I’ve been turning more pens today - I shall be visiting some special friends next week and wanted to bring them something connected with Australia. What better gift, then, than a pen hand turned from Western Australian jarrah. The timber is hard and brittle, but takes a wonderful finish when turned, burnished and polished. I [...]

Some clips from a fire show some good friends and I put together last summer. Wish me luck getting more performance opportunities! :)

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Even a 50kg weakling can lift 500kg with this device - a new fitness craze? No, more a 14th Century crane for lifting building materials up the wall of a cathedral or castle. In Prague, a team of fifteen have come together and built a replica 14th century tread-mill crane using traditional techniques and tools. And [...]

The wikipedia phenomenon has been with us for a while - but aside from the occasional press article, scholarly treatments of wikis are few and far between. Here is one exception - a serious look at the evolution and development of a wikipedia entry on heavy metal music - and the introduction and use of [...]

Some fun theory on counting beats, and how it relates to some specific moves and freedom of dance in general.

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A little video on making a poi-style meteor (traditional meteors use much thicker ropes, but they aren't as fun for tangles and spiral wraps). I like using Colecord but you can use any cord that feels good. Some people like thin climbing rope, which you can get at any outdoor store. Good luck with this one. It requires some patience at the beginning but you'll love it once you get past the first hurdles.

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Some tips to get you started with double staffs. This is just the tip of the iceberg but should be quite useful I think.

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