by Crazy Ivan
So before I even get started, I should explain that "Myachi plans" aren't like regular plans. We plan things out meticulously and well in advance and then we change the plan 37 times before it comes to fruition. Once it does come to pass, we often change the plan as we're enacting it so very often we are really planning for the sake of improvising with a great deal of forethought.
When I say there's a plan, there should be a little asterisk next to it and underneath the statement there should be a line of fine print like a used-car ad that includes the words "Plans subject to change without notice. We offer no guarantees on stated plans. Void where prohibited." (and as an aside, aren't all things pretty much "void where prohibited"?)
To make a long story short, the information I'm about to divulge is not exactly set in stone. It may make way to a new plan tomorrow or even yet tonight. But as the plan stands, it's pretty cool.
See, when we first came down to Dollywood, Kid Myach drove down with us in a van that carried all our displays, signage and the first bit of product we sold. So in order to go back to NYC, we'll need the van. Kid Myach would normally drive down, but he's on a whirlwind tour of tradeshows at the moment and won't be able to make it down.
After juggling a few things, we have a plan, and it includes a lucky arrival here at Dollywood. And I mean that in the double entendre sense that we're lucky that a dude named Lucky is arriving at Dollywood.
You may never have heard of him before, but this dude is heavily into the game. Monk and Animal met him years ago back when they were at the FAO Shwarz in Las Vegas. He had awesome skills and worked as kind of an unofficial Myachi Master back then. We've stayed in touch through the years and he recently decided to join the team and move to New York. And now he will (probably) be coming to Tennessee.
I feel a bit bad even writing this, since as far as I know, Lucky doesn't even know this yet. He might actually find out that we need him to come to Tennessee by reading this entry and that would be hilarious. But maybe not the best way to break the news.
Anyway, that means that if you're in the Knoxville area, you have yet another reason to come back to Dollywood and see us one more time during Dollywood Nights (August 8th-14th 10 am to 10 pm). You'll get to meet the newest member of the Myachi team, a soldier who is already well on his way to earning the title "Myachi Master".
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Some You Tube Videos You Might Have Missed
by Crazy Ivan
When I'm in the office, it's part of my daily routine to look up Myachi on You-Tube, sort by upload date and catch up on any videos I haven't seen before. This is one of the many things I've neglected since I've been in Tennessee, so I fear that I've missed some really solid videos.
Had the day off yesterday so I thought I'd start digging through the backlog and I'm glad I did. There are a number of videos from new maniacs, a bunch of stuff from veteran jammers and a few videos of Myachi Masters as well. I even got my first chance to see our new display at Toys R Us (with Noodles jamming out in front of it).
Normally, when I come across a video that really blows me away, I'll link it on our Facebook page, share it on Twitter and maybe even embed it on this blog. Haven't done that in a while, so I figured I'd take a few minutes to toss up a few of the best ones I saw yesterday.
I'm limiting myself to three videos here because if I embed more than that it starts taking forever for the page to load on slower computers, but I assure you that I could be tossing 10 videos up here right now. I'll have to simply encourage you to check You-Tube for some of the others.
#1) Max's Debut
We've seen Max jam a bit before on FB videos and we've seen him throw down some sick stuff in his attempt to best Mantis in the Trick of the Day contest, but this is the first time we really got to see him cut loose with an all out jam:
#2: A New Combo (and the Outtakes)
Can't tell if I like the trick itself or the "bloopers" better, but one way or the other it's an awesome video. The same dude has a sick 12 move combo video up as well, so I'd encourage you to check out his channel.
#3) A Slow Mo Shred
This one is more than a week old and was probably linked on the forum (which I've also neglected while I'm in Tennessee). It's a sick shred from a jammer I don't recognize. He's obviously been learning a lot from the various instructional videos we've got on You-Tube and he throws down a bunch of it in slow mo.
Great video quality on this one so if you've been dying to see what a Flying Fish looks like in extreme slow (like myself), this video is one for you:
Hope you like the videos. I know I did. And if any of the creators of these videos are reading this (and I know at least one will), thanks a ton. It's always fun to see another new take on the game.
