Science, meet Myachi

This is a guest blog that J-Slack submitted a while back.  It is a perfect demonstration of just how creative STWAKOJ can be.  Thanks J-Slack, for all the hard work.  And to everyone who enjoys this one, rest assured that you'll be hearing more from him again in the future.  So without further ado:


The Results Are In From the Myachi Science Project!


by J-Slack

I really just did this to STW in my school (and that worked very well, some of my friends bought Myachis) lol Here is the conclusion: In my hypothesis, I predicted that denim would have the most friction, next the corduroy, and then the least friction would be the microfiber. My hypothesis was partially correct. The corduroy ended up having the most friction, then denim, then finally microfiber. After thoroughly observing the fabrics after testing, I realized why the results occurred. The corduroy was made of strands of fabric twisted together, therefore making it thicker and having a larger surface area. When exploring further after testing, I thought that the results were the proper ones. I was guessing the ridges would have less surface area, resulting in less friction. But the thickness of the ridges influenced it and gave a different result. Finally, I realized the perfect way to test. I took an 8-foot ramp, put it at a 40-degree angle, and timed how long it took to slide down. That was the easiest way to test it, because all of the Myachis slid off. But then if you TIME how long it takes for them to slide off, that makes ALL the difference. I think that next time, I would try to expand my knowledge of DIFFERENT fabrics by testing more (more trials). My goal was to test the best fabric made by Myachi Industries, but ultimately, there was no possible way to do that, seeing as there are over 500 different Myachis, and that there are different stages of how floppy and bent (“Broken In”) a Myachi is. That is an odd controlled variable that can come into an affect when deciding. So what Myachi fabric has the most friction? Here's the summary: My question was: What Myachi fabric has the most friction? I chose this topic because I LOVE the game Myachi. I asked questions and realized that finding a way of testing would be difficult.  My hypothesis was that denim would have the most friction, then corduroy, then microfiber. I thought this would be true because of the rough surface of the fabric.  I tested my hypothesis by taking an 8-foot ramp, putting it at a 40-degree angle, sliding the Myachis down it, and timing how long it took for all of them. I controlled my variables by using the same piece of wood, same stopwatch and the same Myachis.   The averages came out as:  Corduroy: 2.03 Denim: 1.4 Microfiber: 1.27 When doing my project, I realized that when the Myachi slid down the ramp, it gained momentum.  My data did not support my hypothesis. I learned corduroy is a great fabric with lots of friction. Next time, I would do more trials with different fabrics.  Results:Corduroy: Had an average of 2.03. It was the fabric with the most friction in my tests.Denim: Had an average of 1.4. It was the second best in terms of friction.Microfiber: Had an average of 1.27. It was the worst in terms of friction.

Choosing My Jammers

by Crazy Ivan

One of the last things I do before I leave the House of Skills in the morning is pick out my jammers for the day.  Like many of you, I have a pretty substantial collection of Myachis.  I would love to say that I just reach into a pile, grab the 5 or 6 Myachis that my hands land on and stick them in my pockets.

But in reality it's far more complicated than that.  Complicating matters is the fact that I have to find the right balance of jammability.

As we all know, Myachis take a little effort to break in.  Some break in quickly and others break in slowly, but as a general rule, the more you jam with a Myachi, the more jammable it becomes.  This is true for a Zoot Suit (a notoriously tough sack to break in) the same as it is for a Black Beard (the extreme other end of the scale), it's just that one has a much longer timeline than the other.

So if I wanted to make the decision as easy as possible, I'd simply grab the 5 or 6 most broken in Myachis I have in my collection and go from there.  But I can't do that because once a Myachi is really, really broken in, I start worrying about losing it.

And I lose Myachis all the time.  Whether they're claimed by elevator cracks, gutters, protrusions on buildings or the third rail, Myachis just get lost.  You kick them wrong, they start flying away and you watch in painfully slow motion as they move toward a spot you know you'll never get them back from.

Of course, I could solve this dilemma pretty easily too.  I could just take the sacks that have reached that "too-valued-to-use" echelon and set them aside in a special pile that I don't pick from.  Then I could just take the 5 or 6 best jammers that weren't too jammable and use them.

But that doesn't work either.  There are two reasons, of course.  One is that I often find myself in a spot where the "Myachi Mastery" thing to do is to give away a Myachi.  If I run into some cool cats on the train, for example, and they're really good at the game, I'll usually hook one of them up.  If all I've got is my best jammers (or the best ones I'm willing to use), I'd be pretty hesitant to just hand them off.

There's a more important consideration as well, of course.  If all I ever did was used my best jammers, I'd eventually run out of good jammers.  At some point I'd lose all the ones I was willing to lose and wouldn't dare to carry any of the other good jammers with me.  Then I'd wind up with nothing but tough jammers.

The balance I choose is somewhere in between.  I always keep at least one spectacular jammer with me (something like a Yellow Jacket, a Hounds Tooth or a Member Solutions).  That's my peak jammer and it's there just in case I wind up in a tough game of MYACH that I can't afford to lose.  That one stays in my back pocket unless it's absolutely needed.

The other Myachis will be something of a spectrum of jammability.  I'll have a few good jammers (because you never want to teach somebody the game using brand new sacks) and a couple that are on their way.  I'll jam with them throughout the day and inch them ever closer to the promised land of SUMPOY.  This way if I lose a great jammer, at least I've got another one on its way.

Lastly, I'll grab a tough jammer.  When I'm on the train or in line or something, I like to have a Myachi just to fidget with.  I won't necessarily jam with it; sometimes I'll just rub it in my hands or fold it over repeatedly.  This is the first stage in yummification so I always try to have a few that are at that spot.

And yes, that whole process goes through my head every day when I grab my Myachis.  There was a time when I just had 6 or 7 and I simply carried all of them.  The decision was simpler back then, but that doesn't mean it was better.  Sometimes the good old days are more "old" than "good".

Going Back to School

by Crazy Ivan

Well, it's only fair.  Nearly everyone who reads this blog had to go back to school in the last couple of weeks so there's no reason why I should be exempt.  We just got the official word yesterday but it looks like Kid, Monk, Animal and I will spend the next couple of days doing my absolute favorite assignment in Myachidom: Gym class.

When I was in school I wasn't a big fan of gym.  I loved to play dodge ball and I was pretty stoked when we did anything basketball related, but most of the days it would just be running track or learning about nutrition or something like that.  I can say that in 12 years of gym classes, I never got to anything as fun as spending a whole day playing Myachi.

