The Best of Binky's Johnny Weir Blog: May 2011

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Fearless

Fearless ...
and stunningly beautiful.

Original yfrog pic posted by Johnny on Saturday.

It takes a man with some seriously large cojones

and an equally large IDGAF attitude to pull this off.

I need this as a giant poster like yesterday.

Love.

In fact, love so hard that this is a thing
that should be available ASAP

at fine stores everywhere:

Because the world needs this.

It (by which I mean "I") also needs
an autographed "My Wedding Moment" 8x10 glossy
free with your (by which I mean "my")

first purchase. :)

Bonus pic of AWESOME!

Another from yfrog, tweeted on Sunday
by Jeremy Valadez (@DJayV on Twitter), who wrote:

"Can't wait to see @JohnnyGWeir at LAPride. retweet!!!"

Jeremy, you rock, and in addition to my poster and my 8x10,

I also need a copy of whatever you're holding there...

Please help Johnny meet his goal

of raising $10,000 for breast cancer research

by visiting his donor page!

And buy tickets NOW to see Johnny

perform in Skate for Hope on
Saturday, June 18, in Columbus, OH!

(Same weekend as the Annually Awesome

Columbus Gay Pride Parade--win-win!)

UPDATE: Johnny will be performing
FOUR times at Skate for Hope!
He'll be in the Headliners' Opening and Closing numbers,
and also will skate two solos!

Yes! Johnny's dresses are now available
for purchase only on eDressMe.com!

At last: Pop Star On Ice is now available on DVD!

Order yours today from the Pop Star On Ice website!

Johnny tweeted recently:

"Buy my single,'Dirty Love' via iTunes.

Tell all your friends to as well. The more copies sold

takes me one step closer to making a video! №1!"

THE WORLD NEEDS THIS VIDEO
IN THE SAME WAY THAT IT NEEDS AIR.

You know what to do.

Please buy the song from Johnny's website,

or just click the "Buy" button on the player

at the top of the blog!

Hey, Welcome to My World also is available

as an eBook! More info on Johnny's website!

Friday, May 27, 2011

Choices

Johnny is facing one of the toughest decisions of his career,

with a deadline looming June 21: The date by which

he must tell USFS whether or not he wants

a Grand Prix assignment this fall.

According to Phil Hersh of the Chicago Tribune,

Johnny "has yet to make such a request."

Photo © David Ingogly.

Phil Hersh's interview with Johnny, in which they discuss the burning question of will-he-or-won't-he return to competing, came out yesterday. Johnny told Phil he was still unsure about a comeback.

Here are some of Johnny's thoughts from the article:

"I'm working very hard to not be a flash-in-the-pan celebrity. People know my name because I was in the Olympics. Now every project I do has to be at an Olympic level."

"I've been trying to find out what hoops the federation will want me to jump through [to come back]. I shouldn't be treated differently from anyone else. The question is whether I want to jump through the hoops."

(Editorial commentary: Sigh. This is at least the second time he's mentioned trying to find out exactly what USFS would want from him in order for him to return to competing; he also addressed the question in the Q and A on his website ["I’ve actually begun calling to see how all of this works in hopes of formulating a plan for my competitive return. I don’t know how it all works."] Why the f*ck doesn't USFS JUST TELL HIM how it works? As he says, he's not looking for special treatment--just answers, an explanation of the steps involved, of the requirements that must be met. Why is it not possible to get a simple, clear-cut response from the federation? USFS ought NOT to make this difficult in any way, IMO. They so NEED Johnny. He's the most popular figure skater ON. THE. PLANET. I can't help but notice that their sport kinda sucks a bit without him. Even Phil wrote, "The world of figure skating is a more joyous place with Johnny Weir on the scene."

