The Case for (South) Korea

[I lied about Saturday!]

I decided to make a spreadsheet (found here) of all the scored for teams 9-16 from prelims at Worlds.  I added up the scores per event by score receive at Worlds and by difficulty awarded at Worlds.  While I was sitting in my room at 4AM reading updates and trying to find live feed during Worlds, lots of bloggers that were there fell in love with Korea during podium training but were disappointed with how they performed in qualifications.  Korea placed 15th and will have the opportunity in January to qualify for London 2012.

What surprised me about this list is that when I split it by difficulty, Korea (15th place) had the highest difficulty of all 8 teams with a difficulty of 68.4 in a 3-up, 3-count format.  Italy (9th place) was 2nd with a difficulty of an even 68 and France (10th) was 3rd with a total difficulty of 66.6.  They had the highest value on vault with a 16.9 (2 DTY (5.8) vaults and a 1.5TY (5.3)).  Their difficulty on uneven bars was an 18.1 (France was 2nd with a 18.0 largely due to Youna Dufournet's amazing 6.7 start value) which is no surprise based on the amazing routines that the bloggers were describing.  Italy had the highest balance beam start value with a 17.7 (Preziosa - 6.0, Ferrari 5.9, Ferlito 5.8) and Canada was second with a 3-up difficulty of 16.9.  Korea was tied in 3rd with Spain and the Netherlands (who have lost all-arounder Celine van Gerner) with a 16.8.  Korea's floor, as well as Canada's, was 3rd to Brazil's 17.0 and Italy's 16.8 at a value of 16.6.

In summary, Korea was 1st on VT and UB, 3rd on BB and FX.  I think their strength comes from not only UB but also VT.  Many of the nations in teams 9-16 are counting at least one full twisting Yurchenko.  Korea appears to have 2 double twists and 2 individuals with 1.5 twisting Yurchenko's.  Hyunjoo Jo and Ye Eun Kim both have DTY as well as second vaults.  Jo's 2nd vault at World's was a half twist on, half laid out twist off (or a Lopez) and has a SV of 5.6 (8.266/13.866) and can be found here (or better landing and video found here '08 Olympics).   Jo was a member of Korea's 08 Olympics Team and was also a vault finalist at Worlds last year where she placed 6th.  Kim's 2nd vault was given a 0 and according to Blythe the Gym Examiner, was "a tuck Rudi attempt that did not have the last half twist."  Here is Kyung Jim Park's 1.5TY from Worlds(13.9/5.3/8.6).

For uneven bars, the Koreans had 2 gymnasts with a D score of 6.2.  One was Kyung Jin Park [found here at the Youth Olympic Games (Markelov and Gienger)] and the other was Seon Mi Heo whose 18th place UB routine from Worlds (14.233/8.033) can be found here (or below this paragraph).  May I call her the Korean Beth Tweddle?  At the beginning of her routine, she has a series of non-stop release moves going between the high and low bar including a straddled Tkatchev + Pak and a Khorkina II (toe-on 1/2 to high bar) and a Markelov.  She missed a few handstands but I think if she fixes that and keeps her stuck dismount Korea might have a bars finalist on their hands!

Seon Mi Heo UB

On BB, Korea counted a 5.7, 5.6, and 5.5 routine.  Here is Ji Yeon Park's routine with a D-value of 5.5 (6.6/12.1 - one fall and dangerously low dismount).  She had the lowest E score for the Koreans on beam but 3rd highest D-value. Our UB star's balance beam had a difficulty of 5.1. The routine (found here) has a few spots where she can connect to up that difficulty. She had the highest E score of the Koreans and was the only one to score above 8.0 with an 8.166 (13.266).  Hyunjoo Jo has the highest D score, at 5.7, for the Koreans.  I couldn't find a recent routine so here is her beam routine from the '08 Olympics.  I'm sure she's grown since then (British commentators call her a baby. hmm...) but hopefully her prowess on the beam has not changed.  The only thing that bothers me about the Koreans on beam is how low they squat before their back handsprings.  I just get scared for the connecting move since they get so low.

On FX, Korea has a 5.6 from Hyunjoo Jo and a 5.5 from both Seon Mi Heo and Kyung Jin Park.  Based on this YOG video, Park seems to have lovely lines.  Hopefully, she can fully rotate her triple twist now.


Jo has a lovely triple turn in her routine.  Her music and choreography don't excite me but I do like her ending pose here at the 2011 Swiss Cup.