When I'm in the office, it's part of my daily routine to look up Myachi on You-Tube, sort by upload date and catch up on any videos I haven't seen before. This is one of the many things I've neglected since I've been in Tennessee, so I fear that I've missed some really solid videos.
Had the day off yesterday so I thought I'd start digging through the backlog and I'm glad I did. There are a number of videos from new maniacs, a bunch of stuff from veteran jammers and a few videos of Myachi Masters as well. I even got my first chance to see our new display at Toys R Us (with Noodles jamming out in front of it).
Normally, when I come across a video that really blows me away, I'll link it on our Facebook page, share it on Twitter and maybe even embed it on this blog. Haven't done that in a while, so I figured I'd take a few minutes to toss up a few of the best ones I saw yesterday.
I'm limiting myself to three videos here because if I embed more than that it starts taking forever for the page to load on slower computers, but I assure you that I could be tossing 10 videos up here right now. I'll have to simply encourage you to check You-Tube for some of the others.
#1) Max's Debut
We've seen Max jam a bit before on FB videos and we've seen him throw down some sick stuff in his attempt to best Mantis in the Trick of the Day contest, but this is the first time we really got to see him cut loose with an all out jam:
#2: A New Combo (and the Outtakes)
Can't tell if I like the trick itself or the "bloopers" better, but one way or the other it's an awesome video. The same dude has a sick 12 move combo video up as well, so I'd encourage you to check out his channel.
#3) A Slow Mo Shred
This one is more than a week old and was probably linked on the forum (which I've also neglected while I'm in Tennessee). It's a sick shred from a jammer I don't recognize. He's obviously been learning a lot from the various instructional videos we've got on You-Tube and he throws down a bunch of it in slow mo.
Great video quality on this one so if you've been dying to see what a Flying Fish looks like in extreme slow (like myself), this video is one for you:
Hope you like the videos. I know I did. And if any of the creators of these videos are reading this (and I know at least one will), thanks a ton. It's always fun to see another new take on the game.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Why Ivan Lost...
by Crazy Ivan
Got a message on You-Tube today that brought up an interesting question that hadn't occurred to me before. The inquiry came from a person who wondered why I never won anything.
I'm not talking about Academy Awards or anything (although I think that Meeting Night should have at least been nominated). But rather, they noticed after watching a number of Myachi videos that whenever I'm pictured in competition with another Myachi Master, I always lose.
To be honest, I'd never noticed it before. The first example comes from the early days of Myachi when I filmed a "fight scene" against former Myachi Master Big Dog. When we choreographed the scene, we knew that one of us would have to lose. Since I had a pretty good fall and Big Dog's Mohawk made it all but impossible for him to do a plausible dive, we set it up so that he defeats me with a Pendulum at the end.
But unbeknownst to be, this began a trend. Later, Monk and I would write and film a parody of SportsCenter called "Sack Center". In that video we filmed several competitions and I was a participant in two of them. One was a game of Fu against Animal (which I lost) and the other was a game of MYACH against Monk (which I also lost).
There were different reasons for both of my losses. When we set up the Fu battle between Animal and I, we actually filmed about seven points and I won 4 of them. But all of my points came quickly in the round and a few of Animal's came at the end of more dramatic exchanges. In the end, we decided to present it as a three round bout and we used the two best rounds (both of which Animal won) and the most dramatic round that I won (which was still super quick).
As for the MYACH battle against Monk, well... I just lost that one. Monk is unbelievable at MYACH and it wouldn't have been very realistic to set up a match where he lost so I'll just have to satisfy myself with having gotten a few letters off of him.
Lest you think this trend only carried over to a couple of videos, I also managed to recently lose a match of Myachi Arm Wrestling to Bones and post it on You-Tube. I could point out that before we shot the video, in my effort to get Bones to do the video, I enticed him with "I'll let you win...", but that being said, he would have beaten me anyway. Bones is a deceptively strong dude and he represented the surest challenge at the cabin.
With four losses and no videos of me actually winning games, I suppose one could be forgiven for thinking I just always lose at Myachi games. There is the one counter-example where I beat Unknown in a game of "Faceoff", but until Unknown reaches the rank of full fledged Myachi Master, I still haven't defeated a Myachi Master on camera.
