The Genii Forum

brianarudolph

Vents are the only people who can be lying when their lips are moving and when they are not.

brianarudolph

Same here, Eric!

And I'll also take "FOREVER USA" as an extra special shout-out to our art in addition to noting the stamp's value as it always does!!!

brianarudolph

And to think heretofore many magicians have only done their wiz s(ch)tick figuratively.

brianarudolph

Received it in Iowa today too!

brianarudolph

At the Genii Convention back in October, Asi Wind noted that a book of his magic by John Lovick was due out "around the end of the year." Does anyone (Asi/John/others) have an update on it?

brianarudolph

A magician's job is to artfully present illusions for the enjoyment of an audience. An illusion (according to the first online dictionary I visited) is "a thing that is or is likely to be wrongly perceived or interpreted by the senses." A lie is "an intentionally false statement used ...

brianarudolph

Consider the magic world rocked - and we're talking an actual rock here.

brianarudolph

My guess for a) (where "effect" = "trick") would be cups and balls - purely based on my observations in and around the convention. If we're talking generic magic effect for a), I'd go with a transformation (changing one object into another, which itself could just be considered a...

brianarudolph

Not that anyone would not believe the Chief Genii, but Richard said it so much better than I clumsily did in haste from my phone. How could I have omitted the word "rope"??? :oops: Hopefully I'll have a few more minutes to post some other takes during the proceedings ... from my hotel room...

brianarudolph

Merlin has only done his lecture so far (a nice range of clever stuff) but his one-man show is scheduled for an hour tomorrow. I can say a lot more after that.

Jim Steinmeyer's tricks lecture is being introduced by Randy Pitchford now ...

brianarudolph

Loving me some (as in all of) Pit Hartling among many others - scheduled performers (such as J.J. Savert, Bernard Bilis, Jean Merlin) and attendees (like Tom Gagnon and Ricky Smith) alike. Axel Adler was really great during the close-up show which ended a little over an hour ago. With all due respec...

brianarudolph

Any bets that Richard's X's should be stars?

brianarudolph

This is a performing art - the consumer is the audience seeking entertainment. Backstage intrigue and illicit/secret stuff ... meh Then why not post performance-only videos? Or is creating videos exposing to the "method = secret crowd" considered just another way of "performing magic...

brianarudolph

Unfortunately in the minds of those who are the target consumers for this kind of content (and even more unfortunately in the minds of most of the producers of this kind of content) methods = secrets.

brianarudolph

The digital world and its audiences have an insatiable appetite for content that grows exponentially. And people absolutely love being let in on (or think they're being let in on) "secrets" be they of magic tricks or anything else. Guess how many clicks an article or video would get if you...

brianarudolph

I just had the pleasure of seeing Eugene this past May at AbraCORNdabra in Des Moines where he was the surprise guest of honor. I've seen Eugene many times over the years going way back to my first Abbott Get-Togethers in the late 70s. His thoughts and philosophies on magic had a big influence on me...

brianarudolph

Mr. Kaufman, I think we all benefitted and are appreciative because you spent your time writing and illustrating magic books rather becoming more knowledgeable about game show trivia. I totally agree, especially since it took me that same amount of time in intensive comparative study to distinguish...

brianarudolph

Richard Kaufman wrote:... so as Monty Hall used to say, "Come on down!"

Sacrilege! How dare anyone confuse the legendary Monty Hall (host of Let's Make a Deal) with the legendary Johnny Olson (announcer on The Price is Right)!!!

brianarudolph

Thanks so much, JH - count me IN!!!

brianarudolph

I presumed that the name of the card shows up, but exactly what will that look like in performance? For example, does the name of the card appear over the image of the jack, or is the image of the jack temporarily "replaced" by a blank background and the name of the card? Given it's size, ...

brianarudolph

The Dalai Lama always refuses novocaine when he goes to the dentist.
He prefers to transcend dental medication.

(Hope you're feeling better, Richard ... that bad joke notwithstanding.)

brianarudolph

Two questions, JH:

1. Which Jack figure would it be? My own personal interest would be for the head of the Jack of Spades, a one-eyed Jack.
2. Can you tell us a bit more about what the spectator would actually see when the card is revealed?

