tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80798681015417687372024-02-07T18:34:10.063-08:00Welc☆me t☆ Y☆Y☆ heavenThe YOYO world viewed by Joseph Harris, aka Yoyo Jo!YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-82305515237366931482014-05-26T23:02:00.000-07:002014-05-26T23:02:05.483-07:002014 Bay Area Classic Video SF Gate<iframe src="http://embed.newsinc.com/Single/iframe.html?WID=1&VID=26164757&freewheel=69016&sitesection=sfgate_hom_non_sty_pp&width=600&height=336" height="336" width="600" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0"></iframe>YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-57555001789188854622014-05-26T22:59:00.001-07:002014-05-26T22:59:48.884-07:00Top names in yo-yo circuit go for gold at S.F. championship<div class="hst-articletitle articletitle" style="background-color: white; background-image: url(http://www.sfgate.com/img/utils/rule_dots.gif); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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Top names in yo-yo circuit go for gold at S.F. championship</h1>
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<span class="name" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Jill Tucker</span></h5>
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Updated 5:28 pm, Saturday, May 24, 2014</h5>
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Star-struck kids clamored for autographs as they pointed at the stars.</div>
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Look, they said, in hushed tones. There's<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Joseph+Harris%22" style="border: 0px; color: #015660; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Joseph Harris</a>. <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Miguel+Correa%22" style="border: 0px; color: #015660; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Miguel Correa</a>. <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Tessa+Piccillo%22" style="border: 0px; color: #015660; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tessa Piccillo</a>.<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Paolo+Bueno%22" style="border: 0px; color: #015660; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Paolo Bueno</a>.</div>
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Uh, who?</div>
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Try some of the biggest names on the competitive yo-yo circuit, gathered at the Golden Gate Park band shell Saturday for the 2014 Bay Area Yo-Yo Championship.</div>
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It's one of the biggest regional yo-yo competitions in the country, with more than 100 competitors and a $1,500 cash prize for the winner of the competitive Division 1A.</div>
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And for those who think it's about walking the dog or rocking the baby with a 'round the world flourish, think again.</div>
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Yo-yos have come a long way since the early Duncan days.</div>
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With a ball bearing inside, modern yo-yos can spin indefinitely, allowing aficionados to perform string-twisting tricks, vision-blurring tricks.</div>
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<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Jordan+Urabe%22" style="border: 0px; color: #015660; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jordan Urabe</a>, 10, traveled from Santa Cruz with family and friends to watch the competition and collect autographs of the yo-yo pros he has watched repeatedly on YouTube.</div>
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As he casually performed tricks with his yo-yo, he scoped out his future competition.</div>
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"At first I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life," Jordan said. "But ever since I started yo-yoing, I know what I want to do."</div>
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He wants to go pro.</div>
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"I've been yo-yoing for some time now," he said of his five months of experience. "I'm really looking forward to being a competitor."</div>
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Collectible autographs</h3>
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And then his attention was diverted as Paolo Bueno walked by and Jordan asked for his autograph on his professional player card, something like a collectible baseball card.</div>
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"I get it a lot," said Paolo, 16, a YoYoFactory-sponsored professional who traveled from San Diego to compete. "This (competition) is considered really prestigious."</div>
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Across the country, about 3,000 to 5,000 players regularly compete, said <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Johnnie+DelValle%22" style="border: 0px; color: #015660; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Johnnie DelValle</a>, one of the contest organizers.</div>
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A decade ago, the 27-year-old DelValle was among the very best of the best in the yo-yo world, and is still considered among the greatest ever in Division 1A, which requires competitors to do fast-paced string and looping tricks using one yo-yo.</div>
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DelValle started playing yo-yo in 1999, watching professional videos through dial-up Internet access.</div>
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"I've never stopped," he said.</div>
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He eventually became a regional, national and world champion, success he said just took time and practice.</div>
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And a hobby that led to a distinct lack of girlfriends in his teen years?</div>
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"How'd you know?" he said, laughing. "It's more of a business for me now."</div>
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'It's a rush'</h3>
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For the 26-year-old Harris, it's still about competing, and frequently winning.</div>
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He's a three-time and current national champion in Division 2A and will head in August to the <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22World+Yo-Yo+Contest%22" style="border: 0px; color: #015660; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">World Yo-Yo Contest</a>, held in Prague.</div>
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"It's a rush," said Harris, of San Francisco, after competing Saturday morning in the 2A finals, which is limited to large looping tricks with two yo-yos, not to be confused with Division 3A, which requires string tricks using two yo-yos. All routines in each division are performed to music.</div>
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Getting in the swing</h3>
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Tessa, 17, was among the few female contestants Saturday. The Castro Valley teen is sponsored by the YoYoJam company and also has her own player card. She competed in Division 1A.</div>
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Tessa started playing in 2009 after she found an old yo-yo.</div>
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"I went on YouTube and found it was this whole world," she said, adding she doesn't understand why more girls don't compete. "Anyone can do it."</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Online:</strong> See video of the competition at <a href="http://tinyurl.com/mgxqrjk" style="border: 0px; color: #015660; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">http://tinyurl.com/mgxqrjk</a>.</div>
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Jill Tucker is a <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22San+Francisco+Chronicle%22" style="border: 0px; color: #015660; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">San Francisco Chronicle</a> staff writer. E-mail: <a href="mailto:jtucker@sfchronicle.com" style="border: 0px; color: #015660; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">jtucker@sfchronicle.com</a></div>
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YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-78344964216495759532012-06-10T12:13:00.000-07:002012-06-10T12:13:02.540-07:00IT Staffing and the yo-yo effect<a href="http://blog.yoh.com/2012/05/it-staffing-and-the-yo-yo-effect.html">http://blog.yoh.com/2012/05/it-staffing-and-the-yo-yo-effect.html</a>
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IT staffing and the yo-yo effect</h1>
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IT staffing and the yo-yo effect</h1>
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<strong>Posted by: </strong><span class="author vcard" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="url fn n" href="http://blog.yoh.com/author/yoh-mattrivera" style="border: 0px; color: #b71234; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="View all posts by Matt Rivera">Matt Rivera</a></span></div>
<img alt="IT staffing" class="attachment-full wp-post-image" height="282" src="http://blog.yoh.com/wp-content/uploads/IT-staffing-yo-yo-effect.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(203, 203, 203); float: right; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; height: auto; margin: 0px 0px 20px 20px; padding: 4px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 250px;" title="IT staffing" width="425" /><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
After attending <a href="http://blog.yoh.com/2012/05/mobility-agility-and-it-staffing-at-interop.html" style="border: 0px; color: #b71234; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Interop Las Vegas 2012</a> I can tell you two things: People love yo-yos, and <a href="http://hiring.yoh.com/it-staffing-solutions" style="border: 0px; color: #b71234; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">IT staffing</a> is still a problem for many companies.</div>
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First, the fun part. One of our most popular giveaways at our booth was a Yoh yo-yo. Yes, one of the most basic toys, which originated as a weapon (thanks to colleague Vik Long for the trivia), never failed to make booth visitors smile. I can only imagine the hundreds of people that are in their offices right now with the door closed trying out the toy. (Please note: We are not responsible for any damage or injuries that might occur.)</div>
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But I also can’t help but think about the people we spoke to that are struggling to find IT talent right now. My co-workers and I had some fun comparing the yo-yo to IT staffing challenges. Here are a few of our yo-yo-based observations.</div>
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<strong>Momentum</strong>. Guiding a yo-yo down is the easy part because gravity is working for you. The up part is the problem. You have to yank up to get the yo-yo going, and it won’t come all the way back up unless you’ve generated some momentum. IT staffing is similar. If you are on the down slope and not really<a href="http://blog.yoh.com/2012/05/it-staffing-and-the-yo-yo-effect.html#" id="_GPLITA_0" in_rurl="http://www.textsrv.com/click?v=VVM6MTcxNTE6MTEzOTpoaXJpbmc6MDZjYTUwNjA2NWIzOWM0ZDViZmQxMmU2M2YwYzU2MzI6ei0xMDYzLTIwMDY0OmJsb2cueW9oLmNvbQ%3D%3D" style="border: 0px; color: #b71234; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Powered by Text-Enhance">hiring</a>, you’re not thinking about building momentum for when things pick up. Many companies are seeing this now. They suddenly have unmet needs for certain skills because they haven’t had the talent in months or even years. Even in slow areas you need to forecast your requirements and build hiring momentum now, before you have needs.</div>
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<strong>Going to sleep</strong>. The sleep trick is when the yo-yo reaches the bottom and just spins. It’s a neat trick but takes some effort to bring it <a href="http://blog.yoh.com/2012/05/it-staffing-and-the-yo-yo-effect.html#" id="_GPLITA_2" in_rurl="http://www.textsrv.com/click?v=VVM6MjE3NjY6ODU3OmJhY2sgdXA6NzE3NTkxYTU3M2E1ZjQ1MWJmMWRjYzY4ZDZkYWU4NzQ6ei0xMDYzLTIwMDY0OmJsb2cueW9oLmNvbQ%3D%3D" style="border: 0px; color: #b71234; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Powered by Text-Enhance">back up</a>. Some well-designed yo-yos will spin for a long time and still come back up. With most, however, if you wait too long, it just won’t make it back to the top. Likewise, if your IT staffing plan or resources are asleep, it’s time to revisit them. If you think you can just go back to the way things were or the resources you used to use (<a href="http://blog.yoh.com/2012/05/it-staffing-isnt-all-about-technology.html" style="border: 0px; color: #b71234; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">like stale job postings</a>), you might find that you’re unable to reach the hiring peaks you once could. Many companies are now vying for the same IT skills (think mobility) and doing anything but sitting at the bottom and spinning. Wake up your IT staffing plans now.</div>
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<strong>Tricks vs. the basics</strong>. The basic up-and-down yo-yo movement is fun, but still not easy for some people. That said, many would admit that they’d like to perform a trick or two. We had the pleasure of meeting a <a href="http://www.internetnews.com/blog/skerner/interop-goes-yoyo.html" style="border: 0px; color: #b71234; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">yo-yo expert that wowed the crowd</a> at Interop (albeit at another booth). The tricks were great to watch, but the majority of people probably needed some basic yo-yo instruction before learning any tricks. The same is true for IT staffing. While many companies are dabbling in social media recruiting, most organizations would benefit from looking at <a href="http://blog.yoh.com/2012/01/get-back-to-the-basics-of-staffing-solutions.html" style="border: 0px; color: #b71234; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the basics</a> of their IT staffing plan and their recruiting resources before spending time on social media. A good recruiting plan covers the basics, such as qualifying suppliers, focusing recruiting efforts on crucial skill areas, and measuring results. I think Yo-Yo Joe would agree that tricks always work better when you have the basics down.</div>
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So look to the yo-yo for inspiration when you think about your IT staffing plans. And if you need a physical reminder, leave a comment below with your <a href="http://blog.yoh.com/2012/05/it-staffing-and-the-yo-yo-effect.html#" id="_GPLITA_3" in_hdr="null" in_rurl="http://www.textsrv.com/click?v=VVM6MTQzNTM6NjgwOmVtYWlsIGFkZHJlc3M6NjFhODRhMDE5NTY5NDY1MTMzMjNhOWMzODQ2ZGQ3ZTM6ei0xMDYzLTIwMDY0OmJsb2cueW9oLmNvbQ%3D%3D" style="border: 0px; color: #b71234; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Powered by Text-Enhance">email address</a>, and we might just contact you and send you your very own Yoh yo-yo. (Supplies are limited.)</div>
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</div>YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-49356672589260898612012-06-10T12:06:00.001-07:002012-06-10T18:35:37.703-07:00#Interop Goes YoYo<a href="http://www.internetnews.com/blog/skerner/interop-goes-yoyo.html">http://www.internetnews.com/blog/skerner/interop-goes-yoyo.html</a>
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#Interop Goes YoYo</h1>
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<span style="font-style: italic;">By Sean Michael Kerner | May 09, 2012</span></div>
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<img alt="f5 claw Interop" src="http://www.internetnews.com/imagesvr_ce/2566/f5-claw.JPG" style="float: left; margin: 5px 10px;" title="f5 claw Interop" width="300" /><span style="font-size: x-small;">From the 'Yo Yo Network' files:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">There is never a shortage of interesting things that show up on the show floor of a conference, Interop 2012 is no exception.<br />While there is no boxing ring with fighters this year (thnx Xirrus!), there were some interesting 'shenanigans' that vendors had to try and entice people.<br /><br />F5 had THE CLAW as a way to grab your schwag, which was kinda neat. There are always the magician types, the hot cars and motorcycles. This year, vendor ExtraHop has the U.S. YoYo champion.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />And yes, for the record it did get me stop at the ExtraHop booth.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Lucky for you dear reader, I also recorded it so you too can enjoy the intersection of the YoYo and enterprise IT.</span><br />
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<span class="byline">Tyson</span><span class="datetime"> said on May 10, 2012 at 9:23 am</span></h3>
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This guy is Joseph Harris. He also does this trick where he knocked a dime off an Interop attendee's ear with a yo-yo! You can <a href="http://www.internetnews.com/blog/skerner/interop-goes-yoyo.html#" id="_GPLITA_0" in_rurl="http://www.textsrv.com/click?v=VVM6MTI5NTU6MjM5OmNoZWNrOjk3YjNjMmQ3NDMwNWI3NjhhZGMwOTk0YTMxMTU3YmFkOnotMTA2My0yMDA2NDp3d3cuaW50ZXJuZXRuZXdzLmNvbQ%3D%3D" title="Powered by Text-Enhance">check</a> out a video of that on the ExtraHop YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDckfFn2fVY</div>