But that's what the lucky students at North Shore Middle School can look forward to on Thursday and Friday.  We're taking over the gym and planting the Myachi flag smack in the middle of it.  We'll spend the day teaching tricks, having contests, giving away prizes and showing off.  On the whole, that's even more fun than dodge ball.

We actually did the same thing at the same school last year so this year we'll have the added benefit of many of the students already knowing some tricks and having some skills.  There will be 6th graders that were in elementary school last year along with plenty of students that moved into the area or transferred schools since last year, but I'd expect that the majority of the people we meet this week will already know the game and at least know a few basic tricks.  This will allow us to crank things up a bit and teach some much tougher stuff than we did last year.  It also opens new doors when it comes to contests as well.

Schools are always the most fun venues for Myachi.  You've got a captive audience so unlike FAO Shwarz or Dollywood there aren't any roller coasters or giant pianos competing with us for attention.  What's more is that we're dealing with people who are fresh out of Algebra class and about to head to Geography so they're always eager to have as much fun as humanly possible.

I'll give a recap tomorrow or Friday once the whole thing wraps up, but I thought I should warn our loyal readers that the blog won't be updated tomorrow afternoon (I'll try to get something up in the morning though) as I'll be in the middle of teaching a class at that time.  The Trick of the Day video will also be coming in a bit later than usual, but probably no later than yesterday's.

Starting a Myachi Club

by Crazy Ivan

The signs over the highway on the way to HQ this morning were sure to remind us that school starts today here in Long Island.  Judging from my completely unscientific sampling of Facebook friends, they're some of the last kids in the country going back to school so I'm guessing that most of our readers have been back for at least a few days now.

Going back to school has its pros and cons, of course.  On the downside you've gotta get up early in the morning and stay up late doing homework.  On the upside you have an awesome STWAKOJ opportunity (there's also some kind of education or something that they do).  This is especially true for those of you that got into the game over the summer and will be introducing it to your extended network of friends for the first time, but it is also true for the more long term jammer as well.  Sure, your friends might have seen the game before, but I'm sure you've learned a thing or two since then.

There are a lot of ways to spread the word at school.  You can jam between classes, of course.  You can bring your Myachi to practice for pretty much any sport.  You can get a circle going outside after school lets out.  But one of the most popular and most effective ways is to start a Myachi club in your school.

That's not the right idea for everyone, of course.  If you're the only person in your school that is into the game it might be too early to start a club.  You can't have a one person club, after all.  But if you've got a group of friends that are into it already or if Myachi is already semi-known in your school, a weekly club can be a spectacular vehicle for expanding the reach of the Myachi empire.

Running a Myachi club is a lot of fun and it can be a really effective way of (a) getting people into the game and (b) keeping them in the game for a long time.  It's extremely rewarding for the person who gets it all started, but it can also be a lot of work.  If you want to do it right, you'll be taking on the huge responsibility of making sure that it is fun and fresh every week.  Ask yourself if you'd have time to make it a club everyone would look forward to going to every week.  Be honest with yourself about the amount of spare time you'll be able to devote to it.  If it's an hour long club you'll have to set aside more than an hour a week to it.  You'll need at least twice that much time to prepare for each week's meeting (assuming that you want your club to be awesome).

We'll talk a bit more later this week about what you can do to keep a Myachi club fun week after week, but before we get into details about that, let's tackle the important topic.  You've thought it over and decided that you've got plenty of time on your hands, plenty of eager members-to-be and plenty of ideas for your weekly meetings.  But how do you get things started?

The actual procedure for starting a club will be different at every school, of course.  In my experience, the best person to talk to about finding out those procedures is the school's secretary.  They always seem to be accessible and know where to point you if nothing else.  Sure, the principle will know as well, but they're usually scarcer than the secretary.

Most schools will require that a teacher or coach "sponsor" the team in some way.  They'll have to be at the weekly meetings or, at the very least, have to put their seal of approval on the idea of the club.  For some people this is the hardest step in getting the club going, but the easy way out is to just start teaching your teachers how to play the game.  If you teach 5 or 6 of them, odds are pretty good that at least one of them is going to fall in love with it.  In fact, I'm willing to bet you already know which teacher at your school would be most likely to love it.  A good rule of thumb here is that when in doubt, try the gym teachers.

So the things that you'll (probably) need to get started are:

• A few friends that want to join the club
• A teacher or coach's support for the club
• The school's specific procedures for starting an after school club.

Once you've got that, your club is well on its way to getting started.  Once it's been approved, everything is official and you know what day you'll be meeting, it's time to start advertising your club.  You can put up signs in the school and tell everyone you know, but the most important way to grow membership in your club is to have a ridiculous amount of fun at the first meeting.  If everybody spends Wednesday talking about how much fun the Myachi club was on Tuesday, you'll find a much bigger crowd showing up next week.

Obviously, the next logical question is "How do you make your club fun?" but to tackle that one I'll need a whole new blog post.  Keep an eye out later this week...

Spreading the Word,No Matter How Hard It Is

by Jonathan Reynolds

Now believe me when I say that I love to spread the word about Myachi whenever and wherever I get the chance, and I am sure you all do to, but there are times when people are a little reluctant when the words Hand and Sack are used together.

I recently went on a camping trip with a few of my friends, all of whom are NOT into myachi which saddens me to say, and I brought along with me, of course, a Myachi. Not just any Myachi though, it was my super yummy “The General”. Now camping is fun and all, but after about one day of doing “Camping things”, I just had to pull out my General and start jamming.

At first my friends started to laugh and ask me what exactly I was doing and, of course, what I was doing it with. As you can see I had the perfect STWAKOJ moment laid before me. So of course I told them what I was doing (The exact trick was a simple cold fusion) and I told them that I was doing it with a Myachi Original Hand Sack. Now as I mentioned earlier, using Hand and Sack together isn’t a good idea around immature teenage boys, and they just started to laugh.

And the laughing continued….until I started showing them some pretty awesome tricks. Though the laughing had stopped, they still were looking at me like I was a maniac. Then I hit a daredevil. A trick I hit quite often, but they were amazed by it. Instantly one of my friends got up, walked over to me, and asked if he could try. It was pretty awesome that one of my friends, who just a few minutes before was laughing at me, now wanted to try it, but what was even more awesome was that he hit a daredevil in his first three tries, and his face just lit up!!

