Just wandering...

Do you ever look at the copious amounts of magical crap that spews forth every week and wonder who is putting it out to further the art or to see what can be done with it in other hands and who just needs money?

I weep the latter might be the front runner...

It's like Ferngully all over again...

A new vanity deck came out and the ad copy says, "There are a lot of decks out there. Try not to get distracted by the ones that don't make a difference or advance our art." 

What you may not know is that the companies who put out these decks will openly admit that they make more money on these decks of cards than on the magic products they release. Thus the ridiculousness of some of the ads for these decks. No deck of card advances our art. WE advance it by making something new. By stepping outside the lines that have been drawn for our "safety". To even HINT that a deck of cards makes you an artists hurts magic by putting that idiotic thought in your mind. You know who let it get this way? YOU! (and to a much lesser degree, me. I think I have bought two custom decks in my life.)

I understand they are "collectable" to people who do such things. However claiming one is better than another at this point is silly. There's no looking back now tho'. It's just gonna get sillier from here on out.

How many dead trees do you have in a drawer at home?

Piled high...

When I worked at a couple magic shops in the late 90's and early 2000's I thought there was a lot of crap magic being released... but little did I know what was on the horizon. How could I have known that the way to be known in magic was to release a glut of mediocre products? Who could have forseen youtube making it so easy to self publish and sell something you "created" that day without research or real world practice?

It's a brand new world. Material is being released at the speed of thought and it shows no signs of stopping. If you think I am exaggerating, then look at places like the Latest and Greatest section on the Soylent Green or even all of the crap being sold and bought on facebook groups such as Surplus magic Exchange.

It makes the mind wobble.

My smooth brain...

Dear magicians with lots of money and no skill,

Buying your job title is like the people who cheat at online video games to be the "best".

I hope all of you die in a fire.

Sincerely,
The Mngmnt.

Open your presence...

A couple days ago I went and saw some bands I like. One of them puts on a great show by being energetic and just in the moment. Watching them made me very aware of something I already knew but became inspired to write about here...

Stage Presence: Sometimes you're just born with it.

It's not something you can buy or apply. It can be learned to a  point but some people just naturally exude that special something that makes them more interesting than everyone else once they are on some elevated platform.

No amount of sleight of hand, costuming, or money can get it for you. You either have it or you don't. It's a natural talent, plain and simple. It's a mix of confidence, control, ego, and insanity.

You need to WANT to be up there. You HAVE to be into it. You MUST believe it. No amount of words I throw at you will help explain it. You just have to get it...

Get it?

PS: I have another article in the recent Vanish Magazine. Read it yah poozers.

It's an age thing...

Much like how it's very hard to take anyone under the age of, say 40, seriously as a mentalist I think it's very hard for anyone under the age of 25 to really sell themselves as a "corporate" entertainer.

It's not so much the age thing, but there are others who have a hell of a jump on you and you should spend a good deal of your youth perfecting your skills.

Oh and not taking shit so seriously.

Duh'Finger...

Possibly the best D'lite routine ever?
Projection mapping live performance art - The Alchemy of Light by a dandypunk from a dandypunk on Vimeo.

Don't do the math...

If I ever added up the amount of money I have spent on buying materials to make props and try out ideas I would likely go mad. Then to factor in how much of that was wasted on stuff that didn't work would just cause me to go on a three state killing spree wearing someone head as a hat. (yes that was a Con Air reference. Get over it.)

If I was to stop and think about it all it might actually deter me from creating and experimenting. That, boys and girls, is one of the secrets to my creativity. Never give up and try everything.

The only way to learn is to fail. That is find the ways that DON'T work. Don't let the cost deter you (tho' do be smart and get the best deal. Don't just jump on the first thing you see. There might be a cheaper alternative. (Sometimes you just need a little patience.) Obviously don't spend money you don't have just for the sake of a magic trick, but set aside a little bit here and there if it's super important.

Just don't do the math...

Pro Noun?

A friend of mine sent me this in an email today. Not sure if he was trying to tell me something but there is some real silly shit in this list. A lot of the stuff seems geared at being a money hungry a-hole but I will comment as I see fit.
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If you think like an amateur and you want to book more corporate gigs (or any type of gig) then you’re going to fail. There is a huge difference between amateurs and professionals. I’m going to give you 15 different mindsets that pros have which allow them to get gigs while the amateur struggles.

1. Amateurs call themselves “magicians.” Pros consider themselves to be a “business.”
I can see how this is both true and not at the same time. However, if someone asks me what I do for a a living I am sure as hell not going to tell them I am a "business".

