Oh no! One of the effects I do often was on scam school.

Crap now that effect is ruined and every one will no how to do it. Wait but that's also where I learned to do it. And no one I've done it for knows it's secrets. I wonder why that could be? Oh wait, maybe it's cause we have different audiences. I perform for friends, family, coworkers, and random people at parties. Scam Schools audience is 90% amateur magicians and people who don't want to pay for beer.

So I guess the worry would be that if someone were to Google what I did they would get the Scam school video. So I tried that with the latest scam school video;

It was not very effective. As I've said before it's not easy hunting down a method if all you know is the effect it produces. You would really want to know badly in order to not say to hell with it and just go on about your day.

A post cause Roland Henning demands it.

When it comes to reviews for bizarre magic and mentalism, I'm getting a little tired of the phrase "I wish he would not have released this, it's too powerful" It appears on almost all the products I've I looked at recently. It's lazy plugging. Also there is no such thing as an effect that is too powerful. Unless theirs one that like kills a certain percentage of the audience that can't handle that level of power. That effect may be too powerful.

Pack Rat

I'm a bit of a pack rat just like my father before me. I'd like to throw stuff out but for half of it I have half back plans and for the rest a little voice in my head says, as soon as it's gone you'll need it and have to buy one so may as well keep it. I'm not a full on hoarder except for magic stuff I hoard magic stuff. Any I have this problem with blogs I follow too, specifically one blog every time it post I think about unfollowing it, but what if it's next post is one of their uber-rare well written informative posts.  I'm sick of this crap they post that's little more than a badly executed advertisement for their online store. Obviously I don't mind ads on a blog and I don't mind links in the blog to products produced by the blog owners. But when the entire post can be summed up "Hold the deck buy the small ends when overhand shuffling and please buy our crap" I get fed up with it fast.

Exposure is a made up problem.

Exposure is a made up problem. Now exposure exists, not saying it doesn't but as an actual problem hindering magicians, I don't think so. It's a problem made up by magicians with too much time on their hands in order to have something to bitch about. Knowledge of a secret is in no way the sole ruination of an effect. A friend of mine wanted to learn some coin magic and so I obliged. While teaching her a very basic vanish, I learned that even when she knew what was going on she was still amazed and felt that she had seen magic every time I opened my empty hand. Now this wasn't someone who had seen an explanation on YouTube some time back. I had shown her the workings of the vanish and had her run through it a couple time and then showed her the vanish again. No distraction, no mis-direction, no doing it on an off beat. She knew exactly what I was doing and that I was about to do it, still she was taken in by the vanish. She knew better and yet everything else said the coin was where it wasn't. This was just a bs basic coin vanish with no presentation or context, every thing you shouldn't do with magic and it still worked. So if there is something hurting your performances, it's probably not the thirteen year old on YouTube showing everyone the "secret".


Whether or not exposure is a problem for magician financially is a different question entirely.

I bought the secret right?

"You bought the secret." Is the reason I most often see as an objection to returning a magic product after you have bought it. The idea being that the information you may have got from it is trapped within your head for ever. But what if the secret is the gimmick then what. It's not like they send plans on how to make the gimmick yourself (I am aware that some do, usually those require you to make it yourself from scratch). But let's take an example from my own list of reviews, Blackmail by Bobby Motta. Blackmail for those that did not read the review, is a utility gimmick for mentalism. It's basically a new spin on an old classic and the secret lies 100% with the gimmick, there is a bit that may be all Bobby but without the gimmick that info is useless. Now several times they mention how much trouble they went through to find just the right materials, but they carefully avoid saying anything definitive which ones they used. At one point Peter McKinnon is about to say what weight the card stock is but he stops just before and switches his train of thought. Maybe he just forgot or maybe they want to keep it a secret. What this means is you either have to buy their replacements (which are always out of stock when I check and I'm willing to bet don't come with card-stock) or source all the parts yourself. Setting aside most of that BS I find that super annoying because as I said in my review they don't give you enough card-stock  I found the card-stock supplied to be totally un-reusable, by their own math you would need at least 120 pieces of card-stock to use up all six gimmicks supplied. They gave me five, not even enough to practice with. I ordered Blackmail the day it was released and by the time it got to me there was no refill option on the Ellusionist website yet. So I had to devise my own solution to the card-stock issue, it's a serviceable solution but not one I would want to use in a professional setting. I would have had an easier time if they had just told me what weight card-stock it was. Even if they told me exactly what type and where to get all the pieces I'd still prefer to just give my money to them in exchange for a well made gimmick.