I suppose much of it is that I'm the one that's usually filming, editing or choreographing the stuff. It would be pretty arrogant of me to choreograph a game that I win by design. I guess most of it is probably just coincidence, but part of it could be that our team of Myachi Masters just keeps getting so much better (at everything).
Got a message on You-Tube today that brought up an interesting question that hadn't occurred to me before. The inquiry came from a person who wondered why I never won anything.
I'm not talking about Academy Awards or anything (although I think that Meeting Night should have at least been nominated). But rather, they noticed after watching a number of Myachi videos that whenever I'm pictured in competition with another Myachi Master, I always lose.
To be honest, I'd never noticed it before. The first example comes from the early days of Myachi when I filmed a "fight scene" against former Myachi Master Big Dog. When we choreographed the scene, we knew that one of us would have to lose. Since I had a pretty good fall and Big Dog's Mohawk made it all but impossible for him to do a plausible dive, we set it up so that he defeats me with a Pendulum at the end.
But unbeknownst to be, this began a trend. Later, Monk and I would write and film a parody of SportsCenter called "Sack Center". In that video we filmed several competitions and I was a participant in two of them. One was a game of Fu against Animal (which I lost) and the other was a game of MYACH against Monk (which I also lost).
There were different reasons for both of my losses. When we set up the Fu battle between Animal and I, we actually filmed about seven points and I won 4 of them. But all of my points came quickly in the round and a few of Animal's came at the end of more dramatic exchanges. In the end, we decided to present it as a three round bout and we used the two best rounds (both of which Animal won) and the most dramatic round that I won (which was still super quick).
As for the MYACH battle against Monk, well... I just lost that one. Monk is unbelievable at MYACH and it wouldn't have been very realistic to set up a match where he lost so I'll just have to satisfy myself with having gotten a few letters off of him.
Lest you think this trend only carried over to a couple of videos, I also managed to recently lose a match of Myachi Arm Wrestling to Bones and post it on You-Tube. I could point out that before we shot the video, in my effort to get Bones to do the video, I enticed him with "I'll let you win...", but that being said, he would have beaten me anyway. Bones is a deceptively strong dude and he represented the surest challenge at the cabin.
With four losses and no videos of me actually winning games, I suppose one could be forgiven for thinking I just always lose at Myachi games. There is the one counter-example where I beat Unknown in a game of "Faceoff", but until Unknown reaches the rank of full fledged Myachi Master, I still haven't defeated a Myachi Master on camera.
I suppose much of it is that I'm the one that's usually filming, editing or choreographing the stuff. It would be pretty arrogant of me to choreograph a game that I win by design. I guess most of it is probably just coincidence, but part of it could be that our team of Myachi Masters just keeps getting so much better (at everything).
Sunday, July 31, 2011
How Many Myachis are in a Series?
by Crazy Ivan
There were a few obstacles when we decided to do the whole 5.1x series. For those who aren't up to the minute on their recent Myachi series, we just released the most ambitious series of all time. Instead of a typical 12 sack series, we actually co-released 24 sacks; 12 in the 5.1 series (packaged singly) and 12 in the 5.1x series (packaged in twos with a DVD).
Now, we've done co-releases before. We released the 2.1 and 2.2 at the same time and did the same thing with the 3.0 and 3.1 series. The difference is that these series only had 6 sacks in them, so in total we were only releasing 12 sacks. This has been standard since the 3.2 series so it doesn't seem like a big deal now, but at the time it was a pretty big deal.
To those that learned Myachi in the last few years, 12 sacks in a series seems pretty standard. But truth be told, it took a long time to settle on that size.
It's hard to talk about series before 1.0 because there was a lot of intermixing, re-releasing and "in-between" sacks that weren't actually manufactured with a full series. Today one series abruptly ends and another begins. Tag numbers and numbers on the packaging essentially set the series in stone. But neither of those things existed in the earlier series. There wasn't a clear division between each series and sometimes one or two of the sacks being offered at any given time might just be the slower sellers from the previous "series".
Series 1.0 was the first to be offered in a numbered package and that changed everything. The vast majority of the sacks before that came in no packaging at all, though a small run of early blister cards were made and several locations offered Myachis in collector's tubes.
