Every single magic store / online shop that sells Kevin Parker's Revolution Coin Vanish should be avoided... Every single one. How can those seller look at themselves in the mirror? Ho...
Saturday, 9 March 2013
WMF Stemaro
Stemaro Magic is a German magic dealer. One of many... there is nothing spectacular about them. But recently they started a Magic Wiki... and it goes right into exposure territory. Among the stuff they explain in the name of "teaching and resource": The Spider Pen (pictures included), what Rubber Cement is good for and various card techniques. While this is not totally hurting magic it still is very, very unrespectful towards the magic secret. It is German, so I see little harm overall, yet having popular trends (like having a wiki for everything,...
The Angry Man of Magic - Stop Thief!
jasa seo murah My colleague has recently had a problem with theft. Of material. But not in the way you might instantly think. This is theft of props... at a gig... by the punters... punters who are expecting to be entertained with a few pieces of laminated cardboard and a rubber band, but will now suffer another card trick because one of their klepto klunt friends has walked off with the props.
Whisky Tango Foxtrot?
What exactly did this reincarnation of Forrest Gump's alat bantu sex more stupid brother think he was stealing? This isn't the...
Hydrophobic Fabric
I'm seeing a serious way to include this in an illusion show. Like emerging from a water tank with dry clothing.
Click this link to the main pag...
Don't knock the creator of "From Nothing", Roland!
Whatever you may think of his revolutionary coin vanish, which I taught him BY THE WAY. The creator of 'From Nothing' deserves much praise. Much, much, much, much, much, much praise. But not as much as me.
Whenever I haven't got the C.U.N.T.O.M.A.T.I.C. strapped on, I always carry a spare plastic carrier bag, and a piece of fruit. Or a vegetable.
Now that's what I call magic, folks.
B...
All you Open Travelers
Here is pro tip for you, if you do any Open Travelers (aka Invisible Palm).
DO NOT show your hand empty on the first card. Keep it palm down. Spread the fingers... leave the people wondering how exactly you palm the card. Even make a fist... then go down and conclude the first effect. On the second time you can show your hand empty. But only very, very briefly. On the third time you can be all "open" about i...
Friday, 8 March 2013
WMF Keith Raleigh
Remember the time when stereotypes were funny?
Times have changed a bit and magicians need to adopt to the changing times. Some have not gotten the message. Keith Raleigh is such a case. Here... watch this:
There are more clips just like this one. The magic is decent, but the presentation is an absolute no nowadays. My childhood was full of racial stereotypes. We used the N-word made fun of Asians and gays. Today is different. That's part...
He has come a long way
Mr. Mayoral has certainly come along way in magic. The act you are about to see from FISM 1994. A very, very lonely piece of magic. Full to the brim with symbolism. I don't think I get all of them (or even one for that matter).
The act is clearly nerdy in all ways. Even a bit creepy. Good? Well see for yourself:
What makes the ending even more tragic is realizing that this is a one person ac...
Splice you Opinion
Shin Lim may be a bright new light on the magic horizon. Maybe too bright... One of his products: Splice. With a nifty demo video:
In case it is deleted: A signed Eight of Diamonds is shown, twirled on the right hand middle finger to prove it's a single card. Then it is placed on the deck, and then placed in the middle. Magic gesture, and it's back on top. Near the end of the video this is repeated from a different angle. The only difference:...
The Angry Man of Magic - The middle lane magician
I got into magic seriously when I was in my 20's. That quite late by most accounts, but I don't care. I feel it has added a maturity to my character, and a depth to my understanding of the art. I'm happy to talk with the youngsters about the latest and greatest gimmicks; although I'm old enough to realize they're only adaptations of older principles... and their latest 1-trick DVD was a throw-away routine in a book from 30 years ago. However, the conversation doesn't always last very long, since they think I'm too long in the tooth because I haven't...
