Just A Sunday Post #2

Korean magician Han Seol Hui. What can I say. Nice. Way too fast, but how else can one hide the "guess where I am hiding the CD's" game. The effects are so quick there is almost no time to appreciate them, which turns the whole thing into a feast for the eyes. But what I like most is the Korean editors. Repeating certain effects, by looping them and actually adding sound and light effects that weren't there. They seem to love magic and they seem to do a lot to make the magic look good on Television.

Maybe they go to far. I do not know. Leaves me thinking. At least the main message got across: That it is the magician who does the magic/sleight of hand and not the director in the cutting room.

So, your name is Bryan Dean

http://www.mindreadingexposed.com/
http://www.learneasymagic.com/
http://www.mastermentalism.com/

They all seem to belong to the same guy.

They all have the same PO-Box. At least the affiliate pages of all of those sites tell me so. (Not the actual websites, who have NO valid contact address.)

The funny thing: The main idea to check out the PO-Box addresses actually derived from a youtube video by user frimam49 aka Dave J. Castle.

Bryan Dean, his name sounds familiar, but I cannot quite place it. Google search found just the links to the ebooks in question. So who is he? Please anyone tell me!

WTF it worked!

We did it. The fake video is now at learnmagictricks.org. Here it is. Marvel at the wonder of fake explanation.

I encourage others do do the same. Create lots of fake videos spam the site. (For legal reasons I am compelled to say that the former encouragement is made in jest.)

Oh and here is the sad thing. You DO NOT even need to submit your OWN videos. Just link to a video and enter a half decent description and everything works.

So here just an idea. Upload a few videos of your friend doing and explaining the magic, then have that friend complain at Dave J. Castle that the videos are up. The complaint will be just.

Magic Revealed - The Small Object Disappear

This learnmagictricks.org really is a gathering of future losers. Poor kid. I believe he doesn't even know how laughable he is. Well not yet. But unlike when I grew up, this footage will not be "lost". The internet is unforgivable.



So let's laugh at him. Let's call him fat or even worse untalented. Until he either gives up magic or takes down the video. This might save him from himself.

The Dark Side of Things

This is more of joke, but a pretty dark one.  If you love black humor and your audience does too, this is for you. Otherwise stay away from it.

"Now it is time to show you the famous trick where a rabbit is pulled out of a top hat. But before I do that one moment of silence please. Because all my former furry fellows have met a terrible fate.

One I found floating in the aquarium, the next ate some of my sleeping pills. And yet another one somehow fell into a knife committing some sort of strange hara-kiri. One rabbit actually managed to drop into soup. It was tasty, but very sad.

Of course these were all horrible accidents, because I am sure they loved being part of my show. But I have found another rabbit to work with, so without further undo the 'Rabbit From The Top Hat'!"

Then show your top hat. The audience can see an end of a rope hanging out of it. You look into the hat and your smile freezes. You pull on the rope and hanging on the other end in a hangman's noose the rabbit.

Dave J Angel spoof

What an awesome combination of our last two WMF's.

Thank you for making this: stephenglansberg (his Youtube name)
It made my day.

WMF Magician Dave J. Castle, Ph.D.

If you are a magician, that respects the rules and etiquette of the magic community, you probably have never heard of Dave J. Castle. A young man with a dorky look going and a dark secret. He is also founder and president of http://www.learnmagictricks.org/. A website dedicated to spoil every magic secret that is out there. Everyone can send in a video of a tutorial and it will end up on the website eventually. The videos are hosted by Youtube and Revers.

So I made up the Youtube user "thewmf" and created some fake videos with tutorials. And I submitted the "Simple Quick Card Trick" to appear on Dave's website. So wait for it.

Does this hurt magic? Well maybe not as much as most magicians would think, but still. This is organized spoiling. 

Most of the guys spoiling the magic and no older than 13 years. And the way they demonstrate the moves makes me think they are into magic for 2-3 weeks. Raising yet another generation of people who think magic is easy and the secrets are just out there for free and not the result of hard work and creativity. Well done Dave. You deserve to be WMF.

Not done by me, but an honest summary of what I feel. Listen! (contains strong language)

Just A Sunday Post #1

This is comedy gold. No failure at all, but a design choice.
Of course the first few tricks are just to warm ya up. The real good comedy starts at 2 minutes with the card trick. I am speechless.

For The Fat Magician

Have a dove's claw. Got it palmed in one hand and a small white feather in the other hand. "And now for the famous dove trick" You reach out with your "claw" hand and work the claw out of the fist, so it is sticking out. "So far so good" as everyone is looking at the claw you put the feather on your lips.
The you reveal that there is just the claw and no actual bird. You cough and that shoots up the feather which will slowly fall to the ground. "Sorry I was hungry."

