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Showing posts with label WMF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WMF. Show all posts

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, iphone apps) applied to magic is wrong.

Please Stemaro... take that away, make it so, that it is no more.

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 of an evolving culture. There will be times, when today's standard is in no way acceptable. But right now Keith Raleigh's alter ego The Great Ching Chang is in no way okay. So he will be this week's failure.

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. If you teach other's material you need to get permission by the creator. If the creator is dead you have to wait for the copyright to wear off. Any book published prior 1923 is public domain. Also if the author is dead for 70 years the book tends to be public domain.

The stuff taught by Chris Burton is not his own for the most part. How do I know? Well I certainly didn't pay for the "8 phases of access" each costing 25 bucks to unlock it. But I had somebody tell me what's in it. What do you expect? Of course the standard stuff like the Snap Change and other shit that sells well to the uninformed audience. And I gotta give Chris Burton some credits, as it took a lot of work to put all of this together.

Selling out magic is too common nowadays. I give you an example: The key card principle is usually one of the first "cool" things we learn. Very soon the "cool" wears of and it is old and simple and even pathetic. So it is easy to dismiss the value that the key card holds. Chris Burton seems to dismiss a lot of value. So he feels eligible to both teach and getting paid for secrets that aren't his. Weekly Magic Failure for me.

Wednesday, 6 March 2013

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 call it his own.

David Penn even informed Wayne Dobson of this before the actual show. And Wayne Dobson even believed the man.

So what does Wayne Dobson do? He confronted Jeff McBride, who in turn showed him the "clip in question". Of course is was unlike what Wayne Dobson does. So Wayne Dobson does the next correct thing and calls David Penn asking them to take down the episode, as it wasn't true.

David Penn did so, but started their next review with an introduction, that they took it down because Wayne and Jeff came to an agreement.

NOT true you dickhead! You were wrong, but your fucking pride in finding a possible piece of sensational journalism made you blind for the obvious. That you were simply wrong about things.

David Penn even went so far asking Wayne Dobson to post something on the green monster thanking David Penn to have helped resolving that situation. A situation you cause you idiot!

Wayne Dobson released a lengthy statement about this but the last few lines need to be posted:
I think David Penn should be ashamed and I hope that our community takes the correct action to show that this type of behaviour is unacceptable. I hope the magiccafe and its members show their displeasure in ways that will make him realise that intimidation, coercion and bullying are not acceptable in our world.

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 and confirmed. That is reprehensible, but to then actually play them to third parties is beyond the pale, as well as being illegal. We also confirm that others have now come forward and told us of similar intimidation and bullying techniques. Wayne’s was not an isolated incident.
We would suggest that avoidance of a mention to this in their apologies shows that they are not heartfelt, but rather a cynical attempt to gain some sympathy.
On the forums at least, this whole sad story is over but we fear that David Penn and Craig Petty’s names and reputations in our fraternity will forever be tarnished by their actions (or lack of).
Wayne Dobson and Jeff Mc Bride – 7th February 2012"

So I guess it is the end of the Wizards Products review. Who will fill the gap and make us laugh? Who will be the one totally misunderstanding magic? Who will praise gimmicky stuff, but shun real workers?

So I guess WPR is WMF. It's demise it a clear indicator both guys are not up to the task. Furthermore, if the accusations of the joint statement of Dobson and McBride are just the light upon both of them dims itself even more. Let's leave them in the shadows.

I already miss Blammo. You will be dearly missed.

Tuesday, 5 March 2013

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 more nicely worded by Luke Dancy over the the green monster.

[...] he's made my job very difficult by not showing up for work and feeling a certain form of entitlement here in the office by doing whatever he wanted.[...]


Even if it is all blown out of proportion the fact remains that there were difficulties and that eventually Joe had to leave the production. And this was obvious for everybody. So Joe came up with a plan. If he had to go, how about going with a bang. So he got himself a little audio recorder and pissed of Christopher enough so the big magician committed an assault. Christopher is know for that kind of abuse and his childish comebacks. So triggering "pointing the finger" was rather easy. Personally I wouldn't call touching someone with a finger in an argument an assault but just a lack of basic politeness, but it got the media all fired up.

