Trilogy / System

I finally received the Trilogy. FINALLY. W00t! It looks fantastic. I snapped a few photographs of it using my pathetic phone camera. My other camera is STILL being a bitch. Had an affair with some arse out there I presume. I tried to fix the pictures as well as I could with Photoshop, so bear with me and pretend these are studio quality. I will post up a better version of these shots.

ANYWAY. Ahem.




There we have it. Above. The super slick cover of the 3-DVD set. A glossy black DVD set that comes in a black jacket of the same material as seen in first picture. The silver Sharpie marker signature is that of none other than the Buck twins themselves. Below: Leno Cut by Bucks.













Flipping open the DVD set, this is instantly what hits my eyes. Dang, the Buck twins have a LOAD OF STYLE. That symmetry is sick!

The case further flips out into 4 panels, one panel holding a single booklet, the rest all holding the sleek WHITE discs.

Ahahaha. My dream come true.

But it didn't come cheap.

A Bloody Chain

I got one of these. Oh well. May as well do it.

Top 5 Birthday Presents You Wish For:
1) Happiness, i.e. skill as a flourisher, a concept artist, a high paying job)
2) Synonymous with (1) perhaps: friends
3) Title deeds and legal ownership of Apple, Microsoft and Adobe
4) 20 bricks of Jerry's Nuggets Casino Playing Cards (each cost over 500 dollars)
5) 20 dozen Tally Ho Playing Cards (why the fuck are they so expensive)

Answer The Following Questions:
1) The person who tagged you is?
Huimin, i.e. GOD.

2) Your relationship with him/her is?
Worshipper.

That's Czech for ordinary friend, you silly bastards.

3) Your 5 impressions of him/her?
Friendly, funny, witty, a little siao, and rather helpful.

4) The most memorable thing he/she had done for you?
Listened to me.

5) The most memorable words he/she had said to you?
"I'm GOD."

6) If he/she becomes your lover, you would?
Nuh-uh, not possible.

7) If he/she becomes your lover, things he/she will have to improve on is?
I said it's not fucking possible.

8) If he/she becomes your enemy, you will?
Not possible either, methinks.

9) If he/she becomes your enemy, the reason would be?
The reason would be that it's all in your head.

Remember, there is no spoon...

10) The most desired thing you want to do for him/her now is?
Say thank you.

11) Your overall impression of him/her is?
Bloody popular.

12) How do you think people around you will feel about you?
Eccentric bastard.

13) The characteristic you love of yourself is?
Self-proclaimed bastard.

14) The most ideal person you want to be is?
Me.

Ideally I wouldn't want to undergo a skin transplant just to be someone else, thank you.

15) For people that care and like you, say something to them.
There's probably only a few of these people, but I can only say thank you for noticing my existence.

I'll finish the rest of the crap later.

Edit: Huimin REALLY is waiting for the rest of the crap. Oh well, I shall oblige.

Ahahaha I'm posting the rest more of because I want to do the questions, not because I want to know how they feel about me. They probably don't know of the existence of this blog anyway. Some have received the quiz already anyway.

With the exception of a few. The few on my Links list. And a few others. :)

Don't worry, none of them are the Larger-than-life's.

16) Pass this quiz to 10 people you wish to know how they feel about you.
1) Peiyang
2) Huimin
3) Yixian
4) Natalie
5) Huilin
6) Sophia
7) Jane
8) Yishun
9) Weini
10) Jasmine

Who is No. 6 [Sophia] having a relationship with?
Ahahahahahaha what an irony!

Is No. 9 [Weini] a male or a female?
Pretty much a female. Exhibits characteristics that are symptoms of having testosterone in the bloodstream nevertheless.

If No. 7 [Jane] and No. 10 [Jasmine] are together, will it be a good thing?
It certainly would be an entertaining show.

How ’bout No. 5 [Huilin] and No. 8 [Yishun]?
Well, if they're together, I can do nothing about it, can I? ;) Wish them good luck, people!

What is No. 2 [Huimin] studying about?
The Art of Godliness, textbook being "Being a God for Dummies". Chapters include "How Genesis Works", "How Not to Screw Up When Creating Living Things", "Why Manifesting Self to Humans is a Bad Idea", "Garnering Worshippers and a Massive Fanbase" and "Answering Millions of Prayers Daily".

When was the last time you had a chat with No. 3 [Yixian]?
Friday. I always chat.

I'm a nice guy.

What kind of music band does No. 8 [Yishun] likes?
No clue. Wanna tell me?

Does No. 1 [Peiyang] have any siblings?
As far as I know, no. But he makes up for it.

Would you woo No. 3 [Yixian]?
No.

How about No. 7 [Jane]?
No.

Is No. 4 [Natalie] single?
Apparently so. Why all the dating questions? Finding prospects?

What is the surname of No. 5 [Huilin]?
Chong.

As in Worm.

What is the nickname of No. 10 [Jasmine]
Neko.

What is the hobby of No. 4 [Natalie]?
Err, pretty sure it's Pottery.

Does No. 5 [Huilin] and No. 9 [Weini] get along well?
I sure hope so. Rivalry between girls means World War II.

Where is No. 2 [Huimin] studying at?
Institution of Heavenly Worship. Apply by drowning yourself in turpentine.

Talk something casually about No. 1 [Peiyang].
Hm.

