The Best of Binky's Johnny Weir Blog

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Employment Application

Position Applying for: Assistant to Mr. Johnny G. Weir.

Skills Desired:
• Fluent in English, French, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and Korean. But not Russian. So that he and Tara can still have private jokes. And you don't evan want to know what Galina says sometimes ...

• Ability to lift multiple suitcases weighing 5,000 pounds each.

• Ability to quickly disinguish between Louboutins and Jimmy Choos, and between an event that absolutely requires Louboutins versus an event that simply begs for Jimmy Choos. Bonus consideration if you have Sarah Jessica Parker on speed dial.

• Certification in glue-gun accuracy at 50 yards; Pledge and vacuum wrangling; and proper care and maintenance of Balenciaga trees. Typing and twitpic'ing speed of 1,000,000 WPM a plus.

• Ability to KEEP UP, PEOPLE. Because his mind is going at Warp-10 pretty much 24/7 and the Post-Its are just not cutting it ...

Mr. Weir does not discriminate on the basis of religion, ethnicity, race, gender, age, sexual orientation, Starbucks drink preference, choice of sunglasses, bangs or no bangs, preference of Lady Gaga over Christina Aguilera or vice versa, hair color--though he will be happy to consult on a highlights shade before turning you over to Eric Alt--favorite Glee episode or guest star, or choice of underwear brand, though he is highly discriminating when it comes to his own fashion choices and his evaluation of himself. And also smells. So be sure your perfume/cologne is pleasing without being cloying or overstated when you arrive for your interview. Bonus consideration given for pants that are not a little ... snug.

***********************************************************

Name _________________________________________

Address _______________________________________

City, State, ZIP _________________________________

Telephone ____________________________________
(preference will be give to those applicants who hear the opening notes of Lady Gaga's "Telephone" in their heads every time someone asks them for their phone number)

Please note: No matter what, DO NOT CHECK ANY BOXES in filling out this application. Applicants who put anything inside a box of any kind whatsoever--unless it's Paris' stuff that he left at Johnny's apartment and that needs to be boxed up and delivered to him, although even then, bags are preferable--will be promptly eliminated from consideration. Boxes with labels on them will be burned immediately and the ashes mailed to NY Magazine with a tasteful note enclosed.

Please respond to the following questions by drawing an artistic geometric shape around the answer of your choice:

Ethnic Origin (for informational purposes only):
• Pacific Islander
• Other

When are Swarovski crystals appropriate?
• Sparingly, on rare occasions.
• When applied to a sparkly onesie.
• Always, everywhere, on everything.

Please choose the phrase that best describes your style:
• I wear whatever Johnny wears, but it always looks better on him.
• I have arrived at my own style, by which I mean whatever still fits. Which often leaves me looking like an episode of We Are the '80s. So mostly I wear my teenage son's hand-me-downs.
• I am inspired by a leaf, the sun, a bag blowing by in an alleyway ... although not everybody gets it and I've had my share of people crossing the street to avoid passing near me on the sidewalk or gazing fixedly at a point just beyond my left shoulder as they hurry by ...

Please indicate which statement best summarizes your fashion philosophy.
• Less is more.
• More is more.
• More is never enough.
• More is what I want the most of, but I want to pay less for it.

Please choose the Weirism that most reflects your inner lifepath thus far:
• I walk on water. Well, frozen water.
• Now I'm stupid and I own it.
• Sparkle! We've got to sparkle!
• Guuuurrrrllll. Dirty Love. Cocaine!
• The best thing you can ever be in this life is yourself.

Thank you for your interest in working for Mr. Weir. All applications will be carefully considered and responded to in the order received.

Now Serving: #1
Your Number: #1,573,344,296 ...

Please enjoy our Muzak version of "Poker Face" and the following image of your potential future employer while you are waiting ...

Twitter voting roundup!
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Hey! You can enter to win a virtual styling session

with Johnny and a $500 shopping spree

from BlueFly.com!

Just submit a photo of the most

outrageous item in your closet!

Johnny will be choosing the winner in 1 day!

More info here!

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

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Twitter Voters FTW!

Thank you SO MUCH for your votes!

