Johnny Weir Announces His Return to Competitive Figure Skating

Update:  Please read Misfit Mimes' blog 'Unstoppable'!  Wonderful in it's simplicity and the beautiful photo of Johnny and Vitya!

Vote for Johnny Weir as 'Best Improv Ice Skater'! 

One vote per person per day.
Voting ends on January 31st, 2012.
The “Best Improv-Ice Skater” will be announced during Pandora Unforgettable Moments of Love on Ice on Saturday, February 4, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. EST on NBC.

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Ever since Johnny Weir announced in late 2010 he was taking a year off from competitive figure skating his fans have been wondering if he would return to competition.  The 2014 Olympics are set to take place in Sochi; a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, on the coast of the Black Sea.  Any fan of Johnny's knows how much he loves the Russian culture and the Russian people, and the feeling is mutual.  These factors would seem to influence his decision on whether to try and make the 2014 Olympic team or not.
There is also a sense of unfinished business where Johnny Weir and the Olympics are concerned. 

Weir, though he did not perform badly at Torino in 2006, faltered and failed to win the Olympic medal he so desired.  The next four years were up and down for Weir competitively, and he fell out of favor with the United States Figure Skating Association.  There was no love lost between the organization and Weir; however, he performed well enough at the 2010 U.S. Championships in Spokane, Washington to qualify for the United States Olympic Team and competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Washington. 

Any fan of Weir's knows what happened next.  After performing a near perfect short program titled 'I Love You, I Hate You', Weir performed a stunningly beautiful long program he had named 'Fallen Angel'.  He had placed sixth after the short program, and he remained in sixth place after his Fallen Angel free skate.  While some believe the placings were fair, many figure skating fans were shocked at Johnny Weir placing sixth in Vancouver.  Without going too heavily into the politics of figure skating, the hurtful comments made about Weir and any other issues involved; Weir's sixth place finish was extremely difficult to understand for many figure skating fans. 

Since the Vancouver Olympics, Johnny Weir has absolutely thrived.  He has skated in numerous figure skating shows, appeared on talks shows and at events, written an autobiography and embarked on a book tour, designed a line of ladies dresses, released a single titled 'Dirty Love', been interviewed and photographed numerous times including for the JW Art Project, appeared at fashion shows and walked runways at New York Fashion Week, become the face of 'Glitter and Ice' for Mac Cosmetics, and filmed season two of his reality show 'Be Good Johnny Weir'.  And that list is only part of what he has been up to in the last two years!      

Oh yeah...  There was that little thing about getting married on New Year's Eve to the wonderful Victor Voronov!

But back to the unfinished business...

As a long time fan of Johnny Weir there are few things I would like more for him than for him to have the Olympic medal I feel he so richly deserves.  I'd love to see him compete and make the team in Sochi and just show everyone for the umpteenth time just how good he really is.  I do have concerns, however. He's never been a favorite of the figure skating establishment, and that is unlikely to change any time soon.  The current scoring system does not favor a skater with the artistic brilliance he possesses, though he can certainly hold his own technically.  And of course, he IS a three time United States champion.

He'll be twenty nine years old in Sochi; not old in human terms, but certainly not young in competitive figure skating terms. However, I'm a fan and I will support him in whatever he decides to do...  And as a friend of mine on Facebook said, figure skating desperately needs Johnny Weir.  At a time when the sport is in a slump, at least partly due to the convoluted judging system and the near robotic state skaters, especially male skaters, are forced into to score enough points to win; as I stated above, Weir is thriving.  He is enormously popular, possibly the single most popular skater around the world; and yes, competitive figure skating DOES need him.  However, as another friend stated, HE doesn't need IT.

Now that I've said those words...  Oh Wednesday,  January 18th, Johnny tweeted his fans these words:

"Coming to you guys tomorrow with some BIG news! Life is funny & it can change in a second. Cherish it all. The good & the bad."

This tweet caused an enormous amount of buzz amongst Johnny's fans, some of whom speculated for hours on Twitter and other sites about what Johnny could possibly mean by that.  Obviously it was something good, right?  But the tone of the rest of the tweet...the good the bad?  What on earth did THAT mean?

Well, we found out Thursday, January 19th 2012 when Johnny Weir announced his return to competitive figure skating! 

After releasing an official statement about his comeback, Johnny appeared at a press conference at which he announced his plans to return to competitive skating with an eye toward making the 2014 Olympic team and competing in Sochi.  He will retire for certain after the next Olympics.

