"Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Discuss your favorite close-up tricks and methods.
Steve Mills
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"Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Steve Mills » April 8th, 2017, 1:17 pm

I really like the discussion at http://forums.geniimagazine.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=49523. It got me thinking........

One of the reasons we like to use everyday objects is it reduces the heat on the props.

I began thinking of items that old farts like me think of as everyday objects, which no longer qualify as such. I'm sure there are more:

glass bottle
half dollar (does it matter Kennedy, Walking Liberty etc.)
wrist watch (and certainly a pocket watch)
match book
match box
handkerchief (silk especially)
small toys like jacks
lighter
cigarette
jacket type of wallet (Kaps etc)
key case

I'm sure there are plenty more.

Maybe were at the stage that we're better off using an obvious prop like a chop cup than relying on the innocence of known items
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Brad Jeffers
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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Brad Jeffers » April 8th, 2017, 3:14 pm

All of the items you listed can be found at WalMart.
They are still everyday objects.

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Richard Kaufman » April 8th, 2017, 3:34 pm

I haven't seen "regular" people use any of those objects for years ... except for a key case. Some folks still use those.
The fact that they are still sold doesn't mean they are likely to be seen often in actual use.
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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Q. Kumber » April 8th, 2017, 4:10 pm

Every single one of them is recognisable by the general population, even if not regularly used. And besides, a bit of thought and some good patter will cover almost anything. I've a feeling that Vernon would no longer say, "Magicians stop thinking too soon," and instead say, "Magicians have stopped thinking."

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Richard Kaufman » April 8th, 2017, 4:41 pm

What laymen in the United States has ever seen a half dollar? Very few!
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John M. Dale
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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby John M. Dale » April 8th, 2017, 5:01 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:What laymen in the United States has ever seen a half dollar? Very few!


But most are aware that they existed which is why I switched from Kennedy Halves to Walkers. I just patter about the cool old coins I've collected. They go nicely with the 1890's Queen Victoria English pennies I mix them with. Nobody's ever see those either but when I bring them out usually they're curious, seeing something they've never come across before. They want to look them over which reinforces that they are ordinary other than being old. They also seem to think that no one would gimmick an antique "collectable" coin.

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Jonathan Townsend » April 8th, 2017, 5:19 pm

everyday is not the same as identifiable. Also, social context can change. Is cigarette magic back in as long as you call it an eCig?
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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Richard Kaufman » April 8th, 2017, 5:19 pm

What age group are we talking about. Does anyone under the age of 35 or 40 know that half dollars exist? Where would they have seen them? Ditto for silver dollars.
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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby John M. Dale » April 8th, 2017, 5:30 pm

John M. Dale wrote:But most are aware that they existed which is why I switched from Kennedy Halves to Walkers.
JMD


I do still carry one Kennedy that I do Roth's Karate Coin with for old timers like me.

Not only are half dollars unknown, the majority don't recognize Kennedy or know who he was, which blows my whole presentation apart.

For those old enough to remember, I can just show Kennedy, flip the half in the air, saying "Watch my Lee Harvey Oswald impression...Bang!" and go through the routine. It's no fun if I have to explain who LHO was before I do the bit.

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby John M. Dale » April 8th, 2017, 5:58 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:What age group are we talking about. Does anyone under the age of 35 or 40 know that half dollars exist? Where would they have seen them? Ditto for silver dollars.


If you're asking me, 25 to about 70. I'm completely amateur and perform mostly impromptu. I'm a member of a bar league team that shoots pool weekly rotating though each team's home tavern so I hang at a different bar each week. There is a pretty wide variety of ages amongst the team's members and the bar regulars.

As I commented before the young'uns don't recognize halves or silver dollars (not even the SB Anthony or Sacagawea dollars for that matter), but they do still (barely) recognize coins so when I dump my Walkers & Vics out the old style coin purse I carry them in they just see some old (but real) coins. Being, shall we say, mature, I can carry off using the old purse as a quirk of being an Old Oddball(TM)

The old coins seem to be "ordinary" yet "unique"at the same time which provides an easy lead-in to doing magic with them for me. Again, YMMV.

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby MagicbyAlfred » April 8th, 2017, 6:38 pm

I can only speak from my own experience. I agree with Steve's point that the items in his list are no longer ordinary every-day objects (with the possible exception of the lighter). But I think the broader issue becomes what props are going to be most instrumental in creating the greatest impression on a layman. As one example, among countless possible ones, there is a significant difference between a magician taking out a bill (which clearly qualifies as an ordinary everyday objects) that belongs to the magician, versus borrowing the bill from the spectator. As I suggested on the other thread in response to Brian's cigarette through quarter post, pushing a borrowed bill through the spectator's quarter (or what he believes is his quarter) is more likely to create more impact on the spectator(s) because they are innately suspicious that props provided by a magician are gimmicked or "trick" - even if they look, and in fact are, ordinary ungimmicked items.