The audio was released and a minor shit storm happened. I was all like... meh. But as more and more information surfaced it made Joe look really like a teenager trying to accuse the parents of some misdeed that they in turn accuse the teen of. All very immature.

So I struggled a bit to make him WMF, but then I realized that Joe is no newbie in life and that basic social skills should be expected. He failed in that regard and proved to be a valuable member of the magic loser community.

Btw: Joe Safuto has a pretty good silk routine:



And if you really wanna have a laugh, type in "Joe Monti" in Google image search, set the image search for large size and have the search filter turned off. Then hit enter.

Monday, 4 March 2013

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, One escape from a obviously self build cabinet, one levitation and a suspension.

The point is, that it is done with not only disrespect, but with a certain hatred towards magic. They got good stuff out there. But they certainly didn't understand what magic is all about. Not the secrets...

But here is what annoys me about Twin brothers in Magic. Why the hell do you reveal the fact that there are two brother who could look the same if you want to? This needs to be the best kept secret in magic. Fail, Fail, Fail.

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 the video.



"Oh awesome, I'd love to do that trick… I wonder what's the creative method behind this, that allows me to do this without having a big hole in the can?!" Oh, wait. There is a big hole. If that would be the case, wouldn't it be misleading advertisement? Wouldn't the video suggest that the can is actually unharmed. It cannot be shown 360 degrees!

Dalton Wayne has a really good video camera and is really good at editing his stuff so it looks amazing. And trust me his loves video editing. On his YouTube channel he has this little piece of fake video:



The comments below are his fans asking him to publish it. Here is the secret. Final Cut Pro or any other video editing software.

A while ago Dalton Wayne used to be a YouTube user named "iwilleatthebag" and he still has awesome little videos online. Almost all are in artsy black and white. Copying the look and feel of almost all that insanely talented Daniel Madison has put out.



So I guess by now Dalton Wayne has at least found himself an image. That of a self-assured, flamboyant personality with hints of dapper fashion sense. Well whatever floats your boat. But here is what Dalton Wayne is not. A creative magician. He is really good at emulation. He pretends to contribute to the magic community. His stuff is poorly structured magic. First method that comes up usually is the modus operandi. His demo videos really make the effect look good. I think he should work for Criss Angel.

Sunday, 3 March 2013

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." [Matthew. v. 3.] So dumb people go to heaven? Unfaithful people go to heaven? If so, then this week's magic failure will definitely go to heaven.

This man, faithful as he is, feels the need to teach others about Jesus 'n Stuff. That alone is a topic to be covered somewhere else. The method to teach is to use magic. And this is where I draw the line. I absolutely don't like Gospel magic. And all because my beloved magic is abused like little catholic choir boys.

On his website he clearly states his mission.
We believe that God is not boring. Church shouldn't be either. We like going to church. You should too. And so should your kids.
If that is true, why does he use magic to do that? It feels like some sort of giant misdirection. Like luring the kids into church with the promise of a magic show, but then hitting them with dogmatism. And that is misuse of magic.

But that's not all... watch this:


So does this man live what he teaches? Well I can't tell, but he is exposing magic. All of the "performances" are by YouTube user "magicforjesus". But then I stumbles upon YouTube user "quintlox" who is clearly the same guy. And then he goes one explaining the TT and "Equal Unequal Ropes".

Interestingly "quintlox" gives great thumbs up to "magicforjesus" pushing the ratings of the video in a really pathetic and obvious way. Wasn't there something in the teachings of Jesus that refer to being humble? I could be mistaken.

Anyway: There is no name given at the Magic for Jesus website. What kind of Christian behaviour is that? Hiding the name?

