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This and That: Skate America
- Thread starter MK's Winter
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- Mar 23, 2014
Only just started this episode, but the discussion is heavily focused around Gracie (as discussion has been here on GS). I'm inclined to agree with the idea that now might be the time for Gracie to gain some independence and, to put it in the words of Michelle Kwan, to take control of her own skating. It might not necessarily mean leaving Frank, but taking a more active role in the decision-making around her skating, her programs, etc. Maybe move out of her parents' house, take a few college courses part-time, get invested in life outside of skating in order to help her handle her disappointments. Having so much independence has definitely elevated Ashley - and she still totally defers to Raf's expertise while still having control of her skating. I suspect that Ashley's performances and "packaging" are more her own than a product of Raf - plus Shae-Lynne.
It seems like a way forward to continue to meaningfully develop her skating and give her something to focus on rather than her inconsistency. The less she focuses on that, the better.
It seems like a way forward to continue to meaningfully develop her skating and give her something to focus on rather than her inconsistency. The less she focuses on that, the better.
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- Jul 31, 2014
I think this is her best bet right now. Look at Mirai today vs when she lived with her parents? She rarely looked like she was enjoying herself on ice and looked kinda lost and people wondered why she was still skating. Now she has moved away from home, she is (or was) taking college classes, she has dogs of her own, TomZ has mentioned her having a boyfriend in a "its a good thing" way... and she looks like she wants to be skating again. She is keeping her head, making progress and just seems so much more comfortable and happier over all...and it is showing in her skating. She also skated to music choices that some scoffed at but she admitted to really liking... and it showed and it worked. Honestly as strange as it sounds, taking a page out of Mirai's book might be what Gracie needs.
I think Mirai was about the same age when she moved to TomZ as Gracie is now, so maybe some "cut the apron strings" might be the right approach... or a basket of kittens, that might help too.
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As is true for Mirai, dogs :luv17: are a major part of Gracie's life
. She absolutely dotes on her two or three (one technically belongs to Carly, IIRC).(The Gold dogs have their own Instagram accounts with sizeable followings that many humans would envy
.)Gracie has taken at least one college class in the past. I don't know whether she is taking any at the moment.
BTW, Gracie loves baking. (To my eyes, her cake-decorating skills seem nearly professional.)
Bottom line: I do think that Gracie is tough on herself when it comes to her skating career.
But it's not as if her life is devoid of other interests and pleasures.
And she is lucky to have Carly as her partner in crime ... to share spontaneous goofiness such as singing in the car, for example.
(As for Mirai: Yes, she definitely has been continuing her college studies this semester
. Per her tweets, she was juggling exams and hard-core statistics homework with her recent trips to Challenger comps.)
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This new episode of This and That is just a mess. Jenny needs to come back asap. She doesn't have to attend all the skating events, but even law school leaves some free time for hobbies and skype sessions.
This was just so unorganized. Half of the video they talked about Gracie, who wasn't even on the podium, but was the first thing they adressed. Then spend a few sentences on Ashley (who was the winner of the event by the way and should have been mentioned first) and Mariah, only to tug on a half sentence about Mai, totally ignoring any of the other ladies.
Then they went on with the men, leaving out Voronov completely, but didn't forget bashing Boyang and warn everyone, that he shouln't get Patrick Chan PCS when this was never really a thread. Actually he even got less PCS than last season, even though he clearly improved (40 (sp) and 80 (LP) in 4cc last season vs. 37 (sp) and 78 (LP) at SA). Then they spent two and a half minutes talking about Juliane and Charlie, just to jump back to mens (Tim Dolensky), then to jump to pairs again, this time devoting a whole one and half minute on Haven and Denney and half a minute on Tarasova/Morozov. In dance they mostly talked about the costume and charlie's commentary, not much about the actual programms except for the Shibs.
I mean, that's a new low for TSL. With Jenny they at least tried to back up their opinions with some facts. But now they're just two people that say any rubbish that just crossed their minds without any preparation.
Another issue that's annoying me is how all of Dave's new Co-Hosts except Drew Meekins talk sooooooo slooooow. Get some preparation. The This and Thats are getting worse and worse since Jenny left.
This was just so unorganized. Half of the video they talked about Gracie, who wasn't even on the podium, but was the first thing they adressed. Then spend a few sentences on Ashley (who was the winner of the event by the way and should have been mentioned first) and Mariah, only to tug on a half sentence about Mai, totally ignoring any of the other ladies.
Then they went on with the men, leaving out Voronov completely, but didn't forget bashing Boyang and warn everyone, that he shouln't get Patrick Chan PCS when this was never really a thread. Actually he even got less PCS than last season, even though he clearly improved (40 (sp) and 80 (LP) in 4cc last season vs. 37 (sp) and 78 (LP) at SA). Then they spent two and a half minutes talking about Juliane and Charlie, just to jump back to mens (Tim Dolensky), then to jump to pairs again, this time devoting a whole one and half minute on Haven and Denney and half a minute on Tarasova/Morozov. In dance they mostly talked about the costume and charlie's commentary, not much about the actual programms except for the Shibs.
I mean, that's a new low for TSL. With Jenny they at least tried to back up their opinions with some facts. But now they're just two people that say any rubbish that just crossed their minds without any preparation.
Another issue that's annoying me is how all of Dave's new Co-Hosts except Drew Meekins talk sooooooo slooooow. Get some preparation. The This and Thats are getting worse and worse since Jenny left.
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What was a specific TSL "This and That" that you enjoyed?
