Search found 8704 matches

by Jonathan Townsend
March 12th, 2024, 10:27 am
Forum: Feature Articles
Topic: Please retire the term, "cardman."
Replies: 290
Views: 227225

Re: Please retire the term, "cardman."

Artist would be welcome.
Study the craft.
Develop a style/brand
Sell to the market/audience.

Engage participants.
by Jonathan Townsend
March 8th, 2024, 12:47 pm
Forum: Link Watch
Topic: Horace Goldin's Mysterious Tricks
Replies: 5
Views: 315

Re: Horace Goldin's Mysterious Tricks

here's a link so we don't have to add paypal etc into the duck:
https://ia800404.us.archive.org/13/item ... Tricks.pdf
by Jonathan Townsend
February 26th, 2024, 8:48 pm
Forum: Magic History and Anecdotes
Topic: Ancient Automata
Replies: 8
Views: 1270

Re: Ancient Automata

Great to see these wonders of craftsmanship preserved and explored. :) Leonardo did some of that, including an automated car and an armor covered figure of a knight which moved. There are stories from China about animated figures. This theme of contrasting animated with the mechanical is echoed in p...
by Jonathan Townsend
February 26th, 2024, 5:07 pm
Forum: Magic History and Anecdotes
Topic: Ancient Automata
Replies: 8
Views: 1270

Re: Ancient Automata

Pretty much inspired a few lines in a Douglas Adams story. The Electric Monk was a labour-saving device, like a dishwasher or a video recorder. Dishwashers washed tedious dishes for you, thus saving you the bother of washing them yourself, video recorders watched tedious television for you, thus sav...
by Jonathan Townsend
February 24th, 2024, 9:38 pm
Forum: Feature Articles
Topic: Please retire the term, "cardman."
Replies: 290
Views: 227225

Re: Please retire the term, "cardman."

Next up: "Coins = Colonialism" (TBH, for some years I thought it might be a bad idea to mix US, Mexican, and "Chinese" coins in a presentation -- even if the intention only involved the different colors and the convenient sizes.) There are folks from all over the planet, includi...
by Jonathan Townsend
February 22nd, 2024, 12:38 pm
Forum: Feature Articles
Topic: Please retire the term, "cardman."
Replies: 290
Views: 227225

Re: Please retire the term, "cardman."

https://snicket.fandom.com/wiki/The_Dismal_Dedications
pumped from the same vein as Gorey's Gashly Crumbtinies ;) :D
https://www.themarginalian.org/2011/01/ ... mb-tinies/

B is for balls in their bold crochet sweaters
C is for coins which no longer ring true
by Jonathan Townsend
February 22nd, 2024, 12:17 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: Who is the best coin magician you have seen?
Replies: 81
Views: 15701

Re: Who is the best coin magician you have seen?

Sawa has some astonishing routines using coins.
by Jonathan Townsend
February 7th, 2024, 1:02 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: Close up Pad Material?
Replies: 6
Views: 1298

Re: Close up Pad Material?

by Jonathan Townsend
January 29th, 2024, 12:54 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Bad Magic
Replies: 14
Views: 1747

Re: Bad Magic

? How much have you explored adding Glorpy to your "cover with a hank" routines? Folks who successfully animate a prop or two tend to get very good reactions. :) Serious students can easily obtain and read (or reread) "Our Magic". On the topic of rehearsing an item - the book in ...
by Jonathan Townsend
January 22nd, 2024, 12:27 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Bad Magic
Replies: 14
Views: 1747

Re: Bad Magic

Is magic advancing or still almost a century behind? Can you please clarify, a century behind what ? And which century are we behind ? Tea in chests? 18th century. Using a magic wand and adopted 'orientalism' in stories and decor ... 17th century cultural appropriation. Pinky out handling of items ...
by Jonathan Townsend
January 20th, 2024, 9:33 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Bad Magic
Replies: 14
Views: 1747

Re: Bad Magic

From a useful reference (Our Magic, 1911) on the matter: Some may possibly think we have been too severe upon Mr. Copyist. It must be remembered, however, that no useful purpose can be served by mincing matters, when endeavoring to uphold any just cause. If magic is to be raised to its proper level ...
by Jonathan Townsend
December 28th, 2023, 1:06 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Engblom Triumph
Replies: 14
Views: 1451

Re: Engblom Triumph

Richard Kaufman wrote:I'm divided on the method, so I have to swap one of my ideas for another.

And if the routine seems too perfect, it's only because there are edits.

Or, as with watching Fred Kaps do the Gypsy Curse for Hamman, something sneaky goes by un-observed.

Bravo and congrats!
by Jonathan Townsend
December 20th, 2023, 3:02 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Guillotine Card
Replies: 5
Views: 1614

Re: Guillotine Card

@Tom, you're close to the design of the card rise gaff.
by Jonathan Townsend
November 21st, 2023, 5:55 pm
Forum: Alternative Media
Topic: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
Replies: 29
Views: 4341

Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past

:) That's great! Floating eggs. Cups and cups.

