*                Juggling               *

Hi Sandra,

On my way to checking out the Encore music game you mentioned I noticed that you have the Chris Bliss juggling video on your music page. My son is a juggler, and he showed it to me. What is interesting, is that an expert juggler who kept having that sent to him by lots of people, did a parody of it. His point is that Bliss is only using three balls and doing what he calls "simple" tricks. In his "Bliss Diss", he uses five balls and does awesome tricks. He also occasionally lifts his leg, or shakes his head to mimic Chris Bliss. I happen to enjoy the Bliss video, and think it works because he is a showman, and timed everything so well to the music. The diss is fun too. Here is the address: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=826609692600816215

Kathy Joyce


From either of those, one can find many other videos of juggling.

It's interesting that this point originated from a page about music (the link's down below). Taking The Beatles, as an example, more isn't always better. They could have done three part harmony on everything, but they didn't. They could've used all their instruments (and more) on every song, but they didn't. Phil Spector did add his wall-of-sound effect to Let it Be, but luckily we can now own a restored version without tons of orchestral overlay.

When Paul McCartney only played two notes at a time on the guitar for Blackbird, it's not because he didn't know how to play more strings at once. It was an artistic decision.

Is a painting with 100 colors better than one with only 20?

I'm no juggler, and both were entertaining, but the Chris Bliss act is more graceful and elegant, and it was his idea! A fancier copy of an original idea isn't necessarily better.


Robyn Coburn, an unschooling mom, has written a brief biography of her father:
"My father was Elimar Clemens Buschmann, born in Cologne, Germany around 1917 or 18, one of nine brothers. He spent his working life as a juggler, and tightrope walker, later slackrope walker—juggling on a wire. I had always been told, since my childhood, that he invented the tennis racket trick in the early thirties." read more, and see the video someone sent for Robyn to see after reading about her dad on this site!


Research in Juggling History by Arthur Lewbel
great links, and some illustrations


History of Juggling Timeline

The [Online] Museum of Juggling with five short videos of great jugglers of the past

Once you get going on those, there will be links from links and you won't need this page anymore.


If you want visuals instead of just words, try Google Image Search and put in juggling. That can entertain you for the next 24 hours or so!

Music page, with the Encore game notes, that started all this.

Phil Spector's "wall of sound" Let it Be Let it Be... Naked