2. Amateurs focus on how many shows they do per year. Pros focus on how much they make per year.
Have you ever been around someone who ONLY worries about the bottom line? Man they sure are a fun lot to be around lemme tell yah.

3. Amateurs buy tricks. Pros invest in marketing material that improves their business.
Again, both true and not. I think a working pro does both if the material can benefit them.

4. Amateurs do marketing when they feel like it. Pros do marketing even if they don’t feel like it.
I think a working pro will market PERIOD. Most hobbyists won't even bother.

5. Amateurs talk about working on their “show.” Pros talk about marketing their show.
This is some big time BS. I don't know ANY pros who sit around talking about marketing their shows unless it's in a closed door meeting with a venue or their team of people whose job it is. A good performer NEVER stops working on their show.

6. Amateurs spend money they get from a show. Pros invest money back in their business.
They both spend money they get from shows. How else would they get money? Sheesh...

7. Amateurs hang out on forums. Pros are too busy marketing to hang out on forums.
Yah I'm just gonna leave this one alone because it was obviously written by an idiot.

8. Amateurs hang around other magicians. Pros hang around other businessmen.
I think someone just took and reworded some business pamphlet for some of these. That or they have NEVER spent any time around magicians in their LIFE.

9. Amateurs talk bad about other magicians. Pros do things for other people to talk about.
So does that make Criss Angel a professional Amatuer because he does both of these things at the same time?

10. Amateurs make excuses about why they can’t do something. Pros do whatever it takes to make it happen.
This might be the only one I fully agree with. Someone who takes the business seriously will never give up and keep pushing for that next show or opportunity.
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By the way, you might want to reread the intro and the part I bolded. The funny thing is the article only listed 10 things. I guess pros don't have time to count?

What I got from this was that the person who wrote it only cares about money and has no regard for anyone who wants to create art and entertain. If you get to the point where this is the black and white way you see your performing career, just stop and go open a real business somewhere. Stop clogging up the already hardened arteries of entertainment with your stupid ass. The rest of us would like to work and stop having lackluster money-grubbing fame hounds making a bad name for the rest of us.

Wait... what?

Did Criss Angel REALLY  just post this on Twitter?

"Don't get how people steal material/image &look in the mirror-NO ethics"

This was my reaction:

 

Magical Vs. Impossible

Dai Vernon is credited with saying something to the effect of "confusion is not magic". I want to add my own thoughts along this line to the magic world by saying impossible does not equal magical.

I think doing something impossible and doing something magical are two different realms. Much like we seem to lump all performing traits under the term "character" we seem to just fist every thing that is supposed to be magical into the category of "magic".

Much like my popular stance that coincidence is not magic so too shall this gem rest right next to it.

What got me thinking of this was watching the demo for an animated torn and restored card. I like to think that magic has a very defined clear cut effect to it. Tricks that I feel sit under the impossible umbrella are things that either don't make sense or are not magic in and of themselves. It's a very thin line I admit.

Usually magic is best when it serves a purpose or fills a need. Let me explain it to you using hand puppets and this little one act play I just made up.

Magic
Random Person: "Man I am hungry"
Magician: hand me that napkin (magician makes sandwich appear from empty napkin)
Person: "Wow that was amazing! Thanks!"

Impossible
Magician: "Watch me take this sandwich and make it penetrate halfway thru this pane of glass"
Confused Person: "Um...ok."
(Magician fuses sandwich and glass as one)
Person: "Wow that was.. weird. Why did you do that?"
Magician: "Because I can..."

That might be a tad extreme but doing something random like the second example serves no purpose other than eye candy. Magic is impossible. Impossible is not always magic.

Does this mean all your magic needs to serve a function? Hell no! However the moments of magic should make sense to the task at hand. Ambitious card is magic. It is structured as such. Turning an apple into an iphone? Not so much. Doing something impossible "just because" may seem like magic to some but in the end...

it might just be damned silly.

Remember, remember...

I think vanity playing cards have now passed from novelty to the collector's market. The reason for this is there is now a market for them. With every new release I get the feeling magic companies are just pumping cards out for the hell of it sometimes.

A recent item had this as part of their ad copy: For the misfits, the rebels - those who challenge us, inspire us; those who say maybe when others say “no” - let the games begin. Enjoy the Rebellion.

Ok first off let's back that pretentious train up a bit. It's not the occupy movement or the 70's. There is nothing challenging about a stack of paper. Second, wouldn't a better rebellion be NOT buying the cards when everyone else will be? This kind of idea is about as rebellious as shopping at a Hot Topic.

