The Best of Binky's Johnny Weir Blog: All That Skate

Showing posts with label All That Skate. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Exclusive ATS Photos! A Great New Interview! And Christmas in October!

We begin with brief but oh-so-beautiful ATS picspam, courtesy once again of the wonderful Nicole Davis, who, as Irene Chang suggested, really should quit her job and just follow Johnny around to photograph and video him for the rest of us. I'm good with that.

Johnny during the opening number.

He has his Heartbroken eye makeup already applied

because there was little time for costume/makeup changes

between numbers, according to attendees.

More from the opening number.

The beginning of Heartbroken.

And the beginning of Poker Face. Of course.

Johnny during the finale, maybe photographing / videoing ...

something? Someone? I dunno, but it makes me smile!

New interview of Johnny on NJ.com is a must-read!
Please check out the wonderful article by Adam Robb--who elicited yet more great Johnny quotes, actually listened to what Johnny said, and even understood the bantering going on around him during the interview--with fabulous photos like this one by Novembergirl Fotographie, including quite possibly the most lovely photo of Tara I've ever seen, which finally (almost) does her justice. :) Don't miss it!

From NJ.com: "Johnny Weir showing off pieces

from his jewelry collection."

Photo (c) NJ.com / Alessandra Stokley /

Novembergirl Fotographie.

Special to the blog! Trish Aaron-Misiura has an amazing holiday offer for her fellow Johnny Weir fans! Quantities are limited! Act now!

Hey, guys, it's me, Trish! [Editor's note: Yes, it really is. She wrote this as my guest blogger for today. And she totally cracks me up.]

And it's that time of year again, when "Back to School" goes "back to the clearance racks," and the Christmas decorations are beginning to make their debut. Wait--that was the middle of September. Geez, I'm already running late.

Anyway, in honor of the annual four-month Christmas season of which I have already missed a month, I have designed a Christmas ornament sure to rock the tassel off any tree! It's inspired by Johnny, mais d'accord:

My favorite charity for the ending months of 2010 is Toys For Tots. So I came up with a clever way to make my friends happy, and hopefully a whole boatload of kids as well, or as many as
we can.

I would love to make one of these for the first 30 friends who message me their names and addresses. (Yep, that's the "make-
you-happy" part.)

Now for the "make-the-kids-happy" part: What I'd like in return for making youse guys happy (hey, Mikey has his "ya'll"; up here in the NE PA we say, "youse guys") is for you to donate one toy to Toys For Tots this season.

So, one handknit-beaded-with-a-tassel-to-boot ornament to make you happy = one toy for a needy child.

Sadly, I can only make this offer to fans in the US because of shipping issues. I can guarantee the first 30 by Christmas, but if I get more requests, I'll still try to make them all. I just can't guarantee Christmas delivery.

OK, guys! I'm gleefully knitting away ...

Important Manufacturer's Statement:

***NO GLUE GUNS WERE HARMED (NOR USED)

IN THE MAKING OF THIS ORNAMENT***

Please send your ornament requests
to Trish Aaron-Misiura via FB message.
In addition to toy donations,

Toys for Tots accepts monetary gifts.

Please visit Toys for Tots for more info.

Yes! You can own a fine art print of Johnnyperfect for any/every room in the house!

Prints of artist Peter Jurik's "Showtime!"

are available for purchase from his website.

More info here!

THIS 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!
YES! WE'RE DOING POSTERS FOR THIS ONE TOO!
This show also will be televised on NBC
on Sunday, January 16, 2011, at 4 p.m. EST!

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!

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

Monday, October 4, 2010

A Banner Day at All That Skate

See it here first! Fan video of Johnny
in the Men's Group Performance Saturday night in yes!
The famous "Safety" pants from Japan!
About which there is nothing safe!
Very special thanks to Nicole Davis for the video!

And here's Johnny in the same number
(and the same outfit, praise Weirsus)
from Sunday's performance, with special thanks again to Nicole!

Quote of the Day:

"His signature Lady Gaga Pokerface exhibition program

was everything that Johnny has shown to be off ice.

There is a juxtaposition between elegance and dirty

that works somehow in this program, and the only way

to put into [it] words is to say that it is like

that indescribable outfit that you saw on 'Project Runway'

and secretly want to wear to church on Sunday morning."

(Read the full show review here.)

Another video of Johnny's Poker Face performance

that hopefully international fans are NOT blocked from viewing.

Fans Judith Dale and Michael Mazzella

are visible in the front row from about 1:32 to 1:43!