So why is this hard? In the fantasy world where I like to live sometimes, they're emailing and calling HIM every day, leaving little love messages on his voicemail--"Hey Johnny! Just wanted to let you know that we've filled out all the paperwork for you! We're going to FedEx you a packet that contains everything you need plus answers to all your questions--just put your beautiful cursive signature on the forms and send 'em back in the prepaid envelope! Oh, and we included a little $500 Swarovski gift card, just, you know, just because. And one for Tara, too. We miss you! Say hi to your mom for us! Call us back when you get a chance!"--really, doing everything short of sexting him daily to make it clear that they love him, they miss him, they need him, they didn't mean all those things they said before, and they really really want another chance to work things out. Have I mentioned that I think they're idiots?

Also: How delicious would it be to watch USFS try to cope with the only openly gay figure skater on their roster, who's also their most loved, most well-known, most recent three-time champion, and their biggest draw? The thought of the squirming alone makes me deliriously happy.)

"I can see a place where I fit in well. My ace in the hole is that even if I am a little older, I didn't start skating until age 12, so my skating body isn't older than the other men."

[On whether or not he's inspired by Plushenko's comeback in 2010] "Evgeny is a very different person than me. He will fight like a dog for medals, which is also something I admired in Evan. I was more about performance than points. I'm more artist-athlete than athlete-artist."

"I would want to come back and make people cheer and cry. I missed my chance at a medal in 2006; that was my time to shine. Maybe if I came back without that pressure, I could just enjoy the journey."

In reading these quotes, I can't even begin to imagine how agonizing this decision must be for Johnny. So many variables to weigh; so many questions, and not enough info to go on at the moment. He knows all too well the tremendous sacrifice it would require to return; and he recognizes also the sacrifice it would be to walk away from Sochi.

There's so much at stake. So much that's gone before. And so much that's unknown.

And it breaks my heart that he thinks he missed his chance in 2006.

I wish I could fix it all for him. As does everyone who loves him. We all wish we knew what the answer was, and that it was easy, and obvious, and that it would all work out perfectly.

For many fans, the story always culminates in a gold medal for him in Sochi--even if he waits another season or two before returning. For others, the happy ending is a dazzling post-competitive career in which he reaches Lady Gaga-level global popularity, unencumbered by the pathetic and willfully clueless USFS, which is left stamping its foot like Rumplestiltskin and shrieking: "No! You can't wear sparkly onesies or be gay!" right before it splits in half and disappears in a puff of smoke.

Of course none of us knows what the future holds. For Johnny, or for ourselves.

But, to borrow a phrase from Oprah, there's one thing I know for sure--about the journey, the process, and the love that guides and supports us all:

Clarity, and peace, will come exactly when he most needs it.

And he will make the decision that's right for him, at the time that's right for him.

I also know one other thing for sure:

Whatever he decides, I'll just be over here cheering him on.

No matter what.

"I'm a figure skater, first and foremost.

I would come back for the sheer joy

of competing and performing."
Photo (c) David Ingogly.

Please help Johnny meet his goal

of raising $10,000 for breast cancer research

by visiting his donor page!

And buy tickets NOW to see Johnny

perform in Skate for Hope on
Saturday, June 18, in Columbus, OH!

(Same weekend as the Annually Awesome

Yes! Johnny's dresses are now available
for purchase only on eDressMe.com!

At last: Pop Star On Ice is now available on DVD!

Order yours today from the Pop Star On Ice website!

Johnny tweeted recently:

"Buy my single,'Dirty Love' via iTunes.

Tell all your friends to as well. The more copies sold

takes me one step closer to making a video! №1!"

THE WORLD NEEDS THIS VIDEO
IN THE SAME WAY THAT IT NEEDS AIR.

You know what to do.

Please buy the song from Johnny's website,

or just click the "Buy" button on the player

at the top of the blog!

Hey, Welcome to My World also is available

as an eBook! More info on Johnny's website!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Pride

Johnny looking very Grand Marshal-y

in this gorgeous photo posted by LA PRIDE

with the announcement of his selection

as the 2011 LA PRIDE Parade Grand Marshal! ♥

I thought this post would be easier to write than it is. But my eyes keep getting all blurry.

