The Best of Binky's Johnny Weir Blog: 2012

Monday, December 24, 2012

Gift

Johnny, Ave Maria,

Holiday Dreams on Ice,

December 2012.

Exclusive photo © David Ingogly.

Army of Badassery. In a Corset.

Screencap of Johnny on the Today Show this morning,

just before his performance to Christina Aguilera's

"Army of Me." New slate-colored hair by Eric Alt!

So Johnny performed on the rink at Rockefeller Center this morning for the Today Show, running on very little sleep after being awake since 1 a.m. due to the "'End of the World' rainstorm," and skating on a surface that he politely termed a "lake," with new dramatic hair by Eric Alt and clad in his gorgeous but not at all warm garter leggings by @SenaNYC, with bonus corset.

Holiday Dreams on Ice: Picspam Preview

Beautiful Johnny
at the beginning of Ave Maria
in Holiday Dreams on Ice, with
the lights of a menorah behind him.

After the group number, he gave the first

individual performance to open the show.

Exclusive photo © David Ingogly.

Johnny in Chicago: Fandemonium!

Johnny at Scarlet Bar's

5th Anniversary party in Chicago.

Exclusive photo © Stacy McReynolds.

Kayso our Scarlet Bar story concludes with more fabulous exclusive picspam courtesy of Stacy McReynolds plus a few behind-the-scenes vignettes...

Adventures in Boystown

Johnny at Scarlet in Chicago

with an awesome photo from Fashion on Ice

that he autographed for the photographer,

Stacy McReynolds, who also took

this awesome exclusive photo.

I had almost forgotten how luminously beautiful he is in person.

It has been nearly a year since I last saw Johnny, just a week before he got married. Flashback to Holiday Dreams on Ice 2011: Davey and I show up just in time to completely miss Johnny's practice, so a volunteer escorts us down a hallway at the UPenn rink to show us where to set up for the group practice coming up next, when a door to the left suddenly bursts open—and there he is!

An Inexplicable Gift

Johnny at Cup of Russia practice.

Exclusive photo © Elena Vasileva.

Ambassador Amazeballs

Johnny at his first Cup of Russia

practice, November 8.

Exclusive photo © Elena Vasileva.

From Our Kayso This Is One

of the Coolest Things Ever Dept.

Screencap from the December 2012 issue of State Magazine, the official publication of the Office of the Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton:

Random Tuesday Roundup, Or: OMG Johnny's Coming to Chicago!

Here's the flyer!! See you there!
Proceeds from the event will benefit TPAN,
which also is awesome.

In the long line of firsts that Johnny has inspired in my life—first trip to an ice show, first time to meet an actualfax international skating star, first trip to upstate New York, first trip to Manhattan (I drove through the Lincoln Tunnel in rush hour!), first attendance at an Ice Theatre Gala, first Twitter convo with someone from Japan / China / Russia / England / Czech Republic / Germany / Finland / Australia / Taiwan, first time to watch any number of TV shows that I have never even heard of until Johnny appeared on them, which soon will include Rachael vs. Guy on Food Network—we have now come to the one where no matter how I say it, I sound like the beginning of a bad joke:

So this blogger walks into a gay bar....

Yep. That's me. The setup for a story in which obviously awkward hilarity ensues.

But that's OK. I am beyond excited that Johnny will be in Chicago this Sunday, a scant six miles from our home, to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Scarlet, an establishment that has both a beautiful website and a fascinating history, and which is—

a gay bar.

See, I don't go to bars. I don't even drink. Not that I have any objection to either. It's just—my favorite people on earth, with whom I spend most of my time, are ages 14 and 19. So not a lot of drinking and bar-hopping happening here.

But not only am I going to the event, I actually stopped by the bar this past weekend to figure out where it is, how long it takes to get there, and what is the parking situation, a question I asked the extremely patient and kind manager, Robbie, who got sort of a faraway look in his eyes and murmured, "Hmmm... parking... " as he contemplated a parallel universe in which available parking was, in fact, a thing. (Note: There IS on-street metered parking on Halsted, but it's rare, in the way that sightings of live mastodons are rare, to find an open spot, even on a Sunday. Robbie recommends a parking garage a block or so south of Scarlet, while savvy Chicago fan Gary Podschun suggests parking on Broadway between Roscoe and Aldine, a short two-block walk to the bar. There also are various public transportation options to help you avoid the parking conundrum completely.)

