021 Russian Junior Cup Final and Gold at the same event in 2020, along with some 4th place finishes at Russian juniors Nationals, 2 JGP medals (bronze at Rostelkom and 3rd in Slovenia) and a win at the 21-22 Denis Ten memorial.

When she graduated to Senior level, though, it just. Stagnated. We've known for a while that Russia's oversaturation alongside the biased judging makes it impossible for any up and coming talents to succeed, where the Eteri bonus holds so much weight. Samo finished 11th at both RusNats and the Russian GPF, and her only medals of the season came from her performances at the GP stages, where she came second at the 2nd stage Velvet Season, where her only competitors were Adeliya Petrosyan, Veronika Yametova, and a, at the time, struggling Alexandra Trusova who was fighting through injury and a lack of motivation. She then won the Volga Pirouette Stage, which again, her only competition at that event was Sasha, who wasn't landing any Ultra-C where Samo had a 3A.

All in all, her level of performance just was not enough to get her to that place of success she needed to be at, and with Russia's ban from intl. sport, it was only looking like it would get worse, despite her improvements from switching to AOP full time late last year. Samo, who had stated before that she wished Beijing would be postponed because she knew it was her only shot at going to the olympics, is grasping at straws to stay competitive, and it just so happened that her mother was born in Kazakhstan, making her eligible for citizenship by descent.

For her, I completely understand where this has come from. She will be an eligible senior when she returns to the international stage, and has the technical ability to blow people like Kaori Sakamoto and Loena Hendrickx out of the water. Is it worth is? 100%. She'll be able to get back out there, potentially stake her claim for some senior titles she wouldn't win under Russia, like National Championships and Four continents.

I think Kazakhstan would also be relatively grateful for the heightened exposure her fanbase would bring to the domestic Kazakh events, and hopefully she'd be able to contribute to building that domestic sport up by earning them places on the international start that they lost in womens ever since the departure of Elizabet Tursynbaeva. The problem here stems in that I feel Samo and other girls who defect to other federations will be in for a rude awakening when they don't get the inflated scores they were getting under the Russian flag, and that it may be harder for them to bridge the gap between them and skaters like Kaori and the Japanese who are so strong in their components.

Back when the season was in full swing, we saw how AOP athletes suffered from the underscoring in place of the Eteri girls getting inflated scores. We saw, in 22-23, Sasha's components drop and her STSQ and spins falling for lvl 4 to 3. Sofia Muravieva is a great example. Mura had the scores to best Kamila and Akatieva in the SP, but was rarely given them.

And so Plushenko made his ultimatum to the federation: Continue devaluing his athletes, continue to give them scores less than what they deserve, and they will jump ship, and compete for a federation that wants them. I found this interesting, because we all know Plushenko has quite the reputation for being loud mouthed, and a Patriot??? It made no sense that he would actively encourage his athletes to leave the Russian federation, and so I thought originally it was all hot air. This combined with that Samo's nationality switch had been whispered about BEFORE Plushenko even said anything.

And then Titova. She has no discernible ties to Armenia that I could find, so the switch seems odd. But again, she's not the most competitive, and in a world where the Russian juniors are arguably MORE competitive than their senior counterparts,,, its ruthless. If she wanted any chance at being competitive, she'd have to switch. The timing was smart, she's ineligible for seniors right now, but will be able to make a name for herself outside of Russia on the international stage having never competed outside RUS before, as an armenian skater, and can build up titles and respect in both division. Most people will be unaware she was even tied to RUSFED at any point. She has an abundance of time to wrack up titles and earn Armenia more placements.

My only concern is, is Russia prepared to lose more athletes? We've seen two in the space of 2 weeks defect, and all I can say is, will there be more? Will Plushenko encourage his juniors to look outside of Russia when they cannot compete with Eteri's students and Russian judging? And is Russia prepared to lose more and more athletes the longer they're banned from international sport?

Even from the perspective of Ice Dance, they had the departure of Smolkin/Davis to Georgia, using Eteri's Georgian Citizenship to justify Diana's switch in nationality, and her marriage to Gleb to cement it, and the pair of Karina Akopova/Nikita Rakmanin to Armenia.

In the world of Ice Dance, sure, this isn't a big loss, but Diana and Gleb abandoning Russia altogether and training in US/Canada could be foreshadowing, along with departures such as Samo and Titova, of the future of RUSFED and what this means for their development. The oversaturation and the blatant corruption is discouraging athletes, driving them away from not only the sport, but their country. And if the Federation doesn't make changes soon, they're in danger of seeing this worsen, and the potential for a collapse of this integral part of their sports economy, as more and more athletes decide to leave.