Series 1.0 had 9 different colors. The size of the packaging that we chose made the logical number of units per pack 36, so we needed a number that was divisible by that. 9 meant that there would be 4 of each different pattern in each pack and that worked so well that we did it again for the 1.1 series.
But on 1.2 we went kind of crazy and offered seven different sacks. This made the shipping odd-ball and it was a short lived experiment.
For a while after that we settled into a 6-sack series. Once again, the number was divisible by 36 and that satisfied us through the 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, XM7, 3.0, 3.1 and 5B, but there was a problem. No matter how cool the fabrics, colors and patterns you choose for a series, some will invariably be cooler than others. The fact that a Hard Core Cammo was awesome didn't make the Aztec Red any less cool, but it never sold as quickly as the Hard Core Cammo.
This means that after you put a series on the shelf in a store, some of the colors will sell out quicker than the others and leave less and less variety. You'll put new series on the shelf, of course, but the coolest colors will still sell out faster and everything else will stack up further and further.
When there's only 6 sacks in a series, this can be a serious problem. If 2 of those sacks are way more popular than the others (and two of them always are), you'll quickly be left with only 4 colors. Of course, one of those colors will be the most popular so you'll wind up with only 3 colors and eventually 2. When you have a whole shelf of the same two colors, it doesn't catch the eye the way a variety does.
By the time we actually made the switch to 12 it was a technicality. Like I said, the 2.1/2.2 and 3.0/3.1 were released at the same time, making them essentially the same series. By 3.2 we simply combined the release and made the number official. 12 sacks per series (and once again, divisible by 36).
That number has proven to be perfect for us. Now, even once the four or five most popular sell out, you still have 7 different colors to choose from. Series 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 5.0, 5.1 and 5.1x have all shown that the 12 color system works well.
But now we're throwing out a new wrinkle and co-releasing 24 different patterns. It's been so popular that it's all but guaranteed that 5.2 will be accompanied by a 5.2x. It adds a great deal of difficulty to the process of picking and naming the sacks, but it also adds the new wrinkle of figuring out which Myachis to pair together in the double packs.
It is, of course, a labor we're all happy to undertake. It really doesn't matter how many new series I see, I always get excited when the new ones come out.
There were a few obstacles when we decided to do the whole 5.1x series. For those who aren't up to the minute on their recent Myachi series, we just released the most ambitious series of all time. Instead of a typical 12 sack series, we actually co-released 24 sacks; 12 in the 5.1 series (packaged singly) and 12 in the 5.1x series (packaged in twos with a DVD).
Now, we've done co-releases before. We released the 2.1 and 2.2 at the same time and did the same thing with the 3.0 and 3.1 series. The difference is that these series only had 6 sacks in them, so in total we were only releasing 12 sacks. This has been standard since the 3.2 series so it doesn't seem like a big deal now, but at the time it was a pretty big deal.
To those that learned Myachi in the last few years, 12 sacks in a series seems pretty standard. But truth be told, it took a long time to settle on that size.
It's hard to talk about series before 1.0 because there was a lot of intermixing, re-releasing and "in-between" sacks that weren't actually manufactured with a full series. Today one series abruptly ends and another begins. Tag numbers and numbers on the packaging essentially set the series in stone. But neither of those things existed in the earlier series. There wasn't a clear division between each series and sometimes one or two of the sacks being offered at any given time might just be the slower sellers from the previous "series".
Series 1.0 was the first to be offered in a numbered package and that changed everything. The vast majority of the sacks before that came in no packaging at all, though a small run of early blister cards were made and several locations offered Myachis in collector's tubes.
Series 1.0 had 9 different colors. The size of the packaging that we chose made the logical number of units per pack 36, so we needed a number that was divisible by that. 9 meant that there would be 4 of each different pattern in each pack and that worked so well that we did it again for the 1.1 series.
But on 1.2 we went kind of crazy and offered seven different sacks. This made the shipping odd-ball and it was a short lived experiment.