Delicious

For those of you that do the Cannibal Cards. You could have a small piece of a card being spit out in the cause of the routine. That wouldn't make it any more difficult but add to the presentation. Just a thought and probably already out there.

Doing a magic set is like doing sex. You got a foreplay, to see what everyone likes, then you get down to serious business and pick up speed, thrusting the magic back and forth until everyone reaches the climax and the magic happens.
What a weird metaphore, but it fits. There is even a "cigarette after"-trick.
Most magic performances lack the climax. Not the climax of the effects, but a climax of the show. Leaving the audience unsatified. Don't be a bad lover.
Realizing that helps to get the act together. It helps to know when to pick up speed, and when to stop talking and when to get to the point.

WMF Chriss "Isn't she something?" Angel

Criss Angel. Some may have heard of this person. Was on TV a few times. But why does she deserve to be a Weekly Magic Failure. Two words: camera tricks! There are conditions in magic under which certain effects have to take place. In a coins across it is crucial that the hands do not come together during the effect. That is the condition for coins across to be perceived as a magic effect.

TV magic has yet another condition. No camera tricks! In fact not even cuts. If you take a look at David Copperfield's TV-work one will notice that he really makes a big deal out of this. Lines like "one continuous camera move" come to mind. If one fails that condition, the effects are not perceived as magic, but as special FX.

Criss Angel obviously didn't get it. Sure Criss has fans (just like any other woman) and sworn enemies (just like any other magician) but still. This practise of her and her crew tears down TV magic.

And we are not talking about cheap camera tricks like doing stuff out of frame. Not even about editing out crucial parts of her tricks. Not even about digital wire removal in her levitations. We are talking about digital compositing. Pictures of different performances put together to appear as one.

Of course this creates much more impossible effects. Effects that Criss can hardly match in a life performance.

Which brings us the the downfall of Criss and her crew. Her Cirque Du Soleil show. "Acclaimed to be the all time worse show ever produced by a reputable company on the Vegas Strip... proof that Angel forgot how to do a live show free of camera tricks, creative editing and careful stooging."

So this creative woman, driven by need for admiration and money hopefully has dug her inspirational grave.

Bonus: She can sing too. What an angelic voice! What a pun!

Mike's Master Mentalism

Going back to this post I found another gem of him. Look at his Master Mentalism and cry. He claims his name is Ryan Clark. But looking at the affiliate page reveals his name to be Ryan Even. I do not know what to think. To me his name is Mike. If somebody can tell me his true identity I would be happy to know.

But this time let us dig a bit into the great advertisement.

"You'll go even further, faster, if you already have some experience. Until now, this sought-after pro only shared his "learn it now, blow away other magicians and mentalists tonight" secrets of mind-blowing mentalism and killer super-freak magic tricks with a handful of lucky pros who could afford his outrageous fees...

Now, with the sudden release of this incredible information, you can take your magic and mentalism skills from wherever you are now to respected mega-skilled star status in a stunningly short time.

Best of all, you can check it all out for FREE if you like."

Wow, what a load of words. "Super-freak", "mind-blowing", "mega-skilled" all magic buzz words. Makes me think this guy actually knows a bit about magic. At least enough to exploit it.

But here is the best part: "Mr. X" is the go-to guy when professional magicians have a television special or a stage show coming up and they need to quickly develop some new material for their show. (He's been called the "secret weapon" behind the coolest shows ever done.) And he's freaking expensive, too. Superstars will delay the start of a new show until "Mr. X" has time to go over the details with them. So you know he has vision, wicked skills, and a cunning "bag of tricks" that keep him at the top of the game."

Let me think for a second. So Daniel Garcia is Mr. X? I think not.

"But he's also one of the most hated guys around. Let's face it... Not everyone in the industry appreciates "Mr. X" sharing the secrets behind their skills with people like you. If they could, they would lock "Mr. X" up someplace where no "civilians" could ever find him. This is why he refused to release this material without using an alias (which is why he's only referred to as "Mr. X")... "

What a load of crap.

"...But he also believes that "the elite LA, Las Vegas, New York & London crowd" shouldn't be the only ones that have access to these powerful insider secrets."

No I am not going into this. Too much, overload.... cannot compute.

_________________________________________________

Here a way to get into coin magic...

Have a coin finger palmed in the left hand. "Look, I have a very special coin right here" and pretend to hold a coin visible at your fingertips in your left hand (which is ironic because there is a real coin right there)

"It is special, because only smart people can see it. You can see it, right?" pointing with the empty right hand to anybody in the audience.

