• "The Portlandian" - October 19, 2019 edition

    From Terry Hall@21:1/5 to All on Sat Oct 19 23:55:51 2019
    XPost: alt.fan.tonya-harding, alt.skate.figure

    TTTTT H H EEEEE
    T H H E
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    T H H E
    T H H EEEEE

    PPPP OOOO RRRR TTTTT L A N N DDDD I A N N TM
    P P O O R R T L A A NN N D D I A A NN N
    PPPP O O RRRR T L AAAAA N N N D D I AAAAA N N N
    P O O R R T L A A N NN D D I A A N NN
    P OOOO R R T LLLLL A A N N DDDD I A A N N

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    The Portlandian, the Internet's premier source of Tonya News

    October 19, 2019 Edition
    (C) 2019 Portland Ice Skating Society
    http://www.pdxiss.org *****************************************************************

    Welcome to another edition of "The Portlandian". There's not much
    Tonya news on the radar at the moment, so we thought we'd take
    this opportunity to play catch-up on a lot of odds and ends that
    have built up over the past few months. We have some news about
    more rock opera performances, confirm a long-standing Tonya rumor
    (and debunk a more recent one), and look at the cars of "I,
    Tonya". We also dig up some old Tonya skating performances - and
    reveal how decisions made by a bunch of engineers designing a TV
    system back in the fifties resulted in "I, Tonya" getting the
    color of one of her costumes wrong - and mull a foray into local
    body politics.


    HAPPY FEET?

    Tonya has already proven she can dance and cook, having appeared
    on two "reality" series over the past few months, "Dancing With
    The Stars" and "Worst Cooks In America". Now there's speculation
    she may be adding singing to the list by appearing in a third.

    The past few days have seen a rumor floating around that Tonya
    may be the Penguin character on the Fox show "The Masked Singer",
    an Idol-type singing contest featuring celebrities disguised in
    costumes. This theory stems from several clues that feature in
    two videos:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_VI5QOQRjg

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVI5yGD2Gik

    Certainly some of the clues seem to fit ("I was told I was not
    pretty enough, smart enough...", "career is over", references to
    ice and "getting colder"), and the hit list contains things like
    "exes" and "the press". In addition, the scene of the Penguin
    sitting in front of a mirror could be seen as referencing the
    similar one in "I, Tonya". However, only one of the clues,
    "career on ice" could be seen as specifically referring to an ice
    skater, and only if taken literally. The rest could apply to
    dozens of people.

    Against this, references to "funny enough" and "comedy club
    owners" tend to suggest a comedian - and Tonya may well have
    reason to dislike comedians who have for years made her the butt
    of their jokes, but would seem to have nothing against the club
    owners.

    We think the most credible of the various theories is that it's a
    woman called Sherri Shepherd from "The View". The references to
    "permission slip", "Jesus came first" and "secretary" apparently
    specifically fit various things she's said and done over the
    years. Plus, she's described as a comedian in Wikipedia. On the
    other hand, we can't think of how any of that stuff connects to
    Tonya.

    Still, when it comes to Tonya, "any publicity is good
    publicity" - at least if it's positive. If the speculation keeps
    Tonya's name in the public's mind, why should Tonyaphiles care if
    it's completely off track?


    ROCK OPERA SKATES TO FLORIDA

    New performances of "Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera" are in the
    works for the new year. February will see it make its debut in
    Florida, an event that's gonna be the coolest thing to hit the
    Sunshine State since Miami Vice. And a 2020/2021 tour is also
    planned.

    The Florida performances will be directed by Mark Danni and take
    place at TheatreZone in Naples on the following dates:

    7:30 p.m. on Feb. 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15 & 16, 2020
    2:00 p.m. on Feb. 8, 9, 15 & 16, 2020

    Tickets can be purchased here:

    https://theatre.zone/show/tonya-nancy-a-rock-opera/

    Not much is known about the production at this stage, with
    casting still to be announced. We recommend you keep an eye on
    this site for further info:

    http://www.tonyaandnancytherockopera.com/


    Meanwhile, another review of the CD that was issued a few months
    ago, featuring selected songs from the 2018 performance at
    Feinstein's 54 Below in New York earlier that year, has also
    emerged:

    http://www.broadwaytovegas.com/October28,2018.html

    The review is very positive - just some of the highlights:

    "All of the performers are outstanding with just the right
    accents and attitudes. However, additional attention must be
    paid to Broadway veteran, Tony nominated Nancy Opel who deftly
    segues between the 'mothers of all mothers' the mother of
    Tonya and the syrup voiced 'mother of the Ice Princess -
    Nancy'"."

