All my children, and by children I mean poi
Everyone knew it was only a matter of time before I finally wrote something about my latest and most lasting awesome hobby of doom, so here we go!
First Part - What is poi?
Poi is a performance art in which a ball or balls suspended from a length of flexible material, usually a plaited cord, are held in the hand and swung in circular patterns. Poi is one of the traditional performing arts of the Māori people of New Zealand, and has developed many forms used worldwide as a hobby, exercise, or performance art alongside juggling and other forms of object manipulation.
(says Wikipedia)
Part the second - Why?
Favorite answer: Why not?!
Well, this is a hard one for me to explain... no wait, it's not. Its because it's fun and it looks freakin cool!
The one important thing they don't mention above (because they're focusing on the basics) is that many/most poi spinners (in my experience) prefer to spin objects that are lit in some way. I generally spin glowing LED powered ones. Later this summer you'll find me LIGHTING THINGS ON FIRE AND SPINNING THEM AROUND ME DAFSASF!!!!!@#HHGH#@
Yes, you heard right, we light things on fire, and swing them around our bodies.
Part III - Danger Will Robinson!
Q: Wait, fire? Isn't that dangerous?
A: Yes, so is breathing, especially in Jersey, ever heard of cancer? ugh.
Life is short. Light things on fire!
... I feel like that should be a t-shirt or something.
Seriously though, when you take the appropriate precautions there's only a small risk of being harmed or harming others, most of which can be avoided by not being a complete jackass and/or trying with things that aren't on fire first.
Plus, did I forget to mention that it looks awesome?
Section 4: the revenge of the section (or, how do I do this poi thing anyway?)
The best way to learn poi is to just do it.
The easiest way to just do it is to learn poi.
Wait, I made a circle. Lets step back.
Poi at its heart is simply object manipulation. You put a weight on a string, you spin the object around. Suddenly this is poi.
Have keys on a lanyard? Have a tube sock and an orange? Piece of string and a banana?
All of this can be poi! (or breakfast... except the keys)!
Sure, you can spend lots of money buying cool toys, but who wants to wait for shipping when you could start hitting yourself and looking like an idiot right now!
I'm going to update this later today with some links to awesome tutorial videos and pictures, maybe if you're lucky I'll post up where to get the same toys I use.
Until then, hold your breath... okay?
I'm gonna go spin. seeya in a bit.
[To Be Continued...]
Today’s Experiment
Lately I have been falling asleep at work, or feeling strongly fatigued. Today I decided to try out the 5-hour energy shots.
Purchased 2 "Lemon-Lime" shots last night.
@08:00 -
Initial reaction "these things are freaking NASTY".
It kicked my eyelids back open though, so I guess it works. So far I've consumed about 2/3 of one.
@08:43 -
Sitting at my desk approx 45 mins later, I still feel a little tired but my eyelids aren't trying to shut themselves.
@11:15 -
Leg has started bouncing... starting to speed. Can't tell if this is a crash or just being energetic. Definitely awake though.
@11:35 -
Decided to finish the rest of the shot. With a cry of "For Science!" I downed the rest of it. The initial rush a moment or two after it hits the system is an intriguing feeling. As long as I can settle back down and do some work instead of speeding and twitching I'll consider this a success. If not, I'll have to save this stuff for parties and such.
Will continue to update.
Game Core Con ’09
I spent over 15 hours Friday/Saturday putting together the Magic:The Gathering price list for the crew at We've Got Freakin' Video Games. Then I slept for about half an hour before I jumped in the car and drove out to Oaks, PA for the Game Core Convention 2009 a gathering of video, console, tabletop and other gamers.
One of the highlights for me was getting to see YTCracker and MC Lars perform in the music area of the con. I got to record a little bit of video which I actually remembered to put up on my YouTube this time (not sure if I'll post it on my vimeo too).
While I was hanging in the music room they were holding the door-prize raffle in the main con space. Agnes was hanging out there listening. We won cartridge #1 of #50 limited edition printing of a BRAND NEW game for the Atari 2600 called Shield Shifter that was released at the con by the folks at Good Deal Games.
Yes kids, you read that correctly, a brand new game (released September 12, 2009) for the Atari 2600 (released in October 1977). Needless to say I was shocked and amazed, happy as could be, and then I traded it to Jim for his collection (since he actually collects games and I just, uh, don't). I now have cartridge #8 of 50, and someday when I find my 2600 I'm gonna play the hell out of it.
After about 8 hours at con (running on 30 minutes of sleep in the last 42 hours) we decided to head home, having declared victory and gone on a bit of a spending binge (I bought used books again! >.<). Tune in next time for another exciting update on a topic that has NOTHING to do with this one!