“If you open your mind, you will see that all the elements are one. Four parts of the same whole… to master the Avatar State, you must open all the chakras. Surrender yourself… Let the pure cosmic energy flow.”
I’m excited to share with you all “Legacy”- the newest entry in my personal tribute to the timeless & marvelous “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and “The Legend of Korra” series! I finally found some free time this year to rewatch the series and then dive into reading the Dark Horse comics for the very first time ever. I am now all caught up and have a newfound affection for the lore, all thanks to the high talents of Mike DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and every other brilliant mind that has contributed to the Avatar series. A big thank you to each of them, as well as a big thanks to all of you for your continued support!
“For me, becoming a celebrity was like being in the eye of a hurricane. Suddenly I was an international cover girl. Everybody was lapping up my Hemingwayness. They wanted to rub elbows with me or brush up against me. As a child I had seen Lauren Hut-ton on a magazine cover, and I thought that the fast lane was as exhilarating as racing down a mountain on skis. I was meeting famous people and constantly traveling all over the world. I remember being really poor until I got my first $250,000 check from Fabergé That was pretty nice; I put it in the bank and from that moment on there seemed to be a lot of champagne and limousines in my life. Being on the cover of TIME was another high for me. I lost my passport in Spain, and that cover got me through customs.”- Margaux Hemingway for People Magazine(1988)
Moving Moments: “ - JERRY F*CKING JUDGE… THIS SONG IS FOR YOU MY BROTHEEERRR!!!” [Johnny’s tribute to Jerry Judge]
2 years ago, on May 10, the Hollywood Vampires started their 2019 Spring Tour and during their next 7 shows, while singing his cover of “People Who Died”, Johnny opened his heart and made a lovely tribute to his late friend and bodyguard, Jerry Judge, who passed away just one month earlier.
The song, originally from The Jim Carroll Band, is known for being “a catalogue of young people Carroll knew growing up who met tragic ends”. During the tour, the Hollywood Vampires also pays homage to their loved ones who passed away, like Hunter S. Thompson, Marlon Brando, Lemmy Kilmister, Prince, Bela Lugosi and others who had their photos added on a backdrop video screened on the big screen behind the members.
Johnny’s homage comes after the chorus of the 5th verse, replacing the 6th verse for a speech. All the members slow down their instruments and Johnny got very emotional (something I think most of us didn’t have seen in a long time). Now the backdrop shows a photo of Jerry, taken during the filming of “Dark Shadows” in 2011. Johnny looks up to him, points up proudly, and for the first time talks to the audience on stage expressing his feelings toward his huge friend… We all know how hard is for him to talk on public and stage and he did it throughout the next 7 nights.
“That mountain… Used to stand right there on the other side of the stage. Jerry was a bulldog, made MI5*, he’d take a bullet in the head just to keep me around… We call him equalizer, instead of his name… And then he found relief from the cancer’s pain. He is still there. Jerry f*cking judge… THIS SONG IS FOR YOU MY BROTHER!!!”
*MI5 (stands for “Military Intelligence, Section 5 and is the British domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, and part of its intelligence machinery and known for keep the country safe and to protect people from danger whether it be from terrorism or damaging espionage by hostile states)
This only one of the dozen of tributes Johnny and the Vampires did in Jerry memory. Johnny, as well his bodyguards, also wore a t-shirt with Jerry’s face on the front and a handwritten message of Johnny on the back, which were also added to the balls that they threw during the last song to the audience, and to the guitar pins they usually thrown to the audience. One of then, Johnny turned into a lapel pin and wore during one of his trial days in London, on July 24, 2020. Still in 2019, Johnny also tattooed Jerry’s face on his arm along his initials (JJ) and the number 13, which were previously written in a black piece of cloth that Johnny wore during the tour as an armband around his left arm as a symbol of mourning.
And in spirit Jerry was there, and is still taking care of Johnny on the corner of the stage, the same side we can see Johnny always playing, and wherever he goes running around to protect him.
Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Judge. Rest in power.
IN MEMORIAM: Today(April 5, 2022), marks 3 years without our eternal bodyguard, Jerry Judge.
Rest in Power, Mr. Jerry Judge…Keep protecting our baby boy.
