Journal of Magic - March 1st, 2005 - Issue# 18
Rick Carruth :: editor/publisher :: Copyright© 2005
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Hello All..
First.. a big "Welcome!" to all of the new subscribers since our
last issue. I'm thinking there was forty-two of you ladies and
gentlemen, if memory serves correct.
Second.. I have a lot to cover, so I'm going to make this short.
I'll be out of town this coming Thursday through Sunday, in case you
try to reach me and I don't reply back with my normal lightning
speed. Going to Tennessee to spend three days with Jeff McBride and
Michael Finney, among others, at the Winter Carnival of Magic in
Pigeon Forge.
Also, Oz Pearlman will be the 'interview' in one of the next two
issues, depending on our schedules.
Third.. Please contact me with any questions, rants, raves, or
reviews HERE
:: In this Issue ::
-true article
-ads
-magic stuff
-resource thing
-another resource thing
-yet another magic kind of thing
-great trick
-more ads
-sign off..
Told you I was in a hurry!
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:: True Stories ::
I featured a very informative article in my last issue by my friend,
Esther Beris, of the Clown Marketing Institute about how to deal with
request for free shows.
Esther is a professional, so she knows exactly what she's talking about
when she says accepting an offer you may not normally consider might
be just the thing to do - particularly if you can get a valuable
recommendation and free press.
I know Esther would take two looks at any request that may seem too
good, and you should too. Here's why..
Taking a serious look at who, or what, you're associating your image
with is critical to you career. After all, it's YOUR image and you
are the one responsible for your decisions. It's too late, after the
fact, to say " ..but I didn't know."
When I was in college I had a double-major; women and tennis. Art
and pre-law came in a distant third and fourth. I was invited to
attend this college because of my ability to play tennis. Nothing
else..
Actually, I was visiting a friend of mine during his first week of a
new semester. The college was sponsoring a big concert and he ask me
to come hang out a couple of days. Being a tennis player, I took my
rackets, and my second morning there I headed for the courts while my
friend was in class.
There was one other guy on the courts, working on his serve. I did
the same a couple of courts down, and shortly we were talking and
then playing. Turned out he was the new tennis coach, a former
All-American from a major university.
It was a little after eleven when we started playing, and, honest to
goodness, by four that afternoon I was enrolled in college and on the
tennis team. They didn't care about my college board scores, didn't
want to see my high school transcripts, and didn't care that I had
missed the first week of school.
I found myself on a team with one of India's top ten players, the
Maryland state eighteen-and -under champ, the North Carolina
eighteen-and-under champ, and two all-state players.
I didn't have a resume'.. my high school didn't even have a tennis
team...
So, although we were a 'team', I felt pressure from the beginning
to try to 'prove my worth '.
One area where we all competed against one another was for the
attention of the 'female fans'. So, one day in February when I was
sitting on a bench in the college square with one of the 'female
fans' and was approached by a photographer wanting to take photo's
of my friend and I to use in conjunction with a "couple of
projects", I jumped at the chance..
After walking around the campus and taking photos of us sitting on
benches and standing in doorways, we parted ways with our new-found
photographer friend, with the promise that our picture would
accompany an upcoming Valentine's Day article.
Sure enough, in one week - there we were, front page of the paper.
Our photo encased inside a heart and an appropriate headline for
Valentine's day, "Love Eternal "
I can't say that I noticed any improvement in my game, but it
certainly increased the amount of attention I was getting from the
'opposite sex'.
I even had my own little 'cheering section' when I played my
matches..
Three weeks later, and very early one morning, I was roused from a
sound sleep by my roommate... "Rick, man, you gotta see this !" I
rolled out of bed, wiped the sleep from my eyes, and tried to focus
on the newspaper he was pushing in my face.
I smiled as I saw my picture on the front page - again already! Big
picture of me looking into a young ladies eyes. Equally Big headline
under the picture. But nothing about " Love Eternal ".
Not this time..
"Sexually Transmitted Diseases Running Rampant Among Our Youth!" I
crawed back in bed and pulled the cover over my head, wondering what
the criminal penalities were for beating a photographer " on and
about the head " with a camera..
In three weeks time, I went from being a symbol for 'love', to the
poster boy for sexually transmitted diseases.
Once again, my game wasn't affected by my publicity... but I
couldn't get a date for a month.. And my so-called 'teammates'
took full liberties to remind me daily of the 'stain' I had brought
upon our teams reputation.
I understood, after the fact, why my photographer friend didn't go
into detail about the 'future projects' our pictures would be
associated with..
It was my responsibility to ask, and I let the 'power of the press'
cloud my judgement. You too, will be asked to perform at venues where
your appearance will benefit the person, or group, doing the asking.
See, it's not their job to to consider whether or not your
appearance will have any long-term effects, good or bad, on your
career. It's YOUR job.
I received a letter the other day from one of my website sponsors who
didn't want their product associated with a site who 'promotes
gamb'ling'. Seems another of my sponsors sells promotional coupon
booklets redeemable in Las Vegas. I knew that..
