"The Portlandian" - March 30, 2022 edition

[Terry Hall]

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

March 30, 2022 Edition
(C) 2022 Portland Ice Skating Society
http://www.pdxiss.org
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Welcome, fellow Tonyaphiles, to the first issue of The
Portlandian for 2022. And even though it's only March, the year
is already looking like yet another loser, because even though
the pandemic now appears to be on the wane, it's being replaced
by the possibility of World War III. But at least there's one
thing we can feel good about - we've still got Tonya! And even a
nuclear war wouldn't dampen a real Tonyaphile's enthusiasm for
our skating queen.


REELIN' IN THE YEARS

2022 marks the thirtieth anniversary of some of Tonya's greatest
career highlights. In January of 1992, she placed 3rd in the
National Championships in Orlando, FL. Hear the reaction of the
crowd as she lands this HUGE triple axel in warmup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JM5Ed3ardM

Unfortunately, Tonya was not able to repeat this in either her
Short Program or the Free Skate:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TXBLheKACE

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

February saw Tonya compete in her first Olympics, in Albertville,
France, where she finished just out of the medals, in 4th place.
As you can see, she does another 3-axel during the warmup, this
time right in front of Nancy's coaches:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi4qXpt6JVk (EuroSport)

But again, luck would desert her in the Short Program:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-1CB8FTEqE (CBS)

and the Long:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SONdKeR2u-o (CBS - NTSC)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLawwiG3WFk (NHK - MUSE HDTV)


Tonya didn't attempt the triple axel in her exhibition:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzWMsH1xvy4 (NHK - NTSC)


After returning to the US, Tonya made two changes for the World
Championships in Oakland CA. in March: she swapped back to being
coached by Diane Rawlinson and discarded "People Are Still Having
Sex" for her Short Program in favor of "Moon River", which she
was earlier using as her exhibition number. She also started
using the surname Harding-Gillooly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1WMW6ZQWnQ

It would not help. She would also fall on her triple axel in the
Long, but still manage to finish sixth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLzxXqhNIj4


TONYA ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Tonya's been busy on her social media accounts over the past few
months. She rounded off the year with a special Christmas
greeting:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXy1KL3pOAd/

Tonya offers a prayer for all of our Olympic athletes:

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

As Forrest Gump said, "life is like a box of chocolates". Well,
on Valentines day, you could ditch the chocolates and get a
personalized greeting for your loved one instead, which is a much
better offer:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZvDL8WvkPh/


Several more Tonya Cameos have now surfaced. In the first one,
she reveals what her favorite skating program was - and it's not
what you'd think!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/169663980317930/permalink/955463985071255/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CWcnvK4Pkt2/


Tonya also spoke briefly about herself for a promo for Fan Arch
recently - and there's plenty of clips from her skating career:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZs4jBt2j1E


We are also informed that Tonya even got a mention at Nationals.
On Friday, Jan 7th during the Women's Long Program at Nationals,
Tara Lipinski made mention of Tonya as being one of only three
women to complete a triple axel at Nationals. Lindsay Thorngren
made an unsuccessful attempt at a fourth one that night. Really
interesting to see that the "T-word" is no longer forbidden at
Nationals.


THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL

The year got off to a good start with a special offer from Tonya
- a chance to win one of her t-shirts:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYmbYA5PiNO/

Happy New Year Everyone!!! I want to give a big thank you to
all my fans showing support! I'm giving away a free T-Shirt
from my fan store!

HOW TO ENTER
1. Like this Post
2. Follow @therealtonyaharding & @fanarchco
3. Tag 2 friends

Winner will be announced January 20th.

And the winner is... @sydneyh96 (Sydney Holst)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZABLx3F07V/

https://www.instagram.com/sydneyh96/


The Special Duties Section has not been idle, either. It seems
that these days people are protesting about everything in New
Zealand: lockdowns, vaccines, vaccine mandates, climate change -
you name it. Latest lot was a bunch of farmers complaining about
various government policies, so we decided to turn up with our
own sign, since it seems that this is the only issue nobody's got
round to protesting about (and let's face it, Tonya's a proud
"redneck", so she would support their cause). Got some positive
reactions, and interestingly the waitress in the cafe I went to
afterwards knew who Tonya was and liked the sign:

http://pdxiss.org/images/LetTonyaSkateSign_20211121.jpg

To celebrate 25 years of "The Portlandian", we've now uploaded
our entire archive of Tonya Christmas cards going all the way
back to 1996 as a special Christmas gift to Tonyaphiles. Many of
these, particularly the early ones, were only distributed to a
small handful of original subscribers and have never been seen
widely before or in color. We've also remastered some of the old
ones to get the best possible quality - because we all want Tonya
to look her best, don't we?

http://pdxiss.org/cards/xmascards.htm

And since accuracy with respect to Tonya is all important, we've
also taken the opportunity to correct an error in the 2005
version: this originally stated the photo was of Tonya's Short
Program at Lillehammer, but we now believe it is of her
Exhibition program at Skate America in 1993.


