January 2011
16 posts
Magicae Minutiae
Yeah, I’ve given up on Bikes. I started using Studs a while back and haven’t looked back. I like practicing with Bees, but the borderless backs are usually a hinderance in actual performance. I’ve never treated myself to Tally-Hos before, although the general consensus is that they’re mighty fine. I may man up and order me a couple at some point. One benefit of Studs is...
Creationism
With maturity in magic comes a greater desire for simplicity.
It goes without saying that simplicity is a hallmark of good magic. But the fetishistic search for new methods pushes magic into the opposite direction of simplicity. The creator that feels the need to invent, invent, invent will not settle with a simple pass of a selection to the top. Instead, he must obsessively master his Delayed...
Ron Wilson and David Alexander died?? Where have I been? That’s terrible. RIP.
Knack Attack
Try this.
Top palm. Lift up half the pack with right hand. Slap the packet back down. Right before the packets meet, drop the palmed card down, allowing it to pass by the in-hand packet and fall to the lower left hand packet. It will turn fu and injog in the process. Instantly bring the packets back together. Done fast, the card seems to appear out of nowhere, fu.
Useless, but fun.
A True Gem
Revisited an old favorite last night— Paul Rosini’s Magical Gems. What a fucking great book. Rosini was the man. He was brilliant at taking incredibly simple concepts and turning them into something wonderful. Revisit the book, it’s great. And if you’ve never read it, do yourself a favor and check it out. I’m sure you could get it quite inexpensively. You won’t...
Fool Us
Just got around to watching Fool Us. My two cents.
The show made me feel quite weird. Yes, this is the entirely wrong approach that audiences should be taking to magic. I’ve never ever had a problem with P&T’s “exposure” that many other magicians have had in the past. But this is different. I don’t know. It made me feel icky watching it. I think what made me feel...
Just a simple little presentational thing.
DL and show a two. Turnover and thumb onto table, rubbing it with the right hand. Turn it over to show you’ve rubbed off a pip, as it’s now an ace. Put ace back on deck, then do a rub a dub. Say, “what’s one minus one?” They answer and you reveal.
Expert Card Technique
Revisiting an old favorite—Expert Card Technique. This book is near and dear to my heart.
I’ll never forget when I first discovered it. It was a Borders book store, in a mall. Naturally, I would always gravitate to the magic books (you know, the Games section). One day I stumbled upon ECT and my wee brain crumbled. I begged my parents to get it for me. I distinctly remember saying,...
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Apocrypha
My absolute favorite “memory demonstration” effect with cards—Terry Lagerould’s “Pseudometry”. Apocalypse vol 2. CHECK IT OUT.
Surprise
pasteboardpimps:
I got a few emails asking “what that was”. It’s Walton’s Surprise Surprise. An odd Between The Palms ace kicker.
Funny bit is Dingle never crossed my mind. That made it all the funnier getting responses “nice Dingle”.
Life is good.
Multiple Dingles, eh? Reminds one of a hilarious Vernon quote…
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Furthermore
Another example of a very inorganic trick—fusion. You know, the anniversary waltz-type thing, two cards fused together back to back. It’s cute and all, but as a serious mystery, it doesn’t work. But hey, maybe it’s just me.