The Best of Binky's Johnny Weir Blog

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Johnny for President!

So last night was the Rachel Zoe Project episode featuring Johnny. Which was just wonderful. My favorite part was all the Johnny parts, of course, and then this bit of Brad-Rachel dialogue right after Johnny calls out, "Be good! Actually, be bad!" as he and Tara leave Rachel's studio:

      Brad: LOVE him!

      Rachel: He's. On. Another. Level.

      Brad: Favorite client ever. That was fun!

      Rachel: It WAS fun! It was a nice break.

I love them.

And immediately after the episode aired, the Twitterverse exploded in a JWe lovefest of new fans that warmed the cockles of our hearts like the sight of Paris knitting a blanket does for Johnny, the theme of which was best summed up by @astridasteroid, who, next to Shigesato Itoi, is my new favorite person:

And thus a campaign was born.

Because even though, as my friend/fellow fan Gail Turley gently reminded us, he can't actually run until he's 35 and that's nine years from now, there's no sense leaving these things until the last minute. In the words of A.A. Milne, creator of Winnie the Pooh (who is sort of a cousin of Ping, really, and thus an authoritative voice to be heeded here): Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up. (This message approved by our candidate, Johnny "a-case-for-everything-and-everything-in-its-case-and-every-case-in-my-Balenciaga-bag-du-jour" Weir, as our campaign motto.)

All righty then! Here are our very organized campaign details:

Political party: Yes. Just that. The Party! To which everyone is invited (well, maybe except for Conservatives, Republicans, Tea-partiers, that guy who wants to burn the Koran, and of course anyone on FOX News ...).

The Party's platform statement: Finally, something in politics that doesn't make you want to scrape your own face off your head with a f*%king snow shovel ...

The Party's candidate: Johnny G. Weir, running for President of the United States of Weir, One Nation Under Gaga.

Running mate: Hello Kitty.

First campaign commercial (we have no idea what our candidates are doing here, but we could just die from the cuteness):

Video filmed in the offices
of Vogue Nippon. ♥

The Cabal: Will serve in lieu of a Cabinet.

Paris Childers: First Bitch.

Brad Goreski: Chief of Stuff (Really Fabulous Stuff, Like These Heels, For Example. And OMG These Pants!).

Tara Modlin: Secretaritress of (the) State (of Being Snuffled).

Eric Altomare and Joey Camasta: Secret (Beauty Bear) Service.

Viacheslav Romanov: Ambassadortress At Large (though he's really quite slim and doesn't ever have to suck it in).

Skataliban: The United States of Weir's archenemy, who will ultimately be defeated by all that is free and beautiful and not hideously stuffy.

Campaign slogans:

      Sparkle! We've Got to Sparkle!

      Vote for Johnny. You Might Pee a Little. But It'll Be So Worth It.

      Glitter We Can Believe In

      Are You More Fashionable Than You Were Four Years Ago?

      How's This for Stimulus?

      Guuurrrllll We Can

      I Like Spike Heels

      No! New! Taxes! ... On Luxury Goods

      In Your Heart, You Know He Won

      It's the Gargoyle, Stupid

      Fierce and Independent Since 1984

      Russia a Problem? Not So Much

      Johnny Always Has an Endless Supply of Towels
          So There Is Never a Need to Panic

      Johnny Weir Is the Answer to the Universe

      A Chanel in Every Closet and a Louboutin on Every Foot

      The Sequined Majority

      If It Ain't Weir, Don't Watch It and
          for Weirsus' Sake Don't Vote for It

      Let Them Eat Cake! No. Wait. Let Them Look at the Cake
          But Not Actually Eat It ...

Campaign stump speech:

Yes we can wear stilettos and little else.

Yes we can shirtcock till we drop.

Yes we can build a forest of Balenciaga trees.

Yes we can apologize for all those drug references.

Yes we can call it a comeback.

Yes we can call it fraudulent judging.

Yes we can ROCK THE TASSEL.

Yes we can look up "mongoose" in the dictionary and also find out the name of that Swiss guy.

Yes we can find Korean BBQ.

Yes we can make shadow animals on the walls.

Yes we can Kaboom the hell out of everything.

Yes we can fix your zipper.

Yes we can enjoy the ass cuppage because it's physical contact and we never have sex anyway ...

Yes we can mount it.

Yes we can skate in the frozen cornfields when we're 12 and NOT have to lie about it.