After doing this analysis, I think Korea has a decent chance of reaching the top 4 at the test event as long as the gymnasts keep their cool and perform to expectations.

Teams 9-16

Teams 9-16 from the 2011 Worlds Championships in Tokyo have been invited to the London Test Event that will take place in January.  Teams 1-4 at this event (effectively, teams 9-12) will be invited to the Olympic Games at the O2 arena in London.

From Worlds, teams 9-12 are

9.	Italy	219.578
10.	France	216.827
11.	Canada	215.328
12.	Spain	214.028
13.	Netherlands	212.828
14.	Brazil	212.497
15.	Korea	211.930
16.	Belgium	208.828

Personally, I think Teams 9-12 seem pretty set. The biggest threat is probably Brazil - a team full of well-known, experienced veterans at both a World and Olympics level with Daniele Hypolito, Jade Barbosa, and Daiane Dos Santos.  Korea may also prove to be a threat with high difficulty scores and relatively clean execution... that is, when they do not fall.  Canada definitely has potential to do better since they made a few mistakes and may also get a few new juniors.  Of the top 4, France and Spain's spot in the top 4 is probably the most fragile, especially if there are no mistakes by other teams.


Team Netherlands from 2011tokyo.com

The nominative list is out now but I have no idea who the alternates are and we must not forget that this list is subject to change.  Italy is taking the same team (assuming Erika Fasana is the alternate). Mira Boumemajen is the addition to the French team, with Clara Della Vora in the 7th spot. Coralie Leblond-Chartrand is out for the Canadians (with a small injury, she's not attending the selection camp) and Talia Chiarelli, '11 alternate, and Brittany Rogers have been added to the roster. Canada also has new seniors that have been invited to camp and may be added to the list. For Spain, Urbano is no longer on the list while there has been an addition of Ainhoa Carmona and Cinta Rodriguez. New senior Tess Moonen, Lisa Top, and Ayla Wilbrink have been added while Goedkop and Celine van Gerner (injury with surgery) will not attend. Gabriela Soares is the sole addition to Brazil's team as is Ji Hye Sung to Korea's team. Terry Grand’ry, Johanna Dejardin and Floriane Scianguetta have been added to Belgium's team in place of van de Velde and Vandersteen.

On Saturday, we'll take a closer look at Team Korea.

miscellaneous gymnastics videos

if you want a group of less than 10 year olds to make you feel weak and hopefully motivate you to get off the couch:
 
Watch more video of Workout Wednesday, Season 5 on gymnastike.org


And a lovely bars routine from a girl named Lizzy Nand from Parkettes. She got the highest scores on bars for the meet and you could tell by her smile! She appears to be one of those with a natural swing and lovely line.  I think I just loved that she hit her handstands.  There were a few moments of leg separation and flexed feet but, overall, a very good routine!


Watch more video of Christmas on the Chesapeake 2011 on gymnastike.org

SYTYCD taking over Glee

I thought this week's episode of Glee was pretty good.  Other than the pathetic Mike Chang story line, I think Glee did a good job of digging holes that I never thought they'd get out of and managing to get out of it gracefully (and also reasonably!).

The other thing I've noticed is the host of SYTYCD-ers taking over Glee.

Exhibit A. Jaimie and Comfort were in Rumor Has It/Someone Like You.



Jaimie is a contemporary dancer from Season 3 of SYTYCD.  She was Hok's partner (guy with the mohawk that dances in LMFAO videos) and I think this was her most popular dance.  It was choreographed by Wade Robinson and won an Emmy for Best Choreo:





Comfort was in SYTYCD Season 4.  She's also dancing in the Trouble Tones in the Adele remix but I feel like you never quite see her face like you do Jaimie.  The part I like is at 0:50.


To come - Ryan from this past season, Robert from the season before that, Courtney from a while ago on SYTYCD, and Mark I think from a while ago on both SYTYCD and Glee (the Brit/Britt episode, he also dances for Lady Gaga!).

ouch

it's like everything that could possibly go wrong all in one video.

Switched at Birth

There's a real life Switched at Birth.  Unlike the TV show, there didn't seem to be a huge blow up when the girls found out.  These girls are now best friends and have opted to stay with the mothers that raised them.  Like the TV show, they found out because one of the father's wanted to leave his wife because his daughter didn't look like her.  After the divorce and DNA test, they found out that he was right.