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<br />YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-49182741948832828582012-06-10T12:05:00.001-07:002012-06-10T12:05:04.905-07:00Buskers: Better Than Booth Babes<a href="http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/80533">http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/80533</a>
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Buskers: Better Than Booth Babes</h1>
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Whereas other Interop vendors recently blew bucks on booth babes, ExtraHop got props for entertaining attendees with hourly performances by national yo-yo champion Joseph Harris. Please tell me this is the future of IT events!</h2>
<span style="color: #555555; display: block; font-style: italic; margin: 4px 0px 5px;">By <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/community/user/24450" style="color: #0f7cc2;" title="View user profile.">Rikki Endsley</a> on Fri, 05/11/12 - 6:46pm.</span></div>
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Years ago I worked for a large company that hired "booth babes" to "help" us run our booth at LinuxWorld in New York. These hired models sat on stools and gossiped with each other as I and another editor — also a woman — talked to attendees and gave out free copies of our magazine. What a waste of <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/80533#" id="_GPLITA_3" in_rurl="http://www.textsrv.com/click?v=VVM6MTI0MzA6ODM4Om1vbmV5OmI2MjQ5NDcxNzIxNDZjYTAzOTkwNDRkY2NjYTQwZjc1OnotMTA2My0yMDA2NDp3d3cubmV0d29ya3dvcmxkLmNvbQ%3D%3D" style="color: #0f7cc2;" title="Powered by Text-Enhance">money</a> those models turned out to be. Thankfully, I've never been stuck (wo)manning a booth with one since then. Maybe there's a time and place for models at expo halls, but I assure you that it's not at IT-related events.</div>
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If you want more bang for your buck — and why wouldn't you? — take notes from <a href="http://www.extrahop.com/?gclid=CMiExaCk-a8CFYcBQAodW186Gg" style="color: #0f7cc2;">ExtraHop Networks</a>. In his <a href="http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/unchartered-waters/beyond-booth-babes-at-interop/" style="color: #0f7cc2;">Beyond Booth Babes at Interop</a> article (which includes a great video interview with ExtraHop staff), Matt Heusser gives thumbs down to vendors who go the booth babe route in an effort to attract attendees.</div>
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"My objection today is not a PC one," Heusser explains. "My hobby horse is not getting more women in tech (though I think that is noble), but instead that 'because it works' is lazy. Should we do something silly, ridiculous, inappropriate, and insulting just because it works?"</div>
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Women are clearly the minority on almost any — perhaps, all — IT event expo floors. Still, those of us who are there won't be drawn to your booth because you hired a model. I'd argue that few (if any) men are drawn to booths because of attractive women on display, either. Ideally, your product or service is sexy enough on its own. If not, maybe you can throw in some food, booze, shiny giveaways, <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/80533#" id="_GPLITA_1" in_rurl="http://www.textsrv.com/click?v=VVM6MTIxODU6NzQ4OnByaXplOjQzNTIxNWE4OTExYmFlYzY1Y2VkOWVmNmUzNzE5OTZkOnotMTA2My0yMDA2NDp3d3cubmV0d29ya3dvcmxkLmNvbQ%3D%3D" style="color: #0f7cc2;" title="Powered by Text-Enhance">prize</a>drawings, or Guitar Hero.</div>
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<em>Yawn.</em></div>
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Don't get me wrong — I like a free beer and pretzel as much as the next lady. But I doubt I'll remember who handed out which snack or hosted the <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/80533#" id="_GPLITA_2" in_rurl="http://www.textsrv.com/click?v=VVM6MTAzNzQ6MjM5OndpaSBib3dsaW5nOjIyZGE1YmYwNzZiMWM2Mjc2ZWNiYTU1M2VlNjY2NWQ5OnotMTA2My0yMDA2NDp3d3cubmV0d29ya3dvcmxkLmNvbQ%3D%3D" style="color: #0f7cc2;" title="Powered by Text-Enhance">Wii Bowling</a>. Throw in a yo yo champ? I'm not going to forget it.</div>
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<img alt="" height="280" src="http://www.networkworld.com/community/files/user24450/interopear.png" style="border: none; display: block; margin: 6px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></div>
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Brilliant, ExtraHop! Truly brilliant. Working it into your <a href="http://www.extrahop.com/post/blog/extrahop-news/join-extrahop-interop-las-vegas-citrix-synergy/" style="color: #0f7cc2;" target="_blank">marketing message</a>? Even better: "Because the ExtraHop system will help you spend less time sifting through packet dumps and more time practicing yo-yo tricks like walking the dog!"</div>
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"We get tons of crowds for his show, people hang out and get a demo afterwards," says Briana Pettigrew, Marketing Manager at ExtraHop Networks. "It's been really fun." (And <a href="http://youtu.be/wDckfFn2fVY" style="color: #0f7cc2;" target="_blank">no ears were harmed</a>in the yo-yo tricks.)</div>
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Heusser agrees and writes, "Way to go, Extrahop. You actually thought about how to deliver something to reach the audience in a way that was professional, meaningful, fun, and I could take pictures and tell my family without feeling … icky."</div>
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My hometown has a Busker Fest every August, and we all look forward to it each year. I suspect you'd get some <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/80533#" id="_GPLITA_0" in_rurl="http://www.textsrv.com/click?v=VVM6MTQyNTY6MjM5OmNvbXBsYWludHM6NWZlMDdiOTQ2ODYxODY5OGZjNzUyNmNiNWMyOWIxMWE6ei0xMDYzLTIwMDY0Ond3dy5uZXR3b3Jrd29ybGQuY29t" style="color: #0f7cc2;" title="Powered by Text-Enhance">complaints</a> for hiring <a href="http://lawrencebuskerfest.com/Artist_pages/mamalou.html" style="color: #0f7cc2;">MamaLou Strongwoman</a> (but they wouldn't come from me). Throw in a clown, on the other hand, and I'll be the first to throw a fit. And don't even talk to me about mimes.</div>
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What about a juggler who uses motherboards and tablets? Or a Rubik's cube champ? How about some card tricks? I'd even settle for some decent balloon animals or the gold-painted people who just stand there like statues, for crying out loud. But please, no clowns or mimes.</div>
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<br />YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-44250314442801980942012-06-10T11:59:00.002-07:002012-06-10T11:59:44.489-07:00Besting the Booth Babe Trade Show Strategy<a href="http://www.marchpr.com/blog/2012/05/besting-the-booth-babe-trade-show-strategy/">http://www.marchpr.com/blog/2012/05/besting-the-booth-babe-trade-show-strategy/</a><br />
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<img alt="posted" class="icon posted first" src="http://www.marchpr.com/wp-content/themes/infocus/images/transparent.png?4c9b33" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://www.marchpr.com/wp-content/themes/infocus/images/blog-icons-sprite.gif); background-position: -36px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; height: 9px; letter-spacing: 0.1px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 9px;" /><a href="http://www.marchpr.com/2012/05/" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase; word-spacing: -1px;">MAY 16 2012</a><img alt="author" class="icon author" src="http://www.marchpr.com/wp-content/themes/infocus/images/transparent.png?4c9b33" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://www.marchpr.com/wp-content/themes/infocus/images/blog-icons-sprite.gif); background-position: -18px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; height: 9px; letter-spacing: 0.1px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 9px;" /><a href="http://www.marchpr.com/author/meredith-eaton/" rel="author" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase; word-spacing: -1px;" title="Posts by Meredith L. Eaton">MEREDITH L. EATON</a> <img alt="categories" class="icon categories" src="http://www.marchpr.com/wp-content/themes/infocus/images/transparent.png?4c9b33" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://www.marchpr.com/wp-content/themes/infocus/images/blog-icons-sprite.gif); background-position: -9px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; height: 9px; letter-spacing: 0.1px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 9px;" /><a href="http://www.marchpr.com/category/blog/" rel="category tag" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase; word-spacing: -1px;" title="View all posts in blog">BLOG</a> <img alt="comments" class="icon comments" src="http://www.marchpr.com/wp-content/themes/infocus/images/transparent.png?4c9b33" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://www.marchpr.com/wp-content/themes/infocus/images/blog-icons-sprite.gif); background-position: -27px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; height: 9px; letter-spacing: 0.1px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 9px;" /><a href="http://www.marchpr.com/blog/2012/05/besting-the-booth-babe-trade-show-strategy/#comments" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase; word-spacing: -1px;" title="comments">0 COMMENTS</a></div>
<div class="entry" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: white; background-image: url(http://www.marchpr.com/wp-content/themes/infocus/images/line.gif); background-position: 50% 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; word-spacing: 1px;">
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<img alt="" class="alignleft wp-image-11857" height="128" src="http://www.marchpr.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Trade_Show_Alternative_to_Booth_Babes.png?4c9b33" style="border: 0px; float: left; letter-spacing: 0.1px; margin: 10px 16px 10px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Trade_Show_Alternative_to_Booth_Babes" width="128" />As you would expect from any major tech trade show, last week’s <a href="http://www.interop.com/lasvegas/" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">Interop</a> event in Las Vegas generated quite a bit of buzz around new announcements, <a href="http://www.marchpr.com/blog/2012/05/besting-the-booth-babe-trade-show-strategy/#" id="_GPLITA_2" in_rurl="http://www.textsrv.com/click?v=VVM6OTM0MToyMzp0ZWNobm9sb2d5OjVjYmNkNGE1YjNkYWFiYzNmOWQ5MTc5ZWExMjc4ZDEyOnotMTA2My0yMDA2NDp3d3cubWFyY2hwci5jb20%3D" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none;" title="Powered by Text-Enhance">technology</a>innovations and partnerships. But, one thing I didn’t expect to see so much coverage around was the continued use of “Booth Babes.” While booth babes are getting increasingly <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/02/29/cboss_marketing_booth_at_mwc/" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">negative exposure</a>, several of March’s clients who were in attendance at Interop this year found creative ways around this tactic – and to great effect!</div>
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For those unfamiliar with the term, booth babes are essentially spokesmodels that companies <a href="http://www.marchpr.com/blog/2012/05/besting-the-booth-babe-trade-show-strategy/#" id="_GPLITA_4" in_rurl="http://www.textsrv.com/click?v=VVM6OTM0MToyMzpoaXJlOmY5YTUxZTVmOWIyOTI3MDE3YjFkNDZkN2FhZTFkNjcwOnotMTA2My0yMDA2NDp3d3cubWFyY2hwci5jb20%3D" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none;" title="Powered by Text-Enhance">hire</a> to augment their staff at high-traffic events in order to draw in a crowd. Usually very young and attractive women, booth babes have gotten a lot of <a href="http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/cio/why-the-vmworld-2011-booth-babes-are-bad-for-it/" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">negative attention</a> in the past few years for dressing too provocatively and being nothing more than a distraction at these predominately male-attended IT events. And, this year, Interop was no exception.</div>
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Journalist Shamus McGillicuddy of TechTarget’s SearchNetworking.com <a href="http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/networkhub/again-with-the-booth-babes-interop-2012/" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">notes</a>, “the companies that hire [booth babes] do a grave disservice to the industry… I lose a lot of respect for companies who rely on them.”</div>
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Indeed, this is how many trade show attendees and other journalists feel, especially the successful, tech-savvy women who are typically outnumbered 10 to 1 at events like Interop. McGillicuddy even says that he refuses “to stop at any booth that features these women.” So, while companies may be able to collect a few more leads as a result of their alluring spokesmodels, it could hinder their press exposure as booth babes are a clear deterrent for a growing percentage of trade show attendees, including respected journalists like McGillicuddy.</div>
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While booth babes may cast a negative light over companies choosing to employ them, March’s clients <a href="http://www.cloudsigma.com/" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">CloudSigma</a> and <a href="http://www.extrahop.com/" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">ExtraHop Networks</a> found creative ways around this tactic at this year’s Interop Las Vegas event. Instead of booth babes, CloudSigma brought on a <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/CloudSigma/status/199941444130185217" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">Spock look-a-like</a> (who was 6’ 8”!) to help attract attendees to its booth, which generated a lot of buzz at the event and on social sites like <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/search/interop%20spock" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, even putting it in the running for the “best Interop booth” <a href="http://www.marchpr.com/blog/2012/05/besting-the-booth-babe-trade-show-strategy/#" id="_GPLITA_0" in_hdr="null" in_rurl="http://www.textsrv.com/click?v=VVM6MTIxODU6NzQ4OnByaXplOjdjYzgyMmQwNWViNmU3Njg3M2FiMGE1YTQ4YThkOGE5OnotMTA2My0yMDA2NDp3d3cubWFyY2hwci5jb20%3D" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none;" title="Powered by Text-Enhance">prize</a>.</div>
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Similarly, ExtraHop employed <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/theyoyojoe" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">Yo Yo Joe</a>, the U.S. national yo-yo champion, to draw attention to its booth with impressive yo-yo <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=447w0EpggAo" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">routines set to music</a> and various tricks, including <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDckfFn2fVY&feature=youtu.be" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">knocking a dime off an attendee’s ear</a>! Coupled with an ExtraHop-branded yo-yo giveaway, ExtraHop attracted a large crowd at the show and got <a href="http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/unchartered-waters/beyond-booth-babes-at-interop/" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">significant recognition</a> from attendees and <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/community/blogs/boothbuskers" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">press</a> alike.</div>
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These impressive trade show tactics were not only infinitely more respectable than <a href="http://www.marchpr.com/blog/2012/05/besting-the-booth-babe-trade-show-strategy/#" id="_GPLITA_1" in_rurl="http://www.textsrv.com/click?v=VVM6MTcxNTE6MTEzOTpoaXJpbmc6ZjkzNjVkNDA3MTFmMGEyYzQ3MDNkMzg2NzVjYzE4MjE6ei0xMDYzLTIwMDY0Ond3dy5tYXJjaHByLmNvbQ%3D%3D" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none;" title="Powered by Text-Enhance">hiring</a> booth babes, but were far more successful in attracting crowds and generating <a href="http://www.marchpr.com/blog/2011/11/buzz-words-past-present-future/" style="color: #999999; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">buzz</a>. As an industry, we can only hope that such creative tactics as Spock and Yo Yo Joe will be the future of technology trade shows. Our hats go off to companies like our clients CloudSigma and ExtraHop for spearheading this movement.</div>
</div>YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-81635331313326347962012-06-10T11:59:00.001-07:002012-06-10T11:59:36.463-07:00Beyond Booth Babes at Interop<a href="http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/unchartered-waters/beyond-booth-babes-at-interop/">http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/unchartered-waters/beyond-booth-babes-at-interop/</a><br />
<br />
Unchartered Waters
« Considering Conferences - IIWhat happens in Vegas Part I »
MAY 11 2012 10:21AM GMT <br />
<br />
Beyond Booth Babes at Interop<br />
Posted by: Matt Heusser
Interop, IT, extrahop
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LAS VEGAS, NV - With a few hundred booths at interop this year, it’s no surprise that some vendors would augment their staff with temporary employees designed to draw the attention of the crowd.<br />
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Given that IT is something like 90% male, it isn’t a huge surprise that many of these are female.<br />
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However, I have to say, it was a pretty big personal surprise to me how some of them were dressed.
