|
Magic Roadshow October 17th, 2006 Issue# 57 Rick Carruth / editor (C)2006 All Rights Reserved Worldwide Street Magic's #1 free newsletter for magicians, street performers, restaurant workers, close-up artists, and mentalists, with subscribers in over sixty three countries worldwide. _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ Hi All
Sorry I'm running a couple of days late, but the little wife and I just got back from Gatlinburg. Had to take a couple of days to look a nature change her colors. Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year, but nature will not wait on the Roadshow. Here's a really big Welcome to all the new subscribers who have signed up since the last issue. I hope you find something in each issue that improves your magic in some way. Don't forget to email me for whatever reason. Actually, you don't need a reason.. just email and say "Hi". Thanks to all of you who have purchased those super-cheap memberships to my favorite teaching site, CardSleights, now known as CardTricks1 ( http://www.301url.com/cardsleights ) and bought my favorite off-the-wall ebook Astounding Secrets http://www.StreetMagic.info/astounding.html . Remember, if you bought either, and want a free copy of Easy Mentalism, let me know and it's yours... I have syndicated all new posts to my blog, Magic Bullets from the Magic Roadshow. Now, you can go to this link, enter your email address and click 'subscribe', and you'll receive an email with my complete post whenever I publish a new article to the blog.. It's simple, there's No Spamming, and you can unsubscribe from the feed at any time. All subscriptions are handled thru Feedblitz, and remember, you WILL NOT receive any emails from Feedblitz, or anyone else, other than the new post itself. http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=70161 On with the Roadshow.. ------------- In This Issue ------------- My Best Free Semi-Magical Tool for Magicians - R. Carruth How To Double Your Income As A Performer - by Dennis Regling Ask A Pro Smoke & Mirrors Remote Show Control with a Laptop Wizards Magic Chest Derek Merdinyan's MagiComic New! Ten Card Tricks - Free PDF eBook Ghost Whisperer Crystal Ball Are You a Mind Reader? - by Morgan Hamilton Unlocking the Free Secrets of Magic Nathan Kranzo's Box Monster _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ My Best Free Semi-Magical Tool for Magicians R Carruth Being an editor/writer of sorts, I'm always on the lookout for any tool that will help me compose my humble articles. Now, I realize that many of you may not be writers, or even like writers for that matter, but don't, for a moment, let that stop you from reading this article. What I'm going to share with you is a tool that is so useful that if the extent of your editing is typing a heading on a report and safely storing it in a file, then you STILL need this tool. Google, being the little juggernaut they are, can't be content with simply having the number one search engine and the number one web based email server. No, they have some little guy named Trevor, sitting in a cramped southwest ground floor office, who feels that developing a method for sharing, editing, and storing your documents should be of importance to the average internet user, and that Google, again, should be at the forefront. Give the little guy a raise and a corner office. WRITELY is Google's latest web based tool to show the possibility of dominating a market. And why should the average magician give a hoot about Google's new tool/toy ? Read on... Writely can best be described as a web based word processor - on steriods. Developers have took heed of the business trend that allows small groups of workers to work together on projects, with each employee having the ability to alter and/or edit documents for the collective good of the group. File sharing has always been problematic. Google email provided users with the ability to swap large files back and forth. But you had no way of seeing the 'latest' version, unless someone took time to mail it to you. But Rick, you know magician's don't share.. at least not their 'good stuff' anyway. With Writely, everyone, and I mean everyone with an email address, can sign up for the newly released beta version and share documents instantly, edit documents from any location with internet service, and store your documents in a secure enviroment that backs itself up every ten seconds. Collaboration is in real-time, so the right hand always knows what the left is doing. You can store your documents online and grant access and editing privileges to anyone in your circle of family,friends, and co-workers. And the type of documents you can upload and store is not limited to the conventional text documents. Writely stores all documents in html. What this means to you is - you can upload Microsoft Word documents, OpenOffice, RTF, HTML, and the normal text documents, and all will be securely stored, and can be edited, in the Writely editor. OK guys.. pay attention, here's the payoff.. Documents can be 'saved as' in a number of different ways. You can save a document to HTML and upload it to the web. You can save a document as a .zip file. And the kicker - you can create documents with the online