World's Greatest Magic: Matrix/Coin Assemblies (DVD)

DVD Review: World's Greatest Magic - Matrix/Coin Assemblies

L&L Publishing has produced some of the world's best magic instructional DVDs in a series called the World's Greatest Magic by the World's Greatest Magicians. I'm a big fan of the series because each DVD focuses on a specific routine or prop that has become a classic in the history of legerdemain. These DVDs show some of the greatest living (and past) magicians performing and teaching their versions of the classic routine.

This time we look at the World's Greatest Magic Matrix/Coin Assemblies DVD. The DVD starts with the creator of the Matrix effect, Al Schneider, demonstrating and teaching the routine in his own words. The basic matrix routine is simple, yet striking. The magician positions four coins in a matrix (square) pattern. The magician then covers the four coins with four cards. One at a time, the coins magically gather under a single card.

Degree of Difficulty

Moderate to Expert. This really is a powerful effect that even a beginner can pull off with some practice. You really need a soft surface to work with though. I would suggest purchasing a close-up pad from a magic shop or on-line magic retailer for under $20. The pickup move that is required for all matrix routines is assisted by a little give in the surface. I have done the Johnny Thompson version using a dish towel so you could do that in a pinch or an impromptu setting.

Teaching

The teaching is fabulous - especially the classic Al Schneider routine as taught by Al Schneider.

Quantity of Effects

Al Schneider created this trick when he was just 17 years old showing that even a young mage can dream up magic that will stand the test of time. Schneider teaches the basic routine including the basic pick-up maneuver in great detail. Al covers some subtleties that he believes makes the effect more powerful. After a thorough explanation of his routine he covers some of his personal history of how it evolved. Then he goes on to show other pick-up maneuvers that have been magicians have came up with over the years. The DVD could end here and it would be worth twice what I paid ($18). Great stuff!

But wait, there's more!

Bill Malone's version
J.C. Wagner's Poor Man's Matrix
Harry Allen's Matrix
Aldo Colombini's Chink-a-Chink
Michael Ammar's Matrix
Johnny Thompson's Coin Assembly
Dan Fleshman's Matrix
Dan Harlan's Horror Matrix
Derek Dingle presents the Bertram Coin Assembly
Ross Bertram presents the Bertram Coin Assembly

Is that enough?

Quality of Effects

Every matrix offers some new angle on the routine. I'm not going to cover each matrix but I'll hit my favorites.

A coin matrix was one of the first coin tricks I learned. My version used a cloth towel or napkin and 2 dollar bills instead of 4 cards. This is a great impromptu/dinner table version of the matrix. The coin's are slide underneath the towel and penetrate through the towel. It has proven very effective for me. Johnny Thompson teaches a similar version with a handkerchief and cards.

Wagner's Poor Man's Matrix uses pennies - hence the "poor man's matrix." However he ends with the production of a jumbo penny under the stack of discarded cards. Then produces an even bigger jumbo penny.

Aldo Colombini's version is very clever. He really takes the one-ahead principle to a new level. He employs a clever gaff to execute a 3/4 of a matrix routine only to find that all coins have reversed back to the starting matrix position. Clever indeed!

Dan Fleshman starts with the Schneider matrix then follows up with a reverse matrix. The four coins literally appear back in their original position in a wink of the eye. Simply jaw dropping!

I love a good storytelling routine and Dan Harlan delivers a bloody good version called Horror Matrix. This is the story of 4 teenagers camping in the woods. Little do they know but a homicidal maniac has escaped from the local mental hospital. It's a great little version set to a horror theme perfect for adults and at Halloween time.

My favorite matrix is by Bill Malone. He delivers a two phase matrix that is filled with funny lines and blazing, fast magic. The first phase is the basic matrix. Malone's premise for the second phase is that he is going to expose the secret. Bill's explanation is hilarious and, of course, complete nonsense. The coins pop back and forth creating some magical mayhem before finally assembling under one card.

Dingle and Bertram's versions featured some sleight of hand vanishes and some tricky moves. However I thought they looked fishy in comparison to the more straight-forward handling of the steals and pick-ups.

Production Quality

The production is good. The DVD menus very straight-forward. The video quality is a mixed bag - mostly good but some of the video footage is very old - but that is to be expected when you are hitting the video archives to find versions from some of the older masters of the craft.

Overall: 9/10

So do you really need to learn 11 versions of the same routine? Of course not. However you'll find a cornucopia of matrix ideas and moves. If you watch closely, you will also discover dozens of moves and ideas that you could incorporate in other non-matrix coin & card tricks. For example, even though I really didn't like Ammar's version of the matrix, he teaches the Marlo Spider Vanish and some nice timing and misdirection elements. A much better version of the spider vanish that I had learned.

As with all L&L Publishing DVDs that I have purchased, this is an outstanding value and resource.

John Calvert Lecture - Part 2

John & Tammy Calvert and Tim

Read John Calvert Lecture - Part 1 here



John opened the evening's magic with a Cigarette version of the Miser's dream. John used some clever devices to produce a stream of cigarettes to which he flung into the air for his assistant, Tammy, to catch in a stainless steel bowl. It would have been fun to see this routine back when you could do it with lit cigarettes but then I guess that is one of those magic items like thimbles that will eventually be relegated to the history books.

Mr. Calvert did two watch steals at different times during the performance and provided insights on how to divert the victim's attention through physical and shocking verbal cues. He did borrow a watch for a comedy routine that included him smashing the spectators watch with a hammer. The watch ended up inside of about eight nested boxes.

Tammy does a wonderful job of misdirecting the action throughout the watch routine. You can see that Tammy is as skilled at her job as John is at his. Not to mention that Tammy looks absolutely great! John did pass along his secrets to longitivity including good clean living and thinking like a young man.

One of Calvert's signiture acts is his comedy Spirit Cabinet. You may remember that the Davenport brothers popularized the Spirit Cabinet during the 1800's Spiritualism movement. The two brothers where bound and seated in a large wooden cabinet with a small window in the middle. Musical instruments strange noises could be heard and seen playing through the small window. Once the cabinet doors were thrown open, the Davenport boys were still tightly bound to their seats.

John turned the Spirit Cabinet into a hilarious routine. He invited Ricky Rowray, an accomplished deaf magician in our Ring, to assist him inside of the cabinet. Calvert was bound with ropes in a straight jacket like configuration. A square curtain formed the spirit cabinet and was lifted by assistants to completely surround the two inside. Immediately, pie tins and tamborines flew out from the cabinet. Next came Ricky's shirt, shoes and an oversized bra! The curtain was lowered to find Calvert with his criss-crossed arms tightly bound and Ricky sitting calmly; half undressed!

John's lecture wove together illusions, escapes, stories, methodologies and wisdom. He talked about the French Drop not looking realistic. Nobody takes a coin in that fashion. John simply used realistic movements and misdirection to pull off perfect coin vanishes. When he brought volunteers up to teach his technique he corrected the student by saying "no, now you're starting to do magic!" Implying, that we magicians too often look we are doing magic instead of doing normal things where magic just happens along the way. Sage advice indeed.

John Calvert Lecture - Part 1

I have to admit that I didn't remember who John Calvert was when I saw his picture on the cover of the August 2008 issue of The Linking Ring magazine. I was fascinated by the cover story about this world famous magician. A quick review of my Illustrated History of Magic featured Mr. Calvert prominently in the later chapters. At 97 years young, John Calvert is a living legend in magic. When our IBM Ring heard that John and his lovely wife/assistant were passing through the Midwest on his way to an engagement at the Magic Castle, we were able to get him to swing into town to do a little magic and lecture.

Where does one even start to describe John Calvert? Gracious, funny, skilled, inspiring just to name a few adjectives. Calvert is a man who has been a world-famous magician who has performed in every corner of the globe. He began a career in movies decades before I born where he had been a movie star, a screenplay writer, a screen double, and director. John is a life long pilot, a stunt pilot and still flies acrobatically on occassion. He's been the owner operator of yachts and planes. He even displayed some skills in the chiropratic arts!

Out of the magic and wisdom John shared throughout the evening, his tales of his encounters with historical figures were the most fascinating to hear. Calvert is a man who has met and been friends with a huge list of famous actors, actresses and magicians. John described performing at a Hollywood party for stars like Danny Kaye and even using Gary Grant and Clark Gable as stooges during an impromptu magic show. His list of magician friends and acquitances included Blackstone, Cardini, Malini, Page, Kapps, Vernon and even saw Harlan Tarbell as a boy and became friends with Bess Houdini after Harry's death. Calvert has fratrenized with dozens of A-list performers from the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s through today.

At 97, one might think that Mr. Calvert would feebly meander through simple tricks from his glory days. Hardly. This is a man who might been a step slower than in his youth but more than capable of dazzling a crowd. In fact, he challenged me and another strapping lad from the audience to a feat of strength (kind of like the traditional Festivus celebration for you Seinfeld fans). Try as we may, John was able to knock both of us off balance. At 97, this dude is strong!

