or as the guys from South Park asked: WWBBD?
... as in Brian Boitano, who shows up in my "Friends You May Know" list when I requested my long lost cousin to be my friend. So does Katarina Witt and Jayne Torville.
I credit Oksana with this. She's my gateway skater leading me to all sorts of untouchable Olympic Champions. First Oksana, then Tai, then who knows?
So, would you (or have you) befriended Brian or Katarina?
November 29, 2012
November 20, 2012
This Made Me Laugh
... how about you? So true.
I discovered this gem courtesy of the Chive listed under today's Daily Morning Awesomeness. Go check them out ... and be awesome. :-)
I discovered this gem courtesy of the Chive listed under today's Daily Morning Awesomeness. Go check them out ... and be awesome. :-)
November 6, 2012
Bond, Skate Bond
About a month ago I was talking with a fellow show skater who said that Holiday On Ice wasn't doing well. I had to wonder because they don't have a new show coming out this year. That's not a good sign.
So, I've got an idea for HOI ... oh and you're welcome.
Much like when Feld production (the folks of Disney on Ice) produced a pretty successful ice show called "High School Musical On Ice". It sold well in the first and second years.
I think a skating show about James Bond has great potential. So many of the theme songs from the movies are fantastic and would be great to see with skating.
Bond, Skate Bond - what do you think?
Who didn't love Yu-na Kim's short program in Vancouver? Could it work in an entire show like High School Musical did?
I'm putting aside all of the licensing issues - I know it costs a lot to use the music, but I'm hoping the profits would take care of that.
Doing Bond is trickier in some respects. High School Musical On Ice followed the plots of two shows, so there was a natural progression that you wouldn't have with Bond. We're doing theme songs here, so there has to be a variety to keep people interested.
On the plus side, the theme of James Bond is instantly recognized. So let's make it into a show shall we?
Here's how I'd do it:
Opening - to me it would have to be the main "007 Theme" that starts out most of the movies (not to be confused with the "James Bond Theme" - who knew?). Your principal male skater would be this Bond and the chorus could be between robbers (villians) and other spys (gals in trench coats could be very stylish).
The Second number would tie in the newest movie "Skyfall" by Adele with your principal female skater.
The one problem I could see with a James Bond show is that most of the songs are the big ballad types and one after another in the line-up would get boring. So you've got to mix it up.
The third number could be Madonna's "Die Another Day" which has a modern, funky beat that will break up the slow tunes. I'm not crazy about this song though ... personally I don't think it's her best work. But you need this number for the variety. Full chorus for this number, put in a good ol' pinwheel and kickline for good measure.
You could blend this song with the second half of "The World Is Not Enough" by Garbage which has a rich orchestration that we're used to with most of the Bond songs.
Next, as great as all of the Shirley Bassey tunes are, they are the oldest and the audience may not recognize them. My suggestion: put "Goldfinger", "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Moonraker" in a montage with three different skaters in very different outfits. Gold, silver and blue, perhaps, and in that order.
Now we have four to sixish numbers so far, which doesn't make enough to get you through to intermission. The first half needs to be about 40 - 45 minutes at least. So I would add a couple non-Bond songs, like a Scottish-bag pipe song that reminds one of Great Britian, home of the spy. Another location song could be a beachy theme with Bond girls in bathing suits set to a Greek-style folk song. Or Italian accordian? Think the Riveria.
But in terms of this blog post, if you haven't stopped reading already you will soon if I don't speed up my show.
So, for the second half, you would want to include Sheryl Crow's "Tomorrow Never Dies" then Duran Duran's "View to a Kill" and a-ha's "The Living Daylights" to bring in a faster beat. I would have my last two ballads be the more well-known "For Your Eyes Only" by Sheena Easton and Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better" - a personal favorite - that could be the last solo number before the big finale.
The finale should restart the "007 Theme" blending with the "James Bond Theme" and blending into my personal favorite Bond theme (it's my show, so I get to pick the closer, ok?) "Live and Let Die."
So that's the show, plus or minus a few tunes. Like I said earlier, if you're still reading this, let me know what you think?
So, I've got an idea for HOI ... oh and you're welcome.
Much like when Feld production (the folks of Disney on Ice) produced a pretty successful ice show called "High School Musical On Ice". It sold well in the first and second years.
I think a skating show about James Bond has great potential. So many of the theme songs from the movies are fantastic and would be great to see with skating.
Bond, Skate Bond - what do you think?
