Video Rant - Boom

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Review Shows Suck

I need to get that of my chest. There are a few people dedicating time and effort in creating review shows for magic effects. And almost all of them suck. Expect the Magic Friday one. Most know of course would be the Wizard Product Review by the greatest host the magic scene deserves. Craig Petty and David Penn.

Granted, the two have some understanding of magic. But whatever goes beyond their level of expertise and their level of experience as real world performers will be oblivious to them. So it feels like a possible train wreck is coming with each new episode. I'm happy that lately they have focused on just their level of magic. Reviewing Tenyo.

Is it that hard to be honest about a product? Well they are selling products so naturally they are not allowed to be honest.

So here's my idea: To all the manufacturers of magic. If you want an honest review of your magic send it to me. I tell you how much you suck or I will praise you into heaven if you really have something good to offer. I got real world experience. I perform casual and formal. For kids, adults and corporate entities. I perform a lot. I do think I have a commercial sense when it comes to magic products. So what I will give you is the opinion of a working pro who performs for all but magicians.

There is a bit of a catch. I'll review everything I get. If you send me any crap or any gold I will review it. With video and all. And there is nothing you can do about it.

So who has the balls to spend money to send me some stuff? Write me an email so we can work out the details!

PS: Do the reviewers get to keep the stuff or do they send it back?

PPS: Happy Holidays!

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Stuff in Stuff

So we got this cool little gimmicked wallet. What do we do with it? Card to wallet... yeah how boring. Here is an idea to spice it up, possibly being a prelude to the card to wallet.

Have the wallet in you left inside jacket pocket. Borrow a finger ring and remark it's beauty. Do not make cheap jokes about it. People might chuckle, but they won't like you! The vanish the ring. Anything by Gregory Wilson is nice. Show your hands empty and then get out the wallet. Open the wallet and reach through the zipper compartment to the outside and pull in and then out the ring.

If you do card to wallet anyways here is my little addition, even though a few bits need to be figured out. Open the wallet and show a face down card in one compartment. It's one of those wallets where a transparent window let's you see what is there. Usually for drivers licences and shit. But in this case you see the back of a card. Leave the wallet open as you have a card selected and signed. Free choice of course. Then the usual shenanigans and finally the card is vanished. You claim it's the card they've been staring at the whole time. Cleanly you pull out the card with no funny moves and it really is the card. The method is nothing but a combination of two gimmicks. One is the wallet and the other one is the transparent window in the wallet. It's basically the face down version of the Wow 2.0 gimmick by Masuda. So before any card is in the wallet the gimmick poses as a card. And once the card is in the wallet the gimmick becomes transparent. Now you got a miracle.

Do not load one card, load more than one. It is much stronger.

Borrow the business card of a spectator... look at it, wondering, then saying, "have we ever met?" Then reach for your wallet and inside there will be the same business card. Looking back at the first business card is has now become your own business card which you hand to the spectator. Do I need to tell you how commercial that is?

Have you ever played around with the option of stealing stuff from the wallet as well. That opens up room for transpositions and all of that fun stuff.

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Quote of the Week

"Hey guys, I've been doing card magic for around a year now and I have started making my own tricks"

Ozzy

Hey as long as you don't get the stupid idea of selling them you're welcome!

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And within there lies hope!

I wondered, if Marlo and crew have had access to today's modern networking technology. What would they have done with it. Would the crew have spent that much time together in Marlo's kitchen, or would they have been doing stuff endlessly via Skype sessions. Would Vernon have traveled across the world just to meet a gambler who was in the know of some "moves". Or would he just study Youtube for that stuff.



As much as I see the disadvantages I also see the advantages of modern technology and magic. And that gives me hope somewhat. As long as the myth is still out there, that true magic secrets, the "real works" are still kept secret and are surely not found online for free. Did I say myth? That's not what I meant. Forget I said anything.

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Please help the guy out!

Harry Lorayne needs money. Right now he's selling a whole lot of stuff at the green meanie.

Among the many items:

Entire Xerox of Wm. Miesel’s Moe and His Miracles - $12.00
Entire Xerox of Simon Aronson’s Shuffle-bored - $11.00

So it's okay to sell xeroxed copies now?




Edit: Okay, after a few of the usual suspects complained to Harry he had all of the follow up posts removed as well as the suspect entries in his list. So does he understand the general problem now? I doubt it!

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On Copies

A few days ago iTricks ran a post that I failed to notice, until now. Here is the quick version:
Mike Voltagio claims

“All of my illusions are designed by me, then custom built,[...] You won’t see my illusions anywhere else in the world. I’ve taken classic tricks and put really new spins on them to the point where they’re actually fooling other magicians. I like to push everything to the extreme.”

Then iTricks asked "would a random audience member know an original, custom-built illusion if it bit them in the face? Would they care?"

Here is my simple answer. Of course not. What kind of stupid question is that? The audience doesn't give a flying fuck as long as they are entertained. But this isn't about the audience. It's about the moral integrity of the performer. If he can live with it, so be it. If he can't like Mike Voltagio he will create his own magic.

The sadness lies not so much in the fact that copies are out there in abundance, but there bad copies are out in abundance. Young people who think that if they emulate Blaine, Angel, Piff and Copperfield they will be as cool as them.

But not only that, You wouldn't believe how many versions of Michael Ammar are out there. Or how many Daryls and Christians. (The last one referring to Brad Christian)

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