a penny - thoughts of italy - and the odometer

"Ken, what are three things that said I was in the right place, right time, on this Monday evening?"

Ding, ding, ding!

Here's the penny, lying on Habersham Street, just to my left as I was used the crosswalk to get from the handicap parking spot to Midtown Sports Grill.

I actually had to look twice to make sure it was real.

Just look at how dinged up the poor cent is!

The only part of the date that's legible are the first two digits: 20.

Which year of this century is anyone's guess, but it was there to encourage me that I'd made the right choice to come out tonight.

Right place, right time!

And just why was I there?

Music Bingo with my friends, of course!

That's Marcia having a chat with Russ, the bingo emcee, checking to see if she did know him from the Habersham YMCA.

Yep, that's right!

She and I had a great talk, sharing memories of Livorno, Italy, as well as Florence and some of the Amalfi coast.

Her husband was stationed there three years while he was in the Navy.

 

Such a lucky break for them!

And what's this that I selected for dinner tonight?

Chicken wings with Hot Honey Garlic -so totally addictive!!!

Marcia had recommended them, so that's what I had.

It took me the entire time that we were there to make my way through the six wings and drumsticks...

but how delicious!

They were like candy... so sweet and sticky... RAWR!!!

I'm sure the reason I didn't win was because I was too distracted by the dessert-style meat on that plate!

I came closest on the last game, "Random Mix #2", needing only "You Oughta Know" for the win.

Guess I oughta know to keep the food simple for these games!

 

Then we gave our hugs of goodbye and were on our way!

But what else did the Universe have in store for me?

Nothing but a fancy mix of numbers on my odometer when I got home!

Yes, that's right.

The mileage read: 245757 - that's two pair, a winning hand!

That "57" corresponds to Sandy's age right now, too, but that's due to click over to "58" next month.

(smile!)

Right place, right time!

pan pizza, et alia

thanks, papa john's and aarp!

I've rediscovered a new favorite: pan pizza!

The moment I picked up the pizza box, I knew there was something inside - such delicious mass!

Why did it draw me out on a cold day?

I had ten bucks from AARP Reward points, $2 in Papa Dough, and the special knocked off another 4 dollars.

I paid $2.56 for pepperoni and banana peppers on a pie that's been lunch and dinner, plus breakfast tomorrow.

My favorite food for three meals - life is good!

(smile!)  

thanks, SBHF37 and City of Savannah!

The Savannah Black Heritage Festival isn't over just yet, but I won't be making it to any other events by Saturday.

I should have been paying more attention as February began.

As it was, I caught three of the events: the one about literature at The Learning Center of Senior Citizens, Inc.; the one about history at our HBC, Savannah State University; and the one about music held at the Savannah Jewish Educational Alliance.

Every event of the SBHF37 was free and open to the public, courtesy of the City and various sponsors.

Most of the events were held midtown Savannah, making sure locals were present and the parking was abundant.

I'll pay more attention to scheduling next year!

(smile!) 

thanks, comcast!

Because Comcast includes ME TV, Antenna TV, and seven PBS/GPB/SCE channels in my Basic TV subscription, I had a wealth of recorded shows to watch on this cold day.

The second of those channels provided me with "Just Shoot Me!", a show at takes place at "Blush" Magazone.

David Spade is the assistant to George Segal, who also has his daughter, Laura San Giacomo, on the staff, as he tries to make up for being an absentee father in her childhood and marrying her best friend.

Mostly, though, I like the spice added by Enrico Colantoni and Wendie Malick, and all the puns on the magazine cover!

Puns!!!

I get a lot of puns from "Toon In With Me", too, which is from that first free channel.

This time, Bill is pondering getting a part-time job, so he considers milkman (my Daddy did that!), pin boy at bowling alley, costermonger, knocker-upper, gong farmer, town crier, and even pony express!   

He even premiered two cartoons that were new to his show: "Ten Pin Terrors" and "Saddle Silly", both 7-minute oldies!

Toonie reminded him that his job as 'classic cartoon curator" takes all his time. (smile!)

Then, there's that plethora of educational channels to keep me informed and stimulated. 