TONYARCHY IN THE UK - THE SEQUEL?

Readers who have been with us since the "I, Tonya" release will
recall a disastrous appearance on ITV's "Good Morning Britain"
four years ago, when she was insulted by host Piers Morgan. It
had the result of derailing numerous other interviews and the
severing of her relationship with her long-time agent, Michael
Rosenberg.

So we were more than a little surprised when we received word in
February that Tonya might be making a return appearance on that
show. Perhaps, we speculated, they were going to make an apology
for their shoddy and unprofessional treatment of her last time
around?

Alas, no such luck - according to our source within the Team
Tonya camp, it seems they were only interested in rehashing "The
Incident" because, in their words, "that's who Tonya is". Plus,
our source also describes the guy she had a pre-interview Zoom
meeting with as "a pompous ass". So our girl backed out.

Once bitten, twice shy, as they say. Or "fool me once, shame on
you, fool me twice, shame on me". Glad to see that Tonya didn't
fall for the trap this time around.


THE HARAN ARTIFACTS - PART 2

Last issue we uploaded a few of the artifacts that were sent to
us by Joe Haran, the former editor of Tonya's fan club magazine
back in the '90s. This week, we've uploaded a few more from Joe's
early association with Tonya.

Even before the founding of the fan club in 1993, Joe was busy
lobbying those in important positions in the skating world on
Tonya's behalf. First up is a reply he received from Dick Button:

http://pdxiss.org/haran_artifacts/1992-04-09_DickButtonLetterToJoeHaran.pdf


The second is one from Ed (E.M.) Swift of "Sports Illustrated":

http://pdxiss.org/haran_artifacts/1992-05-06_EdSwiftLetterToJoeHaran.pdf

Earlier that year, Swift had written one of the definitive early
articles about Tonya, "Not Your Average Ice Queen", which you can
read at the link below. If you click on the "Original Layout"
link, you can also view it in its original form, including the
photos, which unfortunately have been given some weird, arty
tinted effect:

https://vault.si.com/vault/1992/01/13/not-your-average-ice-queen-a-troubled-past-hasnt-stopped-tonya-harding-from-becoming-a-figure-skating-champion

The article, by the way, reveals that Tonya once caught a fish -
a sturgeon over a meter long - entirely by accident while
recovering lost lead sinkers. And how she managed to finish 7th
in the 1990 Nationals despite having pneumonia and a temperature.


In 1993, Jeff Gillooly formed a corporation behind Tonya's back
with her listed as "President" - Tonya tried to take legal action
to stop this but was too late. These business cards, complete
with fancy gold lettering, were given to us by Joe. The address
is just a drop-box, not an actual office. These are interesting
because they show that Gillooly was in charge of the money
despite giving the appearance that Tonya was - no doubt she would
have been left to carry the can as "President" if any of the
company's deals had gone sour.

http://pdxiss.org/haran_artifacts/1993_THGcard-Tonya.jpg

On the back of Gillooly's card is the address and phone number of
Al Harding, Tonya's father:

http://pdxiss.org/haran_artifacts/1993_THGcard-Jeff.jpg


SHORT PROGRAM - TONYA ODDS & ENDS ROUNDUP

- In addition to being Thanksgiving, the 25th of November was
also the International Day for the Elimination of Violence
Against Women. A cinema in Italy marked the occasion with a free
screening of "I, Tonya":

https://www.instagram.com/p/CWqFX97qXCE/


- You may have heard that composer Stephen Sondheim died back in
November. As any hard-core Tonyaphile will be aware, Tonya skated
to "Send In The Clowns" from Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" as
part of her 1990/91 Long Program. Here she is at the 1991 Worlds
in Munich, Germany:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDcJQ1hZ32g&t=327s

Unfortunately, "Send in The Clowns" pretty much describes a lot
of the people surrounding her at that stage.