(click for larger view)

Oh my. And here I am, all tatty-terry-robe goodness, sucking down a venti to which I've added a mysterious pale-yellow liquid (in my house, that would likely be cat pee), glue-gunning the last of the pink chiffon to the shelving units that contain my sizeable collections of plush toys and Lladró figurines, and absently wondering at the amazing foresight of the God of my heart to plunk me down some months ago in a neighborhood where one can shriek "Cocaine!" on a regular basis and people will either (a) ignore you completely, or (b) come knock at your door and say, "Hey, Imma help you out wit dat...", when all of a sudden happy tweets and FB posts start coming in to congratulate the blog on winning "Best Forum, Message Board, or Blog" in Faxo's Twitter contest!

And now I'm all "I-didn't-expect-to-win-so-I-have-no-speech-prepared" deer-in-the-headlights spazziness. I'm sure this would never happen to someone who, oh, let's say, writes for New York Magazine. I'm sure someone who wields such great power and influence--because imperiously deeming what's "in" and what's "out" fashion-wise is surely the foundation upon which we can feed starving children, help homeless veterans, and finally win the war on terror--sat up late one night years ago typing up her speech for that moment when she finally wins the big one and she will no longer have to feel like an outsider, shifting from foot to foot in a crowded but exuberant apartment with her deep insecurity covered in carefully chosen layers of all the best summer colors but still leaking out in words of subtly poisonous snark fueled by jealousy of people whom she recognizes immediately as the cool kids--one of whom, she also understands both immediately and repeatedly, she will never be. No, that writer has carried her speech in a special compartment in her designer-label purse for years, possibly laminated, often fingered late at night like a rosary, as she waits, perfectly prepared and never in last season's shoes, for her moment.

She's everything I'm not.

For which I am so grateful.

I'm just a blogger. And it's just a silly little Twitter contest. But it was really, really nice of people to vote, and thanks are in order.

So thank you all so much for voting! And thank you for reading!

And most of all, thank you, Johnny Weir, my completely captivating muse, without whom this blog would not be possible.

Your fierce brilliance burst into my world, shattered the old dusty glass that encased my own long-dormant fabulousness, and brought me to life--and to embrace life, in all its glorious highs and lows that can only be fully experienced if one is fully present in them.

You understand that we only get one shot at this thing, and every moment is meant to be lived, and most of them to be savored, remembered, and cherished (and some forgotten as quickly as possible). But there are none to be wasted on sacrificing yourself to please somebody else, or on worry or what-ifs or should-haves or if-onlys.

And so you inspired me to step out and do a small thing I had never done before, to find the voice I had almost lost along the way, and to finally stop thinking that in order to please God, I had to be invisible. No. What is pleasing is for me to be fully and completely myself, the self I was uniquely made to be; to wholly embody who I am; and to not care what anybody else thinks about it.

I wish I had known all this at age 26. But I'm so grateful you helped me discover it now.

As my dear friend and fellow fan Mimi Dzyacky always says, "Johnny Weir changed my life!"

And so, I continue to blog, because you continue to fascinate, and to provide endless inspiration with your talent, wit, grace, and fearlessness, and your willingness to keep taking risks and inviting all of us along for the ride.

Oh, and with your photos. Sweet Weirsus. The photos.

Which brings me back to my absent pondering of stuff that flits through my mind late at night--maybe it's the glue-gun fumes, I dunno--like how come there are so many grown-ups who act like this is still junior high? Also: We've talked for centuries about how many angels can fit on the head of a pin, but what I want to know is how many pinheads does one Fallen Angel have to put up with before it's OK to cuttabitch?

And: What if Johnny had been twins .... ?

Oh my. Imagine the possibilities ...

... thank you, fan Annarel Solosogni, for your genius in creating this, and for putting all this stuff in my head now ...

... pass me the pale-yellow liquid, would you please ... ?

... fanfic, anyone?

Twitter voting roundup!
Thank you again for voting for the blog!

Vote here for Johnny to win "Follow Me."

Current rank: #1

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Vote here for Johnny to win "Sexiest Twitter"!

Current rank: #3

(gaaaah! @JoeFlanigan--seriously?--is still #2)
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Vote here for Johnny to win "Mr. Twitter"!

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Vote here for Johnny to win "Best of Twitter"!

Current rank: #7

(YES! He's holding steady ahead of Sarah Palin!)
13 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Johnny to win "Actor of the Month"!

