• "The Portlandian" - November 12, 2020 edition

    From Terry Hall@21:1/5 to All on Fri Nov 13 14:33:18 2020
    XPost: alt.fan.tonya-harding, alt.skate.figure

    TTTTT H H EEEEE
    T H H E
    T HHHHH EEEEE
    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

    November 12, 2020 Edition - FIFTY YEARS OF TONYA
    (C) 2020 Portland Ice Skating Society
    http://www.pdxiss.org *****************************************************************

    Fifty years ago today, an Oregon legend came into existence. A
    few days earlier, the carcass of a dead whale had washed ashore
    near the coastal community of Florence. To dispose of it, the
    local authorities decided to go for the Michael Bay option -
    blowing it up. The result was disastrous, with onlookers being
    showered with pieces of flying blubber, one of which destroyed a
    nearby parked Cadillac. It was an event so notorious that footage
    of the explosion would become one of of the most viewed clips on
    YouTube:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPuaSY0cMK8

    That same day, another Oregon legend was also born: Tonya
    Harding. And like the whale, her impact was explosive and is
    still being talked half a century on. We congatulate Tonya on
    reaching this milestone!


    LET THEM EAT CAKE

    In keeping with our long-standing tradition, we've decorated a
    cake in Tonya's honor, a picture of which we have uploaded
    here:

    http://pdxiss.org/images/2020-11-12_TonyaBirthdayCake.jpg


    TONYAWEEN 2020 AND TONYA COSPLAY

    Tonyaween this year has been somewhat impacted by covid, but
    there's still a few notable entries. First up, a couple from
    Tonya's home town:

    sushisurprise - Portland, OR.
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CG3xGYkg7ep/

    Kristin Sassano (kristinsassano) Portland OR.
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CG-MYNrBrJT/

    ginatron - broke shoelace and No Comment scenes:
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CHBjo5UjtMw/

    K dubz (klwj86) Denver CO. as LaVona
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CHB4IKHlhFv/

    Alexandra Trefz (alliemomallie) Los Angeles CA.
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CHCSZdyJlZt/

    Emily Pierce (eminatorrrr) When you have skates and your
    boyfriend can grow a bitchin mustache...
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CHCgMk9As04/

    jamesoftheg
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CHEMfbgnUwW/

    Marijka Jo (maryjanerc) Gilbert, AZ. Dig those fake skates!
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CHEn53GJxyE/

    Now here's one we've not seen before - Tonya and Shane Stant as
    dogs! Jane Allman (jane_5jo1):
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CHBoPUBgaxv/

    "Echo's GDB name is Tanya, so it was only fitting that she
    represents the most infamous version of herself this
    Halloween. Swipe for bloopers.

    Photo description: Echo (yellow lab puppy) dressed as a figure
    skater in a flowy skirt, and Hackett (black lab) dressed as
    the assailant in a leather jacket holding a black baton- the
    weapon of choice- in his mouth. 2nd photo is a blooper of
    hackett spitting out the baton. 3rd photo is Echo laying down
    with her head down next to a sign that says "no tricks, only
    treats" which is the most Labrador thing ever.


    A few rare cases of Nancys without matching Tonyas:

    Annette Mullaney (ho_grammer) "Nancy Kerrigan! The knee brace is
    part of the costume but the crutches are for real. Paired it with
    my mom's 1992 Team USA triathlon jacket, which is also just a
    sick jacket. Got a lot of Keri Strung which, close enough, and a
    lot of Tonya Harding but excuse me I'm the VICTIM."
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CHD8ntwAQWO/
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CHI3X-1AGpZ/

    Natalia Bouyea (nbooya6):
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CHDhW_UJPId/

    Anna & Talia (skateyouriceoff):
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/B4alPQqHafy/

    Hazel Farrell (hazeface), Ireland. Not sure if this chick is
    supposed to be Tonya or Nancy:
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CHBii91n8Sg/


    A few we found from previous years:

    2019: Taylor Wolfe (thedailytay) "Ghosts of Harloween past. "I
    made you a champion knowing you'd hate me for it, that's the
    sacrifice a mother makes!" -LaVona Golden. I won't deny last year
    was a personal fave. So much so I couldn't let LaVona go,
    obviously."
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CG8i3ATgMU3/

    2018: aerialhr13
    - https://www.reddit.com/r/halloween/comments/9rnqrw/my_first_homemade_costumes_tonya_harding_nancy/

    2014 Therese Tomassino (thessadilla)
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/u3yGgyhSM0/

    If you're too lazy to make a costume, you can order this one from
    Australia:
    - https://www.snogthefrog.com.au/costume/tonya-harding-figure-skater-adult-costume/


