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.

Friday, November 16, 2012

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.



Friday, November 9, 2012

"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Johnny has withdrawn 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

Men's Short Program
Friday, November 9
7 pm Moscow time
10 am EST
9 am CST
8 am MST
7 am PST

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
(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!! 
Visit the HDOI website for info and tickets!



Johnny's also 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 
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!!



The blog has a Facebook page! 
Please come "like" it and enjoy browsing 
through the posts and photos! 



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!)



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



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!


copyright 2012 / Binky and the Misfit Mimes / Lynn V. Ingogly / all rights reserved

Cup of Russia: Johnny Returns to the Grand Prix

Johnny this morning
at the men's short program practice 
for Rostelecom Cup / Cup of Russia. 
Exclusive photo © Elena Vasileva.



Good luck, Johnny!! 
We love you and believe in you! 
GANBATTE!!