WMF Chris Burton
It is interesting how a certain type of magician always comes up doing the same thing over and over again. Treating magic and it's secrets badly by disrespecting the value of it. Chris Burton is such a guy. His website Secrets of Card Magic is such a case.
Basically 25 years old Chris Burton is a sell out, offering magic secrets that are not his own under the pretext of teaching. Here is the simple rule about teaching: Teach your own material....
Thursday, 7 March 2013
Bravo Andrew, Bravo!
Andrew, I can't think of anything to add to your wonderful post on the Splice issue. All I can do is link towards it... hopefully getting you more traffi...
Got time for some theory?
I often see the word "teleportation" and "transposition" being used for the same thing. Well it's not....
Let me explain by starting from the very beginning. The first two basic effects are "vanish" and "production". Basically something fades out of existence and then comes back. If you want to be all nit picky than you might see, that it is actually just one effect. One of them is just the reverse of the other. But keep in mind that those two...
Act #1
I don't even know why I'm writing this now... but once in while a thought occurs. What if I had real magic powers. Just me... Nobody else. Would I make that know? I assume there would be limits to the magic powers. So my life wouldn't be save if I openly announced that. I know how crazy power hungry human being are. So I guess I would keep that a secret.
But still I wouldn't wanna be totally quite about that. After all I have this gift, I need...
The Angry Man of Magic - Concentrating on the presentation.
There are two broad strokes to learning my magic - the method, and the presentation. The method is the bit in which most of us are interested. Learning the sleights and being able to show the exposed view to our friends at the magic club is the closest to a circle jerk we've had since high school. It's hidden, and it's enjoyable.
Then there's the presentation. A cool and effective delivery. Strong patter lines, interspersed with relevant humor (not random jokes ripped from other acts, or the Internet). It all makes something with which an audience...
Wednesday, 6 March 2013
So He's Banned
Harry Lorayne on the MC
I LOVE critical views from those who know what the h*ll they're talking about, houtjes, certainly not from you. And, listen closely, if you can - I "plug" (I call it "mention") my magic books WHEN I FEEL (in many cases, KNOW) that they can help. Just as the poster above admitted he didn't know about an item under discussion of mine, that has been around for decades. Hey, who knows? I may have - or may not - have helped...
WMF David Penn
David Penn, the even lesser half of The Wizard Product review is not the brightest of all lights. I've mentioned that before. But here is what happened. 20 days ago the Wizard Product Review was published and David Penn tore apart the new Jeff McBride DVD, as it apparently contained part of Wayne Dobson's act. When I saw that I seriously doubted that Jeff McBride would do that, unless he secured the rights or made massive modifications so he could...
BANNED!!!! (but unrepentant)
Well, Roland, why was I banned from the Magic Cafe Forum?
I WASN'T, YOU GODDAM FREAKING MORON!!!
No, it was a little known but highly aggressive impersonator, who goes by the name of Harry Lorayne...
... this schmuck did for me on that forum. If he had played it cool, not risen to the bait and lived to tell the tale, then maybe he'd be up there yet....
But don't sweat it, folks, he isn't even frickin' real!!!!
...
Being humble and great!
So there is this article over at the magic cafe. Someone asked for the most underrated card men and asked to list some. John Bannon was among the mentions and I would agree. But also statements like "I'm underrated". I humbly beg for your opinion... is it just me, or is humbleness not a positive character trait anymore? Is it considered weakness or what?
This of course extends to advertisement. I cannot believe how many #1 magicians are...
RIP WPR & WMF
So Jeff McBride and Wayne Dobson have released a joint statement.
"We have read both David Penn and Craig Petty’s ‘apologies’ and sadly see that each has chosen to carefully avoid the one situation that made this so serious and morally contemptible. The secret telephone recordings made by David Penn, without Wayne Dobson’s knowledge.
We now know that this is not the first time that David Penn has employed such tactics, as others have come forward...
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Weekly Failure my ass.... Daily is the way to go!
