My Illusions

As much as I love ventriloquism, I have to confess that I also love magic. Party hosting and Magic has been a very big part of my act and the ff are my featured illusions.

Compressher at Corinthians' with my lovely wife, Debbie.

Broom Suspension at Shangri-La Plaza Mall

Chair Suspension at Palms

Modern Art at Rockwell

Gonzo and Cooku

I tried doing a Kevin Johnson thing :) You know, the thing with two puppets at the same time. It was fun and a great experience and I plan to include it in my act. Gonzo the Orangutan (Axtel) is to my left and Cooku the Cockatoo (Axtell) is to my right with the Bird Arm Illusion.The act is not in any way as good as Kevin's but I like the act and the kids simply love Gonzo and Cooku :)

Another night of Comedy Ventriloquism

It was a full capacity crowd last Saturday at 22nd St Comedy Bar in Marcos H-Way and Don Dom (Payes) delighted the crowd with his grumpy character.

Also featured in that show was the Debut performance of Buddy (Poyner) a gay character who's frustration is to be a Comedy Bar Host...

Buddy managed to exchange some nasty jokes with Ian, one of the regular witty and very funny hosts of 22nd St. The routine was hysterical.

It actually became a riot when I got Ian to wear the Vent Mask...

Ony and Wanlu "Look Who's Talking Now"

On behalf of Rannie Raymundo and Ony Carcamo, I would like to thank everyone who came to our show last night at the Library.

Thanks for all your cheers and laughter.


















As usual, Ony entertained everyone with Mr Parley (Carcamo) and Lola Belay (Hartz) while Rannie was simply witty when he joined the Improv part of the show.



As for me, it was my first ever adult Comedy Bar paid gig and I have to confess that it felt great! :) Don Dom (Payes) was a killer :) and the Vent masks were amazing even with an improv routine.

Thanks again...Im sincerely grateful...

...but as for Don Dom, all he can say is

"Yuck! Yuuuuuck! Kadiri!"

Nicolo

Nicolo does not have a matching boy wig yet so I decided to use a cap in the meantime. Without the cap, this Selberg figure still looks like a girl because the wig that I got does not show the figure's ears...

Photos taken at the Wack-Wack Golf Club

Don Dom's First Gig

Don Dom killed today at the birthday party of MegaPack owner Mr Jun Gaw held at MegaPak Auditorium in Canlubang Laguna before a jam packed crowd of family and friends as well as employees and staff of MagaPack.

A great start for Don Dominador... this was his first ever gig and it's a Pro gig meaning he got paid flirting with the girls today.

He will be seen in action in some Open Mics before his big show on July 26, 2007 dubbed as...

Ony and Wanlu " Look Who's Talking" July 26, 2007 /9pm at the Library (Bar) in Malate

Ony will be with Mr Parley (Carcamo) and Lola Belay (Hartz) while I will be with Don Dominador (Payes) and the Vent Mask...

Don Dominador

An ex-Congressman who swears a lot and loves offfering the girls FREE cellphone loads...he insists he is the richest man in Manila...richer than Don Jaime de Zobel, Don Peping Cojuangco, Don Pepot an even Dawn Zulueta.





He has three swimming pools in his house...one with cold water for girls who like swimming in cold water, one with hot water for girls who like swimming in hot water and the third one has NO WATER for girls who don't know how to swim.

Meet him soon...in your adult party or event.

My Dan Payes Figure

My new figure from Dan Payes... Don DOMinador. Loves to say hello to all the girls in our gigs and offers FREE cellphone loads to a sexy victim errr I mean spectator.

The body that came with it had arms and legs that were not properly stuffed. At least not firm enough to make it appear like legs and arms...but other than that, I would say that the figure looks great.

Don Dom has raising eyebrows and a right eye winker aside from the standard moving eyes and mouth.

MuayThai and Yaw-Yan- The Difference

When asked re the difference between Yaw-Yan and MuayThai, here's what I have to say...
Take it from someone who studied and served under both styles...I served as Club Director for Yaw-Yan Cubao in 1988-90...and Im currently part of the Philippine MuayThai National Training Center in ULTRA.

They may look similar but the principles are most certainly different.
First of all...for the record...NO SINGLE STYLE IS SUPERIOR!!!
I learned a lot from MuayThai which I never learned from Yaw-Yan and learned a lot from Yaw-Yan which MuayThai does not offer...
A Yaw-Yan fighter will defeat a MuayThai fighter using his powerful unorthodox kicks...
A MuayThai fighter will defeat a Yaw-Yan because MuayThai in my own oppinion is more scientific...