And the potential for success if they choose this route is already being proven. Sofya Samo had just within the last 2 weeks won the Summer Championships of Kazakhstan with a healthy 20 point margin between herself and second place Sofia Farafonova. And while Samo, on a clean slate will have to wait to build up her ranking to go to any major comps, she'll most likely be in the running for a national title by the end of 2024. Titova, likewise, will most likely be in the running for an Junior title in Armenia, and potentially a senior one if she is eligible.

Athletes are seeing the appeal in leaving for success in an easier climate, than sticking around to be mistreated by judges and beaten by 12 year olds with 3As and Quads. And RUSFED has tp recognise now, with so many departures over this last season, that they have a problem.

Now, do I necessarily think it's ethical to allow athletes to leave like this? If they have dual citizenship, sure. If not, and other countries are offering them citizenship to skate for them, then it becomes more tricky. I recognise the trouble that Ice dancers and Pairs face to find partners, but for singles, where the only benefit is to become more competitive, especially in a climate where the Russians are trying to outmaneuver a ban,,, especially when those athletes go on to still live and train in Russia and only visit the countries they compete in to well, compete, it becomes a lot harder to say whether its right or not. On one hand, those athletes have the ability to provide more opportunities for domestic athletes if they do well, but on the other hand, they're also taking opportunities from domestic athletes on principle, and for many domestic athletes who have worked hard, it will feel like a slap in the face to have a Russian athlete waltz in a snatch up all the titles they've worked for for years, under veryyy different conditions and with less resources.

And the ban, although many complain, must be upheld. (On that, though, I will talk more in depth in another post about my thoughts.)

All in all, the switches will be interesting to observe, and we'll see what happens as the season progresses, if any more athletes decide to make the decision to leave.

[figureskatingcostumes]

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue's rhythm dance costumes at the 2019 Grand Prix Final, and slightly different versions at the 2020 Four Continents Championships:

They skated to My Heart Belongs to Daddy from Let’s Make Love and Let's Be Bad from Smash (the inspiration for their costumes).

(Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5)

[razistoricharka]

There is nothing particularly unusual about it: the Western fascination with Yugoslav modernist monuments, those strange concrete boulders scattered across the failed state, is renewed at regular intervals. Four years ago, for example, the Belgian photographer Jan Kempenaers published a photo monograph 'Spomeniks': 'Raised in peaceful fields, in the middle of nowhere', the respected Guardian introduced his book at the time, 'spomeniks look like places where alien spacecraft have landed or like album covers Pink Floyd.'' The filming of the new Netflix dystopian series 'The Tribes of Europa', which tells the story of the distant future of a continent divided - this will sound familiar - into numerous, small, mutually warring states, was completed on Petrova Gora these days. And so on, and so on, further and further away from what Yugoslav monuments used to mean: if there is something in common with all these advertising campaigns, dystopian TV-fantasies and photo-safaris around the places of the people's uprising, it is a complete lack of interest in historical, political and the artistic context from which the monuments grew. In the Western perspective, they are now only gigantic exotic souvenirs from a distant and incomprehensible past. Alien apparitions for which we do not know who exactly built them, when and why: rather traces of UFOs than signs of people's liberation war. Mark O'Neill's series of instagram photos, devoid of any information about the monuments other than the elementary mention of their locations, fits perfectly into such a tradition. So nothing new from the west. Perhaps that is why it is more interesting to check what is happening with the monuments today from the perspective of the East. Coincidentally, last week, just as the post-Yugoslav news portals were compulsively copying O'Neill's photo gallery, another anniversary of the demolition of the magnificent Monument to the Victory of the Revolution of the People of Slavonia by Vojin Bakić, which was erected in Kamenska near Požega, on February 21, 1992, passed almost unnoticed. Members of the 123rd Brigade of the Croatian Army in a well-organized mine action expertly removed them from the face of the earth. Only the small portal Antifašistički Vjesnik reminded of the sad anniversary by publishing a photo gallery of the ruins, along with a brief overview of the then propaganda lies from the local media about how the monument was broken by the Chetniks or, possibly, by a strong wind. But the ruin of Bakić's monument are not very photogenic, there are no spotlights or Instagram filters, it cannot serve as an advertising scenography, so the article from Antifašistički Vjesnik was not shared by anyone. No one to press copy, no one to click and paste: the anniversary of the destruction of one of the most beautiful monuments of the former Yugoslavia did not become news this year either. There is simply no room for some stories in the colorful, colorful, clickable memory of the media, just as there was none twenty-eight years ago. After all, what do you want: it was a war, we clicked cut.