The one thing the show mentioned, and these girls had to deal with, was what do they do now that they have another family.  The show addressed it in a way that made sense to me - something was missing for one of the girl's.  Beyond not looking like her red headed family, she also didn't fit in.  She was dark haired, dark eyes, stubborn, and an artist.  She didn't seem to fit into her people pleasing, pale, athletic family.  So, I think when she found her mom, she found a piece of herself.  I wonder if these girls ever felt like something was missing.  Like their mother couldn't quite fill a hole in their heart.  I wonder if just knowing that mistake was made is enough for them to kinda shrug it off and move on - to be the one that doesn't quite look like the rest in the family photo.  I'm curious what will happen when the girls are 16, marry, have a first child, etc.  I just hope everything resolves itself ok.


Real Life Disney Princesses


In theory, this seemed like a great concept.  What would the disney princesses look like in real life?  Some are great and some are horrendous.  Jasmine has that sultry look to her face, exactly what I would imagine a real life Jasmine to have.  Esmeralda also looks as stunning as I would have guessed.  That typical confidence in her eyes of most girls of such beauty.



But then you get to the other ones.  Sleeping Beauty - eww.  Where did those cheekbones come from?  The most realistic thing about her is her hair.  Pocahantas doesn't look as I imagined.  Not sure what it is about her.  This Belle does not look belle/beautiful at all!  Maybe it's the facial expression they chose to give her.  I always imagined Belle as that pretty girl that you can still be friends with.  Ariel looks 12.  She reminds me of a little kid, maybe it's the little girl in the sunblock commercials with the dog biting her underwear a few years later.  I knew Ariel was young but I didn't think she would look this young. If anything, she'd be that "16 year old who looks 21."

And Ursula.  Well, not much needs to be said there.

It was a really interesting concept.  Maybe part of my problem for all the non-Jasmine and Esmeralda pictures is that they all look far too Photoshopped.  I thought it was supposed to be altered to look real.  Instead it just went from cartoon form to ... a different kind of cartoon (I see it most in Ariel).  Your thoughts?

ANTM Cycle 17 - Michael Jackson

Someone posted on lovelyish about how this was a "freaky" shoot.  I thought this concept was brilliant and I was prepared for the girls do mess up, but they proved me wrong.  They rose to the challenege and really embraced their inner Michael.  Latoya was there to do the judging and no one went home because Michael was about love and wouldn't have wanted it so no elimination for this week.  Here are my favorites in order:

i believe this one was Shannon.  It was funny watching her do this because she's soooo skinny.  There were no legs to give a hint of a masculine body so probably a good thing they cropped it out haha.

Kayla.  This is probably higher than it should be for 2 reasons.  

1. I love her. 

2. This reminds me of something from "Will You Be There," my favorite MJ song. 

Hold me.  When you get lonely.

Bre.  This was one of the last ones I think but I love it!  I feel like it could be an album cover.  Amazing!  I think this was one of the photos that made me love this concept.

this is laura.  she got best photo.  it's really good and you needed to see her motivation behind it but it's actually not my favorite.

Bianca.  Looking at this again, it's not that great.  It looked like they had so many better shots of her but this is the one Tyra chose.  I see where she was trying to go with this photo but it just wasn't quite there.  Maybe she needed to be doing something with her arms, hands.

Allison.  I don't get this picture.  I think it's ugly.  Latoya put it higher but I think it should've been one of the last ones.  This was all about hair, makeup, and costume.  I don't really think Allison did anything to make this picture amazing, or even good.

Alexandria.  Maybe it's down here because I don't like her but I also feel like it's too posey.  Everyone else, I felt like they were at a concert, they were actually doing the movements. In this one, I feel like she looks like a mime wearing MJ clothing.

Lisa. I liked the idea but execution was poor.  I agree with Andre, don't like her hand placement or what they're doing.  And there's also no expression on her face that would make this any more Michael other than her clothing.

Angelea.  Michael saved her!  Looking at these again, I realize why Angelea and Lisa were the bottom  2.  Angelea isn't really doing anything.  Am i missing something?  This isn't very Michael or very modelesque...