Anyways I learned something about Jesus after watching our unnamed preacher. Jesus died for me. Like seriously. On that cross, bleeding and in pain. He died for all of us. He took one for the team. That means that I don't have to make any effort to get into heaven. Because he loves me. Even though he doesn't know me. Wow a platonic bromance. Nope, I'll pass.

I rather be good, because it makes sense to be good. Not because somebody tells me to.

Saturday, 2 March 2013

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 routine. For what audience won't you do that routine? A lung cancer symposium.

Another one: You have an awesome Dead or Alive test. For what audience won't you do that experiment? A retirement home.

Another one: You have a "Hofzinser"-esque card routine. For what audience won't you do that piece? Young people in noisy places.

The same sort of reasoning also works the other way. You can tell what tricks are great for a certain type of audience.

Here you go: You do the bra trick. What audience will love that trick? Middle aged men having a party with a female stripper.

Another one: You do a cups and balls routine with lot's of corny jokes. What audience is perfect for this? A street audience.

Another one: You got this trick, where you pluck a coin from somebody's ear. What audience is suitable for this age old trick. Anyone, but especially kids.

So using this sort of deductive thinking: What audience is the right one for ring flight to the nipple using stock jokes? Middle aged ladies, that party hard in a club with no husbands around, because they are having a party with a female stripper.



I'm sure there are more venues, thinking of certain gay clubs and tattoo conventions and erotic trade shows, but not TV!

Friday, 1 March 2013

WMF Andriy Chekanyuk

Russia has a TV. Hard to believe I know.... On channel 3 there is a show called "Surprise Me" and boy did young Ukrainian Andriy Chekanyuk surprise.

Usually when people copy an act, they tend to put there own spin on it, by adding a joke or by adding a trick. Not so out 23-year-old Andriy Chekanyuk. He just copied Piff the Magic Dragon.

Oh wait maybe I was wrong, he has guinea pig instead of a dog. But watch the video first:



How do you feel now? Is your view on the magic community shattered? This is the norm guys. Usually not that blatant, but copying is the norm. Watch young people perform. You can always tell what DVD's they own. This dickhead took it way too far.

The judge even calls him out on that. "there is a famous magician who works in the same costume with the same act but the only difference is that he has a little dog and you have a little guinea pig." (around 9.50)
At least John is aware of this and released a nice comparison video.

Friday, 15 February 2013

WMF CENSORED again




There are a few things in life that are for free. Taxes, trouble and a never ending supply of people who fail in almost every facet of life.

My initial post about this man was all about the many things he called himself on his website... No let's add another. Identity thief.

May I humbly direct your gaze to this blog: Bob Cassidy Mentalism. The author is CENSORED. We are dealing with a case of implied identity theft. It seems like it is all about Bob Cassidy. No not really.  CENSORED  is riding the coattail of Bob Cassidy to sell his stuff. The blog posts on the blog are nothing but SEO texts, which means they are optimized to get lots of hits via Google search. So the name of  CENSORED gets connected to Bob Cassidy. So when people look for Bob Cassidy instead  CENSORED comes crawling up.

This is not a good way to make a business. It may be effective, but not good. I'm pretty sure that Bob Cassidy has not given his permission to have his names used in such an exploitative way.  CENSORED tries to sell his book entitled: " CENSORED "


CENSORED


I bet none of the stuff in there is by  CENSORED , nor has he done any work to make it his own. This needs to be known. This is the sort of behavior that harms our beloved magic. Do "these people" feel attracted to magic or does magic turn them into "these people"? I really want to know. There are base motifs for almost all that we are doing and every act of charity can be interpreted as some sort of selfish atrocity. But going all the way out, stealing (though it is implied) someones identity is really, really low. That is why  CENSORED  is WMF again. He cannot stop failing. And that's free.

WMF The Encyclopedia of Magic



Another week, another failure. One thing I feel the need to address. The weekly schedule doesn't mean that it needs to be current. As you can see with those guys. Vinh, Jeffrey and Lenny run the encyclopedia of magic website for a while now.