Boris Postnikov, 2020

[boookfreeak]

Introductory Post

I think it's time for me to finally do this

Hi lovely people looking at my blog <3

I'm boookfreeak.

My name is Lilli - like Lily or Lilly or Lili, but different.

I'm German but was born and raised in Singapore so I grew up bilingual, which means I'm just as bad at English as I am at German. I also speak French and Swedish.

I am 19 y/o but because of Covid I feel like I should still be 15, school and friend group drama being my biggest problems.

I first turned up on tumblr in 2020 because my older sibling introduced me to it and it was a great platform to interact with fandoms with (that wasn't tiktok). Now I'm still here to talk about my special interests but also to speak to my mutuals and make new ones because you guys are the best!!

I am also on ao3, eventhough I don't post as much as I'd like to. You can find me under the same name boookfreeak.

-ꕥ-

my interests are:

The Witcher, Marvel, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Avatar (the blue ones and the airbender lmao), Lockwood & Co, Dead Boy Detectives, Sherlock Holmes, Pride and Prejudice, My Lady Jane, Voltron, Supernatural, Hunger Games, Teen Wolf, Grishaverse, Cruel Prince, Karen M McManus books, Holly Jackson books, Rubinrot (a German book series very few people on here know :') ), How To Train Your Dragon, The 100, Shadowhunters, Anne of Green Gables, Ghosts, The Office (both versions), Shameless (only the US one), Brooklyn 99, New Girl, Derry Girls, Merlin

The Amazing Devil, Taylor Swift, Noah Kahan, Hozier, Bo Burnham, Lin Manuel-Miranda, Chloe Ament

books, movies, tv shows, musicals, video games (mostly tw3 and sims), mythologies, historical dramas, linguistics, crime, writing and drawing

If you don't support LGBTQIA+ or the people of Palestine you are not welcome here.

-ꕥ-

my current read: Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams

my current watch: Supernatural and X-Men

-ꕥ-

Some fun facts about me:

I am queer (mostly in the asexual way, but who-knows-what-else way)

I have the ability to lick my own elbow (but only the left one for some fucking reason)

I love rain and snow

I've been to four continents and 20 countries

the first musical I ever saw live was Cats and my first concert was P!nk

people like to debate if I am a blonde or a redhead so I'd confidentaly say that I have strawberry blonde hair

my eyes are green and blue

I do not wear glasses (the only one in my family not to, suckerrrs)

I have 3 siblings and am wedged in the middle

I tend to curse so you probably see that a lot in my tags even if I try to keep it down

I have 3 budgies and a golden retriever

My hogwarts house is ravenclaw

My personality type is INTP

[yuriplisetsky-rp]

Otabek Altin Cements Dominance With Fourth World Title

Continues to cement himself as most decorated Asian skater of all time

Saturday, March 23rd

MONTREAL, CANADA – Otabek Altin of Kazakhstan skated a fantastic free skate to win a fourth world title in a very competitive field. The 26-year-old was second in the free, with a score of 221.69 for a total score of 335.14. The most decorated Asian skater in history, he has had a storied career that many dream of and he is not over yet.

"I am determined to win gold in history," said the three-time Four Conitnents Champion. "It is the only senior title that I am missing." Altin has won two Olympic medals - a bronze in 2018 and a silver in 2022 behind Leroy. "I want to do it for my country and for Yuri."

Guang-hong de la Iglesia of China won the free skate and came within a point of overtaking Altin. The 24-year-old scored 224.26 for a total score of 334.38. “I’m so proud of what I did here today. I win would have been nice, but I’m glad to be able to skate so well,” said the two-time Four Continents silver medalist. “Altin is just phenominal. I am determined to beat him at Worlds one day."

2022 World Champion Seung-gil Lee of South Korea came up from fourth to win the bronze. Scoring 109.93 in his short, he scored 220.34 for his free skate, for a total score of 330.27. “I am honored to have skated so well,” said the 2020 Four Continents Champion. “I am very proud of how I skated, to skate a personal best and win a medal. It was a very good competition all the way around.”

Hometown favorite Leroy had a popped jump and only scored 208.37 for his free 319.24, ending up in fifth place overall. But combined with his young brother’s eighth-place finish, Canada keeps its third spot for next year’s Worlds.

