Semi-off-topic, but Red Violin won Best Original Score at the Oscars Sunday! And the piece they played from it was part of what Michelle skates to. I think it's a good omen. :)

From the USFSA's AOL board:

Then jkovner posted the following on the MK Forum

Ask Michelle a question! On Disney.com, you can ask Michelle a question, and she may answer it. She will answer a total of 16 questions, 4 in each of her next books. If your question is answered, you also will receive a copy of The Winning Attitude. To enter, just go to Disney Books Fun and Games, and click on "Ask Michelle Kwan." You have to login. If you are registered in any part of the go network, just use that user name. Otherwise, you need to register (it's free.) Or, you can go straight to Ask Michelle Kwan. Here is what is written on the site. (Thanks Shallah!)

You can read others thoughts on the poll (and post your own!) in the Inside The Fish Bowl post of the Oprah Message Boards.

I own stock in the holding company which owns the Florida Panthers Hockey Team and the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Fla. In the annual company report, there are photos which highlight events which have taken place in the Center. On this page is a colored picture of Michelle Kwan which (I think) comes from her performance during the summer COI tour, 1999. Needless to say, I was both surprised and pleased to see Michelle representing figure skating to the stock holders of this company!

FAO Girl is very pleased to present......The Winning Attitude written by Michelle Kwan.

Holder of over twenty titles and winner of two World championships, three U.S. National championships, and an Olympic Silver Medal, she is the most decorated female figure skater of the decade.

This inspirational book will coach you on how to act and think like a true champion - whatever your goals may be.

Please join Michelle Kwan on Tuesday, September 28th at 7:30 P.M., for a very special, live, online chat.

To participate in this special event log-on to AOL using your member name and password and type keyword: live.

Stay tuned for more information on how you can get an autographed copy of..... The Winning Attitude!

For the non AOLers (like me), check out a transcript of the chat.

The first book is a children's book put out by the American Girl Library, called, "Good Sports: Winning, Losing, and Everything in Between." It's a basic guide aimed at 8 to 13 year old girls on what to expect from individual and team sports, how to balance sports and school, what to do about sport eager parents, etc. In between the chapters are sections written by practitioners of the sport called, "ask the pros": Julie Foudy writes about being a team player; Nikki McCray writes about being friends with your competition; Michelle Kwan writes about coming back from disapointment; and Kalyn Keller writes about motivation.

The other book is an adult coffee table book also with the phrase 'good sports' in the title. It's called "Good Sports: Athletes Your Kids Can Look Up To." This is a nice looking volume put out by Beckett Publications, lots of photos. Basically, it lists 30 athletes, and describes why they should be looked upon as children's role models.

The Beckett book is especially nice looking... the athletes featured are Jim Abbot, Troy Aikman, Cris Carter, Cynthia Cooper, Terrell Davis, Tim Duncan, Doug Flutie, Jeff Gordon, Cammi Granato, Adam Graves, Mia Hamm, Grant Hill, Erie Irvin, Michelle Kwan, Mario Lemieux, Casey Martin, Mark McGuire (cover photo), Paul Molitor, Mercury Morris, Alan Page, Walter Peyton, Kirby Puckett, Cal Ripken jr., Nolan Ryan, Sammy Sosa, Gene Stallings, Pat Summitt, JC Watts, Pat Williams, and Ricky Williams.

Each athlete gets about 4 pages of text and photos. The photos of Michelle Kwan include a photo from "East of Eden" (second page inset of the book, across from the table of contents), the Olympic podium, pose from "Lyra Angelica", a spiral from "Ariane," and a layback from "Dante's Prayer."

Ann said that she saw Michelle land the triple flip/triple toe combination and the triple lutz/triple toe combination. Michelle did not do a full run through but worked on her jumps. But before and after the jumps she did the choreography leading into the jump. Ann said that Michelle looked great and was landing her jumps very well.

Also on the ice was a young lady named Beatrica Liang, who won a medal in Novice lady's at last February's Nationals. Michelle took time off from her own practice to compliment Beatricia on her lutz. Beatricia was thrilled.

I met Michelle (she's absolutely wonderfuly), saw her new programs (they're great), and was recognized by Danny Kwan on the street. I was there for a two-week training camp

Michelle looked great, she has a new haircut that looks very good. I can't quite describe it! She looks like she's in very good shape and she looks mature. Her short program is great, she's upping the difficulty of her solo jump. Well, Michelle looks sexy in her new short, and if the Red Violin cause a splash, wait until this hits the ice. Her footwork sequence is difficult and innovative and her spins are looking very, very, very good. Michelle is putting more details and originality into both of her programs this year. Her long program is extremely creative and is paced very well. For example, her triple flip is fairly late in the program. This season is a second transformation--not as radical as it was four years ago, but Michelle has gone from great, to greater. I hope you enjoy Michelle's programs as much as I did.