Anyway: It has been almost a year since I last saw Johnny. So I don't care if he's leading hymns in sparkly leather priest garb at the neon-emblazoned JESUS SAVES! church down the block (which BTW would be waaaaay more of a stretch for me at this point than a gay bar). I'm there. As thrilled as ever to get to see him in person, maybe give him a hug, and perhaps—if time permits and herculean effort prevails—to actually form words, which, if I could get them right, would be: Thank you for inspiring me to take those first steps out of my comfort zone nearly three years ago, which have now led me here.

To an awesome gay bar.

And to living out loud in an amazing and beautiful way I had never even imagined was possible until the fierce and fabulous Johnny Weir changed everything.

At Last!
The Election Is Almost Over!

No, not that one. This one: The final round of voting has commenced in the ISU "Fan Favorite Costume" poll! Please go here now and vote for Johnny!!

Yes, Of Course There's Picspam

Today we have a new exclusive set just for fun from the endlessly generous Nadya Vasilyeva. This series was taken at Johnny's hotel in Moscow on Friday, November 9, after that morning's practice.

As always, please click any photo twice for larger view.

Johnny has just returned from practice....

...and off-camera, John Coughlin asks him how it went.

So, Nadya explains, "Johnny decided to show him. :)"

Fans present Johnny with a banner
brought from Japan...

...the back of which has been signed

by countless members of the Japanese fan forum.

About 20 minutes later....

IDK what he's doing but I love the hat.

Johnny and his wonderful guide, driver,

and photographer, Arthur Lookyanov.

Posing for fans.

And one more from Nadya.

Bonus video!! Johnny Gangnam Style.

Because it had to be done, according to Suzanne Larson,

the creator and my lovely friend. LOL.

Binky’s Johnny Weir Blog is now on Pinterest,

in case you needed a gazillion Johnny pics

all in one place without those pesky words

cluttering things up…

We've also added a "Pin It" button to the sidebar

in case you'd like to pin blog stuff

to your own Pinterest board!

Photo © David Ingogly.

Very special thanks to

Nadya Vasilyeva

for the exclusive photos!!

Holiday Dreams On Ice 2012!!
NOTE NEW DATE AND LOCATION!

Visit the HDOI website for info and tickets!

Yes!! More Johnny on our TVs!

Check out the Rachael vs. Guy website for more info!

Johnny's blogging regularly

about his comeback journey for ESPN!!

His first entry, "A Fresh Start"—personal, honest,

very Johnny—was posted last Friday and is the source

of the quote on the Spirit Day photo above.

Looking forward to reading more from him

as the season progresses!

Please alert absolutely everyone you've ever met

to "like" and follow the new

Johnny Weir To Host SNL! (Yes Please) campaign

on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.

Because he should be on all the things.

With or without ice.

But definitely with Viacheslav.

Yep, I'm still promoting this silly poll,
in which you can vote at least once a day.

Please vote for Johnny!!

Need to see Season 2 all over again?
Watch episodes online anytime on Logo!

Please be sure to check in with GetGlue
anytime you're watching the show...
or thinking about watching the show....
or wishing you were watching the show....

HE REALLY, REALLY IS!!
Landing quads and kicking ass!
Read his comeback statement
on his website!

Yes, YOU can be a part of Johnny's comeback!

Please visit Johnny's Comeback Gift Fund today

and chip in as little as $1 via PayPal.

Our small gifts can help make his dream of competing
in his third Olympic Games come true!
And now you can leave a message
of support for Johnny, too!

Please click to vote for Johnny

once a day as "Best Sportsman"!

Because he retweeted Luisa Lotka to tell us

he wants us to! (Note: With his "58.132" rating,

he is currently in 1st place in both

Figure Skating AND across all sports!)

Q and A! Go read it now!

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:

"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!"

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, November 30, 2012

"Believe in Yourself"

Johnny at his first Rostelecom / Cup of Russia practice

on November 8—before the short program,

before his injury, before he had to make

the excruciating decision to withdraw

from both his Grand Prix events.

Exclusive from the gorgeous

new series © Elena Vasileva.

To close out the week, we have the first set in a huge series of practice picspam from the lovely and generous Elena Vasileva. I was going to edit these down to just one set of highlights from the entire series, but as I was clicking through all 190+ shots, I was so drawn into them that it felt as though I were there, following his every movement on the ice, spellbound, as always.