Now of course I felt pretty successful that I got one of my friends up and jamming with me, but what really made it a success was when, one by one, the rest of my friends came to join. But not only did we jam that day, we jammed every day the rest of the week!  It felt great, and though spreading the word and getting my friends to join was hard, it was definitely worth it.

Spread the Word and Keep on Jammin….No matter how hard it might be.

I Promise Not to Post About DollyWood Tomorrow

by Crazy Ivan

Alright, so I'm willing to admit that over the last few weeks I've spent way too much time on this blog waxing nostalgic about the good ol' days at Dollywood.  It's gotten to the point where I'm sure most of you are sick of hearing about how happy I am to be headed back there.  I told myself last night that I should find something other than that park to blog about tonight.

But then I got there and we rocked it out just like the good ol' days and I was flooded with nostalgia like I hadn't been since I knew we were coming.  It was exactly how I remember it.  A long, grueling, hot day littered with the coolest, salt of the earth people that you can ever hope to meet.  I saw a few old friends (I did live in the area for two years before joining Myachi) and I saw a couple of maniacs.

Keep in mind that it's been six years since I've been here, so the kids I met when they were 12 back then are going into college in the fall.  The kids I met when they were sixteen are taking their kids to the park.  As you can imagine, it was pretty surreal.

I spent all day being reminded why I fell in love with this job all those years ago.  Don't get me wrong... it was really, really hard work today.  My body is aching from head to toe and the sunburn doesn't help matters.  But there are so many people to play with and they're all so ready to play.  We meet so many awesome maniacs (shout out to Allison and her whole mission trip, Tom and his cousins from Indiana, David and Brian and the Barnett family from Florida) and we get to see them over and over through the day, so what starts as a quick sale in the morning turns into a kid coming back 9 times through the day and hanging out for an hour and a half the last time.

Bones and Bamboo had a great time.  They were walking out of there saying "I can't believe we just worked 13 hours and I'm not tired".  They were full of energy all day despite playing some 30 games of Fu a piece out in the sun on the black top.  I swear, there were times when Bones was sweating so bad I wondered if he would wind up nothing but a puddle by day's end.  They were busy for about 90% of the day, but we did find time to get them a few free minutes to ride one of the world's best wooden roller coasters.  They also got to see Dolly Parton herself at the tail end of the Kid's Fest Kick Off Parade.

Pinky also had a blast, though she was so busy cashing out customers that she barely got to play at all.  Kid Myach was in classic Kid Myach form so nobody got by him all day.  There were times when he was teaching so many people that Bones, Bamboo, Pinky and I were struggling to find somebody that Kid wasn't already playing with.

The people that run the park and the people that work at it are some of the nicest and most considerate people in the world and I forgot how friendly people are down south (easy to new when you live in New York City).  All in all, despite how sore I am, I'm really looking forward to the rest of the summer and I regret that it has to end in less than two months.  Not sure how many 13 hour days it's going to take to knock that out of me...

Alright.  So I'll totally blog about something other than how glad I am to be at Dollywood tomorrow.  I'll teach a new trick or talk about something collecting-related or explain some weird nuance of MYACH.  I promise.

Hitting the Road Early...

by Crazy Ivan

Just a word of warning everyone.  It's 11:00 now, which means I'm already up later than I meant to be tonight.  Getting up at 4:00 and hitting the road at 5:00 for the 12 hour trip to Dollywood.  Bones and Bamboo are already upstairs getting ready to pass out, the car is loaded up, the van is full of product and we're almost ready to depart.

But first the fitful sleep.  It's like that Christmas Eve sleep... you know, the sleep where you're so excited about what you're doing tomorrow you barely sleep at all?  That's what I have to look forward to for the next 5 hours.

The road trip should be fun.  Never traveled with Bones or Bamboo before and we're caravaning down with Kid driving up in the van.  With a little luck on traffic, we'll be there in time to catch game 7.

The downside is that I won't be able to update the blog at all tomorrow.  I'll get on in the evening once we're checked into the cabin and give everyone a little update on how the trip went.  If I have time, maybe we can put together a video tour of our summer home, which we have already dubbed "The Cabin of Skills"... because we're way too predictable.

The Trick of the Day will also be getting to you late and I might be deliriously tired when I do it, but as long as we don't have trouble getting Internet access the first night, it will be uploaded before midnight.  Now let's see if I can manage any sleep...

My Adoring Fans

by Crazy Ivan

In about 20 minutes, I'll be taking off with Kid Myach and heading into the Garden State for a birthday party.  Should be fun... as long as it doesn't rain the whole time.

I'm kind of flattered by the whole thing.  The kid whose party we're doing has never met any of the Myachi Masters, but apparently they specifically requested that I be at their party.  I suppose that makes sense.  If all your familiarity with Myachi is online, I'm probably the most visible Myachi Master... what with all the Trick of the Day videos.  And of course, I also write a blog you might have heard of.

Now, it would be kind of sad and egotistical for me to hop on here just to tell you that, but there was kind of a funny moment that went with it.  Pinky booked the party and then Kid Myach e-mailed the dude to confirm it.  The dad e-mails back and asks which Myachi Masters will be at the party.

Kid sends back confirmation and tells them that it will be Kid Myach and Crazy Ivan.

The guy sends back an e-mail:

Excellent.  The kids are really looking forward to seeing Crazy Ivan.

...poor Kid.

Raring to Go

by Crazy Ivan

To be perfectly honest, I'm doing all I can not to just write about going to Dollywood every day on this blog.  It's all that's on my mind.  I'm so fired up about going back to my roots, seeing some old friends, hiking some familiar trails, hooking back up with veteran jammers and sweating about 3 gallons a day for two months plus.

More than that, I'm looking forward to taking Bones and Bamboo through Myachi boot camp.  I'm looking forward to expanding their experience with Myachi and helping them to take their Myachi Mastery to the next level.  I'm looking forward to watching them learn this venue the same way I learned it.

And I'm looking forward to living in a cabin with a hot tub and a pool table for a couple months.  That's pretty cool, too.

But, on the other hand, there are a lot of things in NYC that I'm not looking forward to doing without for a month.  Most of it is personal stuff... you know, my bed, my cats, my guitar, my collection (which is definitely not coming).  But there are also all the people that I'll be missing for two months.  And all the general awesome New Yorkiness of the summer.  And the slackline... which would be awesome to have in Tennessee.

