Jeremy Abbott

So glad he won Cup of China on the weekend. Granted, the men's field did rather go boom in the LP, but Jeremy's new program is just gorgeous. He falls on the quad and pops a triple axel (which is actually the worse mistake, because it's mental), but just look at the edge work! The flow and grace and ease of transitions between elements! Beautiful. I can't wait to see this program again. The USFSA has got to be regretting not sending Jeremy to Worlds. If he can get his quad back and keep his head together, he is one of the very best -- heads and shoulders above the other US men. And as much as I love Patrick Chan, Jeremy at his best is untouchable for me.

World Champion!

I'm so proud! He improved SO much from last season, and his quad has been remarkably consistent. I'd say the most consistent quad in the men's field this season, which is such an achievement his first year doing it. Three quads at Nationals, and three quads at Worlds. Plus the footwork, transitions, spins, etc. Haters gonna hate, but Patrick deserved this win 100%.

So happy as well for Takahiko Kozuka! His LP is a thing of beauty. Takahashi and Oda both crumbled. :/

Four Continents

Sadly, TV coverage of 4CC was largely nonexistent on this side of the world. CBC deigned to show an hour of ice dancing, and then had video problems and didn't air Weaver/Poje. SIGH. But at least they got Tessa and Scott's FD. So sorry to see that they had to pull out. I really think they should have taken this whole season off to make sure Tessa is 100%. But she was smart to stop when she did rather than make a new injury worse.

Glad to see that they did get out to see the rest of the skating and were in good spirits:



I've always thought it must be so strange to look up and suddenly be on the jumbotron!

Looking forward to Worlds next month and some better TV coverage!

Canadian Nationals

Haters are gonna hate, but I was so proud of Patrick Chan this weekend at Nationals. He not only did a gorgeous quad in the short program, but two in the long (one in combination with a triple). He really has stepped up and is delivering. You just know that every beautiful quad Patrick does sticks in Evgeni Plushenko's craw, because Patrick shows that you can do quads AND be a complete skater, with footwork and spins and transitions. He was very wise to take his time and not do the quad until he was ready to do it. And in the meantime, he honed on all his other skills. Whereas with Plushenko and Joubert, there is precious little there but the jumps.

So far only the CBC Bold version is up (as opposed to the main network), which unfortunately has annoying commentary (Josee Chouindard? No, CBC, no!), but the picture is beautiful.



Given that he's only 20 years old, there is still so much Patrick can achieve. Yes, he has been overmarked in the past (and Nationals marks are generally always inflated, which is why the ISU doesn't count scores from national events in the record books), but there is no question in my mind that if he skates his best at Worlds (and that's always a big if -- it's tough not to crack under the pressure), he will deservedly win and likely set a new world record for high score. I don't think Takahashi can hold him off, although I'd love to see him try.

Shawn Sawyer had the skate of his career to finish second to Patrick. So thrilled for him! Everyone expected him to retire after failing to make the Olympics last year, but he decided to come back to prove something to himself and to have fun. He's always been a gorgeous skater, but he could never nail the triple axel, and the 3A is a must for elite men. Shawn's 3A here is the best I've been him do possibly ever, and although he barely hangs on, that is a moral victory. The whole performance was just wonderful, and I really hope he can skate well at Worlds, too. I suspect this will be the high note that he'll want his career to go out on, but you never know, he might return.

Not a lot of deep thoughts on the other disciplines. I was happy for Cynthia Phaneuf winning the Canadian title again seven years after she first won it as a 15-year-old, but she didn't have much competition. Nice depth in the pairs and ice dance, though. I was rooting for Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje to win in the dance, not because I don't love Vanessa and Paul, but because I feel like this was Kaitlyn and Andrew's one shot. And man, only a point between the teams -- they came so close. That's gotta be a tough loss, but at least they're going back to Worlds after a couple years of being on the bench. They worked so hard to improve, which is so great to see.

