The Genii Forum

Umpa Duze

Hi All, I have been practicing the Serpent Silk and have found that the silk near the connection point starts to tear after I have been using it for a while. I have tried a couple of different grades of silk. I stitched some Kevlar thread into the hem which helped some, but I am now trying to come u...

Umpa Duze

Hi All, I am not sure about the sealed model you describe. The reel I have has a brake and cap that can be gently, but firmly pushed off. From my experience, I don't think a sealed reel makes a lot of sense. The thread wears out over time and breaks. You have to open it up to rethread the reel. If y...

Umpa Duze

So I have been experimenting and this is what is working for me. In my reel there is a playing card shim under the reel and a felt pad above it. I added a very thin washer under the reel with a 1/4" diameter and polished face. I used some 500 grit wet sandpaper to remove any imperfections on th...

Umpa Duze

Hi All, I have been working on some silk reel magic (serpent silk/penetration) with a Kirkendall reel and wonder if anyone has a tip on quieting the reel. There is such a pronounced whirring sound when the silk is passed through the microphone stand or unties itself that I am hoping there is some ty...

Umpa Duze

Thanks so much for the help. I really appreciate it.
Umpa

Umpa Duze

Hi All,
I wonder if anyone knows who is credited with creating the trick What's Next now advertised under a variety of names such as Hoppin Dots?
Thanks Umpa

Umpa Duze

Hi All, I am hoping you will share your experience with the literature on magic. In particular, I am wondering what essay on the performance or experience of magic have you found the most inspirational? It does not have to be strictly a magic text or article, just something that has shaped your thin...

Umpa Duze

Hi All, I can certainly attest to the "practice like a bastard" part of this advice. I have found it a great deal of fun to try a whole host of shapes and to write my script along with the changes. I found Youtube to be a help as well as a number of other new and old sources. None however,...

Umpa Duze

Hi All, I have been trying to find a really high quality Chapeau for a little story telling routine. I purchased a commercial model made of black felt but found that it was not stiff enough to hold the shapes I formed (the head hole was also a little small). I then bought some felt and tried to prep...

Umpa Duze

Hi All, I wonder if you can help me figure out what the pros and cons are for Multum in Parvo glasses. I believe I read somewhere that when these were produced in glass that they were quite convincing. The plastic ones I have seem to suffer from a variety of problems in concealing the gimmick while ...

Umpa Duze

The Book Seven Basic Secrets of Illusion Design OOP since 2007 has been reformatted and retitled as The Magician's Secrets of Illusion Design. It will be available tomorrow online on Kindle through Amazon.com for $9.99. Just in time for Christmas? Below is what Tom Osborne of Illusion Systems wrote ...

Umpa Duze

I have worked with a number of organizations that serve children with a variety of disabilities and have really enjoyed the work. Q. Kumber is on the money in how we really do not know the effect of our work has. The same folks that booked me for the gig described above also sent me to do a school s...

Umpa Duze

I have been thinking back on some of my early experiences in magic and came across something I had written that reminded me of the following show. I would get a kick out of hearing others adventures in magic if you are willing to share. In the early eighties I was performing in the SF Bay Area and w...

Umpa Duze

Hi All, Thanks for your thoughts and advice. I think Jeff has nailed the problem. I am trying to squeeze in one more element to improve the show (although the image of me doing a Lance Burton impersonation to music is too disturbing to consider). I do a one man show with a theme for our local school...

Umpa Duze

Hi All, For the past couple of years I have been trying to integrate music and sound effects into my school shows. I have tried a number of technological solutions, but find using the remotes, checking the track numbers and timing the sound effects to interrupt the flow of the show. At one point I t...

Umpa Duze

Hi All,
I am looking for a PK ring size 14.5-15, the stronger the better. If it is possible, gold coloring would be a plus.
Thanks,
Umpa

Umpa Duze

Thanks, that is just what I was looking for. I really appreciate the help.

Umpa Duze

Hi All,
I have been trying to come up with the name of a trick bottle in which the spout is weighted so that when the bottle is tipped over to pour, the spout always swivels so that it is pointing up. I would really appreciate some help if you know what this is called.

Thanks,
Umpa

Umpa Duze

If you want the tray to collapse at a specific time in the routine, waiting for putty or tape to give way seems a bit uncertain. Is it possible to ask the volunteer to lift one item off the tray in order to hand it to you? If so, then lifting the object could free the tray to collapse. This would pu...