My 9/11 story

[Written 9/11/09]

When 9/11 happened, I was in 8th grade. It was the beginning of the school year and we had just taken our English diagnostic test. We were going up the stairs and talking about all the questions and which answers we put down, typical nerdiness after a test. We get to the 3rd floor and we see our 6th grade English teacher taking pictures out the window. Why is he taking pictures? He said something along the lines of "Don't tell anyone I told you but two planes just hit the Twin Tower." I remember looking out the window, seeing smoke, and not getting the importance of it. I shrugged it off and went to Math. We sat down in class but the teacher did not teach us anything. She had the radio on low and was running around talking to the other teachers. Pretty soon, they called us all down to the auditorium. Our principal, Mr. [insertItaliannamehere], told us what happened and that they were contacting out parents. I started freaking out. Both my parents were in Manhattan that day.

My aunt came and picked up me and my cousin. We went back to her house and watched the news. People were walking in Manhattan down the highway and across the Brooklyn Bridge. I tried calling my mom and sister but the cell phone lines weren't working because they went down with the towers. Again, minor freak out. My other cousin got home from high school fine so I was waiting for my sister. My sister came an hour or two later and I ran and hugged her. She wasn't in Manhattan but let's just say the smoke and dust clouds were strong enough that they reached the part of Brooklyn where she went to school. My mom came a little while later and we all waited for my dad. During that time, my mom told us her story. She went to work and while she was on the train that was riding on the Manhattan Bridge, she saw scraps of metal flying by her. She got to work and the one other person in the office told her to leave. By then, all the trains were down and the only option was to walk. She was one of those people that we saw on the news walking down the West Side highway and Brooklyn Bridge. She was ok, just a little shaken up, and sore.

So, my dad. Didn't hear from him for one day, two days. Then we get a call home. My dad was fine he was just shuttling doctor's back and forth from local hospitals to Ground Zero. He's a bus driver and they needed all the man and buspower they could get to shuttle people back and forth and get the necessary supplies. My dad, like my mom, was fine and shaken up. He came home the next day but wouldn't talk for a little while. I guess he was pretty traumatized and I still have never asked him what he saw on that day.

Basically, 9/11 shook my world. The Twin Towers weren't there when I looked out the window of my junior high school. On my way to swim practice, I could see a cloud of dust over that part of Manhattan as we crossed the Verrazano Bridge. On my way to swim meets, I no longer stuck my head out the window and craned my neck to see how tall the towers were. Whenever I watch Friends, I get a pang because I know the Twin Towers are no longer there. New movies focus on Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Empire State or Chrysler building when they show NYC. But one thing I realize is that nothing can replace the Twin Towers.

You know, maybe that's why New Yorkers have such New York pride. For that day, month, year, everyone was united. Everyone needed everyone. Everyone respected the police officers and the fire fighters. Everyone paid their respect for those that died in unimaginable ways. Everyone understood that 9/11 is a day that so many of us will never forget.

The BBC 100

I'll get started.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling finished the day after the last one :(
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee school
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell school
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien school
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger school
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald school
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
from another list: 36 A Wrinkle in Time- Madeleine L'Engle
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini leisure :) + A Thousand Splendid Suns - high
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown leisure :)
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery [don't remember]
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding started in school, didn't finish...
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel school [and maggie and i agree, it was real!]
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen leisure
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth.
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens; school but far too young. reread!
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck school
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett reread! hmm. did i only read abridged version...?
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath school
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt.
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White should reread
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery should read in French for bonus points!
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl back in the day :)
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

wow, pathetic.  As of 9/10/11, I've read 14/~100.
Recent/upcoming books
Twilight - finished 9/7/11
New Moon
Pride & Prejudice
Eclipse
Jane Eyre
Breaking Dawn

New York Fashion Week

Watched the Vivienne Tam line in the background while I was studying Cardiovascular Physiology.  Then, youtube helped me discover Jessica White talking about this bathing suit.  Maybe I should've worn it to Hawaii.

Jessica White modeling Chloe designed by Stella McCartney

Now, I can't watch too much of NYFW on youtube because a) i need to study and b) those models make me feel so large (and not in charge).

Anyone know how to look up the models?

ANTM All-Stars this Wednesday :)

Haiti helping Haiti

Haiti aims to spread people, jobs across country

While I was in Haiti, one of the things that continuously bothered me was the amount of foreign aid workers in the country.  Driving through the capital, I saw numerous UN security vehicles and only one Haitian police car.  I didn't see any in the small town I was in but that was to be expected.  Volunteer teams come to the hospital, foreigners set up different places for Haitians to work and a senior citizen's home.  I kept asking myself when is Haiti going to help Haiti?