    General Tonya-themed cosplay

    Jaybee (easybreezycostumes) "Tonya Harding costume inspired by
    the characterization in the movie "I, Tonya"":
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CAv0zzinZJp/

    Tyler M. Holland, Brooklyn NY. (tylermhollanddesign)
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CGNMj-ijYeN/

    Carly Ryan (carlucci1019)- More "I, Tonya" antics from Carly -
    sound's not that great:
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CDbBFjEJKhI/

    Roxy Hellwege (madroxxi) Melbourne, Australia. "I really loved
    I, Tonya, and honestly Tonya is an icon so it's about time I
    cosplayed her":
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CEbt6haDrdO/

    Madison (madizoneskates) "I threw together a last minute
    @therealtonyaharding costume today and had a blast pretending I
    can figure skate":
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CGvkxCZHA1A/

    Pan Narrans Artistry (helsinki712):
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/B-LcAsyASyv/


    Finally, this has got to be one of the worst attempts at a Tonya
    impersonator we've come across, looking nothing like the real -
    oh, wait, that IS the real Tonya!

    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CHCI0fCHGdU/

    We think that one day Tonya should dress up as Harley Quinn for
    Halloween. I mean, Margot dressed up as Tonya, so Tonya dressing
    up as Harley is the closest she can get to dressing up as Margot.


    NOW AND THEN

    In the past few months we've come across several interviews with
    famous TV personalities with connections to Tonya:

    Dick Button has always recognized the dishonesty in the way that
    Tonya has been treated by the skating establishment. In this
    speech at a press conference announcing the launch of the ill-
    fated World Skating Federation in March 2003, he rails against
    the hypocrisy of Tonya being banned for life while cheating
    judges are given slap-on-the-wrist penalties and allowed to
    resume judging a few years later:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMoRf-RPssQ

    Dick has gone on the record in the past saying he would consider
    having Tonya in one of his ice shows. However, we gather the
    blowback from other skaters was too great which is why it never
    happened:

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/longterm/olympics1998/history/timeline/articles/time_031894.htm

    Dick Button, who runs two of the pro competitions as well as
    serving as an ice skating commentator for ABC, said yesterday:
    "We have a group of people who select the skaters for our
    {pro} competitions, and I'm sure Tonya Harding, like every
    other professional skater who was available, would be
    considered. To be honest, I'd really prefer everyone put this
    all behind us. To me, the whole situation was a tragedy for
    everyone involved. It was unfortunate that the skating was not
    the focal point at the Olympics. But maybe the silver lining
    will turn out to be a lot more people were exposed to figure
    skating and will become fans of the sport."

    https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1996-03-20-9603200346-story.html

    Representatives of Dick Button's company, Candid Productions,
    have made contact with Harding's representatives to discuss
    the possibility of her skating in the World Professional
    Championships in December.

    Any promoter who wanted to use Harding would have to consider
    possible resistance from other athletes toward competing
    against her or even being in the same event.

    "I am totally non-committal," Button said Tuesday. "I do
    believe that someone who has done their sentence should get a
    second chance at life."

    Also worth a look is this press conference Q & A that was held at
    the WSF's launch on 25 March 2003:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx5l9j_lgAM

    As for Dick's example about the bank teller convicted of robbery,
    he's right: they wouldn't give him his old job back. These days,
    they'd probably make him the bank's CEO instead.


    Ann Schatz has been one of Portland's leading broadcasters for
    many years, and was also the first to get a sit-down interview
    with Tonya when rumors began to circulate of a possible
    connection to the events in Detroit. In this edition of NBC
    Sports Northwest's podcast "The Bridge", she talks about her
    career, including how she managed to grab another brief interview
    with Tonya in Norway a few weeks later by pure luck - and because
    she built up Tonya's trust:

    https://art19.com/shows/the-bridge/episodes/1b5638c7-57cf-4f11-9354-99b747beafe1
    (the Tonya stuff is from 16:30 to 25:01)

    Here's an interview that Ann gave to KGW about "I, Tonya" in
    November 2017:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4xKHbIrgp8


    Finally, Al Michaels is a man with more reasons than most to
    remember Tonya's birthday. For a start, he was the announcer who
    called Tonya's triple axel performance at the U.S. Nationals in
    1991 - though he didn't actually realize it until he watched "I,
    Tonya":

    https://www.indiewire.com/2018/01/i-tonya-al-michaels-triple-axel-announcer-1201916188/

    "I was watching 'I, Tonya' the other night. I'd forgotten I'd
    announced the triple axel at the Target Center in 1991,"
    Michaels said. "I'm going, 'Wait a second. I did that!' Then
    I went on YouTube and YouTube has the actual call. It brought
    back the memory of doing it with Peggy Fleming and Dick
    Button."

