Pillow fight!

Watch this, then stick around for some commentary...


I liked every bit of that until the production of the girl at the end. It's the same reason I dislike the shadowbox illusion (as well as a few others). Magical unexplainable stuff is happening and then a girl appears which can explain away so much of the actual magic. I think bringing an inanimate object to life is far more impressive than producing some rent-a-chick (or girlfriend/wife/relative) so why bother?

Bimbo is not always better...

Full steam ahead...

I wouldn't say T11 is trying to capitalize on a trend, but the guy in the video is the farthest thing from steam punk they could have gotten.

It's almost insulting to those who actually embrace the style.

You can decide for yourself.

A warm moist opening...

I always laugh when someone calls a chair or broom suspension a floatation. To me they are more of a puzzle than any other illusions out there. Kind of like some of my ex's. Nice to look at but they're not fooling anybody.

I also like the fact Jay Sankey thinks about magic. This means he is not afraid to experiment and figure out the hows and WHYS of something. Despite the fact he does flood the market a bit from time to time with product, he tends to know his shit for the most part.

A new Product Demo I saw recently addresses something I agree with. A good opening to your set, routine, etc doesn't need to be anything but visual. Something to set the tone and mood and character of what is about to happen following it. I also believe suspensions are not magic. They are not a trick in themselves. They are a quick visual that is a layer on top of the rest. Effects like Jay's or Rick Lax's Vertigo are a great way to get people's attention and introduce props or ideas you are about to utilize for actual magic.

Suspend your disbelief my friends...

With fans like these...

I'm kinda glad I'm not famous...

You're welcome...

In a few more sentences I am going to give you a gift. It's nothing tangible. Nothing you can hang on the wall. It's an idea. It's a GREAT idea. You can start thanking me now.

As many of you who perform "Easy Money" (Hundy 500, Prophet, Extreme Burn, etc.) the trick has some fundamental flaws. (Except for the original one that turned pieces of paper into money, that just make sense) The biggest one of course is why would you EVER turn them back into a lower denomination. I don't care what your patter it, it's dumb. The other is you can't hand the bills out (yes I know a few have come up with ways to do it but that's not the point).

I was in a restaurant last night and came upon a saying I have never heard before. It read as thus:


I then realized by quoting this line, (especially good here in Las Vegas), you not only have a reason to fold your money in half to execute the change, but you have the perfect motivation to just put it away in your pocket and move on.

Everything is now justified by just that one line alone. This my friends and readers is my gift to you. The gift of "Helping Your Magic Make Sense".

Now go forth and multiply!

PS: If you can't get enough of my ramblings, I did a guest column Over Here.

Knocik it off....

A message to all the younger magicians out there:

Hey kids, I know it's a catchy tune and all but for the love of all that is holey, please stop using that damn Fireflies song. It's annoying.

Thanx,

The mngmnt.

Round and round...

Tomorrow we release our new training video! Do you want to teach your sponge balls some new tricks? Then go to www.spongeballbreeding.com and learn more!

Rattling the chains...

So my previous post tught me two things. 1. Andrew Mayne reads this (waves hello the Andrew) and was kind enough to offer a counter-point to my ramblings. And B. I need to be more specific in this thing sometimes.

Sometimes I start with an idea and I forget to actually point something out that inspired it, be it tongue-in-cheek or not. When I said I was happy about my stuff being ganked I should have elaborated a bit. (keep in mind this is half-sarcasm coming up) It's nice to see my stuff is good enough/liked enough to be ripped off with the likes of people like Andrew, Garcia, and many others who are revered for their material.

Does this make it right? That's up to you. As stated in another post this kind of stuff doesn't bother me. It's the world we live in now.

Kind of like a Genesis song...

We have arrived...

Recently I discovered some of my magical offerings for download on a magic torrent site (No I won't give you the link). Believe it or not I am actually glad about this. Hell, I might very well be the only magician in the world who is. Crazy you say? Probably. Eating tacos right now? Definitely!

If you got to the big green bean you can find a lot of people in the ethics section bitching an orange streak about how they have been ripped off and pirates are the scourge of the this that or the other. Regardless of where you sit on the subject matter, one thing is for sure, those people are greedy.

If you sell to Murphys Magic then you have made a pretty good penny already off their initial order. (If it's a popular product you have no worries) If it's a download you are of course subject to overnight uploading, but the people who download it are unlikely to buy it anyway or even have the money to do so.

The way I look at it is thus: I would rather have people know my name and like my product to possibly buy future releases. If they like you and what you do they will show it to others and tell them about you. If you are just going to be captain bitchy-pants they will steal from you out of spite.

So be happy they found your items to have the value enough to steal. Then you can release something that ISN'T a damn DVD that they will be forced to buy.

Mmmm tacos.

Judge Dread...

I need to stop watching youtube videos of magicians because it makes me realize that if I was ever asked to judge a magic competition and give my feedback, I might make someone cry.

and a drop of self-promotion...

As many of you know we have been working with Sponge Balls for the last few years. We have collected quite a few rescues and learned a lot about these little fellas. With that in mind we decided to release a training DVD. Want to learn more? Head over to Sponge Ball Breeding dot com.

You'll be glad you did...

Open says me...

Finally, something for the alcoholic creepy magic uncle for x-mas. The self opening liquor bottle!

That's not He-Man!!

I am glad there are others out there keeping an eye out for magic demos that are faked because of some insipid reason or another.