I guess it's happening and that article makes me very excited.  I know it's not easy to move away from the capital, the place that you call home, especially when it has everything you need.  Multiple times, we had to send patients to specialists in the hospital.  On the drive to and from the hospital, the drivers often had to run errands to get supplies that could only be found in larger cities.  But at least encouraging people to move out might gives more people a chance to find jobs, actually attend school, and decrowd Port-au-Prince.  It was sad seeing the capital in the state that it was, the tent cities seemed to go for miles and miles.  I wasn't sure how they were planning on rebuilding if there were so many people staying put.  Also, from the medical side, the spread of infections just seems to simple in a place that was that crowded.

taken by me/Herman

I didn't know that "Papa Doc" tried to destroy the countryside by destroying the roads.  The roads in Haiti were another story, but I just attributed that to the earthquake.  On my way back to PAP to go to the airport, I saw that they were doing construction on the roads in PAP which made me glad.  Progress :)

I really can't wait to go back, I just hope I get the chance.

Ghent Challenger Cup

I only tuned in in time for BB finals although it's proving to be interesting.

Tatiana Solovyova of Russia did a free aerial to scale, a nice modification on the "Nastia" move.

Mariya Livchikova of Ukraine had some really nice moves. She did a free aerial directly to a front tuck. Right before her arabian, she did a split in handstand. I thought she connected more things but I guess not.

Komova was alright. She lands her front tuck so nicely but sadly she fell on her acrobatic series. Her arabian also seems a lot less labored, like she floats into it the same way she does every other move. She stuck her landing but she's not very happy.

Some very interesting choreo right before the dismount for the Greek, Stefani Bismpikou. Reminds me a little of Alicia mixed with Mustafina - I got sass, watch out!

Jeez, as much as I love bars, mens high bars is proving to be very scary to watch...

Valeria Maksiuta of Ukraine was off so quickly on a split leap :( Maybe the beam is slippery, I'm sure. And those were some open legs on her double pike dismount.

Luisa Galiulina has nice quality wolf turns.

FX

Mariya Livchikova - Her music is very pretty and her choreo is going along well with it. Are you allowed to roll out of your turns the way she rolled out of her Memmel turn? I love when people "ending with the music" is get into position and then flick hands on cue haha.

Not gonna lie, I hope JYY has a new routine. Oh, that was horrendous - incomplete triple twist, low on double pike dismount and takes a huge step and finishes after music. JYY what happened? :( ooh they killed her - 12.025/5.1

[I didn't know you could just throw yourself off of pommel horse like that...]

DDS - springs in her legs! Let's see. I think that was an attempt at a leap after landing. Girlfriend needs to lay off the caffeine... Her routine made me smile, girlfriend still has springs in her legs!

Gaelle Mys - I need to watch again but it seemed like it had a spark :)

Aderteg reminded me of Nastia/Polina S. Maybe it's the pink and the blonde hair. Nastia, however, would never be caught dead with that kind of choreography.

Maria Paseka - on the Russian Worlds team - fell out of her Memmel turn. I like the portion of the music she chooses to dance to. Otherise, it's not doing it for me.

And now they're playing Michael Jackson.

Darya Elizarova - Incomplete twists have now officially terrified me. She just smirked and I couldn't tell if it was an actual smil or if she messed up. A few steps off her double pike. Hmm, what's she gonna finish with? Split series to end, interesting. I like that it was different

VT

Adrian Gomes

1. 1.5TY - plum in middle, pretty damn good, huge smile from gymnast and huge hug from coach.

2. FHS on pike half off, step

ugh, I hate still rings. I also worry the gymnasts are gonna strangle themselves or break something if they get caught in the rings when they dismount.

Maria Paseka

1. DTY - she has really long strides on her run, low chest on landing and side step outside white line. Russian legs though...

2. bad at naming vaults, ro 1/2 on, pike 1/2 off? no idea haha.

Alexa Madina Moreno

1. how strong are you? too strong! FHS 1 1/2. land sideways and takes large step(s) off mat. (6.3)

2. tsuk full another big step. (5.2)

Jade Barbosa

1. DTY - stepped back diagonally. i don't like her makeup... and i think she should put her hair in a bun not just a pony tail.

2. YYL and JYY fake their smiles better than that - ro 1/2 on, layout 1/2 off - big step back but otherwise looked good

Alina Fomenko

1. 1.5TY - low landing, then twisted the side and put hands down. (5.3/7.5)

2. handspring front pike - steps forward but otherwise good (4.8/8.55) Did someone say she looked like Payson Keeler?

