Alpha class adventures, guest starring Beta moves

My lost crossovers came home! I haven't been able to do them worth a damn for about two weeks, but today I could!

I have the second push/underpush thing going pretty well on the clockwise crossovers, and I'm getting there on the CCW. I still have to think about it, but it's slowly starting to show up. It's encouraging that my teacher only introduced the idea of the underpush two weeks ago, when I thought, "I'll never figure this out," and now it's almost old hat in at least one direction. I'm glad I'm still at the stage where progress is visible in weeks rather than months or years. (This kind of encouragement is precisely why I bore you all with notes on each week's class, in case you were wondering.)

And then just when I was getting cocky, she introduced backwards crossovers. Damn. It took me a while to get up the courage to actually pick up my foot and cross it, and when I did, it rarely went well. As usual, CW was better than CCW. Weird, since I spin CCW. I just have a hard time leaning in to the circle when I'm going CCW for some reason, whether I'm going forwards or backwards.

There are actually two ways to do a backwards crossover, both of which are demonstrated in this video. The more advanced way was a lost cause this morning, but I can see how, in time, it will be easier than the picking-up-the-foot method. (Thankfully, I only need the beginning way to pass Beta, which I won't technically be tested on until the end of the next round of classes in October anyway.)

But enough about difficulties, because I have another achievement: Backwards stroking that does not suck! Well, not as much. Something clicked this time, and now it's more "half-swizzle into natural-looking toe point and intentional-looking backwards one-foot glide" than "half-swizzle into goofy-looking kick and terrified, wobbly backwards one-foot glide."

Also--and this is nothing on a test, this is just something I wanted to do--I did a T-push halfway across the short axis of the rink, kept it on a straight(ish) line, and did an almost graceful T-stop that actually, you know, stopped. My braking has vastly improved on both sides since we first learned these.

Finally, we fooled around with spins in the last couple minutes of class, and I managed to center one! Sure, it was only about three revolutions, but my tracings have always looked more like a scribble than a centered spin, and this tracing was something that actually resembled a circle.

Anyway. Good class and practice! Maybe I can keep it up for a while.

We skirt around the danger zone and don't talk about it later

One more link from my ongoing Suzanne Vega renaissance: "Marlene on the Wall" (re-recorded version). I was never a huge fan of the original--it was catchy, and it would get caught in my head, but not because I really liked it. But this one makes it like a whole new, much better song, for some reason. (*cough* Possibly that reason is that I finally got it explained to me that the "Marlene on the wall" is a poster of Marlene Dietrich that was hanging on her wall when she wrote the song.)

I have yet to figure out exactly what's going on it, though. My current theory is that it's from the perspective of someone who would very much like to be in casual relationships and/or be a femme fatale a la Dietrich, but can't help having FEELINGS explode in her face. It's vague enough that it could be entirely the opposite, though.

However, the one that is still getting the most play in my iTunes is "Undertow," which I just love to bits, haunting as it is. There appear to be competing theories as to its meaning:

1.) Vega herself says that she meant it to be from the perspective of a real undertow, as in the ocean current. The internet at large laughs at this.

2.) The internet at large thinks it's about anorexia, and they have a very compelling case I tend to believe, especially given all the sharp/thin imagery in the verses.

3.) I'm still kind of attached to the idea that it's from the perspective of a serial killer and/or cannibal.

4.) A case could be made for it being about writing metaphorically consuming an author as they reveal their innermost selves, which is perhaps the most cheerful interpretation.

I desperately want to vid this song, but I can't think of a dark enough canon to do it with. Maybe BSG, but I can't face the idea of rewatching that whole show. It could possibly be an Americans vid about spies losing themselves in their cover identities, but I dunno, I'm not really feeling it. Perhaps something could be made about becoming a role onstage in Slings & Arrows, but...eh, not sure.

On the other hand, the first disc of Orphan Black came today from Netflix, so depending on how dark that is, it might work! (I know nothing about it besides "clones" and "people whose taste I trust are hooked on it.")

Orphan Black, first four episodes

It took a couple episodes to get going, but...yeah, I can see why this is addictive. Whoever's in charge knows how to write a cliffhanger. Some scattered thoughts under the cut.

( Doppelgangland murders )