So did I buy the secret (which is not much of one as it's almost right out of 13 steps) or did I buy some gimmicks and if it's the latter and I choose not to use them after I view the video is there a good reason for me not to return the whole thing. If the gimmick does all the heavy lifting in an effect and I choose not to use that gimmick I feel there is no reason not to return it. But beyond that when I purchase some effect I feel that the creator owes me all the secrets that go along with it that he has the right to share and sources of all the one's he's not so I can go after them. I don't think it's greedy, I bought it, I paid good money to be able to do that effect, and I need that info to properly utilized the effect. Anything less and I've not really bought the secret just an idea I have to figure out myself.

Criss Angel Mindfreak Platinum Magic Kit.

I was given this as a Christmas present, and as far as magic kits go it's got some good points. And as it's been out awhile I figure there are plenty of reviews out and you can easily look up what it is that in this will be more  a rant about something that I've complained about before. Crappy instructions. There was a DVD and there was a quick thanks for buying clip with Angel but for the rest that I watch it was just a silent magician miming the the effects. There was also a book and I just flip to the section on the cups and and balls and seeing how little was there tossed it back in the box, the cups are nice and a reasonable size but the effect is still the stack the cup and cause one ball to fall through the cups a complete waste of have cups that size. I've often heard people say that what you're actually buying is the secret and for me that true enough so I feel that when I purchase something it's the sellers job to impart the secret as thoroughly as possible. Not just give an overview in an attempt to make a quick buck.

The cost to do magic.

"I'd really like to get _____ but the cost is so high" Oh I hates that phrase it's poor people thinking at best. The only time I consider cost is in relation to the quality of the item. If I drop $250 on close up pad I expect to get a high quality close up pad that will last through several years of use. If I spend $450 on a set of shells for the three shell game I expect to receive an expertly cast set of pure silver shells. At no point do I think that I won't buy those items at those prices because sitting here imagining doing the shells with silver shells using a white "pearl" on the Victorian close up pad is like mental porn.

When I was significantly younger I remember hearing a quote that stuck with me, "A poor person thinks 'I can't afford that', a rich person thinks 'How can I afford that?' " It's not a question of how much the item costs it's a question of how do you align your finances in a way in which you can afford it, which may take time and patience but if you really want something it's possible. Now I do understand buyers remorse where you get something and it turns out to be crap. At lest in the magic world you have the benefit of reviews out there so do your research to avoid that. But that's way different than avoiding something simply due to the price. Price alone should never be the deciding factor.

This complaining mostly happens with cards. "I like the look of  ____ deck but at $___ it's a bit much." Then go use standard bikes if cost is your deciding factor. The idea that a deck of card should be longer lasting just because it cost more is also annoying.

Lets say there are three levels of magician; hobbyist, amateur, and professional. The hobbyist enjoys magic, it's a fun way to spend time and waste money. Like a regular person and sports, an average sports fan may watch the game and chat with folks about it, he may own some memorabilia like a hat or tee-shirt and if invited he may attend a game but he'd never go to one by himself. The amateur loves magic, loves it, is devoted to it, and he may never be paid to do it, but still has a room devoted to it. In terms of sports fans this is the guy with all the swag half naked painted team colors that buys tickets to as many games as he can. And lastly the professional is anyone that makes money with magic. This is the guy that buy and sale sports memorabilia, that turned his love of the game into a career about it.