I'm deliberately not mentioning music! Her short program is sexy in that the moves combining with the music is a much more mature package, and it's not like Maria B's slinky, slinky, short. No other skater has presented a program like her short for the coming season! Her layback position is different, and is beautiful, but it is not the classic, Dorothy Hamill Layback. Michelle changes her leg positions, according to what would look good with her arms. However, in both programs her spins are fast and inventive. Michelle's LP is kinda dark and passionate. But stylistically it's different for Michelle (I can't put it into so many words). I really admire Michelle for trying to constantly reinvent herself when she doesn't have to. Should I tell you the music? Put yourself in my situation... I don't know if Michelle's trying to keep it a secret like she did with LA, and if she is I don't want to undermine that.

jkovner later added these posts

I think Michelle has changed more drastically than last year, but definetly not in a bad way. Michelle's hair is fuller around her head, very unusual, but it looks good. I couldn't describe her hair as being long, though--It didn't seen like she was gonna grow it back out, though. Michelle's double Axel looked very solid in practice, there. One never truly realizes how big Michelle's double Axel is. I think Michelle has the best woman's double Axel today, she just takes risks in delaying it and making it bigger. My friend was there while she was practicing the triple Axel, and while it wasn't consistent, she did land several. Michelle was skating very fast! Her short program is not to classical music. Michelle's spiral sequence is slightly different, but she's still got the Kwan spiral.

While I was at Lake Arrowhead, Michelle was only doing the triple toe-triple toe--but it looked very strong. Someone else said they saw her land a triple flip-triple toe, but I didn't.

Michelle's footwork sequence [in the short program] is a very original circular footwork sequence.

I think that her new programs are better than this past season's.

I saw Michelle at the Grand Opening of The Loma Linda University Orthopedic Center in San Bernardino, CA at 3:00 pm July 9, 1999. She was the guest of honor at the event. She graciously cut the ribbon for the new building's dedication at the request of Dr. Leisure Yu, the same therapist who helped her get back to competition level after she broke her toe last year. She also signed autographs for her fans alongside fellow Ice Castle friends, ice dancers Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko. Michelle was accompanied by both her parents. I am pleased to inform all her curious fans that as a going-off-to-college gift, her parents bought her a Lexus LX470 sport utility vehicle. As for myself, she signed my 1998 Champions On Ice program and I wished her luck and told her that I might see her in a few classes in UCLA because I too am an incoming freshman.

Check out this article about the event, which also includes a picture of Michelle cutting the ribbon!

There was a mention of Michelle on National Public Radio today! The commentators were talking about the U.S. Women's Soccer Team and their World Cup final. They said that if the U.S. lost, there would still be interest in it because of the attitudes of the U.S. soccer players. Then they mentioned the dignity of Michelle Kwan after her silver medal in Nagano. They said that she accepted the medal and moved on with her life and increased the public interest in skating even more. I'm not sure that was exactly what was said, but that was the jist of it!!

Michelle Kwan {!} ...is this month's WCF Smash Female Star! (Celebrity of the Month)

You can see Michelle listed at the top of the Internet Female Stars Top 100 homepage with that honor. Also, check out the Full Top 100 List, and see Michelle listed at #74! BTW, that's one above "Star Wars" star Natalie Portman. There are several things to take note of on this full list.

• There is a fat pulsating bullet in the first column, which means the star is climbing very fast up the list. For Michelle (at #74), this means she had to jump at least 20 places to get the bullet. She did--she went from not on the list (lower than 101) to #74.
• In the second column, the number is on a blue background, not black, which means the star is at her peak position on the list. Obviously, since this is Michelle's first week on the list, she's at her peak position (although we'll get her higher, right?)
• The third column is the star's position last week (a "-" is there in Michelle's case since she wasn't on the list last week.) The fourth column is the # of weeks on the chart. Again, this is her first week on the chart, so this is a 1.
• The fifth column is a graphic that you can click that will take you to the voting booth so you can vote for Michelle for this week.
• Next to Michelle's name is a white star rotating in a blue circle. This means that the star has received a large increase in points from voters. Each week only three stars are awarded. The help file says, "So if a title has a star behind it, you know that it is one of the three titles with the fastest growing support." Yea for everyone voting for Michelle! Singer Britney Spears (#20) and "Austin Powers" star Heather Graham (#82) are the other two with these stars.
• Next to the star is a symbol with an exclamation mark in a blue square. This means that at one time the World Charts Foundation picked this star to be the Smash title of the week. Every week, they pick one brand new star that they believe will perform very well in the charts. So, they believe that Michelle will do good on the charts! Let's prove them right!
• Finally, the last column lists the star's peak position. This is Michelle's first week, so this is 74.

