|
:: Journal of Magic__ Apr.1st, 2005 ____ Issue #20 :: Rick Carruth / editor......... Copyright(C) 2005 ~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~ Hello All..
My recent incarceration on tax fraud charges will hamper the publication of future issues, plus the IRS says there is some sort of intrinsic value to each issue of Magic Roadshow and that, since the MR is a free publication, they will attempt to collect a fee of $4.95 for each issue you have received to-date... Happy April Fools day ! And a big 'Welcome' to all the new subscribers since our last issue. I hope you find good reason to remain a subscriber for a long, long time.. In this Issue......... 1) Reviews & Reason, my thoughts.. 2) Review - Bob Solari's Link-Key 3) Forwarding Gmail to Your Cellphone 4) Bar Tricks & More.. Fun for bartenders & magicians 5) Coinvanish.. great site, videos, instructions.. 6) Svengali Pitch Men.. What it's all about - plus video 7) Side note.. 8) The Institute of Dexterity Hand and Finger Isometrics 9) Pepper(s) Ghost.. The What's and How-to's 10) The Ripper & Traveling with Michael Ammar As Marvin Gay would say.." let's get it on.." ~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~ :: Reviews and Reason.. Over the next several issues I hope to offer more reviews of magic products and DVD's. I am receiving more and more items for reviews, and I intend to give them a fair shake.. I am of the belief that most, but certainly not all, magic products have some redeeming quality. As a magician, I tend to see the possiblilities of a trick and not simply the obvious. That's why I lean toward rating magic based more on it's potential than on the performance as offered by the creator. Would it be fair to classify cotton as something to stick in the top of a medicine bottle? I'm an unapologetic fan of American Idol. Time and time again I have listened as Randy, Paula, and Simon chide contestants for performing poorly. Some take perfectly good songs and twist them, and themselves, into obscurity. Others take simple songs and, as the judges are quick to note, make them their own... That's my point.. I'm going to look at whether or not I think the magician can take the effect and 'make it his own'. Does a trick have the flexibility to be converted into a nice little bit of magic? If it does, should I say so, or should I judge it based on how the creator packages the effect? I'm really not trying to take a simple review and turn it into quantum physics. I'm also not trying to take items others have created and trash it because I 'personally' don't perform that item, or that type of magic. I have to be fair.. I have to look for the possibilities.. I have to look through the hype and see if there's anything of substance there... That's the whole basis of my reviews. Whether it's Dancing Canes, D'Lite's, or dozens of other items I have seen criticized by other magicians - they can be transformed into a thing of beauty in the proper hands. On a personal note, don't fall into the trap of forgetting for whom we are suppose to be performing. It's really not hard to entertain the general public if you take the time to practice and work on your patter. I will rate items I review on a scale of One to Five, based on their 'Entertainment Value', and their entertainment value is based on their ability to entertain the general public, not all you buddies down at the local ring... I hope you find this method useful to you personally, and helpful in your selection of items to consider adding to your repertoire... R.Carruth ~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~ :: Link-Key ___ A review Effect: Peformer displays a round solid steel key ring in one hand and an ordinary brass house key in the other hand. The only way the key can be placed on the ring is to wind it around the spirals of the steel. The performer simply TOUCHES the key to the ring and VISIBLY the key is linked on the ring. The magician now causes the key to visibly melt off the ring. The key is melted onto the ring a second time and everything is handed out for inspection. Link-Key by Bob Solari is one of my favorite pocket tricks. This is one of those tricks that cannot be explained in detail because a gimmick is employed, and I'm not giving away the secret. What I can safely tell you is this... you get a large key ring and the necessary gimmick to complete the trick. Although it is a little angle-sensitive, I have not found that to be a problem. Because, like most keys and key rings, the size is small enough that you cannot appreciate the effect from a distance, and performing the effect close-up limits the amount of people you can perform this trick for at one time. Performing the effect close-up lets you control the line-of-sight and thus.. the angle. The gimmick itself is constructed in a way that makes melting the key onto the ring very visual. The viewer will think " Nice. But he must have slid in onto, not through, the ring." But, when you put the key on the ring and let go, allowing the key to slide to the bottom of the ring, the effect is confounding. This is when you take the key, bring it up to the three o'clock position on the ring, and slowly pull it straight off the ring. Whatever the viewer thought before, you just knocked in the dirt... Putting the key back on the ring and then handing it out for inspection is the final touch. There is one minor sleight involved in performing Link-Key, but it is covered by handing out the key ring to the viewer. The average performer can master the routine in less than a hour... probably less than thirty minutes.. but a little additional practice never hurt anyone. If you perform walk-around