Tag: juggling

Going for the Juggler Gold Trophy!

I’ve been working on my juggling form—and it’s only somewhat improved, but I’m getting 30 throws (good for the personal Gold Trophy milestone) without dropping more consistently just since yesterday.

I’ve got about a dozen video clips with me getting at least 30 throws, one with 36 although I’m weaving, lunging, rearing, rocking and rolling all over the room, nearly crashing into the computer. You can read my lips to see I’m counting in the video.

I’m hoping that getting to my Juggling Gold Trophy milestone will help make it easier to do tricks.

Taming the Juggling Balls

As of November 7, 2022 it has been 22 days since I purchased the Learn to Juggle kit from Barnes and Noble. So far, my learning experience reminds me of a story by Mark Twain, “Taming the Bicycle,” which was published posthumously—obviously after he succumbed from his injuries in the attempt to ride the high-wheeled bicycle in the early 1880s.

Just kidding of course, about his death from the bicycle riding adventure. He did mention using about a barrel of something called Pond’s Extract, which was a liniment for scrapes and other wounds.

Twain was writing about learning something new—a thing all of us are called on to do many times in our lives. He didn’t try to learn to ride the bicycle until he was over 50 years old.

I didn’t try to learn how to juggle until was well past my mid-sixties. How do you account for decisions to embark on new hobbies, adventures, and other nonsense at an age when most people would be content vegetating on the porch or in front of the TV?

I just answered the question, in case you didn’t notice.

Anyway, I am making some progress as juggling, although it’s uneven. It’s hard to believe, but sometimes I think I juggle better as I wander around. I think it might be because there is a natural tendency to throw the balls away from you. That way, I look more adept simply because I’m making a frequently observed beginner’s mistake. But I seem to be steadier even when I walk backward a few paces.

 When I stand firmly in one place and attempt to juggle, I can often barely make it past half a dozen throws. Wandering a little, I have made thirty throws.

But then, randomly, the opposite occurs and the theory fails.

Counting the number of each throw seems to help—occasionally. I also notice that unscheduled, short practice episodes for 10 minutes or less work better than struggling along for a half hour or so at set times.

I don’t dread the practice sessions; in fact, I have a sort of itch to juggle at various times during the day. Sometimes I believe I do it to help me collect my thoughts, to keep my hands occupied, or just to pass the time.

I remember learning to ride the bicycle for the first time when I was a kid. I fell down a lot, just like Twain did—until I got the hang of it. Maybe juggling will turn out to be the same.

But I won’t need Pond’s Extract for juggling mistakes—as long as I don’t try juggling while climbing or descending stairs.

Blood Moon of November 2022 in the Books

Well, it was cold rousting out of bed into the freezing temperatures to get an eyeful of the total lunar eclipse, otherwise known as a blood moon.

Sena still asks me questions about the whole event, including “And why can’t we see Earth?” She told me I could share that.

I was so keyed up about it I didn’t get hardly a wink of sleep. I wasn’t planning to see the whole thing, but since I was awake most of the night anyway, I got up at 2:00 AM and set up cameras out on the deck.

It was a spectacular view (although I admit you can hardly tell that from my pictures). Like I did for the last blood moon in May this year, I took shots with both my Nikon D3400 and Canon Powershot SX610 HS. I tried both on the tripod. I barely know anything about cameras. I just press the shutter button for the most part and hope for the best.

There were a lot of planes out last night in the general vicinity of the moon. I suspect the pilots were checking out the eclipse. I didn’t see any UFOs, but a couple of deer (or a huge buck, it was hard to see because it was so dark) crossed our yard.

I thought it was cold in May, but this morning I had to drag out my winter coat, hat, gloves, and considered building a fire on the deck, but I decided against it.

This event was special for a different reason. I took my first ever selfies with my 7-year-old smartphone. There’s a first time for everything, including tin foil hats.

You should protect yourself with a tin foil hat when you’re watching the sky. You never know what the extraterrestrials are up to, especially during a total lunar eclipse.

Seeing the stars and planets sometimes makes me want to juggle, an urge against which tin foil hats are ineffective.

Old Dogs Can Learn New Juggling Tricks

I have been diligently been working on my juggling form—and of course it’s no better. But I’m having a lot of fun and even learning a few juggling tricks. Some of them are harder to do than others.

I’ve been juggling different objects, like socks and Blobs. The Blob antennae tend to get lodged between my fingers. I can sort of juggle Christmas tree balls. Christmas always comes early at our house. Sena always has a tree or two to put up and decorate.

There’s a tree up in the sun room and one in the lower level, where I juggled Christmas tree balls. Those are the ones we can do without, just in case I break them.

The tricks are not that hard and they won’t break the internet, except for one, maybe.

I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Trying to Find the Juggler Space

I’ve been learning to juggle for over a couple of weeks now and I’m having trouble finding the sweet spot in juggling. It’s called the juggle space and I don’t know if there’s any agreement about exactly where it is.

On the other hand, I frequently toss balls too far in front of me or too close to me. I also throw them too high or too low.

The juggling manual I bought with the Learn to Juggle kit says it’s formed by an imaginary pane of glass. The bottom two corners are your two hands at the at your waist and at your sides. The top is a line just above your head.

If you want to know more about the juggling space, you can contact the International Jugglers’ Association.