The "Dream Of Italy" series must have been timed to prime folks for the Winter Olympics.

I just watched, "Andrea Bocelli's Tuscany", s3e1, which brought memories of vineyards in Livorno in 2002, as well as time in Siena and Florence and Pompeii on the trip with future nurses in 2012.

Here's the funny part, though.

I'd just recently seen similar footage, including inside the home of the Italian tenor, in a movie, "Solo Mio"!!!

Timing truly is everything!

Right time, right place! 

(smile!) 

pairs' shorts: no, not ice dancing

I had once thought that Ice Dancing and Figure Skating were synonymous.

They are not.

Both are done with pairs of skaters on ice, but the technical bits differ. 

In Ice Dance, at least one member of the pair must be in contact with the ice at all times, so there are no jumps of any kind.

The emphasis is on synchronicity, with twizzles and choreographed step sequences, as well as lifts, used to supply dramatic tension. 

In Figure Skating, the technical aspects of axels and toe loops and fancy jumps returns, as well as throws of one partner by the other.

There's also a requirement for hand-holding at certain times.

I really like that one.

(smile!) 

Here's the German team of Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin, executing a perfect lift and spin.

I really love that overhead shot on this one!

They were dancing to "El Abrazo", a song written just for them... wow!!!

They amply deserved their first place standing at the end of this program!

This time, I have the couple from Georgia - the country, not this state.

Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava were skating at high speed to "Bolero" as they performed this fabulous lift.

Just look how blurry the sidelines are as they whiz on by!!!

This clearly shows his strength, too, as well as hers as she holds that stance.

Second place they secured, though almost five points below the Germans.

Third place belonged to this pair from Canada, Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud.

Such a lovely display of hand-holding by this couple, as well as highly synchronized movements of their arms and legs, as shown here.

That merits the high points for sure!

This is the team from Hungary, making fourth place with their short program.

Here, I captured the moment when Alexei Sviatchenko was in process of lifting Maria Pavlova to his shoulders.

Their performance used Michael Jackson's "Earth Song", which I don't know that I've ever hear before.

Nice to associate it with this skate in Italy!

Time for the pair from Japan, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, who gained fifth place!

I don't know why "Paint It Black" was their choice, but that seems to be a popular one this year.

I guess it's those Euro-Asian-Indian accents that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards imbued into it that makes it so appealing across the globe.

I like that their outfits remind me of "Star Trek" uniforms!

As for Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China, their Short program wasn't included in the blocks aired for the USA tonight.

All I have for that 6th place team are their names and standings.

Maybe I'll get to see their Free Skate!

I did, of course, get to watch the 7th place performers - they represent the US!

They are the 35-year-old Danny O'Shea and 22-year-old Ellie Kam, as disparate in age as they are in height and appearance - but both big smilers!

Their song choice?

"Hallelujah", a song of praise and gladness!

Good choice... and perhaps an inside joke?

(smile!) 

Behind them by less than two-tenths of a point was this Italian team of Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii.

What fun they were having with "The Wild Bull"!!!

That was some definitely fancy footwork they had going on!

The home crowd truly loved them... and so did I!

Before I leave, special mention must be made for the Canadian team who skated to an operatic bit, "Carmen Burara", placing tenth.

Maxime Deschamps and his partner truly classed up the joint. 

Deanna Stellato-Dudek wore an Oscar de la Renta skatesuit of gold that caught every bit of light in that arena.

Here's the highlight for me: she's the same age as my first niece.

Good for her for still chasing that Olympic dream!

They may not have made the top 9 on this leader board, but they'll have another chance in just a day or so.

I'll be watching... and hoping... that their dreams come true!

(smile!)

Non contare i polli prima che siano nati.

"What's that my dearie? It looks like it might be in Italian. Something about first chickens?"

 

Well, you did get the language correct. The title says 'Don't count your chickens before they're hatched'. I made the mistake of doing that after the Short program the other day.

 

"Hmmm... I get it. You made some predictions that didn't pan out, is that what you're saying?"