So yesterday I woke up to this link posted on Johnny's FB wall by my dear friend Jenn Kay:

(Click for larger view, or read the article here.

And I have just been all OMG!!! since then. This on the heels of the news that it looks like his Spectacular may really happen--in Vegas, baby!--is just so much WIN all at once that I can hardly take it in. And then there's all the Macy's LGBT Pride Month events coming up in June, and Skate for Hope, and the ITNY Gala this fall at which he is the honored guest ... wow!!

So I was happily flailing with fellow Johnny fans about this news (JOHNNY. ON. A. FLOAT. THAT. IS. ALL. Plus, in response to our desperate pleas wondering where we might be able to watch all this glittery gloriousness unfold, the LA PRIDE people were kind enough to post a link on our FB flail thread to the live webcast of the parade on Sunday, June 12, beginning at 10:30 am PDT!).

And then one of the conversations I was having got a little emotional as we were sharing remembrances of the road Johnny has traveled to get to this point, and the criticism he has endured over the years from both the straight and the gay communities:

"All those years Johnny took shit from spectators and the press and his federation for his sexuality. He never denied being gay, never had a girlfriend, never pretended to be anything other than what he was. And he never sought help from the gay community. He stood out there. All. Alone."

"Exactly. And he still is out there alone in a lot of ways. How many athletes did Phil Hersh quote criticizing the 2012 US Olympic chef de mission? Just one. How many openly gay not-yet-retired figure skaters are there? One."

"Totally agree. I personally am thrilled to tears that he is free enough of USFS to just live completely out loud AND has risen to the challenge of accepting the responsibility of speaking out and being a role model."

That last one is me. And that's what makes this so hard to write.

I literally am thrilled to tears.

Of pride.

The overwhelming, bursting pride in seeing someone coming into his own after years of small-minded, fearful idiocy trying to hold him back.

So much pride in who he is, what he stands for, the way he lives his life, the example he is to others, and his ability to learn, grow, change, and yet never be anyone other than who he is.

Born this way.

And if anyone was ever born to be the Grand Marshal of one of the largest LGBT Pride parades in the world (nearly half a million participants expected!), it's Johnny. And not only just to see what he'll wear, which I'm sure will be EPIC.

The theme of LA PRIDE is: "Working together, we will see a day when every human being is fully able to take Pride in who they are, every day of every year."

I can't think of another person who more fully embodies that message than Johnny.

In an article leading up to the announcement, LA PRIDE organizers wrote: "The Grand Marshal’s role is to be a focal point for the LA PRIDE Parade; they bring the press, and attract their followers, and most of all, help us all celebrate Pride. This year’s Grand Marshal is an exciting and timely selection representing what is happening in the life and times of LGBT people across the nation."

Johnny is the beautiful face of a new generation of gay activism, though he did not set out to fill that role. All he's ever fought for is to be himself. From the excellent piece about him on the LA PRIDE website:

"I never think of myself as an activist in any capacity, but I am glad that people can find strength and inspiration in my triumphs and defeats," said Johnny, who became more open following the recent epidemic of gay teen suicides hoping his story would help others.

"I hope that I can continue to inspire individuality in people regardless of age, sex, race, sexual orientation, or religion," he said upon receiving the Visibility Award from HRC Seattle.

But I think as he's become ever more unfettered this past year, he's come to understand what a powerful, positive impact he can have on the lives of others, partly by celebrating all that he is, including those qualities with which he was born.

One of my favorite quotes about Johnny comes from one of the people who knows him better than almost anyone except maybe his mom: Super Managtress Tara Modlin, in Be Good Johnny Weir, Season 1, episode 8:

"Johnny needs to be--Johnny. Because he has a star that is very much unlike anybody else's, and is capable of things that no one else in the world can accomplish."

