Month: February 2004

Strong, Direct Mentalism with no funny business!

This is more than just predicting 1 out of 3 choices – which is not that magical on a good day – you provide a prediction, of which there is just one, that predicts 3 out of 3 choices.

You predict what goes in the bag, what goes in the spectators hand and what goes in your hand. Every time. The other cool thing about this effect is that it is always ready to work. No set-up at all. Just put the prediction and the wooden disks back in the bag and you are ready to roll. Everything can be examined too!

In fact, it almost sounds too perfect to be true. But it is true. You will like this effect for its clever method and the impact it has on your audience. And I’m sure you will use it often because of its simple requirements and set-up. Highly recommended!

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Clean and Convincing, but practice required.

This is a very clean prediction effect. Performed well, it is hard to beat for cleanness in fact.

It has shades of $link(1246,Ultissimo) in its method – but without the stand or extra deck, which is a big difference! To do it effectively a sleight is required ($link(2079,the Cull)). This is a fairly standard sleight, but if you buy packet tricks and gaffed decks because you don’t like doing any sleights then this might not be for you. It does come with an alternate method that requires less sleight of hand, but it is not as strong.

I can think of at least one way that all sleights could be removed, and to the lay person I’m not convinced they would notice any difference in the effect.

Having said all this the Cull is a very useful one if you don’t already know it, and if you can just break your rules once you will not only have a hugely clean prediction, you will also have a great sleight that you will be able to use for all sorts of things.

As much as the purists like to keep all gaffed cards out of their lives, and the gaffers like to keep all sleights out their lives, sometimes a beautiful mystery comes from the combination of both worlds.

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Beautiful Wood and Funny Routine!

This is my sort of magic these days. It’s made with very nice props that are small and pretty much indestructable. There are no electronics or things to remember or any real set up. And the price is very reasonable.

The routine has great comedy potential and no tricky moves. Instead of just handing out 5 envelopes and you win the one with the $20 bill in as with the usual Bank Night type effect, you have some fun with it. You show these 5 "Turned Discs" that you give the audience the chance to win some cash with. Through a seemingly fair sequence of eliminations you end up with the last remaining disk. It uses a known technique that I have personally never seen or used before, and it works very well.

What makes this different is the way in which you first reveal what each specator won and then what you finally have won. You’re entertaining them with these lines directly related to the words written on each disc, and then wow them at the end as you split open your Disc and pocket the cash!

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Now for the truth about magic and entertainment …

"Magic, as exhibited by the majority, is the indulgence in a hobby which rarely instructs, seldom amuses and almost never entertains." Dariel Fitzkee, Showmanship for Magicians, 1944.

If you want to take the warm fuzzy feeling away from what many magicians, both professional and amateur, have with regards to their performance and their magic, then Fitzkee is your man. The first book of this trilogy changed my life, well at least that aspect that is devoted to magic. He makes you really think about the entertainment value of a typical magic performance.

I think everyone wanting to be a "Magician" should read Fitzkee’s words. Highly recommended!

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A Modern Day Fitzkee?

I love it when intelligent, gifted magicians take time out to really analyze our industry and art. Jamy Ian Swiss, like the greatly respected $link(2120,Trilogy of Dariel Fitzkee), holds no punches and makes some very thought provoking observations on magic, magicians, and mentalism.

In my book anything that makes magicians think twice about what they do and say is a winner. We don’t need more mediocrity in magic; this goes for performers, inventors, dealers, and manufacturers. By reading authors like Mr Swiss maybe our industry can get over its love of itself and actually start to produce great magic and entertainment that was abundant forty or more years ago.

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A classic piece of magic history for just $52.

This 2002 Facsimile version of Expert at the Card Table by the, still mysterious, S.W. Erdnase is an incredibly faithful reproduction of the original book. It was published in 1902 and has had a profound impact on card magic ever since (after some prodding from ($link(2151,Dai Vernon)). With the exception of using better quality archival-grade materials and a modern binding technique it is as close to the original as possible – the anonymous publishers even found what is to believed to be the same cloth.

This seminal work on card and gambling moves is a must have for all serious card workers, and now it is available as it was first delivered by Erdnase over 100 years ago. This book is small enough and cheap enough to be carried around with you wherever you go. Unlike the original which can fetch $2000 and is likely to fall apart in your hands.

Of course you might find reading something like $link(1682,The Annotated Erdnase) easier going and more practical today. So get both.

There are only 750 of this 2002 version so I suggest you $link(http://www.canick.com/erdnase.html target=_blank,order one now) – it is a truly amazing how authentic this book looks and how much you will gain from reading it in its original form. Thanks to $link(http://www.canick.com target=_blank,Michael Canick) for distributing this amazing book.

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