[lgcmanager]

HAPPY FOUR YEARS, LGC SUPERSTARS !

after all of the exhausting practices and schedules, every trainee and debut artist falls asleep…only to be woken up in a world that may be familiar or foreign to some people…

WELCOME BACK, LGC UNIVERSITY STUDENTS!

to commemorate lgc’s fourth anniversary, we are bringing back lgc university! for the muns who were not present during last year’s run of the anniversary event, this is an alternate universe ( au ) storyline in which all of the lgc muses are now students of lgc university! in the first iteration of this, all of the muses had to take several tests ( and even a final exam with DBSD’s daehyun as the proctor ) and pass in order to complete the term.

now in this alternate universe, it’s summertime and some people could associate it with summer camps and all, but in lgc university this is the time when they host their yearly house tournament and prom night! 

and here are the following houses:

YOUNGGONG

REPRESENTATIVE LGC GROUP: TYPE ZERO

HEAD OF HOUSE: CHOI DAEHYUN

RUINA

REPRESENTATIVE LGC GROUP: VERSUS

HEAD OF HOUSE: WU YANG PING ( YP )

EGARIM

REPRESENTATIVE LGC GROUP: AGITO

HEAD OF HOUSE: KIM HYUNBIN

AVERTINE

REPRESENTATIVE LGC GROUP: CRYSTALLIS

HEAD OF HOUSE: NAM SARANG

FLORINTHE

REPRESENTATIVE LGC GROUP: FABULA

HEAD OF HOUSE: KIM YOUNGIM

( note: the names chosen are actually the continents that represent each of the lgc groups [ sans nova ] for the webtoon! a special thank you to all of the muns who participated in that last year, especially the muns behind @lgcxnoeul/@lgcminseo, @lgcxminji/@lgcsena, and @lgcichika/@lgctaiyou/@lgcparker for the names suggested above! )

likewise, TYPE ZERO, V&A, CRYSTALLIS, and FABULA will be in their respective houses and will serve as part of the “student council”.

for the full list of where everyone is placed, you can look over HERE.

STUDENT PROFILES

another aspect that the muses got to select are their majors. this time around, you will be given the option to choose which of the following majors your muse is pursuing currently. for the ones that have participated in last year’s anniversary event, you COULD keep the same major that was selected before OR you can change it to one of the other options.

for the years, there will be some slight adjustments but should be relatively similar to last year’s anniversary event where it will be based on when your muse joined the company ( ic wise ). here is how the years will be divided:

1ST YEAR STUDENTS: any muses who joined lgc entertainment from JANUARY 2022 to JULY 2023

2ND YEAR STUDENTS: any muses who joined lgc entertainment from JULY 2020 to JULY 2021

3RD YEAR STUDENTS: any muses who joined lgc entertainment from JANUARY 2019 to JANUARY 2020

4TH YEAR STUDENTS: any muses who joined lgc entertainment from JANUARY 2015 to JULY 2018

for the majors, here are the following choices:

acting

communication

creative writing

dance

linguistics

music theory

studio arts

for this requirement, just fill out the student profile below and make sure to tag the post as lgc:universityprofiles. this WILL NOT count for activity. you will receive points for completing this, but for this anniversary event the number of points you receive and the distributions will be announced AFTER the anniversary deadline has passed. 

LGCU STUDENT PROFILES

NAME: [ muse name ]

YEAR: [ please refer to lgc u sheet or the info above for this ]

MAJOR: [ choose ONE major only; acting, communication, creative writing, dance, linguistics, music theory, studio arts ]

SUBJECTS RANKING [ pick what your muse’s top five favorite subjects are based on the list below. the list has to be ranked in order, with 1 being the highest. ]

ACTING FUNDAMENTALS

ART OF PROBLEM SOLVING

ASTRONOMY

BEGINNER YOGA

CALCULUS

DANCE HISTORY

DRAWING I

ENGLISH IN SOCIETY

HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY

INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS

INTRODUCTION TO PROBABILITY

JAPANESE CONVERSATION THROUGH MOVIES

KOREAN LANGUAGE & LITERATURE

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PRINCIPLES

MUSIC PRODUCTION

PEOPLES, CULTURES, ENVIRONMENTS

PERFORMING ARTS

PHOTOGRAPHY I

SCULPTURE FUNDAMENTALS

WRITING FOR MASS MEDIA

3 RANDOM FACTS: [ list 3 random facts relevant to the lgc university verse. this can range from how you think the muse got accepted to the university, favorite classes, interesting moments in any of the classes mentioned above, etc. basically have fun writing the facts because it’s an au! ]

please submit the following form on the points blog before OCTOBER 7, 2023 11:59PM EDT.

NAME: MUSE NAME SUBJECT: LGC UNIVERSITY (STUDENT PROFILES) - PROFILE: [ LINK ]