Current rank: #31

3 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Vanya and BonBon

to win "Best Pets" (awwwww....).

Current rank: #8

13 voting days remaining.

Hey! You can enter to win a virtual styling session

with Johnny and a $500 shopping spree

from BlueFly.com!

Just submit a photo of the most

outrageous item in your closet!

Johnny will be choosing the winner in 2 days!

More info here!

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

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

#YoureACar

Beauties of Brighton Beach.

Love these ladies!

Johnny's hat and shoes are all kinds of WIN.

Photo by Cass Bird.

Pardon me. I'm still wiping off stray bits of ewwwwww from the Festival of Dapperosity that was yesterday, thanks to a "writer" (and I could not use the term more loosely, in the same way one might laughingly suggest that Sarah Palin is "qualified to run for office") who shall remain nameless but whose legacy of
lazy-and-just-plain-wrong snark in place of actual journalistic inquiry and integrity shall forever live in infamy and serve as a stark reminder that really, NY Magazine will just hire anybody these days. Except fact-checkers.

On the bright side, after the initial shock wore off of having something so disappointing as that article appear at the same time as such thoughtful and thought-provoking new Johnny quotes, simply astonishing new photos of Johnny by Cass Bird, plus the new Sun Valley and Lake Placid photos posted by Leah Adams--two goddesses among photographers--our vomit-laden reactions gave way to glittery glee and a Twitter hashtag-fest the likes of which I have not seen since #dapperisthenewbitchslap (still an all-time favorite) debuted.

Here's just a sample:

#funnyisthenewdapper
(Loved Johnny's tweet! This writer could not take herself more seriously, and in less than 140 characters, her smugly self-important "tour de force" piece is reduced to ... a "funny interview.")

#guuuurrrrllll

#YoureACar

#cocaine!

#tinyunderwearFTW

#guuuurrrrllll I'm typing in my pyjamas #againstwhichmystomachstrains

I am of course in shortalls #againstwhichmystomachstrains #guuuurrrrllll

don't forget to take pictures, so you can do something strange, like put them in frames and hang them in your home #deviant

I only have pictures of complete strangers in my home, ppl I've never met in places I've never been with them. #dontyou #WTF

#Guuuuurrrrrlllll Tearing myself away from #Grindr just long enuff to get my #tattyterryrobe

#tattyterryrobe #Ihaveoneofthosetoo

#GettinMyGrindrOnWithMyGlueGunAndPinkChiffon #DontAsk

So. Please allow me to adjust my tatty terry robe (like she doesn't have one at her house #bitchplease), load up my hot-glue gun and my pink chiffon in preparation for making an effigy of #ThatNamelessWriter, assemble some photo collages of absolutely no one I've ever met so I can get the NYMag seal of approval in home decorating, and then let's move on to a little spectacular something that got overlooked in all the
#f*ckIsteppedindogshitAGAINanditsnameisWTFNYMag, specifically this:

Yes, it's Johnny's Saturday night gymnastics commentary from Universal Sports! #wedgies

In addition, Nastia Liukin interviewed him before the women's events while he was getting ready:

Wonderful! #themuscles #IEvenSmelledLikeAManAfterJustWatchingIt

And finally of course there's this, because that kick had to be gif'ed (#theshoes!):

There. All better. Between this stuff and #GettinMyGrindr GrooveOnInMyTattyTerryRobe, I've almost forgotten all about that funny little interview. Now I'm going to go order me some Leah Adams photos so I can make photo collages to send to #WhatsHerName. Because apparently she thinks it's weird to have photos in your home of you with your friends and family. So these would be perfect for her: Collages of Johnny Weir, someone she's never met.

Twitter voting roundup!

Vote here for Johnny to win "Follow Me."

Current rank: #1

24 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Johnny to win "Sexiest Twitter"!

Current rank: #3

(gaaaah! @JoeFlanigan pushed ahead to #2 yesterday)
18 voting days remaining.

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

Current rank: #3

14 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Johnny to win "Best of Twitter"!

Current rank: #7

(YES! He's holding steady ahead of Sarah Palin!)
14 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Johnny to win "Actor of the Month"!

Current rank: #31

4 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Vanya and BonBon

to win "Best Pets" (awwwww....).

