Did you watch the video yet?

Yesterday's video was the Wizard Product Review of February 2011. The regular hosts of that show are Craig Petty and David Penn two fans of magic. Let's not call them magicians. And here is what they did in that video. They hyped Calen Morelli's DVD Function 9 into heaven saying that it is the best DVD of the year and that Calen is the second coming of Tommy Wonder.

I can understand how they come to that conclusion. But that also tells me at what evolutionary step they are when it comes to magic. I took a look at that DVD in question because I wanted to have an opinion of my own about this. And here is my review of the DVD. It is a good DVD for beginners. No more than that. Calen has a card under the shoe routine. I can honestly say that most venues that I perform this would not be good to do. I work surrounded, meaning that there are even people behind people watching. Naturally the first row blocks the view and that is the reason why most of my magic happens at chest level. Having a card appear under a shoe is equivalent to a man with a large hat sitting in front of you in a movie theater. So I do card to pocket. Card under shoe can be done only with few people watching. Card in pocket can be done anytime, anywhere, close up and on stage. So why should a professional even bother considering to include a card under shoe routine? And if that professional had a reason, he would also have a better structure than the one suggested by Calen Morelli. Craig Petty and David Penn seem to have missed the point in their review. And they seem to miss a lot of points in general.

If you keep watching the video, even after they insulted Tommy Wonder post mortem they do a "funny" bit (13:30) where they have Jonathan from World Magic Store read a little bit that they removed all products by Joe Monti from their website, basically because Joe Monti calls Craig Petty and David Penn fags in a YouTube comment. While I certainly think that the comment of Joe Monti is not helpful in any way I cannot help to notice why he thinks that way. Craig Petty and David Penn certainly seem gay. Maybe it's the English accent, maybe it's the metro sexual look. Somewhere along those lines there is a closet. Both simply don't come across as straight. But hey whatever float your boat. I'm not judging life styles here. But banning Joe Monti's products because he hates Craig Petty and David Penn is childish. No wait actually it is not, but announcing it in public is.

So to end this tragic topic. Craig Petty and David Penn are fans of magic. They like gimmicks, they are not very organized about they magic thoughts which seem to be all over the place and they certainly are into whatever the flavour of the month is. They are magic consumer whores and in no way serious magicians who's words may have some value. Take it with a grain of salt.

I am writing this because quite a few of you suggested to give my weekly award to both of them. And while I see alot of failure all over the place, I cannot help to notice the lack of magic.

PS. Craig Petty looked better when he was still fatter.