Thanks,

Brian

brianarudolph

I'm so sorry to hear of Mike's passing. Mike was always someone I checked with whenever I was looking for hard to find books. I finally met Mike in person for the first time at the 2012 Magic Collectors' Weekend in Chicago. He gave me an absolutely incredible deal on five out-of-print titles that I ...

brianarudolph

It's just the whims of mathematical probability. Once in a while, you'll get some long runs. And there's nothing saying that a shooter won't experience several long runs reasonably close together. Look at those folks who manage to hit the lottery multiple times in relatively close succession. But th...

brianarudolph

The "Gypsy Witch" cards look like what you asked about. https://www.amazon.com/Gypsy-Witch-Fortune-Telling-Playing/dp/0880790415/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492185398&sr=8-1&keywords=gypsy+witch+cards I had a deck of those oh so many years ago. But do take a look at the pictures b...

brianarudolph

I think Tom and Brad are Wright.

The minute I mentally said it in Steven's monotone, I remembered it (correctly.)

brianarudolph

Who used to say something like "... I accidentally used a Tarot deck for card magic and three members of the audience died"?

I think it was meant as a joke. At least I hope so.

brianarudolph

And you can always check the current schedule here: http://www.magiccastle.com/now_appearing/ Schedule is subject to change without notice As a non-resident member, I like having your schedules a lot, Dustin, because your schedules show more weeks into the future. Yes, schedules can and do change w...

brianarudolph

Here is a rather tedious presentation of the trick and I couldn't watch it because I found it hard to keep awake. It is a prime example of why I do not regard magic icons as particularly iconic. I have no idea if he borrowed the coin or the cigarette since I tuned out remarkably quickly. I am sure ...

brianarudolph

I do of course have one advantage over you apart of course from my vast experience. Don't forget your other advantage too: proving that you can squeeze a gallon of gall into a pint bottle. Perhaps, one of these days many, many years from now when I'm as old and experienced as you, I'll be so lucky ...

brianarudolph

1. Borrowing things slows up the pace of the trick and makes people fall asleep. Then I'd suggest that you stop doing close-up magic like Cigarette through Quarter in a football stadium since we know how you pack 'em in, Mark, and try doing it in venues where your spectators are a little closer to ...

brianarudolph

At the risk of getting my hopes up way too high, and casting absolutely no aspersions whatsoever on our phenomenal authors and publishers nor on my own selfish desire to see more excellent new magic books and updated reprints of long out-of-print magic books released, but I'm hoping that whatever th...

brianarudolph

... I'm not so sure about that, Bill. Think of the amount of serious facilitation such a deck would give a magician. ... That's what a lay audience is supposed to think or imagine. The job here is to get ordinary paper cards to present that impression in performance. I totally agree, Johnathan. My ...

brianarudolph

While this is possible, I doubt you'll ever see such tech in common use. For the same reason robots haven't replaced humans: humans a more fun to produce, and easier to program. The technology to create a color change "deck" not only exists but would be fairly easy to implement at a reaso...

brianarudolph

Glutton for punishment that I am, Alfred reminded me of another point on which I disagree with many active performers (many of them "icons") who, at least to my pea-brain, are completely missing a point stressed by another icon (who I've disagreed with on other points.) I've seen many top ...

brianarudolph

I have never done cigarette through quarter but I don't see an issue there either. People know what a quarter is and they know what a cigarette is so there really is no problem. And if you can't borrow one then use your own and have it examined later. The point here is not that you cannot do effect...

brianarudolph

My definition of an "everyday" object hasn't changed in my 40+ years of doing magic. It is and always has been "something that I have a very large chance of being able to borrow from a very small group of spectators, with the odds improving even more the larger the group of spectators...

brianarudolph

Sorry, but I think Dingle's routine for "Cigarette Through Quarter" is perfect: because he's already shown a gimmicked coin, it never occurs to the spectators that the second coin might not be ordinary. Every time I've seen someone else perform "Cigarette through Quarter," every...

brianarudolph

Spurred by another thread in which I posted that I disagreed with a part of Derek Dingle's Cigarette Through Quarter routine, I'm curious in what other tricks, routines, principles, theories, etc. my fellow forum figures have felt "Magic Sacrilege" by being a mere magic mortal but daring t...

brianarudolph

As Brad noted, the rolled-up bill is probably the best option I've heard so far because it will expand to fill the hole just like a poster expands to fill a mailing tube (obviously avoid using ratty bills.) And the bonus of coins and bills both being money makes for well-integrated patter. But even ...

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