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Mini-skirts with fishnet stockings, tight racing outfits (with the zipper half-way down), and midriff-baring leather biker tank-tops. I can’t make this up, and I wasn’t the only person to notice.<br />
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When I initially saw this, I was more than a little shocked. The journalist in me took over, and I took a few pictures for the blog, to talk about how horrible it all is.<br />
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I have honestly never felt dirty as a journalist.
Until today.<br />
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I don’t need to publish those pictures; if you want to see them, you can go Google “Booth Babe Interop” yourself and see plenty.<br />
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More than don’t need to publish, it would be a sort of exploitation to publish them; I’d be ‘outraged’ yet using the pictures to generate clicks, and I think my readers deserve better.<br />
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Why the Babes, Race Cars and Motor Bikes<br />
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Apparently because they work.
No, really, seriously, having attractive females and race cars seems to draw people into the booth, so the vendor can scan a badge, and, to some extent, scanning a badge is a numbers game that leads to sales.<br />
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It’s sad, and it encourages the sort of objectivism of women that leads to the brogramming mentality, which makes it harder for women to enter the workforce, which leads to all male conferences, and all-male attendees will pay attention to … you get it.<br />
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My objection today is not a PC one. My hobby horse is not getting more women in tech (though I think that is noble), but instead that “because it works” is lazy. Should we do something silly, ridiculous, inappropriate, and insulting just because it works?<br />
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In January, I was in times square, and a guy handed me a flier for a strip club. I looked him in the eye, and said “You can do something better with your life than this.” His reply boiled down to something like “Hey man, it pays the bills.”<br />
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A Better Way<br />
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Instead of pandering with pictures, please allow me to tell you a story about a company that is doing it one better: ExtraHop, a company that provides tools for application performance management and monitoring. Like everyone else, Extrahop realized that they needed to do something different, to get people to at least listen to the pitch, so they hired a national champion yo-yo player to do tricks and demos in an appropriate way.<br />
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That was worth seeing, and I caught it on film:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxvCSR1JUmkQ9uxQi2wVaKmEygDlQdj3bMx4sY9_RAuewKFqgwWSOI6CLL9xEEdmmhU1ZbUHyjaOHO56B0Sqw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Way to go, Extrahop. You actually thought about how to deliver something to reach the audience in a way that was professional, meaningful, fun, and I could take pictures and tell my family without feeling … icky.
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Let’s all find out Extrahops, and celebrate them.<br />
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Better yet: Let’s go make the world a better place ourselves, with this as an example.YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-3657184147597453712010-11-21T01:11:00.000-08:002010-11-21T01:18:13.325-08:00MY AWESOME BUSY SATURDAY; NOV 20THA blog post on my blog! That's how the day started followed by YoYo club in Alameda then off to San Jose for a non-yoyo related dinner. <br /><br />Great day...what made my day even better was when I get a text from Grant saying <br /><blockquote>GRANT 933PM: Your yoyo sold out within minutes here at 44clash. Congrats!</blockquote><br /><br />Yup. Let's keep the momentum going baby! Check out the blog post below...if you live in the city, YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY CHECK IT OUT!!!! IT CLOSES AT THE END OF THE MONTH SO GO NOW.<br /><br />Live and In Person! Saturday at SOMArts, 2-4pm<br />Posted: November 19th, 2010 | Author: julie | Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »<br /><br />from Rick Prelinger’s Lost Landscapes of San Francisco Vol. 4, now playing in the video annex as part of the I Live Here:SF show @ SOMArts<br /><br />***<br /><br />One of the best parts of doing this photo/portrait project has been the exposure to the incredible array of talent and stories and experience that my subjects have to share. When I found that I had been accepted at SOMArts as the first recipient of their Commons Curatorial Grant, my thought was how I could bring as many of these people to meet a new audience? Several events were planned, besides, the opening and closing receptions, to take advantage of this wealth of true San Franciscan character.<br /><br />An extremely special part of this exhibit has been the constant screening in the video annex, generously provided by film archivist Rick Prelinger. His amazing montages of collected ephemeral films, the Lost Landscapes of San Francisco series, generally can only be seen for one or two night a year. I have felt extremely fortunate that Rick has so graciously given his most recent film to be seen and enjoyed during the entire month that I Live Here:SF is installed in the main gallery at SOMArts. The film plays continuously so you can watch it for as long as you like.<br /><br />What’s even better is that Rick will be speaking about his work this Saturday, November 20 in the main gallery, as part of a panel. I am thrilled to have you all visit the gallery, and hear Rick and the other panelists talk about their personal San Francisco, what they’re doing now and you can ask them questions and get to know them.<br /><br />Also scheduled to present are Mark Bitter, whom you’ll remember as the subject of the wonderful documentary The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, cyclist/fashionista/coffee expert Meli of Bikes and the City, community advocates who work in a variety of places in the city and with diverse populations: Colleen, Valerie, Morgan and Jose-Luis, and even National Yo-Yo champion Joseph Harris. I hope Wardell the Wonder will make an appearance and talk about his car, the Star One.<br /><br />All in all, it should be a great afternoon. I hope you can join us, and please, bring a friend!<br /><br />Date: Saturday, November 20, 2-4pm in the Main Gallery<br /><br />SOMArts<br />934 Brannan StreetYoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-79426988387636432452010-11-16T21:54:00.000-08:002010-11-27T23:40:46.781-08:00UNLEASHED TEASERThank you Gabe, Johnny, James, and YoYoJam for making this possible.<br /><br />Enjoy! And good luck to Team YoYoJam at 44 clash this weekend, I wish I could be there...<br /><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/16877743?portrait=0&color=ff9933&loop=1" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/16877743">Unleashed Teaser</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/yoyoing">Sector Y</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p><p>YoYoJam's new 2A yoyo is debuting at 44 Clash. It is Joseph Harris' signature model, "Unleashed."</p>YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-71892015886870963682010-10-06T01:24:00.000-07:002010-10-06T01:27:27.326-07:00Another emailI enjoy going through old accounts to see encouraging words about my yoyo prowess.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3HMjlkBcQooREMriGXFCXlUZr472kwoY499UOgwX_WP621_juI3BjYBPdPBjwZ7_iL2Izf8Tz8YJfa6U7qFNlfMottfL1Y5h9a8tHoCoxdLcZ1b76iaJGyve1TbaLHhABkqc56jHKCjp/s1600/props.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3HMjlkBcQooREMriGXFCXlUZr472kwoY499UOgwX_WP621_juI3BjYBPdPBjwZ7_iL2Izf8Tz8YJfa6U7qFNlfMottfL1Y5h9a8tHoCoxdLcZ1b76iaJGyve1TbaLHhABkqc56jHKCjp/s400/props.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524846349398732322" /></a>YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-87127864471904928802010-10-03T21:34:00.001-07:002010-10-03T21:54:40.502-07:003rd in the nation!I placed third this year in the nation. Not bad.<br /><br />BUT Grant deserved the title more than ever. He KILLED IT! <br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwLozKAP0MZ169_QhJgLR3Iu-vtK72jj88xZguUmozsp36LaG_TIiZMRfF3Qi5JhRsct-EY8-Q24_Mb2cznSA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />This made me smile though as I went through my emails...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-hhOTv4tCZCzlsgV4aIWniIcDIeIq5wJ7tmcr1yaSP7_ypdmbSx-EQJKe6EhAAgNx8I2UuaB0aObpVM3RqSlBntd75FYn2mBRfKFd2Te8qTo0iuv-ikVGD5sXp_LrMYl8cER850bf4x3/s1600/FANMAIL.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-hhOTv4tCZCzlsgV4aIWniIcDIeIq5wJ7tmcr1yaSP7_ypdmbSx-EQJKe6EhAAgNx8I2UuaB0aObpVM3RqSlBntd75FYn2mBRfKFd2Te8qTo0iuv-ikVGD5sXp_LrMYl8cER850bf4x3/s400/FANMAIL.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524044844800568450"></span></a>YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-2468998514844889252010-09-26T23:16:00.000-07:002010-09-28T18:50:37.847-07:00Videos from past performances and demonstrations!The first video below is from August at the Go Toys and Games store. The 2nd video was from the Dragon Boat Festival yesterday. Great performances and great times.<br /><br />**EDIT: The 3rd video is my 2nd performance at the festival on Sunday...the FINALE!**<br /><br />Enjoy!<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzSYCvA4Y1MjCjumx0SBUNGPf7UZa6tZLzW_mQ5UBoYMQcTWf5_-qsKp2zjXNVIqcfEslBV6otY_7C69zttmQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><div><br /></div><div><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UMzqT2lQ4fo?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UMzqT2lQ4fo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div><br /><br /><iframe class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="560" height="340" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4JCtc9nzVjE" frameborder="0"></iframe>YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-76701393833992729152010-09-26T20:36:00.001-07:002010-09-26T20:40:32.120-07:00VIDEOS AND PERFORMANCES!Uploading soon when I download them properly before I upload them again...<br /><br />I realize it's easier that way in case someone takes down the video from whatever video site available.YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-79177748893726936372010-09-20T23:14:00.000-07:002010-09-20T23:30:40.087-07:002010 San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikb56xKRnrRm8QLgwL7y9wjfcWmm9Z-1gRC7XCEQKeFL9A8DneI02_B4wSd3oMOJug37WHy2zC_iLDrTaW8WBssBgLqeYP23lsnj3sBqpPQBVd6wd1TpQ-4SSz1hOcDCagtnABs5zovh1U/s1600/2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 116px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikb56xKRnrRm8QLgwL7y9wjfcWmm9Z-1gRC7XCEQKeFL9A8DneI02_B4wSd3oMOJug37WHy2zC_iLDrTaW8WBssBgLqeYP23lsnj3sBqpPQBVd6wd1TpQ-4SSz1hOcDCagtnABs5zovh1U/s400/2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519250203713508210" /><span><span></span></span></a><br /><br />2010 Festival Entertainment Schedule<br /><br /><br />Saturday September 25th Festival Entertainment Schedule<br />Entertainment Emcees: Carolyn Wong, Tabitha Wong, Valerie Foo & Anna Lisa Matias<br /> <br />Time Performance Type Performance Group<br /><br />Morning<br />10 AM to 11:30 AM <br /><br /><br /> Tai Chi Chen Tai Chi<br /> Ribbon and Fan Dance West Portal Chinese Performing Arts Program<br /> Magic Performance The Magic of Chin Chin<br /> Hip Hop Dance Groove Against The Machine<br /> Filipino Folk Dance Parangal Dance Company<br /> Vocal Performance Cynthia Lin<br /> <br />Opening Ceremony 11:30AM to 1:00 PM<br /><br />Dragon and Lion Dance Dragon Horse Lion Dance Group<br />Official Blessing Ceremony Chung Tai Zen Center of Sunnyvale<br />Dragon Head Eye Dotting Ceremony Chung Tai Zen Center of Sunnyvale<br />National Anthem Cynthia Lin & Marine Color Guard<br /> <br />Afternoon<br />1:00PM to 5:00 PM<br /> Chinese Acrobatics Red Panda Acrobats<br /> Wu Shu Performance National Chinese Wu Shu Team<br /> Chinese Folk Dance Chinese Folk Dance Association<br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;">Extreme Yo Yo Performance Yo Yo Jo<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /> Modern Dance Reincarnation Performance Group<br /> Taiko Drumming Maikaze Daiko<br /> Hawaiian / Tahitian Dance and Music Touch of Polynesia<br /> Novice Teams Award Ceremony California Dragon Boat Association<br /> <br /> <br />Sunday September 26th Festival Entertainment Schedule<br />Entertainment Emcees: Betty Hsu, Sarah Liu, Steve Cho & Beverly Yip<br /><br />Time Performance Type Performance Group<br /><br />Morning<br />10 AM to 12 Noon<br /> Tai Chi Chen Tai Chi<br /> Chinese Dance Chung Ngai Dance Troupe<br /> Vocal Performance & Dance Those Kids<br /> Chinese Acrobatics Red Panda Arcobats<br /> <br />Afternoon 12 Noon to 4:30 PM<br />Lion Dance Yau Kung Moon Martial Arts<br /> Martial Arts Performance World Kung Fu Association<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"> Extreme Yo Yo Performance Yo Yo Jo<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /> Marital Arts The Company<br /> Tahitian Dance Te Orama<br /> Children's Music Andy Z<br /> Magic Performance The Magic of Chin Chin<br /> Chinese Folk Dance Chinese Folk Dance Association<br /> Taiko Drumming Emeryville Taiko Group<br /> <br />5:00 PM<br /> Closing and Award Ceremony California Dragon Boat AssociationYoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-31625960377198744382010-09-19T18:29:00.001-07:002010-09-19T18:47:04.370-07:00Fall is coming; be excited!What a busy summer of yoyoing!<br /><br />I placed 6th at the world yoyo competition with my BEST world yoyo performance to date. Disappointed for dropping one place from last year but still satisfied w/ my performance.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy7S41cxugJLoNKU31wkuuzPfMYuQer7EZF5vhLKts0Qe-11J69snCi5lMT04UFmrwRSxeT1eKnno12n1Cy' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />With that said, a quick glance backwards in my calendar, here are all the demonstrations/gigs over the summer:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">JUNE:</span><br />-23rd bday on 6/19<br />-BLC CONTEST in Los Angeles on 6/25-27 (2nd place)<br />-Vallejo performance on 6/27 (that's right, came back from LA and had a demo!)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">JULY:</span><br />-GO OHANA! performance in Berkeley on 7/15 (a full set this time, thanks to Mike and Bianca for showing up and hanging out w/ me afterwards!)<br />-Chinese Progressive Association performance (CPA) at Chinatown Cultural Center on 7/22<br />-Yoshi arrives in SF to hangout 7/23-7/25<br />-Spindox Yoyo club in Berkeley on 7/24<br /><br />AUGUST:<br />-WORLD YOYO COMPETITION, 6th place, 8/10-8/15 (missed my flight there!)<br />-Go Toys Demo in SF Westfield Mall on 8/21 (great demo, cool flier w/ POSTERS OF ME IN THE STORE!)