Our story begins two weeks ago, with the inception of the Signapalooza project. In seeking to blanket the Staples Center with signs of support for Johnny, we encountered these rules that were seated stiffly on the Staples Center website, wearing tight little smiles and glaring at us over their half-glasses:

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

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

Which sort of makes the word "banner" in the first paragraph seem a bit out of place, like that really tall, skinny kid in 7th grade who was contantly ducking his head through doorways and had nowhere to drape his legs after he folded himself into one of those ridiculous little half-desks. An 11" x 17" "banner"? Really? It's like the Black Knight of banners ("It's only a flesh wound").

So I called Staples just to confirm, since what's a skating event without huge banners draped over every available surface and maybe also wrapped gently around Stéphane just because we could then all die from the cuteness?

And they handed me on up the ladder until I eventually landed on (in?) the phone of a lovely woman who said that yes, the 11" x 17" limitation was official policy, but that event producers are allowed to set their own rules and that it was expected that All That Skate management MIGHT lift the ban on banners. And she advised that I keep calling back about every two days until they had a definitive answer for me.

So I did. And she was very polite about it and laughed at my jokes and never once asked me to dear God PLEASE STOP CALLING THIS NUMBER.

In the meantime, word of our potentially banner-less event reached the Chinese Angels, who are amazing in so many ways but are particularly adept at achieving perfection in extremely large orchestrations of group support (think Beijing Olympics opening ceremony), and who also seem merrily undeterred by pesky little things like rules. I love them.

So, in an incredibly kind and generous gesture, they had not one but THREE beautiful vinyl banners made as a gift to Johnny's American fans so that we might never be caught banner-less at a US show again. They based them on this beautiful design:

Update: Here are two of the three banners! Very special thanks to Chinese Angel Yunyun Li for providing these pics (and for everything else!)!

And then they asked to whom these should be shipped.

Thus it was necessary to recruit some top-secret ninjas. In between calls to my new best friend at the Staples Center (I'm going to be in her wedding!).

I was able to locate two volunteers who were willing to do whatever it might take to get a banner into the venue short of getting themselves killed or thrown out of the show (the second fate obviously being far worse). Plans were discussed with a third-party co-conspirator, which I share here for the first time: REDACTED and then REDACTED. So if that REDACTED takes place, then REDACTED and we could REDACTED. But worst case, REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED. OK! That should work.

So shipping arrangements were made, telephone numbers exchanged, travel plans cemented, and eventually two ninjas and three banners all arrived at the same location in LA.

(Side note: The Chinese Angels spent some time frowning at and being dissatisfied with the banners. They had to go with vinyl I think because it was the fastest production option, but they were not happy. So soon they'll also be sending along yet another absolutely gorgeous banner. Made of fine silk-like polyester. Just FYI.)

And then things got a little complicated.

Thursday: Banners arrive in LA, all eye-catching and colorful and hopeful. And big. Really, really big. Small, medium, and the size of God. Aaaaaaaand: My confidant at the Staples Center whispers from a janitor's closet that the final answer on banners has at last come in from the producers, and it's also big. A big, fat, NO.

Commence Operation Banner Ninjas: High-Stakes Smuggling.

Friday: Ninjas arrive. Very late at night. And discover that the banners are indeed at the hotel, which is in a much seedier part of town than might be suggested by the cheery hotel website. Also the largest banner measures about 16 feet x 7 feet, and weighs more than both ninjas combined plus Johnny. They plot.

Saturday:

10:45 a.m. Third party receives "banners-are-on-their-way!" text at exactly the most awkward moment possible, evoking a text-back response of "Shit!" Plan A dissolves.

11 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. Ninjas move nimbly to Plan B. They select the medium-sized banner ("medium" in this case meaning about 50 square feet) and head to the lobby of the JW Marriott, the hotel nearest the Staples Center. Third party REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED. For now. So Ninjas giggle helplessly in the background of a very organized Stéphane Lambiel fan meeting near the bar as they roll the banner up and stuff it into the sleeve of Ninja 2's jacket. Creating, in effect, a giant banner condom. They also spend some time checking out of the Grand Good Lord No I Wouldn't Stay in This Part of Town Hotel and making new reservations at the Marriott. Then they head to the Staples Center for the 1 p.m. VIP Q and A / afternoon dress rehearsal. With high hopes and crossed fingers that no one (meaning Security) will notice the 40-pound banner condom they're lugging.

12:45 p.m. -1:40 p.m. Radio silence. I fret. Please don't let them be barred from entering after they've come all this way and paid all this money for plane tix / hotel / VIP tix etc.