- Tonya featured in not one but two "Good Housekeeping" best-of
lists recently - Most Memorable Olympic Outfits and Most Gorgeous
Olympic Figure Skating Outfits:

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/g5082/best-olympic-uniforms/?slide=25

All eyes were on Tonya Harding at the 1994 Olympics in
Lillehammer, Norway. The figure skater, who was embroiled in
scandal over the Nancy Kerrigan attack, took to the ice in a
ruffled red outfit. She placed eighth in the competition.

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty/fashion/g5099/best-figure-skating-outfits-olympics/?slide=17

It wasn't so much the maroon dress that caught the attention
of the judges that day, but Harding's skates. She would
complain to the refs of a broken lace, earning a controversial
do-over � not to mention her troubles off the ice. Margot
Robbie would go on to reenact the incident in a perfect
replica of the costume, right down to every rhinestone, in I,
Tonya.

It's a far cry from the '90s when Tonya's fashion choices were
the subject of sneers and derided as low-brow by the skating
snobs.


- an "I, Tonya"-inspired drinking game. You'll be well over the
legal driving limit in most countries after about half an hour:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CW_W2LNvKbz/

Note that this is for entertainment only - the PDXISS Special
Duties Section does not condone excessive drinking. We're not
suggesting that you REALLY take a drink - and definitely don't
drive afterwards if you do!


- Remember "Where's Wally?" (or "Where's Waldo?" as it was called
in the States)? Now you can play "Where's Tonya?" with this LA
Times 2018 Oscars cover. Created by IC4DESIGN of Hiroshima,
Japan, this was shortlisted for the World Illustration Awards by
the Association of Illustrators in 2019:

https://theaoi.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IC4DESIGN_OSCARSL.A.Times_image1.jpg

https://theaoi.com/wia/?orderby=rand&award-year=2019&award-list=&award-category=editorial&work=ic4design-90th-oscars-l-a-times#&gid=null&pid=p232721_2


- we've seen a number of these "Real vs Reel" comparisons between
"I, Tonya" and the real Tonya, but this is one of the best. As
you can see, many scenes are almost perfect matches for their
real life counterparts, revealing just how close the filmmakers
got to getting it right. In cases where they don't, it's usually
deliberate to suggest artistic liberties are being taken, such as
Tonya skating to ZZ Top at the 1986 Skate America or her
confrontation with the skating judge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TnUW8tEsHA


- The miniseries "Pam & Tommy", which covers another of the
biggest scandals of the 90s, namely the leaking of a home-made
porn tape of Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee and "Baywatch" star
Pamela Anderson, is now out. It reunites two "I, Tonya" alumni,
director Craig Gillespie and actor Sebastian Stan (Jeff Gillooly)
- and it's worth noting that the trailers make explicit reference
to the "I, Tonya" connection:

Teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSHSXRLuDR4

Full: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNbNNacjTDQ

Like Tonya, Lee & Anderson were also victims of a massive
invasion of privacy by the tabloid media, so it's quite
appropriate that the team behind Tonya's story were also involved
here. And that's not all: Gillespie is also planned to helm
another series, this time about about Mike Tyson, written by IT
scriptwriter Steven Rogers in the near future.


- Without a doubt, one of the holy grails of missing Tonya
footage has got to be her performances at the 1993 NHK
competition in Japan in December of that year. It was Tonya's low
placing in this contest that allegedly inspired the whole "series
of unfortunate events" that took place a few weeks later.

Unfortunately, because of her poor ranking, her footage was never
broadcast in Japan - they only screened the top three plus any
Japanese skaters. However, a few seconds of the Long Program
turns up about 18 seconds into this video from the 1998 Olympics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh_4iGxKdP0

Now a picture from the Short Program at the same contest has
emerged, on the cover of the April 1994 edition of a Japanese
magazine called "Sports Eye":

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=5341219102565598&set=p.5341219102565598&type=3


TONYA FAN ART ROUNDUP

And now it's on to our regular Tonya fan art roundup. First up is
Joshua Hagler (haglerjosh) - three paintings dedicated to Tonya's
3-axel:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn6OEVfBwzX/
"Triple Axel (Letter to Tonya H.) v.1" ink, oil on polyester
film mounted on wood panel. 18 x 24 in. 2018
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoRnjCzh3aG/
"Triple Axel (Letter to Tonya H.) v.II" ink, oil on polyester
film mounted on wood panel. 14 x 18 in. 2018
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoUi_GMhHH0/
"Triple Axel (Letter to Tonya H.) v.III" ink, oil on polyester
film mounted on wood panel. 14 x 18 in. 2018