For a while after that we settled into a 6-sack series. Once again, the number was divisible by 36 and that satisfied us through the 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, XM7, 3.0, 3.1 and 5B, but there was a problem. No matter how cool the fabrics, colors and patterns you choose for a series, some will invariably be cooler than others. The fact that a Hard Core Cammo was awesome didn't make the Aztec Red any less cool, but it never sold as quickly as the Hard Core Cammo.
This means that after you put a series on the shelf in a store, some of the colors will sell out quicker than the others and leave less and less variety. You'll put new series on the shelf, of course, but the coolest colors will still sell out faster and everything else will stack up further and further.
When there's only 6 sacks in a series, this can be a serious problem. If 2 of those sacks are way more popular than the others (and two of them always are), you'll quickly be left with only 4 colors. Of course, one of those colors will be the most popular so you'll wind up with only 3 colors and eventually 2. When you have a whole shelf of the same two colors, it doesn't catch the eye the way a variety does.
By the time we actually made the switch to 12 it was a technicality. Like I said, the 2.1/2.2 and 3.0/3.1 were released at the same time, making them essentially the same series. By 3.2 we simply combined the release and made the number official. 12 sacks per series (and once again, divisible by 36).
That number has proven to be perfect for us. Now, even once the four or five most popular sell out, you still have 7 different colors to choose from. Series 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 5.0, 5.1 and 5.1x have all shown that the 12 color system works well.
But now we're throwing out a new wrinkle and co-releasing 24 different patterns. It's been so popular that it's all but guaranteed that 5.2 will be accompanied by a 5.2x. It adds a great deal of difficulty to the process of picking and naming the sacks, but it also adds the new wrinkle of figuring out which Myachis to pair together in the double packs.
It is, of course, a labor we're all happy to undertake. It really doesn't matter how many new series I see, I always get excited when the new ones come out.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Series 5.1X: Quick Review
by Crazy Ivan
It's pretty weird trying to get to know 24 new sacks all at once and while I feel like I'm still learning a lot about the 5.1s, I've also now had a chance to jam with all 12 of the new sacks. I know that I'll have a lot more input on them in the coming weeks, once I've had a chance to break a few of them in, but I felt like it was high time to give everyone a brief synopsis of my first thoughts on these new sacks.
It's late and I have an early morning, so I'm going to tackle a few of them with a couple of quick sentences. Here goes:
Blue Horizon:
So far this one is my favorite from the 5.1x series. It's a classic horizontal corduroy that evokes sacks like the Dreamcoat and the Gang Green. I have a sneaking suspicion that even after breaking them all in, this simple sack will be the best jammer in the bunch.
BoneYard Blue:
No real difference in jammability compared to the BoneYard Red, but this one definitely has a little more punch with the visuals. It looks great mid-jam and the skull images really pop off the blue. Definitely a great collector's sack but also a pretty descent jammer.
BoneYard Gray:
I've kind of taken to this one as my favorite BoneYard, but that may be because it's paired with the Blue Horizon. I haven't jammed with enough of them to say if there's a general difference, but this one seems like a pretty equal jammer to it's sisters.
Cupcake:
The Cupcake impressed me a lot. I've thrown down with quite a few of these already and it's a spectacular jammer right away. No word on how they break in yet, but I'll keep you posted.
Fishbone Gray:
Thus far I haven't really noticed a difference between this and the Fishbone Orange in terms of jammability, but I definitely prefer the look of this one. As I suspected, in action it looks way cool, though in my opinion it still plays second fiddle to the Fishbone Red.
Fishbone Red:
I'm willing to offer the opinion that this is the best of the Fishbones. There might not be a big difference, but it seems like the Reds I've played with are a bit more wide-boarded, have a little more grip and look the best mid jam. This is a close runner up for my "favorite of the series" award.
Lumber Jack Black:
This plays exactly how you want a corduroy to play. No word on why we went with "Lumber Jack Black" on a sack that is definitely gray, but it's a great jammer despite the name. No question that so far the twin pack with this and the Lumber Jack Gray are the top sellers.
Lumber Jack Red:
Okay, so you see this one and you think "Isn't that a Highlander Red?" You jam with it and think the same thing. It's a very subtly different fabric and the ability to tell this one from the others would be like trying to differentiate between a Bubble Gum and a Bubbalicious it it weren't for the tag numbers. That being said, if you know the Highlander Red, you know it's a crazy good jammer, so this one comes highly recommended.