Almost immediately skating fans, especially Johnny's fans, were abuzz with talk of his competitive return.  Within a very short period of time a number of articles had already been written, many of them from major journalistic entities such as Sports Illustrated, USA Today, ESPN and the New York Times.  More are certain to follow.

All I can say at this point is, GO JOHNNY GO!

VIDEO of his twenty minute press conference may be found here and here!  (I can't figure out how to embed it, so leave me alone about it, okay?)

I have also posted sixteen photographs from his press conference. He looks great, doesn't he?  Beautiful smile and I love the hair!

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 19: Figure skater Johnny Weir announces his competitive figure skating comeback at a press conference at West Bank Cafe on January 19, 2012 in New York City. (Photos by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)   

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Read my friend Misfit Mimes blog 'The Official Johnny Weir Blog'!  She rocks!

Johnny Weir on Twitter

Johnny Weir's Official Website

Read my friend Nancy Knisley's blog 'The Quotable Johnny Weir'

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@JohnnyGWeir tweet:

The moment I tweeted you all from my press conference about my comeback as captured by @andrewwerner http://yfrog.com/ob15469868j

11 hours ago

The Tweet in question:

And one more Tweet for the road:

Along with my response:

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January 28, 2011 JW Art Project Update

Okay, so I am a little late with this one! 

There was a Twitter update from JW Art Project on January 28th, 2011.  Although they did not give us any more teaser photographs, they did send us a tweet indicating the ArtBook has been completed, and indicated we can expect the book to be released some time in March of 2011.

Artbook Complete Tweet in English

Artbook Complete Tweet in Japanese

Team JW Art Project:

JWArtProject website / JWArtProject on Twitter / Photography by Hidemi Ogata / Hidemi Ogata's Blog / Art Direction by Yumi Hamano / The Subject Johnny Weir / Producer Chie Hosokawa / Stylist Toshiko Nishikawa / Hair & Make-Up Artist Hiroaki Yanagisawa / Photographer Kiyotaka Mori / Kiyotaka Mori website

  

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My Examiner.com Page (http://www.examiner.com/unemployment-benefits-in-mesa/gail-turley)  (Read my articles on Unemployment and Career Topics)

Yahoo Contributor Network Page (Read my published Associated Content Work: Essays, Creative Writing, Poetry and More)

My Opinion Blog and Personal Space / My blog on LiveJournal / My LinkedIn Profile / My FaceBook Profile / My MLB Blog / My Main Twitter Account AuntInAZ / My 2nd Twitter Account WheresMyKoppy / My 'MySpace' Profile / My Google Profile / My Fanfics at Fanfiction.net 'SayidRocks' / My Fanfics at Fanfiction.net

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Read my friend MisfitMimes Blog Binky and the Misfit Mimes' Blog

Read my friend Nancy Knisley's Blog The Quotable Johnny Weir

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September 23, 2010 JW Art Project Update

This update consists mainly of a series of Tweets between JW Art Project and Art Director Yumi Hamano regarding what will be included in the JW Art Book.  It looks as though there were originally five parts to be included in the book: 1) On Ice; 2) Move; 3) Street Fashion; 4) Documentary; and 5) Doll.  They have created eight short visual stories to illustrate four of these parts, and say they are now removing some pages and that it is a challenge to do so.

I wonder which of the five parts was left out??  The advance tidbits of all five of them were so good! 

Tweet Number One



Tweet Number One in Japanese

Tweet Number Two

Tweet Number Three

Tweet Number Four

Tweet Number Four in Japanese

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The JW Art Project Team:

The Subject Johnny Weir
Photography by Hidemi Ogata
Hidemi Ogata's Blog
Art Direction by Yumi Hamano
Producer Chie Hosokawa
Stylist Toshiko Nishikawa
Hair and Make-Up Artist Hiroaki Yanagisawa

Additional Photography by Kiyotaka Mori
Kiyotaka Mori's Website

Episode X of 'Johnny Comes to Our Office': Epilogue

Episode X 'Epilogue', of the extraordinarily insightful series of interviews 'Johnny Weir!!! Johnny Comes to Our Office' between Itoi Shigesato and Johnny Weir, was posted on September 10, 2010. The interview was conducted at Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun (“Almost Daily Itoi News”) abbreviated as ‘Hobonichi’, the office of Itoi Shigesato. There are several photos and two new videos included with Episode Ten.

In addition, Episode Ten: Epilogue contains a wonderful slide show of forty-five photographs of Johnny shooting on ice photographs for the upcoming JW Art Book! The slide show can only be seen at the actual website, so please go to the website to view the slide show!