    "If you are a person who is sick to death of hearing about the
    Tonya and Nancy knee event and subsequent scandals - you're
    still going to enjoy this fun, rock opera. A tough subject in
    history about two youngsters with superb ice skating talent
    and the golden dream of their handlers."

    "I was prepared to suffer through listening to this recording
    and was totally surprised that every part of this recording is
    deliciously entertaining. It's a well done hoot. It's not easy
    to resuscitate a well known historical as well as a scandalous
    event to the stage and a subsequent recording and make it
    fresh, clever, entertaining, funny and topical. Competition
    never goes out of style."

    "The lyrics are insightful, and sad. The success of these
    athletes brought their parents what they wanted although
    nobody ever considers what would make the performers happy.
    They are an expendable commodity. As long as they win, they
    are adored."

    "The expert musical compositions and in between commentary
    results in the listener having a better understanding and
    compassion for both skaters."

    "Fabulous technical work on bringing this from the stage to a
    CD. As far as live recordings captured at Feinsteins/54 Below
    this one is technically the best. There are no dead spots or
    even a minute instance of one entity overpowering the other."

    "The sound placement is perfect. There was the potential of
    sounding cheap with distracting and uneven sections - as is
    prelevant in so many club recordings. This CD is stunningly
    awesome. That didn't happen by accident. There had to have
    been a lot of technical know how and that deserved to be
    acknowledged."


    MORE OLD BROADCASTS

    The miracle known as Youtube continues to yield more old Tonya
    footage not seen since its original broadcast. Here's some more
    that we don't think you've likely seen before.

    First up we have Tonya's 1989 Skate America performances, which
    took place exactly 30 years ago on Oct. 18th to 22nd in
    Indianapolis:

    Short Program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVUiAAY-yOo

    Long Program: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ_Hu9Li7SA

    Tonya finished first in both the Short and the Long, resulting in
    her taking home the gold medal.

    Although the Long Program has been on YouTube before, this was
    shot by different crew. You see, although it may seem hard to
    believe now, back in the 1980s the networks frequently only aired
    the Long Programs, not the Short Programs or the Compulsory
    Figures (which were abolished the next year), and even then not
    all of them. So the USFSA hired crews from outside, such as Ledin
    Video of Michigan and R & J. Video of California to come in and
    shoot alternative footage that the skaters themselves could order
    as a record of their peformances. It was most likely the Ledin
    crew that shot this footage.

    This footage also reveals something else: that contrary to what
    is shown in "I, Tonya" her dress is blue, not purple. The error
    is probably because the costume designer likely consulted this
    clip of Tonya at the 1987 NHK where she wore the same dress:

    1987 NHK LP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlUUDmn0lvo

    Why the difference? The old NTSC analog TV system that was used
    in both Japan and the US at the time was notorious for color
    problems (TV engineers in Europe, which used other better
    systems, used to sneeringly refer to it as Never Twice Same
    Color). So Tonya looks a bit green and her dress looks purple in
    the NHK clip.

    Next we have Tonya in action at the 1990 NHK, which took place
    November 23-25 1990, in Asahikawa, Japan. This is her Short
    Program, performing to "Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riqsndWW8yU


    David Mueller shot this footage, complete with HiFi stereo sound,
    of Tonya practising at the now-defunct Clackamas Town Center rink
    in Portland in June 1996 for her unsuccessful "Tonya II"
    comeback. He says:

    Looks like Tonya Harding is back in the news. (Did she ever
    really leave). So I thought that I would share with you my
    'Close Encounter of the Tonya Kind'.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VzW-_tRlYU


    Last issue we dug up a few old Tonya interviews. This time,
    here's a couple of recordings of news broadcasts of the Nightly
    News from KBVR-TV, an Oregon State University student station in
    Corvallis. There's no visuals, and only a brief mention, but it's
    an important piece of Tonya history to see how even a student
    station covered things at the time:

    1994-01-25 - general roundup of happenings in the case:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eF_3Ir17So&t=550

    1994-02-01 - Jeff pleads guilty:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BS-9vQkzmM&t=900


    THE CARS OF "I, TONYA"

    And now something for the hard-core Tonya nerds.

