When I am riding a unicycle, I get more comments than I care to hear. Most
of them are either innocuous or positive, and on the Coker, the 50:1 ratio
of good to bad comments that Andy finds seems about right. But on any
smaller wheel non-giraffe, I get plenty of annoying comments, too.
Like Andy, I can attest that the bigger wheel gets more + feedback. I ride
a Coker far more than anything else these days, and most of the comments
are along the lines of ‘Wow, that must be hard’ or a simple thumbs up. I
can’t think of even two incidents of bad comments while riding my Coker,
tho I get plenty of people singing the circus music song, which I find
irritating and pathetic. When I ride any smaller uni, I get bad comments
pretty often, tho far outweighed by the positive ones. On a giraffe, I get
nothing but praise, tho I never ride that one anywhere but in the park
where our club meets.
The thing that gets only positive comments, tho, is when I ride while
pushing the stroller with my kids. Then I get lots of startled looks and
thumbs up and nice words, but no one has ever said anything mean. I don’t
even get that stupid circus music – probably bc no one in the circus
pushes a stroller on a uni.
David Stone
Co-founder, Unatics of NY
1st Sunday / 3rd Saturday
@ Central Park Bandshell
“David Stone” <dstone@packer.edu> wrote in message news:mailman.1005756617.22689.rsu@unicycling.org… > tho I get plenty of people singing the circus music song, which I find > irritating and pathetic.
You must mean:
Entry Of The Gladiators (Thunder and Blazes) by Julius Fucik (1872-1916)
written in 1897
When I hear it (always rendered badly), I think of the title and smile:
partly at their ignorance; partly at the unintended tribute.
I think the thumbs up was the best comment I’ve ever gotten. I was riding
the coker home, and this biker type passed me on his motorcycle. As he
passed, he gave the most dignified thumbs up I’ve ever received.
> ride a Coker far more than anything else these days, and most of the > comments are along the lines of ‘Wow, that must be hard’ or a simple > thumbs up. I can’t think of even two incidents of bad comments while
No matter where you go there’s always that one guy who thinks he’s clever
and is saying something for the first time. Whether it is “Hey, where’s
your other wheel?” or The Entry of the Gladiators. I say don’t get
irritated. Only allow the things you want to effect your life. We’ve all
had positive and negative experiences. I’ve gone over to where there are
skaters and hung out with them and made some new friends while on my uni.
I’ve also been screamed at by a few people that went way beyond what I
thought anybody would say. I don’t really think that the people are
jealous. Most of the time I think that they think they’re being funny. Who
knows they might be insecure about themselves, they may just be a really
pissed off person who takes it out on others. All I know is respect is
something that is earned not demanded (being a tattletale doesn’t help
this) and until they actually get on a uni and try it they’ll never know.
Some people won’t because due to they’re insecurities and don’t want to be
thought of as “gay” or whatever, but I have yet to meet someone who has
tried it and still continued to be disrespectful. So maybe if you get a
chance, like if the person isn’t driving by, ride over, get off, extend
the uni towards them and ask if they would like to try. When I have done
this a lot of times the person is curious and will actually try it, when
they find out how much it really takes just to ride they have a new
attitude. I don’t think I’m am better than anyone, no matter what they
ride (yes even the razor scooters, I wouldn’t ride one, but I’ve seen some
people do some crazy stuff on them) or how many wheels they’re on, I just
go out and have fun with what I enjoy doing.
Brian Hafdahl “We must BE the change we wish to see in the world” -Gandhi
Arnold the Aardvark wrote: > You must mean: > > Entry Of The Gladiators (Thunder and Blazes) by Julius Fucik > (1872-1916) written in 1897
I was taught at school that the piece of music associated with circus was
called “The Entertainer”. When John Foss agreed that “YES, that’s it”, I
started wondering if the music associated with circuses is different on
opposite sides of the Atlantic (I hadn’t twigged then that the info was
originally posted by someone here in the UK). So I searched WWW, found the
music, and sure enough Entry of the Gladiators did seem to be the piece
I associate with circus.