If you don't know what that is, it is quite an ambitious project. They say it "is dedicated to helping people all over the world improve themselves and their magic." I would claim otherwise. Straight from the website:
Magic is a unique ability that has the power to change lives. Not only providing amazing entertainment for everyone around you, magic is a valuable asset that can greatly benefit the performer themselves. With magic, you can really stand out and command the attention of countless people. At the same time, this greatly increases confidence and gives you the ability to really make and leave a lasting impression upon anyone. These are all traits that we believe anyone can benefit from, and it is our mission to make this available for anyone wanting to take themselves to the next level.
There we have it again the time honored tradition of the "NEXT LEVEL" and "BRINGING PEACE". I heard that all before. So let's see what this ambition leads to...

Exposure of course. They teach magic. And by teaching it for free they dismiss the value of the secrets and the importance of the secret towards magic. I'll give you a sneak peek of them explaining the thumb palm.



The production quality is really good and the teaching is not bad. The problem: This will get people to watch more. So they will stumble into more videos exposing the basics of magic. All sorts of palms, the french drop, the Herman pass and the usual suspects. Here is what they should do. Slap that stuff on a DVD and sell it. You can make it really cheap if you want to. But somehow the existence of a price on that thing would make the merely curious go away. That would indeed be a great step to treating the magic secrets and thereby the magic with respect.

So far it looks like this: "Hey guys I have something we can teach. It's called the thumb palm. No, I didn't come up with this. Come on, how else are we gonna teach stuff. Make up our own? Haha you're funny. Well we can still credit the original guy. That will make us seem legit. What are you saying? You're saying that giving out the guys name will make us seem even more hypocritical, as knowing the source material and still not respecting magic by giving it out for free? Haha you're funny."

The sad thing: I really think they believe their own words. I think that they really think they help people by teaching them magic. And while this could be true, it mistreats magic. And I love magic more than those guys.

Shame on you Vinh, Jeffrey and Lenny. Teaching magic may be your thing. But giving it out for free and thereby treating magic with contempt should not be your thing.

Sunday, 10 February 2013

So the Masked Magician gets a unique treatment

So the masked magician does a show in Fortaleza which is in Brazil. It's a magic revelation show. And what do people see. utter disappointment. The same kind of disappointment we magicians have when buying the latest magic trick. Naturally people complain and want their money back.

Have a look:


At 1:20 a woman says that the tricks are made for children. At 1:26 a child says that he liked the tricks. Cute.

Even the news report this: G1 says this (using google translate and some common sense.)
The magician's show Mister M U.S. ending squabble on Sunday (27), in Fortaleza. Spectators complained that the tricks were "weak", "made ​​for an audience of children," and said they walked out in the middle of the presentation. Some even ask the magician to take off the mask to prove it was him. A group demanded the money back and discussed this with the organizers at the box office. The tumult was videotaped by the student Isaac Pereira, who was watching the show with his father. The charge of the event said the presentation was correct.
The merchant Isaiah Pereira, 59, father of Isaac, left the theater one hour before closing and asked back the value of both the tickets. "The show was so bad that people got up in the middle to ask for money back. Totally weak. A deception. We expected the show we saw on television." he said, who paid $ 70 of entry and an additional $ 35 for his child.
Mingoni (owner of the theater) said that he was not present, but authorized the box office to give back the money to those who felt aggrieved. "We work with responsibility. The failure happened because I did not check. He presented a magic show that people thought would be the top notch. I also thought it would be. This show was the worst in the history of the theater," he said. In contact with the G1, the head of Sand Events, Reginald Achievement, ensured that the show presented in Fortaleza is the same spectacle presented elsewhere. He says it will do the compensation, but said it has sold the show properly. "The public said they did not like. We did not promise it, we promised the Mister M and he came," he said. "I think the public expects him to do a disappearing plane or a ship" he said. The G1 came in contact with the person responsible for the magician's shows in Brazil, but the phone was off. Achievement reported that people who purchased tickets for collective buying sites can be compensated by credit card. But the return by Sand events should take 30 days to 40 days, time needed for the company receiving the money held by the purchase card. The return will take place at the Teatro Via South.
According to Isaac, son of Isaiah, the public was disappointed because the show had not appeared with magical structure and simple, such as those made ​​for children. "We were disappointed. It was just magic with cards, with balloons, something for children. He had no structure." he complained. The teenager, who made the video at the moment of confusion, remembered that the show started 40 minutes late and many suspected that it was not Mister M. "People were suspecting that it was not him, it was a person wearing the mask. Hence the producer of the event asked Mister M, to take off the makeup and mask to show that he was himself," he says. Isaac said that the producer explained that he did not show the structure of which was improvised and it would be a simple show.
Isaac said that the translator was improvised. "It was someone from the audience," he said. There were two shows, one at 6pm and one at 8pm. "And I knew that the 6pm show, had a translator, but he was not good. Then someone from the audience did the translation,"