    "I, Tonya" isn't a movie noted for its cars, but if you've ever
    wondered what car is being driven by Jeff (a 1987 Cadillac
    Brougham) or the skating judge who Tonya asks about her low
    scores (a 1985 Volvo), or by Shawn's team of hit-morons on the
    way to the Cobo rink (a 1982 Pontiac Bonneville), this site has
    the answers:

    https://www.imcdb.org/movie.php?id=5580036

    We can also see that Tonya's pickup truck was this 1983 Ford F100
    hired from movie car rental company Southern Picture cars:

    http://southernpicturecars.com/wpcproduct/1983-ford-f-100-xlt/


    VHS RIDES AGAIN

    Before "I, Tonya" hit the big screen, there was, of course,
    another Tonya film, the 1994 quicky TV movie "Tonya & Nancy: The
    Inside Story" starring L.A. Law's Alexandra Powers as Tonya and A
    Nightmare on Elm Street's Heather Langenkamp as Nancy, which
    aired on NBC in late April 1994.

    We are pleased to announce we are now able to confirm a long
    standing claim that this movie was released on home video in
    Japan. We've been aware of this rumor for years, and now finally
    we have proof in the form of this rather faded cover:

    http://pdxiss.org/images/TonyaAndNancyTheInsideStory-JapanVHS.jpg

    To date, this is the only official release of this film on any
    home media we're aware of - all the DVD copies out there appear
    to be bootlegs.

    But you won't need to dig out the VHS machine from the attic and
    learn Japanese to watch this - you can see it here:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCvO1ooJslM

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPd3qHXpuXs

    A review that compares it with "I, Tonya" (see the comments as
    well, along with his review of "Breakaway"):

    http://outlawvern.com/2018/01/17/tonya-nancy-inside-story/

    You can also read our own review from 1999 here:

    http://pdxiss.org/port26.htm


    In 2006, the Neo-Futurists theatre group in Chicago staged a
    reading of the screenplay, which you can view a clip from here:

    https://vimeo.com/22275716


    https://neofuturists.org/events/it-came-from-the-neo-futurarium-v-bride-of-the-neo-futurarium/


    But what if VHS had never died and was still going? At least one
    person has apparently wondered this - they've produced their own
    fake "I, Tonya" VHS packaging, in both US-style cardboard sleeve
    and plastic clamshell case versions (though why they've put a
    Warner's logo on it when it was a Universal video release is
    somewhat a mystery):

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BnTxwmrlbhq/

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BnRIAWLHTD2/

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm50eWnnxvE/

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BmjxvrPl5wJ/


    TONYA ARTWORK ROUNDUP

    And now it's time for our regular roundup of Tonya-themed
    artworks.

    First up is Mary Jo Millar of Camas, WA. We have previously
    written about Mary's work ten years ago in our Feb 2, 2009
    edition:

    http://pdxiss.org/port76.htm

    Here are two items she did back at that time:

    - spoof ad for an ice princess costume:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvf5_xggmFY/

    - Queen of Nice, showing Tonya as a sexy girl scout selling
    candy:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Buhjp9yF_1-/

    Mary's work often emulates old, retro-style 1950s advertising.
    You can see more of it at this site for a brand of coffee:

    https://www.pullcaffe.com/

    Don Draper of Mad Men couldn't have done better himself.

    Tonya's Triple Axel continues to inspire:

    Marina Golondrina (Marina Canton) - a triple axel cartoon:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvb4uFAFE2t/

    Frying panties - A little tattoo design I sketched for myself,
    based on Tonya Harding's look from the competition in 1991 that
    she landed the triple axel in:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BvWXWYmFcpP/

    Camperdown productions:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BvGIojzBpkB/

    Soniawynnartist

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Buq1fgPlQO-/

    a.crimer - instead of a Tonka truck, we've got a Tonya truck -
    with 3 axles... Part of the THNK1994 Museum's permanent
    collection:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Burp21DBeCx/


    Caz Watts, Toronto - LaVona & her bird:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BurjjlYg0Ne/

    Planum design - a fan made, minimalist design film poster:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BudZnJ8HwuV/


    carrasquermarcos - Tonya features in this very strange drawing
    entitled "Changer l'ampoule", (Change The Bulb) 2018, 160x120cm
    which was on display at the Time Capsule exhibition at the
    municipal gallery Julio Gonzalez in Arcueil back in March.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bubcx1HHsyY/

    Pablos Pizza in Grand Junction, Colorado, made Tonya the theme of
    their "Pizza of The Week" in February:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BuE3HKiHfew/


    Multifandom (lightbringxr) - she is the best - a Tonya photo
    montage:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BtqTHR7H0WZ/

    ghazal (ghzoool) - a rare one that also references Tonya's boxing
    as well as skating.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BtV49v4hEeF/

    skidaddle.__.skidoodle - "Welp, I tried... is it just me? Or is
    the face a little wonky..."