<br />-Max's bday demo in Piedmont on 8/28 (my dad's and Aunty's bday too!)<br /><br />SEPTEMBER:<br />-West Palm Beach, Florida to visit the Yoyojam factory on 9/3-9/7 <br /><br />Things are going by super quick in my yoyo life...I LOVE EVERY SECOND OF IT. Nationals is 2 weeks away and I'm as prepared as I'm going to be when that first Saturday of October arrives! I'll definitely come with something new...that's a guarantee! <br /><br />-YoYoJo out!YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-39709965808017059142010-06-09T18:29:00.000-07:002010-06-09T18:32:15.400-07:00Getting closer to accomplishing my YoYo MissionAs you may know, I'm trying to change lives with a yoyo. That's the penultimate goal. The ultimate goal is to make yoyos MAINSTREAM. I was one step closer this past Sunday at the St. Claire Fair in Santa Clara. I can't belive I forgot to get his business card so I can ask him to perform at a halftime show or even pregame!!!!!!!!!!! DOH!!!<br /><br />Check out the email:<br /><br />to: Joseph Harris <JosephHarris@yoyojam.com><br />dateTue, Jun 8, 2010 at 8:56 PM<br />subjectRe: yo-yo demonstration (fwd)<br />signed-bysbcglobal.net<br /><br />hide details 8:56 PM (21 hours ago) <br /><br />Joseph, sorry for the delayed response. I would once again like to thank you for your involvement in the St. Clare festival. Your demonstration & time spent with the kids went far beyond any expectations I could have had. I hope you found the time worthwhile. <strong>If nothing else, you can tell people you sold one of your DVD's to John York, owner of the 49ers.</strong> I will keep your business card & hope I get the chance to ask you to participate in some event in the not to distant future! Once again, thanks for your exemplary effort last Sunday. You were a big hit!YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-79242133979857747652010-06-07T19:10:00.000-07:002010-06-14T20:46:34.786-07:00DVD Trailer is almost out~CHECK IT!<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwPcKkLch_N4dxDMR6SRFySLRkCAa8Gr4f2hy74wbWDjZTKAnsZ0VtVqObLNo4i6ARq6ix0HfskKf51QmsKsg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Here's the next version we're working on:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz3xGJ7TaJcBsG7321N5kJOq1czLbeb_1CTyFplkMcrYCCzXrj03qMwVcibjdXJeFGWMkQHbceeOZVKP2uGTg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />**UPDATE 6/14/2010**<br /><br />One of the last versions:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxdTRJMr330Nc8ttCqrcEbI7rPs-ishWWO-yVxAxFi9a7XdeV0XOlvWV2r_kn040BWzoO9f_0kg-1jdPUchNw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-76705613450904160352010-05-30T12:31:00.001-07:002010-05-30T12:32:48.003-07:00SF Chronicle Article in the paper today!<span style="font-weight:bold;">Spirited competition at yo-yo championships<br /><br />Justin Berton, Chronicle Staff Writer<br /><br />Sunday, May 30, 2010</span><br /><br />Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/30/BA9A1DMJDT.DTL#ixzz0pRWm8mQY<br /><br />As Joseph Harris, one of the country's top-ranked yo-yo competitors, waited his turn to compete in the Bay Area Classic in San Francisco on Saturday afternoon, a kid watched Harris warm up and asked a familiar question: Are you Yuuki?<br /><br />Yuuki Spencer - known only as Yuuki - is the reigning U.S. Yo-Yo Champion and he carries a mysterious, Bobby Fischer-like status among fans.<br /><br />Harris was good.<br /><br />But he was not Yuuki good. And it was unclear if the champ would even show.<br /><br />Harris, an Ingleside district resident, works in an investment management firm and performs in what was described as an old-school style: He casts a yo-yo from each hand in a variety of long, looping movements, which he considers more visually appealing than some of today's more technical tricks.<br /><br />Onstage, one of the modern-era performers maneuvered his yo-yo quickly, in small boxy actions, swinging it over his hands and between his forearms.<br /><br />"It looks like he's going to tangle it in a knot," Harris joked.<br /><br />The state of modern yo-yoing is in transition, said several of the enthusiasts who gathered in Golden Gate Park for a regional competition, the third-largest yo-yo gathering in the country. The winner was to be selected Saturday night.<br /><br />Leo Qin, an 18-year-old from Portland, was representative of the new yo-yo chic. He wore black and flannel, and carried a 64-gram aluminum yo-yo. His two-minute performance - set to Common's hip-hop hit "The Game" - was judged on creativity, technical difficulty, and stage presence.<br /><br />Afterward, Qin felt like he'd done well, yet when the question turned to Yuuki, he paused before he gave praise. "Yeah, he's a personality ... Yuuki single-handedly redefined modern yo-yoing."<br /><br />Off near the trees, a skinny kid with curly hair, glasses and a Vans baseball cap effortlessly whipped a blue yo-yo around, then snapped it back into his palm.<br /><br />It was Yuuki.<br /><br />He was standing off to the side, out of the main hum - but the fans soon found him and clustered.<br /><br />The craft master said he'd gone three months without picking up a yo-yo, and he wasn't thrilled about performing, but the $750 first-prize money was attractive.<br /><br />"I could use some cash for the summer," he said, as he continued to whip the yo-yo around.<br /><br />Yuuki was a little shy, very gracious, but not unaware of his talent.<br /><br />"Competitions are weird because you don't have to be the best yo-yoer to win," he said. "You just have to know how to play within the system of judging."<br /><br />He was asked if he'd ever won a World Yo-Yo Championship.<br /><br />One of his friends with black baseball cap and a nose ring spoke for Yuuki. "Won that ... twice."<br /><br />But then Yuuki took a year off from competitions altogether. "I just wasn't feelin' it for a year or so," Yuuki said.<br /><br />Yuuki obliged a few autograph hounds, then went back to his practicing. A woman in the crowd shouted a question: "Who's your big rival?"<br /><br />"Rival?" Yuuki asked without looking up.<br /><br />"Well, who's better than you?" she clarified.<br /><br />"No one's better than Yuuki!" cried a kid's voice from the crowd.<br /><br />Yuuki kept an eye on his yo-yo and dismissed the notion that his sport carried such grudges among competitors.<br /><br />"I don't have beef with anyone," he said.<br /><br />E-mail Justin Berton at jberton@sfchronicle.com.YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-61201560668564902942010-05-30T12:12:00.000-07:002010-05-30T14:19:04.148-07:00BAC~Bay Area Classic Results!What a great contest. Here are the results!<br /><br />2010 Bay Area Classic 2A Finals Results<br />Place Players Name City State Tech Perf Final Score<br />1 Patrick Mitchell Phoenix AZ 71.20 13.00 84.20<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2 Joseph Harris San Francisco CA 69.87 13.00 82.87</span><br />3 Yoshi Mikamoto Lomita CA 36.15 10.00 46.15<br />4 Joey Vitalari Goleta CA 15.61 7.00 22.61<br />5 Josh Yee San Francisco CA 13.49 4.33 17.82<br />6 Jacob Jensen La Grande OR 1.93 - 1.93<br /><br />Since the last time I updated, I had 2 gigs. The Asian Hertiage Street Celebration held in Little Saigon in San Francisco was absolutely FUN! Thank you to RAMA and Vive SF for allowing me to hype up my performance at their booths before I performed at one of the main stages.<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ubKJSFZ0UOU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ubKJSFZ0UOU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HKWarXgwvs0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HKWarXgwvs0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs513.ash1/30250_504100303327_153600063_30086684_6863092_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 720px; height: 480px;" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs513.ash1/30250_504100303327_153600063_30086684_6863092_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The following week I had the birthday party in Piedmont which was absolutely successful and fun! Paul, the birthday boy, said "this is the best birthday ever."<br /><br />Yesterday, was the BAC. I placed 2nd and proud of it. It was tough competition espeically in the 1A and 5A division! I'll add the article in the paper in another post. Here's a few pictures from the article in the local paper (SF Chronicle):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE1fEQMrrMalSsrynPiUT9woNLuPCfRWeGfXQS2JCVKGn1Vf5EDM0lbjGipVk4skfxP3m3G0uTOZr4hLcN5_HOto0w7BFvA-fHj-vAJvCce7AlPa1HXaTdaMT1tp1DAuI1yiVwlfxUlInk/s1600/ba-YOYO30_0501751250.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE1fEQMrrMalSsrynPiUT9woNLuPCfRWeGfXQS2JCVKGn1Vf5EDM0lbjGipVk4skfxP3m3G0uTOZr4hLcN5_HOto0w7BFvA-fHj-vAJvCce7AlPa1HXaTdaMT1tp1DAuI1yiVwlfxUlInk/s320/ba-YOYO30_0501751250.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477146131676201650" /></a><br /><br />Joseph Harris of San Francisco keeps his yo-yos spinning during practice for the Bay Area Classic yo-yo competition at Golden Gate Park. <br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8zxev1gUxJIliCLpRKSq3a56AxrD5lQ8fY42bT-cT_3avCJx9_rxXvsG6YOLGC-zh4PU_4aInql1qPECew2AveYqAw_pXB1P-iT84FQl5dnbV7QRhgjk_2WgJ8JQh0O7Q_ONGkk3HnPz/s1600/ba-YOYO30_refer__0501751252.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8zxev1gUxJIliCLpRKSq3a56AxrD5lQ8fY42bT-cT_3avCJx9_rxXvsG6YOLGC-zh4PU_4aInql1qPECew2AveYqAw_pXB1P-iT84FQl5dnbV7QRhgjk_2WgJ8JQh0O7Q_ONGkk3HnPz/s320/ba-YOYO30_refer__0501751252.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477146487905830530" /></a><br /><br />Joseph Harris of San Francisco practices for the Bay Area Classic yo-yo competition at Golden Gate Park.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nhZrYTm6o_jyci8UvADDExJnfMnqDlMdvJKYqlmLZgFzpQTpBuqcnQ9zDRrbF4Ei06-rhOUnwNwUY2K-IWwMPqxrOMNaZFsnDRZ3q-xaSBso9YbBQXM4k-zVtG66pd4D3OQpOB4jTy4_/s1600/ba-YOYO30_0501751251.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 197px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nhZrYTm6o_jyci8UvADDExJnfMnqDlMdvJKYqlmLZgFzpQTpBuqcnQ9zDRrbF4Ei06-rhOUnwNwUY2K-IWwMPqxrOMNaZFsnDRZ3q-xaSBso9YbBQXM4k-zVtG66pd4D3OQpOB4jTy4_/s320/ba-YOYO30_0501751251.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477146749260671122" /></a><br /><br />Joseph Harris of San Francisco keeps his yo-yos moving during practice for the Bay Area Classic yo-yo competition at Golden Gate Park.YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-67571022302826309262010-05-09T18:47:00.000-07:002010-05-09T18:50:55.021-07:00Busy with Gigs!It's been a while, but the title does explain it all! I had a few gigs since the last time I updated.<br /><br />April 24-St. Louis, Missouri for the MOYO state contest. I judged that contest. Extremely fun.<br /><br />May 1st- Oakland Museum of California demonstration with DAZZLING DAVE! Lots of fun that day...<br /><br />May 8th- Video below:<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7O0fgFB3koo&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7O0fgFB3koo&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />MORE GIGS COMING UP THIS MONTH! TO finish it off, there will be the BAY AREA CLASSIC on May 29th here in San Francisco. Wow, talk about PLENTY OF YOYO EVENTS FOR ME!YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-39399936619267906872010-03-19T11:54:00.000-07:002010-03-19T11:56:25.289-07:00OHANA eventIt went extremely well last night. It was the first time I did a set for 15 minutes. I showcased everything except for 3A. And did the quarter trick on a lucky volunteer who walked with with a Sunset NXG. Pretty awesome...<br /><br />Here's the press release below:<br /><br /><div class="im">Dear RAMA family,.<br /><br />Just a friendly reminder that the 2nd installment of <span class="il">OHANA</span>! is coming up THIS thursday, March 18th, at 7:30pm (doors open at 7) at La Pena Cultural Center in Berkeley, and we have a few very exciting updates to the show schedule for you...<br /><br />*****Uncle Dougie's New York Style Italian Heroes has generously donated 50 sandwiches for us to give out for FREE. Check out Uncle Dougie's deli at 362 17th Street in Oakland: <a href="http://www.uncledougiesheroes.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.uncledougiesheroes.<wbr>com/</a><br /><br />*****We'll also have some delicious homemade Samosas available as well! All the food is first come/first serve, so make sure to get there when the doors open at 7:00pm!<br /><br />*****And lastly, at <span class="il">OHANA</span>! we'll be introducing the very talented Joseph Harris aka THE YoYo Joe, a Yo-yo competitor who has appeared on the hit TV show America's Got Talent! (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ99VaoUsi0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?<wbr>v=CZ99VaoUsi0</a>)<br /><br /></div><span class="il">OHANA</span>!<br />An evening of music and poetry, brought to you by RAMA<br />Thursday, March 18th, 2010<div class="im"><br />Doors open at 7:00pm / Show starts at 7:30pm<br />La Pena Cultural Center (3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, Three blocks from Ashby BART station, 18 Bus to Woolsey)<br /></div> $8 General Admission / $5 with valid Student ID<br />Snacks available for sale! Drinks available at the La Pena bar!YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-1488917478855804342009-10-31T02:53:00.000-07:002009-10-31T02:58:00.050-07:00Password: cbsFinally, the producer sent me the DVD copy which is now available online!<br /><br /><object width="601" height="451"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7356230&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7356230&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="601" height="451"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/7356230">Does it work?</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user963507">Yo Mama</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-4369399045060006162009-10-18T10:34:00.000-07:002009-10-18T10:40:35.938-07:00CBS Sunday Morning News<b>ENDER: </b> The Ins and Outs of Yo-Yos<br />The National Yo-Yo Contest in Chico, Calif., draws fans from around the country to a fierce competition that is far different from yo-yo contests of yore. "What you know about yo-yos, throw out of your head," says defending two-handed style champion <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Joseph Harris</span></span>.<br /><br />Paul Yath, another player seeking to defend his championship title, shows <b>Rita Braver</b> just how contemporary yoyos are different from the older ones with which most of us grew up. As National Yo-Yo Museum director Bob Malowney points out, yoyos date back to ancient times, but the sport is taking a new, dynamic turn. Next stop, the Olympics?<br />============================================<br />Clip will be posted soon once I see it online. I think I will just use this blog as a PR tool from now on. All things related to YoYoJoe. =)<br />============================================<br /><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="left"><div style="background-color:rgb(134, 134, 134);padding:1px"><div style="background-color:rgb(185, 185, 185);padding:1px"><div style="background-color:rgb(221, 221, 221);padding:1px"><div style="background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);padding:1px"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="text-decoration:none;font-family:Verdana,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:10px;font-style:normal;color:black"><tr><td colspan="2" align="right"><div style="float:right"><a href="http://www.brickfish.com?