1:40 p.m. Text received: "We're in. Banner is in the bldg. I'm freezing because I can't wear my jacket. Because it's still a banner condom. Told you we were ninjas."

2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Rapid-fire exchange of texts between Ninjas and third party. There's no way to hang the banner without being shot on sight. REDACTED is arranged.

6:45 p.m. Ninjas return for the show and retrieve giant banner condom from hidden location.

7 p.m. - 9 p.m. The Staples Center is "a sea of pink and black signs," according to Ninjas, in honor of Johnny. Ninja 2 holds the banner in its condom on her lap throughout the show, where it slowly cuts off the circulation to the entire lower half of her body. She is oblivious, of course, because JOHNNY! And All That Skate! It's AMAZING! INCREDIBLE! SPECTACULAR! A fantastic turnout, and everyone is completely enthralled with the show. Ninjas patiently await their moment.

About 9 p.m.-ish. At the end of the show's finale, the Ninjas stand (Ninja 2 briefly wobbly until blood flow returns ...). Having recruited everyone in their row to help, they unfurl the forbidden banner to its full 10-ft-wide glory, and wave it in the huge standing ovation along with the hundreds of pink-and-black signs. So much Johnny love! It's wonderful! It's everything we hoped for! Plus one medium-large forbidden banner!

Afterward: The banner returns to the safety of its condom, and the Ninjas depart. Mission accomplished.

And three banners are soon to be on their way to Ohio for their next adventure in the Covelli Center, which I'll be calling today to engage in a delightful parsing of their policy as articulated primly on their website: "Banners and signs may only be brought into building after authorization from Security, or Marketing Director. Banners and signs may not be hung up, and must be removed after conclusion of event," to determine whether or not ninjas are needed for a Youngstown mission.

Any volunteers ... ?

Another first-look video from Nicole Davis!
Here's Saturday night's finale, with near-total focus on Johnny,
who is doing all kinds of fun things with Stéphane
and choreographer David Wilson!
More of Nicole's vids are available on her YouTube channel here!

Yes! You can own a fine art print of Johnnyperfect for any/every room in the house!

Prints of artist Peter Jurik's "Showtime!"

are available for purchase from his website.

More info here!

Next Sunday, October 10, Johnny will be performing

Coming up: A special holiday offer!
And more in the series
of translated interviews from the Mook Book
courtesy of the fabulous Akiko Nakata!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

All The Good Parts of All That Skate (Actually It Was All Incredibly Good, But We'll Start Here)

I know you don't really want to read anything today. You just want to watch videos from ATS. And that's OK. I take no offense. I don't want to write anything, either. I just want to watch this:

And this:

And especially this:

And just for fun, this--because the only part of skating mathI understand is that fun = Stéphane:

Maybe tomorrow we'll try some actual words. But for now, we'll sip our coffee and just keep hitting "Replay." And also send some prayers / good vibes / best wishes / your caring phrase of choice / to Johnny in hopes that his hip gets better ASAP.

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!

Next Sunday, October 10, Johnny will be performing

Coming up: A special holiday offer!
And more in the series
of translated interviews from the Mook Book
courtesy of the fabulous Akiko Nakata!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Saturday Special! Revisiting Seattle to Avoid Pining for LA ...

Well, OK, first we gonna pine for LA with this, which you've probably already seen ...

And this ... ditto ...

From Universal Sports.

More photos--a whole rehearsal slideshow!--here!

Sigh. But I am THRILLED for all the fans who get to be there! What an absolutely AMAZING show this will be!

Now, as we try not to pull out our own fingernails in a desperate bid to take our minds off the emotional pain of pondering the Greek tragedy that is our lives, let's go back to last Saturday! For more stuff you've already seen! (Is it just me, or is anyone else having extreme déjà vu ...?)

The wonderful people at the Human Rights Campaign, whose HRC Seattle Steering Committee honored Johnny with the Visibility Award, have very kindly made available on YouTube the official video of Johnny's speech from the "asOne" Gala Dinner! Thank you so much to Camille Rodriguez, National HRC Associate Director of Events; Chris Peron, National HRC Development Director; and the HRCMedia YouTube channel! We wallflowers can content ourselves with watching this and the fabulous HRC montage multiple times whilst waiting for the salt that is more pics and vids from All That Skate to come pouring into our wounds this weekend ... #takingourselvesreallyseriouslyhere #getyourmopeonandgrind

If that's not quite enough to keep your mind off the fact that if ever there was a time to chuck it all, move to LA, and settle unobtrusively into the utility closet at Michael Mazzella's house ("Well, hey, y'all! How you doing, bb?"), that time would have been, oh, say, last Wednesday, here also are two great .gifs to enjoy, courtesy of the wonderful Wendy Stevens:

The second one is for all of us who saw the JW Art Project clip and sighed, "Oh, I could just watch this over and over ..." Now we can. Thank you, Wendy. :)

(Yeah, I know. It's like scraping up the dabs of frosting left over on the kids' plates and licking it off your fingers till they're raw when what you really want is to eat the whole damn cake yourself, but there you go. We addicts will take what we can get. And happily, shamelessly beg for more ...)