The above info is according to the charts help page. And, one more time, go and vote for Michelle!

Marie turned to Donny and said, "Who's the skater who was on the show that said she thinks of pink elephants when she jumps? She's so darling, but we have so many skaters on the show...who is she?" Neither Donny or Marie would remember until someone off camera yelled, "Michelle Kwan!" Then they both said, "Michelle Kwan, yeah that's right. She's great." THEN I think I heard Scott say, "She's beautiful." or "She's a beautiful skater." The camera wasn't on him so it was hard to tell.

Check out my transcript of the November 9, 1998 show if you don't remember the pink elephant comment.

For generations of American boys who wanted to grow up to be baseball players, Joe DiMaggio was a hero and a role model. Now, girls, too, have sports heroes to emulate -- athletes like soccer star Mia Hamm, Women's National Basketball Association player Lisa Leslie and Olympic skater Michele Kwan.

Read the whole article.

I attended a hockey game in Anaheim California last night, (3-10-99) and sitting two rows behind me was Michelle Kwan. During an intermission, I asked her if she would autograph a hockey puck for me. She did. She was very kind, and also signed a ticket for my friend. Also, I was at Fan Fair 99, and was able to see Michelle perform on the ice. She was great, although the show wasn't very long. About the 5x7 flyer advertising her performance that day, one was inserted into each free program that everyone received upon entrance.

We loved our Nationals, and loved seeing our special friends compete and also do well, Fitz, Michelle and Karen, Timmy, Naomi, Shasa, Angela, Mike, Trifun, Bobby, Johnny, Donny, Derrick, Mat, Sara, Kathy, and many others.

Michelle was mentioned on the Donnie and Marie show today. As one of their guests they had the women who played the voice of Mulan. Marie asked if Donnie met her while working on Mulan and he never really answered but said he met her at the taping of Reflections on Ice! The women said Oh yea, the ice skating show with Michelle Kwan! Then Donnie agreed and said yes, she is great or something like that.

Also, there will be a live Fan Cam from the event! Tune in at 11:30am pacific time, when Michelle is scheduled to skate.

Here's some information on the Fan Fair Michelle skated at Sunday. A friend of mine attended, but, because of traffic, she arrived at the rink minutes after Michelle finished skating her program. She did see Michelle on the ice, though. She said that Michelle wore this practice costume. Read my friends report. If anyone else went, send me your report!

Also, I was online, watching the live fan cam. It wasn't that good. You really couldn't see much. I saw about 4 shots of Michelle. I was only able to save one picture, her opening pose. Based on the length of time that she skated, I think she skated to Carmen. Check out the picture of her opening pose (though I warned you, it's not that great.)

A piece of Michelle at the Fan Fair Sunday was shown on NBC's Los Angeles affiliate, KNBC channel 4. Christine wrote a summary, and also was able to capture some pictures from the interview. Check it out! (Thanks Christine!)

Finally, Mike sent me a scan of the flyer advertising Michelle. (Thanks Mike!)

PSA Commissions Commemorative Bronze Rochester, MN - The Professional Skaters Association is proud to announce the commission of a bronze sculpture to be called Ascension: The PSA Memorial to the Coaches of the 1961 U.S. World Figure Skating Team. The piece will be presented by the PSA to the United States Figure Skating Association for the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame and Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The 1/2 life size commemorative bronze will be created by renowned scuptors Meghan and Douglas Taylor-Gebler of Prescott, Arizona, creators of such inspirational works as Wylie's Reach, Nicole's Layback, Death Spiral and Kristi Yamaguchi's Juliet. Their series of skating bronzes, entitled "From Blades to Bronze" has been previously exhibited at the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame and Museum, and is currently exhibiting through May, 1999, at the United States Olympic Complex Visitor Center in Colorado Springs.