YES WE CAN BE A ROLE MODEL FOR NOT ONLY U.S. FIGURE SKATING BUT EVERY KID EVERYWHERE WHO'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT OR "UNIQUE."

So please join our campaign: "Johnny Weir for President in 2020!" Because even more than we need hope (which I am all in favor of and still support 100%), we need what Johnny stands for most of all:

Coming up: Hey, there's even already a
beautiful (presidential) portrait of Johnny!
And you can buy one for yourself!

Twitter voting roundup!
(although I have to say that I'm not impressed
with the way Faxo is monitoring--or rather, not monitoring--
this voting stuff, so I'm kinda only half-heartedly following
these contests now but I still want my people to win ...)

Vote here for Johnny to win "Follow Me."

Current rank: #1

2 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Johnny to win "Mr. Twitter"!

Current rank: #11

23 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Gail Turley's blog
"WheresMyKoppy" to win "Best Blog"
Current rank: #5
9 voting days remaining.

New! Vote here for Johnny
(current rank: #7)
and here for JW Art Project
(current rank: #43)
to win "Best of Twitter"
23 voting days remaining.

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

All That Skate, in Los Angeles in October!
Everything you need to know about tickets
and special gatherings of The Cabal
is right here!

Very special thanks to Ninja Girl, my own NicoFierce,
Debora Walsh, and Lauren Ashbaugh
for their invaluable help with this post!

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

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Congratulations to Johnny, Winner of the Human Rights Campaign's Visibility Award!

Johnny, ever expressive--even with a cold--
responds to questions during an interview
with Japanese media earlier today.
Photo twitpic'd by JWArtProject.

We interrupt our increasingly heavy dependence (hey, I can quit anytime I want to. Really ...) on happy and mindlessly entertaining picspam from Asia to bring you exciting news for both Johnny and fans in the Pacific Northwest:

The Human Rights Campaign is honoring Johnny Weir with its Visibility Award at the 11th Annual Seattle HRC "AsOne" Gala Dinner on Saturday, September 25, 2010,
in the Grand Ballroom of the Westin Seattle, 1900 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Washington!

From the HRC Seattle website:

The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all. ...

As the largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, the Human Rights Campaign represents a grassroots force of over 750,000 members and supporters nationwide--all committed to making HRC’s vision a reality. ... HRC’s research and educational programs engage LGBT and straight-supportive Americans in an ongoing dialogue about equality.

Among previous Visibility Award recipients are Olympian Greg Louganis, actress Portia de Rossi, WNBA star Sheryl Swoopes, Iron Chef Cat Cora, and Andy Cohen, Bravo-TV's senior vice president of original programming and development.

Johnny will be giving a speech at the event, where past guest speakers have included President Bill Clinton, comediennes Sandra Bernhardt and Lily Tomlin, film maker John Waters, Governors Chris Gregiore and Howard Dean, and Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray.

So wow! Johnny joins some amazing company as one of this year's Seattle HRC honorees. I am thrilled to see Johnny recognized within the figure-skating world for his achievements, such as twice winning the Readers' Choice trophy, and out on the larger world stage for the example he sets in living his life honestly and unapologetically, blazing a trail for those who come after him.

Even though, as he said in his sensitive and revealing interview with Itoi-san, "I had never thought in my life that I would affect people who weren't strong enough to completely be themselves, especially children ... I never imagined I would be influencing young skaters, children, or even the parents of children who are a little bit different, or 'unique.' "

But you are, BB. A beautiful and powerful influence. And we couldn't be prouder of you for having the balls to--just be you.

And: The HRC gala dinner is open to the public, so fans can come and be a part of this wonderful evening with Johnny! According to the website, dress for the five-hour event is "festive to black tie," and doors open at 5:30 p.m.

Aaaaaand: Yes, tickets are pricey, at $200 apiece, though that does include a one-year HRC membership. HRC Seattle recognizes that that's a lot of money for most people in these difficult economic times, so they offer this gentle explanation for the cost:

Your dollars have incredible impact thanks to HRC’s powerful relationships and connections. This dinner is one of the primary annual fundraising activities of HRC, and they rely on the Pacific Northwest’s support to help them achieve success in:

• passing pro-LGBT legislation

• ensuring our families and jobs are protected from discrimination

• electing fair-minded politicians, and

• a myriad of other issues including aging, coming out, health, and the military ban.