Lindsay (bow.illustrate - pencil sketch
https://www.instagram.com/p/CWOYw-ipOai/

Lisa Merletti (rentonlee)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CWslFQdqc5a/

For today, thanks to @giuliatubili who gave me the input ??, I
decided to start a project involving the theme of gender
violence and that of cinema. The inspiration also comes from
@amlet_a's incredible and profoundly significant initiative,
aimed at denouncing the disturbing background of the world of
entertainment. And so the idea is to cyclically represent a
character in a film that has suffered abuse, to denounce its
gravity and give shape to the collective voice of women.

The first to be represented is the protagonist of "I, Tonya",
2017: Tonya Harding is the perfect example of those who grow
up fueled exclusively by violence and abandonment. She is
irreverent, fragile, ignorant, rough, potentially dangerous,
but extremely talented and with an unmatched determination.
You only know one language, and that is the harmful one of
beating. Margot Robbie gives her a character that is
impossible to hate despite the controversies that have made
the champion famous, and I recommend watching the film because
she deserves it.

Ann Flowers (ooooohsonice)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CW-xkbcFIE7/

"I debated whether to post this one bc I feel like her face
isn't quite right. But it was fun doing color combos and
seeing everyone vote. This is the combo that won by nearly a
landslide! The prompts were pattern, wavy hair, and ice
skates. When I was looking for images Tonya's pic came up
often. I'm so fascinated by her story and am glad that I,
Tonya helped get her real story told. Here she is in all her
Tonya glory."

Tessa Sheehan (acuriousquirrel) - "I, Tonya" smoking scene
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXCI42HKTuO/

"Yes this is the third time Margot Robbie has been drawn this
huevember and I won't be apologising for that.

tacoexplosionsfactory - a crying Tonya on a plate
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXZW5-GP8pX/

Steve McGinn (toonsbystevo)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXjtj6GhfUC/

Drawing R & D (yr_pad)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXkS8kqJAI7/

Dessie (artsyfartsy94) Dusseldorf, Germany
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYAFM_9IgyD/

mtirotesilk 12/30 - montage of Tonya-related images
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYEctXTLVlP/

FIRE ON ICE | Rockstar Of Ice Skating - Tonya Harding, first
American woman to land a triple axel jump in competition. Art
inspired by the movie "I, Tonya"

vinylhellstickerco - Oshawa, Ontario - fake VHS cover (why has
no-one ever done one of these for Betamax?)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYNC90Wl-rM/

Lily (spnsiren) - montage including IT, Black Swan, Queen's Gambit
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYW6ApdtFNL/
my last brain cell said "um it would be cool to start 2022
with these ladies".
but i really love how this edit turned out.
-fc: dreamyfiltrs
-sc: @screncqps (Beth Harmon)

nervouswreckcollective
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZe2NBdrtyH/

Cass (iamthegirlthatyoudiedfor)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZmbEDNO6VR/
Says it all, really

dolled_down
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ-e4SCInlH/
Tonya Harding on the ice at the Winter Olympics 1994 only in
neon pink and a ballerina bun. Lesson learnt today is that
drawing ice/ ice rinks take more care and complexity than
just layering some semi-opaque white!

georgeglassdesigns - not exactly Tonya, but a '94-Olympics-
inspired jacket with Nancy on the back
https://www.instagram.com/p/CaIgp8Euy-S/
I can't believe the Beijing Winter Olympics are almost over.
I've watched almost every minute of coverage. With the Ladies
Figure Skating wrapping up last night I decided to make this
"vintage" '94 Olympics jacket. While not taking place at the
actual Olympics (it was one month before) the attack against
Nancy Kerrigan was definitely leading the conversation when
it came time to take the ice.

"I decided to bust out some hand embroidery and stitch some
french knots to give her lace outfit a bit more dimension.
French knots are definitely my favorite stitch.

Dante Morgan (dantespaint) Seattle WA. Crying Tonya
https://www.instagram.com/p/CaLiI6upXNJ/
Don't ask why but Tonya Harding has been heavy on my mind
today lol

Noelle (lululosthervoice) 3/1
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cah5yGGLhwO/
anatomy practice based on figure skaters. two of them are
tonya harding, and one of them is michelle kwan.