The Daily Deception.... have you heard of it. It's a rather new thing on the magic horizon. And by thing I mean Daily Online Journal. I discovered it while browsing the darkness of the green monster. And somehow this beacon of light came through. And right next to it was The Daily Deception. I read some of the articles. Mostly about who is jamming with who. Clearly filler material... poor bastards.
But still check them out. The guys in charge...
The Secret Art of Magic
Haven't done a serious book review in a while. So here I offer you a book on magic theory which is way underrated in my humble opinion. The Secret Art of Magic by Eric Evans and Nowlin Craver. It's been originally published by "Magic To Laugh By" in 2003. Reprints are still available for 45 dollars.
The book is basically separated into two parts. Each part stands on it's own. Both are about approaching the classic work "The Art of War" by Chinese...
WMF Joe Monti
So let's assume you work for a magician. You do consulting work. You help him create and to maintain the show that he does. Let's further assume that you are a magician yourself and you get paid by the more successful magician to be in his "think tank".
Joe Safuto was such a magician before he got fired by Christopher Sarantakos.
Why is he not working for Christopher anymore? Simply because he was an unreliable piece of ass. A little bit...
How vague is that?
So there is this Real Secrets thing that makes its round. Monthly tricks will be send to your address. That is a subscription costing 36 dollars per three months if you are from the US and 40 if you are not from the US.
Apparently you get "incredible, innovative, and exciting NEW magic, thinking, and surprises by creators like Gaetan Bloom, Cyril, Michael Weber, Robert Neale, Max Maven, John Kennedy, and an ever-growing team of the best minds...
Monday, 4 March 2013
Waving the Red Flag
I guess still being a reading member of the Magic Cafe has some merit. So there is this growing private message that Steve Brooks spammed to all the users, endorsing the "Real Secrets Team". Naturally the question about who the hell is behind Real Secrets came up.
The reason that we are not telling exactly who is involved with Real Secrets is that this is more about the many people involved as opposed to a person/persons/entity.
Rest assured...
WMF The Savronov Brothers
Alright. First Russian failure coming up. The Savronov Brothers. Ilya, and the twins Sergey and Andrey. They do TV work. Big time TV since 2002. Both in Russian and Ukrainian TV. Here is a sample:
Aside from the blatant ripping off, the poor staging, the snail pacing, the boring presentation and the oh so dramatic use of cuts, they recently got a show where they expose magic secrets. Amonge the secrets they reveal: The Metamorphosis, the Interlude,...
Hey guys, I'm talking to you! You Tenyo Elite!
Jason Palter, Peter Loughran and Steve Brooks, yeah you. Aka JPS Magic Studios. What's up? Are you still around? I'm just asking because in August 2009 you wrote on your Tenyo Elite website:
We are proud to say that our first two Tenyo Elite releases (Fortune Sticks and Moonspinner) are officially in production and being manufactured as you read this!
And what a fun time that was. Both items I can still buy. Not that anybody needs metal version...
WMF Dalton Wayne
Alright, another week, another fail. This week: Dalton Wayne. Who is Dalton Wayne you might ask. Only the most inspired, most bad-ass creator of magic that graced us by walking on this earth.
He also has a nice video camera and mad editing skillz. But more on that later. A whole bunch of his adorable figments of his mind on sale via the Wire. Among those we'll find Osmosis. Any small item like a coin or a key into a soda can. Just watch...
Sunday, 3 March 2013
Makes me roll my eyes!
This is too much, too much! The following is straight from some magicians website.
Censored is an internationally known polymath who believes his purpose on planet Earth is to serve others by being a loving, passionate, and powerful example of how to live a productive, meaningful, and positive life. He’s a prolific author, seasoned traveler, adventurer, entrepreneur, producer, inventor, veteran, entertainer, and speaker-just to mention a few.
He...
Dreams Are Weird!