Um.

Er.

Nice guy. Ya. Yes!!

Oh, and.

I hate your laugh.

Have you tried developing feelings for No. 8[Yishun]?
You sick pervert.

Where does No. 9 [Weini] live at?
Hahaha, you want to visit her? She lives at Weini's house.

Are No. 1 [Peiyang] and No. 5 [Huilin] best friends?
No. But they're friends. More than associates.

Does No. 7 [Jane] likes No. 2 [Huimin]?
In more ways than one I'm sure.

And there's a grammatical error in the question.

Sorry, I'm a grammar nazi. Godwin's Law of the Internet hereby comes into effect.

How did you get to know No. 2 [Huimin]?
I was in the same class as her.

Does No. 1 [Peiyang] have any pets?
No. If he does, I don't know about it. Pretty sure they wouldn't last very long though.

Is No. 7 [Jane] the sexiest person on Earth?
You sure leave the sickest questions to the last, don't you?

Fin.

Ciappi

Lol, another fantastic display of skill.

Two days before the end of the holidays.

Lol. What have I done these holidays? Academic-wise, that is?

Well I've read through the Physics textbook thrice (screw you, Fleming), the Chem textbook twice, and the Chem guidebook.. err.. quite a number of times. OH YEAH, I also did a little A-maths.

Not a lot eh...

As for cards, I've done a lot. A lot a lot.

For one, I clocked up about 12 hours of practice on Friday.

I think it was Friday at least.

A little less, for the other days. But Dan and Dave cannot claim to have done more in a day ;)

300

Holy... Shit...

300 Bucks.

CYA I'M OFF TO STUDY, KTHXBAI.

The Virtuoso

The Virtuoso. Future flourishing gods of the XCM field.

And Singaporeans to boot.

MOAR MUDKIPZ

Okay, I kid you. More musings, more like.

I was just thinking about my recently taken up hobby: card manipulation. How long has it been... Hm, let's give it a bit of history.

In the past, hah, I really got impressed when my cousin did a simple riffle shuffle. Granted, it's simple, but the way he did it was really stylish. That set me thinking: "What if I could do that, and more?"... And, yeah, I learnt the riffle shuffle very quickly.

Next up was the Charlier Cut.

I didn't learn it from videos though. I learnt it from online text that tried to explain it as best as text could. "Place your index, middle and ring finger along the long side of the deck..." I spent 2 weeks learning that, mostly because I was trying to figure out what the hell the text was trying to say. I hadn't seen a Charlier Cut in action, but there were pictures of it in progress, so I could guess. That's one small step for card manipulation, and a massive step for ME. Yeah!

And what comes after...? Ah yes, the infamous One-Handed Shuffle. Yes, that was the third piece of manipulation that I learnt. I was seriously impressed that a person could shuffle a deck of cards neatly and in a most flashy manner, in the amount of time it takes for an average person to down a glass of water. Here's what it looks like:
It's VERY easy to screw up, but admittedly I can do it better than him :) I know I'm a braggart.

What comes next is just mish-mash mumbo jumbo that really takes more knack than actual dexterity to master. Things like the flipback, which brings the deck from your palm instantly to the back of your hand, etc. You're good, it doesn't fall. AND yeah, fanning a deck of cards. I'm fairly proud of that. Most of the times I can get a pretty good fan, UNLESS you hand me one of those nasty plastic decks, or a really manky paper deck. Not even the pro's can handle it :/ let a lone a weakling like me.

The previous were basics. The following are now really more of modern card manipulation. Extreme card manipulation standard. Things like the Sybil, the Madonna, the Mary Jane.. In fact, most of these come from the Dan and Dave Buck twins. I've mastered those already, though lack of practice slows me down. I'm focusing on other cuts at the moment.

A list of a few famous card manipulators, and my thoughts on them:
De'vo: very high standards, but he overdoes it with the "cultish" style

Jerry Cestkowski: bah, this guy is fantastic at flourishes. All the classic ones, that is. He's most famous for his perfect fans.

Jeff McBride: An all-rounded entertainer who combines magic, flourishing, dance and miming into a beautiful performance. Even though he's not fantastically outstanding at magic or flourishing, he is one of those at the top of his field, and his unique performances are what help him.

Dan and Dave Buck: Which one's Dan? And which one's Dave? I don't know, and I don't care. For some reason both of them are equally as good in card manipulation, and when I say good, I mean they are the very very best. David Blaine, amongst other famous magicians like Dai Vernon, all gave them praise. They have style. A lot of it. And it's not forced, like De'vo's.

True, cannot teach style. Must be born this way. - Suyuan

Bahahaha, what a way to end.

On further thought, my progress has been... bloody fast to say the least. I actually started learning things like the Sybil in February. Its been almost half a year, and now I guess I do have something to show for it. Not much in terms of magic; I've no showmanship skill at all. But as for flourishing I probably can do a few things. Given that I almost never let go of a deck of cards when I'm at home, and that I casually practice every single thing as I go through the day, I can rack up to 4 hours worth of practice time daily.

Why did I go off on this tangent? I was really reminded of the whole thing by Huimin, who kindly tagged me recently :) And now you're probably going to go like, "wah, I inspired a wall of text!".

Yes, well, you catalysed the reaction. I don't know how come you're so sure I can impress, but I only can thank you for your confidence. :)