Calvert started the evening by telling us that this is going to be the BEST show he has ever done. That is a winning attitude! John quipped that you never know, there might be a Hollywood agent in the crowd so always give your best performance. Later in the evening, John brought these comments full circle.

When Calvert happened to arrive in southern California to start his film career he happened to be at a magician friend's home (Jack Gwynne I believe) when a casting call came in for his friend. His friend was out of town doing series of magic shows on a west coast circuit so Calvert offered up his own name.

When he arrived at the audition, he found out that every other magician in the area had also been called. Yet the studio executive, without auditioning any of the magicians, told John he had the job. John naturally asked why he was being picked when no one had yet auditioned. The studio exec exclaimed that he had seen John already perform, in Kansas City several months earlier. It pays to perform your BEST show every night because you just never know who is in the audience!

Click to read John Calvert Part 2

World's Greatest Magic: Card To Wallet (DVD)

World's Greatest Magic: Card To Wallet

One of the most beguiling effects in magic is "card to an impossible location;" card to shoe, card to pocket, card through window, card on ceiling just to name a few. One of the most stunning of the card-to effects would be the card to wallet (CTW). This DVD is a treasure trove of CTW effects by some of the best magi in the world.

This DVD is yet another fine release in the World's Greatest Magic by the World's Greatest Magicians (WGMBTWGM) series. This is the third DVD that I have purchased in this series and it won't be the last. L&L Publishing have taken the best routines from their catalog and created a themed set of DVDs. Each DVD focuses on a particular form of magic; linking rings, ambitious card, zombie ball, stand-up magic, etc. Incredibly, these DVDs are typically priced at $16-$18 per DVD!



Tim's Tip: If you don't already have a wallet, buy this DVD first and then decide which style of wallet is going to work for you. Each magician uses a different style wallet so you may end up needing 2 or 3 different wallets to pull off each routine. Realistically, you're only going to be able to do one CTW in your show. So watch the DVD a few times, pick the routine that fits your style the closest and purchase a wallet that works for that routine. I like the hip pocket, Fred Kaps style wallet the best and the Dan Fleshman routine.

Degree of Difficulty

Intermediate to Advanced. The sleights are not super, knuckle-busters but you'll need a lot of practice to polish these routines.

Teaching

Good to Great. I really enjoyed wathcing Alex Elmsley as he is a legendary figure in card magic. Eddie Tullock is perhaps the hardest to follow simply because of his age; but he's still very sharp and Micheal Ammar interviews Eddie on the finer points of his routine. Micheal Ammar also has his own routine on this DVD and appears or is mentioned is several other routines on the DVD.

Quality of Effects

Average to excellent. A couple average routines but they are a couple killer routines as well.

Quantity of Effects

Realistically, you're only going to use one of the seven CTW routines but you've got some great material to choose from.

Jon Mendoza starts the fun with the Bendix Bombshell. This trick relies on a himber style of which John doesn't really explain the mechanics because it is a marketed item. Even though this is a good routine, I think it is the weakest since there doesn't seem to be any motivation for the trick. It starts with two signed cards. Two other cards are in play and they make up a very basic two card transposition effect. Then the routine abruptly ends with the two signed cards revealed from a zippered compartment in the wallet.

Alexander De Cova presents his Professional Card to Wallet routine. DeCova does demo this for a studio audience so you get a condensed demo presentation of his effect. He gets a signed card from the spectator. De Cova explains that he has a (large) wallet with an enveloped letter from his friend. DeCova opens the wallet, opens the envelop and remove a letter and some varied, casino playing cards that his friend has sent. The signed card is the last card in the small stack of cards. It's a novel effect and the most elaborate set-up of the seven routines.

Micheal Ammar presents his Card in Wallet routine that is really a torn and restored card effect where the almost restored card appears in his un-gimmicked wallet. A spectator is asked to tear their selected card into eigths. The spectator is given a piece of the card as a reciept. Ammar paperclips the pieces together. A wave of the hand and the paperclips turn into a credit card. Hmmm....if the credit card is here then the card must be in my wallet. Cleanly and in full view, Ammar removes his wallet and produces the card. The card is restored except for the corner that the spectator is holding. As you would expect from Ammar, this is a very entertaining routine.

I'm not familiar with Eddie Tullock but apparently he specializes in tradeshow magic. This is a good routine but not my favorite. The specatator scans a quickly spread deck of cards and is asked think of any one card they see. Eddie guesses wrong the first time which gives him an oppurtunity to patter a bit and set up the climax. He then asks the spectator what their card really was. Eddie opens his wallet and removes their thought of card. I think this could be a winnner with a creative presentation. The wallet is un-gimmicked.

Dan Fleshman's Momma In My Wallet is my personal favorite routine on this disk because it is accessible (not too difficult) and has two nice effects. The trick is basically the Chicago Opener that ends with a CTW. The Chicago opener is a two phase routine. One minor problem, the card selected in the first phase has transformed into the second card. What happened to the first card? Fleshman attempts to tie up that loose end by revealing the card from a zippered compartment in his wallet. He has taken a classic trick in card magic and made it one phase better!

Alex Elmsley presents an ultra-fast signed CTW routine that looks pretty impossible. This is probably the most technically challenging routine but it te pay-off will be worth the effort.

Eric DeCamps presents the final routine which looks to have been filmed in the early 1980s.
Obviously DeCamps is extremely talented but I felt like I was watching Dean Martin do magic. Of course, this is obviously a very old video tape so perhaps his style played well back in the 80s. DeCamps instruction is very good though and he provides some great CTW tips and psychology. He has 3 spectators select cards with one of the specs signing the card. After shots the first two cards spinning into the air, he follows a great full deck vanish. This motivates the question; where is the third card? In the wallet of course. Old video and style aside, this is a well taught routine.

Production

Well the minor downside to a "greatest hits" format is that L&L Publishing is pulling material from many different productions from different time periods. Most of the clips are of good quality however the Eric DeCamps is very dated looking. You'll feel like humming the theme to VH-1's I Love The 80s.

The menu system is simple and very functional. L&L provides extensive previews from their product offerings.

Overall: 9/10

Yet another great addition to the WGMBTWGM series by L&L Publishing. The low price on these DVDs make them a great buy. Collect 'em all!

Counts Cuts Moves and Subtlety

Counts Cuts Moves and Subtlety
A Book of Basic Card Techniques
By Jerry Mentzer

Cost: under $8 at Penguin

If I had a nickel for every time I see someone complaining about how hard the Elmsley Count is I would be rich...well maybe not rich but enough money to buy a new Cups and Balls set! These Elmsley-challenged folk need this little gem of a book to get them up and over the learning curve.

One of my favorite tricks is Twisted Sisters by John Bannon. It's a brilliant little packet trick that has 3 mind-blowing revelations. Sadly, I've seen some people state that they skip the Elmsley Count (EC) portion of the trick. Arrggg! The EC is what sells the trick, it takes a simple trick and turns it into a mind-melting, mental miracle of magic.

When using the EC in Twisted Sisters, the spectator sees 4 red-backed cards and 4 blue-backed cards. By the time the trick ends, two cards turn face up and also transposition colors. Without the Elmsley, the trick is boring.

For some, false counts come naturally. For others, they try and move on. False counts are a staple move in packet tricks and every cardician should know the basic counts. Counts can be quite challenging but with enough practice and this book, you'll handle any count; easy breezy!

Counts Cuts Moves and Subtlety by Jerry Mentzer is a reference guide. Copyright in 1977, this small book is on it's 14th printing. Although I don't own anything else by Jerry, he appears to be a prolific author on magical topics including the book on Card To Wallet.

You'll find no tricks in this book. However, learn the moves in this book and I'll bet you could create some great, original packet tricks in no time. Combine these moves with an assortment of specialty gaffed cards and you're creative juices will be flowing. Here is a little video review to go along with this blog review.



Degree of Difficulty

Intermediate to expert. Some people think learning the Elmsey is easy and some think it is hard. I think it's kind of in the middle. Easy to learn, hard to perfect. I learned the Elmsley Count in a couple days but it took countless evenings in front of the TV, doing hundreds of Elmsley/Jordan sequences, to execute these counts with confidence under pressure.


Quantity of Effects

There is a ton of good material in this book. Here is what you'll learn:

Undercuts and Reversals

Double Undercut - controlling a card to the top of the deck
Braue reversal - this is an awesome move. It appears to be a flourishy cut but it keeps the deck in order and yet reverses one or more cards in the deck.
Concealed Reversal - Yet another reversal

Counts Cuts and Subtlety

The Biddle Move - Secretly steal away a card from a count.
Hamman Count - Swapping two packets of cards during a count
Veeser Cont - Another way to do an Elmsley Count
Another Count - Starting position is identical to the Jordan Count but you end up in the starting position
Flustration Move - Show the front and backs of all cards in a packet but really only show the back (or front) of one card.
Haback Count - Combines the Hamman and Flustration
Olram Subtlety - Display several cards while one or more are hidden
Downs Change - I guess T. Nelson Downs occasionally picked up a deck of cards! I've seen this executed differently as a one card or even a two-card color change. This book shows the move as a way of tabling a card from a packet but changing it for a different card during the motion of tabling the card.
True or False - Yet another false count that disguises the number of cards you really have.

