UPSB v3
General Discussion / Anyone here in Canada...
Listen to me on the Radio!
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Date: Wed, Mar 5 2008 21:42:05
http://www.cbc.ca/listen/index.html
Go there and locate your region at 6:30 EST and listen to me talk about pen spinning! Thanks to Alex for the reference!
If you guys live in southern ontario, you can tune in and hear me right on the radio at 99.1 CBC radio one, at 6:30.
I'll have the recording by the end of the day
I was pretty nervous, even if it was just on the radio.
Enjoy! (or will enjoy)
EDIT: dl link http://www.mediafire.com/?dldordvsrm2 -
Date: Wed, Mar 5 2008 22:08:17
hm on the radio? will the recording be up for dl?
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Date: Wed, Mar 5 2008 22:20:28
i don't hav a radio.....i'm in toronto
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Date: Wed, Mar 5 2008 23:41:28
wow lol that was fast, didnt crash ask you only yesterday night??
so you had to go to their studio or something? -
Date: Wed, Mar 5 2008 23:52:08
yea it is fast lol
they just called me, it was really casual...
Sorry it isnt on yet, there are a lot of other random stories. I hope it doesn't take too long...it can be up to like 7 something since the show ends at 8... D; -
Date: Wed, Mar 5 2008 23:59:24
is it supposed to be some news right now?
IT"S ON RIGHT NOW:) -
Date: Thu, Mar 6 2008 01:10:37
its over, haha. sorry if i said anything thatw as wrong...I was pretty nervous, even if it wasn't live.
I'll post the clip up in a minute..
edit: http://www.mediafire.com/?dldordvsrm2
Wow.. i said some really random stuff..
I didn't what to say for the WT07 prize.. The pen around the world i knew was suppoes to be a prize, but i don't even think that got done..
Sorry for making such a big deal out of bust 1.5, i was low on ideas
i know i'm not creative, i just didn't know what to say when she asked what i was planning
I havent listened to it myself yet, i may have made more annoying mistakes..
sorry they made me sound like the best pser in the world..
let the flaming begin D: -
Date: Thu, Mar 6 2008 03:49:34
Hahaha, it's obvious you were nervous. Well, next time, just pause for maybe a second or two to gather your thoughts. You do the "right?" thing too. XD
Interesting piece. I don't know if the women's accent was Canadian, but I could tell there was an accent. -
Date: Thu, Mar 6 2008 05:27:12
i wish i had public speaking skills like that. btw, you have a cool voice lol.
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Date: Thu, Mar 6 2008 05:50:45
I caught the last minute or so of it saying something about your youtube account :> but o well theres the clip ^^
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Date: Thu, Mar 6 2008 14:02:07
i think you did a good job considering they asked for it just the day before, so it's pretty much improvised.
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Date: Thu, Mar 6 2008 19:15:40
you have a sexy voice .... @____@ IM JOKING hahaha nice interview there, wow how did these ppl find you and come in contact with you?? cant wait to see your vid
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Date: Thu, Mar 6 2008 19:42:30
Yeah, much of it was improvised.. I really had no idea they would ask me about ideas for a combo. Seems like such a far out question o_o
Everything was really rushed. Alex gave the lady my email on tuesday, and i recieved an email from her the follwing morning (it was a snowday)
On that same day, after replying to her, she immediately calls me (about 2-3minutes after I emailed her back) and we chatted for a little bit.
She told me i was going to be on the radio at 6:30 and interview was set for 4:30. She did asked me some questions to make sure i was not a fraud, but other then that, i really had no preparation or idea of what they would be asking me.
After the interview, the lady just hung up. No follow up information or anything, so everything was pretty cool and informal. -
Date: Thu, Mar 6 2008 20:50:10
Live or not, you only get one chance. Just something to remember next time you or someone else gets to talk on a radio or TV show.
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Date: Fri, Mar 7 2008 04:50:00
Not bad, but you sounded really nervous. And you should have dropped the link to UPSB! Good looking for the Maple Leaf though. Good job.