The secret seems to be in the throw. If I don’t throw that perfect arc, the balls end up on the floor or on my head.

I notice that when I do keep my balls closer to my chest, I can juggle better. Wait, that didn’t sound right.

Anyway, trying to find the “pain” of glass is the challenge for me now. Practice is the key.

Blob Juggling

Sena bought me some new juggling items, which include three new balls and 3 Blobs. The Blobs are probably extraterrestrials because they have antennae. They all tend to bounce off my hands, but that’s no excuse for my continuing ugly form, which I swear I’m continuing to work on.

I’m starting to occasionally sneak in an over-the-top throw. I toss it over instead of under the ball. I notice that I hold my left arm above the right one for some reason. It looks weird, but it may be an unconscious way to cheat my way to the silver trophy for 20 throws.

Ugly Juggling!

You know, what I wonder is whether there is a place for ugly juggling? Because that’s what I do. There might be such a thing as an ugly juggling stage in learning to juggle, and could there be an Ugly Juggling Society?

I could be the president. We could have annual meetings in warm climates and juggle ugly until we drop our balls. Careful. We could have ugly juggling contests, live music, and a hog roast.

I tried juggling my wife’s socks and even a cold or heat pack we got from the Iowa City Police. Don’t worry, I was not placed under arrest. It was a complimentary gift from a member of the local police force who attended the opening of the newly renamed James Alan McPherson Park in Iowa City.

I think I might be ready for the bronze trophy for getting 10 throws, more or less consistently (OK maybe a little less).

If you think my juggling is ugly, you’ve got to see the scandalous cat juggling event. I would never stoop that low, especially since I’m allergic to cat dander.

Juggling Jim’s 3 Ball Cascade

Just to update you on my juggling progress, I’ve come up with some personal goals. My milestone are the iconic 3 trophies, gold, silver, and bronze, to line up with what I’m learning—the 3-ball cascade.

The trophies are keyed to the number of throws you make when you juggle. The juggling manual says 30 throws is the milestone that means you’ve made important progress in the cascade stage.

I’m arbitrarily setting 10 throws for bronze, 20 for silver, and of course, 30 for the gold.

I’ll be the first to admit my form is pretty ugly, but I’m working on it. I need to keep my balls closer to my chest. Get your mind out of the gutter.

Anyway, I practice juggling over the bed because it cuts down on the having to pick up the dropped balls from the floor—at least that’s the theory.

They fall on the floor often enough that I’ve made a game out of it. I start juggling on one side of the bed and when I drop one or more balls on the bed out of my reach or on the floor, I switch to juggling on the other side of the bed.

I switch sides a lot. Sometimes the balls end up in the window sill or bouncing off my head—so switch sides.

The other thing I do is count the number of throws out loud. When I do it in a kind of sing-song voice, I often am able to make more throws. I guess it helps me focus. Goodness knows I can always use more focus.

Certain numbers of throws are like walls. I got stuck at 3 for a short while, and then 4 or 5. Six throws are usual for me for the most part.

However, it’s more and more common for me to throw more than 6 the more I practice. Occasionally I can throw 10 or even more—although my form is pretty awkward.

If you read my lips, you can follow my count, including the lucky 20 throw. When I get more consistent, I just might be eligible for the bronze trophy.

Dryer Ball Juggling Combo!

I’m still making slow but steady progress at juggling. I’m juggling 3 balls although my form and rhythm need a lot of work. I’m still lunging to catch balls I’m tossing too far out in front of me.

But I’m having a great time learning. You’ll notice I sometimes count the throws. I have a long way to go to get to the goal of 30 tosses.

The dryer ball trick includes a couple of dryer balls which I add to the usual 2-inch juggling ball which came with the kit I bought at Barnes and Noble. Or I add the big brown one to the two small regular juggling balls.

The brown dryer ball with a face which looks sort of like a teddy bear is almost 3 inches in diameter and really tough to catch coming down. The knobby blue one is part of a set we’ve had for use in our dryer for a while now.

I can’t tell if the dryer balls work or not in the dryer, but they’re fun to juggle.

Jim and the 3 Ball Flash

Well, just a few days after picking up a kit on how to juggle, complete with 3 juggling balls, I’ve now graduated to the 3 Ball Flash, which I can more or less do consistently—or at least more times than not.

The 3 Ball Flash is to toss and catch 3 balls. You hold two balls in your right hand (or left depending on hand preference) and one ball in your left. You toss one ball in your right hand first over to your left hand. You toss the ball in your left hand over to your right after the first one hits the apex of its arch. Then you toss the second ball in your right hand and catch it in your left so you end up with two balls in your left hand. It’s one, two, three.

If you can do it without dropping balls, the teachers tell you to pat yourself on the back because it’s a big milestone.

You’ll notice in the YouTube video that I make a lot of beginner mistakes. The chief one is that I’m often doing what the author of the juggling manual calls “sprint juggling.” This means that I tend to toss way out in front of me and I end up chasing balls.

There’s this thing called the juggle space in which you’re supposed to toss the balls within a fairly tight space fairly close to your body. The idea is to imagine a sheet of glass in front of you. The bottom two corners are your two hands; the top is in a line just above your head.

When I toss the balls within the frame (which isn’t often!), it’s much easier to toss and catch the balls. What you’ll see me do in the video is the basic 3 Ball Flash, but I sneak in an extra throw or two occasionally—when I feel lucky.