Now when it comes to the hobbyist, his purchases should be things he wants that help him enjoy his hobby. He really lacks the drive or need for the big ticket items. But if it meets those two criteria (wants it/makes the hobby enjoyable) he has no reason to balk at the cost. Now the amateur is in it for the love of it, he needs it all and so lacks a reason to balk. Lastly and with the least reason to balk is the pro. Because with pro his magic items cost him less because if he's doing it right his customers pay for his items. Lets say I charge $80 for an hour of strolling magic. To me it breaks down like this: $20 for wear and tear on my gear and props, and consumables (flashpaper, cards, etc), $15 travel, and that leaves $45 for my time. In addition some of those props are bound to be tax deductible. When I sold steak knives any thing I bough to cut up in my demonstration was tax deductible. So at the very least I bet you can deduct cards.

What inspired this rant, well tired of hearing that load of bollocks first quoted, a lack of sleep probably too, but what pushed me enough to write a post about it was the forum posts for the Victorian close up pad that I read while looking for color pictures of it. The idea that a <$50 roll up pad was just as good as the more expensive pad was a bit annoying. First from an actual standpoint of the item themselves. While they may have changed the Victorian pad currently for sale is two sided and stiff. Besides the fact that it has two usable sides which you would only get from the other if you glued two pads together the fact that its stiff mean that you don't need a table to use it, you can lay it on your lap or find a pair of willing hands. This next point applies to the pros more but is still valuable across the board. As a magician what you are selling is not the magic anyone can do magic, what you are selling is yourself. Your image is what sells you to the customer and it sells the magic to the spectator. Anything you can do to help that is a good investment. Is a card clip and fancy pad necessary to do magic, no, but they do help you look like a professional. Obviously you want ones that fit with your character but other than that there's no good reason to not have them. I mean you don't really need all that stuff to be a magician so if you're going to get them why cheap out. I can't think of any effect I do that absolutely need a close up pad, I had some bad props that wouldn't function properly without one (needs close-up pad is some info that should have been on the package), but I got better props. I have no need for a close up pad from a 'make my effects work' stand point but, it helps me look like a pro and provide my close up work a stage to perform on.

Now I don't want you to think that I'm saying to go out and buy the most expensive version of everything. I mean I like nice things, I wear suits all the time, it's not beyond expectation that I would have a close up pad that costs a pretty penny. You need to get what suits you best.What I'm saying is if you want it the cost should not be your sole reason to not get it. And what ever you do don't listen to the guy that said to glue some fabric to four mouse pads and call it a close up pad, unless your performance character is a hobo.

Magician's Thinking

Magician's thinking is a term I heard awhile ago and it refers to when a magician can longer think like a spectator. And it's bad because it always leads the magician to treating spectators like idiots. Usually it comes up in relation to non-rider back cards as in this rant, For those that don't want to read that rant it boils down to magicians with magicians thinking forget that there were other decks of besides Rider backed Bikes available to them before they took up magic. It's not too bad a problem in that situation beyond that it means the performer is avoiding some questions about his performance character. It's unlikely that in that situation that spectator will know that the performer is using bikes because they think the spectator is too ignorant to know other decks exist.

But recently I read a blog post on the Merchant of Magic blog, that told people to not use the word Sharpie because it was a magician's word and using would confuse a spectator. As I pointed out on that blog, Sharpie is a brand name of a widely available permanent marker. I'd go so far as to say that it is America's favorite brand of permanent marker. At least here we've reached the point where we call all permanent markers Sharpies. Much like all adhesive bandages are Band-Aids, or all whipped cream is Cool Whip. I know cause I'm that kill joy that will point out when it not the brand name brand and someone asks for it. Beyond the idea that the word Sharpie is some sort of magic jargon, saying not to use a word because a spectator may be unfamiliar with it implies you consider them too ignorant to know what you're saying from the context. Let's say we have situation where a spectator really has had no previous experience with the word Sharpie and you ask them to sign the card with a Sharpie. They know they need some form of pen to sign with and chances are the magician is holding out a Sharpie, it doesn't take a great mental leap to figure out what they need to do and that this marker being held out must be a "Sharpie".

It's like the golden rule thingie, treat others the way you want to be treated if you wouldn't want someone treating you like you were completely ignorant then don't do it to others. At the very least people tend to act how you expect them to act. If you expect them to be intelligent you may just find them rising to the occasion.