Current rank: #8

14 voting days remaining.

And finally: If you'd like to show some blog love,

please vote here for misfitmimes.blogspot.com

to win "Best Blog."

Current rank: #1 and holding!

Voting ends tonight at midnight!

Thank you for all the votes,

and very special thanks to the kind reader

who nominated it!

Hey! You can enter to win a virtual styling session

with Johnny and a $500 shopping spree

from BlueFly.com!

Just submit a photo of the most

outrageous item in your closet!

Johnny will be choosing the winner in 3 days!

More info here!

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

Very special thanks
to fan Wendy Stevens for the videos,
and to all the #Twingles,
especially fan Debora Walsh,
for the hashtag lol-fest!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Guuuurrrrllll ...

Portrait of Johnny

by the amazing Cass Bird,

appearing in the August 16, 2010, issue

of New York Magazine.

Dear Amy Larocca:

I just finished reading your NYMag piece on Johnny Weir. What a shame that apparently you didn't actually get to meet Mr. Weir during the course of writing about him. Or that NYMag has fallen on such hard times in this difficult economy that they've had to let all their fact-checkers go. Perhaps I can help you with both of these issues, having had the pleasure of Mr. Weir's company multiple times and also having the gutsy wherewithal to avail myself of intricate and complicated fact-checking devices such as Google, the NBC Olympics site, and those two time-honored journalism favorites: Context, and the follow-up question.

Let's start with these:

"... Johnny Weir Be Good, Weir’s Sundance Channel reality show ..." The name of his reality series is Be Good Johnny Weir. Yep, that's a tough one. You have to type in "Sundance Channel Johnny Weir" and boom. There it is: The first search result. I can see how you might have been stymied by that multi-step process, but I'm charmed that you valiantly fought through it and have now updated the online version of your article with the correct title.

"He’s drinking a tumbler of Champagne into which he’s dumped some other kind of pale-yellow liquor. 'My favorite,' he says, peering coyly through his thick eyelashes." Hmmm. You only know that it was pale yellow, so how do you know it was liquor? It might have been peach juice added to the Champagne to create his fav drink, the Bellini. Of course, it's much more fun to darkly intimate that since deciding to take a year off from competing, he's become a hard-core drinker who's busily mixing various kinds of alcohol together to go with his chain smoking of menthol cigarettes while shrieking "Cocaine!" intermittently like he has Narcotics Tourette's--without checking to see if your negative assumption is true by simply asking him, "Hey, what's that stuff?" Hello. It's an interview. You're allowed to ask questions. Unless, of course, you're afraid the answers might interfere with your bias.

"[Lysacek's] jumps were objectively far stronger than Weir’s." Objectively according to whom? Based on what? Johnny outscored Evan in the free skate on the double axel, the triple axel, the triple axel-double toeloop combination, and the triple lutz-triple toeloop combination. In addition, the NBC Olympics website used three of Johnny's jumps to illustrate what those jumps should look like when well-executed; they chose only one of Evan's. Follow-up questions: Don't you know that? Are you stupid?

"He taunts Lysacek (he recently called him a 'slore,' which is half-slut, half-whore)." Bravo! Excellent use of complete lack of context, the mainstay for the journalist who doesn't want to bother to research her subject properly but has already formed strong opinions anyway and certainly wouldn't want to let facts or background info get in her way. Here's the context: Johnny blurted that out when he was blindsided on the Wendy Williams Show with comments that Evan had made the day before, in which Evan contended that Johnny--a three-time U.S. national champion, two-time Olympian, and World medalist--simply lacked the talent to be invited to join Stars on Ice.

The correct spelling of "aids" as in the disease needing a cure to which Mr. Weir donates considerable time and effort through multiple charities is "AIDS." Also: It's "GLAAD," not "glaad." Bonus points for correcting these only hours and hours after the article first hit the Internet.

"Weir will be nearly 29 when the next Olympics [Sochi 2014] rolls around ... " No. Mr. Weir will be nearly 30 at the time of the Winter Olympics that year. Oh, I know. Math is hard. Just ask the USFSA. They still think that 1 brilliant short program + 1 soul-searingly magnificent free skate = 6th place.

