I Lol'ed When I Got This!

I got an email by Roland Henning. An email where he tried to justify his snarky blog. Let me quote his email:

"How dare you to criticize my blog or my personality. I am just doing what is hardly done in the magic community. Pointing out failures in magic. People get into magic for lots of reasons, but most often because of insecurity and inferiority complexes, which means something is wrong with those people. A few of them actually manage to overcome those issues and either stop being magicians or become the best ever. But the majority remain losers.

And if an art form is driven by losers it is clear that a lot of rubbish happens along the way. People who strive self-affirmation by taking part in contests. People who create weak magic and try to sell it, by hyping it into heaven. People who steal from old ideas and sell them as their own new ideas, just to have their own name on the product. People who are just unaware how bad they are, be it skill, personality or performing character. Then they are those who populate the Internet forums claiming to be experts when instead they should try to get paid performances. And of course the Youtube magicians who never heard of actual spectators than just the camera.

All of those and their crossbreeds pollute magic as they give the public magic image an ugly taint. Is there a public outcry? No! All is concealed under neutrality. Only a few have the guts to say, that this guy sucks and should work on his pass. And almost all of the few do it anonymously like fainthearted scrimshankers. I am not. I do voice my opinion and I make no big deal out of the fact that it is my opinion. At least I have an opinion.

Does this make me a well-liked man? No, of course not! But I do not care for the love of magic folk, nor do I need their praise. I love magic, not magicians. Doing a simple trick like having a card selected and being replaced in the deck, only to end up with the selection reversed in the deck, might be boring for magicians, but it is a solid trick for laymen. Provided, that the method is deceptive and the presentation is entertaining.

A while ago I came up with the three features a magicians has to have in order to be a good magician.

1. Be technically really good
2. Be entertaining (for lay people)
3. Be likable (towards lay people)

If you miss just one of the three point you are a bad magician. And do not confuse being likable with being nice.

So you may think of me what you will, but I will keep this blog running as I am sure the magic failures will come up. Each week.

mmG Roland Henning"

I could go into each point disproving his dilettante attempts to reason. But it will not be necessary for obvious reasons. I just wanted to show you what a pitiful man he is.