Internation Jugglers Assoc. Convention.

For those who didn't know, every year the IJA puts on a wonderful and huge juggling convention in a different city of the U.S. This year's festival just ended. http://www.juggle.org/festival/
I have a juggling tribe on www.tribe.net called World Juggling. I only have about 17 members, and I could never figure out why there wasn't a greater interest. Then I see recently the same person open two tribes...one called Juggling and one called Contact Juggling and they already have about 150 members. I just don't get it? Why don't people support existing tribes instead of undercutting those already around. If those 170 people had joined mine, I'd have almost 200 people now. It's one of those little things in life that will just annoy me right now. I wouldn't mind at all if some of you joined my world juggling tribe. http://jugglers.tribe.net/ It might even cheer me up a bit.

juggling store

http://www.jugglingstore.com
There you go. He'll be vending at the Isla Vista Juggling Festival this weekend as well.

Isla Vista Juggling Festival

I was driving up the coast when I pulled off in Santa Barbara to look for a pretty spot to eat lunch. As I was looking for a parking spot, I happened upon a juggling store. (For those of you that juggle, you know how rare that is).
He asked if I knew that on March 26, 27 was a juggling festival at UCSB so I said 'You mean the Isla Vista Juggling Festival?' I had forgotten all about it. I'm working at an Easter event on Sat. and I'm debating if I want to drive 2 hours back to SB to go to the festival. I may or may not, gas is so high right now. I've already spent $60 on gas this trip, and I still have to drive from Atascadero to Anaheim to go home plus a week of driving in between. OY!
At any rate, I had a good time at the Juggling Store and I bought a blue faux acrylic ball for contact juggling. He said the Sphereplay contact juggling balls are being discontinued, so I'm glad I bought one now. I'll see if I can find his website for everyone.

W.C. Fields invented this form of juggling. 

Faster than the speed of the camera flash. 

I dusted off my cigar boxes and started working with them again for the first time in years. Never say never. 

Passing patterns for juggling.

http://www.passingdb.com/download.php?section=patterns

My favorite eye candy.

As you can see, I got my two new contact juggling balls today. I know that if you are not into it, you probably don't appreciate it, but I've waited five years to get these. I just couldn't rationalize spending that kind of money. I like the way someone described contact juggling as 'creating random acts of beauty'.

Solid ball. Yes, it's heavy. 

Oooooh purdy. 

Hand-painted wooden balls. 

Contact Juggling Revisited

After trying to teach myself contact juggling for years (literally) I finally broke down and bought a book. It's called Contact Juggling by James Ernest. It's spiral bound so it lays flat for practicing. I've reverted back to my old method of standing in front of my bed, so the mattress cushions the wooden ball when I drop it. I'm already making some progress thanks to the book. And now I'm learning the names of some of the patterns so I can better communicate with other jugglers.