Anyway, the point of posting is that if anyone really wants a midi file of
it, you’ll find one at http://www.laurasmidiheaven.com/KidsFun.shtml . I
shan’t be listening to it again - I’ve always hated that particular piece
of music, even before I learnt to juggle or ride a yike.
Then I searched for The Entertainer, and found that that’s also a piece of
music that I associate with the circus (even more so than Entry of the
Gladiators, and I hate it just as much). Anyway, I found that at http://www.shawneeheartland.com/theentertainer.html
> don’t think I’m am better than anyone, no matter what they ride (yes > even the razor scooters, I wouldn’t ride one, but I’ve seen some people > do some crazy stuff on them) or how many wheels they’re on, I just go > out and have fun with what I enjoy doing.
Personally, I’d go so far as to say that unicycling has given me a new
respect for other skills as well. I’d never tried skateboarding,
rollerblading, trials, mountain bike riding, etc, etc., and before I
started unicycling, I’d never cared one bit. Since I’ve been riding a
unicycle, I am much more likley to pay attention to, and respect people
who can do something skillful on any conveyance.
> You must mean: > > Entry Of The Gladiators (Thunder and Blazes) by Julius Fucik > (1872-1916) written in 1897
YES!!!
THAT is the annoying song that every New Yorker (and most other people)
has in the back of their mind, ready to be played at any moment when they
see a unicycle. Sometimes other tunes come out, but ‘Gladiators’ is by far
the #1 choice.
Thanks for the detailed info about the song. I knew the title, but
not the rest!
This is the best message on this subject I have seen yet.
Lowell
----- Original Message ----- From: UniStupid <unistupid@aol.com> > No matter where you go there’s always that one guy who thinks he’s > clever and is saying something for the first time. Whether it is "Hey, > where’s your other wheel?" or The Entry of the Gladiators. I say don’t > get irritated. Only allow the things you want to effect your life. We’ve > all had positive and negative experiences. I’ve gone over to where there > are skaters and hung out with them and made some new friends while on my > uni. I’ve also been screamed at by a few people that went way beyond > what I thought anybody would say. I don’t really think that the people > are jealous. Most of the time I think that they think they’re being > funny. Who knows they might be insecure about themselves, they may just > be a really pissed off person who takes it out on others. All I know is > respect is something that is earned not demanded (being a tattletale > doesn’t help this) and until they actually get on a uni and try it > they’ll never know. Some people won’t because due to they’re > insecurities and don’t want to be thought of as “gay” or whatever, but I > have yet to meet someone who has tried it and still continued to be > disrespectful. So maybe if you get a chance, like if the person isn’t > driving by, ride over, get off, extend the uni towards them and ask if > they would like to try. When I have done this a lot of times the person > is curious and will actually try it, when they find out how much it > really takes just to ride they have a new attitude. I don’t think I’m am > better than anyone, no matter what they ride (yes even the razor > scooters, I wouldn’t ride one, but I’ve seen some people do some crazy > stuff on them) or how many wheels they’re on, I just go out and have fun > with what I enjoy doing. > > Brian Hafdahl “We must BE the change we wish to see in the world” > -Gandhi > ___________________________________________________________________- > ________ > rec.sport.unicycling mailing list - > www.unicycling.org/mailman/listinfo/rsu
I used to be drum major of a marching band at school and we played this
piece a lot. Asd you can imagine, it was hard not to smile when
marching.Sadly I wasn’t allowed to lead the band on a unicycle, but
there’s a concept - an entire unicycling marching band!