So we got another fail of Mr. Val Valentino. You can't even reveal magic anymore. Pathetic.

WMF Gurguren

Failing on national television is bad. But being mocked for that fail on national television is even worse. Case in point Brasilian magician Gurguren. He screwed up while performing an illusion.

And here I am to point out that I think that illusionists are the lowest kind of magicians out there. All the dancing, the music the spectacle. All trying to misdirect that most of them have little to no character, style or charisma. Also the lack of actual skill, visions of grandeur and a massive inferiority complex almost always makes up the common illusionst.

But lets first watch the act that won Gurguren 50.000 Brasilian reals. (That's a whole bunch of money) on a TV show in March last year. He is the first of four magic acts. And if you get a very distinct Hans Klok vibe, well, surprise it's a direct rip off.

Also, there is a midget dancing with a goat:


Oh boy, Brasil has such class acts. Please note that you can win 100.000 Reals in that show. Yes Gurguren had to share the price with the goat dancing dwarf. So Gurguren does the TV circuit and naturally fails at one point.

There is a show called "Custe o Que Custar", literally "whatever it takes" and they have a weekly "top 5" of the worst moments in national TV. In only Sao Paulo 300.000 people watch the show on average. The video of Gurguren failing went viral in just a few hours after it's release. So I guess you are hyped now to see this utter piece of trash. Well it's actually not that exciting, but it will give you a bit of a laugh. (starts a 6:35)



Now speaking of failing. On his website, Gurguren (Btw, that name is even weird for people living in Brasil) has a nice picture in his gallery tying last post and this nicely together.


Friday, 8 February 2013

WMF Tim David

Tim David is a magician who somehow thinks he knows a lot about magic. Enough to teach it. And of course he is above moral debate and ethics. So he is free to spoil magic secrets and he makes it really easy to get them. Via video.

The sad part, he isn't alone. He is one of many, many lost souls. But I think he has not lost it yet. He may still turn the wheel around and drive the car back to the road.

On his website he has a section he calls Free Magic Tutorials.

Readers of my blog will know where this is going.

Magic exposure. He's teaching stuff he didn't come up with. Why? I don't know. This in fact is the question that drives me crazy. Why would anyone want to teach magic. If you are a creator and you want your creation out there to be appreciated by the magic community I would get it. But this is not the happening in Tim David's case. He is clearly not targeting the magic community, but luring in new wannabe magicians.

Don't we have enough losers among us? Just saying.


I know about the human need to communicate knowledge. And I also know that a certain type of human feels the need to teach. But with magic something is at stake. The secret. Giving out any secret means that you had to think about doing it. Otherwise you didn't see it as a secret. Teaching a magic secret for free means you regard it as being irrelevant in any moral debate.

It might be that Tim David has not stumbled upon the issue but no... on his website you'll find this:
Teaching magic is different than exposing magic because teaching magic is good and exposing magic is bad. Tim vehemently opposes unnecessary magic exposure. “Stop magic exposure.” – Tim David
A little too black and white for my taste.