Some of you may know that I will raise some hell about people trying to pull the wool over the eyes of magic consumers. I really want to interview these people and get their take on why exactly they would resort to this kind of chicanery but none of them will own up to it.

I think if they just went "Ok yes you got me. I'm sorry", they might have respect instead of trying to cover their ass.

Don't support these people. They don't deserve it.

Boo this man!

Russian Attack...

So I was reading a review for the X-men First Class film and came across this bit of text:

"Having been in the writing game for a decade now, I can tell: you can indeed produce something good in a rushed fashion, if the deadline demands it and you have the focus; however, something great absolutely requires time for a creator to be able to step back, assess his/her work, and decide what improvements should be made. Revision is the key to brilliance. You take away that time from any creative artist, and the art is ultimately going to be diminished. First Class was no exception."

It reminded me of much of the magic released today. It is given very little time to sit and stew in the minds of the creators. "Hey it works on video and it fooled my mom. I think I will sell it on teh interwebs". The only difference between the above scenario and magic is that there is NO deadline for creativity in magic products other than the one you place upon yourself... which seems to be a few days in some cases.

So I put this challenge to anyone who is thinking of releasing an effect for sale only a few days after creating it. Give yourself a deadline. One that prevents you from releasing something before a certain date. Give it ample time to be played with, researched, and tested in front of real people.

Let's call this deadline "Shower Time". Decide how many showers it will be before you release the trick into the wild. This way it gives you time to think about the effect without props in hand. Let your mind solve the problems or ideas in a secure and relaxing place. Only then can you put out your latest "master" piece.

Just don't get shampoo in your eyes...

What has been seen...

Cannot be unseen...

What about now?

Walking in Brussels, Belgium tonight I had something run naked thru my head.

Forget everything you know about magic competitions, conventions, and really any performer no one outside of magic has heard of.

Now list me off ANY modern magicians that are well known who perform card manipulation in their shows… aaaaaand GO!

(Jeopardy theme plays)

Times up!! I can see your answer clearly in my mind. It's... Lance Burton!

How did I know that? Simple. There are no grey elephants in Denmark! It's also because he is the ONLY correct answer in the last 40 YEARS!! (also he is no longer working so there really is no answer)

So think about that a bit. Could it be it's a form of amusement relegated to magic competitions to fill time and scores? Might it be anachronistic and out of place in modern society? How about it makes NO DAMN SENSE!

Now to be fair when people see it done right (I can only think of two people who this applies to right now) they seem to enjoy it but on the whole there is a reason you don't see it in ANY Las Vegas shows right now...

Aside from the fact it's also hard as hell to do it well.

In yo face!!

I am going to make a video journal about this and go into more detail. For now I just want to ask all of these younger magicians if they know the companies who release their magic are screwing them over on the recognition factor?

Think about it: They put THEIR logo onto it and your face is rarely seen. No one knows who you are or what you look like!!

Something to chew on...

Vogue...

It's no secret I really dislike photos of magicians with other well known magicians on working websites. No one cares ok?

Second, and this is for the pros, do something interesting in your photos people take with you other than look goofy and half smile. Sure it's a hassle to you but at least make some effort to make something that looks better than some half-assed yearbook snapshot.

You don't have to mug but at least stand up straight and pose a little. Grab a prop. SOMETHING!

This message brought to you by the internet on a train to Belgium.

Giraffed...

I was hanging out with Alex Kolle in Nurenburg the last couple days and we did something kinky... we shared gaffs.

I carry a cadre of weird (mostly) card gimmicks with me in my close-up bag. (yes the stage magician had a close-up bag. Get over it.) It was a lot of fun because a hadn't messed with a number if them in over a year or two. Many of them just sit there to show friends or toy with when I am bored.

Alex has some pretty kool ones. Just ideas he made but never did anything with because he had no reason to use them.

I then had a realization about all of this. Serious performers know the difference between a gimmick and magic. There are far too many idiot kids out there releasing untested or unnecessary tricks into the world just because they are "cool".

Listen, creating is fine and dandy if it's for you but selling something to the mass heard of magic sheep just because you know it will sell makes you an evil fuck in my book. Collect these ideas and make a DVD with the ideas, or lecture notes, or Anubis forbid a book (gasp!)

Stop cluttering our vision with your inventions. Just because T11 gives you a place to sell it doesn't mean you should do it.

We need a magic "Better Business Bureau".

Just do it!

No I am not having a psychotic episode that causes me to title my posts with old Nike slogans. I am merely giving you some advice.

Last night after my lecture in Frankfurt, I had a lengthy conversation with a magician about creativity and the like. In the middle of the talk I had a revelation and want to share it with you my demented disciples.

It is thus: The best way to be creative is to create. Don't be afraid to fail. Keep working til you get something!

As someone who comes up with ideas in various mediums I can tell you that they often do not look like what I want at the beginning. No matter how much I may doubt it I ride it out to see what's going to happen.

Sometimes when you make a new effect or move it might not do what you want but DO NOT stop. Keep making that prop or working on that slight until you get something usable!

Of course there are the times it won't work and you have to start over. Just make sure starting over us the only other option. On the upside you now have narrowed down one less thing NOT to do. Sometimes setting it aside and coming back to it is the better solution. Think of attacking it from a different angle.

Creating isn't easy but don't let if get you down. Never give up.

Never surrendeeeeerrrrr!