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs_37f5F0Uu/


    The Incident continues to feature, even if it's not always
    accurate:

    Vault art studio - "Ouch my knee":

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BueFCjSB_z8/

    kate roser illustrates:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BvJC4hMnu4i/

    Brent Engstrom (brentaengstrom) - garbagepailkids re-enactment

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Br-IfObl5j3/


    gabby.zermeno Guadalajara, Mexico - recreates one of the movie's
    more memorable scenes:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BscKS7ahkbi/

    La Perle Kamikaze - pencil drawing of Tonya:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BvoNGVKFG1M/

    tamara.disalvo - Jan 2019

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BsaxqyIjVri/

    Estoy viendo peliculas pues temporada de premios y no me están
    flasheando tanto como otros años. Acá mi preferida del año pasado
    y una de mis preferidas de la vida. La mejor biopic en años, I
    Tonya (Voy a hacer de cuenta que esos brazos están mas o menos
    proporcionados cuando bien se sabe que no es así). (I'm watching
    movies as awards season and they aren't inspiring me as much as
    other years. Here is my favorite from last year and one of my
    favorites of life. The best biopic in years, I Tonya (I'm going
    to realize that those arms are more or less proportioned when it
    is well known that this is not the case)).

    supergirl diaries - Corrine, from Melbourne, Australia, made her
    own Tonya costume last year. Now she's done this excellent
    Photoshop job of herself as Tonya skating in a competition:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BtzDmZFDkb_/

    cantalina - smoking Tonya sketch:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw0fS2wAAiU/

    the bleualbum - another great drawing:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv7hicOBvft/

    Karl Marks children's hour puppet workshop - Figures in Skating.
    His Facebook page describes it as "a traveling puppet show and
    crafting workshop featuring two dimensional paper puppets of
    famous and infamous historical and public figures":

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BwWyKBXH_0g/

    Claudia Belvedere - "there's always two sides to a story" -
    another work inspired by the movie:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvyh3GllGwC/

    voidcatt - Sufjan tribute - crying Tonya:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BvufZoCnsD9/

    Anna Cucurullo (ms_cucu) has a Tonya signed Easter egg. "Happy
    belated #Easter from me and @therealtonyaharding This signed
    Easter egg is from the 1992 White House Easter Egg Roll, back
    when I was just a lil bb".

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BwnXe-oj5OE/

    Finally, some well-done, funny Tonya photo composites, including
    Tonya in Dirty Dancing, in the Whitehouse with President Trump,
    with some Power Rangers, in Star Wars, as a surgeon, at the
    Oscars, on horseback...

    https://www.instagram.com/tonya.harding/


    THE PORTLANDIAN CANDIDATE

    The past few weeks have seen the local Council elections take
    place here in Christchurch. And we did toy with the idea of
    standing a candidate ourselves. We even got as far as writing up
    a bio for Terry:

    Terry HALL
    http://pdxiss.org

    Firstly, contrary to what some people may think, I am
    definitely NOT standing for Mayor as a cheap attempt to
    promote my Tonya Harding Fan Club (which, by the way, you can
    view at http://www.pdxiss.org).

    I'm standing because, as a born and bred Cantabrian, I am
    passionate about making a difference. I see the big picture,
    walk the walk and as a team-builder, will ensure we have all
    our ducks in a row and are all singing from the same song
    sheet, with results-based governance and community-focused
    outcomes. I will advocate a back-to-basics, common-sense,
    bottom-up, people-centered, solutions-focused approach that
    harnesses the social capital and transaction structures of all
    strategic stakeholders, enabling and empowering us to face the
    challenge of climate change with the goals, values, mission
    and vision to create a dynamic, vibrant, innovative, eco-
    friendly, low-emission, zero-carbon, sustainable city.

    Again, I must emphasize that this is not about promoting my
    Tonya Harding Fan Club (that's the one at
    http://www.pdxiss.org). Or getting people to sign up to the
    free newsletter, "The Portlandian", which is the internet's
    leading source of Tonya news. No, definitely not about that at
    all.

    *****************************************************************
    VISIT THESE GREAT TONYA WEB SITES:

    PortIce - http://www.pdxiss.org
    David House - http://www.tonyaharding.org
    Charlie Main - http://www.charliesweb.com/tonya/tonya.html
    Puppetboy - http://www.usapaul.net/tonya/
    Valerie Smith - http://www.olywa.net/radu/valerie/LilHam.html
    Swan Lake - http://members.tripod.com/~TonyaHarding/index.html
    Blades of Gold - http://members.tripod.com/tmhfan/index.html *****************************************************************

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