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!

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

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

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!
YES! WE'RE DOING POSTERS FOR THIS ONE TOO!
This show also will be televised on NBC
on Sunday, January 16, 2011, at 4 p.m. EST!

Coming up: A special holiday offer!
And more in the series
of translated interviews from the Mook Book
courtesy of the fabulous Akiko Nakata!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Friday Fun: Postcards from LA

Click photo for larger view.
(Kayso I have no context at all for this

Johnny-and-Stéphane
mad hip-thrusting / leg-lifting / Pilates-on-ice

extravaganza. So go here for the uncapped version

of the photo and make something up

to enjoy in your happy place.)

Click photo for larger view.
Agentress Tara says, "Here is Patti

with the amazing and talented Mattie Larson,

diva of gymnastics. We LOVE Mattie!"

Mattie also tweeted: "Had a great time

with @JohnnyGWeir and @tmodlin

at Staples Center! You guys are the BEST."

Yes! All That Skate is TOMORROW (and Sunday)! Please join me here for exclusive photos and coverage courtesy of Ninja Girl and my own NicoFierce, through whom I am living vicariously for the next 72 hours or so. To all the fans attending the show: Best wishes for a truly wonderful and unforgettable experience!

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!

Special thanks to Agentress Extraordinaire
Tara Modlin for the photos,
and to Ninja Girl and my own NicoFierce

for their invaluable help!
(and for listening to me whine)

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!
PLEASE REMEMBER YOUR POSTERS!
This show is expected to be televised
on Sunday, October 10, on NBC--
check your local listings!

Coming up: A special holiday offer!
And more in the series
of translated interviews from the Mook Book
courtesy of the fabulous Akiko Nakata!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Get Your Sign On, and Grind

Yes, it's the long-awaited sequel: Signapalooza II! Son of Signapalooza! Signapalooza: The Second Coming! Signapalooza: 2 Sign or Not 2 Sign! ... We've got a million of 'em! (But we'll stop there. For which I'm sure we're all 2 grateful.)

Johnny, Patti, and Tara are flying to LA today, and All That Skate is just THREE DAYS AWAY! But maybe you're still trying to make up your mind as to which poster (or fifty) you want to bring with you? Let the amazing Jenn Kittler come to your rescue and help further reduce you to a quivering pile of indecisive mush with these five exciting new designs:

Click here for downloadable print-ready PDF file.

In addition, the previous series of suggested signs are all still available here, and of course, please free to use any of them as a template to make your own.

Also: There's a rumor that the ban on banners MIGHT be lifted late this week. Watch this space for more details!

And: Can't make it to All That Skate? Johnny will be performing again the following Sunday, October 10, in Skate for the Heart at the Covelli Centre in dynamic Youngstown, Ohio! (Motto: "Literally the middle of nowhere! Because it's exactly halfway between New York and Chicago.") Show details are available here (yes! Sasha and Johnny together again!), and ticket info is here. Please note that the show time has been moved up from 7 p.m. to 5 p.m., and doors will open at 4 p.m. And yes! Please bring posters to this show also! Although we're still working on ironing out the details with the Covelli Centre, whose event policies include this frosty tidbit:

Banners and signs may only be brought into building after authorization from Security, or Marketing Director. Banners and signs may not be hung up, and must be removed after conclusion of event.

All righty then. We'll let you know how that goes.

I'm also fascinated to learn what the rehearsal schedule might be for Skate for the Heart, since the Covelli Centre is hosting this event, for which tickets are still available, the night before at 7 p.m. on Saturday (so hey, if' you're getting into town early ... ):

Click here for downloadable print-ready PDF file. Oh wait ...

Anyway, there's much to look forward to the next two weekends! So please go get your sign on, and grind. Thank you.

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!

Very special thanks to Jenn Kittler

for all her time, effort, and creativity
in producing these great posters!

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

Coming up: A special holiday offer!
And more in the series
of translated interviews from the Mook Book
courtesy of the fabulous Akiko Nakata!