the fabulous abhijit, my partner this week for the get pushed challenge, challenged me to show him what winter means to me.
i love figure skating. back in the old country, when i was able to buy my own television, we would watch abc's wide world of sports - you know, 'the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat' - and my favourite segment was figure skating. so when i came to canada i couldn't wait for my first winter so i could watch figure skating. and heaven bless vcr's, i have two boxes full of videotapes of canadian and american figure skating, as well as world championships and winter olympics. and i would watch those tapes during the summer. it was fun to see the young skaters' transformations and most times i could tell who had the guts to get to the podium. i could tell when they would execute their jumps and which jumps they would be even before the announcers could open their mouths. most times, too, i could tell when the jump was so bad they'd fall on the ice. i was able to read their body languange if they're nervous or if they're over confident.
this is the nathan philips square beside the city hall. in the winter time, it is a public skating rink. when my son came here he was about 14 and wanted to learn how to skate. so i brought him to this place, rented a pair of skates for him and 'taught' him how to skate. mind you, i don't know how to skate myself, but i told him how to stand, how to position his feet and what to do when he's about to fall. in about twenty minutes, the little bugger was all over the rink. fell only three times. was i proud? of course! did that give me motivation to learn how to skate? yes, it did. did i learn how skate? no, i didn't. and why? because i was afraid i'd fall and break a bone (same reason i never learned how to ride a bike). i did try, though. in fact in the end, it was the little bugger who was trying to coach me. well, i'm a good teacher, he wasn't.
so that's what winter means to me. snow and ice and figure skating.
I used to watch figure skating ALL the time! D you remember the Tonya Harding crew slams and crushes Nancy Kerrigan's knees right before the Olympics drama? Nancy came back to win silver that year I think. Tonya's skates came unlaced during the start of her program set to Jurassic Park's music and she cried to the judges to get another turn. They let her get a new lace and try again...she did horrible. The girl after her was adversely affected because it messed up her warm up and prep timing and concentration. I also loved Michelle Kwan and how she took the tests to move up from the youth league to the big time...her coach had told her not to as she was not ready so she did it while he was gone. Wow that little gal could skate! Loved Kristi Yamaguchi too! And Yuka Sato, Brian Boitano, and that Russian orphan girl who wore the swan costumes ...what was her name? When I would try to watch skating at my brother's house, he'd say "okay...you can watch it until the skater falls..and then we are turning the channel" lol! Is this real snow here? Or post processed? I love your wintry scene! Just gorgeous!
@espyetta - yup, clearly remember the harding/kerrigan affair. the russian girl's name is oksana baiul. i loved troller cranston, i think he was the most elegant figure skater, woman or man. kristi y is the best in my books. the snow is post processed. it doesn't look like we're going to have a white Christmas but it's so darn cold!!! thank you, MB.
Very nice winter scene. My son was a competitive figure skater so to me skating is year round. Kristy Y has a home near one of the rinks he skated at and she would get the rink to herself when she was in town and the rink manager invited some of us to watch. Love skating - esp the men.
The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat and the scenes of downhill skiers wiping out dramatically. I loved those days of TV but rarely watch it now. Your picture here is gorgeous.
@pandorasecho - or the skaters during a race and suddenly falling on their faces. that's the one! i don't watch tv anymore, nothing worthwhile to watch except occasionally the figure skating but even from that i've stayed away now. thank you, dixie.
Great shot of a place that has a lot of memories for you. Amazingly enough niether Melody or I skate. She has a mild case of cerebral palsy so I guess she has reason. Although her Mom did try teaching her once. I tried it a few times as a kid but just never really got into it that much so I never pursued it
this is so cool! love the layer of snow... the rain just sucks!
so... i've been looking thru your stuff and i'm at a bit of a loss... you've already done everything!
so here are two ideas for a push - if you've already done 'em or something like 'em, let me know and i'll dig up another...
anyhoo... option 1 - do some alphabet photography and spell out a word... The only ruleis you can't use any letters - only objects that look like letters...
option 2 - do a set up shot for something in your kitchen and make it look like an image that would appear in a swanky home decor or foodie magazine...
like i said, let me know if neither of those work for you...
so... i've been looking thru your stuff and i'm at a bit of a loss... you've already done everything!
so here are two ideas for a push - if you've already done 'em or something like 'em, let me know and i'll dig up another...
anyhoo... option 1 - do some alphabet photography and spell out a word... The only ruleis you can't use any letters - only objects that look like letters...
option 2 - do a set up shot for something in your kitchen and make it look like an image that would appear in a swanky home decor or foodie magazine...
like i said, let me know if neither of those work for you...