My other favourite was Liberty bell (Sousa I think) which is used in
Vegemite commercials in Australia.
nic > > You must mean: > > Entry Of The Gladiators (Thunder and Blazes) by Julius Fucik > (1872-1916) written in 1897 > > When I hear it (always rendered badly), I think of the title and smile: > partly at their ignorance; partly at the unintended tribute. > > > Arnold the Aardvark > > > ___________________________________________________________________- > ________ > rec.sport.unicycling mailing list - > www.unicycling.org/mailman/listinfo/rsu
Ha! Today when a man stopped his truck on the highway, got out and asked
me: “Where’s your other wheel?” I said, with a sincere look on my face:
“Hey are you a member of mensa?” I waited a few moments but the man just
stared at me, looking confused “I didn’t think so.” And I rode off! Very,
Very, funny! He probably didn’t have any idea what I was taling about!
)—(x) Dylan Wallinger Keep Riding http://www.extremeunicycling-bcmat.cityslide.com
> I’d never tried skateboarding, rollerblading, trials, mountain bike > riding, etc, etc., and before I started unicycling, I’d never cared one > bit. Since I’ve been riding a unicycle, I am much more likley to pay > attention to, and respect people
who > can do something skillful on any conveyance.
I sometimes use these skills as comparative examples when asked how hard
unicycling is by kids (who can usually do some or all of them). This seems
to bring unicycling closer to something they understand and accept, which
must be a good thing.
“Dylan Wallinger” <extremeunicycler@aol.com> failed to impress me with his
cleverness by saying: > I said, with a sincere look on my face: "Hey are you a member of > mensa?"
I > waited a few moments but the man just stared at me, looking confused "I
didn’t > think so." And I rode off! Very, Very, funny! He probably didn’t > have any
idea > what I was taling about!
Insulting people in this unhumorous and superior way makes you look stupid
and immature. Would you have been so smug if the bloke had (laudably IMO)
punched the crap out of you. Unlikely.
I was in a music-annex-circus camp this summer, and we played Entry of the
Gladiators as a theme music ad nauseam. But if you play it yourself it is
a lot less boring. (I played the snare drum and my pleasure was to make it
sound as triumphant as possible.) I am in the Netherlands, which for those
not in the know is on the East side of the Atlantic. I know the piece The
Entertainer (Scott Joplin) and while it is “circusy” if one starts
thinking about it, I have never associated it with circus.
BTW, I plan to have photos of the circus-music week up on http://www.xs4all.nl/~klaasbil/index.htm within a few days. Apart from a
few nondescript pics of the unicycling workshop I gave, they would be
off-topic for you people. I may include a picture of me playing the
snaredrum in Entry of the Gladiators, though (in clowns outfit, sorry if
that hurts!).
>Arnold the Aardvark wrote: >> You must mean: >> >> Entry Of The Gladiators (Thunder and Blazes) by Julius Fucik >> (1872-1916) written in 1897 > >I was taught at school that the piece of music associated with circus was >called “The Entertainer”. When John Foss agreed that “YES, that’s it”, I >started wondering if the music associated with circuses is different on >opposite sides of the Atlantic (I hadn’t twigged then that the info was >originally posted by someone here in the UK). So I searched WWW, found >the music, and sure enough Entry of the Gladiators did seem to be the >piece I associate with circus.
–
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked
automagically from a database:” “Oklahoma City, war, killed”
> My other favourite was Liberty bell (Sousa I think) which is used in > Vegemite commercials in Australia. > > nic
The Vegemite Theme* is actually a different piece of music (although
it is similar sounding, it is not Liberty Bell). Just for the sake
of accuracy.
Back to Entry Of The Gladiators, it is a great piece of music, really.
(From someone who has played plenty of Sosua marches, and this one famous
Fucik march, many times).
I think I would try to take it as a compliment, someone singing Entry Of
The Gladiators to/at me.
By which I’m assuming you mean the one that has the words “We’re happy
little vegemites…” etc.,
Interesting- Personally I thought this was one of the better comebacks
I’ve heard recently.