In pairs, the top teams are rough around the edges, but the potential is there. It'll be interesting to see if Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison can come back next year after Bryce's knee surgery. I hope so, because as Jessica proved by competing in singles this year, she's a great pairs skater. It's a shame she let her head get the better of her, because she's such a gorgeous skater. But as much as you need the whole package, you need the jumps, so.

US Nationals are this weekend (and NBC has decent coverage for once!), and I'm crossing my fingers for Jeremy Abbott and Adam Rippon. In other US skating news, by far the most interesting revelations to come out of Johnny Weir's book are his confessions of faking illness and injury in the past. The only surprise to long-time skating fans is that he's admitting it. Johnny is one of those skaters I've always loved, but also wanted to slap upside the head for his shitty work ethic. Galina did manage to whip him into shape, but for too long he just didn't work hard enough, and had too many excuses. I will be shocked if he gives up his busy schedule of media whoring and Being Outrageous™ to ever really commit to training again, but stranger things have happened, I suppose.

Happy New Year

I've clearly been falling down on the blogging job! Hope everyone had a happy and healthy holiday.

For me, this is the time of year when I hibernate and get a lot of writing done. (If I'm being honest, I also get a lot of TV watching and faffing about on the internet done!) Living in Toronto, it's cold, usually snowy, and dark by around 5 p.m. All the better to curl up with my laptop.

I usually don't make resolutions, since they tend to be the same each year (eat better, lose weight, etc., etc.), but this January I've resolved to not only to write, but participate in one outdoor activity a week.

Yesterday my friend and I went Geocaching, which is basically going on a scavenger hunt using a GPS. People all around the world devise hunts and clues, leading you to the "cache," usually some sort of watertight container, where you sign your name on the paper inside before putting it back for the next hunter. I have to say, it was a ton of fun! Our hunt was in a local park, so we just walked over with our list of clues. Will definitely be geocaching again! It's an appealing way to get active outside.

All right, back to the grindstone!

New season begins

The figure skating season begins next week in Japan with NHK. I'm sad that Tessa Virtue had to have surgery this week and that she and Scott will miss the Grand Prix season. I can only imagine how much pain she withstood last season to get to the Olympics.

Watch for Meryl Davis and Charlie White to win everything in their absence. Can't wait to see their new routines! Oh, how I love a new skating season. Post-Olympic years are always interesting as the younger skaters often make real strides. Hearing amazing things about Adam Rippon's new programs. He beat a strong field at the pro-am Japanese Open, including Daisuke Takahashi, Jeff Buttle and good ol' mullet head Plushenko. Speaking of Plushy, he's trying to fight the ISU's suspension. If anyone can pull strings and get their way, it's the Russians. Needless to say, I hope the ISU stays firm, but not holding my breath.

The joys of E-reading

A few months back, I checked out the Sony e-reader in the store and wasn't totally happy with it, so I decided to wait until the prices of some of the others came down. Then, lo and behold, Indigo (Canadian bookseller conglomerate) introduced the Kobo for only $149 CAD. Well, how could I resist?

I love it. It's very simple and straighforward. No wireless or fancy features that I don't need. Using very easy software, you can upload and download books and documents. Then, obviously, you read them. And that's exactly what I wanted. I don't need my e-reader to play songs or cook me dinner.

Kobo also came preloaded with 100 classic books, many of which I've never read. I think this is a common feature of e-readers, but I definitely enjoy it. The page turns could be a smidge faster, but that's because I'm so impatient with technology these days since we expect everything NOW, NOW, NOW. It only takes just over a second for the page to turn, which is the same time it would take me reading a paper book. You get very quickly used to automatically pressing the button with your thumb as you near the bottom of the page.

I can't imagine ever giving up paper books altogether (although never say never, I suppose), but having a proper e-reader makes e-books so much easier and more enjoyable to read than reading PDFs on my laptop. I'm hooked!