Someone always ends up on their ass.

So apparently you can lie to the judge to get out of jury duty, if you're a big lying loser. Hi. I make $45K+++ a year and live at home under the comfort of my parents who also pay my car insurance, but if I tell the judge I live alone and need the money to pay my rent, then I can get out of it. (Because I really need the money to spend on purses, shoes and jewellery, and maybe a vacation or two.) Loser. But this is coming from someone who believes it's ok to switch $60 jewellery with jewellery in a box marked $10 and it's not stealing because it was paid for. And the person whose mother taught her how to get a hotel room when you haven't booked one - yell at the employees about how incompetent they are because they lost your booking until they give you a room, likely at a discount for all of your "troubles." Again - loser. I guess I'm just jealous that I can't get more out of my life by living amorally. Oh to be shallow and self-obsessed.

On to figure skating and the men's short program. The coverage of this was far better than that of the pairs, but I still watched both networks to see as many skaters as possible. The NBC coverage has been awful - when the pairs began the long programs they weren't showing their marks afterwards, but were wasting time with segment after segment on the new scoring system, how to do a lift, this drama and that drama. I realise now that yes, there are people watching who don't normally watch figure skating, but who cares!? If people are actually tuning in to see drama and not the skating then they should watch Skating with Celebrities instead. The most pathetic bit of filler was an actual staged soap opera scene from (I think) Days of Our Lives, mocking the judging scandal from the last Olympics. Ugh. The CBC is doing segments with skaters like Kurt Browning and Elvis Stojko to get their take on the skaters, although sometimes hearing them talk lowers my opinion of them. Like Stojko's rant on the quad not being worth more points and how a judge should be fired for giving abnormally low marks to a skater. He sounded bitter and was not well spoken at all. Browning on the other hand, was quite amiable and while his opinion was purely a personal one, he totally backed it up. Enough filler.

The current Standings:
#1 Yevgeny Plushenko (Russia) 90.66
#2 Johnny Weir (United States) 80.00
#3 Stephane Lambiel (Switzerland) 79.04
#4 Brian Joubert (France) 77.77
#5 Daisuke Takahashi (Japan) 73.77
#6 Jeffrey Buttle (Canada) 73.29
#7 Emanuel Sandhu (Canada) 69.75
...
#12 Shawn Sawyer (Canada) 67.20


Plushenko skated second and although he received a new highest score ever and was technically fabulous, I really didn't like the music coupled with the program he did. Canadian Shawn Sawyer had to skate immediately afterwards, and did a fabulous job considering his experience. His flexibility makes him stand out, and if he can handle it all mentally, then his future is bright. It's too bad Jeff Buttle fell on his ass, because he really is a great performer and I just love his short program, especially his final slide across the ice on his knees. For him to fall was unexpected, but it's exactly what I presumed would happen to Emanuel Sandhu. Like everyone reiterates, he's got it all, the technical skills and artistry, but when it comes down to the day, he is inconsistent and will at some point fall flat on his ass. What's probably really killing him though, is the fact that he's behind Buttle, who stole away from him the title of National Champion, and has kept it. I like Stephane Lambiel a lot, but when it comes down to it, I'd rather see a Canadian and Johnny Weir on the podium beneath Plushenko. And isn't Weir just the best thing ever?

No one skates as fluidly and expressively as he does and his technical skills are very, very good. What he needs is a quad and he will rule the world! It sounds like he's going to try one in the long program, which probably means falling on his ass, as he has never landed (or attempted?) one in competition before. I just hope that if he doesn't land it, the other skaters f*ck up too. I spend as much time willing skaters to fall as I do hoping they'll land jumps. Sad and evil I know. I really hope Brian Joubert falls on his ass, because I don't like him at all (and don't get any ideas, it's not because of his name). I think his artistry is very immature (007 - C'mon, loser!) and the only thing that is spectacular about him is his jumps and specifically that quad which is becoming increasingly important in competition. Loser. I'm just bitter because my favourite skaters don't have one. Yet.