This is the Magic Failure Patrol! Drop your deck of cards and raise your hands. Now walk slowly towards the officer with the ungimmicked handcuffs. You are arrested because you did bad magic. The spectators you held hostage with stock one liners and the promise of a great magic trick have been freed.
You will be given the chance to explain yourself. But no exposure! In order to prepare yourself for that hearing you need to work through the entirety...
WMF Magic For Jesus
You eventually commit a sin in your life. And good deeds don't make that sin go away. Only the belief in Jesus will clear you from that sin and get you to heaven. What a lame ass excuse not to do good deeds is that? You can be a sinner all you want, as long as you live according to Jesus' teachings you will eventually be forgiven. And what did Jesus teach? Among many things this: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."...
Postin' da truth!
Hey Magic Café I'm talkin' to ya! Why you deletin' threads? They no threats. Answer me this sweetheart!
You afraid of differing opinions? You hatin' the discussion?
The reason: Possible lawsuit? If so... removing big ass claimer "All content and postings Copyright © 2001- 2012 Steve Brooks" would help.
Let da people's words be their own!
Flame War < Actual resolution...
Saturday, 2 March 2013
How to spice up your linking rings!
Yesterday I was performing medieval style. In a castle courtyard with a well in the middle. The well was constantly overflowing creating a nice magical surface.
I asked myself, why not to use it in a magic way. I started producing coins from the well. I dipped my magic wand in there and produced a ball from the tip of the wand. Then I placed the ball into my left hand as the right hand with the wand dipped into the water again, then tapping the...
Totally Off Topic
I really don't like to go off topic on this magic blog, but I have seen the following video. I never saw such an asshole. He has no idea what he is talking about. He oversimplifies, draws wrong conclusions, if any and even dares to say that he is interested in science. What fucking idiot. And that is not based on science, but my own opinion.
This guy made me angry. He is not trying to say that creationism is right, but he is trying to willfully...
Cryptic Headline!
When did Paul Harris start slapping his shitty name on every magic product?
Almost as bad as Harry Lorayne!
The sad thing... whenever I hear the name Paul Harris I think of the little man and what an over hyped piece of shit it was. And having that in mind I can't take any product seriously even if it actually is goo...
WMF Aoni Jackson
One can fail in many regards. Misjudgment is one of them. If you are a magic stripper. That means you use magic to enhance your "stripping" skill. There is a certain audience for that. A very, very small target group but I'm sure it exists.
But here is what the target audience is not. The whole freaking TV audience.
Hypothetical scenario: You're eating razor blades. For what audience won't you do that trick? Kids!
Another one: You have cigarette...
Friday, 1 March 2013
Too lazy to research!
So what is this all about? Rus Andrews releases and effect called "Numbers"
Then Jamie Allan comes along claiming that Rus Andrews has stolen his effect:
On the 28th May, Rus Andrews releases an effect called "Numbers" on DVD, through Magic Tao. This is an EXACT COPY of my effect "WTF" that I released on my website as a download in 2008. At the time of my release, Rus Andrews purchased the download and emailed me to say he'd created a routine that used a COUPLE OF MY IDEAS from WTF and could he put them on a self-published PDF he was wanting...
It's been bothering me!
I gotta give Jay Sankey a bit of credit. When he came up with the "Three Ring Circus" it was a smart move to use real key rings. They are instantly recognized as a normal object and people know about their properties...
They know that they can be linked. That brings any linking routine into a believable realm. Yet the links look magical, making that precious "suspension of disbelief" much easier for the audience.
Now if you are going to do a...
Felching that Cunt aka Fucking Coins!
How is that for an offensive title? There is a DVD out. Called Fucking Coins, by Philippe Bougard and Clement Kerstenne two young Belgian magicians who seem to be full of little ideas how to spice up old coin work. They are far from being good, but that's doesn't stop people from releasing stuff. (Weapons of Mass Destruction comes to mind. Yes I read the whole darn thing.) But naturally people get excited not because of the content, but because...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