=PP_BFLogo_486" style="text-decoration:none;font-family:Verdana,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:12px;background-color:white;font-style:normal" target="_blank"><img src="http://brickfish.com/Media/Images/Propagation/6.0/pbb.jpg" border="0" /></a></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" align="center" valign="middle" style="background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);padding:0px"><center><object width="300" height="300" id="PropShell" align="middle"><param name="movie" value="http://www.brickfish.com/FlashServices/GetPropSWF.frss?contentcode=3_5379844_0_103_-1_486&swfv=6&isfull=0&forlabel=0&htid=73dbafdf-00ea-4c84-a0d0-a79c6021c787&ispreview=0&phtid=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&pbapi=1623798&pbvi=129554872&stgw=300&stgh=300&sitedom=www.brickfish.com&autoplay=0&lcid=1033" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="WMode" value="Transparent" /><embed src="http://www.brickfish.com/FlashServices/GetPropSWF.frss?contentcode=3_5379844_0_103_-1_486&swfv=6&isfull=0&forlabel=0&htid=73dbafdf-00ea-4c84-a0d0-a79c6021c787&ispreview=0&phtid=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&pbapi=1623798&pbvi=129554872&stgw=300&stgh=300&sitedom=www.brickfish.com&autoplay=0&lcid=1033" quality="high" width="300" height="300" name="PropShell" align="middle" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" ></embed></object></center></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.wickedfashionsinc.com/southpole/brickfish/indexmodelsearch.htm?=EP_486" style="text-decoration:none;font-family:Verdana,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:10px;background-color:white;font-style:normal" target="_blank">Southpole® National Model Search II</a><br /><br />Sponsored by <a href="http://www.wickedfashionsinc.com/#/southpole/" style="text-decoration:none;font-family:Verdana,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:12px;background-color:white;font-style:normal" target="_blank">Southpole®</a></td></tr><tr><td><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td><a href="http://www.brickfish.com/Pages/Contests/VoteConfirmation.aspx?qsi=21660575" style="text-decoration:none;font-family:Verdana,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:12px;background-color:white;font-style:normal" target="_blank"><img src="http://brickfish.com/Media/Images/Propagation/6.0/vote.jpg" border="0"></a></td><td><a href="http://www.brickfish.com/Pages/PropagationMain.frss?qsi=21660574" style="text-decoration:none;font-family:Verdana,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:12px;background-color:white;font-style:normal" target="_blank"><img src="http://brickfish.com/Media/Images/Propagation/6.0/share.jpg" border="0"></a></td><td><a href="http://www.brickfish.com/FlashServices/ClickToContent.frss?qsi=21660573" style="text-decoration:none;font-family:Verdana,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:12px;background-color:white;font-style:normal" target="_blank"><img src="http://brickfish.com/Media/Images/Propagation/6.0/view.jpg" border="0"></a></td></tr></table></td><td align="right" valign="top" style='padding-top:4px'><a href="http://www.wickedfashionsinc.com/#/southpole/" target="_blank"><img src="http://brickfish.com/Media/Images/SponsorLogos/92_49230899.jpg" border="0"></a></td></tr></table></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table>YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-39249782800293954732009-07-02T00:32:00.000-07:002009-07-13T22:25:41.479-07:00More PR stuff<div class="content_header"><h1 class="content_title"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1902638/americas_got_talent_auditions_day_3.html?cat=2</span></span><br /></h1><h1 class="content_title">America's Got Talent Auditions Day 3</h1><script type="text/javascript"> AC.PL.bylineInvert = false; Event.observe(window, 'load', function(e){ Event.observe('byline', 'mouseover', AC.hoverByline); Event.observe('byline_bt', 'mouseover', AC.hoverByline); Event.observe('byline_container', 'mouseout', AC.hoverByline); }); </script> <div class="byline_date"> <div class="date" style="float: left;"> July 01, 2009 by </div> <div class="byline_box"> <a id="byline" href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/98758/valerie_david.html" class="content_byline" style="margin-left: 3px;">Valerie David</a> <a id="byline_bt" href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/98758/valerie_david.html" class="pop_over_button" style="margin-left: 3px;"> </a> <div id="byline_container"> <a href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/98758/valerie_david.html"><img src="http://images-cdn01.associatedcontent.com/user/A9875/98758/98758.jpg" alt="Valerie David" class="user_icon" /></a><div id="byline_box" class="pop_over_menu"><div class="cp_image"> </div> <div class="cp_data"> <ul><li><span>Published Content:</span> 56</li><li><span>Total Views:</span> 127,798</li><li><span>Fans:</span> 7</li></ul></div></div></div></div></div></div><a id="interlink_hover" style="display: none;" href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/#"><span></span></a><h2 class="content_sub_title">Singing, Dancing, and Yo-Yoing Their Way to Vegas</h2>Day three's <b>auditions</b> took <b><em>America's Got Talent</em></b> to <a class="link interlink" rel="&content_type=theme&content_type_id=1819" href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/theme/1819/new_york_state_travel.html" title="New York">New York</a> and Chicago. <b>Judges David Hasselhoff, Sharon Osbourne, and Piers Morgan</b> once again got to sit through painful performances, quirky numbers, and true talents. While there was genuine talent tonight, these auditions included some contestants that were passed through on mostly charm, rather than million dollar talent.<br /><br /><em>America's Got Talent</em> also seemed a little heavy on the editing again, not focusing enough on some of the acts. I like Nick Cannon, and think he's funny, but often the show cuts to him in the middle of someone's performance. When the audition is not worth seeing, it's not that big a deal, but some <em>America's Got Talent</em> acts that were given the green light for Vegas were similarly interrupted.<br /><br /><b>America's Got Talent Auditions: Is Unique Enough for a Million Dollars?</b><br /><br />Enter Carol Lugo, a 62-year-old cashier who wants to be a dancer. While Carol had talent, I'm not sure if the <em>America's Got Talent</em> judges were as impressed by her routine as they were by her age. The quick cuts and constant focusing on her face also didn't help the home viewer decide if she was worth watching. Carol's act seemed to be channeling Charlie Chaplin, with the silent film melodramatic facial expressions and short pants. Yes, she has talent, but is it million dollar talent?<br /><br /><b>America's Got Talent Auditions: Surprises Are Good.</b><br /><br />We see a lot of acts, and the <em>America's Got Talent</em> judges see even more, and all of us start to get a sense of when someone is going to be just awful--or at least, not that interesting. So when Yo-Yo Joe hits the stage, you can see on Piers' face that he's not ready to be impressed. We're all cringing, waiting for a moment that Web Soup would dub "<em>That's Un-Incredible!</em>"<br /><br />Yo-Yo Joe really brought it, though, combining moves akin to break-dancing as he shot double yo-yos around his flying body. It was fun, exciting, and a total surprise.<br /><br />(EDIT: Another long article cut short)<br />==================================================<br />http://www.examiner.com/x-11363-Dallas-TV-Examiner~y2009m6d30-Americas-Got-Talent-auditions-does-America-have-its-Susan-Boyle<br /><br /><h1>'America's Got Talent' auditions: does America have its Susan Boyle?</h1> <div style="width: 330px;"> <div style="width: 35px; float: left; padding-right: 5px;"> <a href="http://www.examiner.com/x-11363-Dallas-TV-Examiner"> </a> </div> <div style=""><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div class="new_timestamp">Matt Carter<br /><div style="float: left; width: 390px;" align="left"><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div class="gradbutton" style="margin: 0pt 5px 8px 10px; float: right; min-width: 120px;"> </div>June 30, 9:31 PM<br /><br /><p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.nbc.com/">NBC</a> really tried to build up <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lzul5rxd-i8" target="_blank">Kevin Skinner</a> throughout the show: they aired him during the promos, teased him throughout the commercial previews, and even played some goofy bluegrass music upon his introduction to the show. His outfit was questionable; his occupation, a "chicken catcher," was even more questionable. By the time the guy was set to perform, everyone expected this guy to be dud.</p><p>America, meet your new sensation...maybe. While the producers of "<a target="_blank" href="http://www.nbc.com/americas-got-talent">America's Got Talent</a>" obviously wanted Skinner to be the next <a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY">Susan Boyle</a>, we actually really don't know exactly how much talent he has. Country music is a very comfortable genre to sing, meaning that it is easy on the voice. I fully enjoyed Skinner's performance of Garth Brooks' "Tomorrow Never Comes" and even found it quite moving; but was he actually, as judge Piers Morgan put it, a candidate to win the competition? He certainly has the likability factor if nothing else.</p><p>As much as it's difficult to praise singers on this show (mainly because there's a million singing competitions out there), one of the other top performers of the night was 14-year old <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfN9YOItpos" target="_blank">Thia Megia</a>. Unlike Skinner, she chose a very difficult Jennifer Holliday song and sang it soulfully and wonderfully. However, this show is just as much about your personal story, and hers just isn't as exciting.</p><p>Thankfully, there were two other variety performers of the night who were equally brilliant. Magician Jay Matiolli was even better than last week's <a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agy0Lea4TYc&feature=player_embedded">Drew Thomas</a>, doing two tricks that I honestly have no idea how he did. In addition, there was <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5_ewa00re0" target="_blank">Joseph Harris</a> (a.k.a. Yo-yo Joe), who had a brilliant yo-yo act but very little time to actually show it. One of the things that makes watching this show frustrating from time to time is the insistence on showing some of the wackier acts. Was watching a court judge <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59k1H7R72vc" target="_blank">embarrass himself</a> really more important than seeing an impressive act? Apparently the show already answered the question for us.</p><p>So now we're three shows in and there are starting to be some solid contenders. Do you have a favorite? Let me know with a comment. Check back tomorrow for some more video content in addition to some other TV news and commentary.</p><p>===================================================</p><p>http://www.popculturekitty.com/?p=2922</p><p><strong>Aired 6/30/09</strong></p> <h2><a href="http://www.popculturekitty.com/?p=2922" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to America’s Got Talent 4 - Episode 3">America’s Got Talent 4 - Episode 3</a></h2> <div class="pub"> Posted on July 1st, 2009 by Princess Kitty in <a href="http://www.popculturekitty.com/?cat=362" title="View all posts in America's Got Talent" rel="category">America's Got Talent</a> </div><p>We joined host Nick Cannon and judges Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and David Hasselhoff as the New York and Chicago auditions continued:</p> <p><strong>New York</strong></p> <p><strong>Carol Lugo</strong> - Goofy 62 year old dancer. Ok, she was entertaining and I did laugh but the reality is that this woman would have been booed off the stage if she’d been 30 years old. She’s agile but the few real steps she did weren’t executed particularly well. The judges sent her on to Vegas but her AGT trip should end there.</p> <p>Carol was followed by a succession of Vegas bound acts including a dance group lead by four drag queens (<strong>The Diva League</strong>), and a guy who eats glass and gushes fake blood from his mouth (<strong>Chris Allison</strong> - and, by the way, YUCK!). The standout of the group was <strong>Joseph Harris</strong> a.k.a. Yo-Yo Joe. He did a bunch of Yo-Yo stunts that were really flashy. </p> <p><strong>Jay Mattioli</strong> - Magician (pictured above). I agreed with Piers that we’d seen stuff like Jay’s disappearing box trick before but the levitating microphone stand was very, very good. The kid also had a nice bravado about him so he was definitely worth another look in Vegas. I also liked that, while he followed the new tradition of the “rock & roll” magician, it was toned way down from the Cris Angel excess. (EDIT: SAME OLE SAME OLE')</p><p>========================================</p><p>http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/07/01/americas-got-talent-chicken/</p><h1 class="underline" id="post-40771" title="REVELATION! “America’s Got Talent’s” Chicken Catcher">REVELATION! “America’s Got Talent’s” Chicken Catcher</h1>By <a href="http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/author/cashadvancemojo/" title="Posts by Steven Tarlow">Steven Tarlow</a>, your America s Got Talent chicken catcher news source<br /><br /><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Another underdog for us to chew on</span></p><p>The world likes to pretend that it loves the underdog. Susan Boyle of “Britain’s Got Talent” is a great example. When she appeared on the television program and sang “Climb Every Mountain” or whatever song it was that she sang (See? Memorable), the response was overwhelming. She was a great story: a housewife from a small town, with dreams of becoming somebody. People were swept up in the hysteria, claiming that her performance filled them with strong emotions. It was “the most amazing” thing they’d heard in some time. It made them weep and take out <strong><a title="Get a Faxless Payday Loan From Personal Money Store" href="http://personalmoneystore.com/Payday-Loans/No-Fax-Payday-Loans/">no fax payday loans</a></strong> and <strong><a title="Get a Cash Advance without Faxing Now!" href="http://personalmoneystore.com/Cash-Advance/No-Fax-Cash-Advance/">no fax cash advances</a></strong> for soft Kleenex. For what, I won’t say. </p><p>I didn’t buy it then, and I don’t buy it now. And mind you, I’m an idealist who likes to believe in happy endings. But I encourage fans of Susan Boyle to take a look at themselves in the mirror. Not long after Boyle was voted off the show, signs that she is a normal person began to emerge… she became belligerent and was hospitalized due to exhaustion. Where are her fans now? Most have disappeared, writing the woman off as another flash in the pan. It’s cynical and it proves that such fans are hypocrites hypnotized by the flashing of their own media screens. Be realistic, people. Susan Boyle was a regular person with some vocal talent. I wish her the best.