OK girl, enough spit already... runs to side, that seems way easier to do NOT on a podium. she reminds me of macko

1. 1.5TY - i think it was worth it for her to balk. 2 small steps forward but good form in air and lands in middle. (5.3/8.775 - 13.075)

2. FHS 1/2 - really nice. a little off center but good form in air (5.8/8.825 - 13.825)

cool - a guy from Jordan, but I still can't handle still rings.

Valeriia Maksiuta (14.025)

1. DTY low landing/deep squad - steps to side, off mat (5.8/8.375/-.3 = 13.875)

2. FSH full? nice! large step forward and bent knees in flight but apparently she fell in prelims. upgade! (5.5/8.675=14.175)

Angel Wong (7th - 13.688)

1. tsuk full? slight pike (5.2/8.550 = 13.750)

2. FHS 1/2 pike off - nice! almost stuck landing, small hop back. (5.0/8.625 = 13.625)

update

1. someone posted somethin saying that nastia might be training again. so, i hopped over to nastia's twitter and found this beauty. have i ever mentioned how much i love valeri liukin?

2. i chopped all my hair off. well, i did the first few cuts and then my mom finished it. i might need to cut it shorter or make it more even. we'll see.

i didn't know confidence could affect your dreams

but indeed it can.

i woke up feeling mopey just because of the dreams i had. somehow, someone is dating someone who looks like miss usa and has all the qualities that he actually wants in a girlfriend, so, y'know, he's happy. couldn't be happier. ashley who? i can't remember what the other one was. maybe it had something to do with cookies. either way, they both left me feeling horrible.

i'm tired of this.

on a side note, i thought miss california, the new miss usa was adorable. she reminded me of ariel - red hair, green dress, or mermaid tail - depends on how you look at it :)

good things come to those who wait

i'm happy for them. they all have their own stories as to why this championship means so much to them and they all look so happy. this picture is kinda adorable because you get to see grown men smiling so widely.

either way, i think the heat have a better shot next year. something clicked for them during the finals, thats why they made it as far as they did but i think the stress of game 6/maybe the final game was a little too much to handle and they choked.

i was kinda disappointed with the way the game ended. one of my friends even walked out while there was still some time left. i thought it was gonna be a fight til the finish but it wasn't. there were about 5 minutes left and things were getting a little sloppy on both sides, but the heat couldn't afford it. 3 minutes left and it was over. the heat didn't make their move while they had the chance.

who knows, maybe it'll be heat-thunder next year! looking at the finals, i dont think the thunder would have made it against the heat this year. i think the heat would/could have won in 4 games straight. no point speculating, i'll just get excited for next year and another playoff/finals during final exams. oh joy!

cuteness

"that awkward moment when you catch your crush looking at you" :)

heat win the east

poor d-rose :(

i think basketball season is officially over for me :(

basketball = badass

i wish i could do that

caption: Harden's high-flying act

okc lost. that game was sad but at least they brought it together near the end and didn't lose by 20 points. i think the thunder got one 3-point shot the entire game. i can't tell if they played a better job defending dirk or if he just stayed out of it more. he passed a ton and only made a few shots but each time they did, i think it hurt the thunder. mentally, they just didn't seem to be all there, i dunno.

edit later

i like this picture. for once, it illustrates they're point perfectly

caption: How does he do it?
Foes (Kevin Durant - left) and teammates alike were simply in awe of Dirk Nowitzki's (right) brilliant offensive display in Game 1

I can just hear KD growling. Seriously, man?

i'll post what i wanna

i think i'm gonna delete a few posts than add this to my facebook :O shouldn't be scared for people to see what i think, right? especially if it's funny

[from nba.com - tom thibodeau, bulls head coach, game 1 v. miami heat]

to the windooooow (to the wall)

get low by lil jon and the eastside boyz' reference just in case you didn't get it...

nba.com

sometimes, the pictures they choose are oh so interesting. i didn't even see the ball at first. the positioning and expressions were just too funny.

other guy: yo kobe, can i ???
kobe: ahhhh!!!!

hahaha

dear celtics,

get your act together

sincerely, your fans!

mental health

poor demi lovato: Demi is bipolar, a former cutter and bulimic. i was so shocked to read that.

interestingly enough, we had a medical school symposium on mental health. we broke into small groups and talked about different things. surprising statistic: the mental health services at my school treats 50% of the medical school! i wish they had told us this statistic at the beginning of the year. not so we all drop out, but we so we all know that it's ok to struggle and to seek help!

i'm gonna try to stop being so reckless...

wiz khalifa quotes

dunno how i found him the first time, but his quotes keep popping up everywhere. i've started following him on twitter. he appears to be high all the time but hey. what are you gonna do?