Transcript
Note: accuracy not guaranteed.
Participants: Host (H); Interviewer (I); Toast (T)
H: For all you procrastinators out there, listen up: we’ve got the ultimate solution – one that will help you put off whatever you’re putting off while simultaneously training for an international competition. It’s pen spinning. Yeah, pen spinning is the new quilting or gardening or puttering or whatever it is you do to spend your time. It requires agility, focus, and determination and when you get really, really good at it you can participate in the Pen Spinning World Cup. Yeah! It’s the world cup for pen spinners! Michael Yang has qualified for one of the teams at this year’s competition and he’s just a prodigy – he just is, because he’s currently in grade 10 in Mississauga, Ontario.
I: Hello, Michael Yang.
T: Hello.
I: How are you?
T: I’m good.
I: Are you spinning a pen right now?
T: Heh, you guessed it!
I: (laughs) You are!
T: Yeah, it’s just something I do when I’m bored.
I: Now, everyone fidgets with pens – and I’m fidgeting with a pen right now – but, I mean, not many people go into the “pen spinning business.†What made you go pro?
T: Well, I guess it’s just curiosity. You just have to have the interest. Once I saw my first video I just thought it was just so cool and I thought it was just impossible. But, of course, at the same time it also seemed so easy because all you needed was a pen, right? So then, that actually enticed me – I wanted to continue, I wanted to extend from it, and then it was easier than I thought it was; the pacing is really good. So then, seeing myself get better encouraged me and I eventually just kept going.
I: Were you surprised to find there was such a widespread culture of pen spinning?
T: Well, it wasn’t always like this. Back, two years ago, when I first started, the community was very small and it was dying. There was definitely an international community and I was surprised at that, but even at that time, the community was relatively small. Videos were being released very little and there weren’t any tournaments or anything of that sort. So yeah.
I: Now, your nickname is “Toast.â€
T: Uh, yep.
I: (laughs) Why did you come up with that nickname?
T: A while ago, when I was going to sign on to the forum, I thought about an alias, or I wanted a cool alias. And I looked at these other videos of pen spinners and I see their names: they’re like “DK Gamer†or “Dark Archerâ€. I’m like “Whoa, those names are cool!†So I kept thinking of like a cool name that would look cool in a video, right? So then, I don’t know how I came up with “Toast†but I just thought “Toast†would look good. I kind of regret it now, but the name stuck, so yeah.
I: Why do you regret it?
T: I don’t know. It seems a bit childish. “Toast†… yeah.
I: So, now, tell me about the World Cup. Is there a big convention of all the pen spinners that are going to come together?
T: I wish there was a convention. But a convention would just simply be too expensive because there’s just so many people around the world that would have to travel and basically you’re just travelling so far just to meet up with a couple of guys and spin pens. That’s just impossible, right? So then, what we actually do is we host the tournaments online. We have judges from basically [every] country, or forum, [or] community and we judge the videos and then we have awards and stuff. We have tournaments and try to find out who’s the best or who’s the best [competitor].
I: Are you on a team?
T: I’m not actually in like, a Canadian team. I’m not in a USA [or] North American team. I’m actually in the English-speaking team because there’s so little English-speaking pen spinners that we actually have to form the English-spinning team, which means we have a team member from like, the Netherlands. So yeah.
I: But what’s language got to do with it? Pen spinning doesn’t require you to speak, does it?
T: Well, uh, when we’re posting - when the community is posting and interacting with each other – that’s when language becomes really important, and that’s how pen spinners are basically divided.
I: So you have to submit a video then?
T: Yep.
I: Have you made it?
T: Well, I actually – we like, rotate, right? So I was sitting out the first round but I have to submit for next round, and my video is actually due, I believe, on Monday. So, I haven’t actually started it yet but I’m already thinking of something to do.
I: I’ve watched some of the videos. They’re quite amazing, what people can do with a pen. Are there special moves you want to do – a special routine you want to do – with your pen?