Yes. Including becoming a symbol he did not seek to be to bring light to the lives of people he may never meet who will draw courage and strength from his star in ways he might never know so that they can find the pride and conviction in themselves to be able to say, as Johnny wrote in Welcome to My World:

"I'm not ashamed to be me.

I love my life and accept myself.

I am proud
of everything that I am

and will become."

Bonus pic! Tara and Johnny atop the Las Vegas Eiffel Tower,

tweeted by Tara last night. :)

Please help Johnny meet his goal

of raising $10,000 for breast cancer research

by visiting his donor page!

And buy tickets NOW to see Johnny

perform in Skate for Hope on
Saturday, June 18, in Columbus, OH!

(Same weekend as the Annually Awesome

Yes! Johnny's dresses are now available
for purchase only on eDressMe.com!

At last: Pop Star On Ice is now available on DVD!

Order yours today from the Pop Star On Ice website!

Johnny tweeted recently:

"Buy my single,'Dirty Love' via iTunes.

Tell all your friends to as well. The more copies sold

takes me one step closer to making a video! №1!"

THE WORLD NEEDS THIS VIDEO
IN THE SAME WAY THAT IT NEEDS AIR.

You know what to do.

Please buy the song from Johnny's website,

or just click the "Buy" button on the player

at the top of the blog!

Hey, Welcome to My World also is available

as an eBook! More info on Johnny's website!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Spectacular!

Why yes, he is ... :)
Just one more from The Hangover: Part II premiere

Monday night, thanks to the fine people at Film Magic.

If you don't make it past this photo to read the rest of the blog,

please know that I totally understand.

Mainly because I just sat here myself for .... forever.

It took me like five hours to .... move .... on .... and write ...

a few lines .... kept ....losing my .... train of ... spectacular ...

I'm sorry ... what was I saying .... ?

Kayso Johnny's in Vegas!

BRB checking Vegas flights at random intervals later this year / also driving miles / cost of gas and Starbucks vs. cost of plane tickets ... might stop by Film Magic for a sec ... just make yourself at home ....

....................

OK! Well! IDK how I'm going to do it, but OMG the Spectacular!! In Vegas!! THIS. MUST. HAPPEN. Please Weirsus give us a DATE with enough notice so that the entire Cabal has time to plan / sell kidneys / find and marry various oligarchs / explore other exciting new money-making ventures via that trusted economic wellspring known as Craigslist / whatever it takes, people / and converge en masse on Vegas for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity ... !

I wonder if Film Magic is hiring? BRB ....

......................................

Anyway, I'm thrilled for him to shepherd his vision into reality, and I can hardly wait for MORE DETAILS. But in the meantime, while we're attempting to wait, or engaging in a reasonable facsimile thereof, by which I mean staring at the photo, we have stuff to do! So here's the interactive portion of today's blog--unless of course you prefer to simply interact with the photo. That's fine too. I'll just be over here to give you some privacy ...

(1) Vote for Johnny as your favorite Olympian to follow on Twitter! He just landed a Tweet Quad by winning "Tweet of the Week" four times, so now he's been nominated in this new Universal Sports poll. If you clear your cache, you can vote over and over and over....

(2) Vote for fabulous Beauty Bear Eric Alt to win "Favorite Salon" in New Jersey Life Health + Beauty Magazine's A-List awards! Eric tweeted last night, "YES. WE WERE NOMINATED FOR SALON OF THE YEAR AGAIN. THANKS TO YOU WE WON LAST YEAR. PLEASE VOTE A MILLION TIMES LOL." We're on it, Eric! You can vote for both salons at the same time: Eric Alt Saddle River, and Eric Alt Wood Ridge. You also can vote over and over in this one without even having to clear your cache--just press F5 to refresh the page. #winning

(3) Make plans to go see Johnny at a Macy's near you! He has six appearances scheduled in June in conjunction with Macy's "Pride + Joy" events to celebrate LGBT Pride Month: He'll be in Philadelphia, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and St. Petersburg, FL. (BTW Macy's has earned the top rating of 100% in the Corporate Equality Index report sponsored by HRC. #awesome.)

