It was another good Austin Jugglefest!
Mark Hayward performed at the Renegade show (and was the MC) but I missed it because I did not come until Saturday. We talked tops on Saturday and Sunday but we did not actually throw much together. By the way, he said he has an aunt (I believe) who lived in Nigeria and studied the Hausa language, so she may be able to find something more about the Rascals.
Brad was there selling his props. We mainly talked as he had to work the table (his wife was watching him
).
Somebody with whom I did throw tops was Alan (alan850627 on the board). Last year I didn't realize how much he is into diabolos. He had like 20 over there! But he also brought his Taiwanese tops. He is the inductee number 143
to the
Figaro Gallery of Top Players:
As always I helped several beginners. Anna (originally from Russia) had a top that she could throw but was using a very, very, short string. I tried to have her unlearn the throw and relearn it with a longer string: I hope I did not frustrate her. Reid Jacobson, from the Austin Unicycle School, had a Ripcord he bought after seen a top player a few years ago, but he could not do much with it. I think he had good progress (he may join the forum). Another was Michael, a very young juggler. Unfortunately, he could not get a consistent throw on the floor, what it is surprising because he is very good at learning any juggling (he already does 5 balls) or balancing skill (plus he is a competitive Rubik cube player). I suspect he was trying too hard. I gave him a Short Circuit, so that may change very soon.
This very tall guy had not problem raising the top on his finger. When the Giulia finally fell I checked the bearing and was still spinning ok. I did not check the floor . . .
Ben Conde gave a popular workshop on off string yo-yo. His performance on the public show was almost flawless (just one drop) and the public gave him a standing ovation (this yoyoing style was new to most of the public). Unfortunately, he did not come to the gym on Sunday so I could not get him to try the YoYo Empire top nor take his photo with Figaro.