It's just a deck of cards guys not a protest song. 

It's just that easy...

As an exercise in creativity, watch this:


See what he did there? He took a trite effect that makes no sense (spirit hand) and put a story around it. (Yes then he beefed it up a bit but that's not the point)

It's not that hard to look at a magic trick or item an figure out for a way to have it make sense.

Be the ball...

The AGT thing...

I will try and forgo my usual ranting about how America's Got Talent is a BS show that only exists to make money off singers. However this current round of "Get on the show from Youtube" magic has kinda irked me. 

First off, if you read the rules of the youtube submissions it stated you had to submit something filmed within the last year. Two of the submissions dated as far back as 1996. I would have let this all go if not for the fact I already knew one of the performers had been in talks with the AGT producers about being on the show. it seems they had to upload a YT video as a formality and were already a shoe in. I can't prove it but I also can't prove the existence of the flying spaghetti monster yet for some reason I still feel the touch of his noodley appendage in my life.

I know the show is supposed to create drama and all of that but the fact people still believe it is a totally fair show is beyond me. (Have you ever noticed how the judges outfits seem to change through the course of a show? Could it edited somehow? Naaaah) If you watched the last three magi that came on last night's show, you might notice the two who got panned the most were the ones who spent tireless hours creating their own unique props and routines and the one who made it through is doing a store bought effect that, granted he put his own touches on, not something he put his heart and soul into. 

As an aside a friend of mine callously said that "This goes to show just because something is different doesn't mean it's good. Give me Channing or Gabriel any day". (Actually he said something far more insulting but I am paraphrasing) I think classics have their place, but their days are numbered my friends.

The "judges", and I use that term lightly, have NO place to actually judge anyone aside from the fact that someone put them into that position and gave them that title. Something they themselves did not have to work for. Something in which they are merely doing for a paycheck and a free ride. It makes me ill that this show is still on the air and taking advantage of performers from all walks of life, adding to the dumbing down of America and entertainment, and basically shitting on hard working individuals who don't need their scripted bullshit.

To be fair tho', the performers did know the job was dangerous when they took it...

It's like the chicken said.

Call me fish meal...

Saw a quote on my Facebook (oddly by a chewing gum company) that I feel should be shared with the magical world.

“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” - Herman Melville

The learning channel...

They say you should learn from your mistakes or you are doomed to repeat them. I say we should learn from our performances. For me every major performance is a learning experience. There is always a line that can be made better, a joke that could be told differently, a method that can be tweaked, etc.

I'm not saying that every time you perform you should walk away with something. That card trick you did for that waitress may not be a lightbulb type moment... but it could be.

Over the years I have learned from and played upon my mistakes as well. You can't ignore the tiny details because it is those things that make up the big picture.

So pay attention to your shows lest you are doomed to repeat them...

in hell.

I'm riding thru the desert...

A couple of things today my merry band of followers. One a new issue of the free magic magazine Vanish is out. I have a whole page to talk nonsense in it. I suggest you read it cover to cover.

The other is a wee bit of a contest. I have been updating the handling on an old idea and don't have a good name for it. (Some of you might remember it from the February 2007 Linking Ring parade I did) So if you devise a name for the effect I like not only will you learn it for free before it's officially published anywhere, you will get a credit for the creation. So have at thee!!

We're going to Disneyland!

Some friends and I got together to have some fun and be creative. We also filmed it. Enjoy.

I'm in your brain...

I have always wanted to see a magic trick end like this...

I have made a prediction. I will lay it here on the table.

Now think of a card. When you have it turn over the prediction. (Click the card)

(I didn't say it had anything to do with the trick now did I?)

Sunning yourself...

I have a little something to say to my fellow magi who want to be more than they currently are.

STOP BEING SO DAMN LAZY!

The people who reach the top are the ones who climb. You have to work for what you want. The higher your goal the harder you have the work to reach the top. You can't just expect others to do it for you or hope it will work out. YOU have to make it happen.

Do you wonder why others are getting more gigs than you or maybe have better shows? They are working their damned fool heads off to get there. Sure luck plays a part of it all but they are moving forward and they don't stop. They are either working on and fixing their act everyday, making notes and jumping on them immediately to be better. They are on the phone sending out promo and making contacts everyday. (Some even claim to do this 8 hours a day like a real job but I think that's a little bit of BS sometimes.)

You have no one to blame but yourself for where you are (most of the time). Get up off yer ass and make your magic better, make those calls, shake those hands, book those gigs.

Otherwise, just shut up.