Elmsley, Jordan, Etc.

The Elmsley Count - the "Ghost Count" as Alex Elmsley made famous using the finger-tip method.
The Elmsley Count Comment - the author makes the point that you can using the EC "push/shuttle" of cards between the hands to count 3 cards as 4, or 4 cards as 5.
The Jordan Count - Older than the EC, the Jordan accomplishes the same as the EC but starting with the card on 4th position and ending int EC starting position.
The Siva Count - show 4 face-up cards while hiding a 5th card.
Open Count - a "fair" way to accomplish an Elmsley Count
Smile Count - Apparently 4 cards are shown on both sides - but you've concealed 3 sides.
Pairs Count - variation on the Smile Count
Spirit Count - using ESP cards. 4 cards appear identical when in fact you have 2 like cards and another 2 like cards.

Spreads

The Simple Spread - instead of counting cards, you are spreading a small packet while concealing a card. The bottom card is hiding the extra cards
The Back Spread - the top card is hiding the extra cards
Buckle Count - Spread using a buckle move
Ascanio Count - The Ascanio Count hides the third card in a packet of five. This is a brilliant move that all card slingers should learn at some point in their careers.

Production

The book is has excellent written instructions on the moves and ample photos of the key hand positions during the move. Mentzer does a good job of crediting each move to it's creator and sometimes the trick in which the move was first made popular.

My Parting Thoughts...

This book is a reference guide but not the definitive guide. There are some things missing, in particular, variations on the same move. For example, I purchased this book because I created a count and didn't know what the name of the count was. I was sure it had previously been invented as it seemed to be useful counterpart to the Elmsley Count.

It turns out the the count I came up with was called the Jordan Count. I'd heard of the Jordan Count but didn't know what it was used for. I determined I needed such a count to get the third (hidden) card back into the starting position for the Elmsley Count. I didn't like how some tricks required you to place the last counted card in the EC back to the bottom - that just looks unnatural. Additionally, I had someone ask me to count the cards again - if you don't know the Jordan you're going to be stuck.

Turns out that my Jordan Count is executed differently than the one in the book. My goal was to make the Elmsley and the Jordan indistinguishable to lay people. It would be nice to see an updated version of this book with more variations of the counts and more cuts. There is another book called Counthesaurus by Jon Racherbaumer which appears to be a more complete treatise on the subject of counts. However, it is more expense so it may be a while before I feel the love for that book.

Overall: 7/10

If you're into packet tricks or looking for some material to get the creative process going this is a no-brainer purchase.

Hip Shot Wallet Review

I was on a mission. To find the fire wallet that I saw demo'ed at an Orlando magic shop. After much research on the Magic Cafe and magic retail web sites, I determined that the fire wallet was most likely the Jardonnet wallet. After reading a lengthy forum thread on fire accidents and liability, I decided to forego the "fire" part of the wallet for now. After narrowing my choices to the best candidates AND to the wallets that were not back ordered, I selected Anthony Miller's Hip Shot Wallet manufactured by Murphy's Magic Supply and purchased for under $35 from Penguin's Magic.




Marketing Fluff

"You love card to wallet... but you don`t wear a jacket that often? Then you should try shooting from the hip. Introducing the Hip Shot! A bi-fold hip pocket wallet made of high quality calf-skin, built from the ground up to function as your everyday wallet. Contains two zippered compartments that can produce your selected cards... One of which can produce a whole deck! A Word From The Pros..."

"A classy prop! The kind of wallet you`d be proud to own and use."
- Rafael Benetar

"It`s easy to use... Is well made and looks great. If you`ve been looking for a wallet of this type, be sure to check it out. Recommended."
- Mike Close

"Tony`s wallets are just like Frosted Flakes... They`re Great! Being a professional magician, I of course have almost no extra money, but I did actually shell out my own dough for one of these wallets! It`s nice enough that even if you don`t do the card in the wallet trick, you`ll be proud to carry it around."
- Mac King

Quantity of Prop

Anthony Miller's wallets seem to have an excellent reputation on the magic forums for high quality and solid design. I was not disappointed. The wallet is made of soft, fine, high-quality leather. This wallet is definitely comparable in quality to any fine leather wallet in a department store. It has become my every day wallet.

I will warn you it is a bit larger than I expected. It seems to fit in my Dockers and Lee jean's pockets without sticking out; but just barely fits completely into the rear pocket. Perhaps in a smaller jean style it might be tight.

Features

• There are slots for at least 14 credit cards or a bunch of packet tricks!
• Large zippered bill compartment
• Small zippered compartment big enough for cards and coins
  
• Two loading mechanisms

Here's a look at the inside:



The documentation indicates that the larger of the loading mechanism can handle a full deck of cards. That doesn't seem practical but it does appear possible and I found some forum posts where magicians were doing full deck to wallet routines. You can use a credit card as a guide into the smaller chamber (a very nice feature) and it also comes with two large, black plastic guides.

The zippers certainly add to the mystery of how the card got into the wallet.

I've been working on the card-to-wallet routine that is supplied with the wallet. The routine is a climax sequence for an Ambitious Card Routine. I'm not quite comfortable with the routine yet but it looks like a killer method of ending the ACR.

I am using it for Kenton Knepper's Kollasal Killer (KK) routine. KK is essentially an invisible deck routine without the invisible deck. There are better wallets for this routine but I did make it work with a little ingenuity. You can use any wallet for the KK effect but the size of the wallet and the zippered compartments really make the KK effect strong.

I performed KK today in a corporate leadership training session and it drew audible gasps. I set the wallet on the table, went through the patter about predicting events and that I have a prediction in the wallet. I opened the wallet to show a normal wallet. I ask a student to visualize ANY card. Showing empty hands and without any hesitation, I picked up the wallet, unzipped a compartment and pulled out the predicted card. Truly killer.

Documentation

There is no excuse for this crappy, pages out-of-order photocopy. Why offer such a quality wallet and provide such a poor quality document? Sorry Murphy's but there is NO excuse for this garbage photocopy.

Paper quality aside, the documentation describes an excellent routine for a no-palm card-to-wallet. The suggested patter is excellent and the card handling is described in detail.

Overall: 7/10

This is my first wallet review so I'm going to rate this a bit low to leave room for other wallet reviews. The Hip Shot lost 1 point for poor quality documentation. Otherwise, this is an outstanding quality prop that I hope will hold up for a couple years. I am kind of hard on wallets so we'll see if it can hold up to my abuse!

Flood of 2008

The Flood of 2008

I'm setting magic aside for a few moments to record my recollections of the Flood of 2008. You see, I live in the heart of the midwestern United States about 1 hour away from the Mississippi River in a small city called Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Many towns across in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri have been washed away by prolific flooding.

Cedar Rapids is located on the Cedar River but I've never thought of it as a "river town." Those "river towns" are typically towns that line the Mississippi that seem to flood every few years. This year that perception changed in a blink of the eye.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

We were on our way home from a vacation in Orlando when We had heard of the flooding of Waterloo Iowa on CNN and Fox News. Waterloo is another small city north of Cedar Rapids. Because of the emerging disaster in Waterloo, Barak Obama canceled plans to fly into Cedar Rapids for a campaign stop. That seemed to be pretty big news for our little town of 125,000.

Flying into Cedar Rapids, you could see that little streams that meandered through farmer's fields looked like churning, raging rivers. A week of intense spring rains, combined with a winter of record snowfalls had saturated the rich, black farmland and swollen the creeks and rivers.

We quickly learned that of the five bridges spanning the Cedar River, only one remained open. The bridge of Interstate 380 was the sole link between the east and west sides of an Iowa county that held a quarter of a million people. Water was threatening to engulf the remaining bridges. Two railroad bridges were parked with boxcars loaded with rocks in hopes that the added weight would hold the bridges in place. One bridge finally collapsed under the pressure of the raging river.

Traffic was backed up for miles in all directions as the transportation matrix of the city was funneled down to three lanes in both directions. All other bridges were completely submerged. The sight was staggering to behold as we slowly crawled across town on I-380.

Cedar Rapids and Paris, France have something in common; they are the only cities in the world to have their municipal government located on an island in the middle of a river. Driving through Cedar Rapids and seeing the island that contains the city government, county court house and city jail under water was shocking. This is a sight that is unlikely to occur again in my or my children's children's lifetime.