Anyway, the next few days will be a crazy, chaotic scramble to get everything in order before we ship out.  Pinky has to get all her office work covered for a couple of months and I've gotta figure out how I'm going to do stuff like shipping out contest prizes and getting the trick of the day video up.  And don't worry, I'll still be blogging when I get down there.  I'll probably try to write a couple things every night and set them to drop at different times since I won't be able to write during the day.

Hopefully I'll see some of you guys there...

A Jersey Memory

by Crazy Ivan


Spent most of the day in New Jersey yesterday and while we were inching through traffic I found myself reflecting on a few of my Myachi memories in the Garden State.  I guess it had never occurred to me before then, but it seems like whenever I go to Jersey, it turns out to be a spectacular time.  This is actually only my fourth trip there, and every one before it marked a huge moment in Myachi.

The first time I was in Jersey I was there for a Bar Mitzvah.  I've done dozens of Bar Mitzvahs with Myachi, but this was my first.  I'd never been to one before and I really wasn't sure what to expect.  To be honest, I was a little nervous at first.  That lasted all the way to the venue and another 5 minutes after that.

Needless to say, Myachi was the star of the party.  I got about 4 dozen kids into the game (and a fair number of grown ups), I got the whole band and all the dancers playing and I earned a pretty substantial tip on my way out.  I should have known then that Jersey was just good to me, but I didn't.

The second time I went to Jersey it was a much bigger deal.  At the time we had a fulfillment center out there.  Before we opened HQ there was a period where we were paying another company to warehouse all of our Myachis and mail them out when we got orders.  This was a little while after Myachi Man realized we'd gotten too big to ship out of his basement but before we realized that we needed to go ahead and invest in a warehouse of our own.

So early one morning a few weeks before Christmas, the CBS Early Show invited Kid, Myachi Man and I to be on their show and teach the weather man how to play Myachi.  We negotiated with them and eventually they agreed to let us bring a dozen Myachi Maniacs with us that morning so, needless to say, we absolutely rocked it out.  We were seen by over a hundred thousand viewers, Myachi showed up as one of the most Googled words of the day and our phones just started ringing off the hook.



Luckily we had this fulfillment center out in Jersey so even though we were pulling in about 100 orders an hour after that we knew we had the infrastructure to handle it.  Or so we thought.  We got a call from the manager of our warehouse about an hour after the show went live telling us they were swamped with orders and there was no way they'd be able to get them all out on time.

So we loaded up and headed to Jersey.  The three of us spent the day packing orders, separating out blister packs and slapping shipping labels.  Sure, it wasn't the most fun day I've had with Myachi, but there's something pretty exciting about noticing that you've got at least three orders from every state in the union.  Woke up at the crack of dawn for the show and wound up in Jersey until well after 8 pm, but it was a great day for the movement.

But it still wasn't my favorite Jersey memory.  That would have to be signing autographs along side Shaquille O'Neal and Bernard Hopkins.

It was an event we got invited to at the last second.  Monk and I were heading out to a country club in South Jersey and we were pretty fired up about it.  We didn't know exactly what we were doing but we did know that they were sending a car for us and that was pretty sweet.  To make things even more exciting, we'd just gotten the first advanced shipments from the 3.2 series so we would be debuting a brand new series there.

Hard to believe this series was ever new...

When we got there, we were kind of flabbergasted by the whole thing.  It was a big charity event where they had a number of popular celebrities signing autographs for extraordinarily wealthy donors.  We figured it would be a great crowd to sell Myachis to, but we didn't expect them to set us up in a booth right on autograph alley.

We sold a ton of Myachis, sure, but the coolest memories of the day had to be signing my autograph right next to Shaq's.  To be honest, 90% of the people whose books (or basketballs) I signed had no clue who Monk and I were.  They were just going down a line getting autographs.  Some of them probably didn't know who David Tyree was either (though nobody that close to NYC the summer after they won the Superbowl had any excuse for that).  They were just collecting autographs from all the people they saw.

For those who don't know, David Tyree is the guy you see here
winning the Super Bowl and ruining the Pat's perfect season.

But that wasn't true in every case.  There were quite a few Maniacs from the city there and before long we had a huge congregation by our booth.  So big, in fact, that Shaq sent somebody from his entourage down to see what was going on at the booth that had a bigger crowd than his.

Yeah, a lot of people in NYC like to take pot-shots at New Jersey.  They call it Manhattan's parking lot and act like everyone in Jersey has a mullet and a Pontiac Firebird, but I suppose every state I've ever lived in has issues with the state next door.  For my money, Jersey is paved with streets of gold.  I've never had anything but the best of luck there.

It's Not That I Forgot About You...

by Crazy Ivan

I feel terrible about my blogging record over the past few days.  Since I debuted this blog on Superbowl Sunday not a single day has gone by where I didn't add at least two new updates on this thing.  In fact, since it started, my average is closer to 3 than 2.

But unfortunately I've tainted my otherwise sparkling record with a terrible week.  Twice in the last week I've gone 24 hours between dropping posts.  The first time Blogspot's service was down so I couldn't exactly kick myself for that one (not to say that I couldn't still be seething and frustrated), but this time I have nobody to blame but myself.

Before I get to my de facto apology I should explain that it's not just that I got overtaken by a bout of laziness.  I didn't spend all day watching talk shows and brushing Cheeto dust off my pajamas or anything. Kid Myach and I went to Montclair, New Jersey where we rocked it out at the Watchung Elementary School and then at Aunt Jean's Toys & Treats (over on Willow Ave., check it out if you're in the area, it's an awesome little toy store and by all means, tell them Crazy Ivan sent you).

As fun as this was, it kept me away from my computer all day.  To beat morning Manhattan traffic and be there on time, Kid Myach and I had to leave at 6:00 in the morning and we didn't get home until after 7 pm.  I had a days worth of work to catch up on, of course, not the least of which was updating this blog.

So here I sit at a quarter of midnight, 18 hours after my workday started, polishing off a quick apology to all those people who might have checked up on us a few times today hoping for new content.  Normally in a situation like this one I would have written a few things in advance and scheduled them to drop during the day, but this came up kind of last minute and I had no idea that we wouldn't be getting home until after 7.  I figured we'd wrap at 2:30 or so and I'd be back home before 4 (it is my day off after all).