Who didn't love Yu-na Kim's short program in Vancouver? Could it work in an entire show like High School Musical did?
I'm putting aside all of the licensing issues - I know it costs a lot to use the music, but I'm hoping the profits would take care of that.
Doing Bond is trickier in some respects. High School Musical On Ice followed the plots of two shows, so there was a natural progression that you wouldn't have with Bond. We're doing theme songs here, so there has to be a variety to keep people interested.
On the plus side, the theme of James Bond is instantly recognized. So let's make it into a show shall we?
Here's how I'd do it:
Opening - to me it would have to be the main "007 Theme" that starts out most of the movies (not to be confused with the "James Bond Theme" - who knew?). Your principal male skater would be this Bond and the chorus could be between robbers (villians) and other spys (gals in trench coats could be very stylish).
The Second number would tie in the newest movie "Skyfall" by Adele with your principal female skater.
The one problem I could see with a James Bond show is that most of the songs are the big ballad types and one after another in the line-up would get boring. So you've got to mix it up.
The third number could be Madonna's "Die Another Day" which has a modern, funky beat that will break up the slow tunes. I'm not crazy about this song though ... personally I don't think it's her best work. But you need this number for the variety. Full chorus for this number, put in a good ol' pinwheel and kickline for good measure.
You could blend this song with the second half of "The World Is Not Enough" by Garbage which has a rich orchestration that we're used to with most of the Bond songs.
Next, as great as all of the Shirley Bassey tunes are, they are the oldest and the audience may not recognize them. My suggestion: put "Goldfinger", "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Moonraker" in a montage with three different skaters in very different outfits. Gold, silver and blue, perhaps, and in that order.
Now we have four to sixish numbers so far, which doesn't make enough to get you through to intermission. The first half needs to be about 40 - 45 minutes at least. So I would add a couple non-Bond songs, like a Scottish-bag pipe song that reminds one of Great Britian, home of the spy. Another location song could be a beachy theme with Bond girls in bathing suits set to a Greek-style folk song. Or Italian accordian? Think the Riveria.
But in terms of this blog post, if you haven't stopped reading already you will soon if I don't speed up my show.
So, for the second half, you would want to include Sheryl Crow's "Tomorrow Never Dies" then Duran Duran's "View to a Kill" and a-ha's "The Living Daylights" to bring in a faster beat. I would have my last two ballads be the more well-known "For Your Eyes Only" by Sheena Easton and Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better" - a personal favorite - that could be the last solo number before the big finale.
The finale should restart the "007 Theme" blending with the "James Bond Theme" and blending into my personal favorite Bond theme (it's my show, so I get to pick the closer, ok?) "Live and Let Die."
So that's the show, plus or minus a few tunes. Like I said earlier, if you're still reading this, let me know what you think?
October 31, 2012
The Figure Skater Won
... best actress in a German Soap Opera, "Alles Was zählt."
photo of Ann-Katharina Samsel
Back in September, I blogged about the figure skating plot of a German soap opera, "Alles was zählt", that I catch from time to time. You know, your typical figure skating champion who is wanted for murdering her coach - or did she?
Well, I didn't realize that the figure skater in the storyline had won Best Actress at the 2011 German Soap Awards!
Not only that, I didn't realize that Anna-Katharina Samsel has some cred. In 1999 she was the artistic roller skating champion for Germany and World Champion in 1999, 2000 and 2002.
But the best thing is she was in a Coldplay video!
I kid, I kid. I would take the titles any day.
According to her Facebook fan page, it looks like she didn't win this year. The ceremony was last Friday. Maybe the figure skating plot will intensify in the run-up to Sochi and she'll be a strong contender for Best Actress next year.
Still, congrats to the homicidal figure skater!
Back in September, I blogged about the figure skating plot of a German soap opera, "Alles was zählt", that I catch from time to time. You know, your typical figure skating champion who is wanted for murdering her coach - or did she?
Well, I didn't realize that the figure skater in the storyline had won Best Actress at the 2011 German Soap Awards!
Not only that, I didn't realize that Anna-Katharina Samsel has some cred. In 1999 she was the artistic roller skating champion for Germany and World Champion in 1999, 2000 and 2002.
But the best thing is she was in a Coldplay video!
I kid, I kid. I would take the titles any day.
According to her Facebook fan page, it looks like she didn't win this year. The ceremony was last Friday. Maybe the figure skating plot will intensify in the run-up to Sochi and she'll be a strong contender for Best Actress next year.