Missile Command Blue:
I was a bit iffy on this fabric when I first saw it because it seemed like it might be a bit stiff for a corduroy, but man was I wrong. These things look like they'll break in like traditional cords, but they have way more grip fresh from the package. This is a great jammer for a first timer but I'd also recommend it for a veteran of the game.
Missile Command Red:
I haven't really noticed a difference between this one and the Missile Command Blue, but I will say that the Red looks a bit cooler when you're jamming.
Shadow Boxes:
In many series, this would be a strong contender for my favorite and even in this gang of blockbusters I'd rank it third (though my opinion on that may change as I break 5.1x sacks in). It's a cool design to be sure, but this is a jammer's sack. It breaks in quick, it looks good dirty and it jams like an Aztec Red. Definitely a must have.
Wonderland:
The Wonderland reminds me a lot of the Phat Kat Green in jammability. It's a little tight at first and probably won't break in the same as most corduroys. The designs are unique and not by a little bit. Some have awesome patterns and others are mad random. It's definitely a cool sack, but I think I'd rank it as the lowest in jammability for this series.
Overall:
I'm still getting use to this whole double pack idea and I'm loving it. In a lot of ways the series seems repetitive compared to previous series, but it's probably just a byproduct of making the double packs. Some interesting mixes in fabric here, but not as adventurous as the 5.1 was. It a great series with nothing but good jammers and has a few obvious future classics when it comes to design.
My first impression gives this series a B+, but again, I reserve the right to swing that in a range from B- to A once I've gotten all the sacks broken in and really learned what they're all about.
It's pretty weird trying to get to know 24 new sacks all at once and while I feel like I'm still learning a lot about the 5.1s, I've also now had a chance to jam with all 12 of the new sacks. I know that I'll have a lot more input on them in the coming weeks, once I've had a chance to break a few of them in, but I felt like it was high time to give everyone a brief synopsis of my first thoughts on these new sacks.
It's late and I have an early morning, so I'm going to tackle a few of them with a couple of quick sentences. Here goes:
Blue Horizon:
So far this one is my favorite from the 5.1x series. It's a classic horizontal corduroy that evokes sacks like the Dreamcoat and the Gang Green. I have a sneaking suspicion that even after breaking them all in, this simple sack will be the best jammer in the bunch.
BoneYard Blue:
No real difference in jammability compared to the BoneYard Red, but this one definitely has a little more punch with the visuals. It looks great mid-jam and the skull images really pop off the blue. Definitely a great collector's sack but also a pretty descent jammer.
BoneYard Gray:
I've kind of taken to this one as my favorite BoneYard, but that may be because it's paired with the Blue Horizon. I haven't jammed with enough of them to say if there's a general difference, but this one seems like a pretty equal jammer to it's sisters.
Cupcake:
The Cupcake impressed me a lot. I've thrown down with quite a few of these already and it's a spectacular jammer right away. No word on how they break in yet, but I'll keep you posted.
Fishbone Gray:
Thus far I haven't really noticed a difference between this and the Fishbone Orange in terms of jammability, but I definitely prefer the look of this one. As I suspected, in action it looks way cool, though in my opinion it still plays second fiddle to the Fishbone Red.
Fishbone Red:
I'm willing to offer the opinion that this is the best of the Fishbones. There might not be a big difference, but it seems like the Reds I've played with are a bit more wide-boarded, have a little more grip and look the best mid jam. This is a close runner up for my "favorite of the series" award.
Lumber Jack Black:
This plays exactly how you want a corduroy to play. No word on why we went with "Lumber Jack Black" on a sack that is definitely gray, but it's a great jammer despite the name. No question that so far the twin pack with this and the Lumber Jack Gray are the top sellers.
Lumber Jack Red:
Okay, so you see this one and you think "Isn't that a Highlander Red?" You jam with it and think the same thing. It's a very subtly different fabric and the ability to tell this one from the others would be like trying to differentiate between a Bubble Gum and a Bubbalicious it it weren't for the tag numbers. That being said, if you know the Highlander Red, you know it's a crazy good jammer, so this one comes highly recommended.