All that being said, it was great STWAKOJ.  We definitely inflated the number of maniacs on the opposite side of the Hudson there, not to mention the fact that we got to hang out all day at a school whose name sounds like a Myachi sound effect.  Seriously.  Sound it out: Watchung.  I got to say that all day today.

But more than that we got to help support a really cool little locally owned toy-store.  Don't get me wrong, I love the big boys too (they buy a lot of Myachis) and there's definitely a niche that only a Toys R Us could fill, but I think it's really important for us all to support our locally owned businesses as well. When you walk into a place like Aunt Jean's your going to get a toy buying experience that you'll never get from a big box corporate place.  You're going to deal with people who really know and care about their products.  You'll talk to people that can really answer your questions and respond to your needs.

But more than that, if it weren't for toy stores like Aunt Jean's, Myachi wouldn't exist.  Locally owned toy stores were our bread and butter for years while we were trying to get this company off the ground.  You can't just walk into your local Toys R Us and say "check out this cool toy I made.  You should put it on your shelves."  It really doesn't matter if the person you're talking to agrees or not.  They can't put it on the shelves if they wanted to and they can't even really put you in touch with the person that can.

In an independent toy store, on the other hand, they're always looking for something new and fun that the big boys won't have.  They're the place where good toys prove themselves to big box stores and franchises.  They're the only reason that new and original products can ever see the light of day.

That's not because the big stores are bad or anything.  It's just that if you've got 2000 stores across the country, even buying 10 or 12 of a product to test it out will cost you a ton of money if you do it in all the stores.  You can only afford to bet on stuff you know will sell.  You can't take a chance on something new and crazy like Myachi.  Unless, of course, Myachi can show you that their product sells in the locally owned stores.

So in closing, when you support your local toy (and everything) stores, you're also supporting the world's innovators and entrepreneurs.  And sorry I didn't update the blog today.

Myachi on Public Transit

by Crazy Ivan

I'm about to run out of the house to hop a train upstate for the day, which will explain why this entry is short and hurried.  My folks are a few miles north visiting with my sister and her kids so Pinky and I are taking the day off to go be social.

We're taking the train, which is something that I used to hate.  I use to loathe the long boring trips I'd take on public transit, whether it was a train, a bus, a plane or whatever.  I'm a hyper dude so sitting still for prolonged periods has never been my specialty.

But since Myachi became part of my life, I've had a different outlook on such trips.  Instead of buying a book or bringing some puzzles or downloading a new game on my iPod, I'm just going to grab a few Myachis.  I'm actually looking forward to the trip because I'm sure that Myachi will help me meet some interesting people.  It will help me turn some kid's day around.  It will help me make a few new friends that will keep us company on our ride.

I can't write much more or I'll risk missing my train, but I did want to share that reflection.  Myachi makes friends.  It's little wonder why the Myachi community is so tightly knit...

A Late Entry

by Crazy Ivan

A big fan of the game down in Georgia sent me a late entry for our recent writing contest.  He knew that the contest was over and that the prizes had been awarded, but he still wanted to express why he played Myachi.  After a quick read through, I realized I really had to share it with everyone.  I think he expresses a lot of the thoughts about Myachi that we all share.

So thanks, Shogun, for the kind words and, of course, for making my evening blog post as easy as a quick copy and paste:

Why I Myachi

by Myachi Shogun

I have been asked frequently, "Why do you like Myachi so much," and although the question is simple, the answer I very complicated. If I had to choose 2 reasons for practicing my jamming 100 hours a day, they would be the freedom of myachi and the ability to release emotions when you jam.

I love to jam because I can do it anywhere, anytime and anyplace. I honestly have jammed in an elevator, AP exam, SAT breaks (and during the test), school/class, and at home. I can recall several times when I have been jamming through Wal-Mart, the mall and other public areas and people stop me and ask me to do more tricks.

I jam walking down the hallway and during class, especially now that classes are basically over. Because of public jamming, my friend Nick and I were able to sell over 36 myachis in 3 weeks. Now I sit in class and 5 or 6 people all toss the sack around with me, throwing in some tricks. The flexibility of myachi is so great, I'm able to be a student to people like Crazy Ivan, Animal, and Maverick, whose videos are on the "Favorites" on my computer, as well as be a teacher to those just learning, both young and old.

I don't think I could be able to address the flexibility of myachi without talking about the infinite number of tricks and combos you can hit. I remember when I first started learning and my first big combo I hit was a trampoline to a foot stall, ending it with a 360. There are fast tricks, slow tricks, foot tricks, switch tricks, single, double and triple myachi tricks (I'm sure 4 and 5 can be used), and many more.

My biggest reason for getting into myachi is it is not only a hobby, but therapeutic in a way. If I ever get down, I always have my Guatemalan Black, Houndstooth or Yellow Braveheart (he's talking about the LumberJack Yellow. -ed) in my pocket ready to jam. If I'm mad, I can do fast tricks like the Subter Fusion, Fu and kicks, and if I am kinda down, I can do stalls and switches. Myachi takes my mind off of the things around me and puts me in a world of concentration.

Myachi is by far the coolest thing I have ever done. I can have so many accomplishments and it gives me something to hope for. I always have a new trick to work on and a new combo to connect it to. There are tricks and styles for everyone. That is why I love Myachi.

Anyone looking for a good jam video to learn, I'm working on memorizing Maverick's shred at Washington Square!

Myachi Writing Contest - Grand Prize

by Crazy Ivan

For some reason Blogger put back every blog I'd written except for this one.  In case anyone was searching for DGH's entry, here it is:

Why Do I Play Myachi?

by DGH

A simple sentence, really. Why DO I play Myachi? I could go into saying how cool Bones looked when I walked out of the pinkish hell known as the Barbie House, or I can explain how cool it was when I went to camp the next day and amazed everyone with my (mediocre) skills. Yep, I can literally write not only a book, but also an entire collection of multiple series on why I play Myachi, yet they wouldn’t encompass it in its entirety (Ironic, isn’t it, that I’m going to sum it up in 1500 words). It honestly boils down to one true reason: Myachi is my best friend.

Sure, it sounds majorly creepy, but it’s entirely true right from the colon that starts it to the period that ends it. Myachi is at my side whenever I need it.

The feeling I get inside when I see someone jamming down the street, giving a sack to someone who has seen the game for the first time, or even just seeing a Myachi in a store; they all give me a sense of exhilaration. Knowing that Myachi is becoming more and more successful, and having that equate to more jammers and maniacs that play the game I love; it really hits my soft spot. It’s at that moment when I realize that Myachi isn’t just a game, but a lifestyle all of its own.   Yet even this alone doesn’t really display the whole museum; it’s more like the premier gallery when you first walk in. 