Here is the text of Episode X of the interview (photographs may be seen at the website or at my Blog エピローグ 2010-09-10-FRI Epilogue):

思いがけず、というと、

たいへん失礼かもしれないのですが、
これほど、濃密で、親密な、
やり取りになるとは、
事前に予想していませんでした。

"Unexpectedly" may not be the appropriate expression, but we didn't anticipate their interaction to be so profound and intimate.

対談が終わり、
ありがとうの握手を交わしたあとも、
ふたりはしばらくその場に残って
おしゃべりを続けていました。
聞いている乗組員たちも
ずっとそれを聞いていました。

They kept on chatting even after they shook hands and ended the interview. All of us stayed there, listening.

なんというか、ちょっと、
名残惜しい感じがしたものですから。

We already knew that we were going to miss Johnny.

糸井重里からの個人的なプレゼントは
三谷龍二さんの木の器と匙、フォーク。
大喜びで包みを開け、机の上に
ディスプレイしたのは、ジョニー本人。

Shigesato Itoi had personally selected a gift for Johnny: A carved wooden tray, spoon, and fork. Johnny beamed with joy, and displayed them on the table for everyone to see.

乗組員を代表して、
ジョニーの大ファンである若田が
手渡したものは‥‥。

Wakata, a big fan of Johnny, hands him another present. This one is from the staff, and we decided to give him...

ジョニーが大好きだという、
「チェブラーシカ」グッズの詰め合わせ。
日本独自の商品ばかりを集めましたよ

What else but Johnny's favorite character, Cheburashka? The gift is filled with "Japanese limited edition" Cheburashkas.

最後に、みんなで記念撮影。
すごいテンション！

Say cheese! Are we psyched or what?

糸井とも記念のツーショット。
そして、別れ際に、
ジョニーがこう言ったんです。

Another picture, this time just the two of them. Before saying goodbye, Johnny started saying...

「明後日、スケートリンクで撮影があるから
　遊びに来ない？　いっしょに滑ろう」って。

"There's going to be a photo shoot for my art book at the rink the day after tomorrow. Would you like to come? We can skate together."

糸井が「滑ったことないよ」って言うと、
「教えてあげるよ」って。

Itoi tells him he's never skated before, but Johnny says he'll teach.

もちろん社交辞令的なことだと
思ったんですけどね‥‥。

We thought he was just being courteous...
http://ジョニー先生のスケート講座./



自分の写真集の合間に、
糸井だけでなく、私たちさえ、
気遣ってくれるジョニー。
見学しているジュニアのスケーターに話しかけ、
ひとりひとり撮影とサインに応じるジョニー。
ほんとうに、最後まで、
ジョニーに魅了されっぱなしの我々でした。

Johnny was a graceful host. In between photo shoots, Johnny made sure Itoi and his staff were comfortable. He went to speak with the junior skaters, took pictures with them, and signed autographs. He was just fascinating.

そして、当たり前ですけど、
スケートリンクでのジョニーはまた
格別の輝きがあります。
スライドショーで、たっぷりどうぞ。

Johnny was just exceptional on ice. Enjoy the slide show.

そして、最後に、
糸井は持ってきたジャムをジョニーに手渡し、
ほんとうにお別れのときがきました。
たのしかった。

And so it was time to say goodbye. Itoi handed Johnny the jar of homemade jam he promised to bring. We had so much fun.

ジョニー・ウィアーと過ごした
スペシャルな時間は、
ほんとうに、夢のようでしたけど、
やはり、夢ではない。
あの時間がいまに続いてるということが
なんだか妙に私たちを勇気づけます。

Being with Johnny felt like a dream, but it was real. The time we spent together leads to today: it is surprisingly encouraging just to think about it.

おとぎ話の主人公のような
ジョニー・ウィアー。
けれども、彼がいる場所と
私たちのいる場所は、
ちゃんと、いまも、つづいているんです。

Johnny seems almost to have come right out of a fairy tale, but we know that his world and our world are connected. Always.

それって、素敵なことだと思いませんか。

Isn't that just divine?