Missile Command Blue:
I was a bit iffy on this fabric when I first saw it because it seemed like it might be a bit stiff for a corduroy, but man was I wrong. These things look like they'll break in like traditional cords, but they have way more grip fresh from the package. This is a great jammer for a first timer but I'd also recommend it for a veteran of the game.
Missile Command Red:
I haven't really noticed a difference between this one and the Missile Command Blue, but I will say that the Red looks a bit cooler when you're jamming.
Shadow Boxes:
In many series, this would be a strong contender for my favorite and even in this gang of blockbusters I'd rank it third (though my opinion on that may change as I break 5.1x sacks in). It's a cool design to be sure, but this is a jammer's sack. It breaks in quick, it looks good dirty and it jams like an Aztec Red. Definitely a must have.
Wonderland:
The Wonderland reminds me a lot of the Phat Kat Green in jammability. It's a little tight at first and probably won't break in the same as most corduroys. The designs are unique and not by a little bit. Some have awesome patterns and others are mad random. It's definitely a cool sack, but I think I'd rank it as the lowest in jammability for this series.
Overall:
I'm still getting use to this whole double pack idea and I'm loving it. In a lot of ways the series seems repetitive compared to previous series, but it's probably just a byproduct of making the double packs. Some interesting mixes in fabric here, but not as adventurous as the 5.1 was. It a great series with nothing but good jammers and has a few obvious future classics when it comes to design.
My first impression gives this series a B+, but again, I reserve the right to swing that in a range from B- to A once I've gotten all the sacks broken in and really learned what they're all about.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
An Engagement Extended
by Crazy Ivan
There have been rumors for a while now but we finally got confirmation that our stay at Dollywood has been extended by a week. We'll be hanging out for their "Dollywood Nights" celebration, which is a week long thing where they keep the park open until 10 am. All I can say is "... Glowsticks!"
We're all really excited about it. Pinky, Kore, Bones, Bamboo, Rush and I have been having a lot of fun these past few weeks and we were all kind of hoping for a little more time here. The people at Dollywood are awesome and I'm going to miss a lot of them when I leave. Plus it's a chance to make another week's worth of maniacs.
But like all things, there's a downside too. I have to wait another week to see my cats, for one. And they probably forgot what I smell like by now. More importantly, anyone in NY who is looking forward to seeing Bones, Bamboo or Rush again is going to have to wait. Anyone who hangs out at HQ and has been missing Pinky or myself will have to wait another week.
Ultimately, that's no big deal. What is a big deal is that anyone who was looking forward to me being done with Dollywood so I could go back to my normal (frenetic) blogging pace is going to have to wait another week. With the crazy hours we're working I've been updating this thing a few times a week instead of a few times a day. My contests have been in limbo, I'm barely on the forum, the Trick of the Day videos are getting uploaded after 11, I haven't even reviewed the 5.1x series yet, I haven't been on for the Wednesday Night Brawl in ages and there hasn't been a Wednesday Quiz in months.
I'm looking forward to this extra week, but I feel like I owe our loyal readers an apology at the same time. Our new final date is August 14th, but we're hoping to hang out in Tennessee for a few days after so we might not be back in NYC until the 18th or 19th. Expect me to go crazy making up for lost time on this blog.
There have been rumors for a while now but we finally got confirmation that our stay at Dollywood has been extended by a week. We'll be hanging out for their "Dollywood Nights" celebration, which is a week long thing where they keep the park open until 10 am. All I can say is "... Glowsticks!"
We're all really excited about it. Pinky, Kore, Bones, Bamboo, Rush and I have been having a lot of fun these past few weeks and we were all kind of hoping for a little more time here. The people at Dollywood are awesome and I'm going to miss a lot of them when I leave. Plus it's a chance to make another week's worth of maniacs.
But like all things, there's a downside too. I have to wait another week to see my cats, for one. And they probably forgot what I smell like by now. More importantly, anyone in NY who is looking forward to seeing Bones, Bamboo or Rush again is going to have to wait. Anyone who hangs out at HQ and has been missing Pinky or myself will have to wait another week.