We learned that the previous record high waters crested at around 22 feet. The river would finally crest at 32 feet; smashing the old record. 20,000 people were evacuated. Unlike during Katrina, residents had a little more time to clear out of their homes although many didn't flee immediately because few believe the river would leave it's banks and breach it's levees. By the time the water hit 32 feet, over 420 city blocks would be flooded.

Three of the four city wells were flooded with murky flood water. The city's water supply was in danger of running dry. A water emergency was declared. You could only use water to drink. No showers, no hand washing, no running dishwashers, no washing machines and no flushing toilets. We collected rain water from the brief but intense rain showers that still threatened the area. We could flush the toilets with a couple gallons of rainwater.

Still, the city official angrily denounced any non-essential use of water. Reports of people washing their cars had shown that some people did not fully comprehend the gravity of the disaster. We had stocked the home with bottled water and Diet Coke so we were in good shape for several days. It was quite an adventure for the kids and I think they learned a little about the scarcity of resources and what conservation was all about.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

By Saturday evening, we wanted a brake from the non-stop flood coverage on the television. We decides to see if our favorite Mexican, Villa's Patio, restaurant was open. Sure enough. The restaurant really adapted to the emergency. All food was served on disposable plates and with plastic utensils. Soda pop was served from cans instead of from the fountain dispensers. Hand sanitizer replaced hand washing.

By Sunday morning, the water emergency was slightly downgraded. Homes with even house numbers could use water for limited purposes on even days. And odd homes on odd days.

As the water slowly receded, the depth and breadth of the damage was starting to become clear. Hundreds of families were in shelters. Hundreds of homes were feared destroyed. Hundreds of business were shutdown. The entire downtown area without power. River water containing, sand, silt, fish, dead animals, bacteria, farm chemicals and raw sewage covered hundreds of city blocks.

DVD Review: Ultimate Aces

DVD Review: Ultimate Aces

Living in a smaller Midwestern city, my opportunities to visit a brick and mortar magic shop is few and far between. Currently, I'm on vacation in Florida, visiting the mouse mecca known as Disney World. So I had to locate any magic shops close to our resort. Luckily, I found at least two shops with a few miles.

One shop is in Downtown Disney under a giant top hat called Magic Masters. Wow what an enormous disappointment. This is an absolutely beautiful magic shop that sells almost nothing. Perhaps 20-30 generic, overpriced magic items with such imaginative names such as "cups and balls." Magic Masters is clearly oriented towards selling tricks to tourists and not people interested in the art of magic.

The second shop was Magic Max in what's know as Old Town or the Fun Spot. This was also a bit of a disappointment however they did have a reasonable inventory of magic and novelty items (gags). The sales dude was a young but capable magician. He rattled off a dozen tricks and gags within the first few minutes in the store. After sizing me up by quizzing me on a few magical topics, he pointed me to a DVD called Ultimate Aces by Magic Makers. I really wasn't all that interested but it was pouring rain outside so I was stuck in the shop, and finally, the $25 slipped out of my billfold.

Here is an example of a trick learned from this DVD:




Marketing Fluff

Amaze people with seven stunning card tricks! These are all tricks with Aces. As Kings become Aces, Aces become Jokers, and Jokers vanish, it is no wonder why this small collection generates big impact. Each trick is performed and explained, plus a bonus section includes three spectator performances.
Special cards needed are included with this DVD.

Degree of Difficulty

Intermediate. You could probably take these on with a little experience in the basics. Ben Salinas teaches all of the sleights so you could attempt all of these tricks with no experience. However, if you are a beginner I would look elsewhere for some instruction in the basics first.

It is a great intermediate DVD though. You'll get an opportunity to work on your TLs and Elmsley Counts. Plus you'll learn the Ascanio Spread which is a brilliant and fun move.

Teaching

Ultimate Aces is my first encounter with Ben Salinas. Ben is a smooth magician and a reasonably good instructor. He appears to be left handed which is a bit confusing on his Elmsley Count explanation. If you have not learned the Elmsley Count you may want to reference additional instructional DVDs on this often used sleight such as the Born To Perform Card Magic DVD.

His patter is good and provides some little jokes to add a humorous flair. The only downside is that his pace is a little fast and he only shows you the moves once so be prepared to rewind a lot. Ben credits the creators of most of the sleights and the routines themselves.

The downside is that the performance videos are just for the studio camera. I'm getting used to the real, on-the-street or in-the-Castle demos on other DVDs. I would rather see real performances for real people as you get a sense of the reactions and how that affects the patter and timing during a routine.

There is also a "bonus" section on the DVD that has Salinas performing three of the tricks for "Ashley" in the studio. Ashley doesn't provide much reaction so this is not all too useful.

Quantity of Effects

Pretty good considering I paid well over retail price, I'm still satisfied with my purchase due to the number of good tricks on the DVD. I've learned a few new sleights including the wonderful Ascanio Spread. All in all, there are seven great tricks on this DVD and you can easily find it for $15 on the internet. That's a pretty good buy if you don't already have these seven dandy tricks.

Plus you get a packet of cards including one gaffed card. The cards are blue-backed Bicycles.

There is also a good variety of effects on here. Half of the routines are pure sleight of hand. The other half employs gimmicks or gaffs.

Quality of Effects

Solid, solid, solid. I've mastered two great tricks in just a couple days (I already am comfortable with the Elmsley Count so your mileage may vary).

Ultimate Ace Assembly (Mc Donalds Aces) - the aces vanish from three piles of cards only to join the ace of spades in a four pile of cards. This is a very visual trick in that one moment the aces is amoung three cards and the next second it is gone. I already have a version of the Ultimate Ace Assembly I purchased as an instant download from Penguin Magic. This is a killer trick but one that requires a good deal of set-up and a dedicated deck of cards, just for this trick. This version is a little different that the Oz Perlman version. Oz adds a few more magical moves in his version but Salinas' version is pretty good as well.

Mo Money Monte - yet another "follow the ace" routine. A good routine, but we'll have to see if it is good enough to replace my Color Monte.

Impossible (gimmicked) - Four Jokers are shown. One at a time the jokers turn face down. The four face down cards are turned to reveal that they were never jokers but the four aces. Really a brilliant trick but it does require some set-up and it is not instantly resettable.

Impossible (ungimmicked) - Virtually the same trick except that it is completely ungimmicked, the handling is a bit different and Salinas uses kings instead of jokers. This might be a great impromptu effect but it is a bit more risky to pull off as you might imagine.

Dai Vernon's Twisting the Aces - I've seen other magicians do this trick but I've never learned it myself. Show four aces and turn them face down. One by one, each ace turns face-up in the packet. Brilliant piece of ungimmicked card magic.

Easy Aces - Taking the 4 Aces from the deck, you give a magical twist and spread the aces in a fancy flourish. One of the aces has turned face down. Each time the move is repeated, a different aces appears face down. This trick teaches you the pretty Ascanio Spread created by Arturo de Ascanio.

Spectator Cuts to the Aces - This is a straight forward, yet completely beguiling trick where the spectator is asked to cut the deck into 4 piles. Taking the top card from each pile, the spectator has unwittingly cut to the four aces. There are other versions of this trick - this is a very good version using a gimmick. I hadn't seen this simple gimmick before and I'll be using it for other situations. I'm still inclined to use the version of Spectator Cuts to the Aces I learned from Greg Wilson's Pyrotechnic Pasteboards DVD.

Production Quality

The overall production is good. The video quality is very good. There is very little editing as each segment is taken in one shot. The menus are sparse but functional. The sound track is okay but a little overly dramatic and repetitive.

Overall: 7/10

This isn't going to tear up the magic community but it is a nice collection of ace tricks. The false counts and Ascanio Spread are great additions to your toolbox if you do not already have them. Plus you get a packet of cards including a nice gaff. A solid value for $15 that will give you some classic effects to add to you repertoire.

DVD Review: Greg Wilson's Double Take

The Double Lift (DL) is arguably the most widely used sleight in all of card magic. Poorly executed, you'll look like a complete dufus. Perfectly executed and you look like a wizard. Seemingly a simple move, the DL is a tough move to polish to perfection and difficult to nail 100% of the time. For century's, the classic pass was thought to be the most indispensable move but move over pass; the DL is now the king of cards.

Here's a little sample of me performing the Knock-Out DL. Not that I perform it perfectly but it's the one that works best for me. I can hit the double 100% of the time and then handle the double as a single with confidence.



This DVD is a timeless masterpiece.

Marketing Fluff

Gregory Wilson's Double Take puts the world's greatest double lifts at your fingertips. ..even if you're all thumbs. This step-by-step instructional video is packed with more than 90 minutes of dynamic material you can perform anytime, anywhere, with any deck. For nearly two decades Gregory has been teaching his unique style of magic, as well as performing for many Fortune 500 companies. And as your personal coach, Gregory will teach you the nuances of more than 25 different double lifts ~ choose your favorites: from the top of the deck, from the bottom, from the middle, from a fan, from the table, to the table, and even doubles that flip through the air from hand-to-hand! If you're a beginner, or have never even picked up a deck of cards, you can easily perform miracles in minutes with Greg's Quick Start-Up Section. The more advanced will enjoy studying the techniques of the masters, including Dai Vernon, Ed Mario, Martin Nash, and many others.