</p> <h3>So who’s the next Susan Boyle?(because you know you want one)</h3>That would perhaps be <strong>Kevin Skinner</strong>, the “<strong>America’s Got Talent</strong>” <strong>chicken catcher</strong>. Isabelle Carreau <a target="_blank" href="http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/07/01/americas-got-talent-audition-show-3/" title="blogs" rel="nofollow external">blogs</a> for <strong>TV Squad</strong> that America “definitely got some magic” during the recent “America’s Got Talent” audition show. Kevin Skinner had a lot to do with that, although Carreau claims that overall, the performances were good. Here are a few of the highlights (lowlights?), capped by the Kevin Skinner performance of Garth Brooks’ “If Tomorrow Never Comes.” <ul><li>Jeffrey Johns, the Singing Librarian - Here we have a tiny librarian (5-foot-3). The man had good stage presence and energy, but his voice didn’t quite captivate. Subscribing to my underdog theory (that people pretend to love them when they really don’t care), this guy would be kept around long past the time he should be</li><li>Carol Lugo, the Dancing Sexagenarian - She’s 62 and loves to flit about with lots of oomph. Gotta have that oomph to draw in the audience, particularly when the rest of your show doesn’t follow any definite plan. I love how judge David Hasselhoff said she had “amazing” talent. Of course we all know the Hoff has “amazing” talent, otherwise he wouldn’t be one of the best-selling pop artists in Germany</li><li style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Joseph Harris, the Yo-Yo Yenta: Well, I don’t truly know whether he’s a gossip monger or not, but clearly he bounded all around the stage. Gotta do the old razzle-dazzle if you’re going to rise above Tom Smothers’ old “Yo-Yo Man” act. Next time, bring along Y0-Yo Ma to play Bach cello suite number one behind your act. It’s infinitely hopeful, and you need hope</span></li><li>Thia Megia, the Singing Teen - She’s 19 and has that big voice that can knock you out of the box at first. Then you get up and realize you wouldn’t buy her albums. If she proves me wrong, great. Carreau thinks this girl is a front runner on the show</li><li>Kevin Skinner, the Man of the Hour - Give him the Susan Boyle treatment immediately, so that people other than me have something to blog about. Oh, wait… I’m a hypocrite. That’s right.</li></ul> <div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 286px;"><img src="http://www.digital-tv.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/susan-boyle1.jpg" alt="Go for it, chicken catcher!" width="276" height="166" /><p class="wp-caption-text">"Go for it, chicken catcher!"</p></div> <p>Kevin Skinner appears to be a simple unemployed chicken farmer who’s looking to make more of his life. I applaud the effort and must say that I didn’t find his Garth Brooks take to be unpleasant. Over length, the holes become apparent, but he certainly did a better job than I would have been able to do approximating Neko Case. Carreau thinks his looks and accent were “a barrier” to her appreciation of this man, but I say “Fah!” You probably loved Susan Boyle, and she had plenty of both of those.</p>===================================================<br />http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20090701-ENTERTAIN-90701019<br /><h2>'America's Got Talent' recap: Kevin Skinner is our Susan Boyle!</h2> <h2>Former chicken catcher from back woods of Kentucky can really sing</h2> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> var isoPubDate = 'July 01, 2009' </script> <div class="bylineText"><span class="by">By </span><span class="byline" style="color: rgb(152, 45, 1);">Fred Dame Jr.</span></div> <div class="bylineDate"><span>July 01, 2009 1:38 PM<span></span></span></div> <p class="articleGraf">Editor’s note: The following TV recap was written by musician Fred Dame Jr. of York, Maine, who auditioned in Boston for this season of “America’s Got Talent.”</p>Last night's edition of “America's Got Talent” started off in New York City on a good note, with the likes of 62-year-old supermarket cashier Carol Lugo. <p class="articleGraf">Led by a dream of being a dancer, Lugo started the night's auditions with a bang, her wild and sometimes possessed dance routine whipped audience and judges alike into a excited state to push her through to the next round! </p><p class="articleGraf">Lugo also gave a tribute to the late Michael Jackson by working the King of Pop's patented move into her routine known as the Moonwalk (note: This segment was recorded before the news of Jackson's death hit the media).</p><p class="articleGraf">Following Lugo's performance, a string of competent and formidable acts lit up the stage. <span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Such acts included Joseph Harris a yo-yo technician</span></span>, The Diva League-drag queen dancers who delighted David Hasselhoff and Chris Allison-Geek magician extraordinaire! (The rest can be read found on the link)</p><p class="articleGraf">===================================</p><p class="articleGraf">http://www.examiner.com/x-12169-Americas-Got-Talent-Examiner~y2009m7d1-Episode-3-June-30th-the-passed-acts-reviewed</p> <img src="http://imagedev.examiner.com/img/header/examiner_logo-header.gif" border="0" /> <h1>Episode 3, June 30th: the passed acts reviewed</h1> <div class="new_timestamp">July 1, 12:03 PM · Michael Ross - America’s Got Talent Examiner </div> <p>The producers seem to have taken the criticism of its viewers to heart. At the end of the hour-long third episode of AGT's open calls, only five rejects were given airtime. The presence of these rejects is actually so sparse that I almost feel as if I do not have enough to justify a separate article about them yet.</p> <p>Eight more acts were revealed to have passed into Vegas, bringing their three-episode total to thirty-two. The criteria used to judge these eight acts is still the same: talent, excitement, variety, appeal to spoiler voters, chances of flopping in Vegas, and potential for an hour long show. They are as follows:</p> <p><strong>1) </strong><u><strong>Carol Lugo</strong></u><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">(text cut out...)</span></span></p><p><strong>2) </strong><a target="_blank" href="http://yoyowiki.org/wiki/Joseph_Harris"><u><strong>Joseph Harris</strong></u></a></p> <p>Act: Yo-yo artist</p><p>Passed with: Unrevealed</p> <p>Talent: High</p> <p>Harris could not have made it through to Vegas as a yo-yo artist if he was not one of the absolute best in his trade. AGT has had yo-yo acts in the past, all of which were made a mockery of in elimination montages. The very fact that Harris made it through to Vegas at all speaks wonders of his talent.</p> <p>Excitement: Moderate</p> <p>The reason no yo-yo act has ever made it through to Vegas until now is because the effort that goes into the performance does not always translate to the audience. In theory, Harris could have performed as a twirler with similar results.</p> <p>Variety: Very high</p> <p>In four seasons, AGT has never had a yo-yo artist in Vegas.</p> <p>Spoiler Appeal: Moderate</p> <p>Once again, Harris gets extra consideration for being a non-musical performer. This is an optimistic level, however, as many viewers may be skeptical about putting their support behind a yo-yo artist.</p> <p>Potential to flop: Very high</p> <p>Harris’s potential pitfalls are twofold. On one hand, his performance can fall apart in an instant if his yo-yo falls short of a return. On the other hand, the actual toss and return of the yo-yo is not where the actual entertainment is derived, so Harris will need to push the limits of his yo-yo just to survive Vegas week.</p> <p>Potential for an hour-long show: None</p> <p>Eventually the judges, if not America, will have to ask just how much can one man possibly do with a yo-yo.</p> <p>Chances of advancing overall: Moderate</p><p class="articleGraf">(as the title suggests, the rest of the article is a review of the other acts)</p><p class="articleGraf">==============================================<br /></p><p class="articleGraf">http://www.gameshownewsnet.com/prime/agt4/</p><p align="left"><span style=";font-family:Impact;font-size:130%;" >Auditions: New York City/Chicago</span><b><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /> </span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >June 30</span></b></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >Last week, the talent came back with a vengeance, but we're nowhere near done yet, as the search for the million-dollar act continues in... </span></p> <p><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >NEW YORK CITY</span></b></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >Back in the Big Apple (and home of the original Trouble Triangle), we begin again with a 62-year-old mother of three, Carol Lugo of Jersey City. She's a cashier, but tonight, all she wants to dance. She believes in following your dreams no matter what. Tonight, her dreams take her (and us, by proxy) to moonwalking, shaking, and doing jigs. Talk about entertaining... The judges think that she's amazing. She's off to Vegas. </span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >Will Joseph Harris (aka Yo-Yo Joe) join him? The things he does with Duncans are legendary. So the answer... yes.</span></p><p><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >(EDIT; cut short again...check article for the rest)</span></p><p style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >*CONTINUED, JULY 13*</span></p><p><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >http://www.tvgasm.com/shows/americas-got-talent/americas-got-ta-2-10068.php</span></p><p><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >"</span>Time for Joseph Harris, the college student. He wants to be called Yo-Yo Joe, which prompts an embarrassingly dated reaction from the judges. He throws some yo-yos around and everyone freaks out, and a minor stir is caused when David fails to catch the yo-yo Joe tosses to him. Sharon thinks that both yo-yo fanatics in America should be represented by Joe and he's joining Carol in the short-term Winner's Circle."</p><p class="articleGraf">============================(CONTINUING TO ADD TO THIS ARCHIVE, JULY 13, 2009)</p><p class="articleGraf">http://www.realitynewsonline.com/cgi-bin/ae.pl?mode=1&article=article10303.art&page=1</p><h2><b>America's Got Talent 4, June 30: Ad Nauseam </b></h2><b><i>by Tyler Sandersfeld -- 07/01/2009</i></b><p class="articleGraf"><span style=";font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica;font-size:100%;color:black;" >Some of the good acts in this episode could really surprise you. Or at least they could have if NBC hadn't shoved them down our gullets through the commercials. We've seen the chicken catcher, the super-leaning magician (right), and the 62-year-old dancer impress the crowd already, but what about a really short librarian and a light-bulb eater?<br /></span></p><p class="articleGraf">Of course, Carol isn't the only performer to surprise the judges. Joseph Harris and his yo-yo skills get three yo's from the judges.<br /></p><p>In any case, Kevin is through to Vegas and will probably get second place. Here's who all made it in this episode, along with my rankings.</p> <p><b>Full Acts</b></p> <p>1: Jay Mattioli, illusionist<br />2: Thia Megia, singer<br />3: Carol Lugo, dancer<br />4: The Fab Five, cloggers<br />5: Kevin Skinner, country musician</p> <p><b>Brief Acts</b></p> <p>1: The Diva League, drag queen dance troupe<br />2: Joseph Harris, yo-yo artist<br />3: Chris Allison, sideshow comedian</p><p class="articleGraf"><span style=";font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica;font-size:100%;color:black;" >(EDIT some out to get to the point)</span></p><p class="articleGraf"><span style=";font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><br /></span> </p></div></div> </div> </div>YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8079868101541768737.post-58747151487612762272009-06-30T23:05:00.000-07:002009-07-01T03:16:28.079-07:00AMERICA'S GOT TALENT!I WAS ON FOR A GOOD 15 SECONDS! If you follow the show, I AM GOING TO VEGAS! HAHA...<br /><br />Thanks everyone for tolerating my spam emails, texts, and phone calls. Now let's see if anyone finds my blog now that I'm on National TV for the 2nd time ^_^<br /><br />EDIT 10 minutes later: Googling "America's Got Talent yoyo" here's some text of the results!<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://v5.tinypic.com/player.swf?file=28us8bp&s=5" width="440" height="420"></embed><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=28us8bp&s=5">Original Video</a> - More videos at <a href="http://tinypic.com/">TinyPic</a></span><br /><br />http://www.yoyoskills.com/?p=1011<br /><h2>Joseph Harris to be on America’s Got Talent TONIGHT!</h2> <br /> <!-- This is a HTML comment, it will not display in any page. Feel free to remove this comment if it cause any inconvenient to you. Thanks for using digg digg, please visit http://www.mkyong.com/blog/digg-digg-wordpress-plugin for any comments and ideas, Author : Yong Mook Kim Website : http://www.mkyong.com --><div style="float: right;"><table> <tbody><tr><td><iframe src="http://digg.com/api/diggthis.php?w=new&u=http://www.yoyoskills.com/?p=1011&t=Joseph+Harris+to+be+on+America%27s+Got+Talent+TONIGHT%21&s=normal" scrolling="no" width="52" frameborder="0" height="80"></iframe><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>Current reigning US National 2a champion Joseph Harris is expected to be on America’s Got Talent tonight. The extent of his appearence is not known yet. Will the judges just “Not get it” like when the incredible John and Rebecca Higby performed for them (they got totally ripped off), or <a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4Nl7QqYr_0');" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4Nl7QqYr_0" target="_blank">Luke Roberts</a> who killed with awesomeness, but was killed by the judges, or will Joseph be able to impress the judges to move ahead?<br />Tune in tonight to NBC at 9/8c and find out!<br /><img src="http://popvultures.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/americas_got_talent.jpg" alt="" /><br />Joseph Harris seen here at IYYO 2008<br /><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3219/2748856564_7c76a8327b.jpg" alt="" /><br />Joseph’s credentials include -<br />Member of the AYYA Board of Directors<br />1st Place - 2A Division - 2008 National Yo-Yo Contest<br />1st Place - Open Division - 2008 California State Yo-Yo Contest<br />5th Place - 1A Division - 2008 California State Yo-Yo Contest<br />5th Place - Open Division - 2008 International Yoyo Open Contest<br />7th Place - 2A Division - 2008 World Yo-Yo Contest<br />1st Place - 2A Division - 2008 Pacific Northwest Regional Contest<br />2007 YoyoJam Scholarship Recipient<br />2006 Most Inspirational Player Award<br />2001-2003 Hawaii State Champion<br />6th Place - 2A Division - 2001 World Yo-Yo Contest<br />2nd Place - 2A Division - 2000 National Yo-Yo Contest<br />11th Place - 2A Division - 1999 World Yo-Yo Contest<br />4th Place - 2A Division - 1999 National Yo-Yo Contest</p><p>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /></p><p>http://blog.zap2it.com/ithappenedlastnight/2009/06/americas-got-talent-thea-megia-and-kevin-skinner-are-amazing.html</p><h1>'America's Got Talent': Thea Megia and Kevin Skinner are amazing</h1> <div class="storyByline"> <p>By <a href="mailto:andrealeigh203@gmail.com">Andrea Reiher</a>June 30, 2009 9:04 PM<!