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:: Magic Roadshow ( formerly eMagic Deluxe ) Journal of Magic__ January 15th, 2005__ Issue# 015 Rick Carruth / editor_____ Copyright (C) 2005 ~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~ ~ Happy New Year ! ~
I know... the last issue came out on Dec.31st, and technically, some of you good folks probably received it on Jan. 1st. But, just play along and humor me.. OK ? Here's a sincere 'Welcome' to the forty-two new subscribers since last issue. I wish I could tell each one of you in person how much I appreciate your interest. But, for today at least, this 'email handshake' will have to suffice... Remember.. email me with any problems or comments. I'll be honored to help in any way I can.. editor(at)streetmagic.info Also, if you would like to be a contributing editor at eMagic Deluxe, email me at the same address and lets talk... ~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~ I'm sending this issue out a little late, as I am not really here.. I should be in Columbia, South Carolina, for the tenth annual SCAM convention. (South Carolina Assoc. of Magicians). I look forward to spending a little time with Losander, David 'Silly Billy' Kaye, Dan Harlan, Woody Landers, Rachel Wild, Tom Jones, Mick Ayres, John Tudor, and Robert Moreland... among other notables. They actually charged me a little extra to attend because they said I was a 'magician'. I didn't know whether to feel honored, or send them Websters definition of 'magician ' and ask them for a discount... I'm glad to be able to include some new reviews from my favorite contributing editor - David Breth. If you live in the 'a little north of Baltimore' area, you can visit with David and enjoy his amazing sleight of hand up close and personal.. find out more HERE http://www.gusspizza.com/aboutus.html ~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~ ~ Just a Touch ~ Mental magic... just for you. This effect will serve you well if you will take the time to work out some interesting patter. I will briefly summarize the effect and leave the rest to you... Effect: Have someone mentally select a name (or object, or favorite sports team ). Give them a writing pad with five lines drawn and ask them to write the chosen name on one of the lines. Then, four other unrelated names on the other lines. Take the pad.. study it.. audibly call out a name and announce that you do not think that name was the chosen name. Call out two more names and tell your audience that your are sure they are not the chosen names either. Down to the last two names.. study hard.. and announce the chosen name. Secret: Give your spec a RED fine-point or micro ink pen. I use a Uni-ball micro. A short time before the effect, touch the tip of the red ink pen to the felt tip of a BLACK marker, like a Sharpie. When your spec writes their chosen name on one of the lines, the very tip of the first letter will have a "dark" appearance. If you practice for a few minutes before you perform this effect, you will learn exactly how hard to touch the tips together to achieve a virtually un-noticeable 'smudge'. NO ONE will notice this smudge, but you.. It will appear as if it's just a little excess ink on the tip. Again, take the time to work up a Good Story to go with this effect, and you will have a little bit of impressive mental magic to add to your repertoire... ~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~ ~ In The Pocket Miracle ~ Simple trick using a basic magic principle that plays big, IF you create a little 'drama' to go along with it.. Effect: Lay a deck of cards on a table and ask someone to cut it two or three times. After the last cut, ask them to take the top card, look at it, and put it in their pocket. Now, pick up the remainder of the deck and put it in a card case and close it tightly... Pick up a notepad.. study your specs face intently.. look deep into their eyes.. and draw a picture of the card that's in their pocket... Secret: Pretty simple actually. Use a deck that is stacked - Ace to king of hearts, ace to king to diamonds, etcs.. ( Just like a new deck - with the bottom card being an ace and the top card of the deck a king..) This effect works really well with a new deck. Remove the jokers, and go immediately into this trick.. Cutting the deck will not affect the order of the cards. When you pick up the deck to put it in the card case, casually glimpse the bottom card. You will know that the card in the pocket is one card lower.... For example.. if a six of hearts is on bottom, the chosen card is the five of hearts. The only exception is if the bottom card is a ace, then the chosen card is an king of the previous suit. Simply arrange the suits in an order you will remember... You can also perform this trick with a 'Si Stebbens stack'. If you don't know what the Stebbens stack is.. put it in Google or MSN or Yahoo search. You can let a second or third audience member pocket cards also, provided that you get a chance to glimpse the bottom card after each selection. Again, this is a simple effect. But, in the hands of someone who is willing to take the time to play it up, it will appear to be a true 'mental miracle'... ~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~ Magic Product Reviews: reviewer: David Breth / contributing editor/ http://www.gusspizza.com/aboutus.html Banacheck’s Pre Thoughts (Book)More than a set of lecture notes, this is a complete mentalist act from start to finish as used by Steve Shaw (Banachek). Excerpts can be used as stand-alone