The Genii Forum

Adam Brooks

Hey folks, I'm trying to find a poker challenge/betcha published somewhere in Apocalypse. The performer bets a spectator that they can each draw and hand of five cards from the deck without returning them. The performer can at least tie the spectator the first time, and definitely beat their hand th...

Adam Brooks

That's the one! Thank you, Denis!

Adam Brooks

Hey folks, I know this idea is published in the Apocalypse volumes somewhere, but I don't have them all with me to search: It's basically the idea that, if you and I both pull the best 5-card poker hand you can from a standard deck twice without returning cards to the deck, the magician can/will alw...

Adam Brooks

Anyone heading down to Atlanta for the Gathering this year, and looking to split room costs? Let me know! Thanks!

Adam

Adam Brooks

I've been an arts educator for eleven years. I've worked with kids from first grade all the way through high school, and I've worked with many programs that are all about developing "inner strength and confidence", and while the world of magic certainly has a lot of offer, I think there ar...

Adam Brooks

Sure, Blaine survived being trapped in ice, and lived in a box for a couple weeks, but can he do both at the same time?

Man Survives for two months in a frozen car!

Adam Brooks

You should talk to Tim Ellis. He developed a bunch of improv-based magic games a while back:

http://www.australianmagician.com/magicsports.html

Adam

Adam Brooks

I grew up going to the Magic Art Studio; my father's business is literally right up the road, so I would look for any excuse to go into my dad's office, and beg him to take me. I didn't even know the museum was there until I was a teenager. It's such a beautiful shop; truly the kind you read about i...

Adam Brooks

Houdini is certainly a hot commodity these days. The only thing missing is a musical theater piece. Oh, wait:

Sorkin, Elfman writing Houdini Musical

What a team! Danny Elfman writing songs, Aaron Sorkin writing script, and Hugh Jackman set to star as Houdini.

Adam Brooks

I just watched this, and I have to ask: was anyone else a little disturbed by this? On the surface, the illusion was cool, but the implications left me feeling really uncomfortable. I know it's just an illusion. I know he's doing it 'for entertainment value only' -- yeah, he's got the whole Guinness...

Adam Brooks

Hi all, I wasn't quite sure where to put this, so I'll try my luck here. My sister is having a wedding party in the UK in late September. I have never been to Europe, and am using the opportunity to take a two-week vacation around Europe. I've been trying to make a connection in order to find a couc...

Adam Brooks

Hey all, I'm co-writing a short musical for Halloween this year, centered around an old-timey circus, and a magician central character. At the moment, we have a guillotine as the big finale to the character's act, and we're exploring our options. My cohorts done a bit of shopping around, and have be...

Adam Brooks

That is absolutely gorgeous. Well done!

-Adam

Adam Brooks

I'll be there. It's my first G4G, so I have no idea what to do expect. I'll look for you, Bill!

Adam Brooks

Richard's right; it's invite only.

Adam Brooks

Looking for other attendees who might want to share a room, either in the hotel proper or in one nearby.

Thanks!

Adam

Adam Brooks

Hey everyone,

I have what I believe to be a good idea for an iPhone magic effect. However, I possess none of the requisite programming knowledge to make it a reality. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Or even in a direction?

Many thanks,

Adam

Adam Brooks

I don't have it handy, but Simon Lovell has a write-up on this very topic in Son Of Simon Says called, I believe, "The Risk of the Frisk!" Page reference, anyone?

Adam Brooks

I'll be attending the show in Boston, and I'm extremely excited. I like that part of the show with be improvisatory, as I work at an improv comedy theater. Should be quite a trip.

I'll post a review next weekend.

Adam Brooks

Yeah, it's a trick. It was clear to me what was going on. Penn and Teller use a similar modus for their version of the card stab.

As for "screwing up" in front of an audience, my vote still goes for Steve Spill's 'acquitment' after he messes up.

Adam Brooks

Speaking of Arrested Development...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_gGC4JmJmI

This is my friend Simon, in what is truly an incomparable act of fanship.