Girls fall in love with what they hear. Boys fall in love with what they see. That's why girls wear make up; and boys lie.

3 things I want in a relationship: Eyes that wont cry, lips than wont lie, and love that wont die.

No matter where I am, no matter where you are, I'll be there when its over baby. Cause I was there from the start.

and dunno who said this one: One of the hardest parts in life is deciding whether to walk away, or try harder.

my horoscope today according to tarot.com: You're eager to have a bit of time at home today, especially if a busy social calendar has kept you jumping throughout the past week. (alright, not really true but hey.) It's healthy to reconsider what you want for yourself now, instead of just keeping up appearances and doing whatever's expected of you. Maintaining your integrity is important. Set new boundaries and, within reason, do whatever makes you feel good.

i find this all funny because i was just thinking today about my relationships and encounters and where they've all brought me. recent events have made me really sad and rethink things and what i think about myself. this has happened before but never to this extent. the things i've said and done and the people i've encountered are different - the experiences are harder, harsher, stronger, fiercer. i need to pick myself back up again.

well, at least i'm not so pessimistic anymore!

on doctoring love

mom asked 8 yo son if his adhd meds were working "i like them. i fell asleep and it's like when i wake up, God took me apart and put me back together the right way." how precious! i never know how i feel about meds and medicating so young but clearly they work. i dont think i was that aware of my body and what made me feel better or worse at 8 but i guess if there's a difference, you notice.

today was a good day at on doc. i did a 12 yo physical but forgot a few things - like looking in her ears (went back to do that!), looking for her red reflex and optic disc/arteries. whoops! but i got most other things. it was my first physical so pretty good for first time! every now and then, though, i feel like i need to push myself more to be perfect.

sometimes, i just feel like perfect is unreasonable though..

haiti, cherie

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110203/wl_nm/us_haiti_elections_8

dear newspapers, TV news, internet news, etc.,
PLEASE stop calling haiti "the poorest nation in the western hemisphere!" i'm pretty sure we've all understood that by now.
sincerely,
an angry haitian

in all honesty though, is it necessary? i don't think i've read an article about haiti that hasn't included that. it gets frustrating and it also makes me sad. i remember reading an article in 10th grade for french class and that was the first time i saw that and it struck me. it hasn't stopped. obviously, haiti still isn't doing all that well but i don't know if that reminder is necessary. are you trying to make the us look better? remind americans how good we have it? are you trying to get people to help? i just don't get it! it bothers that the only thing people probably think of when they think of haiti is poor, earthquake, and voodoo. how sad!

my first fight

i had my first fight with a friend.

it was my first one in a while.

i didn't like it.

i hated that feeling that came over me.

i hated not knowing what to do next.

i hated not knowing where "we" were gonna go

if we were gonna make it out with our friendship in tact.

i hated it.

and it still bothers me.

troubles

i'm having lots of troubles sorting things out - my emotions, my feelings about school (to split or not to split), my feelings about friends, about my body, about everything. i hate how the world seems to stop until my quizzes are over. no responding to friendly emails, minimal hanging out, maximum alone time (until i crack and hang out with a np friend), lots of library visits, eating alone. it all gets tiresome. today, it's thursday and i can't wait for it to be monday at 10AM. everything's just dragged on and tiring. i have to decline invititations, attempt to keep myself off facebook and youtube, and just focus on my school work. it takes a lot of effort and sometimes, i just want to stop.

i've also realized that i'm a pretty bitter person. probably, more bitter than most people expect of me. sometimes, i want to stop and smell the roses. other times, i wonder what the hell's the point? they're just roses! it makes me wonder if i'm missing the point. not appreciating life at this moment or that moment. how can i if i'm so stressed? i have a lot riding on the next quiz and i don't like it. maybe i'll end up with performance anxiety. maybe my fate for school, for this year, will be decided for me and i won't have to think/stress about these things anymore. i just want to relax again.

funny, you thought i was always so calm and composed. turns out, you never really know...