or restaurant work, this is a good effect to add to your repertoire. It packs very small, resets instantly, and will last a lifetime. In fact.. the minor sleight actually puts you into position to perform the trick again immediately afterwards. Entertainment Value = 4 stars ( One star=Save your money, Two star=So-So at best, Three star=average to good effect, Four star=Get it now, Five star= Reputation builder ) http://www.BobSolariMagic.com ~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~ :: Forwarding Gmail to Your Cellphone Since I offered to send Gmail invitations to any of you who were not satisfied with your current email server, I feel that I should also pass on this little bit of info.. ( PS - I still have a bunch of invites if you want one - email me) This is the beginning of a recent article in WebProNews: "Did you know you can have Gmail forward your new mail to your mobile phone? It's very simple, and takes just minutes to set up. Don't want all your email sent? Apply a filter to what you send..." Go to http://snipurl.com/SendGmail to read the full, but simple, tutorial.. ~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~ :: Bar Tricks & More Sometimes it's surprising where you find sources for magic on the web. I've recently discovered a site called 'Bartender Magic ' that is full of magic and stunts of all sorts. Of course, some of the items are not magic as we magicians think of magic, but there's a ton of items that are.. I can tell you that if you work restaurants, there's probably more than a few tricks you can make a part of your arsenal of magic. ( How many times have we ended up at the bar, not necessarily to drink, but to relax, before the night was out...?) "Tricks, stunts and gags to help you increase your tips, make new friends (or enemies), or just have some fun. New Tricks Added Every Friday and Saturday. Blog updated five times a week.." Move a matchstick that's under a glass without touching it.. Remove pepper from a pile of salt... without touching it.. Bend a cigarette in half without breaking it.. Name a card by just touching it.. The key word here is 'fun'. Magic is not all serious practice, endless routines, and total perfection. Take time to do something 'funny' today, and make someone laugh. Maybe you will too... http://www.bartendermagic.com ~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~ :: Coinvanish Dan Watkins, proprietor of Coinvanish, is one of the arts finest writer/performers, and, has one of the very best websites on the web related to his speciality. Many sites tease and tempt, telling you just enough to raise your interest in what they are - ultimately- selling. Like most webmasters.. Dan sells. He writes and sells manuscripts of very detailed, visual, and inspiring coin routines. But... It's his website that makes it into my list of top resources for coin workers. Dan has in-depth essays of the following sleights/moves.. So you have Bobo's now what? / What DVD's should a beginner buy? / How to Classic Palm a Coin / The Retention Vanish / The Muscle Pass / The Four Coin Roll Down / Each is complete with a series of color photos to help you visualize the text. If that wasn't enough, Dan has a full page of mid quality streaming videos of various other routines and misc. stuff like - Bahama Magic / Playtime / Muscle Pass / Lightning Copper-Silver / Jumbolaya / Sticky Coins - and others... There are abundant reviews by both Dan and other renown coin workers as well as the Coin Purse Forum for coin-related questions.. http://www.Coinvanish.com ~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~ :: Svengali Pitch Men What do you think of when you hear the names Ali Bongo, Joe Stuthard, Dave Walker, Eric Ward, Ron Macmillan, Lambert the Magician, Johnny Neptune, and Jackie Cook ? What about Mark Lewis or Don Driver? The upper group are all gentlemen who, at one time or another, were svengali pitch men. Lewis and Driver are modern day pitch men who specialize to one degree or another, performing and/or selling info about the svengali pitch. Oh, you don't know what the svengali pitch is? My faux pas... The 'pitch' is their 'method' of selling svengali decks by setting up tables or booths in public places, conventions, malls, flea markets, etcs. and performing demonstrations of svengali magic to entice the un-informed to buy a deck or two.. Now Mark and Don are two very different individuals. One performs a short routine, the other a longer routine. And both have a different philosophy about attracting a crowd and pitching their ware.. In favor of Mark Lewis and his brochure.."The Long and the Short of it - The Greatest Svengali Routine in Existence"...... ------- "A remarkable achievement. Mark has spent over 30 years putting together this astonishing pitch and it shows! I might just quit my job (whatever that is) and start to pitch Svengalis. I thank him for writing such a wonderful book" -Paul Harris -------- Go to http://www.marklewisentertainment.com/ and click on the 'For Magicians Only' link, then click the 'Entertainment' link, and then the 'Trade Show Magic' link. Go almost to the bottom of the page and click the ' click here to see Mark do a card trick' link. This is NOT a card trick. This is a six minute 'pitch' exactly as Mark would perform if he were on the streets or at a trade show.. Interesting stuff ! And in the other corner - Don Driver and his Svengali Pitch video and Wigglee Pitch manuscript. Don't ask me what a wigglee pitch is... you'll have to do your own research..! ------------ I can't think of anyone I would rather learn from than Don Driver. He knows the real stuff on drawing and holding a crowd, on pitching, and