Month: December 2019

Chris Taylor (aka Chris Doc Strange) has written a really entertaining and useful book here.  To be honest I have zero interest in being a hypnotist (in my early twenties I read a few books on self-hypnosis, but that was a long time ago and I haven’t really thought about it since), but I found this book not only a really good primer on pretty much everything to do with becoming a professional stage hypnotist, but it provides a good grounding for anyone performing to the public, and in fact has some good advice on life in general.

Chris holds no punches and it is quite refreshing to read a book in the magic related arts that is so honest, humble and to the point.  Chris does not oversell anything here, including his performances and experience, and comes over as someone who genuinely cares about the art and human beings in general.  He certainly is not in it just for the money!  

If you are serious about learning to become a professional Stage Hypnotist  this is the perfect place to start.  Chris takes you through how to start, all the pitfalls, and provides tons of real world examples.  He also talks about things like insurance and the stage equipment required.  It is all here and should you still want to read more you could also try out Ormond McGill’s work: The New Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism.  But I would start with Chris’s book, it is much easier to get into and you’ll learn something about life and performing even if you never hypnotize anyone.

Find out more about Chris here: www.DocStrange.co.uk

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This is the original pen used by John Cornelius, a Mont Blanc style thick black pen which was later changed to a cross style pen as it was cheaper to produce and easier to compete with a number of rip-offs that were quickly appearing on the market place. Also, there was a key update to this idea c. 1996 that did not require a switch called The Perfect Pen here.

This was the effect that caused a flood of imitators but you can’t go wrong with this beautiful and clean original from the amazing and inventive mind of John Cornelius.

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This was released through Busby-Corin, Inc. which was the Oakland, California company formed when Jeff Busby joined forces with the talented Close-up performer, Matt Corin, from 1979 to 1981.

It is hard to believe this amazing electronic beauty was released in 1981, as it looks and feels like it is from a later period, it is that well designed.  There are no signs of any electronics or switches and there is nothing added or taken away.  No remotes to worry about or lose either.  This is unit #04 and is the only one I’ve ever seen of this fine effect so I don’t believe there are many of these lying around and they certainly don’t come for sale very often.

A very rare beauty created by a master craftsmen for sure. They really don’t make them like this anymore. The woodwork and the electronics are perfect, and work flawlessly almost forty years later! Try that with some of the modern so-called electronic miracles.

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Lubor Fiedler invented this effect c. 1972 when it was released as Dosen mit Zeitzündung. It was independently invented by Phil Matlin of Canada as Silver Sanctum c. 1979, and later released c. 1985 by Viking Mfg. as Sorcerer’s Stone and again c. 2007 by Viking as Sorcerer’s Stone Improved.  It was also released by Howard Schwarzmann Limited Editions c. 1991 as Lubor Fiedler’s Time Control Capsules, and again by Hank Lee c. 2002 when he purchased the Schwarzmann line.

As with so many of Lubor Fiedler’s ideas it is a brilliant and fundamental idea with many applications.  And based on the number of times it has been released and improved it clearly has some legs and has inspired some great minds.

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I don’t know if I ever will perform any Cups and Balls routine, but I thought I’d should at least get a set of these heavy, beautiful bad boys and a copy of Brian Watson’s Anytime Anywhere Cups & Balls Book and Brian Watson’s Anytime Anywhere Cups & Balls – Double DVD.  This way I’ll have no excuse and maybe if I can hold on to these amazing cups I’ll break down and read or watch the routine and the rest will be history.  Only time will tell, but I’m hopeful 🙂

The cups themselves are amazing, and they won’t come around too often so this is where they will stay for a while.

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And here is the final effect from Magic Wagon for 2019 and I’m actually caught up for the first time in years! This is another unique and well made effect which looks good and will certainly appeal to collectors. There appears to be no sign as to where the little golden meteor ball disappears too – it simply vanishes between the two blocks into thin air!

In some ways it is similar to the Atomic ball effect with a little more dressing. Some collector’s really love all the dressing up of the props, but if you are going to perform to lay people I prefer things stripped down – well made, but without all the frills. That is why I much prefer the original Magiro Hydro Die to the much more impressive Magic Wagon Majestic Hydro Die. In many ways this is why I like Eddy Taytelbaum’s magic so much – he makes really excellent props but with the possible exception of his Mummies they are understated without too many extra embellishments. But it takes all sorts and these beautiful props do make for a very wonderful display 🙂

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If you actually want to perform to lay people in almost any situation and really fool them this is one of the very best items ever produced by Magic Wagon. It is created in conjunction with John M. Talbot, Viking Mfg., and Tony Curtis.

Although many Magic Wagon collectors rave about the original Diceolation to my mind it is a lot of prop for a pretty simple one off effect which just doesn’t get me that excited. But what I love about John M. Talbot’s routine 3rd Degree Psychic, that comes with this effect, is that it is a three phase routine that builds all the way to the end, and is done with much smaller props that can be held by the spectator, instantly reset and popped into the pocket as you walk to your next group. To my mind it is so much better than Diceolation or a related predecessor Badlands Box Dieluxe.  If you want a cool item to impress the boys at club Diceolation is fine, but if you actually want to perform it regularly, Mini Diceolation is the one to track down and use 🙂

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