I think the conversational style is the TSL brand. I personally find it engaging, but understand if others don't. I don't know if you're aware of Rocker Skating by Jackie Wong- he provides relatively objective and fact-based analysis if that's more your style.
Re: Gracie taking the lion's share of time: I think that is also understandable, and is even reflected in the amount of discussion centering on her here at GoldenSkate. Gracie's comments and Christine Brennan's article have made Gracie one of the lingering stories from Skate America.
I did enjoy a lot of This and That's (and a lot of their interviews) when Jenny was still on and was never totally put off by their conversational style. I was always aware that that's their brand, even being a little over the top or putting out controvial content, sometimes being a little snarky. But my enjoyment drastically changed with the new co-Hosts (except for Drew, who I found OK). Now they're not even reviewing the programms properly, but just talk about the skater in general. And not even in the order of the podium but wildly jumping from one discipline to another.
I know Jackie Wong (not personally though) and I turn to this twitter page when I'm looking for news and interviews. I always considered TSL to be entertainement - up until now. Now it's just annoying.
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- Mar 23, 2014
I think the show benefits from being split into disciplines when discussing competitions, but I understand what a time commitment that is. And honestly, I didn't think pairs or ice dance was particularly strong or interesting at Skate America. (Meanwhile, ice dance at Skate Canada is soooooo deep. Please bring on Emily Tuttle for the Skate Canada This and That!)
I do wish there had been more even coverage - I would've enjoyed hearing Dave's thoughts on more of the skaters, ladies especially - though I found the time spent on discussing Gracie to be pretty worthwhile and insightful.
I don't think La is a great co-host for Dave because she's really just too similar to him and they don't have a great back and forth. Emily Tuttle brings a level of focus to the show I really enjoy and learn from. Or bring back Jonathan Beyer. Sure, his presence is a lot like Dave's, but he has stronger opinions than La and expresses them intelligently and humorously. He and Dave are hilarious together, even if they're catty. Don't me wrong, I don't have a problem with La, but I'm not really seeing what she's bringing to the show, either.
I do wish there had been more even coverage - I would've enjoyed hearing Dave's thoughts on more of the skaters, ladies especially - though I found the time spent on discussing Gracie to be pretty worthwhile and insightful.
I don't think La is a great co-host for Dave because she's really just too similar to him and they don't have a great back and forth. Emily Tuttle brings a level of focus to the show I really enjoy and learn from. Or bring back Jonathan Beyer. Sure, his presence is a lot like Dave's, but he has stronger opinions than La and expresses them intelligently and humorously. He and Dave are hilarious together, even if they're catty. Don't me wrong, I don't have a problem with La, but I'm not really seeing what she's bringing to the show, either.
Is there a blog/vblog on fs made by a british guy/girl maybe? Until last season British Eurosport was the only fair and objective voice of figure skating (this season they've changed the commentator)
I would like Jackie Wong's stuffs with more analysis and without the part when he is clearly rooting for someone.
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I find that Jackie generally tries to be very fair. If he has a few personal biases slip through every now and again, well, he's only human, but I've never seen him be unfairly negative (like TSL and NBC have a tendency to do).
The good part with Jackie is that he's quite open to differing opinions - unless you attack him like that crazy Boyang fan did on the weekend.
I really enjoy Emily Tuttle's balanced and thoughtful commentary. It's refreshing as I think TSL's weak spot is often a lack of understanding, or at least explaining, of dance technique.
I'm enjoying this season of co-host turnaround I must say, as the flavor of the show is affected quite a bit by the co-host's personality and background.
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It's funny, in any other season, and with competitors with the resumes like the teams that competed, Skate America would have been considered a deep line-up for a GP event, but Skate Canada's line-up is pretty unbelievably stacked this season. That said, I still found Skate America's ice dance to be really interesting and strong to watch at SA.
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- Mar 17, 2015
i actually enjoyed that episode of this and that a lot more than the precedent with La, i found her a lot more engaging too.
Granted it was unorganized and they talked almost exclusively about American skaters, but that is where their interests lie.
I had a good time watching that episode.
Granted it was unorganized and they talked almost exclusively about American skaters, but that is where their interests lie.
I had a good time watching that episode.
Gracie can doodle per your avatar.
Gracie can do spontaneous dance very well. There is that famous gif of all lady skaters in 2016 worlds gala. they were requested to do improvised dance/positing in the end according to the music together. Gracis's is actually one of the best.
I wish to see Gracie goofy around on official practice ice a bit. she always looked very uptight and proper.
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It can be hard to talk about everyone, I often say a lot about Ice Dance and the Ladies, it´s where I am good at and where my heart is, same with pairs, while with men I focus on those I felt in my heart. I do not know what relationship the TSL guys have to skaters and formats, but it´s quite often just impossible to please each audience and to pretend you liked someone, always ends up awkward.
Btw.
Law School is together with medicine the hardest thing you can do, don´t underestimate it. The reading you must do is crazy and as long Jenny doesn´t make a living with TSL, it´s understandable that she does focus on this. And hey, we all know, women have a better workflow than us men, they just make it all look more pretty and organized
You might be surprised that this is coming from me, but I still wanted to leave my 2 cents.
This and That for Skate Canada is now up. I really like Kimmie Meisner as co-host. The best new co-host I've seen so far. She is knowledgeable and has a great rapour with Dave, but her own opinions as well. She's very natural and confident on camera. Bring her back in the future!
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- Feb 14, 2014