T: For this video, yeah. [x2] I’m actually going to do something that you rarely see. You seldom see it because these days a lot of people are using generic tricks because they look really cool, right? I kind of want to expand from that and try to do something new. I’m planning to expand from a normal trick. There’s a kind of trick called like, a bust, right? I actually want to do a bust 1.5, and that’s kind of like a bust with an extra [half] spin. And this may just all sound like gibberish to you, but yeah, basically I just want to do something different.
I: (laughs) So, do all these maneuvers have names?
T: Yep. Can’t really answer who came up with these names, but, for the most part, all these names have good reasons for them. For example, a thumbaround is a trick that makes then pen go around the thumb, right? And then, sonic is this trick that’s really fast; that’s why it’s called the sonic, because it looks really fast, and Sonic is fast.
I: Are there some pens that are better to spin than others?
T: Uh, yep. Yeah. Do you know the Pentel R.S.V.P.?
I: I probably do but I just never made note of it.
T: (laughs) Yeah, we actually like pens with thick barrels. So Pentel R.S.V.P., for example, has a good thick barrel, and markers usually have thick barrels, so we usually end up spinning those.
I: What do you win? If you win the World Cup, do you get a cup?
T: The thing is, we can’t do money because there are just so many currencies in the world and plus nobody wants to contribute enough to make a desirable prize, right? So what the prizes usually are, are something that would appeal to pen spinners. For example, I believe last year’s prize was a pen with a signature of famous pen spinners around the world. This might not appeal to an average person at all [but] this would mean a lot to a pen spinner. Like, to have these signatures [of] people they look up [to] all around the world … yeah, it just means something. But, I’m not sure about the prize this time.
I: Alright, Michael. Look, good luck to you, Toast,
T: Thank you.
I: and, we’ll be watching!
T: Alright!
I: Take care.
T: Take care.
I: Bye.
T: Bye.
H: He’s in grade 10 in Mississauga, Ontario. He’s a champion pen spinner and he’s Michael “Toast†Yang. Now look, if you’ve been spinning and spinning and you just can’t do it, check him out. Yes, young master Yang in action on the Web at youtube.com/toastps. It’s time well spun. -
Date: Fri, Mar 7 2008 06:21:00
toast!!!!
winnner!!!!!!!!!!
AHH!!
i can't believe how ballin you are right now -
Date: Fri, Mar 7 2008 19:46:53
Thanks for the transcript, firebird.
I did mention UPSB but for some reason they cut it off. After continually saying english community, i realized that I needed to mention the actual name, so i kind of said it out of context, in kind of a "by the way" comment for another question. I guess they found it unnecessary and cropped it out. Sorry.
If I ever get coverage on my ps again, i'll be sure to highlight UPSB.
thanks for the support guys -
Date: Fri, Mar 7 2008 21:26:19
You don't really sound nervous, just kind of hyper/excited
Nice job. -
Date: Sat, Mar 8 2008 00:16:44QUOTE (Retro-spectre @ Mar 7 2008, 04:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>You don't really sound nervous, just kind of hyper/excited
Nice job.
i second that -
Date: Sat, Mar 8 2008 00:59:41
tialys is firebird??
but uhh
aWESOME that's cool
maybe there should be someone who phones here lol i wanna try that but
..
ehh no time lol -
Date: Sat, Mar 8 2008 20:21:06
Fingerless needs to include this interview + transcript in their next mag fasho, since this thread is likely to only attract Canadians. I didn't realize CBC cut parts of the interview out. The ladies sounded like they were trying to suppress their laughter after saying "bye" at the end hehe. The PS segment was placed favourably for us spinners, in between cocaine-ridden seagulls and reminiscent butterflies, both stories I'd quite frankly pass on.
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Date: Sun, Mar 9 2008 01:45:04
^ohahaha I wish..
My story was not played until like 7:30ish, after about an hour of other stories. I felt really bad because i had like 7 of my friends just sitting there, listening to all these random stories for almost an hour before my story came up. my friends became skeptical and began thinking this was all a joke. However, it was funny seeing the reactions of my friends when my story started.
Ever seen 5 people message you frantically at the exact same time?