 

Yes, exactly. As the folks in the booth have said repeatedly during these 25th Winter Olympics, figure skating can break your heart. In these competitions, a skater has less than five minutes to show their routine to the world. All it takes is one quarter-turn to be off on a landing, one triple that turned into only a double, one slip that results in a fall... and suddenly all those thousands of hours of training and practice result in 15th place instead of 1st. That is actually what happened tonight to the US skater known as the 'quad god'.

 

'What?!?!" 

On Tuesday, Ilia Malinin had the lead firmly in hand, with a score that was five points above his nearest competitor and fifteen points above the man in 4th place. That's just a phenomenal lead!!! Everyone expected him to roll all over everyone tonight. But he fell, hard, twice, and I think he failed to complete at least one quad jump. His score for the Free Skate was 156.33, and he was the final skater. That put him in 15th place for this part of the competition. It's only due to his incredible Short program that his total, of 264.49, granted him a place in the top 10.

 

"Oh, my! That had to be heart-breaking for that 21-year-old. At least he made the upper ten in the Men's Single Figure Skating."

 

8th place, that's what he got. He wasn't the only one that slipped and fell into lower standings, though. My boy, Yuma Kagiyama, he even fell during his Free Skate.

 

"That's terrible!"

 

He came out of it much better than Ilia, though. He still posted 176.99 for this part, getting 6th place for the Free Skate. His combined total, of 280.06, won him a Silver medal to take home to Japan. What a relief to me that he still won 2nd place!!!

 

"Had they used the same music as before?"

 

No. Ilia used some ethereal stuff with him speaking pep talk messages. Yuma skated to music from "Turandot", one of Puccini's operas. The Free Skate was at least 4 minutes long, so more music was needed than for the Short program.

"I see. What about that French skater who placed 3rd in the Short, the guy with the Da Vinci muscle shirt that you liked. How did he do?"

 

You mean Adam Siao Him Fa? He chose Philip Glass music, and wore a shirt that featured part of Michelangelo's painting, "The Creation of Adam". I do admire those touches of classical artistry! So did the crowd in Italy, clapping enthusiastically for him, even after he fell during his Free Skate. Seriously, it was just so sad that his dance was marred by slick ice! He ended up in 12th place for the Free Skate, but was able to still be ahead of Malinin overall. His total, of  269.27, netted him 7th for the Men's Single Figure Skating.

 

"Damn. That had to be heart-breaking for him. Still, he's young enough to be back for the next Winter Olympics. And you have to appreciate that inside joke he had, right? His name is Adam and he wore a shirt with an Adam..."

 

Oh, snap! Good catch, g'friend! I completely overlooked that!

 

"You're welcome! Had to bring back a bit a levity to these proceedings."

 

You're right, I've been taking these mishaps to heart, as they affected two of my favorites. All three of those young men are only in their early 20's. I'll have a future opportunity to see them skate. 

 

"That's right! So, what young man is up next. I know you watched at least 8 of the 20 skaters."

 

An even dozen is what I got to see. Okay, how about a Cinderella story to brighten things up?  Remember that young man that grew up skating at a mall? He won Gold!!!

 

"You mean Mikhail Shaidorov? The kid from Kazahkstan???"

 

He's actually 6 months older than Malinin. And, yes, I mean him!!! After an absolutely flawless Free Skate, his score for that portion took first place... and stayed!!! And I loved his music!!! I felt that he had chosen "The Diva Dance", from "The Fifth Element", especially for me!!!

 

"Maybe the Universe wanted you to pay attention to him?"

 

Maybe so. He was 16th in the skating order, meaning there were only four more skaters after him, including the three I've talked about, who were expected to take home medals. That meant that after Yuma skated, Mikhail was still above him on the leader board! And just what was that Free Skate score? 198.64... that's 21 points better than Yuma!!!

 

"Holy cow!!! That's absofrickinlutely incredible!!!"

 

Mikhail's overall score kept that 21-point lead, posting at 291.58, which may be a record. I know it's a Personal Best record for him!

 

"Actually, highest ever was by Nathan Chen at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, four years ago."

That's okay. Mikhail Shaidorov has the highest overall score for this Winter Olympics! And my Yuma has the second highest! And Shun Sato, also of Japan, has the third highest at 274.90, just 6 points lower than his countryman's. 