-Kris
— Arnold the Aardvark <aardvark@NOTTHIStubulidentata.demon.co.uk> wrote: > “Dylan Wallinger” <extremeunicycler@aol.com> failed to impress me with > his cleverness by saying: > > I said, with a sincere look on my face: "Hey are you a member of > > mensa?" > I > > waited a few moments but the man just stared at me, looking > > confused "I > didn’t > > think so." And I rode off! Very, Very, funny! He probably didn’t > > have any > idea > > what I was taling about! > > Insulting people in this unhumorous and superior way makes you look > stupid and immature. Would you have been so smug if the bloke had > (laudably IMO) punched the crap out of you. Unlikely. > > You don’t earn respect by being a tit in public. > > > Arnold the Aardvark > > > ___________________________________________________________________- > ________ > rec.sport.unicycling mailing list - > www.unicycling.org/mailman/listinfo/rsu
Klaas Bil wrote: > > I was in a music-annex-circus camp this summer, and we played Entry of > the Gladiators as a theme music ad nauseam. But if you play it yourself > it is a lot less boring.
Okay, I just can’t listen to EotG and think of Gladiators. I can only
think of clowns… or gladiators in clown suits holding rubber gladii.
(sp?) Or is that gladiuses? Anyway… it just ain’t macho! And now these
imaginary gladiator/clowns are on unicycles! (not that unicycling itself
ain’t macho)
Christopher
“Be Bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.” -Basil King (Anyone who
can give me more info on THIS Basil King please email
me.)
Well, perhaps some will think I over-reacted to Dylan’s comment. But one
should always remember that the non-rider believes he is making a joke and
does not realise that you have heard it twenty billion times already. It
is best to try not to offend in this situation.
Dylan clearly couched his quip in a way designed to humiliate the trucker.
People who know me know that I am not exactly unassumingly soft-spoken
myself, but I would have been embarrassed to be riding with him that day.
On the other hand, if the non-rider is dumb enough the physically abuse
you, he deserves whatever you dish out.
I totally agree. Urban unicycle trials often brings you to the same
locations that skateboarders ride at, and most seem to understand when I
tell them its just a session sport, just like skateboarding.
I think that watching groups of kids out there repeatedly trying
impossible looking tricks on a skateboard is the biggest example of how
unicycling could get a lot bigger as the mainstream public changes their
attitude towards the sport.
-Kris — Arnold the Aardvark
<aardvark@NOTTHIStubulidentata.demon.co.uk> wrote: > > I’d never tried skateboarding, rollerblading, trials, mountain bike > > riding, etc, etc., and before I started unicycling, I’d never cared > > one bit. Since I’ve been riding a unicycle, I am much more likley to > > pay attention to, and respect people > who > > can do something skillful on any conveyance. > > I sometimes use these skills as comparative examples when asked how hard > unicycling is by kids (who can usually do some or all of them). This > seems to bring unicycling closer to something they understand and > accept, which must be a good thing. > > > Arnold the Aardvark > > > > ___________________________________________________________________- > ________ > rec.sport.unicycling mailing list - > www.unicycling.org/mailman/listinfo/rsu
Unicyclists have a bad rap. We all know this. It is due to those damn circus clowns. We all seem to get a mixture of comments, of which I am fortunate to recieve 90% positive ones. How we must rid people of this is first off time. They need time to accept this as something that normal people do, and can do. After all, unicycling not being accepted by a lot of people, is due to society and its ways. See, as all of us know, society forces into the minds of all what it thinks is a value of cool. Obviously we fall short of that, because of the circus crap.
But I found that being out there in public, not caring of what people have to say about it, except the good, showing people pictures of mountain/trials riding, letting people watch video, and to the most part letting them try to ride, and making sure they know that anyone can ride
This has brought on a good rap for me, and I have recieved respect from hundreds, and all of my friends think it is the coolest thing in the world and they either, aggressive rollerblade, skateboard, or BMX.
Once a few people and me get to the right age, (I noticed a lot of us are around 13-5 years of age, so it’s not like we have jobs, and are available for publicity 24/7), but I hope we can all get together some day and do a kick ass video for the public to see, and convince them this is a real sport, that we take seriously, and we can guide them on how to get started. Then I think it’s image would be almost fully restored.