HRC fights for LGBT rights on a national level. HRC is working to mount efforts in other states for marriage recognition and workplace equality. They’re mobilizing people in key states like California, Arkansas, Arizona, and Florida to enact pro-LGBT legislation. Our financial support really does have an impact of national proportions. ... [Please] explore the HRC website (www.hrc.org) to learn more about all the things that HRC does.

So congratulations again, Johnny! This is a fabulous honor and an event not to be missed. And for the first time since I left there 20 years ago, I'm kinda wishing I still lived in Seattle ...

For more info or to purchase tickets, please visit the HRC Seattle Gala Dinner website here. You also can join the Human Rights Campaign on Facebook and follow them on Twitter!

Vote here for Johnny to win "Follow Me."

Current rank: #1

3 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Johnny to win "Mr. Twitter"!

He ended August's contest at #3,
and has been renominated for September!
Current rank: #7

24 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Gail Turley's blog
"WheresMyKoppy" to win "Best Blog"
Current rank: #5
10 voting days remaining.

New! Vote here for Johnny
(current rank: #7)
and here for JW Art Project
(current rank: #52)
to win "Best of Twitter"
24 voting days remaining.

Hey! Check out this clip of Johnny

from the Rachel Zoe Project!

The episode in which he appears is TONIGHT
at 10 pm EDT / 9 pm CDT on Bravo!

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

All That Skate, in Los Angeles in October!
Everything you need to know about tickets
and special gatherings of The Cabal
is right here!

Weirlandians for Life organizer Gary Podschun
notes that we're a little more than one month away
from the Chicago AIDS Walk,
and WE STILL NEED AT LEAST TWO MORE PEOPLE
TO OFFICIALLY FORM A TEAM!
Please visit the group page here for more info.
We hope to see Johnny well-represented by his fans
at the walk on October 2!

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

Monday, September 6, 2010

Let's Celebrate Labor Day With Johnny and Tara ...

...because there's nothing more inspiring than watching two people who work so hard together in such a wonderful collaborative effort, always in tune with one another, always striving to achieve their best and to bring out the best in one another ...

Here's a touching peek at their working partnership on the eve of Labor Day while they were enjoying dinner in Japan, and on the holiday itself during a photo shoot with a very special guest ... (click any photo for a larger view):

Very special thanks to

Agentress Extraordinaire Tara Modlin

for the pics and permission to use them!

Labor Day special:

Download uncapped versions of the photos

here, here, and here!
And follow @N_Mayumi, editor of Vogue Nippon,
for fabulous twitpics from the Vogue shoot!
Coming up: Actual news!
With words and stuff!

Vote here for Johnny to win "Follow Me."

Current rank: #1

4 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Johnny to win "Mr. Twitter"!

He ended August's contest at #3,
and has been renominated for September!
Current rank: #6

25 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Gail Turley's blog
"WheresMyKoppy" to win "Best Blog"
Current rank: #5
11 voting days remaining.

Hey! Check out this clip of Johnny

from the Rachel Zoe Project!

The episode in which he appears

is TOMORROW, September 7, on Bravo!

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

All That Skate, in Los Angeles in October!
Everything you need to know about tickets
and special gatherings of The Cabal
is right here!

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

Sunday, September 5, 2010

A Brief Conclusion to Our Travelogue Picspam from China (With a Happy Surprise at the End) Because Now They're Already in Japan ...

So if a picture is worth 1,000 words and Johnny and Tara have now arrived in Tokyo which is about 1,300 miles from Beijing and 14 hours ahead of my life, thus continuing to render me all Marty McFly-eyed, how many pictures will it take to sum up a behind-the-scenes look at their time in China given that I should have gone to bed 3 hours ago? (These are the kinds of story problems I am faced with in real life for which none of my math teachers prepared me.)

And the answer is: Five, plus a bonus pic whose extra-credit value is OVER 9,000! (more extra-credit points if you have any idea where that reference comes from. And yes, I just ended a sentence with a preposition, but at least I haven't used the Z-word so far ... )

We begin back on the flight to Beijing (pls try to keep up ...).