From the outside, Myachi looks like a simple one-way street. However, anyone who has played the game has realized at one time or another that Myachi is clearly both a multi-faceted gem as well as a mirror. Sure, the gem connection is relatively easy to spot: not only is Myachi a game, but it also teaches determination, drive, self-confidence, cooperation – heck, I can fill the rest of the 1177 words just with lessons Myachi teaches, but alas, that would only cover a small percentage of the Myachi-universe.

But the mirror correlation is shrouded by secret sauce dust (say that three times fast). In order to truly delve into one’s personality and deepest strengths, one need only to jam. Myachi at its foundation is a true revealer of character. That’s why I play Myachi; it shows the true person with in us without regards to outside influences.

Obviously, Myachi is much more than a simple toy. It is also not only a lifestyle, but a companionship. Any one with a single Myachi will tell you: it’s there to pick you up when you need it. Had a tough day at school? Whip out a Myachi and jam. Got into a fight with a friend? Whip out your trusty Red Line and jam ‘till your heart’s content. See, Myachi is a cure to anything and everything. Seriously. I would not be surprised if in 15 years when Myachi has hit the medicinal scene that some scientist uses the secret formula of the secret sauce to cure cancer.

If you noticed, I never really have mentioned me. I just talked about what Myachi it is and how it relates to one’s daily life. All of the above factors play into why I play Myachi. Whenever I’m feeling down, I jam to cheer myself up. Whenever I’m feeling lonely, I STW. Myachi is my go-to. Yet that by itself does not show the entire picture. Yes, Myachi is my best friend, and yes, it helps me in every which way possible, and yes, it sticks with me through thick and thin. But I play Myachi simply because I do.

The Art of STWAKOJ

Welcome our newest guest blogger, Myachi Maniac extraordinaire and New Jersey's own DGH:

by DGH

Hey all, DGH here.



I come to you hoping to teach the lesson of STW. I know of many jammers who can rightly fulfill the second part of STWAKOJ, but very few maniacs out there have mastered the art of spreading the word. Thankfully I’m here to aid you to STW stardom. Now before you go beg your parents to drive you to the mall or nearest Toys R Us, lets make sure you have everything you need.

Firstly, you need to decide whether the sacks you’re giving away are going to be from your own collection or if you’ll be buying them from your local supplier. Pinky has a box of 36 Myachis for $90, which is a really good deal especially if you jam a lot. Or if you have a collection on the larger side with some commons you don’t jam with, you might want to use some of your own sacks in order to save some money. Next, find a nice populated place. The local park might work if it’s the summer. The mall never fails, though some malls might escort you to the door depending on their selling policies, so be careful.

School works as well. If you have a Toys R Us near you that sells Myachis or any Myachi carrying store for that matter, definitely jam in front of the display there. My personal favorite place is my local hockey rink. Wherever you choose, make sure there’s a good area where you can jam that has a good amount of traffic.

Now that you’ve settled on the perfect jamming oasis, let’s get settled in. Make sure that the Myachis you’ll be giving away are at least a little yummy; imagine the first Myachi you ever caught was hard as a rock- you
might not have even caught it! With everything set and ready, start jamming. Keep it simple though; if you pull off too insane a shred, some people might adopt the mindset that it’s too difficult for them and they’ll keep on walking. Sure, throw a showstopper in there every now and then, but overall keep it on the simple side.

Hopefully at this point you have at least a few heads turned, and if so, throw them a sack. Hopefully their natural instincts will come about, and they will catch it one way or another. Obviously, if they catch it on the back of their hand, great! Sadly though, most will either catch it like a normal ball. If so, have no fear; just ask them if they’ve ever caught a water balloon. “You gotta give with it!” Show them the Lotus Position, and give it another go. At this point, you might have a couple more heads turned, and if so, toss them some sacks too and have a group lesson.

Start off simple; maybe throw in a hulk, Cold Fusion or UTL; simple and easy. Hopefully they’re still interested, and at this point either give them the sacks, or offer to sell one. Ta-da! You’re now on your way to STW fame.

Maybe that’s not your thing though. You might be a little on the shy side. If so, there are plenty of ways to STW, and they’re not all physical. Start a blog or website about Myachi linking to all the popular Myachi sites. Granted, you won’t know if you’re actually getting anyone in the game, but you’re definitely spreading the Myachi name across the interwebs. Heck, even just talking about it or jamming in public will spread the game; even if you don’t set out to do so.

Final word is, even if you aren’t the STW guru your friend is, or you don’t think you have the guts or time to do so, you’re doing it with out even knowing it. As long as you’re representing the game and jamming and talking about it, you’re STW. If you’re a true Myachi Maniac, you’re spreading the word every second you think about Myachi.

Doing Good Work

by Crazy Ivan

The whole Myachi Master thing comes with a few groovy perks.  We get a pretty cool place to live, an office with a ping pong table in it, a lot of travel and free toys.  I can't think of a job that would be more fun.

Okay... maybe I can think of one.

And as if all that wasn't good enough, we also get to go home everyday knowing that we've made a positive difference in the world.  I've written a few times before about the health benefits of Myachi so I won't spend a lot of time here rehashing the way it helps fight obesity, encourages people to be active, improves flexibility and coordination and increases stamina.  There are also a host of psychological benefits we could talk about, but I'll save that for another day.

Today, I want to talk about the social benefits of Myachi.

It's been on my mind since the event Kid and I did on Wednesday.  As you may know, Kid and I spent Wednesday in Massachusetts at North Attleboro Middle School.  Like thousands of schools across the country, they participate in the American Heart Association's "Hoops for Hearts" program.  The thing that sets North Attleboro apart from the thousands of others is that they raised more than twice as much money as the next highest school.

Here, the student body is seen whooping the rest of the country.

Apparently, they've got that on lock.  For more than a decade this one school has radically outperformed every other school in the country when it comes to raising money for heart disease research.  It's such a big deal that the president of the American Heart Association showed up just to lend his support (and figure out what they were doing so right).

Myachi played a very small role in the whole thing.  See, it's one of those deals where every student who could raise a certain amount of money got to come to this awesome after-party complete with bounce houses, temporary tattoos, fitness competitions, a dunk-the-principal tank and, of course, a couple of Myachi Masters selling Myachis to help raise even more money for the cause.