Mega-Multimedia Wrap-Up of the Week That Was

Johnny in his gorgeous new Phoenix costume

near the end of his Rostelecom Cup / Cup of Russia

free skate practice last Saturday, just moments before

he made the decision to withdraw from the competition.

Photo tweeted by the lovely Irina Volkova.

As stunningly beautiful as this is, the pain

and enormous stress he was under at the time

are evident on his face.

"You Are So Beautiful"

Johnny at the end of his Poker Face short program

at Rostelecom Cup / Cup of Russia.

Screencap from the video of his performance.

UPDATE:

Johnny has withdrawn

from Rostelecom Cup / Cup of Russia

due to injury.

News article here.

First reported by journalist Tatjana Flade via Twitter.

In his own words here:

Tweet from Johnny at about 3 pm EST today /

1 am Sunday Moscow time.

Johnny, everything said below remains unchanged, though perhaps more heartfelt than ever.

Please take good care of yourself. We love you always. ♥

Dearest Johnny:

I know that wasn't the short program performance you had hoped to give.

Well, it happens.

As your lovely mom Patti wrote recently:

I know he will do the best he can at that moment. That is what skating is: doing what you can at that moment. You can be trained, prepared, have beautiful costumes, have beautiful programs — and not have a good skate. It is just the way it is.

Yep. And as bad as I felt for you in that moment, I had to smile at your facepalm at the end of the program. You're always you, and we love you for it.

But then you tweeted:

And my heart broke for you.

Please know that you have nothing to apologize for. You are a warrior and an inspiration to all, on and off the ice. You change people's lives. And you are never better than when you have to fight your way back.

And you kept your promise to us.

We are always so proud of you, and so proud to be your fans.

Which was evident in the immediate outpouring of love and support for you in response to your tweet. Your Twitter timeline was filled with literally hundreds of messages within minutes, and they were still pouring in hours later.

I screencapped as many as I could, although I know you're Twitter-savvy these days and you know how to look for people's replies to you.

But your timeline moves swiftly, so I preserved as much as possible with the thought of posting them here in case you ever need to be reminded of how much support you have.

I ended up with 35 pages.

You truly are the most beloved skater in the world.

And that's something with which no scores can ever compare. ♥

Because 35 pages of screencaps would make this post a nightmare to load, here are a few of my favorite tweets that represent the themes expressed by fans around the world in their messages:

("Not for anyone else's sake

would I travel a thousand miles

to go to a competition. Love.")

A wonderful message from a fellow skater...

...a profoundly true statement from Nick Benton,

editor of the Falls Church News-Press,

in which Johnny's weekly column appears...

As so many have reassured you, tomorrow—now today, for you there in Moscow—is another day: To start fresh, to skate your heart out, as you always do, and to bring to the ice the one thing that no one else can: what we love, what we believe in, what makes us all scramble desperately for livestreams and tweet endlessly to each other and collectively hold our breath as we watch with excitement, hope, awe, and so much pride—

You.

Embed from Getty Images

UPDATE:

And tomorrow is yet another day.

We support your decisions,

and we love you

no matter what. ♥

Good luck, Johnny!!

We love you and believe in you!

GANBATTE!!

Rostelecom Cup / Cup of Russia

ISU Event Page

Ice Network Event Page

Men's Short Program

Friday, November 9
7 pm Moscow time

10 am EST

9 am CST

8 am MST

7 am PST

Starting Order / Results
Detailed Results / Protocols

Men's Free Skate

Saturday, November 10

5:30 pm Moscow time

8:30 am EST

7:30 am CST

6:30 am MST

5:30 am PST

Starting Order

(Johnny skates first in Group 1 again)

Livestream options: Possibly Eurosport; possibly TVTeka (a $10/month subscription service). Additional options listed here. As livestreams become available, they'll be posted on Twitter and updated here if possible.

These livestreams worked for the short program: http://bit.ly/VLWs42 and http://bit.ly/Szu1kg

Twitter hashtag to follow: #CoR2012

Bonus pic!! Photo tweeted by Johnny:

"Спасибо всём за все! Завтра будет ещё лучше

@ Город Москва"

("Thank you all for everything!

Tomorrow will be even better

@ City of Moscow")

NEW!! Announced last Friday:

Holiday Dreams On Ice 2012!!