-- google_ad_section_start --> <a style="float: left;" href="http://blog.zap2it.com/.a/6a00d83451b92469e2011571956cd6970b-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, '_blank', 'width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0' ); return false"><img class="at-xid-6a00d83451b92469e2011571956cd6970b" alt="Piersmorgan_americasgottalent_290" title="Piersmorgan_americasgottalent_290" src="http://blog.zap2it.com/.a/6a00d83451b92469e2011571956cd6970b-800wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" border="0" /></a> Welcome back to <a href="http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tv/americas-got-talent/EP00829878">"America's Got Talent."</a> <strong>Thea Megia</strong> and <strong>Kevin Skinner</strong> just absolutely kill it tonight.<br /></p> </div><br />We kick things off tonight in NYC with 62 year-old <strong>Carol Lugo</strong>, a grocery cashier from New Jersey who dances. Could this be our Susan Boyle? As she starts weirdly gyrating to "I Can't Help Myself," I am alternately horrified and completely delighted. The woman moonwalks! She is strangely charming. The judges just adore her and send her through unanimously as the strains of "Flashdance" come up in the background.<br /><br /><strong>Good Montage</strong>. <strong>YoYo Joe</strong> dances with a yoyo (it's no "Air on a G String" but it's pretty awesome); <strong>*SNIP, long article cut short*<br />-----------------------------------------------------------------------<br />http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/blog/2009/06/30/americas-got-talent-063009-new-york-and-chicago-auditions/<br /><br /></strong><h2 id="post-34937"><a href="http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/blog/2009/06/30/americas-got-talent-063009-new-york-and-chicago-auditions/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: America’s Got Talent 06/30/09: New York and Chicago Auditions">America’s Got Talent 06/30/09: New York and Chicago Auditions</a></h2> <p>June 30, 2009 07:11:15 by Paulene Hinds </p> <div class="postspace2"> </div> <!--content with more link--> <p> <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-34940" src="http://cdn.sheknows.com/realitytvmagazine/2009/06/gon_402_02.jpg" alt="america's got talent new york auditions" width="384" height="288" /></p> <p>Nick Cannon began <a title="America's Got Talent" href="http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/blog/category/americas-got-talent/" target="_blank">America’s Got Talent</a> by introducing the esteemed judges; <a itxtdid="9823520" target="_blank" href="http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/blog/2009/06/30/americas-got-talent-063009-new-york-and-chicago-auditions/#" style="border-bottom: 0.075em solid darkgreen ! important; font-weight: normal ! important; font-size: 100% ! important; text-decoration: underline ! important; padding-bottom: 1px ! important; color: darkgreen ! important; background-color: transparent ! important; background-image: none; padding-top: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt;" classname="iAs" class="iAs">Piers Morgan</a>, <a title="Sharon Osbourne" href="http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/blog/category/reality-tv-stars/sharon-osbourne/" target="_blank">Sharon Osbourne</a>, and David Hasselhoff to <a itxtdid="9822637" target="_blank" href="http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/blog/2009/06/30/americas-got-talent-063009-new-york-and-chicago-auditions/#" style="border-bottom: 0.075em solid darkgreen ! important; font-weight: normal ! important; font-size: 100% ! important; text-decoration: underline ! important; padding-bottom: 1px ! important; color: darkgreen ! important; background-color: transparent ! important; background-image: none; padding-top: 0pt; padding-right: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt;" classname="iAs" class="iAs">New York</a> city. Thousands of people arrived to show America that they have what it takes to win the big prize.</p> <p><span id="more-34937"></span></p> <p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-34941" src="http://cdn.sheknows.com/realitytvmagazine/2009/06/gon_402_03.jpg" alt="nick cannon america's got talent" width="384" height="288" /></p> <p>Nick said it was time to take a bite out of the big apple and see if New York has talent. First up was 62 year old grandmother Carol who came to dance tonight. Aside from the neck flailing, she was awesome. <a title="Sharon Osbourne" href="http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/blog/category/reality-tv-stars/sharon-osbourne/" target="_blank">Sharon Osbourne</a> thought that she was wonderfully bizarre. She was off to Vegas.</p> <p>The rest of New York hoped to surprise the judges with their talent including Joseph the yoyo king, the Diva League drag queen dancers and Chris who ate a light bulb and all made their way to Vegas tonight. (EDIT; another long article...)<br /></p>====================================================<br />http://www.reality-tv-online.com/blog/america%E2%80%99s-got-talent-the-auditions-continue/<br /><br /><h2><a href="http://www.reality-tv-online.com/blog/america%e2%80%99s-got-talent-the-auditions-continue/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: America’s Got Talent: The Auditions Continue">America’s Got Talent: The Auditions Continue</a></h2><br />Tonight’s episode of “<a href="http://www.reality-tv-online.com/blog/category/americas-got-talent/">America’s Got Talent</a>” focused mostly on people who DID have talent. Moving on in the competition are the following: Carol Lugo (who looked like a school teacher, but her dance was deemed “wonderfully bizarre” by Sharon), Joseph “YoYo Jo” Harris (whose yo-yoing was incredible), The Diva League (I think each season is required to have a drag queen act), Chris “Coney Island Chris” Allison (I want to see more of his act!), Jay Mattioli (now THIS is an act that could go over big in Vegas), and The Fab Five (clogging sisters).<br /><br />(EDIT...LONG ARTICLE AGAIN)<br />==============================================<br />http://www.buddytv.com/articles/americas-got-talent/americas-got-talent-recap-yo-y-29704.aspx?pollid=500000251&answer=500000861#poll500000251<br /><br /><div class="article_page_title">'America's Got Talent' Recap: Yo Yos, Drag Queens and a Country-Fried Singer</div> <div class="article_page_date"> Tuesday, June 30, 2009 </div> <div class="icons_list"> <a href="http://www.buddytv.com/articles/americas-got-talent/americas-got-talent-recap-yo-y-29704.aspx?pollid=500000251&answer=500000861#comments"><img src="http://www.buddytv.com/tvshow2/images/group_icon.gif" align="absmiddle" /></a> <a onclick="initializeShare()" class="onclick-style"><img src="http://www.buddytv.com/tvshow2/images/pro_manage_envelope.jpg" align="absmiddle" /></a> </div> <img alt="America's Got Talent" src="http://www.buddytv.com/articles/agt-s4e3.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" width="211" height="139" />It's time to start week two of the dumbest show on Earth, <i>America's Got Talent</i>. I say dumbest not because it isn't entertaining, but because there's no point. The judges are allegedly looking to give someone one million dollars and an act in Las Vegas. If that's the case, why would a 62-year-old woman dancing make the cut? It's amusing, but I can pay two dollars at any state fair to see that kind of generic bland entertainment.<br /><br />When <foo style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); display: inline; text-decoration: underline; cursor: pointer;">David Hasselhoff</foo> expresses amazement when the old woman can dance without being out of breath, we' as a country have lowered the standard by which we judge talent. In the old days, you had to have a demonstrable skill to become famous and acclaimed. Now all you need is a big butt, a sex tape, or a catchphrase like "That's hot."<br /><br />And if those things fail, you can go on one of the billion reality shows, act like a buffoon, and pretend that 15 minutes of fame is someone validation for your existence. On talk shows I frequently hear Dr. Drew Pinsky comment on the fact that, for the first time as a species, achieving fame is now the primary engine for actions, not for the sake of accomplishing something.<br /><br />Fame has become a drug, one which addicts like Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag can't live without. Sadly, <i>America's Got Talent</i> has become this nation's top drug dealer, even outshining Tommy, the white guy with dreadlocks who lives down the hall from me and doesn't wake up until 3pm.<br /><br /><i>American Idol</i> may spend a disproportionate amount of time on the bad auditions, but they don't put people like William Hung through to Hollywood. On <i>America's Got Talent</i>, those same desperate fame whores willing to sacrifice their integrity for a chance to be on TV are rewarded with trips to Las Vegas.<br /><br />Am I being too harsh? Judge for yourself, because here are the acts that made it through during the third episode of auditions.<br /><br /><u><b>Carol Lugo</b></u>: A 62-year-old checkout lady who does funky dancing while gyrating her hips.<br /><u><b><br />Joseph Harris</b></u>: A guy who does yo yo tricks.<br /><br /><u><b>The Diva League</b></u>: A dance troupe which features four large drag queens.<br /><br /><u><b>"Coney Island" Chris Allison</b></u>: A comedian who eats light bulbs.<br /><br /><u><b>Jay Matteoli</b></u>: A 27-year-old magician who is trying to rival Criss Angel for the title of "World's Douchiest Magician." He does for magic what Dane Cook does for stand-up comedy.<br /><br /><u><b>Thea Megia</b></u>: A 14-year-old girl with a rhyming name who sings. She has a great voice, but does anyone think a 14-year-old girl should really be headlining an act in Vegas?<br /><br /><u><b>The Fab Five</b></u>: Five Utah-born tap dancing sisters who are all quite MILF-y.<br /><br /><u><b>Kevin Skinner</b></u>: A genuinely great country singer who acts like a country-fried idiot, talking about his past life as a chicken catcher who didn't know how many chickens he caught because he wasn't too good at the math. Sharon calls him genuine, but I'm 100 percent certain his country twang and "aw shucks" attitude is a huge fake act.<br /><br /><br />So one of those eight acts could get a show in Las Vegas and earn one million dollars. John Edwards always talked about the two Americas, so at least I know I have someplace else to go if one of them actually wins.<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.buddytv.com/script/articlepoll.js?v=1.01"></script> <div class="show_page2_polls"> <div style="width: 250px;"> <a id="questionContainer" name="poll500000251"></a> <div style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> Which of these performers was your favorite? </div> <div style="width: 250px; line-height: normal;"> <a name="ViewPoll"></a> <div id="showResults"> <div class="poll_item"> <div class="article_poll_meter"> <div class="article_poll_text_area"> <div style="width: 7%;" class="article_poll_meter_back" id="bar500000860"> </div> <span>8%</span> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> increment("bar500000860", 8, 0); </script> </div> <div class="poll_item_name">Carol Lugo</div> </div> <div class="poll_item"> <div class="article_poll_meter"> <div class="article_poll_text_area"> <div style="width: 7%;" class="article_poll_meter_back" id="bar500000861"> </div> <span>8%</span> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> increment("bar500000861", 8, 0); </script> </div> <div class="poll_item_name">Joseph Harris</div> </div> <div class="poll_item"> <div class="article_poll_meter"> <div class="article_poll_text_area"> <div style="width: 16%;" class="article_poll_meter_back" id="bar500000862"> </div> <span>17%</span> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> increment("bar500000862", 17, 0); </script> </div> <div class="poll_item_name">The Diva League</div> </div> <div class="poll_item"> <div class="article_poll_meter"> <div class="article_poll_text_area"> <div class="article_poll_meter_back" id="bar500000863"> </div> <span>0%</span> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> increment("bar500000863", 0, 0); </script> </div> <div class="poll_item_name">Coney Island Chris Allison</div> </div> <div class="poll_item"> <div class="article_poll_meter"> <div class="article_poll_text_area"> <div class="article_poll_meter_back" id="bar500000864"> </div> <span>0%</span> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> increment("bar500000864", 0, 0); </script> </div> <div class="poll_item_name">Jay Matteoli</div> </div> <div class="poll_item"> <div class="article_poll_meter"> <div class="article_poll_text_area"> <div style="width: 7%;" class="article_poll_meter_back" id="bar500000865"> </div> <span>8%</span> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> increment("bar500000865", 8, 0); </script> </div> <div class="poll_item_name">Thea Megia</div> </div> <div class="poll_item"> <div class="article_poll_meter"> <div class="article_poll_text_area"> <div style="width: 12%;" class="article_poll_meter_back" id="bar500000866"> </div> <span>13%</span> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> increment("bar500000866", 13, 0); </script> </div> <div class="poll_item_name">The Fab Five</div> </div> <div class="poll_item"> <div class="article_poll_meter"> <div class="article_poll_text_area"> <div style="width: 45%;" class="article_poll_meter_back" id="bar500000867"> </div> <span>46%</span> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> increment("bar500000867", 46, 0); </script> </div> <div class="poll_item_name">Kevin Skinner</div> </div> <div class="article_poll_meter_row"><div class="article_poll_meter_left"> <div class="poll_item_name">Carol Lugo</div> <div class="poll_item"> <div class="article_poll_meter"> <div class="article_poll_text_area"> <div style="width: 7%;" class="article_poll_meter_back" id="bar500000861"> </div> <span>8%</span> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> increment("bar500000861", 8, 0); </script> </div> <div class="poll_item_name">Joseph Harris</div> </div> <div class="poll_item"> <div class="article_poll_meter"> <div class="article_poll_text_area"> <div style="width: 16%;" class="article_poll_meter_back" id="bar500000862"> </div> <span>17%</span> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> increment("bar500000862", 17, 0); </script> </div> <div class="poll_item_name">The Diva League</div> </div> <div class="poll_item"> <div class="article_poll_meter"> <div class="article_poll_text_area"> <div class="article_poll_meter_back" id="bar500000863"> </div> <span>0%</span> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> increment("bar500000863", 