Wheres My Koppy's Blog
Random Thoughts on Random...Stuff!
Politics, Religion, Sports, Johnny Weir, Causes I Support, Almost Anything...
And you KNOW you want to read it, right?
Here is the text of Episode II of the interview (photographs may be seen at the website):
Itoi
(席に座りながら）
うーん、いいな、うれしいな（笑）。
I’m so happy that you’ve come. (laughs)
Johnny
ええ（笑）
Yay. (laughs)
Staff
(拍手)
(Applause)
Itoi
あ、この人は、隣のスターバックスのお姉さん。
She is from the Starbucks next door.
Johnny
(置かれたアイスラテを見て）完璧（笑）
(Looking at the served Iced Latte) Perfect! (Chuckles)
Itoi
なんか、変な感じだなぁ（笑）。
I’m feeling funny in my office.
(laughs)
Johnny
Why?
Why is that?
Itoi
ここ、こんな場所じゃないからね。
It’s usually not like this.
Johnny
今日は特別な日ですね。
It’s a special day.
Itoi
そうそう、特別な日。
Special day, Special day.
All
(笑）
(Laughter)
Itoi
さて、ええっと、
どうしてここに来てくれることになったんでしょう？
Well, why did you decide to come visit us?
Johnny
えっとですね、
(糸井にもらったおもちゃを指して）
そう、これを、いただきに。
You know, it’s for this.
(Pointing at the toys he received from Itoi.)
All
(笑）
(Laughter)
Johnny
もし招かれなかったとしても、
そっと忍び込んでこれをいただいて帰ります。
Even if you didn’t invite me, I would come for this and steal them from your office.
All
(笑）
(Laughter)
Itoi
あの、ぼくはフィギュアスケートについて、
あんまり詳しくないんで、
あなたのほんとうのすばらしさについては
きちんとうかがえないのが、
残念で、そして申し訳ないです。
Um, I’m not very familiar with figure skating, so I do regret, and I need to apologize that I won’t be able to appreciate your brilliance in a full way.
Johnny
フィギュアスケートというスポーツを
糸井さんがあまりご存じないのは、
むしろ、いいことだと思います。
なんにも知らない赤ちゃんみたいな目で見れば、
さまざまな芸術を、
新鮮に感じられると思いますから。
見飽きちゃった、
なんてことにならなくてすむし、
たくさんの知識がないことで
偏見なく観られるからとってもいいと思う。
I think it’s good that you don’t understand everything about my sport. If you have eyes like a baby, you can watch different pieces of art with fresh eyes, plus you won’t be jaded by anything. It makes you unbiased, and that’s great.
Itoi
うん、そうかもしれない。
バンクーバーオリンピックで
あなたのスケートを観たとき、
ほんと、赤ちゃんのように、
よくわかりましたから。
Yes, I think you’re right. When I saw you skating at the Vancouver Olympics on TV, I really understood it like a baby.
Johnny
よかった。ありがとう。
It’s good to hear that, thank you.
Itoi
(笑）
(Smiles)
Johnny
フィギュアって、政治的なところもあって、
すごくいろんな要素がからんでくるんです。
だから、ぼくにできることは、
もう、自分の演技をして、観てもらって、
ぼくの旅にみなさんを連れて行くことだけ。
だから、それが通じたとしたら、
とてもうれしいです。
In figure skating, so many things go into the result, and it is also very political. The only thing I can control is my performance in the way they can see me. I want to take them on my journey, and I’m so happy that you could go with me.
Itoi
あなただけ、ぜんぜん違うものに見えましたよ。
You stood out amongst others, you looked very different.
Johnny
衣装のキラキラだけが
違ってたんじゃなくて？
Was it just the rhinestones?
All
(笑）
(Laughter)
Itoi
なんていうのかな、
あなたは誰とも戦ってなかったと思う。
How can I put it...you weren't fighting. You weren't competing against anyone.
Johnny
ええ、戦ってません。
滑っているときは、雲の上というか、
もう、べつの世界で滑っていて、
アートを表現するには
そうするしかないと思います。
No. When I skate, I skate on a cloud, on a different universe. I think that’s how people can make great art.
Itoi
絵を描く人が戦わないように、
オリンピックっていう競技の場で
戦いでないものをあんなに感動して見たのは
ぼくにとって本当に驚きでした。
Yes, it’s just like painters; they do not compete. But, to see something beyond competition in the Olympics, which is the realm of competition, was very surprising and moving.
Johnny
ありがとうございます。
Thank you.
Itoi
これをみんなが見るべきだと思ったし、
こういう人がいなきゃいけないと思って
興奮したのを、いまでも覚えてます。
I still remember how excited I was. I remember thinking that there needs to be a person like you, and that everyone should see you performing.
Johnny
アリガトウゴザイマス。
Arigato gozaimasu.
Itoi
いえいえ、あの、こうして会えて、
ものすごくうれしいです、今日。
I’m very happy that I’m actually meeting that person I saw.
Johnny
そう言っていただいてほんとうにうれしいです。
It’s my honor, thank you.
