Juggling Blog Roundup

Did you know people actually write about juggling? Yeah, seriously. You got IJA's JUGGLE magazine, and then there's that one European magazine called Kaskade. I'm rather confused by their mascot - a juggling spider that performs an eating-the-fly trick. I don't get it. The North American magazine isn't without its oddities either. I'm pretty sure its editor is actually Frankie Muniz. But I digress.

Did you know people actually write about juggling for free? On the net? Seriously, yeah. And I'm not just referring to the watercooler chat about which juggling dude is the hottest (a JuggleTalk poll says Toby Walker is winning if you must know). But I digest. I mean digress. Well actually I'm digesting that fly from the Kaskade trick, but let's move on anyways.

These juggling blogs highlight both ends of the spectrum - from the elite performers to your average hobbyist - and a few weird people in between. Some are clearly juggling fanatics and will talk about nothing else, and others are simply jugglers that want to share all aspects of their lives.

1. Jay Gilligan's blog
http://www.buildingweight.com
Creative, artsy, and siteswaps. That about sums up my experience with Jay Gilligan, but now we can all tap into his mind and get to know what he really thinks, thanks to his blog. Erm... when he posts that is. You'll be lucky to get more than two posts per month, and half of the time these entries are simply advertisements for upcoming shows and tours. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but once you read an entry or two of his actual thoughts, you'll wish he posted more. The blog itself looks rather busy and perhaps even atrocious at first glance, but the more you viewe it, the more you'll think it suits Jay just fine.

2. All Up In The Air
http://www.allupintheair.com
I'll let Jennifer introduce herself: "Welcome to the site of the most infamous, red-haired, crazy, chick juggler Northern California has ever seen. Thanks for visiting. I'm happy you came."
Well, this is mostly a personal blog from a young woman who happens to juggle for a living, or at least does a few gigs on the side. Juggling comes up in a few posts, but most of it is your typical blog stuff - things like favorite movies, "this is what I did today..." posts, and rants about people fornicating on her couch.

3. Meanderings of a Monkey Juggler
http://monkeyjuggler.blogspirit.com
Alan is not a monkey, nor is he a juggler of monkeys. That being said, the rest of the blog title makes sense. Alan's blog posts are indeed meanderings of. Juggling is indeed spoken of, including convention reports and interactions at juggling club. However, I would say that the most interesting material is Alan's rantings. Luke Burrage said it best on a rec.juggling thread: "...a personal [blog], with maybe 10% juggling content, but what is there is usually a no-holds-barred rant or a scathing review. Good stuff."

3 1/2. PhysioMonkey
http://physiomonkey.blogspirit.com
PhysioMonkey is Alan's second blog. It contains a lot less ranting and a lot more health-related entries that are relevant to all jugglers. The topics Alan covers range from diagnosing back pain, to common medical myths, to injury prevention. He also offers advice through e-mail, or perhaps at a workshop during your next local juggling convention.

4. NeilFred's Juggling Blog
http://www.derf.net/juggling/
This is what a dead blog looks like. However, if you enjoy the crazy patterns of the Stanford Juggling Research Institute (NeilFred Picciotto is one-third of this club passing team), it might be worth checking out.

4. Blog de babas744
http://babas744.skyblog.com
This blog is in French, fortunately for us jugglers we speak the universal language of siteswap. (Don't know it? You should learn.) This blog contains several links of the blogger himself juggling the listed siteswap. This is a great help if you want to see a human juggle the siteswap instead of a simulated stick figure... or that dang spider (Hmm, actually I think you need beatmap to notate fly eating).

5. JuggleBlog.com
http://juggleblog.com
Like it or not, Egyokeo's blog is all about his juggling. Not yours or anyone else's. Though it's main use is a public diary to track the blogger's personal progress, you might enjoy reading about how a beginning juggler goes about learning backcrosses, 5 clubs, or whatever milestone this hobbyist is looking to achieve. The siteswap simulator built into the navigation bar is an interesting feature for a juggling blog, though waiting for it too load on the main page can become a slight nuisance.

6. I Can't Stop Juggling...
http://www.icantstopjuggling.blogspot.com
You probably know that Ed Provencher is a fellow contributor to this here blog, but did you know he has his own blog too? Ed's web log provides insight into his own personal "addiction" and also some criticism on juggling news and topics including the WJF (which he attended last December). As a plus, it is often updated.

7. Luke Burrage's Thing on the Net
http://www.lukeburrage.com/thingonthenet/
The British juggling legend has his own blog. What can I say? It's a solid blog. Luke is a great writer; plus he always has good stories to share, whether they are about his own performances or the juggling scene in Germany.

8. I'd Rather Be Juggling
http://ratherbejuggling.blogspot.com/
Scott Seltzer, a performer and hobbyist, gives us an inside look into his personal life and juggling experiences in Israel. And yes, ladies, he is currently single (just trying to help, Scott!). Make sure to visit his non-blog website for a lot more juggling information too.

9. Viktor Kee's Photo Album
http://homepage.mac.com/viktorkee/PhotoAlbum43.html
OK, this isn't exactly a blog. It's more like a photo log (plog?). Viktor takes photos wherever his travels take him, so if you're a huge fan of him (or maybe you just think he's a hunk, you know he's around 26% in the polls... hey, I'm pretty sure he's single too), do have a look-see.

Honorable mention: Gluk Juggling News
http://www.gluk.com.au
This is just a shoutout to Australian juggler Shane (aka Narcosis), who maintained the first juggling news blog. Although it is now defunct, Narcosis says something new will take its place.

Did I skip your favorite juggling blog? Let me know and I'll be sure to cover it later. Until then, thanks for reading and putting up with my awesomely lame jokes.