おしまいまでお読みいただき、
どうもありがとうございました。
ジョニー・ウィアーからのメッセージを最後に。

So this is the end of our story. Thank you for reading. We would like to close with a message from Johnny.
ジョニーから日本のファンへのメッセージ。

This interview was conducted with the invaluable assistance of interpreter Makiko Shinoda.
(C)HOBO NIKKAN ITOI SHINBUN
 
Share Your Favorite Quotes Tweet

Announcement Tweet in Japanese

Announcement Tweet in English

 
Prologue: Episode One
You Weren’t Competing Against Anyone: Episode Two
I Understand That I’m Not Perfect: Episode Three
Cry With A Smile: Episode Four
Maybe I Was Russian In Another Life Time: Episode Five
Japan Is the Beat of the World: Episode Six
Mmm… Desserts!: Episode Seven
I Represent Johnny Weir: Episode Eight
People Who Can Accept Both Sides Move Forward: Episode Nine
 
Team JW Art Project:
 
JW Art Project website
The subject Johnny Weir
Photography by Hidemi Ogata
Hidemi Ogata's Blog
Art Direction by Yumi Hamano
Photographer Kiyotaka Mori
Kiyotaka Mori website
Hair & Makeup Artist Hiroaki Yanagisawa
Stylist Toshiko Nishikawa
Producer Chie Hosokawa
 

Episode VI of 'Johnny Comes to Our Office': Japan Is The Beat of the World

Episode Six 'Japan Is The Beat of the World', of the extraordinarily insightful series of interviews 'Johnny Weir!!!  Johnny Comes to Our Office' between Itoi Shigesato and Johnny Weir, was posted on September 6, 2010. The interview was conducted at Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun (“Almost Daily Itoi News”) abbreviated as ‘Hobonichi’, the office of Itoi Shigesato. There are several photos and a new video included with Episode Six.

Here is the text of Episode VI of the interview (photographs may be seen at the website):

糸井 Itoi
じゃ、つぎは日本の話を。
Let's hear about Japan now.

ジョニー Johnny
日本には、はじめて来た瞬間に、
恋に落ちちゃったような感じでした。
アジアではじめて訪れた国が
日本だったんですけど。
実ははじめて来たのは空港の乗換えで、
オーストラリアに行く途中だったんです。
Sure. I have a huge love affair with Japan from the moment I came here. Japan was the first country I visited amongst other Asian countries. The first time was actually a transit. We flew to Japan first on the way to Australia.

ぼくはちょっと潔癖なところがあって、
とにかくキレイ好きなんですけど、
空港を歩いてみると、とにかくキレイで、
壁が真っ白で、ぜんぶが美しくて。
こんなに小さな国にたくさんの人が住んでるのに、
こんなにキレイだっていうことが
ほんとにすばらしいなと思ったんです
I'm crazy about being clean. It fascinated me just to walk in the airport and to see how clean and white and beautiful everything was. I was amazed by how a small country with so many people can be so clean.

糸井 Itoi
（オフィスを見渡して）
‥‥ここは、まずいな。
(Looking around the office)
We're ruining his impression...

一同 All
（笑）
(Laughter)

ジョニー Johnny
で、最初に来たときは空港で
シャネルとか、フェンディとか、
お買い物をしただけだったんですけど、
その後アイススケートのキャリアを重ねて、
何度も日本に来るようになると、
ますます日本に夢中になりました。
そう、日本の歴史とかは‥‥‥‥。
So, my first visit was the airport, seeing Chanel and Fendi and all the other boutiques. I started to come more as I progressed through my career. The more I visited, the more I was fascinated by the country and its history. It's just...

♪♪♪‥‥♪♪♪‥‥♪♪♪‥‥
（ジョニーのマネージャーの
携帯電話の着メロが突然鳴り響く）
(Suddenly, Johnny is interrupted by his agent's cell phone ringtone.)

ジョニー Johnny
‥‥‥‥‥‥。
（マネージャーをじっとにらむジョニー）
(Johnny glares silently at his agent.)

一同 All
（笑）
(Laughter)

ジョニーJohnny
日本の歴史とか、文化などに、
どんどん興味を持っていきました。
なんでって言われると、ロシアの例と同じで
ちょっと説明しにくいんですけれど、
日本を訪問する機会が増えて、
少しずつ日本のことを知るたびに
素敵な面を発見して好きになって。
ほんとに清潔で、保守的なところがある一方で
モダンなところもあって、
他の国にはないところもあって。
Anyway, I just became more and more interested in the history and culture of Japan. Just like my love affair with Russia, Japan was another place that spoke to me. I found different traits of Japan that I love every time I came here. It isn't just the cleanliness. Japan is in one way very conservative but at the same time it is very modern and ahead of the rest of the world.

日本の街を歩くと、
アメリカだと５年後にならないと
こういうものは流行らないだろうなという
ファッションをみんながしていて、
すごく刺激を受けるんです。
日本が世界全体の文化のペースをつくってる、
という感じがするんですね。
It's so inspiring to come here. People here are walking down the streets in fashion that people in the US won't be wearing for another five years. In many ways, I think Japan is the beat of the world.