in your show! ‘Pre-Thoughts’ has several techniques that pay for the book many times the already low price. As you read on past the first two pages you realize you have just received an actual (Full) show that you can market and perform. For approximately $10.00 from Denny & Lee Magic Studio ( www.dennymagic.com ), you have the resources found in this book to perform a high-end show that has an unlimited price tag (Worth thousands of dollars)! You too will see why this is where the pro’s shop. --------------------------------------- Picture This (by Richard Sanders) The magician shows a stack of full color photos supposedly of him as a little boy in his room holding a large fan of cards. The spectator signs the photo and you place it face down on the table. You have him select a card and upon turning over the signed photo, the little boy has dropped all of the cards except the one the spectator selected. The signed photo is then given to the spectator to keep as a souvenir. This is a really great layman pleasing close-up effect. Picture This...really is a beautiful work to carry ALL the time! This is a must perform for all magicians some time or other! EVERY spectator WILL ask you to perform this for them (This is one of the illusions that you have the means [without the secret being reveled] to perform time and again in the same setting! Do this one for the children and upon the revelation all the adults will take the card (that you gave the child to keep & take home) and they will all ask you how this is possible.Highly recommended. About $12.50 YOU CAN NOT AFFORD NOT TO GET THIS ONE. Tell Denny David Breth says hi www.dennymagic.com ~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~ ~ So.. you want to be a real, honest to goodness, full-time working magician.. do you ? ~ Say you want to 'hit the streets' and begin your climb to fame and fortune ? Say the only problem is you question your skill and routines.. not to mention the fact that there are no other magicians in Bodunk Iowa for you to emulate? Read on - --------------- ~ Review : Anywhere - Anytime Close-up Magic ~ Dan Turcotte (www.YouDoMagic.com) (reviewer - R.Carruth ) Anywhere - Anytime Close-up Magic is Dan Turcotte's latest effort in a long list of teaching videos and e-books. Unlike many DVD's which feature magicians in studio settings, Dan has put it all on the line and created a virtual library of magic and sleight of hand for real-world, working magicians. This set includes three discs with one hour of unrehearsed restaurant and street performances, two hours of video instructions, and twenty-seven PDF format e-Books. Anywhere - Anytime does not leave a single point of approach and misdirection unexplained. I'm a simple guy. In addition, I have serious problems reading a description and following directions. I need visual help and plenty of details. However, notice I said I was 'simple', not 'dumb'... and you'd better be prepared to wow me if you want my money. Cheap productions, glitzy settings, poor sound and editing, are all problems with many self-produced DVD's. Absolutely not so with Anywhere - Anytime. Aside from the material, which I'll talk more about in a moment, the overall production, lighting, sound, and angles really impressed me. I was expecting the normal indifferent standards one often encounters with both live video and e-books. Dan knew what I needed. His combination of live performances, instructional video, and e-books illustrated with crisp, clear photos approach each trick or sleight from every mental angle. So, it doesn't matter whether you are visual, like me, or imaginary; you're provided with the proper teaching aid to assure that you fully grasp the trick or technique. Dan has field-tested the material taught in Anywhere - Anytime daily so it is relevant, intelligent, and topical. The Sleight of Hand DVD includes a variety of magic that both street performers and, in Dan's case, restaurant performers, use to garner the maximum response from their audience. Watch steal, Finger Fazer, thumb tip magic, cups & balls, monte, rings on and off strings, five different rubber band effects (including crazy man's handcuffs), coin vanishes, floating bill, and pen through dollar are part of the effects detailed in both video and digital e-books. Magic is measured in millimeters. Whether you already know an effect Dan teaches is unimportant. I learned several new twists that made tricks more 'do-able ' simply by observing his fingers or wrist position. This is probably the single strongest feature of Anywhere - Anytime -watching a working magician as he makes a living. The Card Tricks DVD is a master course on sleights such as the classic pass and thumb sweep (my favorite), push-press card control, back palming, strike double lift, center steal, and top change. Just to mention a few. I was pleased that each sleight served a real purpose and helped develop a solid foundation of moves to perform many killer tricks. Again, everything is supported by fifteen e-books that detail everything you see on the instructional videos and live performances. I'm not going to list all the close-up card magic tricks, but you do learn Dan's versions of Card to Pocket, Ambitious Card, Card to Ceiling, Card-Toon auto reset, Invisible deck, Mind reading with cards, un-gimmicked rising card from deck, and Emergency finishes. Some tricks feature Dan performing in two or three different live settings, and it is interesting to see his interaction, patter, humor, approach, and performance under real world