 

"I love his firebird skate-suit! Oh, fun fact: he had his 22nd birthday just 6 days ago. So many of these skaters were born in 2004!"

 

Funny that you mentioned the design of his outfit. He skated to Stravinsky's "The Firebird", and did so not only beautifully, but flawlessly.  That gave him 186.20 for his Free Skate, putting him in third place for that. It was his overall score, though, that won him the Bronze medal for Men's Single Figure Skating. Very nice for a 22nd birthday gift!!!

 

"Very nice, indeed! But something you said makes me wonder. Who placed 2nd in the Free Skate? I know Yuma didn't."

That would be Stephen Gogolev of Canada. Get this: his score was 186.37, just barely more than that of Shun Sato. However, his overall total was 273.79! Honestly, there was less than three points difference between 2nd and 4th place in the Free Skate! But those standings in the Short program make a lot of difference. Gogolev only had 87.42 there, which put him in 10th place for that part.

 

"Well, Sato only had 9th place for the Short program!"

 

Yes, but he skated fiercely and flawlessly in the Free Skate and that's what pulled him into winning the Bronze at this Olympic game. Emphasis on the "flawlessly", meaning he made all the jumps he'd planned, he executed them perfectly, he was very artistic, and he didn't fall. All of that makes the difference between getting an Olympic medal and not doing so.

 

"Understood. How about Daniel Grassl? I know he was in 4th place in the Shorts, just after Mikhail Shaidorov. How did the italian homeboy end up?"

 

He took 8th place for the Free Skate and 9th overall. I don't recall him doing anything wrong, like falling, during his program. He used music from the movie, "Conclave", which all there seemed to approve and clap along. Perhaps he simply wasn't as daring in the jumps he chose? Still, he landed in the top 10, so that's great! He also has part of the Bronze medal for Team event of Figure Skating, so that's pretty sweet.

Speaking of medals for the 2026 Team event, Shun Sato and Yuma Kagiyama share the Silver medal the Japan team won.

Ilia Melanin shares the Gold medal won by the USA team, too.

I realize that's not the same as having a medal of your very own, like the ones for the Men's Single Figure Skating... but it's still a marvelous thing.

Truly, not few people can say that they are Olympians... 

but these skaters can.

What a treat to have been able to watch them dance across the ice!

mens' shorts

There I was, all settled in and enjoying some figure skating...

then BAMMM!!!

I popped on to fb to lodge a complaint!

"I can't believe the local news just interrupted the Milan Olympics!!! Don't they realize this is just a once every four years event??? And the Men's Short Program of ice skating is on???
But wait...
I recorded it LIVE from earlier!
I can even skip the commercials and enjoy all those lovely young men without interruption!!!
Well... alrighty then!
I'm off to get my Yuma Kagiyama fix!!!
He has SUCH great taste in music!
The photos are from his GOLD medal performance on Saturday, skating to Stevie Wonder's "I Wish"!!!"

Here he is again, reprising his performance into a condensed version.

The Short Program has to be less than 3 minutes in length, but still include several technical aspects, like triple axels and quadruple toe loops.

(smile!) 

Trust me, I can only talk the talk.

I cannot distinguish one type of jump from another, but I do enjoy them.

He had one little flaw this time and that cost him first place, but his score was still more than 100; it was 103.07 points!

The one who claimed first, with a score of 108.16, was the 'quad god'.

That would be his compatriot in age, Ilia Malinin.

Both are around 22 years old, in the prime of physical strength and beauty.

Both are an absolute delight to watch as they whiz around the ice!

 

But I have a new man to enjoy: Adam Siao Him Fa.

Skating for France, to a routine inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, I was absolutely captivated!

Were those his muscles beneath a sheer top, or was that an illusion?

 

Either way, it was mesmerizing to watch... so I rewound the tape and enjoyed his glide around the rink a couple of times, just because I could.

The photo shows his endpoint of his choreography - just phenomenal!!! 

His was the only other score in the 100's (it was 102.55).

All in all, for this portion of the Milan Cortina Olympics, I had a lucky thirteen skaters to watch, of the total twenty in the competition.