(4) Help Johnny reach his $10,000 fundraising goal for Skate for Hope! We're less than a month away from this wonderful charity ice show and are currently at 25% of the goal. Please go to the show if you can--the cast is amazing!--and/or donate via Johnny's personal page at Skate for Hope. In his message to fans, Johnny writes: "If each of my Facebook fans can donate $1, together we will raise over $50,000 for cancer research!!! If you can donate $50, SFH will thank you by mailing you a copy of my SFH poster. If you can donate $100, I will autograph this poster in June and SFH will mail it to you after the show!" Please help--if all you can afford is $1 (and for a lot of us, that's the case), please know that your dollar will indeed make a difference in someone's life.

(5) March for Pride and for Johnny in NYC, and get a free T-shirt! The lovely people at Ice Theatre of New York, who have chosen Johnny as their guest of honor for their Annual Gala October 24, will be marching in NYC's annual Pride March on Sunday, June 26, at 12 noon.

On their website, ITNY writes: "Call the office at (212) 929-5811 or email us at itny@icetheatre.org if you're interested in marching with us! Ice Theatre will be promoting our fall Gala honoring Johnny Weir during the march. We will have postcards featuring a photo of Johnny and info on the Gala to hand out to the audience. We hope to reach a lot of new people who may not know Johnny will be performing in NYC this fall. Participants will receive a free Ice Theatre of New York T-shirt. Please call by June 13 so we know how many people to expect. Spread the word!"

So there you go! Lots of fun stuff with which to occupy ourselves whilst we await further word on the spectacular Spectacular that will be the must-see of the year for every Johnny fan! And in between voting repeatedly, arranging trips to multiple Macy's and calculating how many oligarchs it will take to fully fund your Johnny-centric lifestyle, feel free to take a breather with one last premiere photo from the equally fine folks at Wire Image:

Spectacular. ♥

Please help Johnny meet his goal

of raising $10,000 for breast cancer research

by visiting his donor page!

And buy tickets NOW to see Johnny

perform in Skate for Hope on
Saturday, June 18, in Columbus, OH!

(Same weekend as the Annually Awesome

Yes! Johnny's dresses are now available
for purchase only on eDressMe.com!

At last: Pop Star On Ice is now available on DVD!

Order yours today from the Pop Star On Ice website!

Johnny tweeted recently:

"Buy my single,'Dirty Love' via iTunes.

Tell all your friends to as well. The more copies sold

takes me one step closer to making a video! №1!"

THE WORLD NEEDS THIS VIDEO
IN THE SAME WAY THAT IT NEEDS AIR.

You know what to do.

Please buy the song from Johnny's website,

or just click the "Buy" button on the player

at the top of the blog!

Hey, Welcome to My World also is available

as an eBook! More info on Johnny's website!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Harold and the Amazing Technicolor Invisibility Cloak

Johnny visibly attends the NYC premiere

of The Hangover Part II last night.

Love this outfit!

Oh hai.

You still here?

Yeah, me too.

May 21 came and went, and um, yeah. No end of the world.

Although at least now we know why.

Harold "Doomsday-Yes-It's-The-End-of-the-World!-No-Really-I-
Mean-It-This-Time-Yes-Definitely-Not-1994-It's-Definitely-Saturday-May-21-2011-(Pause)-No-Wait-My-Calculations-Were Incorrect!-
Hold-On-FLAIL" Camping finally emerged from seclusion and silence yesterday to explain that actually, the Rapture DID occur this past Saturday.

It was just ...

Invisible.

"The rapture [Camping] predicted was 'an invisible judgment day' that he has come to understand as a spiritual, rather than physical event," The Washington Post reports.

Yeah, that's it. Invisible. It was invisible.