Adam Brooks

I'm a leftie, but when I started in magic, I learned all the card handlings as they were written, so I perform card magic right handed. But when it comes to coin magic, while I try to learn slights in both hands, my technique is generally much better with my left hand, so there are times when I have...

Adam Brooks

Hitler? :)

Adam Brooks

If you have *any* interest at all in quality betchas, bits, gags, or puzzles to pepper your repertoire, do yourself a favor and get Jim's book. There is plenty to choose from; for me, there were plenty of new things to try, as well as new lines or presentations for bits I already knew. There are bit...

Adam Brooks

I saw it; he was quite good. He didn't stand a chance on a show like this, but his performance was rock solid.

Adam Brooks

There's a popular internet flash cartoon site called Homestar Runner, and there's a weekly updated subsection called "Strong Bad Emails." Check out this week's installment:

Strong Bad On Magicians

Hysterical.

Adam Brooks

I'm inclined to think this is a very casual list, so here are a few that "have become known as" as Peter put it:

S.W.E. Shift
Erdnase/Houdini Change
Asher Twist
McClintock Twist
HaLo Cut
Looy's Count
P.H. Vanishing Deck

Adam Brooks

To elaborate a bit on the flashes I mentioned: He does a boxless Bump In The Night routine using a BA platform. He does a switch out with a girl, and he was seen scurrying offstage, behind the platform, on his hands and knees. Not just me, but my cousin, who was sitting on the other side of the mezz...

Adam Brooks

About 850 people, or 85% capacity.

Adam Brooks

Oops, forgot that little detail:

He's playing at the Post St. Theater in San Francisco.

Adam Brooks

Hey all, I was able to catch his opening night performance last night. He has spent the last week or so in previews, tweaking and prepping for a month-long run. I can see what Siegfried & Roy see in him (they were at the performance, and I actually got a good look at them after the show.) He is ...

Adam Brooks

Here's a rephrasing that I think may help: "A really wonderful magic experience: Would you rather give or receive?" David I think the "edge" you refer to is, for many, a catch-22: it certainly gives us that deeper level of understanding of the attention to detail in all the vario...

Adam Brooks

Does anyone know if there's an extant technique for changing the concavity of the bowl of a spoon?

I'm thinking of this as an effect and not as a gaff construction.

If it doesn't exist, it sure should...

Adam Brooks

I think it looks fine; having the hands come together between each revelation is, I think a perfectly natural "rest" position. Plus, the fact that he throws in the hand rubbing before the revelations, he establishes a pattern of behavior through the routine. Necessary? Maybe not. Justified...

Adam Brooks

It's been done. From Ian Stewart's wonderful book "The Magical Maze" (a book on recreational mathematics), in the chapter "Marilyn and the Goats": "I ran 100,000 trials on a computer. The contestant's strategy [don't switch] gave the correct answer in 33,498 trials, but the ...

Adam Brooks

Marlo's got 37 great variations on this effect; one of which actually allows the spectator to gouge his own eyes out before the final revelation.

Adam Brooks

Does such a thing exist? I'm not interested in the props; only the routine/technique proper. Internet browsing has yielded me only the Andrus DVD set, and the routine with props.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Adam Brooks

There's a new episode of Mythbusters on the Discovery channel at this very moment, where they are testing if catching a bullet in one's teeth is actually a feasible notion. All magic jokes aside, it's sure to be an interesting watch. It will likely be in reruns over the next couple of weeks; it is l...

Adam Brooks

Tracy, Consider yourself lucky you got one as a gift. I have a engineer friend in Australia to whom I sent the pages out of Puzzler's Tribute for Eng's vise. He's been hunting around, but can't find someone who can make one for a "reasonable" price. Also, Jim, if you decide to make the vis...

Adam Brooks

Agreed; easily one of the best shows I have ever seen. I got to watch Jeff afterwards doing some loop work with a borrowed pair of glasses; even freaked out the skeptics.

At the same time, I felt for him every time he had to say "No, I don't do card tricks..."

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