"In quite a few episodes [of BGJW], Weir and Paris (who was his roommate at the time) cavort in their tiny underpants alongside Weir’s 'Balenciaga tree ...' " Um, no. I don't know of "quite a few" episodes that fit that description. Yes, they're in a bathtub once. Yes, Johnny rolls on top of Paris on a bed while they're shirtless. But even if there were "quite a few" tiny-underpants episodes: So what? What's your point? Do gorgeous underwear-clad men standing near Balenciaga bags upset you in some way? [As fan Lauren Ashbaugh would say, "Paging Dr. Freud ... "]

WTF is a "two-layered grin"? And why the sarcasm? Why is it wrong that a man who has been photographed nonstop for nearly a decade knows how "to angle his chin" or to "look up at the camera"? Would you prefer that he let his eyes go two separate ways, or simply appear kerfuffled that someone wants to take his picture? Oh, and BTW: Whose photos do you have in your apartment? I would bet that they might actually be of, say, you and your friends at various places in which you've been together.

But your factual missteps and odd phrasing choices aren't even the biggest problem with the article. It's your tone, dripping with derision and condescension and snark. About everyone and everything. Stephanie Handler is "baffled." Joey Camasta is wearing a shirt "against which his stomach strains." Tara Modlin's apartment has "pink chiffon stuck up on the windows, some decorations welded into place with a hot-glue gun." Tara's roommate is clueless, "looking for help with her hair, her eye makeup, her what-to-wear." Mr. Weir is "writing a book ... which ... he hopes [will] sell lots and lots and lots of copies." (Because most people write books hoping that no one will buy them?) "Why [Mr. Weir] thinks he only came in sixth place ... " (as if no one else shares the view that he was terribly, heartbreakingly underscored).

And then, of course, there's your incessant harping on Mr. Weir's sexuality. What a tired subject. It's unfortunate that with the amount of access you apparently were granted, you couldn't find something new and fresh to bring to your readers. Instead, all you could do was repeat the same overused story lines:

Mr. Weir is "gayer than any public figure ever."

Mr. Lysacek "seems as straight as a skater can be."

"Weir [is] all the more certain of his membership in the fraternity, or sorority, or whatever orientation he may eventually choose, of American celebrity."

Although you do add your own quiet venom: Mr. Weir really has no talents that can translate into a sustainable career. Figure-skating fans are pitiable lovers of plush toys and collectible figurines. And Mr. Weir himself "looks like a plush toy"--thus apparently explaining his appeal to his fans. Because it couldn't possibly be based on the unique artistic genius, grace, and elegance he brings to the ice, or the intriguing complexity of his views on many subjects, or his wonderfully sly wit and willingness to say what he thinks. Or the kindness, patience, and care he shows to his fans.

But what I dislike most about the article--and there's plenty from which to choose--is the false contrast you draw between the drinking / smoking / cocaine-referencing / "gurl"-shouting / over-sexualized / crude / non-bankable / talentless Mr. Weir of the beginning of the article, and the Mr. Weir at the conclusion, whose "cheeks are pink and clear. His eyes are round. He looks like a plush toy, or something from a comic book specifically designed to register 'cute.' He is sweet and friendly and earnest. He doesn’t shout 'gurl' even once." Your between-the-lines point is that in your opinion, the real Mr. Weir is the first one, and the second one is manufactured--"specifically designed"--and thus you seek to undercut what he says at the conclusion, about working and training hard and hoping to keep his fans happy.

You're wrong on so many levels that I can't evan.

But there are two things really right with this article, none of which have anything to do with you:

(1) All the quotes from Mr. Weir are wonderful. So as soon as I finish writing this, I'm going to create my own copy of your article in which I cut out everything except what he says. Then it will be brilliant.

(2) The photos are fabulous. Bless you, Cass Bird. Shirtcocking FTW.

And so, my dear Amy, may I say again that I'm so sorry you completely missed out on making the acquaintance of the Johnny Weir that millions around the world know and love. Should you ever be in a position to interview him again, please let me know. I'd be happy to handle it for you, guuuurrrrllll.

Sincerely,

Binky

Twitter voting roundup!

Vote here for Johnny to win "Follow Me."

Current rank: #1

25 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Johnny to win "Sexiest Twitter"!

Current rank: #2

19 voting days remaining.

