Skating, Adaptations, Film Club, etc.

I have like four posts on varying topics in drafts but I can't seem to muster the energy to make a whole post out of them. Writing is hard, etc. Also, I've been sick all week and while I'm feeling better for longer stretches during the day, I'm still having trouble pulling my thoughts together.

But some of this will be old news soon, so let's chat!

*Did anyone watch the US Nationals in figure skating as I suggested? One of my points was see Jason Brown skate and his free skate video went viral after the competition thrilling me! :) I can say I told you so, right? Also really enjoyed Meryl and Charlie and the pairs. And the drama in the ladies...

Has been really interesting. As soon as NBC seemed to heavily imply that someone might be named to the Olympic team who didn't outright earn a spot on the podium, I began to feel dread. Not just because this is a heartbreaking situation, but could the USFSA really be so stupid not to see what it would like? And I'm not going to say there isn't some form of implicit racism involved, but I do believe it didn't matter who placed third when Ashley didn't--Ashley was going to get the spot. (so like if Samantha Cesario had placed third and Ashley fourth, Sam would be staying home). I also think that Kelli Lawrence brings up a great point that it's because Mirai is so loved there was so much outrage...if it had been another skater, people might have cared less. And I think this is evident in the way so many fans called for Polina to lose her spot even though Polina placed second. Figure skating is a tough sport since it's judged and there's subjectivity involved to a large degree. I was really disappointed to see so much anger and hatred directed towards Ashley and Polina both, though. So, so typical. As another aside--Polina came across really confident--to which I say good for her!!! It was sad to see people on tumblr and such wanting to see her taken down for it. The world sends such an exhausting message to girls about how they should have confidence in themselves, but you know not actually show it. (and right now Canada has a reality show with their ice dance gold medalists of the Vancouver games--Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir and Tessa comes across as a bit insecure which is ALSO getting criticized. Basically, women can't win) Anyway, there was no way this was going to be pretty, but the USFSA could have handled it a lot better--it's obvious they wanted the drama by the way they dramatically paused before announcing Ashley's name. Give me a break. Oh and also I think it's interesting that a lot of articles have suggested Ashley was chosen for fitting some sort of ideal image of figure skater when literally the day before Nationals I read an article where she talked about purposefully striving against that image and showcasing the athleticism of the sport. Oh well.

*I've started watching the second season of Bron Broen aka the one and true The Bridge. And omg, I almost wanted to cry about how good the first episode was--it was funny and every beat between Saga and Martin was SO RIGHT. Plus, I was thrilled to be back to the dreary colors of Scandinavia and the perfect theme song and everything. And the long gorgeous shots of the bridge! Still sad about how the US version just wasn't very good. I loved how Martin appreciated that Saga treated him normally because she couldn't really treat him any other way, but my FAVORITE was when he told her to say hi to Jakob for him and she did so...right after a they made love. It was just so funny. Anyway, I'm enjoying it so far!

*The ending of the film Gone Girl will be different from the book! How do you guys feel about this? As I noted on Carrie's blog, I'm not too bothered because Gillian Flynn wrote it and also I've always wondered what the adaptations of her films will be like since all the surprise is gone. And...now it's not? Having said that I probably won't like it because how often do I really like adaptations?

*Zoe Saldana was cast as Rosemary in the upcoming mini-series Rosemary's Baby which is awesome and perfect casting, imo.

*The MLB has approved the instant replay which is great. Details here. Thoughts, baseball fans?

*Finally, I know it's been an actual year, but I kind of want to bring back Film Club. I'm thinking along the lines of choosing some directors...and opening it up to watch any movie of theirs during that month. I just think it might be a fun thing to do that would also help me make sure I'm watching something meaningful once a month. So basically what I need are suggestions...some of my thoughts are Susanne Biers, Richard Linklater, Wong Kar Wai, etc. So if you have ideas please leave them in comments!

Hope you all had a great week!