Very nice way to spend the last three hours!

Here's another skater for France, the young man described by the commentators as "an artist who skates."
He's Kevin Aymoz, extraordinarily graceful as he danced to Lady Gaga's music.

His artistic score was so good that he placed 7th in this Short Program!

Then there's Lucas Britschigi of Switzerland!

 

He chose "No Good", by an artist I didn't know, and had so much fun emoting to the lyrics that I had to watch him twice!

I'm so glad I had that option, too! 

Tall and lithe, with a mussed mop of dark hair, he was a thrill for a single woman like myself, especially with that song in the background.

RAWRRR!!!

He may have only placed 19th there, but he was in my top five!

 

Denis Vasiljevs, of Latvia, was another favorite of mine, whose placement of 17th didn't reflect his skills.

Another tall brunette, his moves were so smooth and romantic, with lots of extra physical and facial expressions as he acted out the lyrics.

I don't recall the name of the song... but I recall his interpretation of it.

 

Aleksandr Selevko of Estonia entertained me as much as the Swiss man would.

In retrospect, he's probably responsible for revving me up for Britschigi!

That's because his choice of song was "Kiss" by Prince - oh, yeah!!!

He, like the Swiss and Latvian, ended up in the lower five, but perhaps they were simply too sexy for the judges.

Yeah, I bet that was it!

(smile!)

So, what about some skaters from the top five?

Well, I liked the backstory for Mikhail Shaidorov.

He first started skating in a shopping mall back home - very nice. 

He's from Kazahkstan, a country I only know via a microloan I made on KIVA last year, so that link probably also drew my attention to him.

I also like that his first name reminds me of Mikhail Baryshnikov, a famous dancer from my youth.

This Mikhail ended up 5th in the standings.

 

The only other one who also placed in the top 5 was Daniel Grassl, who was very much a crowd favorite.

That's because he's a native son of Italy!

He's also one of the few blond men in this competition.

He performed to a tango medley and was very lively and smooth in his glides!

 

The other Italian, Matteo Rizzo, was a crowd pleaser, but not nearly as artistic and accomplished on the rink.

His score, of 84.30, landed him squarely in the lower five.

 

Grassl, on the other hand, scored 93.46, almost ten points higher.

It'll be interesting to see how things shake out on Thursday! 

Right now, though, it looks like Malinin for Gold, Kagiyama for Silver, and Saio Him Fa for the Bronze at this year's Olympics.

I wonder what music they'll be using for the Free Skate portion? 

In other words, I wonder what songs I'll be hearing next?

(smile!)

getting into the 90's rhythm, y'all

Now is the part of the competition when the pairs of ice dancers can win medals at this 25th Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy!

Up until this point, they have been part of a team, with the team sharing the medal with the component players.

So, for Team USA, the ice dancing pairs, the solo men, and the solo women, all shared the one Gold medal.

Today, the pairs competed for their own Olympic medal in Ice Dance, starting with the Rhythm Dance to 90's music!!!

It's almost like they knew this would be Music Bingo night!

Then, in two days, they'll complete their quest for Ice Dancing Gold, Silver, or Bronze in the Free Skate.

I'll have to be sure to record that if I'm out for the evening.

(smile!) 

 

I was thrilled with this pair!
Here's the brother-sister team from Czechia, going hard and fast in their skate to AC/DC.

What song had they selected for their high-energy assault on the ice?

"Thunderstruck". 

Next up was the pair for South Korea, with both all dressed up and classy.

They would have been right at home on the set of "Men In Black"... which was good, as they were grooving to a medley of Will Smith songs!

The couple skating for Spain chose more music that I loved: Ricky Martin's "Maria".

Wow!!!

That was so thrilling to watch!

Here's one of the two pairs from Canada!

Dressed as sports fans out for a game, they spun and twirled to a medley of clap-along songs still heard at arenas and stadiums!

Now for some Bell Biv DeVoe action with one of three USA pairs!

The girl in the song may have been "Poison", but Emilea Zingas was just perfect out there!

Lithuania's pair was such a cheeky duo! 

How funny to hear Right Said Fred sing "I'm too sexy for Milan" as these two danced on the ice... in Milan!