Ultimately, that's no big deal. What is a big deal is that anyone who was looking forward to me being done with Dollywood so I could go back to my normal (frenetic) blogging pace is going to have to wait another week. With the crazy hours we're working I've been updating this thing a few times a week instead of a few times a day. My contests have been in limbo, I'm barely on the forum, the Trick of the Day videos are getting uploaded after 11, I haven't even reviewed the 5.1x series yet, I haven't been on for the Wednesday Night Brawl in ages and there hasn't been a Wednesday Quiz in months.
I'm looking forward to this extra week, but I feel like I owe our loyal readers an apology at the same time. Our new final date is August 14th, but we're hoping to hang out in Tennessee for a few days after so we might not be back in NYC until the 18th or 19th. Expect me to go crazy making up for lost time on this blog.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Some Trick of the Day Math
by Crazy Ivan
So, before I get started, I should warn the long time reader that I'm going to be going over some old ground here. This is a subject that I've adressed before here, among other places. But it's come up several times in the last few days from the sudden influx of new maniacs along the southeastern United States.
The question is about the trick of the day and if you've been reading this blog for very long (or clicked the hyperlink above), you've probably already guessed what it is. "How long can you possibly keep coming up with a new trick every day?"
And it's not just new maniacs that have posited that question. I've gotten it from seasoned Myachi Masters who really know what they're talking about (Myachi Man and Maverick, for example). I've also gotten it from a few jugglers and other skill toy enthusiasts that frequent our You-Tube channel. They ask if this is a one year project or if I think I can keep it up longer.
Now, I could just reference the article above and wash my hands of the question, but as often as I get it, it's probably best to tackle it from another direction altogether. So let's look at the math:
If you've read this article before, you know that there are (at least) 48 common stall surfaces in Myachi. The graphic below (which is the wallpaper on Pinky's office computer) shows you all the basics and when you figure weak side and strong side in, you get 48 total surfaces.
Now, by the strictest definition, a Myachi move begins on one of these surfaces and ends on one of these surfaces. Often time stuff happens in between, but let's start by simply looking at the total combinations you can get to just by going from one surface to another. For example, Toe Stall to Melon Stall or In-Wing (weak side) to Mantis (strong side).
There are 48 surfaces and you can throw from any one to any other (including throwing back to the same surface such as Toe Stall (strong side) to Toe Stall (weak side). So that gives us the first total on our little equation:
48 x 48 = 2304
So that means that if I never did anything at all but stalling on one surface and then tossing to another, I'd have 2,304 tricks. Since I take weekends off, that would give me about enough tricks for the next nine years. In fact, since you could also end a trick with a strike instead of a stall and you can strike with all 48 of those surfaces, we really have to quadruple that number. After all, you can go strike to stall, stall to strike or strike to strike instead of just doing stalls.
2304 x 4 = 9216
But Myachi is a lot more than just going from one surface to another. In virtually all of these instances, you could add an aerial move in between. Illusions, 360s, Wolverines, Mirages, Double Illusions, 720s, Butterflies, Double Mirages, Double Wolverines and Reverse Butterflies can be added between almost every stall or strike. Sure, it would be almost impossible to do a Wolverine while going from a Sole Stall to a Melon Stall, but if you give Maverick a couple of days, he'd probably hit it.
So let's suppose that those 10 aerials can be done between at least 90% of our moves so far. That means that we can multiply the number we had by another 9:
9216 X 9 = 82944
Obviously I could keep going. I haven't touched on Traps, Portals, Grinds, Flip Tricks, Under the Legs, Behind the Backs, Blind Moves, Two Myachi Tricks, Juggling Moves, Two-Person Tricks, Prop-Adds or any of the specialty stalls and strikes that don't show up on the chart above. There's a lot more to Myachi that this number doesn't remotely represent. But even just using a small fraction of what can be done, we have enough Myachi tricks to continue to tricks of the day for the next three hundred and seventeen years.
I try to stay pretty healthy. I work out a lot (for a living), I stay active and I keep learning new stuff. I intend to stay young as long as I can, but no matter what kind of miracle break throughs medical science makes, I have more than enough tricks to last the rest of my life.
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