MISCELLANEOUS BITS
Our spiffy new THJ Blog promises to be a wonderful place to post important messages (like cancelled practice sessions or upcoming performances), interesting ideas (like the diabolo-based approach to String Theory), reports from Turks Heads near and far (like folks off to college) and idle musings (like "Exactly how many more months of perdition wait between me and actually running five balls?") And we hope you will take an active part in the digital community that the Blog will support.
The way the Blog is set up, you should be able to "Comment" or "Respond" or "Agree" or "Grouse" about anything that is posted. Hey, this is America. But to start your own posting, you will need to be registered. And Randy will have to extend an invitation. (It's a digital thingy he has to do...) He's already extended roughly 40 invitations and is perfectly happy to extend more. (He's sure that he forgot to extend the invitation to several important folks already. You know how he gets...) So if you would like to begin posting on the site, just drop an e-mail to him by clicking here. And he'll get right on it.
STOP THE PRESSES!! THIS JUST IN!!
In case you missed it, Reuters News Service (London) reported that scientists have determined that juggling will (are you ready for this?) INCREASE THE SIZE OF YOUR BRAIN!! No jive.
A comparison of brain-imaging scans of folks who just learned to juggle -- versus a control group, of course -- shows a clear increase in the "gray matter" of the newly trained jugglers' brains. (Gray matter refers to the cells -- found in the outer layers of the cerebrum portion of the brain -- which are responsible for advanced mental functions. Like juggling, natch.)
Arne May, of the University of Regensburg in Germany said: "Our results challenge our view of the human central nervous system." Report published in the VERY prestigious journal Nature. So there.
The bad news? Seems that when you stop juggling, your brain loses some of its newly acquired size.
Lesson to be learned? Simple:
Capisce?
SOMETHING SERIOUS: JUGGLING FIRE
Juggling fire is dangerous. Period. The potential for serious injury to yourself, those around you, or the buildings and grounds nearby is very real. And you may not realize your overconfidence, lack of preparation, or lack of skill until something -- or someone -- is in flames.
(For what it's worth, an IJA champion once told me: "Real jugglers don't need flames or blades." Truth.)
But you may feel you need to do it anyway... (sigh...) Fortunately, some folks with a great deal of experience and common sense have written instructions as to how to minimize the risk:
Click here
for some good words from Eric Bagai on the subject. But don't stop there.When you're done, click here for additional insights, advice, and cautions. This link is specifically about fire poi, but the advice is exactly the same, no matter what flaming equipment you're manipulating. It also lists several other links for additional information.
And please remember that the most important piece of safety equipment you can bring to this -- or any -- activity is that soft gray mushy thing located between your ears. THINK FIRST!!
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