Tara notes that this sign is missing an "IN"
and really should read "PAIN IN PROGRESS."
As we saw previously, the seat backs were supposed to fully recline,
but Tara explains that "those chairs were broken.
And somehow I ended up accidentally squirting Johnny
with an entire bottle of hand sanitizer, and because the seats
didn't lay down right, when he got up to go clean it off,
he scraped his little skinny leg across the chair in front of him.
And so, bloody and completely hand-sanitized from head to toe,
he hobbled to the bathroom. Pain in progress ..."

Next we have the wonderful welcoming scene at the airport
with the fabulous Chinese fans,
who could not have done more to show Johnny the love
and thus relieve any lingering pain. :)

Now we skip ahead to ... "some fish from the place
where we got coffee when Starbucks was closed," says Tara.
"Yes. Giant fish tank in coffee restaurant."
Discuss.

Later, thankfully, Starbucks WAS open,
and Tara and Yana Rudkovskaya went there
while "the boys were skating."
Apparently even the camera had the shakes at this point ...

Oh. Yes. He skated.
OMGIDIE.

(Click here for a really great-quality vid from the show.
Thank you to fan Tatiana Edrenkina for the link!)

And: The bonus pic, your beautiful reward
for reading all the way through this ridiculously random post.
Caption- and macro-free and approved for all audiences
by the Association of Sensitive and Tasteful Bloggers
Who Really, Sincerely, Do Not Wish to Offend Anyone
Except for Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and
Those Clowns from Westboro Baptist Church.
Do with it what you will. :)

Vote here for Johnny to win "Follow Me."

Current rank: #1

5 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Johnny to win "Mr. Twitter"!

He ended August's contest at #3,
and has been renominated for September!
Current rank: #5

26 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Gail Turley's blog
"WheresMyKoppy" to win "Best Blog"
Current rank: #5
12 voting days remaining.

Hey! Check out this clip of Johnny

from the Rachel Zoe Project!

The episode in which he appears

is coming up next Tuesday, September 7, on Bravo!

Yes! Johnny Is skating in Yu-Na Kim's fabulous show,
All That Skate, in Los Angeles in October!
Everything you need to know about tickets
and special gatherings of The Cabal
is right here!

Very special thanks to
Agentress Extraordinaire Tara Modlin
for so generously sharing her pics
and the stories behind them!

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

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Time-Travelogue!

I'm still struggling with that whole time-space continuum thingy, in which people in Beijing can send emails from tomorrow and I can get them yesterday but they're full of stuff that happened while I was still waiting for the future last month which technically was Monday or Tuesday, but since I'm still catching up it feels kind of current, and it's all relative anyway, depending on your definition of E=mc2 (mine is "Everything is more cool if there are 2x as many pics of Johnny"), so with that in mind, let us travel back in time to rejoin our program already in progress (actually, it's over and the credits are running, but I have TiVo so I paused it to wait for you) in which we have fabulous picspam beginning with Johnny on the plane to China (please click photos for larger view):

And continuing with the arrival of both himself and his luggage, for which the Chinese tried valiantly to prepare:

And then we skip ahead to a practice session:

(Please note that I am in no way poking fun

at Stephane's wonderful accent,

but rather just trying to capture

the flavor of his speech here. He is amazing,

and I love the way he speaks in any language. :)

And we conclude with this brief clip, which I love for three reasons: (1) It's Johnny, (2) He's alone in this space for a moment; (3) Other than some quiet conversation in the background, the only sound is the slicing of his skates across the ice. The video is fuzzy at first, although it shifts into better focus a few seconds after he lands the jump. And I love the metaphor of that: a little blurry uncertainty; a leap of determined faith; and then--clarity.

Speaking of clarity, I continue to be enthralled with the dialogue between Johnny and Shigesato Itoi in the course of their interview. In Part 4, Itoi-san's sensitive questioning elicits this fascinating
self-revelation from Johnny:

I think I was born different. When I skate my best performances, all of my feelings and emotions come from my soul. Figure skating is my outlet, my art, my painting, my fashion design. It's how I speak, and I speak from my soul. When I'm off the ice, I think I act more from my heart. "Soul" and "heart" are two different things for me. The soul is something that is inside you when you are born, and the last thing you feel when you die. But your heart is what makes you "yourself." It's what gives you a face; it's what gives you color. It's what gives you vibrancy. For me, on the ice, it's "soul." Off the ice, it's "heart." It's good to have both. If I were the same everywhere, I would probably be bored.

I'm still pondering this beautiful piece of poetry as I await Part 5 today / tomorrow / yesterday with the wistful wish that this interview would never end ...

