Olympics : Judging TRENDS

After Rochette completed her performance during the Women's Figure Skating Short Program, her facial features appearing to be crying -- and we've all been reminded, repeatedly, the sad story of a recent death in her family -- and I was moved, as part of the 'viewing audience,' tears forming in my eyes. Then the camera zoomed-in and what I firstly noticed was there were ZERO tears in Miss Rochette's eyes. People that go through the learned motions of 'crying' without tears scare me. Most manipulative people in existence. Hasn't everybody been manipulated by one? It really worried me that Miss Rochette would leave that impression of sympathyphuking the masses. Of course, I'm sure she's none of that, right?

The camera focused on her Dad. He'd been crying. It was obvious. And there were tears in his eyes. There's something about crying. It makes your eyes turn red, instantly, and the white-parts stay red for about ten-minutes after -- longer, sometimes. No 'crying for the camera' there.

Hmmm -- the things the 'viewing audience' thinks about ...

After watching the U.S. Nationals Figure Skating Competition in Spokane, I was concerned about judging. 2007 AND 2010. There's always been politics in national competitions, local ones too -- anybody that's observed even on a casual level becomes aware of it, eventually. If a woman isn't 'femmy' enough, she's accused of being a homosexual and judged more harshly. The reverse for men, regardless of skill-level, regardless of accomplishment. It's the psychology of the judges, which crosses lines of both politics and religion, where some judges, teachers, managers, employers, parents, concoct excuses in their own heads to punish 'non-gender-stereotypes' -- anybody 'different' -- either for fear of being accused of 'promoting' something, or harboring inner-repressed 'desires' for, errr, 'something.'

On the international level, everybody that's seen the Olympics has suffered through the anguish of athletes being punished for the crimes of Higher-Ed politicians that just 'can't get along' --

-- boycotts, for example;
-- low scores just because the athlete is from a country our own hateful conspiring legislators are manipulating the media to brainwash the masses to hate, like Iran or Turkey, for example.

-- or Russia;
-- or China;

It's as old as Jesse Owens, a segregated black man, that wasn't 'equal enough' to drink from YOUR fountains, eat at YOUR lunch counters, live in YOUR neighborhoods, go to YOUR schools, date YOUR daughter, participate in YOUR sports -- but used as a Pawn to claim another country was 'racist' while the U.S. is all about 'equality,' "We're the best of the best of the best of the best!" ...

-- "pot calling kettle black" and all that (as the saying goes).

TRENDS in Judging -- it's always present and must always be defended against.

Personally, I think Evan Lysacek's skating is rather 'gangly' styled. I think his physique makes for a more awkward skating style, so a whole lot of FLUFF is included as a DIVERSION, arm waving and extraneous movements. While distracted by the arm waving and extraneous movements, one is less likely to notice the skating.

I think Davis and White have alot of FLUFF in their program as well.

I think it's about MARKETING. Marai Nagasu, for example, doesn't have a multi-million dollar marketing blitzkreig going on, and even though she did not perform a triple-triple, doing a triple-double instead, still skates with a whole lot less FLUFF, and is phenomenal. I would have placed her 3rd after the short Program, Mao Asada in First, and Kim Yu-Na in Second, and Tugba Karademir in Sixth -- (I could go on).

For the mens, I would have put Yevgeny Viktorovich Plyushchenko wins the GOLD, Johnny Weir the Silver, and I would have placed Lysacek in FOURTH.

It's not about one jump, the QUAD. It's about doing all that, THEN including the added phenomenon called the 'quad.'

And there is no such thing as "most conditioned athlete" as NBC pundits are claiming. It's a meaningless soundbite, a 'reasonable-sounding' platitude -- like what Obama is always spewing, talking nonstop but saying nothing of substance in terms of REAL LIFE, yours or anybody elses.

See, the grossest part is that it's made out as though anybody that disagrees with what they're told by TV commentators, is 'insane' -- (meanwhile, during elections, they're brainwashed to spew nonstop about the 'evil media') -- it's the weirdest thing.

Disagree with media, your 'fellow equal citizen beloved neighbors' call you insane.
THEN, turn-around and rant about the 'liberal media' and the 'slanted views' of pundits.

Juding has evolved into an effort to limit political TRENDS from punishing athletes whom are obviously deserving of VALID SCORES. But if there are perceptions of 'fimininity' issues, it's considered a 'right' and 'duty' -- and that is WRONG.

So is rewarding 'most marketable' APPEARANCES with higher-scores.

Where is Ashley Wagner, for example? They took three males from the Men's figure skating team, why did they intentionally cut-out the third woman? I would have scored that competition differently, also, with Nagasu in GOLD, Wagner in Silver, and I would have put Flatt off the podium.

AND THERE WERE JUDGES THAT SCORED THAT WAY!

It's not 'one guy's opinion' -- it's a CONSPIRACY of collected opinions. Really.

And that's why and how TRENDS evolve. It's like those $600 dollar toilet-seats and $1200 dollar coffee pots at the Pentagon. THOSE WERE CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES with the biggest of the BIG TICKET credentials from the 'world's greatest educational credentialing system and universities' claiming they could 'reduce costs' -- 'save money' -- make it 'more efficient' -- 'streamline operations' -- 'cutting-edge top-of-the-line state-of-the-art best of the best of the best' -- 'most sophisticated' -- 'return value' -- (you've heard all the marketing mindphukery -- it's endless) -- and suddenly, for Armed Services to AQUIRE a $5 dollar toilet-seat, after factoring in all the catered-lunch 'crisis meetings' and all those higher-Ed 'reasonable-sounding' TALKS, travel, perks, benefits and selfish salaries, those $5 dollar toilet-seats cost over $600 dollars to aquire -- AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE.

THEY WON'T STOP UNTIL THEY ARE STOPPED. And to the very moment they're plush butts were thrown out the door, decades later, they turned-around and sued the taxpayer for billions for 'wrongful termination' and 'abusive environment' and 'breach of trust,' then went to work 'balancing budgets' for Congress, apparently.

Now, in order to provide AMATEUR sporting events, it's all about the MARKETING MODELS and SPOKESPEOPLE -- to SELL PRODUCTS.

Think of this: skiing is about land reclamation. Places that have been strip mined or forests that have been clear cut -- the land is reclaimed -- the roads were previous logging roads -- the reason it's called ALPINE is because it's at, or above the TREE LINE, where trees do not grow or are so stunted they are not harvestable -- (but everything below it was) -- and skiing has brought much land reclamation, providing economic stimulus and working hand-in-hand with environmentalists and manufacturers. It's an all-around 'good thing.' Runs are planted with erosion controlling native species. It's great for huckleberry picking, which feeds wildlife.

Snowboarding, on the other hand, takes EARTH MOVING EQUIPMENT to carve up mountains, into desolate landscapes where no foliage will ever grow, half-pipes and whatnot. The 'newbie' at snowboarding sufferes endless FACE PLANTS, banging their upperbody against the ground, their heads taking the most impact. Bracing from the full-body 'thwhack' results in more finger, wrist and arm injuries. the lurching-around, even by the best snowboarders in the world, at the Olympics, still doesn't make it 'graceful' nor 'environmentally friendly' nor REDUCE HEALTHCARE COSTS.

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OnEdit (3/11/2010 16:06PST-CLW) corrected typo on title line only, "juding" (or whatever it was) s/b "judging" obviously.