Books moral and immoral

[IceAlisa]

Who named their child Mildred or Edna Louise anytime after 1956??

Exactly. But then the story is based on JonBenet Ramsey and who names their kids JonBenet, ever? The little girl in the book is named Bliss, although her real name is Edna Louise.

Didn't you say 1995 though? Was Kwan that big a name already in 1995? I thought 1996 was her breakout year? I was a kid then so I have no memory basis for when Michelle became well-known in first the FS world and then as a household name.

I could be wrong but I think Kwan became prominent at about that time. I remember reading a (People?) article about tiny Michelle Kwan wanting to do those triple jumps in the mid-90's.

Yeah, that made me feel super awkward. It's not like there aren't enough gender stereotypes in figure skating already that should could have played with

There's plenty of material in skating for her to use if she wants to make a point of sexualization, exploitation, etc., of female figure skaters. Why she is so hung up on the non-existent lace panties I don't know.

[michiruwater]

Exactly. But then the story is based on JonBenet Ramsey and who names their kids JonBenet, ever? The little girl in the book is named Bliss, although her real name is Edna Louise.

Man. That poor child Good thing she's a fictional character.

[my little pony]

i had a great aunt bliss, although i'm pretty sure it was a nickname. i *think* it was really elizabeth.

[Twilight1]

Has anyone read The Kingmaker's Daughter by Philippa Gregory? Trying to decide if I should buy it for my birthday

[BigB08822]

I borrowed Divergent from a student and am planning on reading it this week. Seems similar in theme to Hunger Games and is also a 3 part series (not sure if all 3 are out yet, I know the first 2 are). Any opinions on it? I have read the first 7 chapters and it seems OK, easy to read and nothing making me roll my eyes yet. I haven't gotten to the meat of the story, though.

[Zemgirl]

Who named their child Mildred or Edna Louise anytime after 1956??

Hipsters? I've seen some very retro names making a comeback, and Louise as a middle name isn't that unusual, I think.

Exactly. But then the story is based on JonBenet Ramsey and who names their kids JonBenet, ever? The little girl in the book is named Bliss, although her real name is Edna Louise.

Yes, but JonBenet is a different sort of awful name. Also, combining two names isn't unprecedented - Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands is named after both parents, and there's Renesmee in the Twilight books (I am ashamed that I know this); I read somewhere that it may be more common among Mormon families? I could be wrong on that.

[IceAlisa]

i had a great aunt bliss, although i'm pretty sure it was a nickname. i *think* it was really elizabeth.

As a nickname for Elizabeth it's actually cute.

But get a load of this:

Highlights of that dazzling comeback season:

*The Great Lakes Girls Skate Festival in Buffalo, New York, where, in October in red-sequined, abbreviated skating dress that reflected the spotlight like flame, Bliss Rampike skated to the tempestuous notes of Stravinsky's The Firebird and placed second in the Girls' Novice Division with a score of 5.6 out 6 ()

*The Golden Skate Girls' Challenge in Hartford, Connecticut, where in late October in a gingham "Gretel" costume with a tight-laced bodice, white milkmaid cap (!!!!!) on her plaited blond hair and a peep of white-lace panties (again! the panties!) flashing beneath, Bliss Rampike skated to the thumping melody of Humderdinck's Hansel and Gretel winning the hearts of the judges...with her exquisite glides and spins (flying spin/jump spin/traveling spin) to win the coveted title Tiny Miss Golden Skate Princess 1996 with a score of 5.8 out of 6.

*The All-American Girl Ice Jubilee in Bangor, Maine, in early November where in "Vegas showgirl" costume of glittering white sequins and filmy white feathers, long tight sleeves with ermine-trimmed wrists, stardust in her "upswept" hair and on her eyelids, and crimson-lace panties teasingly visible beneath, Bliss Rampike ravished both judges and audience with a skate-dance performance of that sultry tango pop-American classic "Kiss of Fire, placing first in the "Little Miss" Division with a score of 5.9 out of 6.

How many things are wrong with this?

Dear JCO, I think you are an amazing writer and a national treasure. However, in figure skating "panties" don't peek or tease, they are IN YOUR FACE. And they are not panties.

I also wonder what judges' hearts you win with traveling spins.

USFSA was mentioned threatening to sanction Bliss' mom for letting her skate injured in a non-USFSA nor ISU sponsored event.

Here's more

...the winners of the Miss Jersey Ice Challenge--Miss Jersey Ice Princess and Little Miss Jersey Ice Princess--would be awarded with modeling contracts with Junior Elite Skates and Skating Equipment, Inc., which meant glossy advertisements in high-circulation magazines...
...But if we begin to make a little money--at last!--to help defray expenses, we can plan for the future: Skate America, Grand Prix America, US Girls' Skating Championships, US Olympics."