"Ascension", which by definition can imply a move upward, progress, or a movement back in time or in the order of genealogical succession, was chosen as the title of the bronze because it represents the passing of knowledge from coaches to their students. The models for the piece will be 1997 Olympic Coach of the Year and 1997 & 1998 PSA Coach of the Year, Frank Carroll and current World Champion and Olympic Silver medalist Michelle Kwan.

The Taylor-Geblers' work is recognized for its incredible attention to detail of the human form in motion. They are motivated by the realization that in order for perfection in figure skating to be achieved there must be hours of dedicated effort on the part of rinks, parents, choreographers, coaches and skaters. The hard work of the people they are sculpting inspires them toward similar goals of perfection in their art.

For the PSA this is a unique and stunning opportunity to memorialize those who lost their lives en route to the 1961 World Championships. "This is a deeply emotional and profoundly personal experience for every PSA member," says Carole Shulman, the PSA's Executive Director. "Many of us knew and were coached by the people on board that ill-fated aircraft in 1961. Their lessons have been emblazoned on our hearts and minds and passed to our current generation of skaters. No one personifies this better than Frank Carroll, taught by his beloved Maribel Vinson Owen, and Michelle Kwan, the recipient of so much of their combined love and wisdom." Maribel Vinson Owen, World and US Champion herself during the 1920's and 1930's, was lost in the 1961 crash which also claimed the lives of her two daughters who were themselves continuing in their Mother's skating legacy.

The Association wants to remember the team and coaches who gave of themselves to instill knowledge, character and sportsmanship in their students -- important lessons to be passed on from generation to generation.

The official unveiling of the scuplture is scheduled for the PSA's World Coaches Conference, May 2000 in Orlando, Florida.

I remember seeing Kristi's Juliet in a picture and thinking how wonderful these sculptors were. I also remember thinking how much I would love to see them do one of Michelle. I think this is a fitting tribute to man who has given so much to Michelle and the sport of figure skating!

"It's a very different program then I'm used to seeing Michelle do! It is very Dramatic and it almost seems hard for her to get into! Today she looked kind of tired and a little gloomy! She still looked great though! She wasn't doing any jumps...All I can say is that the music is a bit odd and so is the choreography!"

"Yes I did see the Charlotte spiral! It was so awesome! She goes around the right corner of the ice and then goes down the whole sheet of ice doing the spiral with her head touching her right leg! It is soooooo beautiful! Her footwork into her triple lutz was very similar to last years. I couldn't think of the right word to use but her music wasn't odd it was almost haunting! It was so dramatic! I can now safely say I loved it! Soooooo different from 96,97,98!"

"Michelle begins with the same kind of runs as she had last year! She goes frontwards though! The music is not at all fast! Its actually pretty slow compared to last years!"

"For those who asked about the spins, the spins look pretty much the same, Except her layback position which is very interesting! She starts off with a straight leg and then slowly puts it in the normal layback possition."

Michelle showed up on Thursday and looked great, as usual. Her hair is now very short, but I overheard her saying that she is going to grow it back out. She was having a real problem keeping it out of her face. She was working on a new program with Laurie Nichol. I didn't recognize the music, but it was very dramatic classical music. I liked it, but some of the other adults thought it was too dark for her. We'll see once she gets the program together how it turns out. I was amazed at how much attention she gets, even in her own rink. There were always people asking for her autograph, picture, etc. She was very nice and gave everyone what they wanted. I felt kind of bad, though, because I asked her if she minded my taking pictures while she skated, and she said not at all, just no flash. And then some other people kept taking flash pictures. I was afraid that we were all going to have our cameras taken away...and they did disallow pictures on Michelle's sessions after that. *sigh*

Keyword "Teen People"
Click on "Stars and Stuff"
Click on "Slideshow"
The last download on the page is titled "Michelle Kwan 2" (which was uploaded 7/17/98). The description from AOL: "Sportscenter Central: Figure skater Michelle Kwan and comedian/actor Adam Sandler meet and greet at the "ESPN Zone" opening party in Baltimore, MD."
For the second picture:
Press "List More Files" 4 times. The photo "Michelle Kwan" (which was uploaded 5/15/98) comes up in the last press. This is one of the (beautiful) pictures taken to promote the GWG.

"To celebrate America's 222nd birthday, we combed through the SI photo archives to bring you this classic collection of star-spangled shots."