editor, then convert the document to PDF and save it to your desktop. Onced saved, the converted document will retain ALL THE LINKS AND IMAGES of the original document. All you magician-types out there who have not sprung for a PDF converter are actually going to benefit from hesitating. Since many of the magic documents out there are compiled in a PDF format, you can now write your essays, notes, effects, etc's.. and save them as a PDF to share or sell to the magic community at large. Yeah, there are free converters to be found if you search the web, but they don't convert your url's and images so they're readable in the PDF document. Links can be seen with these converters, but they aren't clickable. And what good would an ebook detailing your effect be if you couldn't show readers a few images? Like any good WYSIWYG editor, the Writely editor will allow to to perform all the usual functions, including indentation, bulleted lists, coloration, table functions, image importation, and url conversion. Then, save your document as a PDF file, and you will automatically create your own PDF's with imbedded links, color, and images. If you prefer to create documents in Microsoft Word, you can upload your document to Writely, then save as a PDF doc. - and voila, you're in business.. Oh, there are many other reasons for signing up for Writely, but I will allow you to discover your own favorite reasons. Writely will perform with most browsers, including Firefox, but will not support Netscape 4, Opera, IE 5 (Mac) or IE 4 (Windows). http://www.writely.com RCarruth ================================= How To Double Your Income As A Performer by Dennis Regling As a performer, we only have a limited number of days we can perform each year. We also find that the fees we can charge are sometimes limited by our market's ability to pay. The question comes then, how can we increase our income without taking more time away from our families. David Copperfield has a secret. It's called BOR which stands for Back Of the Room merchandising. After his shows, David Copperfield sells T-shirts and other souvenirs. This has been used by singers for years at their concerts. Whether you are a magician, clown, speaker or other performer, most gigs will provide you an opportunity to sell product after your presentation. Motivational speakers sell their books and tapes. Clowns may sell animal balloons. Singers sell CD's and shirts. As a magician, you can sell magic kits, autographed pictures, T-shirts and books. Ideally, the merchandise will be personalized for you. You may sell a magic kit, but how much better if your picture is on the box. If you wish to sell a book of magic tricks, write it yourself or use an instant author program. Autographed pictures are great, and better yet if you personally sign them after the show. Magician Greg Friesing in Niagara Falls charges his guests to have their picture taken with his tiger. Do you use a rabbit in your act? Get a digital camera with a docking port and you can sell and print pictures of your audience members with the bunny. You can staff the BOR table yourself, with your people, or let your host provide workers in exchange for a small percentage of sales. To increase sales, be sure to casually mention the BOR products during your show. Don't give an elaborate slaes pitch, just let them know they will be available. Also, if you are pitching T-shirts, be sure stage hands and other staff all have a shirt to wear. You can also sell your BOR on your website. The key to success in all sales is to take maximum advantage of selling opportunities. You may even find you make more money at the BOR table than performing at some gigs. Good luck, and if you have questions, send them my way. Be sure to tell your magic friends about this newsletter. For more information on BOR, go to: BigBig.com Dennis Regling, captdenno@yahoo.com http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art43741.asp ============================== ~ Ask a Pro ~ (Remember to send in your questions and receive a FREE copy of Royal Road to Card Magic) My question for david is... What is his favorite type of magic? (close-up, mentalism, stage ) What first got him started in magic? Thanks Zac --------------- Hi Zac Thanks for the question! Rather than detail my 'details' again, Rick featured an interview with me in the Roadshow about a year ago. You can get all the answers by following this link and Rick will send you a copy of Royal Road to Card Magic as well.. http://www.streetmagic.info/eMagic27.html Hope this helps. David You can visit David at his site: http://www.DavidBreth.com or http://www.magictainmentshow.com and find out more about his parties and close-up shows by visiting http://www.tower-belair.com ============================== Smoke and Mirrors.. I'm sure many of you are familiar with Angelo Stagnaro's popular "Smoke & Mirrors" ezine. For those of you who aren't a subscriber, Angelo edits a free monthly ezine featuring at least two different effects and a wide variety of magic related announcements from around the world. Currently mailed out to 4500 magicians on six continents, Smoke & Mirrors has featured the work of such luminaries as Alain Nu, Jarle Leirpoll, Scott F.Guinn, Aaron