Degree of Difficulty

Beginner to Expert. Wilson puts puts things in order. He assumes you don't even know what a "mechanics grip" is. He ties the introductory material up with a "quick start" segment providing three easy to learn miracles. The material gets harder from here on out. You'll find that some moves and routines have an steep learning curve.

The cool thing is, I really think a beginner could get this DVD as a starting point. There is no more important move than the DL in card magic. This will give the beginner an arsenal of hard hitting close-up magic. Then, as the novice advances, they can work on the more advanced material. Literally, this DVD will take you a long, long time to learn and perfect all of the material.

And the advanced card mage will love the Brittanica-like index of DL knowledge as well.

Teaching

Greg Wilson is like a tenured Harvard professor - only a lot more fun and a lot less boring! Each routine is performed in front of a small audience of attractive ladies donned in vintage 80s attire. He is constantly cracking jokes and flirting with the pretty ladies in his audience. During the instructional sections, Gregory moves slowly through all moves, usually several times in both slow-mo and in tempo.

Wilson has a gift for teaching. He really speaks to the physics of each move; where the pressure is applied, what direction the pressure is taking, what are the opposing pressure points, where the pivot points are located, what the sound of a card should sound like.

Wilson is also good at crediting the creators of the moves. He gives a little lecture on reading books. He downplays his own video as "supplemental" to the real material; the classic books of magic. I actually disagree with him on this one. I think magic DVDs have surpassed books as the primary source of magical instruction with books now as the supplemental resources. But that's a debate for another time and place. Wilson is obviously a very gracious and humble man - sometimes a seemingly rare trait in today's world.

Quantity of Effects

Wow! Like Wilson's Ring Leader DVD is to "ring and string" magic, this is THE encyclopedia of the Double Lift. As if the sleights weren't enough, there are a bunch of great tricks in this gem. It took me well over an hour to document the sleights and tricks that contained with this vast grimoire. So here they are:

Introduction - Greg telling you what he's about to teach you.

Basic DL - Greg does a good job explaining basic DL beginning with the mechanics of the mechanics grip and the thumb count from the biddle grip. It's a littler different from the basic DL I learned.
Strike DL - a very popular DL because of the natural moption and no get ready. Personally, I don't like it because I occasionally get a triple (Yeah, I know...lack of practice!)
Grip Strike DL - enhanced version of the Strike that adds a push over move.
Knock-Out DL - Greg's favorite and my fav as well. A litle flashy and always works for me.
The Basic Replacement - perhaps I wasn't giving this part of the DL enough attention!
Quick Start-up - three tricks to get your feet wet. These are really good tricks so don't overlook them. Includes a very nice in-the-spectators-hand transposition.

• Simple Location Trick
• Simple Reverse Trick
• Simple Switch Trick

More replacements...

Maintaining a break after the replacement
Bernard Bilis Replacement - a flourishy replacement.
Revolve Replacement - flourishy & emphasizes the singularity of of the double (that's an oxymoron!)
Juan Tameriz Replacement - cool out jogged replacement.
Racherbaumer Replacement - another cool out jogged replacement.
Vernon Offset Replacement - Yet another reason why Vernon was a genius. Pick up a double and display it away from the deck in the air for the crowd. Table it and place the cardbox on top of the tabled card. Guess what? It's already back in the deck!

Get Readys...

No Brainer DL
Auto DL
Pinky Count DL
Thumb Count DL

More doubles...

Double from a Fan
DL from a Dribble
Dai Vernon's DL
Color Changes
DL without a Pack
Tabled DLs

Tricks...

Phoenix Aces - pluck 4 Aces from the air, one at a time. This is not a back palm production. It uses some sleights that I was not familiar with.

Weighted Aces - Wilson's version of Doc Daley's Last Trick. Using 4 aces, demonstrate your ability to tell which ace is which by weight alone. Follow up with some amazing"in the spectator's hand" transpositions. Very good trick I use all the time.

Two Wrongs Make A Right - Starts out as a pick a card trick. Only problem is that you guess wrong twice. Take the two wrong cards place face up on the deck. Snap your fingers over the deck and the correct card appears from thin air, face up on the top of the deck.

Jumping Gemini (Darwin Ortiz) - Reminds me of the Color Monte on steroids. This is a difficult trick to master. Not because of the sleights but because there are so many sequences to remember. Miss one sequence and you're fricked. As a little bonus, Wilson does a great job teaching the Elmsley count.

Ambitious Card Routine

Greg performs his ACR but does provide the explanation. It's a pretty good routine that ends in a card to card box. If you don't know the ACR I would recommend the Worlds Greatest Magic by the Worlds Greatest Magicians: The Ambitious Card DVD from L&L Publishing.

Bonus Tricks...

Bizarre Twist (Paul Harris) - I loved this trick. You start with 3 red backed cards. You slide a black seven face down between two face down red aces. Twist the cards apart and the seven is now face up. Do the sequence again and this time when you flip the seven over it is a blue backed card.

Stop Trick - Drop a face down on the table. To the side, deal the remaining cards onto the table and ask the spectator to say stop. Drop the stop card onto the first tabled card. Flip them over and they are both red aces.

Double Monte - Two red aces and a black queen. You show the black queen and table it face down. You then show that you have two red aces in your hand. A quick spin and the two red aces become one black queen. You flip the tabled card over and it is the two red aces.


Quality of Effects

Even the simple introductory tricks are keepers. The people in the audience audibly gasp in each and every trick.

Production Quality

This is the only weak point in my review. This is Wilson's first video back from the days of VHS tapes and when Wilson had more hair! This DVD was obviously recorded from tape and it shows. That being said, the tape quality is pretty good throughout most of the DVD. The sub titles and transitions are were pretty good for it's time. I've seen much worse on DVDs produced in the last couple years.

The DVD menus are pretty complete. Not all of the break points are in the menu but most are and can can skip through to the ones that are not given menu selections.

Overall: 9.5/10

My highest rating so far. This is a resource that you will use for years to come. The tricks alone would make a solid DVD. If you need a resource to determine the best DL for you, this is going to fit the bill. Sure, there may be some lessor known DLs that are not covered here but there is sure to be a few that you'll come to cherish.

Penguin Magic sells this DVD for a paltry $26. That's what you call a no-brainer purchase.

DVD Review: Money Starring Jay Noblezada

Jay Noblezada has a new instructional DVD on money magic; appropriately named "Money Starring Jay Noblezada." Jay had a smash hit DVD on coin magic called "In The Beginning There Were Coins" (ITBTHC) that is a brilliant introduction to coin sleight of hand. Money magic is a slightly different genre of magic than coin magic. It has a different vibe. People get interested when you're waving valuable bills around. Money magic also differs by relying more on presentation and gimmicks than pure skill.



The format of the Money DVD is quite a bit different than Jay's earlier ITBTHC DVD. ITBTHC was a introduction to coins starting with individual sleights such as palms and vanishes. Money is pure magic tricks. These are hard hitting illusions with paper money.


Marketing Fluff


From the Penguin Magic web site...

MONEY. It's hard to imagine a better item to do magic with. Everybody has it. Your spectators are literally walking around right now with your props in their wallets, pockets, and purses. And everybody cares about it. When there's money in play, you've got their attention. This DVD will take you from beginner in money magic to the point where you can do an entire act with just the money and props in your wallet. The focus of the DVD is four show pieces. These are four of the strongest effects in money magic. Learn these effects and you'll be able to entertain anywhere you go. The DVD also features a bonus section packed with fun money tricks and puzzles. Incorporate your favorite items from the bonus section into your money act.

Degree of Difficulty

Beginner. But don't let that put you off if your an intermediate to advanced mage as they are strong effects. The difficulty is in the presentation. A creative presentation is going to make these tricks appear to be miracles. A good presentation is going to hide the flaws, dirty work and gimmicks associate with your money magic.

Teaching

Jay Noblezada is one of the best instructors I've seen. He is thorough and his pace is slow. He gives you many different handlings and variations. He makes this DVD engaging and fun to watch.

One of the key factors in the DVD format in comparison to books is the ability to show actual performances for real people. You get not only one street performance but multiple street and restaurant performances of the same effect. Although it looks a bit silly, you also get a spectator point-of-view helmet camera!

Jay doesn't credit the creators or reference external resources for the effects during his instruction. You will find that some of the effects are prominently credited within the ending credits. I'm guessing that a few of the originators have been lost. Joshua does credit some of the basic sleights in his effect.

