Saturday, May 28, 2011

WMF Harry Lorayne



Just for a change.... here is an experiment:

Use the great comment feature below to tell me why he is or is not a Weekly Magic Failure?

My own thoughts on this will be disclosed later.

I changed the comment options, so anyone can comment.... for a while.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

just check out every magiccafe topic there is to see the guy in action

Anonymous said...

his is a move i invented 200 years ago!

please talk when you know what the hell youre talking about

I INVENTED THAT

TMC topic: xxxx
CHECK OUT MY blablablablablablabla

Anonymous said...

Through the years Harry has engaged in petty squabbles with other magicians and been guilty of failing to properly credit his sources and inspiration, and has an ego so large it's a wonder he can fit it through a doorway.....BUT...the fact is that Harry has given far more back to magic than he ever took from it. So my vote is; while Harry can be an arrogant, thieving asshole, he's not a WMF.

Anonymous said...

I strongly beleive that anyone can be a hardcore card man without ever reading anything ever published or written by Mr Lorayne and thus, for his over encumbering ego, I think he is a WMF.

JTS

Watkinzez said...

He is an old grumpy guy we will all turn out to be that way eventually.

Matthew Lee said...

Personally, I also think his ego is far larger than his actual contributions to Card Magic.

However I don't think you can call him a WMF simply because he has put out some pretty decent material, and also has compiled quite a lot of good material that would have been lost otherwise.

Anonymous said...

He invented the Erdnase bottom deal in 1870, right?

Anonymous said...

He's an arrogant, grumpy bastard who will react to the slightest perceived sleight and I'm convinced he really doesn't like people...i.e. ANYBODY !!!.

A very decent magician though, just not imho a very decent person.

Gary Jones Magic said...

He's a living legend and very colourful, which makes a refreshing change from the YouTube dummies we now have! OK so he speaks his mind, gets very wound up and has a huge ego, aren't these the perfect ingredients for showbiz!! Oh and he's also a genius, just look at Apocalypse and his other great contributions to magic!!
There are more deserving magicians for WMF than Harry!

Danny Garcia said...

IMHO He has great chops, a lot of his material was ahead of its time when it was first published, he's dedicate a lifetime to exploring new avenues with card plots and has developed innovative solutions to new and old plots alike.

BUT he's a total cunt.

Anonymous said...

he is an arrogant bastard that thinks he is worth more to the magic community than he really is. You dont see him sharing magic via lectures because the asshole thinks clubs should pay him $10k for a lecture. Anyone else that acted like him would have been banned long ago from the magic cafe, but since Steve Brooks feeds at the tit of guys like this, his actions and self promotion are overlooked - and he knows it and it feeds even more BS from this clown.

The living legend crap is so overplayed. They say the same crap about Howie Schwarzman in maryland. Neither of these old codgers contribute anything anymore other than to expect to be treated like royalty.

Its conceited assholes like this that keep the egos inflated.

Does Harry have skill, of course... but his ego makes it pathetic and unenjoyable.

The magic world can and certainly will continue after everyone forgets about this fool

Oh, and Im a genius, go buy my book blah blah blah

His books are not that great. Theres much more out there at lower prices with better content.

Suck it up Harry, you are past your prime. Accept it and learn some humility. You arent worth $10k for a lecture, and you arent gods greatest gift to magic.

You could be so much more memorable after you die if you would stop the BS and spend some time on giving back via mentoring and sharing rather than shameless self promotion.

Go do another super memory infomercial you self centered bastard.

Anonymous said...

I think 6.36am should get off the fence and say what he really thinks about Harry! ;-)

Anonymous said...

Here's a link to his recently-made comments on the Magic Cafe.

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/search_results_posts.php?search_id=7084616

There's 46 posts there currently. I'd be willing to bet 40 of them are...

(a) bragging about himself as a performer;
(b) pushing, bragging, or making incorrect claims about stuff he's published;
(c) being a right asshole to anybody who doesn't agree with him.

The man is overrated. Contributions to card magic? At best, he's Marlo without the good taste in technique. He's stolen ideas from so many people and called them his own (and still does, even when it gets pointed out) and yet he has no hesitation to call other people, who offer significant improvements to his ideas, thieves.

