V/Vm

V/Vm is the experimental music and sound collage project of James Leyland Kirby, from Stockport, England. Although starting out mainly in the style of noise music, Kirby is also a composer of original electronic music and remixes. His vast output is released primarily on his own V/Vm Test Records label. Alongside the work of the V/Vm project, James Kirby also records most often as The Caretaker. He currently resides in Kraków.

History

Since 1996 there have been numerous releases by V/Vm on a host of labels and featuring the work of a number of musicians. Early releases were often electronic in nature, including a critically acclaimed split 12" release on Fat Cat Records. In 1999, V/Vm also released a recording of pigs feeding at a pig farm in the North West of England to the horror of many reviewers who mistook the sound of feeding pigs for that of pigs being killed.

Around the time of this release, V/Vm appeared on the cover of The Wire (October 1998, issue 176). Under the banner "Harder! Faster! Louder!" the article explored a developing scene which also included Alec Empire, DJ Speedranch, Diskono Records, and Fat Cat Records.

Jumping jack

A jumping jack (Canada & US) or star jump (UK and other Commonwealth nations), also called side-straddle hop in the US military, is a physical jumping exercise performed by jumping to a position with the legs spread wide and the hands touching overhead, sometimes in a clap, and then returning to a position with the feet together and the arms at the sides. The jumping jack name comes from the traditional toy of the same name, while "star jump" refers to the person's appearance with legs and arms spread.

The jumping jack is the official state exercise of Missouri, USA as of July 2014.

Variations

More intensive versions of this jump include bending down (over) and touching the floor in between each jump.

Power Jacks
Power Jacks are similar to jumping jacks, except a person squats lower and jumps as high as possible during each repetition.

A similar jump exercise is called half-jacks, which were created to prevent rotator cuff injuries, which have been linked to the repetitive movements of the exercise. They are like regular jumping jacks but the arms go halfway above the head instead of all the way above it. The arms also hit the sides to help tighten the jump.

Jumping jack (toy)

The jumping-jack is a toy whose origins date back thousands of years. The jointed jumping-jack figure is a cross between a puppet and a paper doll. The figures are generally made from wood and their limbs are jointed and tied to a pull string. When the string is pulled and released, the arms and legs move up and down.

History

Although the jumping-jack is popularly thought of as a European toy, ivory dancer figures made to spin by pulling their strings, which were found at the archaeological site El Lisht and date back to ancient Egyptian times, are considered to be among the earliest forms of this family of mechanical toys.

In the mid-1700s, jumping-jack figures known as “pantins” were popular among the French nobility.

In 1832 the Hampelmann was created by Carl Malss as a figure for the burlesque at Frankfurt. Later the jumping-jack toy became known as Hampelmann in German-speaking countries and were manufactured in the Erzgebirge mountain range in Germany.

Quocker-wodger

Jumping jack (disambiguation)

Jumping jack may refer to:

See also