While Johnny Weir was in Japan in July 2010 he accomplished several things; he skated in Fantasy On Ice, he announced he would take a year off from competition, he shot numerous photographs and a couple of videos for the Johnny Weir Art Book, and he was interviewed by respected Japanese editor, writer, video game designer and essayist Itoi Shigesato. The interview between Mr. Shigesato and Weir came about after the agent working on the Art Book came upon these words written by Mr. Shigesato February 20, 2010 after he saw Johnny Weir's performances at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics:
'Right now, my interest and attention goes to Johnny Weir, the figure skater. He was as if the definition of art had come to life. Medals, scores, nationalities, the crowd...he seemed to have transcended them all. To my eyes, he seemed as if he had an uncontrollable desire to express himself, devoting that energy solely to himself.
I felt that I witnessed "Art" as discussed with philosopher Takaaki Yoshimoto. I'm really happy that I was able to see his performance.'
She (the agent) then contacted Mr. Shigesato and his people. They exchanged ideas, Johnny showed interest, and the idea for the interview came about.
Episode One of Johnny Weir: Johnny Comes to Our Office was put up today (August 30th) at the 1101.com Website. The website contains the interviews in both English and Japanese; as well as several wonderful photographs and two videos! The interview will be released to the public via this website in ten parts. Here are the titles of the ten parts and the dates on which they will be published:
Note: The times and dates in the index are for Japan (GMT plus nine hours) at 11am local time. The release of episode one in the United States, for example, corresponded to Sunday August 29 at 10pm EST, and 7pm PST. You must figure out where you are in relation to the dates given here if you wish to read the interview parts as soon as they are posted. You can find information on the time difference as well as a world time zone map on My Blog here.
Johnny sitting on a chair at Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun ("Almost Daily Itoi News") abbreviated as 'Hobonichi', the office of Itoi Shigesato. The chair was designed by Taro Okamoto.
Johnny sent this Tweet at around 11:30 p.m. EST Saturday, August 28th.
If you then go to the JW Art Project website you will find it has been updated. The home page contains information about the book along with a photo of a page from the book with an on ice picture not yet seen by the public. The team page contains a street shot photo of Johnny we have not seen yet, along with biographies in both English and Japanese of the team members involved in the project. The bio page contains one of the pictures we have been gifted with as a preview, as well as a biography of Johnny Weir in both English and Japanese. The info page contains the photo of Johnny in bed released the previous day along with information in both English and Japanese on the book, what countries it will ship to, how to contact Johnny Weir, and his management; as well as links to JWArtProject on Twitter, JW Art Project Twitpics, and You Tube behind the scenes videos.
Also on the same day we received an answer to the previous day's question of how old Ping is!
The interview will be posted at the 1101 Complus Website beginning August 30th, and updated at 11a.m. daily local time. What time that corresponds to where you live depends on what time zone you are located in. The Tweet indicates posting occurs at 11a.m. daily GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) plus nine hours. You may locate your own time zone in relation to GMT at this website, or by using this official time zone map. In the United States this time corresponds to 10p.m. EST and 7p.m. PST.
This is a Tweet JWArtProject sent to a friend of mine:
1101 Complus Tweet explaining the interview will appear in more than one part:
Another Tweet sent to my friend regarding the interview posting in both Japanese and English:
JW Art Project Tweet thanking the interpreter Makiko Shinoda and looking forward to publication of the interview.
Johnny Weir with Mr. Shigesato during their interview.
Even though as JW Art Project stated in one of the above Tweets the JW Art Book is not related to the interview, on the second day of shooting for the book Mr. Shigesato came to the rink where some of the photos were being taken and skated with Johnny. As you can see both men had a great deal of fun; and in the time since the interview and the skating lesson they have both had some very nice things to say about each other.
Eric Violette's latest Blog on why is no longer the 'FreeCreditReport.com Guy'!
This is a good article/blog regarding what really happened with the FreeCreditReport.com commercials. Eric Violette, the star is actually a talented, trained French-Canadian actor and singer with his own band!
The TRUTH behind the Freecreditreport.com commercials
Looks like the popular Freecreditreport.com band has lost its gig. There will be no more commercials featuring the trio lead by the slacker dude with the impish smile and perpetual credit woes. Freecreditreport.com is offering varying and rather nonsensical explanations for their decision.
The commercials which began airing in 2007 were an immediate hit. The infectious, sing along jingles had Americans, from babies to grandmothers, memorizing the tunes. Country singers sang them at their concerts, crowds at sports events did too. We hardly needed prompting to launch into “They say a man should always dress for the job he wants….”
As interest in the recurring characters increased, lead singer Eric Violette was revealed. Rather than the American garage band frontman he symbolized, we found out he is a French Canadian actor/musician lip synching the pre-recorded jingles and his “band” was not really a band. Nevertheless the public continued to love the character and the commercials while increasingly complaining about the product. Consumers seethed when they discovered the product the band was promoting was not actually “F-R-E-E that spells free”. We loved the commercials despite the product they promoted.
Helped along by a story line that everyone could identify with—the young man who dreams big, but rarely hits the mark—the public anxiously waited for each new installment of the band’s continuing saga. Ultimately nine commercials were filmed.