Then the right hand opens wide to show it's emptiness once again and pretends to grab the left hand invisible coin, but grabs the real one. "But if I turn the coin around, only dumb people can see it," The turning motion is acted out and the coin is actually displayed and put back in the left hand (same position as the invisible coin before)

The right hand goes up to the beard in a pondering motion "Or was it the other way around?"

The Zombie Apocalypse

Are you prepared for the end of the world? When the biological warfare creates zombie soldiers and the goverments can't get rid off the outbreak? 

We magicians must survive. Not only because we are egomaniacs, but because Zombies are the perfect audience.

They stick in groups, you have their undivided attention and there are lots of them.

But unfortunally the brain of a Zombie lacks of short term memory and alot of other basic functions. So you need tricks that are short and sweet:
 - a coin production
 - a coin vanish
 - the reappearance of the coin
 - the transformation of the coin into a piece of brain
 - feeding the piece of brain to the zombies.

Until then, just practise with drunks. They are about the same. Just substitute the brains for a small bag of peanuts and voilà you got a miracle.

Don't miss your chance to prepare.

The End is nigh! Just 4/(8-2*2) days left

A Toast to Feminine Hygiene

You might get a kick out of the method

Effect: A shot glass is filled with a drink. A small piece of silk or a napkin is put on top. As it pulled away the liquid has vanished. A small burp finishes the presentation.

Method: A tampon is hidden in the piece of silk or napkin. And dropped in the shot glass as the glass is covered. The liquid goes into the tampon and the attached string helps to get the tampon out.

Congratulations, you found the hidden joke.
Situation: A juggler enters the stage and does his routine. He is better than any other performer on that day.
Question: What do you call that event?
Answer: A magic convention!

WMF Chris "Orbit" Brown is Woot Monkey (revoked)

I case you never came across Chris Brown,you are really missing something. A car salesman gone magic. Yeah he is that good. Talking about a magic product that is 20% off if you order NOW... (actually offer is only good for 24 hours or if the item runs out)

It is so good to see the age-old tradition of Hustlers sweep into magic more than ever. Telling me that I can buy a certain product RIGHT NOW 20% off. That is so cool. I do not feel pressured at all.

His magic is decent... that proves that the way he advertises magic is what we need. Too many of us are tired of reading the description on a website. Because reading is hard.

So it might seem weird at first glance that he advertises a book, but this is genius. A video advertisement for a book, for people who do not want to read, to let them buy the book that they are not going to read. That is how a business makes money. And as we all know, a business first interest is to make money, not to make costumers happy.

I really want to buy that car now.

When will magic be sold like that on TV?

Edit: He is no longer WMF, as all the claimes are no longer true. Turns out it was just a "phase" in his magic life. Cool!

About Copyright and Lemons

Just in from the Magic Cafe.

"So, for the record, you neither have my, nor Mr Brooks permission to quote me, Mr. poorly written blogger."

I do not copy and paste. I type every word myself. So I make no real copy.

"Sorry, poisoning a kid at your show, is maybe only funny in Deutschland because it sure isn't funny in the USA"

Wow, you speak for the whole US. And of course I do not do that. This was "satire". The actual effect is explained in the afterthought.

And of course some people think it is funny. Those with a twisted sense of humor, such as me. 

"There are some idiots in the world, and stating that one should put an actual poison into candy to give to a child in a magic presentation is reprehensible and irresponsible."

Oh I totally agree that there are some idiots in this world. But I make no drawbacks for them.

But yet another effect for the guys who are interested in magic and not just the coffee.

Bill in Lemon: In case you don't let them sign the bill, but tear off the corner. That means the bill in the lemon is a duplicate. This allows you to do the preparation before the show.

Now here is my idea. (It could be that some thought this up way before me) Find a lemon tree. Cut a small hole in one of the lemons and insert the bill without the corner. (Of course you keep the corner for later.)

Now you play the waiting game until the fruit is all healed up. (The bill actually withstands the acid abuse inside the lemon.)

Now the lemon can withstand all sorts of inspections.

Edit: Steven Youell wrote me an email, crediting the fantastic Michael Ammar for that lemon idea. It was on an audio tape. Didn't know there were audio tapes by the fantastic Michael Ammar. But I hope he doesn't laugh on those. His fantastic laugh is so girlish, I cannot stand it. So I am giving credit were credit is due. I think.
 

Wanna Candy?