Quantity of Effects

You're going to get a lot of material on this DVD - a total of 16 effects. I'm not sure I would classify any of these effects as a "routine." My definition of a routine is a multiphase trick or lengthy presentation of an effect. With the exception of Cornered, these tricks are quick and hard hitting. Only 12 of these are tricks - 2 are gags and 2 are puzzles.

Penguin is marketing this as four effects. The other material are bonus effects. I think I would have been happy with the four effects so the bonus material is just icing on the cake. Penguin sells a few of these effects as instant downloads so this DVD is a more cost effective method of purchasing a variety of money magic than forking out $10 per trick. Here are the effects you'll get:

Five and 1 Transpo
Two Dollar Window
Cornered by Joshua Jay
Alpha Cash

Joke the Ripper
George Smiles
Torn and Restored Bill
Insta Cash
Pennie Split
Dollar Division
Psychic Steal
$100 Bill Switch
Sweet Surprise
Haunted Dollar Bill

Five Coins
Heads and Tails


Quality of Effects

From jaw dropping to ho-hum. The four "showcase" effects are very strong. Among the bonus effects, Psychic Steal and Haunted Bill are my favorites so I'll review these tricks:

Five and One Transpo is an in-the-spectators-hand effect. It uses a gimmicked bill which is easy to construct. The spectator is holding the $1 while the mage holds the $5. The mage waves the bill and it visibly transforms into the $1. The spectator is surprised to find they are now holding the $1.

Two Dollar Window is my favorite so far. This trick relies on another brilliant, yet easy to construct gimmick. The mage show the front and backs of two $1 bills. The mage hypnotizes the spectators as he/she folds the two bills into a small packet. Without skipping a beat the mage unfolds the packet. In place of two $1 bills there is now a single $2 bill in it's place. You show the bill front and back and you look extremely clean at this point. This is going to be the opener I utilize to grab attention in an impromptu setting.

Cornered is a creative torn and restored bill by Joshua Jay. Joshua provides the teaching and does a great job. He provides some interesting variations that would astonish. This is my first Joshua Jay trick and I would certainly purchase more of his materials in the future.

Alpha Cash is a rework on Patrick Page's classic Easy Money. There are a number of variations of this effect on the market. Extreme Burn, Heiny 500, Hundy 500, Prophet, et. al. If you're buying this DVD just for Alpha Cash then you would be happier with one of the others. After watching the other versions, Heiny 500 is my favorite. The count is more natural than Alpha Cash and the change is more startling.

That being said, Alpha Cash is still a strong effect. The plot is simple; you count out five $1 bills. A quick flip of the wrist and the change to $20s. I haven't performed this one yet. The downsides are the strange count, it is very angle sensitive and very dirty. Plus, if you follow Jay's presentation, someone might walk away with your $100.

At the end of the DVD, Jay shows an alternate presentation of Alpha Cash using ordinary paper instead of $1's. It's a fun bit to watch Jay pay for his restaurant bill with worthless paper - only to shake it into real money for the dumbfounded waiter.

Psychic Steal is the best of the bonus material. It is a dandy little feat of mentalism. Nothing new or groundbreaking but Jay's handling of the revelation is novel. Borrow a dollar bill and divine the serial number. Like most mentalism, it's 2% sleight of hand and 98% acting.

The Haunted Dollar Bill is another Penguin instant download that made it onto this DVD collection. I loved the Haunted Deck! I had almost added it's brother, the Haunted Bill to my shopping card many, many times. The method is be easily discovered if you're not careful with the lighting and clothing selection. Almost self-working, the real skill comes in camoflaging the method and coming up with a scary story. I'm thinking about to to a coin shop and purchasing an old (but not too rare) bill to add to the mystique. In the right situation (Halloween party) this is going to freak your friends.


Joke the Ripper and George Smiles are not tricks at all. Amusing diversions at best. George Smile might be fun to teach your kids - making George Washington smile and frown via a little optical illusion.

Insta Cash is a little ditty that use two credit cards. Showing front and back of each card cleanly (sort of), you shake a bill from between the two cards. Insta Cash teaches you a nice little sleight that could come in useful with credit cards and playing cards.

Torn and Restore Bill has you tearing out George Washington's head, eating the head and spitting it back onto the bill. When Jay demo'ed it on the street it looked great one time and really bad another time. I think any kind of close examination by a non-drunk spectator is going to reveal the method.

Production Quality

Cool factor is high! Noblezada makes the hippest magic DVDs out there. It's tough to completely comment because I haven't receive the physical media yet. This review is based on the downloadable version so I can't comment on the menuing system yet as the download version plays like a video tape. The music is catchy but a little repetitive.

Overall: 7/10

For someone who doesn't have a lot of money tricks in their toolbox, this is a great value. Two Dollar Window is an over-exposed effect but it is a killer effect so don't over look this gem. This trick is permanently replacing the Greed gimmick in my wallet. Pull out this little $2 wonder and you're going to instantly establish yourself as a real magician on the spot in every circumstance.

If you already know some of this material, you might give it a much lower score than I. This DVD doesn't have the wealth of foundational material that ITBTWC does but it packs in a lot of tricks that could fill out your repertoire and add a welcome break from your deck of cards.

Practice Sessions: Getting the Most From Your Practice Minutes

John Petrucci, the phemon guitarist from Dream Theater, talks about it being a bad idea to approach practicing guitar without a practice plan. Obviously, this applies to guitar but the principles are the same.

Petrucci categorizes practice routines into 4-5 categories; legato, sweep picking, string skipping, etc. He starts with 10 minutes of stretching and then he picks one or two exercise from each catagory and spends 15-30 minutes on each category. His theory is that with a practice regimen such as this, you make better use of your practice time, you don't wander in many directions with little real improvement and you continue to work on a broader range of skills.

I think we could come up with a similar approach in practicing magic. I don't think you could come with a single set of categories for everyone but I think you could come up with a modular practice regimen.

Warm-ups Categories

• Stretching your arms, hands and fingers
• Florishes
• Shuffles

Skill Categories

Skills would be a list of the most common sleights and sequences for a particular school of magic such as cards (DL, TL, palm, back palm, shuffles, controls, passes, color changes, etc) or cups/balls (basic palms, vanishes, opening sequences, middle sequences, ending rhythms, wand spins, etc).

• Card sleights
• Coin sleights
• Cups and Balls sleights/sequences
• Thimble sleights
• Billiard Ball sleights
• Ring/string sleights
• Sponge ball sleights

Routine Categories

Routines would include single tricks and multiple sequenced routines.

• Card tricks and routines
• Coin tricks and routines
• Cups and balls - full routines
• Thimble routines - tricks and routines
• Billiard Ball routines
• Ring/String routines
• Rubberband tricks
• Sponge ball routines

Practice/Rehearsal Categories

• Mirror practice
• Video practice
• Routining (putting full routines together in a sequence, making routines your own)
• Rehearsal practice (full dress rehersal performing a set of routines)

Document your skill categories and your routines. These would be living, dynamic documents in that you could add new skill and routine categories over time. In each category you would add new sleights and tricks over time. So you find a new routines or sleights that you want to learn, add them to the list so that you have a method/plan to add the new skill to your practice sessions.

So a 90 minute practice session might look like this:

• 15 minutes of streching, shuffling, mental preparation
• 15 minutes card sleights (today I pick the Strike DL, classic pass, turnover pass, and back palm productions)
• 15 minutes card routines (I pick 1 or two tricks involving the sleights I worked on in the card sleights session)
• 15 minutes on Cups and Balls (wand vanishes, click move, final loads)
• 15 minutes on my Cups and Balls routine
• 15 minutes in front of the video camera

There you have it. A regimen that is flexible, customizable and focused.

The Magic Show 2007

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of participating in our IBM Ring 327 charity event. It is amazing that this small, local chapter has so many talented magicians. The show benefited the Helping Hands ministry which provides emergency assistance to families needing help with rent, utility payments and other support services. The two family-oriented shows drew at least 200 enthusiastic magic fans.

Lee Novak performed a portion of his stage routine. This is the second time I've seen Lee's show and he has put together some astonding stage illusions as well as some card and billiard manipulations. The audience loudly gasped at his dove productions and vanishes - especially the transformation of 3 doves into a live rabbit.

Tim Stolba also mystified the audience with a newspaper prediction and several great routines from his act. I also watched Tim perform a couple great close-up routines before the show to several delighted children.

Ricky Rowray, a deaf magician from Cedar Rapids, performed his hilarious style of comedy magic. It is amazing to see him delight and connect with the crowd without saying a thing! Ricky is soon to compete at a deaf magicians competition in California. I think he'll do quite well.

The entire show was expertly glued together by the Master of Ceremonies, Dr. Don Nelson. He performed a brilliant torn and restored newspaper. He also performed one of my favorite effects of the night with his shrinking and expanding head illusion.

Bob Beardsly and his daughter performed both together and individually. Bob wowed the audience with a chair levitation. His daughter (sorry I have forgotten her name) is an extremely talented performer for such a young age. The highlight for me was their execution of the Gypsy Rope Escape.