Did you specifically prompt it NOT to use playing cards?
by Jonathan Townsend
October 28th, 2023, 4:26 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: Method as Accoutrement - A Minor Rant
Replies: 25
Views: 4880

Re: Method as Accoutrement - A Minor Rant

What's wrong with a utilitarian perspective on magic methods as regards packing, setup, script, outs, disposition of props, and reset?
by Jonathan Townsend
October 6th, 2023, 1:02 pm
Forum: General
Topic: Michael Close Essay - Hidden Assumptions
Replies: 24
Views: 23618

Re: Michael Close Essay - Hidden Assumptions

... hidden assumptions that the spectator makes when witnessing a magic trick

How, specifically, does one know what the spectator is assuming?
by Jonathan Townsend
September 8th, 2023, 10:05 am
Forum: General
Topic: ERDNASE
Replies: 8153
Views: 12031952

Re: ERDNASE

Getting back on track to this month's article - the "S" finding is a good one. Kudos! Any reports on whether the guy did any card tricks with similar "palaver" to the book text, had soft hands (greased?), or used the card/packet exchange sleight? How about using the Houdini card ...
by Jonathan Townsend
September 7th, 2023, 11:39 am
Forum: General
Topic: ERDNASE
Replies: 8153
Views: 12031952

Re: ERDNASE

Was anyone else as laugh out loud amused as I was with Episode 5 of “Good Omens” on Prime? The Erdnase reference happens around the 4 minute mark. Written by Neil Gaiman, who attended one of the LA History Conferences, and has a copy of "The Magic of Johnny Thompson" in his office . https...
by Jonathan Townsend
September 6th, 2023, 9:31 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Help Back the Juan Tamariz Documentary
Replies: 22
Views: 2866

Re: Help Back the Juan Tamariz Documentary

? there are several rewards listed on the page for contributors.
by Jonathan Townsend
August 24th, 2023, 1:06 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: Best McDonald's Aces Routine
Replies: 175
Views: 410226

Re: Best McDonald's Aces Routine

Richard Kaufman wrote:Pat Cook in New York used to ring in the double-faced Aces during a Collectors routine.
Perhaps you could convince him to let you put that in Genii? :)
by Jonathan Townsend
August 16th, 2023, 6:13 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: AI applications in magic?
Replies: 3
Views: 585

Re: AI applications in magic?

Interesting thread there and linked PDF. Below is a slightly edited snip-it from a book "Tell us about home," Rorschach said. "We don't all of us have parents or cousins. Some never did. Some come from vats." "I see. That's sad. Vats sounds so dehumanizing." "Tell ...
by Jonathan Townsend
August 16th, 2023, 10:18 am
Forum: Buzz
Topic: AI applications in magic?
Replies: 3
Views: 585

Re: AI applications in magic?

Imagine what could come from something trained on Bob Farmer's ad copy :)

Or the options from "on-demand" printing using a GPT to construct special books for book tests.
by Jonathan Townsend
August 8th, 2023, 6:02 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Zig-Zag Card
Replies: 17
Views: 2858

Re: Zig-Zag Card

That's one heck of a method to pass a dime through a playing card - using a slim paper sleeve to hide the middle while leaving the ends in view. You might get a stronger effect if the sliding part went the other way, through the unbroken vertical on the left, the way Harbin designed his trick. A sli...
by Jonathan Townsend
August 6th, 2023, 3:37 pm
Forum: General
Topic: ERDNASE
Replies: 8153
Views: 12031952

Re: ERDNASE

We have mysteries to ponder, from gravity to how we follow the shells rather than the pea. @all - how was the book received by card players and magicians at the time? I.e., how much of the story related to real-world practice. Less surprised Neil Gaiman has read some of our literature than how few i...
by Jonathan Townsend
August 5th, 2023, 10:35 pm
Forum: General
Topic: ERDNASE
Replies: 8153
Views: 12031952

Re: ERDNASE

@Stephen - annotated no less :D @all, this is about season 2 of Good Omens, episode 5. Quite the monthly street traders meeting.

Back to the book - any other references to riding the tiger and pretty money etc from around that time?
by Jonathan Townsend
August 4th, 2023, 6:18 pm
Forum: General
Topic: ERDNASE
Replies: 8153
Views: 12031952

Re: ERDNASE

Richard Evans wrote:...Firstly, it’s self-evident that someone wrote the book and whoever that was, they have a backstory.
Fairly good evidence for typesetters at the printer. Not much to go on when the artist did not recognize his art. A puzzling puzzle. :)

Great - I hope there's a season 3. :)
by Jonathan Townsend
July 24th, 2023, 8:09 pm
Forum: General
Topic: ERDNASE
Replies: 8153
Views: 12031952

Re: ERDNASE

I'll go with that if you add an apostrophe between the r and s to get: "Gardner's" :)
by Jonathan Townsend
May 23rd, 2023, 1:20 pm
Forum: General
Topic: Floating Ball
Replies: 17
Views: 4965

Re: Floating Ball

At Tannen's it was called Tony Spina's Astrosphere. That goes back to 74 or so.
by Jonathan Townsend
May 18th, 2023, 5:56 pm
Forum: General
Topic: ERDNASE
Replies: 8153
Views: 12031952

Re: ERDNASE

Some may have seen the miniseries on PBS last year.