Disclosure

Now this going to be a bit of a rant, and before I get into I just want to say that I understand that the producers of magic are in a tough place, they need to show you enough to make you want the product but not so much that you can steal the it by cleverness and paying attention. How many times have you read on a  forum a post where some newbie is bragging that he learned a move by watching the demo video over and over. I understand the position they find themselves in but I still require enough information to make an informed decision. I don't mind a hefty price tag but I do mind getting screwed by not getting what I think I'm paying for.

So where does this rant start well it starts here http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S12559 well not there actually at review for that product. Magic at the Bar by Chris Randall, eight effects for the bar performer. Of these eight I was interested in three of them Desert Rose, The Exchange, and Martini. With Martini having most of my interest, from the description "Chris' signature opener produce a martini piece by piece" and the reviewer described it "My favorite effect is a routine where you produce all the items needed to make a cocktail." I could see myself doing it just not with a martini, I'm more of a rusty nail drinker myself. But I wondered what all is actually produced, and how hard would it be to switch for another drink. So I watched the trailer and all the effects are well represented in that you can tell the basic idea of them except for Martini. The section for Martini has Chris Randall blowing confetti out of a cocktail glass and producing a silk from the confetti cloud and its not a very good production either. So I'm all "wait a minute, what does that have to do with producing a martini" and so I go searching after more info. I found another review that produced little helpful info, a thread on the Magic Cafe where someone refuses to comment on the DVD because of a low opinion of Mr Randall's personal character, and eventually this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxdD5Tv3SXk of Chris Randall performing Martini live at the Magic Castle. I did not embed the video because I only include it so you can see what I speak of. After an introduction Mr Randall walks on stage carrying a cocktail glass full of confetti and like in the demo produces a silk from the confetti, then a lovely assistant brings out a tray and Randall set the cocktail glass on it and uses the silk to produce two ice cubes which he puts into the cocktail glass and then produces a bottle of clear liquid and pours pours it into the glass spraying the stage with liquid.

Now I am a bartending-o-phile, I like tending bar and mixing drinks. I'm into it, I know recipes for drinks and people like to give me bartending stuff as gifts. So I know I'm correct when I say "That was not a Martini at best it could be considered the worst Churchill ever made." Notice how I call it a cocktail glass and never a Martini glass like some uninformed people do. The cocktail glass is designed to serve cold drinks without ice, that's why they have a stem so your hand will not warm the drink up because it has no ice to keep it cool. So when he produces ice and puts it in the glass it drives me up the wall. I will conceded that from a distance a martini may look like clear water and so theoretically his bottle could contain a pre-mixed martini but him slinging water about the stage is unforgivable. Lastly where the hell is the olive. A martini is to be served with a olive.

Here's how you make a martini. Take tumbler add crushed ice. Add two ounces of gin, and a dash of vermouth. Stir then strain into a cocktail glass. Add add a twist of lemon and a green olive for garnish. Serve. Any variation from that recipe is not a martini, I mean that, because every variation has a different name. Shaken instead of stirred, that's a Bradford. Onion instead of an olive, that's a Gibson. No garnish, that's a Dickens. No vermouth, that's a Churchill.

Now I know us performers are a competitive lot and we all feel we could do better than whoever we're watching but in this case I really think I could. Not as a parlor routine like in the video but in a bar where I was employed to do magic and was allowed behind the bar (which is the a target market for the DVD) yeah I'm rather sure I can but you can be the judge of that.

Effect: The magician asks a spectator if they would like a magical martini. He borrows a cocktail glass from a bartender and a quarter from the spectator. He tells her that he needs to warm up the coin first, he takes out a handkerchief and vanishes the coin into it. The coin is found behind the magicians knee. The magician performs this two more times and after the last one a shaker is found under the handkerchief. The shaker is shown empty and holding the bottom half in one hand ice cascades down from the other into the shaker. The shaker reassembled the magician waves a bottle of gin over the shaker. He uncaps it and pours a cold martini into the cocktail glass, the lid picked back up to recap the shaker is found to have an olive underneath.

I feel that effect delivers what I was expecting the one from the DVD to be and is easily modified to fit any mixed drink. I think I'll hold onto the method for now. Mostly cause I'm tired of typing, if it sounds like an effect you'd be interested in let me know.