Twitter voting roundup!

Vote here for Johnny to win "Follow Me."

Current rank: #1

8 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Johnny to win "Sexiest Twitter"!

Current rank: #3

2 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Johnny to win "Mr. Twitter"!

He ended August's contest at #3,
and has been renominated for September!
Current rank: #5

29 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Gail Turley's blog
"WheresMyKoppy" to win "Best Blog"
Current rank: #5
15 voting days remaining.

Hey! Check out this clip of Johnny

from the Rachel Zoe Project!

The episode in which he appears

is coming up next Tuesday, September 7, on Bravo!

Very special thanks to
Agentress Extraordinaire Tara Modlin
for so generously sharing these pics and vids!

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

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

International Studies: China Pics, and We Learn That It's OK to Say "Balls" in Japan

A beautiful bouquet for Johnny

from his "diva Chinese Angels"!

Photo courtesy of @HsinyiChi on Twitter.

So Johnny landed safely yesterday or tomorrow or something (there's a thirteen-hour time difference from where I am and I always have trouble with that because I don't live normal hours as it is and then when I realize that I'm writing this at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow where he is it makes me wonder what I'll be doing yesterday which for him is now and then my vertigo kicks in) and was greeted by the amazing Chinese Angels, who brought him those incredible roses as well as a huge banner and some stickers featuring really cool original fan art plus I don't know how many panda partners for Ping, and I think they made him feel just completely loved, which is how we all want him to feel 24/7 no matter what time zone he's in. So yay for China!

The next day (which I don't evan know what/when that is, but I'm assuming it's a day with the word "day" in it), Tara discovered that Starbucks does not open until 10 a.m., which we learned from her forlorn and slightly panicked tweet, but fortunately no international incident resulted from this baffling cultural difference which I'm not sure a lesser woman such as myself would have been able to avoid, and then she kindly twitpic'd this for all of us of her and Johnny at the Forbidden City, which is not, in fact, in Utah:

So I think they're having a good time, and in the meantime back here we are having a good time with Part 3 of the interview done by the incredibly perceptive, sensitive, and articulate Shigesato Itoi, who is now my new favorite person in the universe and who brought tears to my eyes via this exchange:

Johnny is surprised to see
so many fans waiting for him
at the Beijing airport.
Photo and explanation
courtesy of Melissa Wong.

Shigesato Itoi: I think you have a strong self, and also a more fragile self. The way that you express your fragile self, or your weakness, seems to be your source of strength. It may sound somewhat contradictory, but your strengths reside within your weakness.

Johnny: I agree. I understand that I’m not perfect. I understand that I have weaknesses. It frustrates me to have weaknesses, but at the same time, I fight everyday to overcome them. I fight to become stronger than my weaknesses. You know, you are the first person to make that observation. ... We are like kindred spirits.

Shigesato Itoi: The fact that I was so moved by your performance, I think, indicates we have something in common.

Wow. Here is someone who has only watched Johnny's show and his Oly performances on TV, who is just now meeting him in person for the very first time--and totally gets him.

Now this is an interview. Thank you, Shigesato Itoi, for validating certain recent perceptions. You are amazing.

I also loved this:

Close-up of
Johnny and Tara
at the Forbidden City.

Johnny: I think it’s wonderful to have people such as Davie Bowie, Andy Warhol, Karl Lagerfeld, or Lady Gaga, just to name a few. Each of them has a very individual style … In English, we would say "balls," but it’s so disrespectful to say that.

Shigesato Itoi: We have a similar expression in Japanese, so it’s okay.

And then at the end of the installment
is this 22-second video clip that is so wonderful that I have to end with it here as well. My favorite part: That they did a freeze-frame for the moment when Johnny discovers they have a Wii:

Twitter voting roundup!

Vote here for Johnny to win "Follow Me."

Current rank: #1

9 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Johnny to win "Sexiest Twitter"!

Current rank: #3

3 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Johnny to win "Mr. Twitter"!

He ended August's contest at #3,
and has been renominated for September!
Current rank: #8

30 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Gail Turley's blog
"WheresMyKoppy" to win "Best Blog"
Current rank: #5
16 voting days remaining.

Hey! Johnny Is skating in Yu-Na Kim's fabulous show,
All That Skate, in Los Angeles in October!
Everything you need to know about tickets
and special gatherings of The Cabal
is right here!

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