Why is a Hula-Hoop Like a Gee Haw Whammy Diddle?
Have you ever twiddled a Gee Haw Whammy Diddle, winged a “Lonely Dog” Wonder Ring or swung a Swing Wing? If not then why not? Are they related to hoop and will these toys improve your hooping or indeed your life? Well kinda and probably not, but they have cool names and frankly that’s enough for me.
First of all the Gee Haw Whammy Diddle. Here’s Wikipedia’s description of the toy’s name so that you don’t confuse it with other toys:
The word “Whammy” is sometimes “Whimmy” and the word “Diddle” sometimes “Doodle” … and the “Gee-Haw” may also be dropped.”
Presumably dropping it doesn’t do it any good though. Basically it’s just a notched stick with a little propeller at one end, and by rubbing another stick up and down it you can make the propeller spin. The clever thing about it is that you can control which way the propeller is spinning with undetectable movements of your fingers. So you can use it to fool impressionable children into thinking you have voodoo powers. The video below tells you everything you need to know about them and this page proves that mechanism that propels the propeller is indeed the same mechanism that you use to keep your hoop spinning. Continue reading
Hoopalicious at SWHoop 2011
Anah Reichenbach aka Hoopalicious gave a killer performance at last years’ SWHoop and here it is for your viewing delectation. I can remember her saying to me after the show “I managed all three of my tricks!” and I was like “You did tricks?” I think that’s why I like her performance so much. There are barely any “tricks” as such she just dances her ass off in a hoop demonstrating an immense level of skill and control. Spectacular.
Sh*t Spinners Say
Hilarious new video from Kari Revolva, Aileen Lawlor and Bri Crabtree gently poking fun at spinners of various objects all over the world. I’m pretty certain that I’ve said at least half these things.
HoopElise back in the studio
Elise from Bristol has a new vid out. Some great modern dance style hooping so check it out. You can see more of her on her Youtube channel: hoopelise.
Brecken and Tiana Hoop Performance
This is Breckon and Tiana in one of the most amazing two person hoop videos I’ve ever seen. Conveniently Tiana is teaching in Bristol this Sunday! She will be teaching 2 x 2hr workshops (“Body-Hoop Connection” and “Personifying Energy, Manipulating Space”) on Sunday 22nd January 2012 at the Sports Centre, Artspace Lifespace College, Bedminster, Bristol. £40 for both workshops or £25 each. I’ll see you there! For more information visit the Hooping Mad website.
Philo’s Sweater
Damn this video’s cute. Here’s the story: Long before Philo (from hooping.org) did hoop he once lent his sweater to a guy named Marty and never got it back. Since then Marty became the partner of the rather wonderful Khan Wong. They’ve made this little tribute to Philo by getting a few of their friends to hoop wearing said sweater. They have some interesting friends. Includes Beth, Anah, Spiral, Rich, Zach & Marria, Baxter, Revolva and more.
Circus – It’s Not All About You
The amazing Rob “Bluecat” Thorburn has recently posted a great article on teaching circus skills workshops (which can definitely be applied to hoop). Here’s an extract:
If you’re a working circus artist, I’m sure you’ve picked up the phone several times and heard the words:
“Hi, I’d like a circus workshop, please?”
Teaching circus is not everyone’s cup of tea. However, if you want to keep your finances in good shape when show bookings are scarce, being able to teach is a very useful skill to have. Teaching circus can be just as emotionally rewarding as performing, improves your skills in many different areas, develops your public speaking and audience interaction, and refines your understanding of your chosen prop.
For the rest of the article click here.
Nick Guzzardo and KiT~ 2012 Demo
This demo teams up Nick Guzzardo and KiT~ to create the NicKitTeam who’s tagline is “they’re addictive”. Their name alone makes me happy, and quite apart from that their hooping’s pretty sweet to. Check out Kit’s rather lovely website here.
The Truth About Hooping for Weight-Loss
It is an interesting phenomenon that almost everyone in the hoop world seems to have heard of someone who has supposedly lost lots of weight solely by hula hooping. Hooping is emerging as the next big exercise fad because of its fun and accessible nature, but is it really the best way to lose weight? Also does this fixation on weight-loss have a positive effect on the hoop community as a whole?
I often come across the slightly distressing preconception that all hoopers should be young, slim girls who can’t afford much clothing. Most people seem to think that if you do hoop you are either thin or heading in that general direction. However, when I think about the benefits of hoop I think about having fun, exercising, stress-relief, building self confidence and being part of a community. If anything I think about hooping as making you more comfortable with your self-image rather then trying to change it.
Continue reading
The Top Ten Best Object Manipulation Moments in Movie History
So this list is a combination of my favourite scenes that happen to have some object manipulation in them and scenes with my favourite bits of object manipulation in them. But let’s not dally words, let’s just get on with the show.
10. Steve Martin juggling cats – The Jerk (1979)
Roll the ugliness. In this clip Martin draws our attention to the very real epidemic of moggy manipulation that may very well be going on in some seedy underground hangout near you. Continue reading
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