I didn't get to see a couple of the performers as I was busy resetting (or forgetting to reset) my walk around set. Although I only saw a couple of his tricks, Chris Arthur was wowing the spectators with some mind numbing close-up work including a seemingly impossible linking rubberbands routine.

As a new member, I didn't feel qualified to perform stage routines but I did have a great opportunity to perform some strolling magic. I had a chance to try out a new presentation of my Ambitious Card Routine where I had a child draw a puppy on the card. Instead of a magic flick of the wrist to bring the card to the top, I had the spectator call the puppy home. This was a variation of David Regal's presentation with different moves including Max Maven's Classic Tackler move for the ending sequence. This turned out to be a crowd pleaser and the kids got a nice souvenier to remind them of their magical night.

Winning the War

This was a post on the Penguin Magic forum that I thought deserved a broader audience. The mainstream media in this country tends to print the negative war coverage on page 1 and bury the positive stories on page 12. This is one of many positive stories that are not getting told. It is from a soldier in serving in Iraq that is using magic to change the world, one person at a time.

Thanks to Jeremy Clayton of Covington, TN for letting me reprint his post on my blog, and even more importantly, thanks for his service and sacrifice in the defense of our country.

OK, I know some of you are probably thinking that I must be insane, but if I may have a moment I would like to share some experiences. I do not post on here often but I have been a member for a few years. I am currently in the military and deployed to Iraq (for the 3rd time now). This time I noticed
something different, the people seemed more approachable. So here I am armed with my trusty sidearm, a scotch and soda, penny and dime, TT, invisible thread, and some sponge balls, I decide to set out to make some friends.

I first showed the vanishing hanky trick to a guy that I see almost everyday and he absolutely freaked out. He was genuinely scared and began backing away from me then he asked me something in Arabic which I totally did not understand. He asked again this time in broken English, "Do you have a ???" the last word was Arabic and I do not remember what it was. Then he said "I think in English it's called a jenny." I gave him a puzzled look as my brain kicked into overdrive to figure out what this guy was talking about. Then I realized it...he wanted to know if I had a Genie. It was at this moment that I realized this was going to be a good deployment.

I have gotten several reactions just like the one mentioned above and I must admit to them that no I don't have a genie that everything is done by slights, misdirection, lots of practice and a couple gimmicks. I deal with a great deal of locals everyday and now every morning when I go to pick up a bus load of about 20 local Iraqi citizens I am greeted by the shaking of hands, hugs and the affectionate term habibi...which means something like brother or family member. The others that know me more closely simply call me magic man and I still get the occasional question about a genie.

When I get the time I usually throw together a short 15 or 20 minute performance that everyone (including the coalition forces) crowd around to watch. Unfortunately there are no magic lamps or Genies here...just us penguins...trying to make changes in the world one friend at a time.

Learning the Pass - Part 1

I'm finally getting around to learning one of the oldest manuevers in the book; The Pass. I had not encountered many tricks that required a pass. It seems most tricks rely on double lifts, false cuts, false counts and false shuffles. To get a feel for the power of the pass, check out the following video of a brilliantly executed pass by Jonathan Kam.



The pass is a type of card control. Controls allow the mage to move about a specific card(s) within the deck without the spectator realizing the movement is occuring. Card controls date back at least as far as was published in Scot's Discoverie of Witchcraft in 1584.

Royal Road to Card Magic (RRTCM) provides a short history of the pass, implying that for centuries the pass was the most important of all sleights. Early card workers were taught that all other sleights were not important until this very difficult move was mastered. However, RRTCM makes a strong case for not learning the pass until many other more basic sleights are perfected.

In my training as a cardician, I'm certainly going to agree that the pass has not been that important so far. However, I finally came across a really nice Ambitious Card Routine (ACR) sequence that relies on the pass. Instead of the typical ACR sequence of a face down card placed into the middle, with this sequence, a face-up card is placed into the deck. The pass is used to bring the card from the middle to the top. Time to learn the pass.

I found a forum post that catalogued over 100 methods of executing the pass. The grand daddy of them all is the Classic Pass. After many hours of practice, this method is very clumsy to me still. This is going to take months or even years to perfect...argg!

The ACR sequence that I want to learn is from Tommy Wonder's delightful ACR. He uses a rollover pass. I like the look of that pass so I set out to learn the turnover pass. Hmmm...a quick Google search and look around youtube.com and there is no consensus as to what a turnover pass looks like.

So basically I'm making up my own rollover pass, I'm taking a passing action that feels a little more natural to me than the classic pass and continuing with a rollover of the deck. This seems to be a good beginner pass because the motion of the turnover hides the motion of the pass. The rollover movement of the deck matches the patter of the sequence so it all fits nicely.

Unfortunately, this simplified pass looks like weeks of practice to pull off adequately. In the meantime, I'll keep working the classic pass and let you all know how it's going. Perhaps I will post a video of my beginner rollover pass at the early stages and you can tear it apart. Then we can compare it after a few months of practice.

REVIEW: Thimble Dexterity - The Magic of Joe Mogar (DVD)

I learned about thimble magic quite by accident. In my quest to attain the secret knowledge of billiard ball manipulation I purchased a DVD by Jeff McBride called World Class Manipulations Volume 1. This review isn't about the McBride DVD but that DVD had a section on thimble magic. I had no plans to watch the thimble teaching sections - who even knows what a thimble is anyway? But during an accidental viewing of Mc Bride's thimble routine I was struck by how magical the thimble routines really were.


After mastering many of the McBride thimble moves, I constructed a short routine based upon my limited knowledge. To really make the routine my own, I needed some more material from which to draw sequences and ideas. Logically, I should have purchased the second in the McBride series called World Class Manipulations Volume 2.


By this time I had heard the name Joe Mogar mentioned any time thimbles were discussed. As Jeff McBride and Cardini are synonomous with ball and card manipulations, Mogar is synonomous with thimbles and color changing knives. His DVD entitled Thimble Dexterity was generating some good words from thimble workers.



One note before we go any further. If you buy the Thimble Dextrity DVD you will need to purchase thimbles directly from Joe Mogar at his Magic Stars web site. Any set of thimbles that nest or have a big lip (such as the Vernet thimbles) will not work with Joe's moves unless you have gigantic hands. They are very inexpensive and Joe is a great guy to talk to on the phone!


Marketing Fluff


From the DVD jacket:


"Considered by many to be the world's leading authority on thimble magic, Joe Mogar has finally tipped 50 years of moves and routines on this near-encyclopedic DVD. You'll learn techniques never before taught on video, such as the Explosion and Implosion moves, as well as three full routines for stage and close-up.

Thimble Dexterity is a landmark work on magic with regular thimbles, and a must-have for any serious student of sleight-of-hand."


Degree of Difficulty


Advanced. Certainly a beginner can tackle this material. Joe starts with the basics so there is no prerequisite experience with thimbles required. Some of the moves are relatively easy if you've been doing other forms of manipulative magic while other moves are going to take weeks of repetitions for your fingers to acquire the dexterity to execute flawlessly.


Teaching


Mr. Mogar is a very good teacher. Like most of my instructional DVDs, he moves a little fast but the are several sequences that are replayed in slow motion for several repetitions.

One nice touch that I really appreciate is that Joe provides guidance on how to practice. He gives you warm-up exercises for to develop dexterity and how to avoid injury. He talks about not performing until you're are rock solid to protect the magic from exposure and a lot more than I can cover. Joe also has some pretty strong opinions on thimble magic - what you should and should not do and criticizms of certain thimble moves and performance styles - it's really great stuff.

The bonus teaching section is probably the best of any DVD I've ever watched. He covers a lot of stuff in detail. Like what thimbles work best and what to do with cracked thimbles and maintaining nice looking fingers!

One very minor compliant; I would have liked to see more performance video footage. Most of the material is presented in what I would call a lecture format. Even the presentations feel like a lecture and not a real performance. This is a credit to Joe's phenomenal abilities; he leaves you wanting to see his whole routines just as the audience would see them.

Quantity of Effects

Encyclopedic. If you've read my other DVD reviews you know that I value DVDs that are complete references to a particular form of magic. The reason is that you get an arsenal of moves and sequences from which to construct your own routine. This DVD fits that mold.