Yet with all the success of the commercials, the back story was quite different. Complaints against Freecreditreport.com rose so much that the government stepped in to help consumers understand what they were signing onto when they accepted their “free” credit report. Using a video parody of the commercials to get out an accurate message, the FTC also began prosecuting Experian (owner of Freecreditreport.com) for their less than “truth in advertising” message. Federal laws were amended to protect consumers from unscrupulous vendors of credit reports which consumers were entitled by law to receive for free once a year anyway.
The other back story involved yet more deception on the part of Freecreditreport.com. Back in 2007 they hired the Martin Advertising Agency to produce the commercials. The agency was recently rated America’s top advertising agency and is the creative mastermind of other memorable commercials such as Geico’s gecko and cavemen. The Martin Agency chose to outsource the production of the commercials to Montreal. Flying under the radar of Canadian unions such as the actors' union ACTRA (AFTRA and SAG's Canadian affiliate), the Martin Agency was able to buy the silence of French Canadian production staff and actors’ agents. The unknown actors were paid a minimum day rate and an annual use buyout of a few hundred dollars. Consequently, the Martin Agency achieved its goal. The commercials were made for a fraction of the cost an American production would have demanded. This allowed them to spend their budget on air time and run the commercials ad infinitum.
While Violette became the face of Freecreditreport.com and the public’s interest in him increased, Freecreditreport.com took advantage of his popularity to again be less than forthright with the public. Not content to mislead consumers with the so-called free credit reports, nor content to produce commercials on the sly in Canada, they also impersonated Violette on their Freecreditreport.com websites and Facebook pages. Fans posted messages on these sites clearly thinking they were communicating directly with the “band” members. FCR even created a Facebook character named Roadie Jack who pretended to be the “band’s” roadie. When Jack’s Facebook friends (there were thousands) asked him about the band, Jack would invent bogus answers. Unsuspecting fans did not realize the sites were simply a marketing tool.
The impersonation continued in 2008 when Freecreditreport.com held a contest on Youtube. All you had to do was upload yourself singing one of the commercial songs. The grand prize was $15,000!! Ironically, this was more money than Freecreditreport.com had paid to all three “band” members for acting in the commercials. During the contest fans posted comments on the Youtube page believing the members of “FCR band” were hosting the contest. Again fans' presumptions about who they were communicating with were never corrected by the FCR.
Meanwhile Violette, who made only a few thousand dollars for the entire series of commercials, was still a struggling actor and musician trying to cope with his sudden pop icon status. Accosted by the American media, who naturally expected Violette to have reaped the financial rewards of his fame and the TV residuals, he graciously deflected their questions delving into how his new found “wealth” and “life changing” windfall had changed his life. Neither Freecreditreport.com nor the Martin Agency offered him assistance with public relations. Freecreditreport.com watched nervously as the actor began doing more and more interviews and making appearances in the US. Their discomfort with his popularity was because they knew the more media queried the actor or scrutinized the background of the commercials the more likely the truth behind the commercials' productions and FCR's disingenuous manipulation of the public might be exposed.
Last year, that is just what happened. As production for the third set of commercials began in Montreal, ACTRA heard about it and angrily intervened. Production could continue, ACTRA stated, but only under ACTRA guidelines. That meant the Martin Agency would have to pay union rates and residuals to the actors. Consequently, these last commercials were aired far less often than their cheaper predecessors and now they've been pulled completely.
Apparently, the Martin Agency intends to continue the “band” concept but with different actors. What are they going to do? Head off to a third world country? No, they're going to hire some inexperienced American band who is hungry for fame. That band will be exploited just as badly as Violette and his bandmates because that's what Freecreditreport.com does best--scam people. And in a few years, the decision to drop the original band will appear on the list of worst marketing decisions of the decade.
So ends the story of the Freecreditreport.com guy.
Again I would like to encourage everyone to vote in some Twitter wall contests! The vote Wall of Fame lists previous winners as well as the Top 25 in each category!
You may vote once every twenty minutes, and you do not have to be a member of Twitter to vote.
After you cast a vote in each category, wait twenty minutes and then refresh the page and you will be able to vote again. Please remember to uncheck the two boxes below if you are a Twitter member, however. If you leave the boxes checked everyone who follows you will get a Direct Message copy of every vote you make, and every vote you make will show up in your Twitter feed as well as that of the person or site you are voting for.
You can also case multiple votes in each category. For example, if there are three actors you like in the Actor of the Month category, you can click on each name to vote, then wait twenty minutes and refresh the same as if you were only voting for one in each category. Of course you do not have to take my suggestions, you may certainly vote for anyone you like in any category; and there are many more categories than I have listed here. However, please consider voting for all my choices!
Please vote for Matthew Gray Gubler (@gublernation) in this category! Current rank number thirty-one! Also, please vote for @JohnnyGWeir in this category! Current rank number thirteen!
Shameless plug here: please vote for Wheres My Koppy's Blog in this category! Current rank number seven. Please also vote for Gender Test THIS in this category! Current rank number nine!
I am writing this Blog to post some responses to subjects I have recently written about. Rather than create an entire Blog I am just going to post links with (brief) summaries.