あともう一つは、実は日本発なんだけど、
他の国がまねをして、そちらが本家のような
顔をしていることがあると思う。
日本はすごく小さな国だけれども、
誇りを持っていて、他の国を
変に頼ろうという期待もせずに
自分でしっかりやってる感じにも共感します
Many things follow Japan, although a lot of times other countries are given credit for them. Japan is very small but a very proud and modern country, and they don't expect anything from the rest of the world. I think that is very cool.

日本の人たちはすごく文化的で、
礼儀正しくて、かつ正直で、
そんな人たちって、なかなかいないと思う。
I also think Japanese people are very cultured and polite, and at the same time honest. It's hard to find people like that.

糸井 Itoi
日本に行きたくなっちゃいました。
I think I want to go to Japan now.

一同 All
（笑）
(Laughter)

ジョニー Johnny
ほんとに（笑）？
Really? (Laughs)

糸井 Itoi
いっしょに行きましょう。
We should go together.

ジョニー Johnny
うん（笑）
Sure. (Laughter)

糸井 Itoi
ロシアの次は日本に行ってみたい。
We go to Russia together first, and then we go to Japan.

ジョニー Johnny
（笑）
(Laughter)

糸井 Itoi
ええと、ロシアと日本の話のつぎは、
そう、プリンが好きだっていう話ですね。
So we've talked about Russia and Japan. Now... oh yes, about your love for custard pudding.

ジョニー Johnny
プリンの話って、どこから来たんですか？
Where does this custard pudding story come from?

糸井 Itoi
あ、いや、あのね、
Twitterに書いてあったんですよ。
あなたがここに来ることをTwitterに書いたら、
たくさんのファンがぼくにTwitterで
いろんなことを教えてくれたんですけど、
「ジョニーはプリンが好きでエビが嫌いです」
っていう情報がそのなかにあって。
I read it on Twitter. When I tweeted that you were coming to Hobonichi, many of your fans tweeted me back with bits and pieces of information about you. One of them said that you like custard pudding and that you don't like shrimp.

ジョニー Johnny
（笑）
(Laughs)

糸井 Itoi
それ、本当？
Is that true?

ジョニー Johnny
ぼく、エビは好きだよ。
.....I like shrimp.

一同 All （笑）
(Laughter)
糸井 Itoi
あー、そうなんだ（笑）。
You do! (Laughs)

ジョニーJohnny
いや、プリンはたしかに好きだけどね。
But I like custard pudding, too.

To Be Continued......
(C)HOBO NIKKAN ITOI SHINBUN
 
This interview was conducted with the invaluable assistance of interpreter Makiko Shinoda.
 
New Installment Tweet in Japanese
 

New Installment Tweet in English

 
ジョニーと携帯電話 (YouTube Video)

 
Prologue: Episode One
You Weren’t Competing Against Anyone: Episode Two
I Understand That I’m Not Perfect: Episode Three
Cry With A Smile: Episode Four
Maybe I Was Russian In Another Life Time: Episode Five

September 5, 2010: Johnny Answers JW Art Projects Question

In answer to the question posed by JW Art Project earlier today, and addressed in my Blog September 5, 2010 JW Art Project Update, Johnny sent this Tweet:

Per Akiko Nakata 'Buji tsukimashita!' translates to 'We arrived safely!'

This Ping stuff is so adorable, and so much fun!  Thank you to JW Art Project and Johnny Weir for having fun with it and allowing us fans to come along for the ride!  I am so glad Johnny has a sense of humor about all of this, and that he isn't afraid to let us all know he does indeed travel with adorable little Ping the Panda! 

Anyway, here is the promised Twitpic!

Johnny hugging Ping!

Once Johnny sent the above Tweet and Twitpic, JW Art Project translated his answer into Japanese for his Japanese fans!

September 5, 2010 JW Art Project Update

Jw Art Project Tweet:

New Twitpic from Jw Art Project:

Photography by Hidemi Ogata
Art Direction by Yumi Hamano

Hidemi Ogata's Blog
JW Art Project's Official Website
JW Art Project on Twitter

September 4th JW Art Project Update

Email Newsletter Tweet in English

Email Newsletter Tweet in Japanese

If you follow the above link and register for the JW Art Book email newsletter, you will be taken to this thank you page containing this never before seen photograph!

JW Art Project on Twitter
JW Art Project official website
Photography by Hidemi Ogata
Hidemi Ogata's official Blog
Art Direction by Yumi Hamano