Still, congrats to the homicidal figure skater!
October 25, 2012
Happy Halloween!
... coming soon to a scary neighborhood near you.
Well, maybe.
So, in honor of the holiday, I'm reposting some of my favorite Holiday On Ice costumes that could be the "best" Halloween costume at your local bar, neighborhood bash, or after-show cast party. Now, there are lots of beautiful costumes also for sale on the Holiday On Ice site, but that wouldn't be as fun to show you, now would it?
Up first: Some kind of "Eye" in the Bugs Bunny show.
Not to be outdone by the female version is the male eye from the same show:
This one features both male and female costumes and I can't figure out which one is creepier:
Could work out with the slate of zombie movies and tv shows out there.
Okay, next is this guy is trying to look Mexican, but I don't know:
That poncho looks more like a Navajo toga. And don't get me started on the mustache.
Which also makes me wonder how authentic this guys is:
Next up what I call the office peacock look:
This one is suppose to be a costume from the Caribbean:
And finally:
Happy Halloween everyone!
Well, maybe.
So, in honor of the holiday, I'm reposting some of my favorite Holiday On Ice costumes that could be the "best" Halloween costume at your local bar, neighborhood bash, or after-show cast party. Now, there are lots of beautiful costumes also for sale on the Holiday On Ice site, but that wouldn't be as fun to show you, now would it?
Up first: Some kind of "Eye" in the Bugs Bunny show.
Not to be outdone by the female version is the male eye from the same show:
This one features both male and female costumes and I can't figure out which one is creepier:
Could work out with the slate of zombie movies and tv shows out there.
Okay, next is this guy is trying to look Mexican, but I don't know:
That poncho looks more like a Navajo toga. And don't get me started on the mustache.
Which also makes me wonder how authentic this guys is:
Next up what I call the office peacock look:
This one is suppose to be a costume from the Caribbean:
And finally:
Happy Halloween everyone!
October 22, 2012
Doping, Cycling, and Ice Charade's Idea of What to Do
Ahead (just barely) of the UCI's decision of what to do with Lance Armstrong's 7 Tour de France titles, I've got my own idea.
So, Miss Ice Charades, this isn't going to have anything to do with skating will it?
Not much really. Which is a good thing. Figure skating hasn't seen the doping problem that other sports, especially cycling has. That's in part because there isn't a performance-enhancing drug that covers strength, endurance AND agility. That agility part keeps skaters, gymnasts and divers from having to decide to dope or not to dope.
And that's what it could come down to ... if you read in this article, by Simon Austin on BBC Sports profiling cyclist, Scott Mercier, who "was the US Postal rider who resisted the pressure to dope" and because he did he had to quit competitive cycling.
Now, think of our elite skaters and wonder if they had to decide the same - that is to cheat by doping in order to win or stop competing. What would they do?
What would you do?
I would like to think I would say no. But I can't say with all honesty, that if I were that good, that I would refuse to cheat. Especially if everyone else was doing it. I would want to be one of the greatest wouldn't I? Elite athletes are the best competitors and it is not in their nature to stand on the sidelines and say, "no, not for me." Like Mercier is quoted in the end of the article, "he hopes no rider ever again has to leave the sport they love because they want to ride clean."
Now before I wade deeper into this discussion, let me state, that Miss Ice Charades is no cycling expert. I have no credentials in the sport. BUT, I have watched every stage of seven Tour de Frances, (5 of those that Lance won and two after his first retirement), which clocks in roughly 440 hours of Tour de France viewing. That's just enough to make me dangerous in having a point of view.
Lot's of folks have watched the Tour as much or more than I have and we'll all tell you that we've witnessed one cyclist after another being busted for doping. Dozens of them. (Fun fact, there's a wikipedia site : Doping at the Tour de France. It's all in there. There is a nifty chart toward the bottom that shows where the cyclists placed in each tour and it shows if Lance is stripped of his titles, you can't give the victory to anybody else, because 2nd, 3rd, 4th place on down is usuallly occupied by someone who doped or alleged to have doped. (In 2008, it starts to lighten up a bit, but it's still not a clean slate.)
So here's my idea of what to do ... I don't believe Lance should be stripped of his titles. They simply can't give them to anyone else. There should be an asterisk after his name that would cover *Doping. As in, that's what most of them did.
