Cranston at it again......

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/FigureSkating/2010/11/04/15975866.html

He's always worth an entertaining read. This one goes into more depth than his previous grievances that I recently posted here.

Did that really say 70,000 paintings? How many does he do a day? I mean, it doesn't say prints of paintings, nor does it suggest he deals with others' work --

I thought Stojko's comments lacked class but frankly so do these, and they weren't especially witty or incisive, either, which would give me grounds to overlook the lack of class!

Still, thanks for the link. Nice to know Cranston's still a skating presence.

rallycairn said:

Did that really say 70,000 paintings? How many does he do a day? I mean, it doesn't say prints of paintings, nor does it suggest he deals with others' work --

I thought Stojko's comments lacked class but frankly so do these, and they weren't especially witty or incisive, either, which would give me grounds to overlook the lack of class!

Still, thanks for the link. Nice to know Cranston's still a skating presence.

Click to expand...

His best line was about judging "Battle of the Blades"

"When told that perhaps it represents another feather in his cap, Cranston replied:
“A feather? A harpoon maybe.”

ROTFLMAO!!!!

Omg, he's so funny & witty, he cracks me up! ^D

And just what I need, as I am down sick with laryngitis, et al, so am home in bed taking it easy.

Btw, my favorite part was about the towns each lives in Mexico....Toller's intellectual, artistic, and international.....whereas Elvis's is beer drinking & dirt bike riding.

whoa! Did Cranston really give Browning's skating a compliment? (granted I wouldn't say comparing Kurt's skating to Elvis's is much of a comparison... but still)

Tonichelle said:

whoa! Did Cranston really give Browning's skating a compliment? (granted I wouldn't say comparing Kurt's skating to Elvis's is much of a comparison... but still)

Click to expand...

Toller said:

"“The great skaters of history are always are the most rounded skaters,” Cranston continued. “Kurt Browning is far superior, in my opinion, to the likes of Elvis. Because Kurt really was everything you’re supposed to be. There was nothing Kurt couldn’t do."

I have to say I agree with Toller on this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRvH6uOcslU

Is it my imagination or do Kurt's 3A's blow away today's skaters?

Thing is Cranston was notorious for being quite RUDE and NEGATIVE about Kurt's skating... which is why I was shocked.

and yes, Kurt's 3Axel is the best there's ever been.

I agree with Toller that Kurt Browning was the best all-around skater out there in his day, he had both the technical & presentation to a T!

But why he feels the need to be put down one skater in order to elevate another says a lot about him also, unfortunately, and it's easy to see why he didn't make it as a commentator.

On that note, in case he's reading, lol, I would like to tell Toller Cranston that he can't even touch John Curry, his main rival back in the old days. John Curry was simply exquisite, both technically & artistically. He didn't even need to try, he had it all. To me John Curry remains the best all-around male skater to have ever lived. And I'm so glad he lived long enough to see Oksana Baiul win the Olympic Gold Medal before he passed away that April, knowing how much he wished to see ballet mixed with skating on ice.

And in this day & age, Toller, real men do quad. I totally agree with Elvis, Evgeni, and Brian on that score.

Nadine said:

I agree with Toller that Kurt Browning was the best all-around skater out there in his day, he had both the technical & presentation to a T!

But why he feels the need to be put down one skater in order to elevate another says a lot about him also, unfortunately, and it's easy to see why he didn't make it as a commentator.

On that note, in case he's reading, lol, I would like to tell Toller Cranston that he can't even touch John Curry, his main rival back in the old days. John Curry was simply exquisite, both technically & artistically. He didn't even need to try, he had it all. To me John Curry remains the best all-around male skater to have ever lived. And I'm so glad he lived long enough to see Oksana Baiul win the Olympic Gold Medal before he passed away that April, knowing how much he wished to see ballet mixed with skating on ice.

And in this day & age, Toller, real men do quad. I totally agree with Elvis, Evgeni, and Brian on that score.

Click to expand...