This was Myachi's third year at the event but it was my first time going.  All the students were asking if Noodles was coming so he must have made a real splash there last year.  I'm afraid to say that I couldn't possibly have been as cool as Noodles (I don't break dance or beat box), but even without Noodles we still had a blast.

Kid Myach was in full blown contest mode for about 3 solid hours.  They'd given us a couple of cases of T-Shirts to give out as contest prizes so Kid was doing long distance trials all afternoon.  Catch a Myachi from 20 feet away, win a T-Shirt.  Pretty good deal right?

Of course, after a while we ran out of T-Shirts (before I could snag one for myself) so then Kid shifted gears to big air contests.  We'd brought along a couple of DVD combo packs so he did a couple tournaments to give those out as well.



And don't worry, by round 3 he made them
go after it one handed.

By the end of the night we'd sold almost 400 Myachis (with the proceeds going, of course, to the American Heart Association) and we'd brought a ton of new talent into the game.  It was a long day and a long drive, but when you're doing good work, the hours just kind of melt together.  By next week I'll have forgotten how sore I was by day's end, but I won't forget the feeling of helping raise money for a good cause.  The good parts of memories always echo longer than the tough parts.

Reasons Why I Love My Job #106

by Crazy Ivan


So today I'm off and chilling in the beautiful weather.  I had to hit up the ATM to grab some cash this morning and since the weather is so ridiculously pleasant today I decided to break out my unicycle for the first time this year.

Had to air up the tire and take a couple of practice runs up and down the street before I was ready to brave the full trip.  When the weather gets nice the sidewalks get a lot more crowded so you've got to be pretty on your game to ride a unicycle down them.  I suppose I should mention that when I hit big crowds I get off and walk my uni until the crowds peter out.  Safety first and all.

Anyway, so I head through picturesque Forest Hills and along the way I'm getting the typical looks you get when you ride the five boroughs on one-wheel.  Some people just kind of stare like they're not sure if they've just been magically transported to a circus, but most people smile and it's pretty cool to ride around on something that makes everybody smile.

By the time I made it to the bank I'm sweating something fierce.  For those of you who don't ride a unicycle (and believe it or not, that isn't all of our readers) you should know that riding one of those things is a serious physical chore.  Most people assume it's about like riding a bicycle, but on a unicycle the crank arms are attached directly to the wheel.  If you want that tire to spin, your pedaling.  Unlike a bike, there is no coasting on a unicycle (unless you're incredibly skilled).

So I step off my unicycle and walk into the bank.  There are 3 ATMs there but there's still a pretty serious line.  Four people are ahead of me and one is a mother who had three kids who are bored and testing her patience.  They'd seen me come up on the unicycle and clearly they were fascinated.  I kind of wanted to ride it around the lobby of the bank for a minute to entertain them, but I had a sneaking suspicion that the bank security would have issues with that.

Instead, I did the next best thing... or maybe the first best thing.  I pulled out a Myachi.

Two of the kids were little guys.  One was still in a stroller and another was about 5, but the oldest (all boys) was maybe 7 or 8 so he was old enough to play.  So I throw down a quick shred to get their attention.  Well, maybe the shred was a little too good because pretty soon I had everyone's attention.  Like, all the customers, all the tellers and the two security dudes.

The oldest boy looks to his mom and says, "mom, can I play?"

The mom looks at me as though to relay the question so I nod and she nods back.  I go into Myachi Master autopilot (which starts with the words, "You're in bro... hold your hand out like this... spread those fingers out...) and start doing my thing.

Well, one of the other customers in line looks pretty interested too and I don't care that he's in his forties, he's still a kid in my eyes.  "Here you go," I say, turning to him, "you're in too."

I had 5 Myachis on me so within two minutes I've got four people playing and I'm using the fifth one to demonstrate the tricks.  The five year old is going nuts because he doesn't have one to play with so I pass him my last one and start demoing with my phone.  It's about then that I notice the security guy approaching out of the corner of my eye.

The older kid sticks an under the leg on his fourth try and when he does, the whole crowd by the ATMs goes nuts.  They're all cheering for this dude and he's blushing like crazy.  The five year old is laughing and shaking my Static Cling like it was a maraca.  Some dude in a $900 suit is throwing down a Wolverine.  The mom is keeping half an eye on her kids while she makes her withdrawal in piece.  Two old ladies are asking me if I really ride that unicycle.

And then the security guard gets there.  This is usually about the time the fun stops.

But not this time.  "Is that a Myachi?" the guard asks.

Surprised that he knows the name, I must have responded with a pause.

"One of those hand hacky sacks, right?"

"Exactly.  How do you know the game?"

"My son saw it on TV and ever since then he's been asking me for one."

Through this little back and forth everyone is still jamming.  The business man tosses back the Myachi so he can go about his banking business so I toss the security guard in.  He catches it clean and I'm about to teach him the Cold Fusion when he stops me.

"I can't," he says, handing back the Myachi, "I'm at work."

I nod.  I understand, of course.  Not everyone is lucky enough to have a job where they're required to play with toys.  "Keep it," I offer.  It was a Dwight Howard sack I wasn't particularly attached to.  "Check us out on You-Tube and Facebook.  You can learn a few moves and teach them to your son."

He smiles and thanks me and heads back to his post.  I smile inward, knowing that I just made some kid I'd never met really happy.  I'd also made a few kids I had met pretty happy as well and about then I had to gather back the Myachis I'd loaned them.  Mom was ready to go.  I asked her if it would be okay to give them a Myachi (I always get mom's permission) and she accepted graciously.  Couldn't give up my Static Cling, of course, so I hooked them up with a Boss Tweed I had on me.

So that would have been the end of the story except that the oldest kid asked my about my unicycle before they left.  "Can you really ride that?" he asked.

I glanced over at my new buddy, the security guard.  He laughed and waved his hand dismissively, very purposely looking the other way while I hopped up and rode around the lobby for a few seconds.  I did a quick figure 8 around the little tables where they keep the deposit slips and stuff then rolled through the little velvet rope that cordons off the teller's line while throwing down some basic swap tricks with my Static Cling.

When I hop off I actually got a round of applause from half the people in the bank.  Had it not been for the incredible power of Myachi, I probably would have gotten arrested for doing that.  Instead, I get a standing ovation... albeit from people who were already standing.