Sunny (eunsooart) - "I, Tonya" movie study 3/4
https://www.instagram.com/p/Caq95n_F7E8/

Sevas Tra has done a couple of Tonya artworks, based on two
famous photos of Tonya:

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=393951112499399&set=gm.1002800943670892

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=394431419118035&set=gm.1003276990289954

Alison Davies has made her Tonya art debut with this drawing,
dedicated to Tonya's 1991 Nationals win:

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10222519661635112&set=gm.1005829583368028

And finally, there's Gisa. Gisa has done many Tonya collages, but
this is her first Tonya drawing:
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10218264638801065&set=pcb.1014970195787300


AROUND THE WORLD WITH TONYA

And now a new feature - "I, Tonya" posters from around the world.

We start off with posters from two countries that have been in
the news recently for all the wrong reasons - Ukraine & Russia.
Here's the Russian one - there, the title was changed to "Tonya
Against All":

https://www.cinematerial.com/movies/i-tonya-i5580036/p/rydkos9e

In Ukraine, however, they kept the original title:

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYjgxOTRjMmYtNTlmNS00MjhiLWJmZTAtNzE2MDZkMWQ5ZGRjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjgyNjk3MzE@._V1_.jpg

Mad Vlad is justifying the war - oops, "special military
operation" - on the basis that Ukraine isn't a real country. But
you only have to look at the difference in the lettering to see
that the two languages aren't the same.

Here's a much bigger one if you want to print it out to display
in solidarity with Ukraine - but be warned: at over 6MB it's a
big mother:

https://www.kinofilms.ua/images/photos/hd/496178.jpg


TONYA BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN

There is another connection between Tonya and Russia, however.

One of Tonya's most obscure competitive victories occurred in
November 1988 when she won the Prize of Moscow News contest
(which, in spite of it's name, was actually held in Leningrad,
now St. Petersburg). Tonya beat the Soviet Union's Natalia
Lebedeva, who came in second.

This photo that was found by Kelsey Carlson is the only image
we've ever seen of Tonya at this contest. There is no video on-
line, though there has been video of other Moscow News contests
on YouTube in the past, so it may still yet surface:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10226295755131123&set=p.10226295755131123&type=3


THE MALL THAT WOULDN'T DIE?

Finally, there's at least one piece of good news to start the
year: it appears that Lloyd Center - and its ice rink - may not
be doomed as we thought. This article reveals that the New York
lender who repossesed the mall at the end of last year has
partnered with a Seattle-based developer, Urban Renaissance
Group, to revamp the mall. It indicates "the site's long-term
future likely includes shopping and preserving the mall's
centerpiece ice rink, or at least a version of it." They also
have a track record of previous successful developments in
Portland, which is another good omen.

"We know many Oregonians have fond memories of Lloyd Center and
we take seriously our responsibility for making sure it continues
to be a community gathering place," Tom Kilbane, the company's
managing director for Portland, said in a statement. "As we begin
the planning process, our ambition is to embrace and preserve
features of the property that make it special, including retail,
creative work spaces and ice skating."

https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2021/12/seattle-developer-urban-renaissance-group-plans-lloyd-center-revamp.html

This item on KPTV Fox 12 back before Christmas interviewed two
local residents, who also specifically mentioned the ice rink -
there's even a clip of Tonya at 1:28 in the item:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIJ47TFuuyY

The writer of this letter to The Oregonian also believes that the
ice rink is central to the mall's resurrection. He says:

"Rink refrigeration did need modernization, but Cypress
expected to lose more than 100 ice families to the new but
undersized and poorly shaped rink. Along with losing those
regular visitors, they dissolved the rink culture by removing
the tables and chairs - heavily populated by skaters
sandwiching homework and socializing between lessons and
public skates, along with positive role-model opportunities
for kids and parents."

https://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/2022/01/readers-respond-ice-rink-is-key-to-lloyd-center.html

Perhaps Lloyd Center is like those guys in slasher movies who run
around in hockey masks hacking up slutty cheerleaders with a
chainsaw - no matter how many times they get stabbed, shot,
incinerated, or hacked up with their own chainsaw, they never
die, always coming back to life at the end of each film to set up
the inevitable next entry in the franchise.

And what better way to celebrate a grand re-opening of a newly-
reinvigorated skating rink than by inviting Tonya to skate?

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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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