Moves

• About Thimbles
• Thimble Drill
• Thumb Palm Drill
• Two Hand Drill
• Finger Clip Drill plus Front and Back Palming
• Mulitple Palm
• Thimble Stack
• Explosion Move
• Implosion Move
  

Vanishes

• Basic Vanish and Reproduction
• Natural Pickup Vanish
• Natural Pickup Vanish Variation
• Finger Switch Vanish
• Pinky Steal Vanish
• Wrist Held Vanish
• One Way Vanish
• The Belcher Vanish
• Declining Balance
• The Four by Four Vanish
• Pinch Vanish
• Sucker Punch
• Protologist Vanish
• Tubular Steal
• Buckingham Vanish
• Macho Vanish
• Silk One Thimble Vanish
• Tuck, Tuck & Away

Productions

• Basic Reproduction
• The Gabber
• Super Star
• Thimble Monster
• Twelve Thimble Production
• Power Thimble Production
• Rag Production
  

Color Changes

• The Wave
• The Big Dipper
• Isolation Change
• Tubular Steal and Color Change
• Finger Painting

Flourishes

• The Chorus Line
• The Flip Transfer
• Leapfrog
• Quick Transfer and Jumping
• Pocket Penetration
• Pocket Steal
• Stack transfer and Prodution
• The Drill Penetration
• The Traveler
• Up the Arm
  

Routines

• Power House Routine
• Presidential Opener
• Twelve Thimble

Bonus

• Nuggets of wisdom from Mr Mogar
  

Quality of Effects

Thimble effects are very magical. This is not a single trick DVD so you have a wealth of material to construct a killer routine. I would guess that a good thimble routine derived from this DVD would make great addition to a kids act or stage routine. Joe told me on during our phone conversation that he has performed thimbles for a couple hundred people and that the colorful thimbles are very visible to a sizable audience.

I could see thimbles as a part of a larger manipulation routine, set to music, that might transition to cards or billiards.

Production Quality

The production quality is good. Nothing flashy but the video and audio quality are good. The menuing was a little confusing at first because you have to drill down into sections but that is a credit to the amount of material covered on the DVD. A little background music would have made the production a lot more enjoyable. The slow-mo sections are completely silent and that is unnerving to somelike me who needs some ambient noise or music to feel at ease.

Overall: 8/10

If you're a serious student of manipulation this is a must have for your collection. Joe Mogar is a true thimble master and his contributions have had an enormous impact on the art.

Don't forget to order the thimbles from Joe or you'll have a tough time doing any of the stuff on this DVD.

One final note - I'm going to compare in a follow up blog the Mogar and McBride DVDs because their approach to thimbles is quite different. Also the Shoot Ogawa thimble routines I've witnessed on youtube.com are worth talking about - Shoot is scary good with his thimbles. Both approaches have merits and it will be fun to contrast the two styles.

Practice Sessions: Required Gear

I loved the imagery in the first Harry Potter novel when Harry first learns that he is going off to school to learn magic. Just like when my kids start each school year, Hogwarts students were required to purchase a basic set of magical books and supplies to begin their foray into wizardry; a wand, a cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) and the Standard Book of Spells were amoung the list. If you're just starting out, like I was not all too long ago, it's hard to know what you should purchase as you're basic set of magical apparatus.

If you ask 10 magicians you'll get ten different answers. After much painstaking research, I'm going to present my starting list of magical supplies. Cards and coins are a great place for a hobbyist or amateur to start because the are very visual, they use common items that people are familiar with and will allow you to build a repetoire of impressive effects however breaking the bank.

I wanted to set an initial budget of $30 so that anyone with a job or a few weeks of allowance will be able to get their foot in the door. My prices reflect the "street price" of the item and not the retail price.

Beginning Cards & Coins Supplies under $30

• 2-Pack Bicycle Playing Cards $4
• Coins (At least 6 Kennedy Half Dollars and a couple English Pennies) $5
• Royal Road To Card Magic $10
• Modern Coin Magic $10

This modest set of goodies provides enough material to keep a new mage on a budget busy for a year or more. My preference for learning is through DVDs but for $30 you get hundreds of tricks and sleights. Personally, I'm not yet a big fan of Royal Road. But for ten bucks, it is a tremendous value that is chock full of sleights of hand card magic and tricks. The concept is great; start at the beginning and work your way down the "Royal Road to Card Magic." I read it often but it's not an easy read when you've been spoiled by DVDs that provide a more complete learning process. However a single DVD is going to break the budget here. As far as books go, I really like Bobo's Modern Coin Magic.

Cards & Coins under $100

• One dozen Bicycles Playing Cards $15 (or as many packs as you can get for $15)
• Coins (At least 6 Kennedy Half Dollars and a couple English Pennies) $5
• Born to Perform Card Magic DVD $30
• In the Beginning There Were Coins DVD $30
• Royal Road To Card Magic $10
• Modern Coin Magic $10

If you've got a bigger budget, this school shopping list might be the way to go. This fits in with the my theory of learning magic - DVDs provide a superior learning experience with books to provide an incredible reference and trick library. The Born to Perform Card Magic DVD starts out at square one, how to holdthe deck and goes through the most basic and useful moves. It sums up the coursework with 4 killer routines. The In the Beginning There Were Coins DVD is similar to Born to Perform Card Magic DVD but with coins. The instruction is outstanding and there is enough material to keep a novice busting their knuckles for months.

Cards, Coins and Cups & Balls under $100

• 2-Pack Bicycle Playing Cards $4
• Coins (At least 6 Kennedy Half Dollars and a couple English Pennies) $5
• Royal Road To Card Magic $10
• Modern Coin Magic $10
• Cups and Balls (copper or brass) $15
• Complete Course in Magic with Cups & Balls DVD $38
• Wand $15

The back-to-school shopping list breaks out of the cards and coins. The coins and cards are covered in great detail but adds the age-old cups and balls materials. Everyone wants to learn coins and cards but the Cups and Balls exercise a wider variety of skills that can be the foundation of so many other great forms of magic. Cups and Balls cover almost all of the forms of magic; appearances, vanishes, misdirection, transpositions and teleporations. It also teaches you about piecing together routines builder so that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.

I have included the Complete Course in Magic with Cups & Balls DVD. This DVD is taught by Eddy Ray who routinely gets criticized. However this a solid teaching DVD that covers a lot of material for under $40. There may be better DVDs on the subject but this is an outstanding value and fits our budget.

In case you're wondering, the wand is essential in most Cups and Balls routine. The wand is called The Magician's Wand with Brass Tips. It is heavily weighted on the ends which makes it a joy to spin but a pain if you drop it on your foot.

The DVDs mentioned in this blog entry are reviewed elsewhere on this blog.
http://magic-yeti.blogspot.com/2007/12/review-in-beginning-there-were-coins.html
http://magic-yeti.blogspot.com/2008/01/review-born-to-perform-card-magic-with.html
http://magic-yeti.blogspot.com/2007/12/review-complete-course-in-magic-with.html

Magic: Good or Evil

How does perform magic effects and illusions square away with being a Christian? This has been a hotly debated subject because the bible expressly fobids the practice of magic. Being a Christian, I've had similar misgivings. However the art of magic has little to do with the practice of "real" magic. For the record, I don't believe in "real" magic. I prefer to place my faith in a higher power; a benevolent god.

Although 90% of American's identify themselves as Christian in polls, it is not a prevelant belief amoung magicians. Chris Angel recently remarked on the Larry King show that he felt most magicians are atheists (Angel remarked that he grew up in a Christian home and was a believer). From my experience on the magic forums, this appears to be true.

In fact, I would have to say that, from my experience, magicians can be downright hateful to anyone with a Christian point of view. My guess is that due to scriptural references against witchcraft is what keeps the faithful away from magic.

First a quick definition from the Konjurer dictionary; "magic" in the context of this article and this blog is the practice of an entertainment art form. It is akin to juggling, acting, singing or playing a musical instrument and is meant to bring joy and wonderment to the people who watch. Like the other fine arts, it is a craft that requires hours of weekly practice and years to perfect. Believe it or not, there is no supernatural component to magic.

There is a lot of debate on the subject of magic and Christianity; especially during the rise in popularity of the Harry Potter books. Although I think the practice of magical entertainment as a Christian is a different topic altogether. Magic is an entertainment medium and has nothing to do with the occult or witchcraft except by misguided mediums who are looking to fool the gullible.

Although words like "conjurer" and "magician" may have some historical roots in a pagan practice, they have a completely different meaning today for 99.9% of all modern magicians. For us Christians, if the historical roots of the English language is going to be the standard for when not to use certain words then we're going to have difficulty speaking the English language without researching the etymology of every word we speak.

Atheists accurately point out that the holidays we now celebrate as Easter and Christmas have pagan roots. Should we not use those words or avoid the traditional dates of these holidays because they coincided with pagan celebrations?

So feel free to be a practicioner of the conjurering arts because, in modern times, it simply means you love to entertain people with some skillfully executed, non-supernatural feats. If someone gives you grief about being a magician then look at it as an opportunity to minister to or witness your beliefs.

If you are a Christian and a magician and you are struggling with this whole concept, keep in mind that there is a whole branch of magic called Gospel Magic. You can purchase magical effects that correspond to a Christian message or object lesson. There are a lot of magicians that use magic as a ministry to communicate Christian messages.

Note: Although there is no chapter in my region, you could also join a chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Magicians. http://www.fcm.org/