    Despite this, Michaels didn't know a great deal about Tonya until
    he watched the movie:

    "We didn't know the Tonya story, but we knew that she was a
    girl who had a mother who raised her, the father wasn't
    there, she had no money, they were living wherever they were
    living in Portland. We knew that almost all the other figure
    skaters had funding, they had good training facilities and
    all the rest," he said.

    "We knew that she was an outlier, not nearly to the extent of
    that story. Whether it's embellished or not, I don't know,
    but we had no idea her true background and the way her mother
    treated her," Michaels said. "If most of it is true, and I
    assume most of it is true, it's amazing she was able to do
    what she did. Amazing."

    And the second reason? It's also his own! So let's give a shout-
    out to Al, who turns 76 today.


    TONYAPHILES TALK AT GOOGLE

    We've also come across this Tonya-themed presentation done back
    in 2016 as part of the Talks at Google series (a kind of TedTalks
    rip-off), by Matt Harkins & Viviana Olen, the creators of the
    THNK1994 Museum in New York. Matt & Viviana spoke about how the
    museum came about (which at that stage, was just their apartment
    hallway decorated with assorted Tonya/Nancy photos and
    artifacts):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FNaivyrdrE

    Okay, so it would be false modesty to omit that we get a mention
    at 17:55.


    OUR DAY HAS BEEN MADE

    Tonya and Sabbath - the perfect combination:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CDe1x4jDeQp/

    Hard to believe that this song is now fifty years old. Pity that
    Tonya never skated to this in real life.


    WHEN SKATERS COLLIDE

    Many decades before two skaters faced off against each other in
    Norway in 1994, the names Harding and Kerrigan crossed paths in a
    rather different manner in a township in New York state.

    This is Harding Road, in the town of Copiague, at the southern
    tip of Long Island. No, it's not named after Tonya - it goes back
    to the 1920s and was probably named after Warren Harding, who was
    President around that time, though nobody's absolutely sure.

    Today, Harding Road is the epitome of middle-class American
    suburbia - with its well-manicured lawns and that old Mustang II
    parked in the foreground, this picture could easily pass for
    something off the cover of a Carpenters LP from around 1974:

    http://pdxiss.org/images/HardingRd-CopiagueNY.jpg

    https://www.google.com/maps/@40.6616922,-73.3965984,3a,75y,225.71h,84.12t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sAbmtxhm2HHIpM1_Yq8NWDA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

    But there is something special about this particular Harding Road
    that makes it different from all the dozens of other streets with
    that name across the United States. And to see why, we only need
    to move a couple of hundred meters due South:

    http://pdxiss.org/images/HardingRd-intersection-CopiagueNY.jpg

    https://www.google.com/maps/@40.6608322,-73.3966352,3a,32.7y,252.92h,83.25t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sXYqSuYIaWvsEQUVuewKE3g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

    Yes, it intersects with a Kerrigan Road! Though unlike Harding
    Road, nobody remembers who Kerrigan Road was named after.

    This article gives more details on the history of the area,
    revealing that the signs have been stolen on several occasions,
    and that in '94 one guy hung his daughter's skates on them:

    https://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/harding-kerrigan-roads-copiague-1.16913360

    Thanks to Mike Amo for finding this. We wonder how many people
    will assume they were named after Tonya & Nancy fifty years from
    now?


    YESTERDAY ONCE MORE

    We think that you can draw parallels between Tonya and both the
    Mustang II and the Carpenters - both were quite popular in their
    day but never fashionable, and are now getting overdue re-
    appraisal.

    Carpenters albums sold like hot cakes in the '70s but nobody with
    any pretensions of coolness would ever admit to liking them -
    they were considered too mellow, mainstream and white-bread to be
    hip. The Mustang II was actually also a best seller, due to
    hitting the market at the same time as the first oil crisis at
    the end of 1973, even though Mustang fans hated it as they saw it
    as a watered-down, gutless imitation of the real thing. By the
    '80s, both had been consigned to the cultural dumpster along with
    other '70s fads like bell-bottom pants and avocado appliances,
    relics of what was by then labeled as the decade that taste
    forgot. Similarly, Tonya was beloved by her fans but sneered at
    by the arbiters of taste in the skating establishment because of
    her home-made costumes.

    But in the '90s, a funny thing actually happened - a new
    generation discovered the music of the Carpenters, one
    unencumbered by the baggage of the past, many of whom were not
    even born when the Carpenters emerged onto the scene in 1970. And
    they discovered that it was actually, well, quite good. "If I
    Were A Carpenter" - a 1994 tribute album of Carpenters covers by
    indie bands - was their "I, Tonya" moment. Even the Mustang II is
    now getting some overdue love, with car enthusiasts now
    acknowledging that despite its limitations, it was a car that
    came along at the right time in the right place, just when
    Americans needed an economical vehicle.