You won't believe how Yaw-Yans train...the emphasis is on Power and flexibility using the Yaw-Yan Baton Bag and thats an edge for Yaw-Yan...
But I have to give it to MuayThai for its scientific way of training a fighter.
Don't be confused with the uniforms...Wu Shu fighters also wear shorts but WuShu is not MuayThai... Yaw-Yan was not copied from MuayThai...as many people mistakenly claim...
The strikes are different...training method is different...kicks are diffrent...and the principles are different...Yaw-Yan incorporates Arnis strikes in its arsenals...Bolo Punches as we call it...
I guess the basic difference is PRINCIPLES...

EASILY PUT: Pinoys are lucky to have Yaw-Yan...and the world is lucky to have MuayThai...but will be more lucky if the World discovers Yaw-Yan

Nicolo's haircut

I bough a new wig to transform the Selberg girl to a boy...had it trimmed by a Pro barber. Hopefully, I can find a custom wig maker soon so I can have a new wig done which will show Nico's ears.

My Tim Selberg Figure

I love all my Vent figures...my Axtells, Payes, Poyner, Carcamo and my Selberg. But I have to confess that my favorite so far is my Selberg figure because aside from the fact that it's a basswood figure hand crafted by Master Figure Maker Tim Selberg in 1990, the figure is so easy to manipulate thanks to Tim's patented Trigger Controls.

It's a WORK OF ART.

I got the figure as a girl and changed the clothes and wig to make him look like a boy. I actually don't think I did a good job because the figure still looks like a girl despite the change in clothes...this is particularly because I did not do anything on the face to preserve Tim Selberg's original work.

MuayThai in Ateneo

MuayThai Fights in Ateneo this Saturday...July 21 1pm at the Ateneo Gym.

You are all invited to watch our new set of fighters representing their local gyms and chapters.


ONE WORLD- ONE MUAYTHAI

Converted Vent Toys

In one Forum where the topic of Ebay converted figures was discussed, a particular figure was used as an example and the figure maker involved continue to miss the point raised by both Professional and Amateur Vents worldwide.

When the particular figure was bought, the ad that was selling the figure in Ebay did not specify that the figure is a CONVERTED toy.

There is nothing wrong in selling converted toys as long as the ad clearly states a specific warning and explanation on what a converted figure is. If a figure maker is proud of his work, he should clearly state what he is selling.

To ad more infos about the figure, the string used in the figure is too weak. It wont last long if you plan to use the figure often. As a matter of fact, the string of that particular figure broke in less than a week...

The hands of the figure were sticky like it was decaying and all the figure maker can say is that he used a particular sealer that did not do the job well. His point is that the hands left his shop dry and had no idea that it became sticky when sent out. How convenient is that?

The body was way too big for the head...it was not in any way proportion. The figure looked freaky. In fact, I tried a regular sized head on the body and it appeared nice. I have a good feeling that the body was made big intentionally to be able to advertize that the figure is 35 inches or so despite the fact that the head is too small to proportionally fit in such body.


Again, the point of the topic raised in the Forum was...THERE IS NOTHING WRONG IN SELLING CONVERTED TOYS AS LONG AS THE AD CLEARLY STATES A WARNING AND PERHAPS AN EXPLANATION ON WHAT A CONVERTED FIGURE IS.

I HAVE NO PERSONAL GRUDGES ON THIS PARTICULAR FIGURE MAKER. IN FACT I EMAILED HIM SEVERAL TIMES EXPRESSING MY APOLOGIES IN CASE ONE IS NEEDED.

BTW, this figure maker offered to refund the figure as long as it is shipped back to him...but when asked for his shipping address , HE NEVER REPLIED BACK. We emailed him asking for his shipping address several times but NOT A SINGLE REPLY...

In any case, I sold the head for less than $100 and kept the body. My wife fixed the body, added more foam on the tummy and shoulders plus I modified the hole for the ball and socket neck of the new regular sized head and now it looks cool :) All is well that ends well :)

On the same topic of converted dummies, and to prove that I have nothing against such figures...I have a Ken Croes figure that was built really well by Mr Croes... The body is proportion to the head...perfect figure for walk arounds or a young ventriloquist. It has raising eyebrows and self centering eyes. The face is quite funny and amusing to watch.

I also had a 1970's Clinton Detweiler figure although I sold it already... it had a body that is proportion to the size of the head...and the mechanics were simply amazing in quality.

If you are in need of a high quality yet affordable figure...please don't hesitate to visit Mr Clinton Detweiler's Blog at http://newsyvents.blogspot.com/ or Visit Mr Ken Croes' Blog at http://www.kennycroes.com


Thanks

Wanlu
http://www.wanlu.net