If Toller and Curry had competed after the school figures era Toller would have more than held his own against Curry. And Toller was the great innovator - his spins, footwork and whole appraoch changed Men's figure skating. We see many moves he introduced still being used by today's skaters.

BTW, I love both of them but saw more of Toller since he was from my side of the pond.
When I as a kid, it was a pretty big deal at our house when Toller was skating on TV whether in a competition or show skating.

Like many musicians I have a fondness for painters, and Toller can say anything he wants and it won't change my memories of him. Besides, don't we hear too much criticsm about dull, pc skaters who never speak their mind?

That will never be a problem with Toller.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AGzo1lrl4M

:disapp: It's a real shame to see Toller still being willfully misunderstood by some ... he always did and still does give Elvis credit for what he did well..( jump)... but the rest of what he says about Elvis' skating is very true...And it seems to me that back when he was commentating ,the "negative" comments were his assessment of where a skater needed to improve..or habits they should get rid of..I never heard him say they shouldn't jump, or shouldn't do any element they executed well.. In the article , he's responding to the negative comments Elvis has made about him and others over the years , that denigrate not only those skaters actual skating , but their very manhood...not a thing I've ever heard Toller do. I don't recall Toller making personal comparisons, but he did compare skaters to an ideal standard...sometimes kindly , sometimes not..but always in an entertaining and thought provoking way.

That was long before the days of ,say, a Simon Cowell , and the skating world wasn't ready for it. It must have been a shock to Toller because because by standards of the art world ( or dance , or theatre ) he was generally pretty mild.

I believe there was always a good deal of mutual respect between Toller and John Curry, but they were very different . Curry was blending ballet with skating ( gloriously) while Toller's inspiration came from art. He didn't have dance training, but was trying to create beautiful and interesting shapes with his body.

I didn't always agree with him but I miss him to this day .After his fiasco with CBC , skating commentary devolved to what we have today, with commentators mostly searching for something positive to say about everyone while trying not to dwell on ,or even gloss over any shortcomings..

Nadine said:

On that note, in case he's reading, lol, I would like to tell Toller Cranston that he can't even touch John Curry, his main rival back in the old days. John Curry was simply exquisite, both technically & artistically. He didn't even need to try, he had it all. To me John Curry remains the best all-around male skater to have ever lived.
And in this day & age, Toller, real men do quad.

Click to expand...

I totally disagree. Tolled Cranston was every bit the free skater John Curry was and then some.

As for those no-real-men who don't do quads - what are they, then? Honestly, for someone who is so into ballet on ice, I find your fondness for some of the skaters quite confusing

Lol, shine, to answer your question ~ castrati. Lol, I'm only kidding, I'm only kidding.

I actually like Toller Cranston, but I don't like meanness just for the pure sake of being mean, which is why I never watch Simon Cowell nor American Idol. The only one I liked was Kelly Clarkson, stopped watching after her.

Seriously, what some might consider not mean I do, total difference of opinion. Even if couched in humour it does not amuse me. For example, I never liked skating fans calling Julia Sebestian "granny", I found that totally mean & rude, and felt bad for Julia. It's no wonder she changed her entire look her last year of skating to look youthful, growing her thick hair down to her waist, etc. Nor do I find that one guy amusing whom has his own blog, which I've only glanced at twice, think it's called "Ice Cream" something?

Lord knows we all have differences of opinion, which is great, I would hate to read the same thing over & over again ad nauseum, but I just don't wish to hurt any of the skaters' feelings. I think people can not like a skater without being mean about it. Heck, some of the things I've read on the 'net over the years would shock the beegeesus out of me with the vitriol, and I hope to God the skater that was being talked about never read such things.

For instance, say a skater put on a few pounds, one can state that without saying "heffer, cow, fatso", etc. And like in this recent Toller article, he calls the Morning Glories at the club a bunch of "old bags". It makes me wonder what those elderly ladies think when they read what Toller really thinks about them...

But then again some people don't give a d*mn who they hurt, unless they're the one being talked about.