    TONYA ARTWORK ROUNDUP

    Our last issue succeeded in largely cleaning up our huge backlog
    of Tonya-related fan art, but there's more coming in all the time
    as Tonya continues to be a muse for aspiring Rembrants and
    Picassos:

    TacoExplosions (tacoexplosionsfactory) Crying Tonya on a plate.
    "Sometimes I think to myself "I wonder if there are people for
    whom 2020 is like the best year ever and they're just loving
    it". A strong candidate for someone who has to be having a
    better 2020 than some other years right?"
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CGtPrkihrpW/

    Studio_Cuties (studio_cuties) triple axel:
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CGzsgKSFs2m/

    Camille Deschamps (cam_dsign). Poster for a non-existent Netflix
    show about Tonya Harding's life:
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CG49wXbhsO1/

    The mirror scene from "I, Tonya" continues to resonate with
    artists:

    Johanna (jjohanna.bb)
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CG7_WrdFcsG/
    This one is painted on what appears to be an old vinyl record:
    "In the end there is a women, smiling while a teardrop is
    dripping down her face, with the dark magenta color and dark
    turquoise - showing the contrast between the ''healthy,
    happy'' view we show to others and the fact that we are
    already broken, with ourself, alone."

    Xavongo:
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CGX_jXZDh1R/

    Nima Nobahari (nimanobahari) animated mirror scene:
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CFiPCDugJzL/

    Lucia Menendez (luci_dream_field) Mirror scene gouache portrait: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bk2s3fonsnL/


    Ace Troy (acetroy) Portland OR.
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/BgemdrOBvRs/
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/BgzxiTxlW0J/
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg9-L6yF9rE/

    "13" tall, spraypaint on wood, $50. DM or email for sales
    info!"
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/BkOx2qfhJW8/

    "Two paintings mounted to each other as one! Double the fun,
    Double the Tonya."
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/BlCK1ESBtI9/
    "I Am The Lorax, I Speak For the Tonyas". Big ol paste up I
    made today, just messing around freehand with some DIY caps I
    made and experimented with for the first time. Got some nice
    tight lines but things didn't go exactly as plan so as per
    usual it devolved into me just painting."


    M. Vandenoever (vandenoever501) "Tonya takes control" (even if
    she looks more like Kwan in this cartoon):
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CHDv2GRMQSn/

    Pan Narrans Artistry (helsinki712) "sharp edges"-inspired sketch:
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/BfYsoBjh9oI/

    mayudama.dolls - Japanese "I Tonya" doll:
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CAWREmspaUh/

    Ash (aishlingdraws) "My entry for the @artholecardiff "Gnarly"
    zine":
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CHaK6EihM4r/


    Several people used Tonya as an inspiration for Inktober:

    Julika Suzanna M. (michelgiulica) "Just rewatched I, Tonya
    again, just can't get enough of this Movie. Or this
    Soundtrack":
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CF-UJJPFXx4/

    Rachel Cunningham (waffingtons) "It's #inktober2020 #day5 -
    #blade ... following on from yesterday, I thought I should
    go for another incredible character":
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CF-qozUnV4v/

    Sara Art (saaraaartt) - liked by Tonya herself:
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CGO-tJwjW7Y/

    WvH (wvh1982):
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CGPzqsWD8c4/

    _anastasiya_fokina_ - Russia:
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CGUJsmvnp4W/

    Caoimhe Mc Eneaney (caoimhemceneaney)- triple axel:
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CGQts8ZBiPF/

    Kittie (kittiewai) A crossover between Tonya and Donna Freedman,
    Margot's character on the Australian soap "Neighbours":
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CGho8xnBWgq/

    Ananya (doodlebug.ar) skate drawing:
    - https://www.instagram.com/p/CHA05-2JV_d/
    Prompt - shoes
    Medium - Steadler fineliners and Alcohol Markers

    It's easy to imagine that you could do an entire Inktober
    challenge solely on Tonya.


    *****************************************************************

    Tonya has been immortalized in "I, Tonya". The exploding whale
    was immortalized in a rather different fashion - with a park
    named in its memory:

    https://www.oregonlive.com/travel/2020/06/now-you-can-visit-exploding-whale-memorial-park-on-the-oregon-coast.html

    We hope that we can look forward to another half century of Tonya
    that's just as fascinating as the first. And by the way, if "I,
    Tonya" had been directed by Michael Bay:

    - it would be called "The Rink" or "Bad Skaters";

    - it would feature a sub-plot involving a crack team of special
    forces agents taking down a gang of Cuban drug dealers who are
    using the skater's skate bags to smuggle cocaine;

    - it would finish with Tonya walking towards the camera in slow
    motion while the Lillehammer Skating Hall explodes in a massive
    fireball in the background.

    *****************************************************************
    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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