conditions. Dan's an honest guy. And he doesn't show you how to perform a trick and then promise you that you'll be performing for your friends, family, or audience by dark. Some moves are fairly simple and others may require thirty minutes practice a day for two months before you are ready to go public. Not once are you promised a 'pie in the sky'. And that's just the way I want it. I don't want a DVD that makes me feel like a fool because I can't perform a move Dan makes look so simple. But, I do want DVD's that offer me encouragement, inspiration, and visionary training methods to insure my success. Thankfully, Dan Turcotte's Anywhere - Anytime Close-up Magic proves to be an entirely selfless effort aimed squarely at teaching others the 'Fine Art of Magic'. Click Here! PS.. I want to thank my friend, Tim Quinlan, at InsideMagic.com for publishing this review on his site last week. You can now access each new article on Inside Magic almost as soon as Tim publishes them by visiting my homepage and looking for the ~ Inside Magic Headlines ~ ~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~ ~ Fr'ee Magic ~ In addition to full information about the DVD package I detailed above, if you visit Dan Turcotte's site and sign up for a Fr'ee membership you will get ALL the following for your effort.. 3 Unique Fr'ee Card Tricks 1 Mentalism Miracle 1 Dollar Bill Trick 1 Sponge Ball Video Lesson 1 Sponge Ball 2 Page e-book 9 Performance Tips Design Plans for a Professionai Magic Table Folks, this is all class stuff, and will give you a small idea of the time and effort Dan has put into his DVD package. ~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~ ~ THE ULTIMATE HOME STUDY FOR PROFESSIONAL CLOWNS ~ The Clown Marketing Blueprint is now available at ClownMarketingTips.com . Click Here (dead link) This is the ultimate home study for the professional clown, whether you are a newbie or have been clowning around for a while. Full of proven, business building ideas. "STOP STRUGGLING WITH YOUR MARKETING !! " ~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~ ~ Misdirection and Magic Theory ~ Pages upon pages of misdirection theory and techniques.. Visit the 'Misdirection Resource Center' and master the move many magicians consider the most important of all... http://www.leirpoll.com/misdirection/misdirection.htm ~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~ ~ Blockbuster Online ~ Yes, we do occasionally watch something other than magic DVD's. I recently had one of my least-watched premium movie channels canceled so I could spend that money each month on Blockbuster Online. Think about it... I was spending ten dollars each month on the Movie Channel & Cinemax, ten on HBO and Moviemax, and ten on the Starz package. I watch the Starz package and HBO original programming. ( Soprano's, Deadwood.. ) I didn't watch enough Movie Channel to justify keeping it, mainly because there is nothing on TMC and Cinemax that I can't get from Blockbuster. They send me three movies at a time and fr'ee shipping packages. I watch what I want - when I want, and return one, two or all three DVD's in the pre-paid packages, and in a couple of days... I have three more movies. The ten dollars I save on my cable bill is two-thirds of the $ 14.99 a month I pay Blockbuster. The way I look at it.. I'm paying an extra four dollars and ninety nine cents a month for unlimited DVD's. PLUS... get this; If you order now you will receive via email each month, a certificate good for TWO in-store DVD and/or game rentals. That alone is worth more than the extra $ 4.99 a month I'm paying Blockbuster... I've got this thing figured out.. (and yes, I do squeeze a nickle so tight I can make the Buffalo poop...) Remember.. there are NO contracts - For a limited time your first month is only $ 9.99, and following months are $14.99. You can quit anytime you want, without any type of hassle. Try it for one month - and see if you don't agree that this is money better spent than money you spend on some of those cable channels you never watch.. Blockbuster Online ( outdated link ) ~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~: ~ Special note: ~ You may have noticed that I rarely 'credit' a trick or effect. If you happen to specifically know who created a trick that I publish, please forward the information and I will be glad to give credit where credit is due. Unfortunately, crediting a trick is sort of like crediting a joke.. Unless it's a very specific joke, like Rodney Dangerfield's " I don't get no respect..." lines, it's darn near impossible to determine who authored a joke. Same with tricks and effects that utilize basic magic principles... and most all of the tricks and effects I publish use basic principles, instead of 'gimmicks', which are much easier to credit.. Again, I will NEVER knowingly publish an effect that I know SHOULD be credited. But don't even THINK about trying to take credit for an effect that can, or should, be credited to someone else.. I will not hesitate for one moment to publish both sides of the issue. I'm not trying to be disagreeable - just fair to all involved. Thanks for understanding... ~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~:~~ ~ Finale ~ In the immortal words of Porky Pig... " tha' tha' that's all, folks !" I hope it's been as interesting for you to read as it was for me to write.. Again.. email me with any comments. And, until next time, spend more time PRACTICING ! You can't practice too much ! May my next issue find you well.. Rick Carruth . |