Nice inside joke with the audience!

That joke was echoed by the second pair from Canada, the one with Piper Gilles.

They spiced up the jam with a bit of RuPaul, keeping it real... real fun!!!

In between those two acts was the second pair for the USA, this one with Christina Carreira.

"Sweet dreams of rhythm and dancing" sang La Bouche as this duo swirled... wow!

As for this Great Britain pair, I very nearly called the Great Scott to watch!

They were using a medley of his fav music: the Spice Girls! 

Hahahaha!

Such fun!!!

Then it was time for the last pair to skate: Chock and Bates of the USA.

Notice her outfit: she designed it herself, as well as the one worn for the Spanish woman.

I'm not sure, but I think these two are the only ones who are married to each other.

I really think that adds a level of trust for all the lifts and spins!

Lenny Kravitz was their music of choice.

They ended up in second place for the Rhythm Dance. 

That doesn't mean they won the Silver medal... they still have to compete in the Free Skate to win the Ice Dance medal.

I'll have to pay more attention to that French team, as I only caught part of their Rhythm Dance number.

I remember that she wore ruffled rose-pink shorts, but that's all.

I'll be watching for them on Thursday!

They'll be the last team to skate, as they placed first here.

(smile!)

I do so love seeing these skating dances every four years!

just shoot me the 2026 rome parade!

With the weather going to hell this afternoon, I chose to celebrate today with the leftovers of meals with friends!

That made it almost seem like I was dining out.

My plan tomorrow is to stay in and stay warm, so this is as close to that as I'll be until Tuesday.

First up was Papa John's pizza, the meatlovers special, that's been in the freezer for a couple of weeks.

That's from the monthly BOGO Saturday deal for carryout. 

So glad I put some of that away for now... and that tall glass of milk is just perfect to go along!

While I dined, I watched one of my favorite TV shows from the past: "Just Shoot Me!"!

This photo has all the principals of 'Blush' magazine: Laura San Giacomo, George Segal, David Spade, Enrico Colantoni, and Wendie Malick.

The scene was in "Lemon Wacky Hello", s1 e6, which was a hoot! 

Ever since I saw Enrico in that holiday movie, this has been on my mind.

Thanks, Antenna TV, for scratching that itch!

For dinner, I began with a facsimile of Pasta e Fagiole of Olive Garden, though this was Campbell's Minestrone with Italian Sausage.

Close enough for my taste buds, especially as I had a genuine OG breadstick to dip and dunk!

Mamma mia, that's a good soup!

I'd just cued up the "2026 New Year Rome Parade" that SCE TV ran the other day.

This entry was from the Lion Dance Academy of martial arts.

It's one of the local entries, as in from Italy.

There were quite a few bands and cheerleader outfits from the USA!

They came from Corning, NY - Aurora, IL - Palm Springs, CA - and many points in between those!

The parade went on for almost 90 minutes, so that allowed me to reheat my Chicken Scampi as my dinner.

I must say, it was every bit as good as it had been with Carolyn!

And just look at how much I had!!!

It filled the plate with no need to even add more pasta.

That Italian food was especially good as I watched more scenes of Rome during the parade!

I'm glad the Lion Dance group had several opportunities to show off.

They were so good at twirling that huge dragon and keeping it off the street!

The Varsity Spirit Cheerleaders from the USA also had several segments in the parade, with a different song each time - very nice!

Then it was time for my dessert before the parade finished.

I've called this Banana Tempura a la Elvis.

I heated up the five pieces from Sushi Hana, then added peanut butter and more honey.

Oh, yeah, every bit as good as I'd hoped!!!

Just perfect as I watched the last parade entry go by!

Such a colorful lot they were, with ages from twenties to seventies!

Those were all Italians, with my guess that some of them have been in this parade for several decades.

Good for them!

Now, I'm going to finish one last year-end event for me.

Time to unfold and recycle all these mementos of dinners shared, movies with friends, concerts ushered, and musicals attended!

It's always such an effort of love for me.

As for the Jar of Blessings, it won't stay empty but a minute - I already have new memories to fill that bottom!

(smile!)