For Sale!!!

I realize this is off topic, but figured someone may have a use for this stuff.  I have a ton off balloon twisting items that I want to sell, and rather sell it all as one package, instead of breaking it all up.  listed below is what I have to offer.

• Pump 1 - made by T. Myers Magic, also included is the carrying strap
• Jumbo Apron, made by Twist Em Up
• Double Busking Bag, made by Twist Em Up
• Regular Size Qualatex Dual Action Hand Pump
• Small Qualatex Dual Action Hand Pump - used for blowing up the 160 size balloons
• 2 35 gallon storage totes full of balloons.  Many of the packages are open, there are sizes 160Q, 260Q, and 350Q. 
  

I do not know exactly how many balloons are in this, both the apron and busking bag are already loaded with balloons, the apron holds well over 1,000 - and tha busking bag holds roughly 800.  In the totes there is probably well over 5,000 balloons, sorted so you don't have to do that, of various colors.

I know what I paid for all of this stuff, and realize I will probably take a huge hit when it is sold, but I am willing to take any reasonable offer.  Please keep in mind, it will probably cost around $50 if not more to ship all of this.  If you are interested, please let me know!

I am also selling a bunch of magic stuff, and a Carpeted Magicians Performance Case on wheels - let me know if you are interested in this stuff and I can send a detailed list.

Full Size Vent Figure:  I am also selling a full size (roughly 40" tall) vent figure made by Steve Barry.  Ace has brown hair, slot jaw mouth, side to side self centering eyes, and raising and lowering eyebrows.  Ace was custom made for me, and I hate to part with him, but due to recent events I am forced to.

I will accept any reasonable offer for this stuff, please keep in mind the balloon twisting items I do want to sell as one package, as well as all of the magic items.  Shipping can be somewhat costly, but I will try to find the lowest price for that.  I will accept paypal for payment only.  If you are interested in anything, or have any questions please contact me at:   sjwonder@gmail.com

Review Schedule...

I have a ton of items sitting here at the house that I need to review and post here.  But as I returned to school full time at the begining of the month, I do not have as much time as I had previously.  I will attempt to post new reviews on Sundays, after I have all of my homework for the week completed (there is some waiting for me as I type this).  Hopefully this will work for me and everyone else!  Thanks for reading!

CD Course: Jimmy Nelson's Instant Ventriloquism and Ventriloquism 2

I have read somewhere before, that Jeff Dunham had learned ventriloquism from the original LP of Jimmy Nelson's Instant Ventriloquism, and Ventriloquism For the Beginner.  So I thought it would be kind of neat to check this one out.  I figured this would be full of outdated techniques, and a lot of corny monologue between vent and puppet.  I can say, mark it on your calendar, I was wrong.  One thing I noticed is that the techniques never really go out of date, different people may do them different ways, but the information, and concept of how to do it stays the same.  This two CD set was full of useful information for the beginning vent, and actually was quite entertaining.  A booklet also accompanies the CD's and contains the scripts to a few of the tracks, so you can practice your ventriloquism along with the CD.  When this set was originally released on the old LP version it was probably the best course available, and now that it has been re-released on CD it is in my opinion still one of the best.  On a scale of one to five I rate this course a 5!!

DVD: Xtreme BeginnerZ - The World's Foremost Experts Teach The Art if Xtreme Card Manipulation Volume 1 & 2

I have always liked doing card magic, and a few weeks ago I happened upon the Ellusionist website.  Primarily they handle all sorts of card magic, and videos and needed supplies.  I saw this set of DVD's and although you have to purchase volume one and two seperately I figured it would be worth it - seeing the pro's do all those fancy moves made me drool with anticipation.  When I recieved it yesterday in the mail, everything was well packaged, and then I opened it, I couldn't wait!!  I popped in the first DVD of volume one, and began to work on the first basic move - The Charlier Cut.  I have been working on just that one move for two days now, to the point that my fingers and hand cramps up!  I am starting to get it, possibly by the end of next week I will be able to do it with the ease and speed they show in the video.  It is a very thorough course, but don't assume anything, this stuff isn't easy, and will take tons of practice, and dedication!  Thinking about it now, maybe I should have just ordered volume one, and waited on the second, as I might be working on this for a while!!  All in all it's a great product.  On a scale of one to five, I rate this course a 5!!