How common a word was palaver?

* I’m looking for an editor more than an author based on the artist’s report.
by Jonathan Townsend
May 12th, 2023, 11:43 pm
Forum: Platform & Stage Magic
Topic: Credit for this Rising Card Gag?
Replies: 12
Views: 4533

Re: Credit for this Rising Card Gag?

Was this developed about the same time as the long card gag?
by Jonathan Townsend
May 12th, 2023, 10:44 pm
Forum: Tenyo
Topic: Top 5 Tenyo Tricks.
Replies: 120
Views: 457552

Re: Top 5 Tenyo Tricks.

@Joe, Leo, yes thanks. I remember Tony Spina demonstrating the vanish from the cylinder using two brass caps.
The Tenyo dynamic coins item greatly expands the routine using those gaffs. :)
by Jonathan Townsend
May 11th, 2023, 3:19 pm
Forum: Tenyo
Topic: Top 5 Tenyo Tricks.
Replies: 120
Views: 457552

Re: Top 5 Tenyo Tricks.

Richard, folks, do you remember an item Eddie Gibson used to make where a pile of coins vanished from between two brass caps? I believe it was originally a Fred Lowe item. ??
by Jonathan Townsend
April 25th, 2023, 9:30 pm
Forum: General
Topic: ERDNASE
Replies: 8153
Views: 12031952

Re: ERDNASE

The preface to the Robert-Houdin book has some similarities to the introduction of Artifice... https://archive.org/details/cu31924026470801/page/n9/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/cu31924026470801/page/n11/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/cu31924026470801/page/n291/mode/2up ( <-- from the e...
by Jonathan Townsend
April 12th, 2023, 5:58 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Umm ... Okay, Well That's Interesting
Replies: 7
Views: 1298

Re: Umm ... Okay, Well That's Interesting

Wow, thanks :)
by Jonathan Townsend
March 21st, 2023, 12:35 pm
Forum: Reference Room
Topic: The Marlo-Masonic connection
Replies: 8
Views: 5239

Re: The Marlo-Masonic connection

ksevile wrote:... Marlo without Tears that the book was a “chapter in the Marlovian quest for the Real Work.”...
A quest for the best methods for tricks. Nothing to do with that other book on MagiK without tears by that other magician. Please stop. Cultural appropriation is uncool.
by Jonathan Townsend
March 12th, 2023, 11:05 pm
Forum: Magic History and Anecdotes
Topic: Amac's Find The Lady
Replies: 56
Views: 15798

Re: Amac's Find The Lady

@Richard, that's great news. Congrats!

? Was Allen Tipton's information (he sent diagrams etc back in 2006) correct?
his email was: allen@tipton.ec*
by Jonathan Townsend
February 8th, 2023, 12:35 pm
Forum: Buzz
Topic: Joint Magic
Replies: 6
Views: 1475

Re: Joint Magic

If it works for your audiences…
by Jonathan Townsend
February 6th, 2023, 1:42 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: ChatOpenAI's Best Tricks for Laymen... and more!
Replies: 23
Views: 2562

Re: ChatOpenAI's Best Tricks for Laymen... and more!

https://iep.utm.edu/liar-paradox/

This is one of those monkey's paw or sorcerer's apprentice topics - give GPT the data and you get something ... but to interpret that something as other than text is... unwise?
by Jonathan Townsend
February 3rd, 2023, 1:33 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: ChatOpenAI's Best Tricks for Laymen... and more!
Replies: 23
Views: 2562

Re: ChatOpenAI's Best Tricks for Laymen... and more!

From The Guardian:
A judge in Colombia has caused a stir by admitting he used the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT when deciding whether an autistic child’s insurance should cover all of the costs of his medical treatment.


next up: LawGPT and JudgeGPT :(
by Jonathan Townsend
February 2nd, 2023, 7:00 pm
Forum: Close-Up Magic
Topic: ChatOpenAI's Best Tricks for Laymen... and more!
Replies: 23
Views: 2562

Re: ChatOpenAI's Best Tricks for Laymen... and more!

It's not supposed to be "know all" but rather something to spew text. The training data may well include puzzles and media trivia so don't be surprised if it quotes Star Trek and Labyrinth back at you ;) It's more fun if you ask for silly text such as "Describe some of the best cake r...

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