 |
|
 |
Last
Updated: Oct. 29, 2002
|
|
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Pentix is a web site dedicated to the art of "pen spinning".
If you have ever been into a classroom environment (and most of us have),
you have probably seen examples of pen spinning. Maybe the guy seating
next to you was twirling his pen casually between his fingers; perhaps
he was spinning his pen around his Thumb, almost defying the laws of
physics. No matter what he did, you were probably amazed and wondered
how he accomplished that. Until now, there has been little public information
on how people do these tricks. But if you are reading this page (and
I'm assuming you are), then you've come to the right place. If you ever
wanted to learn how to spin your pen or just know more about this intriguing
art, Pentix is here to help.
Pentix has been around since January, 2000, and the objective of this
page is to teach you how to spin a pen the easiest way possible. Although
this is not an easy task, I've taken every effort to make learning as
easy and enjoyable as possible. In this page, you'll read a little about
pen spinning, about Pentix, and about Kam, the creator of this site
(oh, by the way, that would be me).
Pen Spinning
 First
of all, you may still be wondering what exactly is pen spinning, right?
Simply put,
Pen spinning is a form of contact juggling that uses a small object,
like a pen or a pencil, to perform different tricks that not only sharpen
your skills, but also amaze people.
Ok, so that wasn't too helpful. Let's take a closer took at that sentence.
"...a form of contact juggling" What does that mean? First
of all, you've probably seen juggling in your life or in TV. In a very
simplified form, Juggling is basically throwing multiple objects (usually
balls, clubs, rings, etc.) into the air and catching them repeatedly.
(Note: This is a poor definition of juggling and is used for clarifying
purposes. Jugglers, please don't get mad at me, I know that juggling
is far more complex than that). Contact Juggling (CJ), on the other
hand, is almost the opposite. In CJ, you don't throw the balls out of
your hand. The ball is always in contact with your body (of course,
there may be exceptions). Check the Links
page for more information about Contact Juggling.
So, "a form of contact juggling" simply means that pen spinning
is an art (just like juggling and CJ) that requires skill from your
hands, and that it's done similar to CJ (with the object almost always
in contact with your hands).
Secondly, "...uses a small object, like a pen or a pencil, ..."
To be precise, pen spinning(PS) is most commonly done with pens or pencils,
but any stick shaped object would work. The reason for PS to use a small
object is probably obvious. PS is often done in a classroom environment
(many times, due to boredom). If large objects were used, it would call
too much attention and disturb other students (I'm not saying that using
a small object won't disturb, but you know what I mean). Not to mention
that pen spinners would be kicked out of class by the instructors too
often.
Although pens are the most suitable tools for PS in a classroom environment,
other objects may be better suited in different environments. For example,
in restaurants, pens can be substituted by forks, spoons, or knives
(though not recommended). When camping or in a natural environment,
broken tree branches can be used to spin and kill some time. Other professional
uses include baton twirling used by rock bands, or a magician's wand
spinning (some modern magicians use the same tricks as PS as flourishes
to enhance their routines). So, whatever your profession is (or if you
just like doing it for fun), Pen Spinning should be suitable for you.
back to Table of Contents
Pentix New!
Pentix is currently the name of this site; however, in the past, Pentix
was more than that. In this section, I'll write a little about the history
and the development of Pentix (at least, as well as I can remember).
Read on to find out how this site became what it is today.
Back in 1997, when I was in my second year in high school, a few of
my friends and I would spin our pens during class. I guess it started
with me, since I had been spinning pens for 4 years, and then the trend
spread among those who were also bored in class. After a while of getting
more into pen spinning, a couple of my friends and I decided to create
a pen spinning club. Of course, we couldn't decide on a name for our
pen spinning club. But then one day, one of our writing teacher saw
us all spinning our pens at the same time (I believe there were four
of us at her class). Impressed (or was it annoyed?), she asked, "What
are you guys doing? Do you guys have tics?" (tic: "local and
habitual spasmodic motion of particular muscles [...]" - the Merriam-Webster
Dictionary-). At the time, we thought the comment was so funny that
we decided to incorporate it in the name of our club. So, it became
"Pen Tics", and later, with some play with the sound of words,
it became "Pentix." It was then that Pentix was created.
Our club was very small (about half-a-dozen members), and our weekly
meeting sessions weren't that popular either. So, a month after Pentix's
creation, the club was dispersed (it didn't really close, but people
just forgot about the whole thing). One year later, I came across Hideaki's
web site. That was enough to sparkle my interest back into pen spinning.
At the time, I had no idea that so many tricks were possible with a
pen (even though I had been spinning for a long time). The few people
from Pentix that were still around also started to get back into pen
spinning (although we didn't plan to reunite the club, since it was
obviously a lost cause). Then, at the end of the same year, Eiji (one
of the original members of Pentix) started to create web sites. Seeing
that I was also very interested in the subject, he taught me a great
deal about web sites and graphics. The two of us then decided to create
a web site. to teach pen spinning (Hideaki's site had great videos,
but it didn't seem to teach the tricks). Pentix, then, became the name
for our future web site.
In January of 1999, however, I moved to the United States and the
plans for Pentix would have to be interrupted. By then, the only thing
that we had were a few descriptions and a logo. I've continued to communicate
with Eiji and we still exchanged ideas via e-mail, but as time passed,
each of us headed our own ways and Pentix started to become a one man
project. Finally, in January of 2000, the first version of Pentix was
available online (you can still visit it at www.geocities.com/kam_ykaze).
The site was dark colored and focused heavily on graphics and special
features using JavaScript (what can I say, I was a newbie). The site
was also a pain to maintain, since it was hand-coded and was available
in two languages. The second major change on the site was when I decided
to take out all the useless graphics/features and focus my attention
on actually teaching the tricks. This was circa June 2000, and the site
was now in a simple black and white design (this with hardly any graphics).
As the site evolved and I got myself a camera, I was able to shoot videos,
which were much more effective than simple illustrations.
By the end of 2001, the word about Pentix was spreading over the Internet,
and the traffic on the site was constantly exceeding the bandwidth offered
by Pentix's free hosting service (Yahoo!Geocities).
Thankfully, David from ModenStudios
heard about Pentix and was kind enough to offer me free hosting, allowing
for the survival of the site. After that, Pentix continued to grow both
in content and in popularity (even being nominated "Hot
Site of the Day" by USAToday.com).
In June 2002, the site was again redesigned. But this time, it had
a good combination of graphics as well as content. The sections of the
site were also reorganized several times throughout the updates to allow
for easier navigation. Another great feature that was added during this
update was a message board that allowed
users to communicate with one another.
Today, Pentix is still here to help you learn pen tricks that are
guaranteed to amaze your friends (or at least keep you busy for a long
time). And although the site is always a work-in-progress, I'll be updating
it with new content and new features as often as possible.
back to Table of Contents
Sorry. This page has not been completed, the rest of this document
is still under construction. Please come back soon...
|