DVD: Bill DeMar, Master Of Sight and SOund 2--7 Vent Haven CpnVENTion Manipulation Workshop

I ordered this DVD from the Ventriloquism 101 website.  I figured I could probably glean a few ideas from it, about how to better manipulate my figure while performing.  Not only did I walk away knowing more about puppet manipulation, I also gained insightful information about manipulating yourself, along with the audience.  Bill covers other topics in this as well - such as tips for proper lighting, and sound equipment.  If you are one of those vents whose figure never moves durring a performance (you know who you are!), get this DVD, and I pray you learn something!  If not for me, then do it for Bill, cause that just aggrivate the living daylights out of him!!  On a scale of one to five I rate this DVD a 5!!

First Magicians Review! Wizard PK Ring

Well here is the first of hopefully many magician's product reviews - if this is welcomed by my readers, then there will be more, but as stated in an earlier post the main subject is ventriloquist products, we're just adding some other options to keep things interesting (hopefully).

I have had several different PK Rings throughout my magical career, but I don't think I have had one as nice as this.  For those of you who aren't familiar with PK Rings, these are ingenious rings (like jewelry type) that can make close-up magic a breeze, requiring no slight of hand as the ring does all of the work!  I won't go into specifics as I don't want to totally give away the secret behind this little tool, but I can tell you it's rugged (although they can break - the company will replace it for a nominal fee if it happens) and they loo authentic.  I have had some in the past that have broken when using them, and I wasn't being rough with it, and I have had others that have turned my finger green and made it itch.  I have not experienced any of that yet with the Wizard brand, and I have been wearing it for a week straight, at school and during all of my other daily chores.  I tend to do more magic for adults such as at bars and clubs, and this ring makes for great impromptu illusions.  If you are into close up magic or street magic I highly recomend this product for you!  On a scale of one to five, I rate this product a 5!!

Course: Ventriloquism 101 - By Lee Cornell (DVD)

Well I fianally got arround to ordering and reviewing this course, and I must say I am sorry I didn't do it sooner!  This program is VERY well put together, and was designed with your success in mind.  All you have to do is follow the directions and tips, and of course PRACTICE!  As with anything, if you can't practice or just refuse to, then you're just wasting your time and money.  Lee covers all the bases in this DVD, and it also comes with a quick start CD, which you listen to first before you watch the DVD, the CD gives you some info about the actual course, but mainly I felt it was a "pep talk" before delving into the meat and potatoes of the program.  This course also has other bonuses included, "Destroying Stage Fright" - this is self explainatory, "How to get a Million Dollars worth of Advertising Free" and "Working for a laugh"  all included so when you are ready to start doing your shows, you are armed with a ton of information.  After going through the program a few times I found that I actually learned a few things as well!! The only way this program can get better, is to add the Maher Course in Ventriloquism to it - oh wait!  Lee Offers that as well!!  I can honestly say, that if you follow everything in this program, and practice, you WILL be a ventriloquist in 30 days!  On a scale of one to five, I give this product a 5!!

Reviewing other stuff?

When I started this blog, I did it mainly to promote products related to ventriloquism.  But after receiving numerous emails from some of my regular readers, I decided to give it a go.  Don't get me wrong, we will still be reviewing vent related product, and NO we will not be doing reviews for kitchen appliances!  Many vents today are multi talented, myself being one of them, usually they do magic, clowning, and maybe balloon twisting.  In the coming weeks, along with the regular vent product reviews, we will be checking out some magic, and balloon twisting merchandise as well.  We will see how well this is received,  if everyone is happy, then we will continue to delve into the various products stated above.  If not, well, then we will continue without the aforementioned types of products, and just chalk it up to experience!  We will always continue to review vent products, as that was our main goal from the begining - we're just gonna add some vegetable into the pot with the beef!!  Thanks for reading!!

Next Items to be reviewed!

Ok as promised I will be reviewing a few items and post my opinions about them here.  I have on the way to me "Ventriloquism 101" course for vents, "Acting with an Accent American Southern Book and CD" and "Acting with an Accent New York City Book and CD"  I should have these items within the next week or so, I will take them for a spin, and then contemplate the results.  I have heard wonderful things about the Ventriloquism 101 course, and am really excited about having the chance to try it out and review it.  You never know, I might actually learn something from it that I didn't know before.

Now that we are in a new year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of my loyal readers for coming back and checking out all of the products I have listed here, and for checking out the retailers that carry the products!  I do not make a dime with this review site, I simply do it for the joy of promoting the art of ventriloquism, and the fun of getting to check out all of the products available to vents of all levels!