There are 15 photos in total, and one is of Michelle taking a flag from a fan after winning 1996 Worlds! Check out Michelle's Page in CNN/SI's "Stars and Stripes" section

"I work at the local ABC station in Portland. This morning (Monday) Michelle was doing local interviews for stations around the country via satellite. We are using it this morning on our local morning show. These interviews are usually about 5 minutes long and they do one right after the other. The guest (Michelle) usually sits on a camera and talks remotely with whoever is interviewing them. I am sure you have seen these.

I see many of these types of interviews because I am in the business. The camera is on all the time so you can see the subjects and hear them inbetween segments. You can see them talking, applying makeup, etc. Most just sit there sorta quietly and do nothing.

What a refreshing change. Michelle was great. I watched over 1.5 hours of her sitting there, chatting with the crew, etc. She was a cut-up and a cutie. She has relaxed expressions and personality. I saw a relaxed side of her that I had never seen or known. It further let me know why she is currently my favorite skater. Not only has she got talent, she has a great personality and looks like someone you would love to be around a lot.

I was impressed just watching her. Because the image you see from all the skating and "info" segments on shows tends to show her as serious and driven all the time.....at least most of the time. I saw her cutting up and being a "normal" full of life and "let's let our hair down" and having fun. She was parodying being a news anchor for a while, acting silly for a while......all those things that make her an interesting and fun person.

She also talked about her family ties and relationships....off the record.

I am totally impressed by this fine young lady. Very much so. And I wanted to share that with people who would understand."

Thanks SO much for this Jim!! :)

Michelle, along with other Winter Olympians, visited the White House. Also, she received the honor of presenting President Clinton with an Olympic Jacket. Picabo Street was actually chosen to present the jacket after a vote by the whole Olympic team, but she is injured and was unable to make the trip. So, Michelle, who was the second choice in the balloting, gave the jacket to the president. Read more about it in Lipinski's mom fumes as Olympians visit White House.

Also, check out these photos:

• At the White House
• Presenting the Olympic jacket to the president

Michelle Kwan was an "all star" guest at the All Star Cafe in New York City for a press conference promoting the one year countdown to the 1998 Goodwill Games, which will be held in New York. Kwan is recognized worldwide as a dominant force in ladies figure skating and has announced her commitment to compete in the Goodwill Games next year. Kwan, the Goodwill Games silver medalist in St. Petersburg in 1994, sat along the panel with Ted Turner, founder of the GWG, Dan O'Brien, Olympic Decathlon gold medalist, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, the two-time Olympic Heptathlon gold medalist and Michael Johnson, a three-time Olympic gold medalist. She talked about how honored she was to participate in the Goodwill Games on American soil.

"New York is always such an exciting city and having the Goodwill Games here will make it ever better. I think more people will want to come to the Goodwill Games," she said, and reflected on her performance at the Goodwill games in St. Petersburg in 1994. "It was a turning point for me in my career when I first beat Surya Bonaly of France [ in the short program] and I am hoping that New York's Games will bring me some kind of milestone as well."

Kwan also publicly thanked Ted Turner for creating this event and giving athletes who compete at the Olympic level in both Summer and Winter sports a chance to experience the Goodwill Games together. She toured the All Star Cafe's three floors and signed a life-size poster of herself to be hung on All Star's Wall of Fame. "I hope they put it right next to Tiger Woods," she laughed.

After the press conference, Kwan was invited to a star-studded party at Rockefeller Center's Summer Garden hosted by Time Warner. "I want to meet Jane Fonda and I heard George Clooney is going to be here," she said, a little star-struck herself even as she posed for photos with Turner and other Time Warner executives. Kwan and gymnast Shannon Miller spent the rest of the evening in the VIP room posing for pictures and talking with the evening's special guest entertainment, Hootie of Hootie and the Blowfish.

While in New York for the Campbell's Soups Tour of World Figure Skating Champions, Michelle found time to take in the award-winning play "The King and I." After the show she was invited backstage to meet star Lou Diamond Phillips. "It was totally unexpected and unbelievable." said Michelle. "What a nice man. We talked about living in Southern California, traveling, and how much energy it takes to do a live show and lay it on the line every night. Actors and figure skaters actually have a lot in common and face many of the same demands and pressures."

On June 9, 1997, Michelle threw out the first pitch at the Chicago White Sox-Baltimore Orioles game in Chicago. Was she nervous? "Yes," said Michelle. "That's a long throw from the pitcher's place to home plate, " Did she throw a strike? "I'm not sure," she responded. "But Christ Snopek [White Sox third baseman] told me I did a good job and not many girls can throw it that far." No career changes are anticipated.