Among the dozens of buy-one-get-one-free show tickets and dinners,
one casin*o offers ten dollars in complementary slot play. I was asked
to choose between the two sponsors, and I did..
I fully respect that sponsors right to have a degree of control over
when and where their ads are shown. If they don't want their ads
shown on a site that sells coupon books, that's their right. And if
they don't look after their reputation.. who will?
Even though I DO NOT promote gamb'ling on my site, I decided to
maintain my relationship with the Las Vegas based company, primarily
bacause of the Las Vegas areas relationship with, and support of,
the magic community.
The other companies ads came down, and their #1 competitors ads went
up in their place.
That's business..
Whether it's request for free shows, advertising, links, or office
parties for groups or organizations you are diametrically opposed to
in principle - we MUST think beyond 'Valentines day' and 'love
eternal', and look a little farther down the road..
We must be willing to say "no" if we are opposed, for whatever
reason, to those making us offers. You can't allow 'press' or
'money' to cloud your judgement, ultimately suffering harm to your
reputation that can't be repaired with a simple " I'm sorry..".
We all make mistakes. But there's no excuse for making mistakes when
you see them coming !
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:: Rare Fearson Video ::
Check out this rare video of Steve Fearson performing the sawing in
half illusion he sold David Copperfield. DC renamed it the Laser
Illusion for one of his TV specials..
It's not difficult to figure out the 'method' used by Steve, but
the thinking is original... You can understand why Copperfield
grabbed this up and kept the method secret for years..
Thanks to 'Mr. Ekshin' for the site..
Click Here
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:: HypnoStage - Revisited ::
"Last month, in part one of Promoting the Show, we discussed the
various markets where a Stage Hypnotist can work. This list,
obviously, is far from exhaustive.
Over the years I've found myself working everywhere. I've even
found myself gathering my own crowds in Jackson Square in New Orleans
and then passing the hat after hypnotizing 10 or so people."
"I can usually plan on making anywhere from $150 to $200 for an hour
show done to a street audience. And during the course of a decent day,
I can usually pull off 3 or 4 shows. There are definite advantages to
street performing. There's very little, if any, overhead, you set
your own hours and nobod*y feels offended if you try out new
material."
"But it's hard to make a consistent living in a market that's
controlled by weather and bus schedules...."
-------------------
This is an excerpt from popular hypnotist - Szeles - journal of
hypnosis "HypnoStage.. a magazine for and about Stage Hypnosis "
January, 1999. Back issues from 1998 to 2002 are archived on this
site, and I promise yo*u that you can find much info, if you dig a
little!
www.szeles.com/backissues.htm
You can access newer issues by going to Szeles homepage at..
www.szeles.com
===============
:: Miracle Play ::
This site is like having an encyclopedia of card magic online.
Literally dozens and dozens of tricks, counts, forces, flourishes and
more.. Just one problem, I hope you have a pop-up blocker. But
otherwise, there is a wealth of information here..
"Basics- Setups- Forces- Glimpses- Controls & Shuffles- Switches &
Color Changes- Stealing & Loading- False Counts- Reversals- Folds &
Tears- Flourishes- Miscellaneous- Terminology & Index"
I would gladly credit whoever set this site up. But there is not so
much as a contact email on the entire site.. ( If you know.. let me
know )
www.miracleplay.hpg.ig.com.br/index.htm
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:: Derren Brown ::
England's Channel 4 features a comprehensive selection of Derren
Brown's mental magic. Channel 4 will answer all the following
questions.. and then some..
Are you feeling sleepy?
Derren makes people fall asleep while they're talking to him on the
phone. How does he manage that?.
The abandoned wallet
Derren leaves a wallet full of money on a pavement all day. Lots of
people walk by but no one picks it up. How is it done?
The magic doll
Derren uses a voodoo doll to control whether a woman can walk and
talk. Is he using psychological insight or psychic powers? Find out.
Test your memory
First, let's see how well you use your capacity for remembering
information. When you click belo*w, I will give you a sequence of 11
numbers that I want you to try and remember. But you'll only have 30
seconds to put as much effort into it as possible. Then I'll show you
how to do it without even trying.
Ready?
www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/M/mindcontrol/index.html
===============
:: Brilliant Little Bill Switch ::
You can thank France's Arthur Tivoli for so graciously sharing the
secret to a beautiful Bill Switch. As you will see on the video, the
bill never leaves sight. Yet, when you stop folding after the second
fold and unfold the bill, it's changed to an entirely different bill !
I could tell you how it's done, but I don't have to... Arthur has
put it all up on a website - the video and the pdf file with the full
explaination..
( I've seen similiar, but inferior, switches sold for seven to
fifteen dollars..)
http://arthur.tivoli.free.fr/
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If you have something of interest you would like to share with
others, send me an email ! No attachments please, as my email is
configured to automatically delete attachments..
May my next issue find you well..
Rick Carruth
Magic Roadshow