Then my next idea is to let cyclists dope. This one is controversial, I know. But I say, let's level the playing field by stopping the pretend-notion that now they're clean. If they want to dope, give themselves blood tranfusions, sleep in oxygen tents (I think they can do that one now) let them take the risks. They don't represent a country. In professional cycling they represent banks, telephone companies, newspapers, water, radios, pastries, sausages, and whatever "Liquigas" or as we say, leaky gas is.
If they want to represent their country and race in the Olympics, that's a different story. Let's keep the Olympics clean (cough, cough.) Well, let's keep trying to keep the Olympics clean.
So, what do you think? Strip the titles? Keep the titles? Something else? Let's hear it.
So, Miss Ice Charades, this isn't going to have anything to do with skating will it?
Not much really. Which is a good thing. Figure skating hasn't seen the doping problem that other sports, especially cycling has. That's in part because there isn't a performance-enhancing drug that covers strength, endurance AND agility. That agility part keeps skaters, gymnasts and divers from having to decide to dope or not to dope.
And that's what it could come down to ... if you read in this article, by Simon Austin on BBC Sports profiling cyclist, Scott Mercier, who "was the US Postal rider who resisted the pressure to dope" and because he did he had to quit competitive cycling.
Now, think of our elite skaters and wonder if they had to decide the same - that is to cheat by doping in order to win or stop competing. What would they do?
What would you do?
I would like to think I would say no. But I can't say with all honesty, that if I were that good, that I would refuse to cheat. Especially if everyone else was doing it. I would want to be one of the greatest wouldn't I? Elite athletes are the best competitors and it is not in their nature to stand on the sidelines and say, "no, not for me." Like Mercier is quoted in the end of the article, "he hopes no rider ever again has to leave the sport they love because they want to ride clean."
Now before I wade deeper into this discussion, let me state, that Miss Ice Charades is no cycling expert. I have no credentials in the sport. BUT, I have watched every stage of seven Tour de Frances, (5 of those that Lance won and two after his first retirement), which clocks in roughly 440 hours of Tour de France viewing. That's just enough to make me dangerous in having a point of view.
Lot's of folks have watched the Tour as much or more than I have and we'll all tell you that we've witnessed one cyclist after another being busted for doping. Dozens of them. (Fun fact, there's a wikipedia site : Doping at the Tour de France. It's all in there. There is a nifty chart toward the bottom that shows where the cyclists placed in each tour and it shows if Lance is stripped of his titles, you can't give the victory to anybody else, because 2nd, 3rd, 4th place on down is usuallly occupied by someone who doped or alleged to have doped. (In 2008, it starts to lighten up a bit, but it's still not a clean slate.)
So here's my idea of what to do ... I don't believe Lance should be stripped of his titles. They simply can't give them to anyone else. There should be an asterisk after his name that would cover *Doping. As in, that's what most of them did.
Then my next idea is to let cyclists dope. This one is controversial, I know. But I say, let's level the playing field by stopping the pretend-notion that now they're clean. If they want to dope, give themselves blood tranfusions, sleep in oxygen tents (I think they can do that one now) let them take the risks. They don't represent a country. In professional cycling they represent banks, telephone companies, newspapers, water, radios, pastries, sausages, and whatever "Liquigas" or as we say, leaky gas is.
If they want to represent their country and race in the Olympics, that's a different story. Let's keep the Olympics clean (cough, cough.) Well, let's keep trying to keep the Olympics clean.
So, what do you think? Strip the titles? Keep the titles? Something else? Let's hear it.
October 15, 2012
Richard "Mr. Debonair" Dwyer Gala, Oct 22, 2012
Ice Theatre of New York is honoring Richard Dwyer on October 22nd at Chelsea Piers in New York City.
This is the guy of the most amazing spread eagles who skated circles around the girls (literally) with the giant hoop skirts, each in a different bright, majestic color.
As a kid, I also wanted to be one of those girls. Usually the green one.
Well in one week, there will be a performance to honor him with Celebrity Dwyer Girls: Tai Babilonia, Dorothy Hamill, Linda Fratianne and JoJo Starbuck. Plus, Ryan Bradley will be a special guest.
Wish I could go.
This is the guy of the most amazing spread eagles who skated circles around the girls (literally) with the giant hoop skirts, each in a different bright, majestic color.
As a kid, I also wanted to be one of those girls. Usually the green one.
Well in one week, there will be a performance to honor him with Celebrity Dwyer Girls: Tai Babilonia, Dorothy Hamill, Linda Fratianne and JoJo Starbuck. Plus, Ryan Bradley will be a special guest.
Wish I could go.
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