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

Current rank: #3

15 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Johnny to win "Best of Twitter"!

Current rank: #7

(YES! He's ahead of Sarah Palin!)
15 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Johnny to win "Actor of the Month"!

Current rank: #32

5 voting days remaining.

Vote here for Vanya and BonBon

to win "Best Pets" (awwwww....).

Current rank: #8

15 voting days remaining.

And finally: If you'd like to show some blog love,

please vote here for misfitmimes.blogspot.com

to win "Best Blog."

Current rank: #1!!!!

1 voting day remaining!

Thank you for all the votes,

and very special thanks to the kind reader

who nominated it!

Hey! You can enter to win a virtual styling session

with Johnny and a $500 shopping spree

from BlueFly.com!

Just submit a photo of the most

outrageous item in your closet!

Johnny will be choosing the winner in 5 days!

More info here!

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

Friday, August 13, 2010

The Power of Love: Patti Weir

Photo of Patti and Johnny Weir that accompanies

Patti's Mook Book interview.

Special Friday fun! Today we present the first in a series of interviews translated from the Japanese Mook Book--a volume that no household should be without, and which should be displayed preferably in a glass case behind a velvet rope at which visitors may stand/kneel to oooh and aaah appropriately before murmuring, "Sweet Weirsus, I totes need one of these," and then backing out of the room in accordance with accepted custom. Or, alternatively, kept under your pillow. Whatever works.

Fresh from the wonderful fun that was meeting Patti and watching that guy skate in Lake Placid, we begin with Patti's interview from pages 66-67 of the Mook. This May 28, 2010, interview was conducted via phone by freelance sports journalist Akiko Tamura. Akiko appears near the end of episode 102 of BGJW, at about marker 24:16. She is seated next to Takahiko Kozuka, the "relatively unknown skater who came out of nowhere" to win the gold at that event, and is acting as Kozuka's interpreter.

In the Mook, the interview is titled, "Johnny Was a Child With Extraordinary Concentration."

Do you remember the day Johnny, your first child, was born?
Yes, very well. Any mother would. Physically, childbirth is a torturous experience! [laughs].

Johnny's first name is really "John," the same as your husband's. Is Johnny formally known as "John Jr."?
No, my husband is John Jr., so Johnny would have been John III. However, we didn't like that idea. We named him just "John," and gave him a different middle name than his father's. [Note: Yes, the infamous "Garvin." Oh, my queendom for the follow-up question: Why "Garvin"?]

Before Johnny was born, did you and your husband discuss how you wanted to raise your children?
Since we both grew up in rather conservative families, we agreed that we wanted to let our children freely experience various things.

What was Johnny like as a child?
He was very quiet. And the way he could concentrate was different from other children. If you gave him a book, he would be completely absorbed in reading it from cover to cover. He was the same way when he watched movies or videos. Unlike other children, he would never become bored and start fidgeting. Instead, he would be lost in what he was watching, blocking out everything else around him until he was finished. In that sense, he was a very easy child to raise. His brother, Boz, also is quiet. Our house was very quiet even though we were bringing up two boys!

So Johnny was a child with extraordinary concentration?
Yes, he was, and that was just completely natural for him. He was never taught or forced to be like that.

I understand that Johnny rode horses when he was a child.
He did. My husband's family had a farm where they kept horses. My husband also rode, so riding was familiar to us. Johnny was such a physically small child that he could not ride a regular-sized horse. He learned British riding, but there was no way for him to hold onto the saddle. He was supposed to hold the saddle tight with his legs, but he was too small to do that. So at first he practiced riding a pony. When he was 12 years old and began skating, we had a pony and talked about buying a trailer for it.

Will you tell me about Johnny when he began to learn skating?
My husband and I booked a group figure-skating class for him as a Christmas gift. During the practice time after the first lesson, he was skating forward and backward freely, and was trying bunny-hop jumps while the other children were all wobbling along the wall. That might have been because Johnny was a little older than the other children. At the second lesson, the instructor told us, "He doesn’t need group lessons anymore. Consider private lessons." We were told that a few lessons would be given free, so we took Johnny to a rink on a Sunday morning. After the private lesson, we were introduced to Pricilla Hill.

Was Johnny already fearless when he began figure skating?

