"The truth is, I've been doing a little...I've been doing a little figure skating."
"Finger painting?"
"...They're not gonna make you shave your legs, are they?"
It's that time of the decade folks! When we gather round the ole' Telly to catch the figure skating competition at the Olympic games. You all do it, don't deny it! Turns out it's not only fun to watch, but it's also a real sport! Who knew!?
As a former competitive figure skater, I was charged with the task of making figure skating palatable to a national audience who may not know a thing about it. I'm blogging about the Vancouver competition on Guideposts.com. As it turns out, I'm learning a lot more about the sport (that I immersed myself in for 10 years) than I ever knew.
I hope you will too. Click on the links below for my commentary!
An introduction and preview of the men's competition
The Pairs Short Program
The Pairs Finals
The Men's Short Program
The Men's Long Program
Ice Dancing: Compulsory Dance
If you like what you read, come back next week for the ice dancing original and free dances, as well as the ladies short and long programs. Good times on ice!
February 21, 2010
February 8, 2010
New York Moment
I had a real fish-out-of-water moment last night.
My boss asked me to come help shoot video at an event at the Morgan Library on Madison Avenue. The event was a celebration of the release of one of my company's newest titles, whose subject matter was related very much to Jane Austen's classic (and one of my all-time faves), Pride and Prejudice. The author of this new book, Beth, was going to read an excerpt, while a special guest, actress Jane Seymour, was going to read a passage from Pride and Prejudice itself. The Morgan is currently displaying a Jane Austen exhibit, hence the very fitting location.
I assumed I'd be working, and I didn't really have a firm grasp on the exact nature of the event, so I dressed as usual for a day at the office. We're pretty low-key casual here, so I wore black slacks with a dark purple short-sleeved turtleneck and my favorite obnoxiously bright green low-top sneakers. When you're shooting video, it just doesn't make sense to wear four-inch heels or platforms. You want to be as comfortable as possible, which will enhance your ability to work effectively. I learned that lesson the hard way back in my radio days. Why don't you try chasing after the governor's entourage in peep-toe pumps? It won't end pretty.
The Morgan is out of this world. It was originally built in 1906 (started in '02) to house the personal library of Mister Pierpont Morgan himself, right next to his luxurious 36th Street residence. The guy collected some serious stuff that's still there today--everything from ancient texts to books that were modern in his time. He has rows and rows upon shelves and shelves of books in a library setting you'd secretly love to have in your home and you'd only expect to see in a movie! Rich mahogany everywhere, marble floors. The domed ceilings of the library are painted like the roof of the Sistine Chapel. In sum, it's a classy joint.
I didn't know this upon entering it's hallowed halls. Nor did I know that New York etiquette states that a book release party held in a place like this encourages near-black tie dress codes. So I walk in, wearing my casual duds, sneakers thumping on the hardwood, over-sized bag spilling out the contents of extraneous crap that I lug on a daily basis. And did I mention I was sweating like a whore in church? And my glasses are held together with tape because I haven't had time to get them fixed?
And as if I didn't feel out of place enough, all of my bosses and the higher-ups in my company (including the president), start filing in wearing New York's finest! And then Jane Seymour came in wearing what can only be described as the most beautiful outfit ever. And then Stacey Keach's brother comes strolling in. Then come the media moguls from Mediabistro, MIN and several prominent New York ad agencies. And finally, as the hall is filled to the brim with schmooze and booze, a tuxedoed string quartet strikes up.
Then I discovered that my boss (with whom I arrived) had gone off to schmooze. And someone in a butler outfit offered me an S.Pellegrino with lime. And the next thing I know, the camera person is telling me to go get a glass of wine and schmooze because she didn't actually need my help at all.
So there I am, conspicuously under-dressed with a glass of wine in one hand and a large tripod in the other (I was watching it so the scary museum people wouldn't take it away), in the middle of a fancy cocktail party at the Morgan Library.
Now don't get me wrong. Given these heavy strikes against me, I still managed to schmooze. To my co-workers great credit, they are all wonderful people who don't judge by elitist NYC standards. To them I was perfectly welcome and perfectly appropriate, and they engaged me in some good conversation.
Despite that though, I still felt incredibly awkward. Particularly when I was trying to edge my way through the crowd and my ungainly bag somehow managed to slam into the elbow of the violinist, which in turn disrupted the quartet's playing by causing a horrible screeching sound to echo throughout the library. Yeah, that was me. Fortunately it was so crowded that no one noticed the responsible party. The violinist, thankfully, was not a dick about it. Given the nature of such crowded affairs, I suspect he might be used to it.