As some of you may already know, my partner Rupert and I recently started back at school.  We were planning on attending the Vent Haven ConVENTion in July, but after all of the expenses we incurred with school, we simply cannot afford it.  I would have loved to attend and actually get to meet many of the people whose products I have reviewed here, but after reviewing our current financial state, it cannot be done.  For those of you who will be attending please let us know how it was, and send us lots of pictures!  I am hoping that the state of our finances are in better condition to attend the ConVENTion in 2011!

Thanks for reading!!

2010 Reviews

Once the new year hits, I will have some cash available to purchase new items to review here on Vent product review.  If you know of or have a product for vents that you would like to see reviewed here, please let me know!  I do plan on comparing the various vent courses that are available, and hopefully will be able to have those completed, and the results posted by the end of January.  Thanks to all of you who have made my little blog so popular all over the world!  Keep stopping by for new product reviews!

Also, if you haven't already done so - follow us here on blogger!!  There have been a ton of regular readers, but only two are following us!  (Thanks to our two current followers!)

New Ventriloquist Network!

Just thought I would post about a new network designed for vents.  It's called Vent Universe and you can visit it by clicking here.  It  was designed by vents for vents, and hopefully we can get members from all over the globe to join.  At this site you can post pictures, videos, music and also chat with other vents!  This should be something to check out!!  Hope to see everyone there!

Book: Lines For All Occasions Insults and Comebacks

We were out and about today, and stopped into a little shop on State Street, where I found this little goldmine.  It was only $7.95, and figure I might be able to use some of the material contained within its pages in some of my scripts I have been working on.  Although it isn't a very big book - it will actually fit nicely in your pocket - it contains112 pages with hundreds of possible insults to use in your acts.  Most of the lines have a tendancy to be on the extremely rude or raw side, but depending on the character you are using they could work nicely (I am using them mainly for Cody).  I never knew such a publication existed and am glad I happened upon it.  On a scale of one to five I rate this book a 5!!

To purchase this book click here

Book: The Foam Book: An Easy Guide to Building Polyfoam Puppets by Drew Allison & Donald Devet

his book is AWESOME!  I did not want to sound like a kid, but that is the only way I could explain my feelings about it.  I ordered this book figuring I would just read through it quickly, and then post my review.  The day I recieved it, I started reading through it, and then decided to make a trip to my local craft store to buy some supplies.  I had not planned on making a puppet - but I have begun the process.  This book will give you all of the information you will need to begin creating your own puppets, with clear, easy to understand instructions, drawings, and photographs.  What it does not give you are full size patterns, rather they encourage you to use your own creativity to make your own.  It says this book can be used by beginers, and although this is true, you must have patience, as I had to create several head patterns, jaw paterns and noses before I got what I wanted.  I have posted photos of what I have finished thus far below.  On a scale of one to five, I rate this book a 5!!

To purchase this book click here

Book: How To Vent Your Expressions, By Cliff Taylor

I realize that I said I would review a different title this post, but I haven't been able to read it yet, as I haven't recieved it in the mail yet!  Hopefully it arrives within the next few days.  In the mean time, I still have quite a few other titles in my collection to post reviews for.  Todays reviewed book should be in every new vents collection.  This isn't the type of book that you would just read straight though.  When writing your scripts, keep this book handy, as it will help you to know how you or your figure should act for hundreds of feelings!  Most think that feelings are as simple as happy, sad, and angry.  This book proves that myth wrong!!  It also covers animations you should use with your figure for the feelings as well.  Until I went through this book, I didn't even think about many of the things that are covered, and it has also helped me write more effective scipts.  Not only are the scripts more effective, but so are the routines when being performed, yes you can convey the feelings via words, and tone of voice etc, but when "body language" is used it makes it more realistic, and gives the illusion that your figure or puppet is alive.  On a scale of one to five, I give this book a 5!!

To order this book click here

Next up for review....

Within the next week I should be recieving a copy of a book called:  The Foam Book: An Easy Guide to Building Polyfoam Puppets,  I will attempt to speed read this and post my thoughts shortly thereafter.  I am kind of excited about this one, as I had ordered another book previously, and that one was not what I had thought (I have posted a review on that title already).  This one also has an accompanying DVD, though I did not opt to purchase it at this time, I may do so in the future.  Thanks for reading, and check back often for new reviews and updates!