Umpa Duze

Hi, I also have arthritis in my hands although it is not yet terribly bad. I wanted to be able to perform a version of the Miser's Dream and have searched for a variety of solutions that would let me be successful. I discovered a wonderful solution for my needs that might work for others contributin...

Umpa Duze

Jay, thank you for sharing Maskelyne's writing. I really like the word "recondite" to mean something hidden or obfuscated. When I looked it up, I found another "incondite:" to put together badly. Both seem worthy of a discussion of many modern magic performances.

Umpa Duze

Magicam and Jonathan,
Thank you both for your analysis and thought provoking comments. I hope you have a wonderful new year.
Umpa

Umpa Duze

Hi Spellbinder,
Any chance you will post a video?

Umpa Duze

Hi Jeffrey,
You nailed my question. Jonathan has a different sense of the magic literature. I am not sure that this is a straw man. However, as I said before it may be. What is your impression?

Umpa Duze

OK Tom, I have not responded to your prior analysis because it did not seem worth the effort. However, as you are now showing the same disagreeable traits towards others participating in this conversation let me take a look at this last post directed to me. You write: No, it does not leave us back w...

Umpa Duze

Which leaves us back where we started. The argument that magic mechanics (not boxes but moves etc.) are either definitely copyrightable or patentable seems generally unsupported from my reading of the materials. Indeed the above references seem to suggest just the opposite when methods are sold in p...

Umpa Duze

Hi All, Here is a link to the story of Raphael vs. Hans Klok <a class="postlink" href="http://www.futureofcopyright.com/home/blog-post/2011/11/10/act-illusionist-hans-klok-evaporates-due-to-copyright-protected-routines.html">http://www.futureofcopyright.com/home/b ... tines.html</a><!-- m ...

Umpa Duze

This was the part I wondered about at the link: C. Expression vs. Idea Another problem which remains difficult under the 1976 Copyright Law is application of the distinction between "expression"and "idea" to the category of "choreographic works." Protection is excluded ...

Umpa Duze

Hi Jonathan, no sarcasm intended, for some reason I had it in mind that you also had a publishing background.

Umpa Duze

I am not trying to suggest that I speak for anyone but myself and my impressions. Maybe my whole thesis is wrong. Reading Jim's book just made me wonder. There are many ideas that are as unworkable as Method C published/republished in all fields. For example, we are still hearing about the wonders o...

Umpa Duze

Thanks Tom for all of the effort you are putting into this. Your comments are helpful in understanding your perspective. You seem quite confident in your views and I respect your opinion on these things. My goal was not to entice anyone into an argument, only to explore this rather unique characteri...

Umpa Duze

Hi Edward, I am not sure it is helpful to narrow this to writing academic papers. I was not proposing that we create a new academic field. I am just wondering whether the restrictive mores of the magic world do us more harm than good. Would it be better to adopt the more common notion that publishin...

Umpa Duze

Hi All, Well, first thanks to Richard for his help with grammar. Hopefully, you will not get stuck there. Tom, I agree completely that the artistic rendering of an effect is both personal and owned. However, I disagree that the ownership should extend to all aspects of the effect, mechanical and art...

Umpa Duze

Hi All, As part of my other life I publish a variety of articles in journals. Currently, I am in the process of publishing a new approach to using qualitative and quantitative data from surveys to produce more valid interpretations. This is an invention. Recently, my students and I produced a handbo...

Umpa Duze

Hi All, First thank you for your comments. They raise a number of interesting issues. Let's take these responses one at a time. First, when does something enter the public domain? Here I am not referring to the point in time when copyrights or patents expire. I am writing about the unique ethos in m...

Umpa Duze

Hi All, I am a diehard Steinmeyer fan and have thoroughly enjoyed his writings including the recent Technique and Understanding which I can recommend to anyone who wants to get inside a brilliant designer's mind and see a glimpse of his process. As I was reading, I came across a couple of passages t...

Umpa Duze

I am not sure that the lack of concrete figures is a good sign regarding the likely income you might expect. Perhaps there are so few folks actually making a full time living doing what you are trying to do that you will need to target your question to some working pros.

Umpa Duze

I am reading Higher Magic and Technique & Understanding Steinmeyer's new book.

Umpa Duze

Thanks Spellbinder.
Umpa

Umpa Duze

I came across a thread on Magic Cafe and decided on the Ickle Pickle version. I saw a European model advertised, but could not find any information about it to check it out.

Thanks for your consideration on this topic.

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