selling. If he puts anything out you should grab it. - Whit Haydn ------------ Don's site is located at http://www.dondriver.tk , and features a link to the Magic Cafe and a two page discussion of the art of svengali pitching.. http://snipurl.com/svengali If you love magic, enjoy working with the public, have a desire to perform street magic - but aren't sure about your abliity to live off the tips you earn... maybe you should check out Don and Mark's sites. This may open a source of income for you, just as it has other 'pitchmen'.. ------------- :: Side note.. Busker's ( guy's who publicly perform a 'pitch' of some sort - selling svengali decks or drawing a crowd for a street magic performance for example ) have their own 'Cafe'. The Busker's Cafe American is dedicated to subjects you can't talk about in other cafe's.. Moderated primarily by Danny Hustle and Mark Lewis, BCA will give you an inside look at the world of busking and street hustling. A very wide assortment of subjects are covered, since many of these guys are magicians... Check it out.. http://www.thedannyhustleshow.com/forums/index.php ~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~ :: The Institute of Dexterity Hand and Finger Isometrics Tabby Crabb makes tables. Well, actually he makes Tabman Tables, maybe the best table a magician ever owned. Ammar, Maven, Lee, Sisti, Swiss, Wonder, and Biro, among many , are all customers of 'Tabman'. But.. that's not what this resource is about. It's about fingers... your fingers. As a skilled woodworker, magician, and musician, Tabman depends on his fingers to make his living. Dexterity is vitally important to ALL magicians, young and old alike. Don't think that simply because you're young you can't benefit from a daily routine of finger exercises to help keep your fingers in maximum condition.. To quote Tabman.. ( Magic Cafe thread.. http://snipurl.com/tabman ) "Many years ago I responded to a small ad in the Musician's Union newspaper for The Cowling Institute of Finger Dexterity. It was a series of isometric excercises designed to keep the hands of pianists, guitarists and violinists in shape. Mr. Pickles (I'm not kidding about this), the director, told me that ten minutes a day was physically the equivalent of two hours on instrument practice as far as the muscles of the hands and fingers were concerned. In those days I lived on a tour bus and had precious little time to practice so I bought in and have been a devotee ever since. I don't play much music anymore but the excercises have kept my hands in great shape and the benefits have transferred over to my card play." Tabman has been kind enough to set up a page on his website to show exactly how he exercises his digits daily. I do these exercises myself, every day, and they take about three minutes to perform. http://www.questx.com/tables/cowling.html ~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~ :: Pepper Ghost It's not halloween, and I have no particular reason for passing this resource along.. but here it is anyway. I found a nice blueprint for creating your very own 'pepper ghost', one that's affordable and easily within the abilities of the average shop owner... I realize that at this moment some of you are scratching your heads and wondering aloud what the heck I'm talking about.. You can read all about pepper ghost here.. http://www.dafe.org/misc/peppers/peppers.htm And.. you can access the blueprint here.. http://www.rjsoap.com/pepperghost.html Note that Robert Benfield spent all of about ten bucks to create his pepper ghost. Actually, this might be the perfect time to introduce you to Mr. Pepper. This way you have ample time between now and October to contemplate where you want to display your 'personal poltergeist...' ~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~ :: The Ripper :: Traveling with Michael Ammar Did you see the movie 'Shade'? Do you remember when Stuart Townsend took a double-faced card from his pocket, held it up for Jamie Foxx to see, and then 'ripped it' into two jacks. Just as quickly, it was ripped into four jacks.. The effect originated from an idea by Scott Alexander and Alan Nu, and was created by Lee Asher. Published in his 'Thinking Out Loud' lecture notes, Lee consented to this, and several other efects, being used in the movie.. I'm not going into detail about performing 'The Ripper'. Instead, I'm going to send you to http://snipurl.com/leeasher to sign up for Lee's list and he will send you the url to download the pdf. Look around the site and you will find a video of Lee performing the Ripper, plus numerous other effects sold by and/or created by Lee. Click on the 'Coming Soon' link and you can watch the fr'ee documentary - Traveling with Mike Ammar. Travel 9 days with Mike through the Pacific Northwest as he experiences the highs and lows of being a magical superstar. http://snipurl.com/leeasher Click here to visit Lee.. ~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~ " You must do the things you think you cannot do.." Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady "I attribute the little I know to my not having been ashamed to ask for information, and to my conversing with all descriptions of men on those topics that form their own peculiar professions and pursuits." John Locke, English philosopher ------------ Write and let me know what you think of eMagic Deluxe Journal of Magic. Make suggestions, criticize, send me your reviews or original articles... be pro-active ! May my next issue find you well... Rick Carruth ~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~ Magic Roadshow ~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~::~ . |