US Olympics, imagine that!

x 1,000,000. But I can't wait to see what she will come up with next. I will skate-dance this book to the end.

[Zemgirl]

Wait, does poor Bliss have to learn a new program for each competition? No wonder she finds skating so stressful. And with all those choreography and costume expenses (especially the lacy panties, are they sequined too?) it's clear that the Rampike family does, indeed, need some help covering the costs, or they'll be broke before she ever reaches junior.

[IceAlisa]

That's what I was wondering too. So many programs within a matter of weeks. And there was also a Spanish-themed program that involved a black lace mantilla later in the season. Said mantilla fell off her head at the end of the program as a wardrobe malfunction. I forgot which color lace panties (black?) were being flashed that time.

[kwanfan1818]

Didn't you say 1995 though? Was Kwan that big a name already in 1995? I thought 1996 was her breakout year? I was a kid then so I have no memory basis for when Michelle became well-known in first the FS world and then as a household name.

There was a lot of fluff during the 1994 Olympics about Kwan going to Lillehammer as first alternate, because it wasn't clear that Tonya Harding was going to be able to skate, and, of course, 1994 was the apex of the Nancy/Tonya epic. Here's an example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3iOuWEP9Fc

From the little practice clip, you can see what a leap she made from 1994 to 1996.

In 1995, eyes were also on Nicole Bobek, who won bronze that year, with Kwan climbing from 8th to 5th the year before, when Bobek didn't make it out of qualifying.

[my little pony]

jco's editor could have made more of an effort as well. it's about as accurate as blades of glory and they were not trying for realism.

[IceAlisa]

The thing is, if this involved football or baseball and the horrible things that go on there, you can bet your lace panties that the facts and the jargon would have been spot on.

[kwanfan1818]

To go off on a little tangent, SSA doesn't have popular combinations of names except for twins, but individually, by decade:

• Edna went from 1547 in 1956 (ranked 206) to 679 in 1966 (ranked 344) to 276 in 1976 (ranked 588) to 173 (ranked 926) in 1986, and fell out of the top 1000 by 1996.
• Louise went from 2242 in 1956 (ranked 165) in 1956 to 287 in 1966 (ranked 588) to 204 (ranked 719) in 1976 to 163 in 1986 (ranked 970), and fell out of the top 1000 by 1996.
• Mildred went from 1637 in 1956 (ranked 200) to 352 in 1966 (ranked 658) to 239 in 1976 (ranked 650) to off the list in 1986.

The top names for each decade are:
1956: Mary, 62K, 3%
1966: Lisa, 59K, 3.24%
1976: Jennifer, 57K, 3.78%
1986: Jessica, 52K, 2.8%
1996: Emily, 25K 1.31%
2006: Emily, 21K, 1.02%

2011: Sophia, 22K, 1.12% and with Emily dropping by 1/3, but still Top 10.

[michiruwater]

I don't know how you're still reading it. I don't think I could.

[Zemgirl]

How many things are wrong with this?

Highlights of that dazzling comeback season:

I just realized that Bliss had a dazzling comeback at the age of five (or is it six?). What happened when she was four, did she tear her ACL practicing jump spins and skate dancing moves?

[my little pony]

I just realized that Bliss had a dazzling comeback at the age of five (or is it six?). What happened when she was four, did she tear her ACL practicing jump spins and skate dancing moves?

the milkmaid cap blocked her vision while executing an exquisite glide, exposing her lace panties as she hit the boards

[IceAlisa]

I just realized that Bliss had a dazzling comeback at the age of five (or is it six?). What happened when she was four, did she tear her ACL practicing jump spins and skate dancing moves?

She sprained her ankle.

the milkmaid cap blocked her vision while executing an exquisite glide, exposing her lace panties as she hit the boards

[Zemgirl]

She sprained her ankle.

I liked my little pony's version better.

[IceAlisa]

I liked my little pony's version better.

Me too. But hey, in her final performance Bliss executes some elements that actually exist: a spiral which is called "a butterfly" for some reason and a double toe-loop. Although there was a "dazzling backward glide", a "gyre" and the inevitable mention of the peekaboo panties. JCO is perserverating.

[Zemgirl]

A prodigy for sure! For the sake of comparison, here is a future world champion at age five. Also, seven year old Florent Amodio. Happily, no lace panties are involved.

Someone wrote a review on Amazon pointing out how inaccurate the skating parts were, and was told it was only fiction. That is so stupid; if you're going to set a fictional story in a real-world context, you should at least try to make it believable. I mean, this is the equivalent of writing a book about, say, a zombie invasion of Boston, only making Boston exactly like Miami.