Yes! It's All That Skate Signapalooza!

Hey! This angelic design by fan Lizzy Pine

would make a great poster too!

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Kayso All That Skate is happening in exactly 12 days! And I won't be there! But we're not going to dwell on that because it's just too depressing! Instead, we're going to focus on what's really important, which is not the fact that it is more complicated than you might think to break into the exciting world of profiting from shady real estate deals in order to finance your addiction of choice involving some random figure skater (although a stockpile of Xeroxed money helps), but rather that the clock is ticking and we have just 17,280 minutes to put together All These Signs to show All That Support for Johnny!

Taking our cue from his amazing fans in Asia, it's our turn to pull out All The Stops and show Johnny that he's as beloved at home as he is all around the world!

Our goal: When everyone enters the Staples Center and sees All That Signage, we want to hear All Those People breathe a collectively awestruck, "Holy shit...." And smile to ourselves.

So: To help those of you who are actually attending this fabulous event and thus have it in your power to Speak Softly and Carry a Lot of Signs--and if ever there was a skating show to see this year, it's this one, but never mind--and also to make it really, really easy for you, we have put together a fabulous package of sample signs that you can use as is, or as inspiration to make your own!

But first, some rules, because of course it wouldn't be figure skating if there weren't stupid and annoying rules that immediately make you want to break every one of them and then finish with some cognac and a cigarette. These are Staples Center's policies from their website:

Signs/Flags/Banners/Posters/Pamphlets

Unless otherwise specified by teams and/or event officials/management, STAPLES Center welcomes guests bringing small signs, flags, banners, and posters inside the building to show fan support during events. The following guidelines relate to these items:

*Item must be related to event

*Item may not be attached to a stick/pole

*Item may not be larger than 11" x 17" in dimension

*Item may not obstruct any sponsors/advertisers signage

*Item may not be hung, attached, or displayed on any part of the building

*Item may not contain or display obscene/offensive language and/or pictures, as determined by STAPLES Center management

*Item may not be constructed or displayed in a manner that may obstruct the view of other guests or in any way create a safety hazard for others as determined by STAPLES Center management

Guests are not allowed to hand out pamphlets, advertisement brochures, etc. to other guests while inside the building, without prior approval from STAPLES Center management.

In addition, fan Lily Doheny was kind enough to call the Staples Center and get further clarification regarding signs. She was told, "An attendee can bring in more than one 11x17 sign, but no one can hold more than one 11x17 sign. People sitting next to each other can combine their individual 11x17 signs to make a larger sign as long as they don't obstruct anyone's view."

So no banners, then, but you can do stuff like bring hundreds of extra signs to pass out to absolutely everyone in your particular seating section, and also hand out signs to the people on either side of you to help you spell out fabtastic phrases like "W-E-L-O-V-E-
J-O-H-N-N-Y-W-E-I-R" or "T-H-E-C-A-B-A-L-I-S-I-N-
D-A-H-O-U-S-E" or "Y-O-U-'-R-E-A-C-A-R." Just ignore the looks, smile pleasantly, and spread the enthusiasm!

With all that in mind, here's a whole lotta signs to play with, all embracing the classic Johnny "I Love You / I Hate You" color scheme so we can create a sea of pink and black! Each of these is available as a print-ready 11x17 PDF that you can download and take to your nearest print shop.

Even easier: You can upload any PDF to the "Print Online" section of the FedEx Office website, where they will print 11x17 color copies on heavy white glossy cardstock for just $2.98 each! And if you have a FedEx Office location near you, they offer same-day pickup for free. If not, they will ship your poster to you via FedEx (prices vary).

So here you go!

Series 1: We begin with sample signs created at the request of fan Karen Weeks, who said she would love to see giant pink hearts with a big "J" in the middle. :) (Note the "Poker Face" homage in the playing-card-style posters ...)

Series 2: These four samples use the famous silhouette of Johnny created by the fabulous Mimi Dzyacky! Fan Gary Podschun also has graciously offered to create posters from the first silhouette in this series, so he'll be bringing extras of that one to the show.

Series 3: Ready to make new friends? Here are two sets of sample posters that spell out "J-O-H-N-N-Y"! One set comes with a pink "Louis Vuitton" background; the other is a plain background suitable for printing on pink 11x17 paper (which actually may be less difficult to find than I thought--more on that later this week ... ).

Series 4: Created by the super-talented Jenn Kittler (thanks, Jenn!), these two posters offer a cutout of Johnny from NY Fashion Week on a pink Louis Vuitton background.

Series 5: Ah, the Wow Series. Just a single image that packs a powerful punch. Additional designs by Jenn Kittler. Love love these!

Series 6: Let's look at things a bit differently and turn everything on its side, shall we? Because that's so ... Johnny ... Three more amazeballs designs by Jenn Kittler, suitable for white or pink paper!

Series 7: Inspired by Johnny's tweet this past Saturday night, these samples put you in the middle of the story! The fourth poster is fill-in-the-blank for extra-creative types ...

Series 8: And, of course, the straggler posters, the red-headed stepchildren, the inside jokes not quite ready for prime time but we love them ...

There you have it--posters galore to galvanize our ONE MILLION SIGNS AT STAPLES fan project! If you have any questions, need help, or want to request a special design, please let me know--I'll just be over here in the corner rocking back and forth and moaning softly about missing the show, so please feel free to distract me ...

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Yes! You can own a fine art print of Johnny

perfect for any/every room in the house!

Prints of artist Peter Jurik's "Showtime!"

are available for purchase from his website.

More info here!

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Johnny has been honored with
a Human Rights Campaign's Visibility Award
by HRC's Seattle Steering Committee!
He'll be receiving the award and will be
the featured speaker at HRC Seattle's annual
"asOne" Gala Dinner on Saturday, September 25,
at the Westin Seattle. Yes, the public is invited!
For more info or to purchase tickets,
please visit HRC Seattle's website here.

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Johnny Is skating in Yu-Na Kim's fabulous show,

All That Skate, in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 2!
Everything you need to know about tickets
and special gatherings of The Cabal
is right here!
This show is expected to be televised
on Sunday, October 10, on NBC--
check your local listings!

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Also on Sunday, October 10, Johnny will be performing
in Skate for the Heart in Youngstown, Ohio!
Tickets are available here,
and there's a discussion page for fans here!
This show also will be televised on NBC
on Sunday, January 16, 2011, at 4 p.m. EST!

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Please remember to register to receive
the JW Art Project's email newsletter!
They have great tidbits to offer,
and you get a special sneak peek at an exclusive photo
from the book when you sign up!
The Artbook is expected to be published
by the end of October--can't wait!

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Very special thanks to all the Twingles
for their brainstorming efforts;
to Lizzy, Jenn, and Mimi for their art;
and to Ninja Girl and my own NicoFierce
for their invaluable help with this post!
And special thanks to Nico for the post labels!

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Coming up: More in the series
of translated interviews from the Mook Book
courtesy of the fabulous Akiko Nakata!

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copyright 2010 / Binky and the Misfit Mimes / Lynn V. Ingogly / all rights reserved