Steven Youell answered to that post in the Magic Cafe. " I tried to e-mail the owner of the blog asking him to take the picture down (not the critique) but the e-mail got bounced back..."
I am not quite sure what email he used, my email is qeroland@aol.com. If spam comes through, so should Steven Youell.

Jonathan Miller wrote: "The Internet has always been about anonymously making fun of other people and saying outlandish things that you would never say in person to someone."
True, but not in this case. I make no big deal of who I am. My name is Roland, I am a German magician (That might explain all the "many grammar errors" that abc pointed out.)

But before this turns unfunny:

This works best for children.

Effect: A sealed prediction is shown and put in a place, where nobody can touch it. Then wrapped candy is tossed out for all the kids to eat. After they had their sweet meal you mention, that one of the candies was poisoned by you before the show. So one kid now has poison in the blood. You open the prediction and it reads: "Tobias will die a horrible but sweet death!" Seconds later Tobias drops down dead.

Method: I suggest choosing the most annoying kid to die. One of the wrapped candies is gimmicked with 140 mg of potassium cyanide. (That makes sure the kid dies, but not too fast as not to destroy the pacing of your show.) Have the gimmicked candy marked in a way so you can tell the difference. Make your prediction and start tossing out the candy. Make sure that the kid that is going to die (and your ticket to hell) gets the poisoned candy. The rest is just selling.

Afterthought & Disclaimer: Some people might not want to see a kid die on stage, even if it is a really annoying one, so the following alternative may be suggested: Don't have a poisoned candy, but one that changes the tongue colour (e.g. blue). Same effect, but not as strong.

By the way, make the force as convincing as possible. Maybe let them reach into a jar, having the gimmicked candy palmed. As you approach the kid that gets the gimmicked candy you just drop it into the jar, so it is the uppermost. Chances are good he picks that one. If not go around a second time.

Not to forget, this is extremely funny, when the reveal of the "magic" is that all the kids push out their tongues.

We're Public Yeah

Not that we weren't public before, but somebody posted a link in the magic cafe.

And to honor that. A free non evil way on:

How To Mess With Fellow Magic Folk
Take a deck of cards, shuffle a face up half into a face down half and then throw in a few double facers and double backers. Then ask a magic friend to sort the deck, so it is in normal condition. Takes a while for him to figure out what is wrong.

For The Smallest Target Group Ever

On a whole deck of blank cards draw a set of five horizontal lines. So when you spread the deck it will look like a staff/stave. Then draw notes on each card. So you end up with a rendition of the Russian national anthem. (see picture and click to enlarge)

Stack the deck in order. On the side of the deck you write "Music". Then do 6 out faros (assuming you are using 52 cards). The letters appear be scrambled. (This is of course Paul Gertner's "Unshuffled" effect. Giving credit where credit is due) With this all done you are almost ready. You will need a curtain. And behind the curtain should be an authentic Russian choir.

Now you are ready. Show the cards, show the notes. (Of course the audience should be able to read notes fluently and know the Russian anthem, well duh!) Point out, that you could make any song in the world with those cards. Then, after a few false cuts and false shuffles you do two more out faros. To show you that you made everything right it will now say "Music" on the side of the deck. Show that... then spread the cards on the long table which I forgot to mention. All your smart spectators will immediately recognize the effect.

Then the curtain opens and the song is played. Listen!

WMF Who is this guy?

Look at this! The finest piece of BS I have come across. No name, just a product, an ebook for 27 dollars. Lovely. Just read what this guy says. "I provide unlimited lifetime support to all my customers." That sounds great, but it can never be fulfilled.

I think it is legal, but morally questionable. And he doesn't even give his name. I really looked, I checked the whole website. I wrote him an email asking who he is, no answer.

But this is the best part. "I'll pay you 56% of every sale generated. That's a little over $15 per book sold. Pay is on a monthly basis, sent on the 15th of each month to all affiliates with a balance of $50 or more." Wow, If I put a link up on my site I'll get 15 dollars per book.

So I signed up. Using this blog as the URL to advertise this book. This is a money making perpetuum mobile, yeah. I cannot wait for the money.

I got this computer generated email:

"Dear Roland,

Thank you for joining my affiliate program.

Your username is: Qeroland@aol.com
Your password is: xxxxxx
You can log in into your control panel in url: http://www.mindreadingexposed.com/affiliate/affiliates/

If you have any requests regarding the affiliate program, don't hesitate to 
contact me on the email address.

Thanks again!
Mike @ MindreadingExposed.com"

So his name is Mike... that's a start. And this is my affiliate link: http://www.mindreadingexposed.com?a_aid=4d6497ab Use it and make me money! Please.

Mike, you are WMF!