A secret has professional value. You have to understand that. A lawyer (at least here in Germany) is not allowed to give out free advise. The same way that a guy working at the gas station is not allowed to give out free gas. Simply because the "advise" and the "gas" have a value. Doing so would hurt all of the other professional lawyers and professional gas station owners. That's why laws are in place to protect the value.

In magic that doesn't exist. If a guy like Tim David gives out free secrets he is hurting all of the other professional magicians.

A value is a construct in a very strict business sense; tossing out all moral and ethics here. If you are the only one owning something, no matter how much it is worth, you can set the price. (Monopoly)
If everyone has it (or has access to) the price is disparaged. The value is lowered.

So giving out secrets for nothing has the value of any idea nullified.

Tim David: Stop eroding your future income doing professional magic. You claim to be a long time, full-time pro magician. How about you act that way and recognize that the secret is best kept secret.

PS: Bullshit...

There are more effects. What about Transpositions? You seem not to have thought about it enough. Don't you read my little theory nuggets of wisdom?

Tuesday, 5 February 2013

WMF The Cactus Boi

The interesting thing about this young man is not that he is exposing or making a tutorial on a card flourish, no it's his serious laziness on research. First watch the video. The first 40 seconds should be enough:




So what do you see? A normal fan? Yes! There is nothing, I repeat nothing unusual about this fan. A regular standard two handed fan. This is pointed out to the young man in the comments.
"sorry but has i see it's a freaking thumb fan"
to which The Cactus Boy... sorry, Boi replied:
"*facepalm*. Do you actually know anything..? Like, at all?"
Cute isn't it?

So the next commentor asked:


"What's so fuckin' unusual at this "ordinary" fan?"
Our young magician replied:
"Well, the technique hasn't been used before (or not to my knowledge) and the fan itself looks like a pressure fan, you're just doing less work and not applying the full pressure to help the cards go around. I can do the pressure fan with ease now, so I don't use this move much at all anymore."
Dude! The technique hasn't been used before? To his knowledge.... well that means his knowledge is worth jack shit. Yet he goes out doing tutorials... how about reading books first.

Monday, 4 February 2013

WMF Dynamo

Some of you may know him, some don't so here we go. Steven Frayne is a UK magician in his late 20's and has managed to get a deal with some big media companies that got him to produce TV magic specials. And as many that went before him he also chose to take the dark side.

I will now use the ugly F-word and the S-word.

Fake.... Stooge....

If you start to rely on those principle along side camera trickery and editing reactions into the shot that weren't there then you have moved from a respected magician into a territory known as the "whore-out-zone" of any major network.

But what the hell am I talking about. See this:




Do you see? Do you see? Maybe some kids need to point it out to you.




Hilarious isn't it. Suddenly all the reactions become fake (or taken from a different show) the method becomes way too obvious and the performer loses all his credits. Lame!

Wednesday, 30 January 2013

WMF Robin Matrix

A young magician from the Netherlands. His stage name is Robin Matrix. He has a nice looking website and seems like a professional magician.

Looks can be deceiving.

He is selling magic. That in itself is nothing bad. Nor good. But the material... if it would be his own creations, or his refinements on other's creations all would be well. But this is not the case. He is selling Card Warp (Roy Walton) for instance.



-->



Or the good old Snap Change (Ed Marlo), the Card from the Mouth (With Bill Malone Subtleties) or the Crazy Man's Handcuffs (Michael Ammar). For 2 Euros.

It's not his material! He isn't adding anything new! He is making money of other peoples ideas. He's a magic parasite.

Now but that isn't all. He also has a free section, basically exposing material that isn't his. Among those: The Penetrating Straws and the Cut and Restored Balloon.

I don't like that, I don't like that at all.

Friday, 25 January 2013

A very slow W T F



What the fuck is that? Repeat after me...What the fuck is that?... Seriously... repeat: WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?