There is only one thing he is afraid of: That he cannot fully exercise his ability. When he was about six years old, we had him in gymnastics. We thought it would be good for him to become physically strong because he was so small. But he was too small, really, with not much muscle, and he couldn't do anything well. After trying several times, he got angry with himself because he couldn't do it the way he wanted to. So I made him quit. There is one other thing that Johnny fears: He doesn't like to swim in the ocean. That might be my fault. Ever since I saw the movie Jaws, I have been really scared of being in the ocean.

Johnny told me that he was going to the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean on vacation. Will he be all right there? [laughing]
[laughing] He loves shores and beaches. He just doesn't like to go into the ocean much! He has gone to Mexican resorts with Melissa [Gregory] and Denis [Petukhov]. Denis suggested that Johnny try scuba diving.

One of your sons became a top athlete who flies around the world. Have you experienced any difficult situations while raising your boys?

It might have been difficult if Johnny had begun skating earlier. However, he was 12 years old when he started, so it wasn't as hard as if he had been younger. First, we decided as a family that we should not separate. In some families, only the mother and the child move elsewhere for the child's training, but we didn't do that. We all moved together from Pennsylvania to Delaware. I went with Johnny to competitions, and my husband stayed home with Boz. We tried to do our best to let Boz have a normal school life. We worked it out so that Boz didn't have to spend all his time attending his brother's competitions or practices even though Johnny was a top skater. Every fall, Johnny and I usually traveled to various competitions, and we always got nervous and restless at the end of the year when Nationals were approaching. That became our normal routine.

Johnny is a true gentleman. Everybody in his inner circle says that's because of your influence. Did you intentionally teach him to be a gentleman?
I am a very strong person, but at the same time, I am a woman. I want to be treated respectfully as a woman, and so I taught him manners. I grew up in a large family with four brothers. Nobody forced us, but we were naturally respectful to our elders. When I was told something by my grandparents or parents, even if I wasn't convinced, I didn't talk back. Instead, I would answer with a smile, "OK, I see." I still do that. Recently, I called Johnny and said, "I beg you, dear, don't ever wear the jacket you wore on TV out in public!" He replied, "OK, Mom, I see. I promise." But I imagine he was just saying that, with a grin, as I would say to my parents and grandmother. [laughing]

You and your husband are both from Pennsylvania, aren't you?
Yes, we are. And Johnny was born in a very, very small town in Pennsylvania.

Now Johnny looks like a really sophisticated, urbane New Yorker.
When he was 13 or 14 years old, I took him to Manhattan for the first time. The Mid-Atlantic Championships were being held at the Chelsea Piers rink. Johnny said, "Mom, smell the city! I'm going to live here someday." He is so sensitive to smells that his first impression of a place or a person is always the smell. He remembers people's and places' smells very well!

Did he say that at only 14?
Yes. And when he was 12 years old and had just begun skating, he said, "I will be a skater in the Olympics someday."

How did you feel watching his performances at the Vancouver Olympics?
I was very proud of what he had achieved. But when I saw the scores, my heart was crushed. He was perfect except for a slight catching of his toepick during a spin. I will never understand why he placed sixth. Everybody told me his performances deserved a medal. I do love figure skating. But at the Olympics, I could not help but feel doubtful about the scoring system when I saw how they evaluated Johnny.

I think Johnny fascinated a great many fans with his performances at the Olympics, and they really took him into their hearts. Why do you think he is so loved?
Maybe because he's so "real"? Of course, Johnny on the ice is not the same as he is at home, and Johnny in public is different from Johnny in private. Nevertheless, many fans feel such purity in his personality, I believe. A lot of fans have said to me, "Johnny touches my heart deeply." There are a lot of wonderful skaters, but I think it's something special to have so many fans say that about him.

Do you hope that he'll continue competing?
I hope that he lives faithfully to his soul. I love to see him skate. Even if he retires from competing, I hope he'll continue skating.

Yes! You CAN get your very own copy
of the Mook Book!

Get all the details here,
thanks to fan Gail Turley!

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Hey! You can enter to win a virtual styling session

with Johnny and a $500 shopping spree

from BlueFly.com!

Just submit a photo of the most

outrageous item in your closet!

Johnny will be choosing the winner in 8 days!

More info here!

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