I feel a cold deck comin' yonder...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOVdn6FYZeY&feature=sub

Muleman is the guy from the phantom notebooks.

http://phantom-notebooks.blogspot.com/

Great to see the Phantom Notebooks back!

Still taking the shots

Yeah its getting a bit old now...

Good Lord, is that clip supposedly demonstrating a Charlier Pass on-the-square, or is it someone spoofing Wesley James?

Bret

I'm sure we've all seen Denis Behr's video on this, but here it is anyway :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHw57ulYR4E

Bret, it must be a spoof. I don't *know* that, but I don't see how it could be otherwise.

Kimura, that is very naughty, and very funny.

I hadn't seen it.

Thing is, back when the James stuff came out, some of us decided against purchasing the set. It's hard to believe it's as bad as these spoofs make out.

Right?

The point of a spoof is to exaggerate. Right?

Either this stuff is very funny or it's just mean spirited. Or maybe it's both.

Well, I remember those threads from back when the DVDs were released, and I read all the entries in the Phantom Notebook blog back then (and it's shameful that I cannot re-read them), but having not bought or seen the DVDs, I had no idea what level of incompetence was being alleged.

I thought at the time that the allegations were twofold:

1. Jame's handling is sub-par for someone who is "teaching",
2. James fails to follow Erdnase's explicit instruction; i.e., his finger placement and such is not precisely the same as what is written in the book.

But I NEVER thought that James would put something like that Charlier cut on video. Assuming he had never actually tried a Charlier before, less than an hour's practice would have resulted in better handling than on that clip. He literally looks like he's never actually done one before.

It's embarrassing to beat a dead horse--especially one that was beaten a couple of years ago. But I am *truly* shocked. I honestly assumed the video was a spoof in the same spirit as Denis Behr's video.

I'm truly surprised to see comments from the regular posters here expressing shock that the charlier clip is real. Surely we all followed the endless thread on this DVD set a few years ago. Mr. Mule presented this clip and several others to back up his harsh review of the entire series back then.

Though I personally enjoy the phantom-notebooks, I recognize that the writing is a bit acerbic. However, he always backs up his claims, in this case even including video evidence, not spoofs.

I'm very pleased to see activity over at the phantom-notebooks.

No need to be surprised. While I followed that thread, I didn't parse it for every detail, and I have no recollection of the videos.

What's funny is someone with 4 posts knowing who the regulars are.

Sometimes I feel like there are people around here posting under a dozen different names.

That's against Café rules.

No need to post to read; been reading the Workers and Gambling Spot boards religiously for years...with just one screen name. I've even enjoyed the levity you often bring to the threads.