Smith, Guillaume Singer, Carl Andrews, Ed Solomon, Mike Bornstein, Paul Gordon, Gene Poinc, Dondrake and Peter Marucci. I've been a subscriber to Angelo's popular ezine for over two years and look forward to each issue with youthful anticipation. Sign up and you will too... The easies way to sign up is visit Angelo's site at: http://www.kismetmagic.com and click on the 'latest issue' link at the top of the page. Smoke & Mirrors is a Topica list, and subscribers will be emailed an announcement weekly. ============================== Remote Show Control with a Laptop Jeff Haas has put together a great little site detailing how a magician, or any performer in fact, can construct a self-made system for cueing your own music. The system can be used to provide sound effects as well. You can assemble a system that rivals an expensive factory made system at a fraction of the cost. All that's required is: A laptop a remote control of a specific type detailed by Jeff software to convert your CD tracks to MP3 (free), Software to play your MP3's (WinAmp) A cord A small bag of connectors The remote can be kept in your pocket and used to prompt your sound whenever you're ready. I've read through the site and not only is the system easy to construct, but practical as well. You can check it out at.. Remotelaptop Thanks Peacelove ============================= Wizards Magic Chest Bill Davis, the founder of Bill Davis Magic, is a master magician with over 25 years of experience. He has taught many children and adults magic over the years, and prides himself in having a unique teaching style that allows children and adults to quickly learn the art of magic so they can perform just as well as the most seasoned professional. Bill incorporates his unique teaching style into the instructions presented with each magic trick manufactured and distributed by Bill Davis Magic, which allows all aspiring magicians to easily master these amazing effects. http://www.wizardsmagicchest.net PS.. When ordering, tell Bill, in the comment box, that you heard about him in the Magic Roadshow and receive FREE shipping on all orders.. ============================== Derek Merdinyan's MagiComic Derek has a comic. Specifically, a MagiComic, which is his unique way of sharing an effect with his audience. In this one, he takes an effect first popularized by Jay Sankey-John Bannon-John Kennedy, and adds his own twist. "Nailed", the impailing of a selected card on a large spike, isn't an easy effect, but it's a gdod one.. View this issue of MagiComic exclusively on Putfile.. http://www.putfile.com/derekmerdinyan/ ============================== Ten Card Tricks - Free eBook Although there are a couple of ebooks out there titled 10 CARD TRICKS, and I think I offer or have offered most at one time or another, I have never offered this one in the past. Most of the effects are aimed toward the beginner, but don't let that stop you. Remember, it's always been my contention that most of the great effects are simple card tricks that have been dressed in an extra coat of zeal and transformed into small works of art. Inspiration comes in many forms and almost always begins as a simplistic vision. You can download it as a zip file here.. http://www.streetmagicsecrets.info/TenCardTricks.zip ============================== Ghost Whisperer Crystal Ball I've featured this effect in the Roadshow in the past, and I'm going to feature it again. Although it is totally mathematically based, until you grasp the principle it seems as if it's a minor miracle. I had a very well-versed magician try this recently and it took four divinations for the 'secret' to hit home. You don't appreciate the effect until you've done it at least twice. Once you realize that you're not getting the same answer over and over, it becomes a little more mystifying. Ghost Whisperer crystal ball http://www.cbs.com/primetime/ghost_whisperer/crystal_ball.shtml ============================== Are You a Mind Reader? Have you ever tried to guess what someone else is thinking? If the answer is yes, then you should think of yourself as a wannabe mind reader. It's true that there are many people who have this ability but it's good to know that most of the mind readers work by illusion and suggestion. In case you'd like to be a mind reader, you should be aware that it will take some time and work but you can succeed. Magicians are famous for knowing what others are thinking. Actually it's one of their most famous tricks to be a mind reader. This trick is frequently used. They blindfold the magician and with the help of his assistant they go to a member of the audience and do the trick. Firstly, they tell him to show an object in his pocket and ask the magician what the object is. The magician answers "A comb" or any other subject that the audience member is holding. This might seem breathtaking but in fact it is simple and the magician is not a mind reader, not even close to it. This is just a trick because people carry certain things in their pockets - money, driver's licenses, combs and the like. All the magician has to do is make a list of all the common items and then think of a code with his assistant. For instance, she might say "what is this man holding" when the