When he dies, there are going to be very few dry eyes in the magic world, because the magic world is full of idiots that way. Those who aren't shedding any tears, though, will have their good reasons.

It's not so much that Lorrayne should be a Weekly Magic Failure, but rather that he should have an entire month dedicated to how much of a cock he is.

Anonymous said...

your link doesnt work

Anonymous said...

Ah ok. Just click on his profile, and look at "View This User's Posts in the last 30 Days".

Anonymous said...

He thinks he is god! I mean... good...
And he is... But i don't think he is all that much. I still prefer him as a "memory" teacher.

Christopher Lyle said...

HL is a brilliant asshole! I can't really say more that hasn't already been said.

If I were to "guess" what Roland will say, it is that you're not an asshole if you can back it up...but I could be wrong.

HL is a great magician with great ideas that still play to this day.

But I wouldn't walk across the street to piss on his face if his head was on fire!

Just sayin...

Michael Jay said...

In a word: "Apocalypse."

And that's just a scratch in the surface.

Like him, love him or hate him, his contribution to magic is undeniable.

Anonymous said...

If one is an ass and isoloates himself, doesnt matter what the skill, its failure.

Kind of like the magician that has FLAWLESS technique yet never performs a show, while the idiot kids magician is making a killing.

Failure defined is not just skill in magic, but knowing HOW to apply it, represent it, and FOSTER it.


If more folks were like this jackass, magic would no longer exist.

100% failure.

Everything HL ever did could vanish and magic would be better off.

Those that praise him are just sucking up and kissing ass so all the "living legend cheerleaders" will see them supporting this ass clown.

I agree with the post up higher that talks about these guys being washed up and way past their prime and cant accept they are done and over with. Its magic, not cancer science. You are not anything special. You are a bitter old man that people are forgetting faster than you can post your crap on the cafe.

Speaking of the cafe, what is up with Brooks letting in all the banned folks and making them VIPs?

BAZILYBEE said...

I 'HATE' it when people bring up 'The Apocalypse' to explain why Harry is a genius and such a contributor to magic. Pretty much all the effects in said mags.....ARE NOT HIS!!!!The only bit Harry contributed to the apoc. was a small section where he rants about how good he is and how people who dont like him are shit at magic. A self obsessed, dishonourable business man, egotistical, marketing OBSESSED fuckpig. That's a fail from me by that way!!

HarryTheGreatest said...

FAIL, no doubt.
Whenever I think it can't get any worse I'm getting put right.
He just started a thread about why his PRAISE thread! isn`t in the workers section of the Café. That`s not just a big ego, that is a SERIOUS narcissistic personality disorder.

BAZILYBEE said...

Im in the middle of an argument with him at the mo' on the food for thought (vendetta vs vip) section. I reckon Im gonna be kicked out pretty soon.

I also suggest people read his last 30 posts. PRICK!!!

P.S. Harry didnt invent the Erdnase bottom deal, Harry father did! Oh hang on, I've just been corrected...Harry invented the deal 60 years before his own fucking father was born!!!

HarryTheGreatest said...

He can`t do a decent bottom deal and, no matter how curious it may sound, this was the only time I`ve seen him accepting that he can`t do something properly(the bottom deal).
Nevertheless I wonder why his fanboy base still defends him. I can`t understand why he`s still not banned. He did things that would have EVERY OVER MAN IN THE UNIVERSE get banned for at least ten more lifetimes.
He even insults his own fanboys and customers, or other VIPS.
BTW another WMF is Steve Brooks, who supports that silly old forum-nazi Lorayne.

HarryTheGreatest said...

He says that you should never use the word "best", because you can`t know everything and you`re an idiot if using this term. But when others use best related to his OWN personality or work, it`s ok!
In the same breath most of his products are labeled with 'best'. Best teacher ever, best ever collection etc.
That`s double standard at its finest. I can go on forever with his double standards.
He has not the slightest respect for the work and achievements of others.

He`s an absolute asshole, a human AND magic failure and shouldn`t get WMF, but MFOTC (Magic Failure of the century)