0, 0); </script> </div> <div class="poll_item_name">Coney Island Chris Allison</div> </div> <div class="poll_item"> <div class="article_poll_meter"> <div class="article_poll_text_area"> <div class="article_poll_meter_back" id="bar500000864"> </div> <span>0%</span> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> increment("bar500000864", 0, 0); </script> </div> <div class="poll_item_name">Jay Matteoli</div> </div> <div class="poll_item"> <div class="article_poll_meter"> <div class="article_poll_text_area"> <div style="width: 7%;" class="article_poll_meter_back" id="bar500000865"> </div> <span>8%</span> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> increment("bar500000865", 8, 0); </script> </div> <div class="poll_item_name">Thea Megia</div> </div> <div class="poll_item"> <div class="article_poll_meter"> <div class="article_poll_text_area"> <div style="width: 12%;" class="article_poll_meter_back" id="bar500000866"> </div> <span>13%</span> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> increment("bar500000866", 13, 0); </script> </div> <div class="poll_item_name">The Fab Five</div> </div> <div class="poll_item"> <div class="article_poll_meter"> <div class="article_poll_text_area"> <div style="width: 45%;" class="article_poll_meter_back" id="bar500000867"> </div> <span>46%</span> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> increment("bar500000867", 46, 0); </script> </div> <div class="poll_item_name">Kevin Skinner<br /></div> </div> <div class="article_poll_meter_row"><div class="article_poll_meter_left"> </div><div class="article_poll_meter_right score_legend"><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div></div></div> </div></div></div></div></div></div><br /><b>-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer</b><br /><span style="font-size:0;"><i>(Image courtesy of NBC)<br />===========================================================<br />http://thetvlegion.com/2009/06/30/americas-got-talent-june-30th-2009-auditions/<br /><br /></i></span><h1 class="entry-title"><a href="http://thetvlegion.com/2009/06/30/americas-got-talent-june-30th-2009-auditions/" rel="bookmark">America’s Got Talent: June 30th, 2009 Auditions</a></h1><div class="entry-info"><span class="entry-author">By <address class="author vcard">eric</address></span><strong>Published:</strong> <abbr class="published" title="2009-06-30T22:02:35-06:00">June 30, 2009</abbr><span class="entry-cat"><strong>Posted in: </strong>America's Got Talent, Episode Reviews</span><span class="tags"><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href="http://thetvlegion.com/tag/americas-got-talent/" rel="nofollow tag">America's Got Talent</a>, <a href="http://thetvlegion.com/tag/americas-got-talent-auditions/" rel="nofollow tag">America's Got Talent Auditions</a> </span></div> <div style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 10px; float: right; width: 42px; padding-right: 10px;"> <script type="text/javascript"> <!-- digg_url = "http://thetvlegion.com/2009/06/30/americas-got-talent-june-30th-2009-auditions/"; digg_bgcolor = "#FFFFFF"; digg_skin = ""; digg_window = ""; digg_title = "America%26%238217%3Bs+Got+Talent%3A+June+30th%2C+2009+Auditions"; digg_media = "news"; digg_topic = "television"; digg_bodytext = ""; //--> </script> <script src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js" type="text/javascript"></script><iframe src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.php?u=http%3A//thetvlegion.com/2009/06/30/americas-got-talent-june-30th-2009-auditions/&s=&t=America%2526%25238217%253Bs+Got+Talent%253A+June+30th%252C+2009+Auditions&w=&b=&m=news&c=television&k=%23FFFFFF" scrolling="no" width="52" frameborder="0" height="80"></iframe></div><p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-433" title="americasgottalent" src="http://thetvlegion.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/americasgottalent.jpg" alt="americasgottalent Americas Got Talent: June 30th, 2009 Auditions" width="438" height="295" /></p> <p>Three episodes in and I am already starting to worry about this season. Once again it appears that the singers are going to take over the show once again. I do have to admit though one of the best performers of this season so far was tonight along with another interesting act which was relegated to 20-30 seconds of screentime. Without further ado let’s get into today’s act and hope that future auditions have more original acts.</p> <p><span id="more-13213"></span></p> <p><strong>Carol Lugo</strong> (Elder Dancer): She’s not a bad dancer but not nearly good enough to win the competition in my opinion. Somewhat entertaining even though I personally wouldn’t have moved her on. C+ Moved On</p> <p>Also moved on: <strong>Joseph Harris</strong> (Yo-Yo Performer), <strong>The Diva League</strong> (drag queen dancing group), and <strong>Chris Allison</strong> (Eats glass/variety act). (EDIT: more text about other acts...though I like the part about singers which I think is worth reading:</p><p><strong>Thia Megia</strong> (Singer): She’s a pretty good singer but I will reiterate that I don’t root for singers on America’s Got Talent. Most of these singers can showcase their singing on other reality shows. For example in a year or two she could just go on American Idol, get more publicity, and most likely have a better career. That opportunity is not available for these other acts. I really think America’s Got Talent needs to institute an individual singing title or I fear we will have a singing final showdown once again this season. I don’t mind singing acts moving on, I don’t like 75% of the acts moved on being singers though. B Moved On</p><p>================================================</p><p>http://bigdaddybs-main.blogspot.com/2009/06/americas-got-talent-2009-06302009.html</p><h2 class="date-header">Tuesday, June 30, 2009</h2> <a name="8033355442073167841"></a> <h3 class="post-title"> <a href="http://bigdaddybs-main.blogspot.com/2009/06/americas-got-talent-2009-06302009.html">America's Got Talent 2009 - 06/30/2009</a> </h3> Starting in New York<br /><br />62yo mother of three, Carol Lugo, Cashier - Dancer - to "Sugar Pie Honey Bun" Fun... She dances VERY hard. Sharon: You're very bizarre, but wonderfully bizarre. David: You deserve to be here... You're terrific! Piers: There's just so much to say about you. David: Absolutely Yes. Sharon: Yes. Piers: Your dream lives on with three Yeses.<br /><br />Joseph Harris, aka: Yo-yo Joe. Dances with two yo-yos doing tricks. Yes, all the way.<br /><br />The Diva League - Drag queen dancers - They're in.<br />(EDIT: describes other acts...)<br />============================================<br />http://gskingdom.blogspot.com/2009/06/americas-got-talent-630.html<br /><br /><h2 class="date-header">Tuesday, June 30, 2009</h2> <a name="1042868318800711560"></a> <h3 class="post-title entry-title"> <a href="http://gskingdom.blogspot.com/2009/06/americas-got-talent-630.html">"America's Got Talent" 6/30</a> </h3> <strong>NYC:</strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">WINNERS:</span></strong><br />Carol Lugo (62-year-old dancer)<br />Joseph Harris (dances with yo-yos)<br />The Diva League (variety act)<br />Chris Allison (magician)<br />Jay Mattioli (magician)<br /><br /><strong>Chicago:</strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">WINNNERS:</span></strong><br />Thia Megia (14-year-old singer)<br />The Fab Five (female dancing group)<br />Kevin Skinner (singer/guitarist)<br /><br /><strong><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">NOTABLE DUDS:</span></strong><br />Franklin Sane (singer that works in real life as a juvenile court judge)<br />Jeffrey Johns (a man who sings on a high chair)<br />===========================================<br />EDIT: MORE!<br />http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/07/01/americas-got-talent-audition-show-3/<br /><br /><h2>America's Got Talent: Audition show 3</h2><p class="byline">Posted Jul 1st 2009 12:28AM by <a href="http://www.tvsquad.com/bloggers/isabelle-carreau">Isabelle Carreau</a><br />Filed under: <a href="http://www.tvsquad.com/category/oped/">OpEd</a>, <a href="http://www.tvsquad.com/category/episode-reviews/">Episode Reviews</a>, <a href="http://www.tvsquad.com/category/americas-got-talent/">America's Got Talent</a></p><img alt="America's Got Talent" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tvsquad.com/media/2008/08/agt_82608.jpg" vspace="4" width="250" align="right" border="0" height="182" hspace="4" /><em>(S04E03) "America's Got Magic." - Read on the magic box used by a contestant</em><br /><br />America definitely got some magic tonight, as this was the first episode of the season where there were more good acts and not-so-bad ones than there were bad acts.<br /><br />Before I give my two cents about the performances and let you comment on them, as well, I need to raise the issue of sponsoring. It looks like <a href="http://www.orville.com/index.jsp">Orville Redenbacher</a> is now sponsoring <a href="http://www.tvsquad.com/category/americas-got-talent/"><em>America's Got Talent</em></a>. So far, it was done with some taste -- just a sort of "pop corn" ad telling us to watch the show -- but I'm afraid it may become as intrusive as <a href="http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/06/25/americas-got-talent-episode-302/">the "Gone Completely Crakers" were last season</a>. Let's hope we won't get a "Poppin' It" segment similar to the "Crakers" one, as they were boring and used good air time that could have been given to good performances.<p> </p> Some of the acts I didn't enjoy:<br /><ul><li><strong>Frank <strike>in</strike>Sane, singer</strong>: What was he thinking? As Piers said, his job as a county judge demands that he be serious, yet he comes to <em>AGT</em> and gives a bad performance. People coming to his court and who saw the show will not be able to take him seriously anymore<strong>.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>Jeffrey Johns, singing</strong>: This 5' 3'' librarian should definitely not quit his day job. Having fun on stage is key to connect with the crowd, but you also need to have the talent and, Jeffrey doesn't. However, I think he could be a clown. He seems to love the stage and be a fun guy. Mix that with a wacky voice and you could get a small clown.<br /></li><li><strong>Witches in Bikinis, singing</strong>: Just the name of the group is scary and weird. No surprise that their act turned out to be, well, scary and weird!</li><li><strong>Robert Meyers, impressions</strong>: I didn't get his impressions but what really killed his act was the fact the costume changes took way too long. If he wants to try out again next year -- you know the show will get renewed for a fifth season, right? -- I suggest he meet with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv84yiVLc4M">Season 1 contestants "Quick Change"</a>.<br /></li><li><strong>Samba, Samba, Samba, dancing</strong>: We didn't see much of that act but they didn't look like they were having fun dancing the samba, and the act wasn't energetic enough to win the crowd. After three seasons of the show, I'm still surprised that the dance numbers don't know they have to be energetic, have rhythm and be in sync to move to the next round.</li></ul><br />Some of the acts I don't know what to think about:<br /><ul><li><strong>Carol Lugo, dancing</strong>: This 62-year-old woman did give us a fun performance. She had loads of fun on stage and her energy was contagious. Her moves were not too bad but it's clear she didn't really know what she was doing, as there was no real routine. I get that the crowd and the judged loved her because she did amazing for her age and was fun, but the Hoff went way too far when claiming she had amazing talent and was terrific. She was good. Period. They sent packing better dancers than Carol. I don't see her going very far in the competition.<br /></li><li><strong>Chris Allison, magician</strong>(?): Weird. You'll have to tell me what you think about this act because I have no idea what to think of it other than say that it was cool and weird at the same time.<br /></li><li><strong>Kevin Skinner, singing and playing guitar</strong>: The "touching story" of the night... then again, it looks like <em>AGT</em> is not only doing touching stories as the last act of the episode but also underdog stories such as <a href="http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/06/25/americas-got-talent-audition-show-2/">last week's Arcadian Broad</a>. Kevin Skinner falls in the underdog category with his farmer look and his "I was a chicken catcher" background. I must admit that the guy sang well and his guitar playing was good. However, he did not move me as he did the crowd. After thinking about it while writing this posts, I think his looks and his accent were a barrier to me, so I couldn't really enjoy his performance. Do you share the same opinion?</li></ul><br />Some of the acts I enjoyed/loved:<br /><ul><li><strong>Joseph Harris, yo-yo</strong>: Wow! I've seen a few cool yo-yo acts before but most of the performers were standing still. Joseph was moving all over the place, which made the act even more daring and impressive. Will we get a flamed yo-yo during his next performance?<br /></li><li><strong>The Diva League, dancing</strong>: I was expecting them to give a terrible performance when I saw how they were dressed. But you have to admit that they were entertaining and had a good choreography. They are not the best dancers we've seen so far but they gave a good enough performance to move on to Vegas for sure.<br /></li><li><strong>Jay Mattioli, magician</strong>: Very impressive act even if, as some of the judges mentioned, the second part contained a trick seen time and time again. You have to admit that the box was really well built and worked like magic during the trick. I really enjoyed the rocky and hip side of his performance. Making his acts young and fun will definitely win him votes in the upcoming rounds. I can't wait to see what else he has in store for us.<br /></li><li><strong>Thia Megia, singing</strong>: What a voice this 19-year-old girl has. When she walked on stage, I had no idea such a deep and huge voice filled with emotion could come out her. She is definitely one of the front runners.<br /></li><li><strong>The Fab Five, tap dancing</strong>: The outfits were too shiny for TV, but their act was really cool. Good tap dancing routine, well choreographed, in sync, energetic, etc. Sadly for them, that type of dancing group doesn't usually go very far in the competition so let's hope they add lots of daring stuff and new moves in the next round.</li></ul><br />What did you think of tonight's performances? Do you think there were more good acts than bad? Do you think This is a front runner or do you think someone else is? Share your ideas, theories, musings, in the comment section below.<br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br />That's the end for now. Another post with all the PR stuff on here later! So happy I interned at a PR firm this past semester. This is what they did practically in addition to other things!<br /><br />-YoYoJo<br /><p><br /></p>YoYoJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124311170727279262noreply@blogger.com0