Anyhow, the readings went off without a hitch, mostly because my tripod, ungainly bag and I managed to find an out-of-the-way nook in the corner of the library next to Morgan's collection of bibles—some of which seemed to be bigger than I am. Jane Seymour is one of my favorite actresses, specifically for her work in the early 80s in The Scarlet Pimpernel and Somewhere in Time. She read from the first chapter of Pride and Prejudice, captured Mrs. Bennett's insanity and Mr. Bennett's unguarded amusement to a T.
At the conclusion of the event, I walked out into the brisk New York air, and vowed that next time I have to attend an event like this, I hope I'd have as insane a story to tell as I just did.
My boss asked me to come help shoot video at an event at the Morgan Library on Madison Avenue. The event was a celebration of the release of one of my company's newest titles, whose subject matter was related very much to Jane Austen's classic (and one of my all-time faves), Pride and Prejudice. The author of this new book, Beth, was going to read an excerpt, while a special guest, actress Jane Seymour, was going to read a passage from Pride and Prejudice itself. The Morgan is currently displaying a Jane Austen exhibit, hence the very fitting location.
I assumed I'd be working, and I didn't really have a firm grasp on the exact nature of the event, so I dressed as usual for a day at the office. We're pretty low-key casual here, so I wore black slacks with a dark purple short-sleeved turtleneck and my favorite obnoxiously bright green low-top sneakers. When you're shooting video, it just doesn't make sense to wear four-inch heels or platforms. You want to be as comfortable as possible, which will enhance your ability to work effectively. I learned that lesson the hard way back in my radio days. Why don't you try chasing after the governor's entourage in peep-toe pumps? It won't end pretty.
The Morgan is out of this world. It was originally built in 1906 (started in '02) to house the personal library of Mister Pierpont Morgan himself, right next to his luxurious 36th Street residence. The guy collected some serious stuff that's still there today--everything from ancient texts to books that were modern in his time. He has rows and rows upon shelves and shelves of books in a library setting you'd secretly love to have in your home and you'd only expect to see in a movie! Rich mahogany everywhere, marble floors. The domed ceilings of the library are painted like the roof of the Sistine Chapel. In sum, it's a classy joint.
I didn't know this upon entering it's hallowed halls. Nor did I know that New York etiquette states that a book release party held in a place like this encourages near-black tie dress codes. So I walk in, wearing my casual duds, sneakers thumping on the hardwood, over-sized bag spilling out the contents of extraneous crap that I lug on a daily basis. And did I mention I was sweating like a whore in church? And my glasses are held together with tape because I haven't had time to get them fixed?
And as if I didn't feel out of place enough, all of my bosses and the higher-ups in my company (including the president), start filing in wearing New York's finest! And then Jane Seymour came in wearing what can only be described as the most beautiful outfit ever. And then Stacey Keach's brother comes strolling in. Then come the media moguls from Mediabistro, MIN and several prominent New York ad agencies. And finally, as the hall is filled to the brim with schmooze and booze, a tuxedoed string quartet strikes up.
Then I discovered that my boss (with whom I arrived) had gone off to schmooze. And someone in a butler outfit offered me an S.Pellegrino with lime. And the next thing I know, the camera person is telling me to go get a glass of wine and schmooze because she didn't actually need my help at all.
So there I am, conspicuously under-dressed with a glass of wine in one hand and a large tripod in the other (I was watching it so the scary museum people wouldn't take it away), in the middle of a fancy cocktail party at the Morgan Library.
Now don't get me wrong. Given these heavy strikes against me, I still managed to schmooze. To my co-workers great credit, they are all wonderful people who don't judge by elitist NYC standards. To them I was perfectly welcome and perfectly appropriate, and they engaged me in some good conversation.
Despite that though, I still felt incredibly awkward. Particularly when I was trying to edge my way through the crowd and my ungainly bag somehow managed to slam into the elbow of the violinist, which in turn disrupted the quartet's playing by causing a horrible screeching sound to echo throughout the library. Yeah, that was me. Fortunately it was so crowded that no one noticed the responsible party. The violinist, thankfully, was not a dick about it. Given the nature of such crowded affairs, I suspect he might be used to it.
Anyhow, the readings went off without a hitch, mostly because my tripod, ungainly bag and I managed to find an out-of-the-way nook in the corner of the library next to Morgan's collection of bibles—some of which seemed to be bigger than I am. Jane Seymour is one of my favorite actresses, specifically for her work in the early 80s in The Scarlet Pimpernel and Somewhere in Time. She read from the first chapter of Pride and Prejudice, captured Mrs. Bennett's insanity and Mr. Bennett's unguarded amusement to a T.
At the conclusion of the event, I walked out into the brisk New York air, and vowed that next time I have to attend an event like this, I hope I'd have as insane a story to tell as I just did.
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