Where I've Lived

by Crazy Ivan

Our good friend and loyal reader Myachi Maniac For Life (MMFL) submitted a guest blog yesterday where he heaped praise upon all of the Myachi Masters and talked a lot about the nature of our job.  Among the many things he brought up was a question about how many places we'd all called home.

He posed it like "who knows how many places they've lived?" and it was a pretty good question.  It took me a few minutes to really figure out the answer just for myself.

So I made up this map to show where I've been in the 7 years I've been a Myachi Master.  I should note that the stars are really, really approximate so I might not have hit the cities dead on or anything.  Used a pretty simple key, but it does look kind of confusing so here's the breakdown:

• Black Stars are places that I actually lived for 1 month of longer
• Blue Stars are places that I've been for Myachi events for between one week and one month
• Red Lines indicate places I've moved.
• Green Lines indicate places I've flown for Myachi events.

Note that places where I went for less than a week don't show up on the map because, honestly, it would start looking silly if I added that.  That's my personal map but if you really want to see something that would make a meteorologist pull his hair out, I'll see if I can get Kid Myach to make a map of his Myachi travels... He'd need a globe, of course...

Myachi Shows

by Crazy Ivan

I'd say that roughly 90% of Myachi You-Tube Videos fall into one of two categories: Shred Videos and Instructional Videos.  Shred videos are collages or single cut shots that feature somebody (or bodies) showing off their Myachi skills.  Instructional videos are usually instructions on tricks, but they can also take the form of instructions on how to break in your Myachi, how to lace your shoes for Myachi or even how to organize your collection.

But my favorite You-Tube videos often fall into that other 10%, the ones that are neither instructional nor demonstrative.  Comedic videos like the classic Dwight Howard video or Monk's classic SackCenter make up a lot of the remaining videos but there's also some other cool stuff.

Many of my favorite videos come from a few of the Myachi You-Tube shows that have cropped up over the years.  The first that I was aware of was a short lived weekly video offering from Caffeine that was a lot of fun while it lasted.  Of course, Caffeine was always a busy dude with a couple dozen irons in the fire so it was tough for him to keep updating his show regularly.

For a while nobody stepped in to fill the void.  A couple of Maniacs would do one episode with the intention of doing more, but for a long time there were no regularly occurring Myachi program on You-Tube.  That is, of course, until Dragon came along.

Dragon had the longest running and highest viewed Myachi Show in You-Tube history, ultimately recording more than 20 episodes.  It was extremely popular in the Myachi movement as he tackled virtually every Myachi related subject known to mankind at one point or another.  He also used his platform to solicit and edit the coolest Myachi collab video YouTube has ever seen:



But like all good things, eventually Dragon's show had to come to a close.  I still check back with his channel from time to time hoping to see another episode of Myachi World, but I also understand better than most what a huge commitment of time and effort it really is to do a weekly show.

Last week, we saw the debut of another promising Myachi You-Tube show.  Everybody's favorite future lacrosse star Myachi Fresh debuted his program to a waiting audience with the promise of doing an episode 3 times a week.  This brutal schedule seemed like a bit of an overreach to me, aiming for new episodes every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

He's three episodes in so far and in his third episode he had the good taste of highly recommending the Myachi Blog, so I figured the least I could do is return the favor.  Despite the fact that he spends the first couple of minutes of the episode with his attention evenly divided between his audience and his game of Gears of War 3, it ends up being mad fun.



I know from the experience of both filming and watching (and blogging for that matter) that it can be tough to keep new, fresh stuff coming in each episode but it looks like even just 3 episodes in, Fresh is already starting to get an idea of how to formulate his show.  I also know from experience that the best motivator on the planet when you're doing stuff like this is your like count.

So if you can spare a few seconds and a few clicks of your mouse, like the video and subscribe to his channel.  With his million dollar smile and a name like "Fresh", you can rest assured that he'll keep it new and interesting.

And if you have or would like to start your own Myachi show on You-Tube, let me know so that we can try to send some traffic your way.
Oh, and for the record, the whole part where he talks about how awesome the Myachi Blog is?  I totally agree.

The Power of the Camera (The Good Side)

by Crazy Ivan

The first time I ever saw the power that a professional video crew had on STWAKOJ we were in Tampa, Florida filming what would eventually become "Enter the Myach", our martial arts spoof/skate video.  We needed a video to play at stores that carried Myachis so we just found a film crew and hired them to follow us around for a day.

We didn't want to do anything too crazy right off the bat so we started the day off with me and former Myachi Master Big Dog mock-fighting with freestyle Myachi while riding on top of the Myachi Mobile in traffic.




And before you ask, yes that's really his hair (though mine was computer animated to make it look that short).  Anyway, while we're filming that video and many other clips we captured that day I was in constant fear that we were going to get arrested.  I mean, there has to be a law against what we're doing in that video and if there isn't there really should be.

But through it all the power of the camera made it all work.  For some of the shots we got we had to go on private property but when we asked everyone said yes because there was a camera crew behind us.  A couple of times we had to block off traffic on the sidewalks and on the streets and on no authority except the authority that having a camera crew with you offers, we did it.  Nobody questioned it.  They just saw the camera and said, "Oh, they must be with TV."

The camera crew, needless to say, has more impact in Tampa than it does in New York City, but it still draws people like moths to a flame.  Myachi Man and I used to joke that we should just hire a full time camera crew to follow us around.  They wouldn't even have to record anything, just turn on the lights and point the camera at us and people will line up to play.  Sales would probably double everywhere we went.

Now, obviously you need a pretty state of the art camera to pull this off.  People don't line up if you're pointing your iPhone at the action.  But when you have a $6,000 camera there and a dude holding a boom mic, you're set.

We saw yet another example of this yesterday.  They were filming for some [redacted] at [redacted] and they wanted [redacted], [redacted] and [redacted] to be in it so they brought their cameras and set them up at [redacted].  They hung out for quite a while and the whole time, it was nonstop Myachi madness.  I mean, it's always Myachi madness there, but for each member of a camera crew, the madness increases exponentially.

-----

Alright, so I read back over that last paragraph and suppose it doesn't mean much.  Since the entire article is about something I can't say much about just yet I guess you could just say that this article is a shameless plug for a later article where I reveal what they were filming and what, exactly, got redacted.

Enjoy the suspense...

...Oh, and never play Myachi on top of a moving vehicle!