member of the audience has a comb in his pocket, or "what is in her hand" when it is a coin, "Can you guess what it is?" for a driver's license and etc. The so called mind reader should have a good memory and that's it! He doesn't need any other special abilities, certainly not magic ones. This whole thing is just one trick and it can be easily learned by anyone who is a good memorizer. Mind reading is also frequently used by street magicians. The magician gathers a crowd and picks one of the audience. He asks this man to write down the name of a loved one on a piece of paper and put it in a sealed envelope. Then the so called mind reader tries to guess the name by touching the envelope and guess what? He succeeds! The whole crowd believes the magician is a truthful mind reader. However, the magician is just a smart con artist, not a mind reader. He has someone in the crowd to help him. This person reads the name written and tells it to the magician by certain gestures and signals. Everyone is looking at the magician and the sealed envelope, so this isn't very hard. There is a special code for each letter. And again there is no mind reader, just a magician with its tricks. In conclusion, if you feel like being a mind reader, all you have to do is find a trusted helper; you don't need any other ability. Doing such tricks is not difficult at all, it just takes good technique and some practice. Once you know what you are doing, then you are ready for a performance if front of a large crowd. Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning entertainment. Get the information you are seeking now by visiting Mind Reader =========================== Unlocking the Real Secrets of Magic (AD) ( plus a free ebook just for looking ) I recently published notice from my Irish friend, Gary McCaffrey, that he had put together a package of many of the greatest works ever put between two covers. I'm talking about works that I refer to EVERY week to help me uncover a "new" effect. Get complete electronic copies of each of these classics.. Erdnase "Expert at the Card Table" Bobo's "Modern Coin Magic" The Royal Road to Card Magic Anneman's "Mental Miracles" Jean Hugard's "Encyclopedia of Card Tricks" Tarbell's Original Course in Magic.. all sixty courses. ( Worth WAY more than the cost of the entire package!) And this is a PARTIAL List ! These may be in modern electronic form, but they are true classics of magic that should be a part of every magicians library - and can be for LESS than the cost of one typical magic dvd. All I ask you to do is click the link and have a look... you'll get a little "bonus" just for looking... Click Here ==> Real Secrets of Magic ========================== Nathan Kranzo's Box Monster (AD) - Nathan gave you guys a heads up in the last issue. Well, the Monster has arrived - "The spectator selects two cards from the deck-- there are no forces. With no funny moves, the cards are placed back in the center of the deck. The deck is then placed back into the box. The box is closed." "With no false movements, the card box visibly snaps open and one card is then seen to slowly, visibly rise up out of the deck." "Your hand grips the card gently and pulls it out of the deck. The card is slowly turned over-- it's the first card they selected. You bring the cards down to the table and spread them from right to left." "Then, one card begins to slowly move OUT of the spread, towards the spectator -- while on the table. You've never seen anything like this. And neither have they-- it's plain eerie. The card moves out of a spread on the TABLE." Everything is included except a regular deck of cards.. Watch the video ==> Box Monster ========================== A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Target. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Target. We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day. The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in "Mom let's run through the rain," she said. "What?" Mom asked. "Lets run through the rain!" She repeated. "No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied. This young child waited about another minute and repeated: "Mom, let's run through the rain," "We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said. "No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm. This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet? "Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!" The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith. "Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If God let's us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," Mom said. Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the pudd les. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet I needed washing. Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories..So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories everyday. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. ---------------- Till next time... Rick Carruth / editor ---------------- http://www.StreetMagic.info http://www.StreetMagicSecrets.info http://www.MagicRoadshow.com http://www.Mentalists.info http://www.MadMarketing101.com ============================= |
Sign Up for this ezine - Free!