Like my history homework that time in eleventh grade.

"'We had all of our dates correct,' Camping insisted, clarifying that he now understands that Christ’s May 21 arrival was 'a spiritual coming' ushering in the last five months before the final judgment and destruction."

Oh.

OK.

And also Camping says the world is still really going to definitely end on October 21, 2011. Seriously. For realz.

"'It won't be spiritual on October 21st,' Camping said, adding, 'the world is going to be destroyed all together, but it will be very quick.'"

So quick it won't even be visible, perhaps?

All righty then.

So since I'm still here, I need to get back to the ongoing not-so-invisible meltdown of my life and also pay some of my very visible bills with my increasingly invisible money and then cheerfully explain to the kids that no, of course I did not forget about the laundry--it's just that all the clean clothes are invisible. And then ask the invisible Christ who came back on Saturday but who has been awfully quiet about it--kinda invisible, really--if He could maybe do something about fixing some visibly annoying stuff.

Like Harold Camping, for instance.

I'm now visibly imagining the smile on His invisible face.

Anyway: Fortunately, Johnny didn't get Raptured either and remains winsomely visible to the naked eye, for which we are all very grateful. So it's time to catch up on some recent pics while we suppress a shudder at the thought of a world that by some monstrously horrific miscalculation might not contain a most visible Johnny Weir.

Now that would be Doomsday.

Johnny conducts a seminar for young skaters

as part of "Twirling for Tots" this past Saturday

in Westchester, NY. He's so good with kids!

Check out the photo gallery!

Photo courtesy of Super Managtress Tara Modlin.

Tara and Johnny, ready to head off
to The Hangover: Part II premiere.

Photo courtesy of Super Managtress Tara.

Johnny on the red carpet at The Hangover: Part II premiere.

He's really been rocking the shorts lately!

Dying to know what that image is on the left leg of the shorts.

Love those shoes!

Johnny also will be wonderfully visible at Macy's stores around the country next month, according to items that popped up on his website's Events page! June is national LGBT Pride Month, and Macy's is sponsoring a series of special events hosted by Johnny to celebrate. Check out this list! He'll be appearing at:

(1) Macy's Center City in Philadelphia on Wednesday, June 8, at 5:30 pm.

(2) Macy's Metro Center in Washington, DC, on Thursday, June 9, at 5:30 pm.

(3) Macy's Beverly Center in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 11, at 2 pm.

(4) Macy's on State Street in Chicago (OMG!) on Wednesday, June 22, at 5:30 pm.

(5) Macy's Herald Square in NYC on Thursday, June 23, at 6 pm.

(6) Macy's at Tyrone Square Mall in St. Petersburg, FL, on Friday, June 24, at 6 pm as the kickoff to Gay Pride Weekend in St. Petersburg.

Yes, in the aftermath of so much stupid, this is what the world needs: Johnny Weir, at a Macy's shopping event near you. Visibly proud and beautiful, and encouraging others to be so too. (No, Harold. Not you.)

Now that's what I call ... Rapture. :)

Please help Johnny meet his goal

of raising $10,000 for breast cancer research

by visiting his donor page!

And buy tickets NOW to see Johnny

perform in Skate for Hope on
Saturday, June 18, in Columbus, OH!

(Same weekend as the Annually Awesome

Yes! Johnny's dresses are now available
for purchase only on eDressMe.com!

At last: Pop Star On Ice is now available on DVD!

Order yours today from the Pop Star On Ice website!

Johnny tweeted recently:

"Buy my single,'Dirty Love' via iTunes.

Tell all your friends to as well. The more copies sold

takes me one step closer to making a video! №1!"

THE WORLD NEEDS THIS VIDEO
IN THE SAME WAY THAT IT NEEDS AIR.

You know what to do.

Please buy the song from Johnny's website,

or just click the "Buy" button on the player

at the top of the blog!

Hey, Welcome to My World also is available

as an eBook! More info on Johnny's website!