Steve also made mention of the chop cup. Now of course one cannot borrow a chop cup. However, very recently in my restaurant work, in lieu of my usual metal chop cup and crocheted red ball (Suspicious!) i decided to start using a coffee mug or cup that is already on the table and a queen olive from the bar (actually two but they only know of one). If no mugs or cups happen to be on the table, I ask the server to please bring one over. It's really the 3 lemons coming out at the end which is all they remember anyway, so sleight of hand works just fine in lieu of a magnet (which is also sometimes expressly suspected with regular chop cup). I can tell you that the reaction is appreciably greater doing the routine this way than it was when I was using my metal chop cup and crocheted ball(s). (And, as an added bonus, I don't have to carry a chop cup and balls around.) So ideally, you borrow the item from the spectator, but failing that, use items that are well-known everyday objects, that at least appear ordinary, or at least utilize items that are naturally a part of the environment you are in. Another example: for card through handkerchief, use of a linen napkin that is on the table (not used of course) instead of pulling out your own silk handkerchief. It's a simple equation: Ordinary everyday objects, particularly borrowed ones when possible, create greater conviction, and greater conviction creates stronger magic.

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby brianarudolph » April 8th, 2017, 10:34 pm

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 becomes. But as Steve points out by creating this thread, it's the items themselves that fit this definition that have really changed.

Effects that are done using only items I've actually borrowed from my spectators (regardless of how many gimmicks you actually ring in and out undetected) hit the hardest IMHO. Super secret bonus points if I really AM using just the borrowed object(s) and no gimmick(s).

But good luck trying to borrow a half dollar, a match (book matches, let alone box matches ... the latter of which I rarely encountered even 40 years ago when I was starting out), a cigarette, and so forth unless clearly/previously evidenced in a given group of spectators.

Now if you want to borrow a cell phone, you're in luck. But at the risk of opening yet another can of worms, I generally don't like tricks with cellphones (or any technology for that matter.) As with everything, there are a few exceptions that I'm OK with, but I still won't perform myself. When it comes to tricks with cellphones, I'd rather see the phone suspended, levitated, vanished, folded in half, smashed & restored, penetrate a balloon etc. before seeing anything that will cause a spectator to conclude (rightly or wrongly) that the effect was done by activation of an app or that it simply relies on a little-known/easter egg feature of the device ... you know, like turn signals on cars. :D

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Brad Jeffers » April 8th, 2017, 11:44 pm

brianarudolph wrote:I generally don't like tricks with cellphones
The ironic thing about tricks with cellphones is that there is not a single cellphone trick that is more amazing than what a cellphone already does in everyday use.

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Bill Mullins » April 9th, 2017, 12:26 am

A thermos is even more amazing.

It keeps hot stuff hot and it keeps cold stuff cold. How does it know?

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby performer » April 9th, 2017, 7:28 am

If I want to do a trick with older coins I simply say, "this is an old trick so I will use old money". There. Problem solved. That wasn't hard was it?

I do expansion of Texture combined with spellbound and a silver and copper transposition. I use the old English penny and half crown which is not only old money it is old British money and I am not performing in Britain any more. Therefore I simply say, "Since I am old and British I shall use old British money for this trick" Again problem solved.

Patter can solve multiple problems. Even if the items are not as common as they used to be I see utterly no reason that I should be deprived of their use. People know what a bloody cigarette is even if they don't see them around so much so there is no reason to stop doing cigarette tricks. Or thimble tricks when younger people might never have seen a thimble. You simply show the thimble and explain what it is very briefly. None of this is a big deal and there is no reason to make it such.

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.

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby brianarudolph » April 9th, 2017, 9:28 am

performer wrote: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 effects this way but rather that the impact is always diminished (sometimes greatly) when an effect is done with items supplied by the magician than with items borrowed from the spectators. You can have the magician's props examined all you want before and afterwards, but you'll never achieve the same impact in a spectator's mind by pushing YOUR cigarette through YOUR quarter versus pushing THEIR cigarette through THEIR quarter.

Elimination of an examine-the-props phase in a routine (because the props are supplied by the spectators) both heightens the impact and speeds up the performance. The more time that the performer has to invest in convincing the spectators the the props are legit (whether they really are legit or are examples of "spectator-proof" pieces of gimmick engineering), the more it feels like a performer is dismissively saying "believe me, believe me" after everything they say. And any amount of questioning of that "believe me, believe me" in the spectators' minds only diminishes the impact of the effect to the same degree.

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby erdnasephile » April 9th, 2017, 9:51 am

You can add "pocket knife" to that list. (In some parts of the country, when you pull out a pen knife, people recoil and look at you like you're Jack the Ripper"

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Leonard Hevia » April 9th, 2017, 11:00 am

In his introduction to The Aretalogy Minch explained that he left out some of Vanni's effects because he felt the props were outdated. The Ring in Lightbulb was one of those tricks, and Minch believes lightbulbs are passe, but I don't. Laymen know exactly what a lightbulb is. When playing golf it's easy to overthink it, and the same applies to magic.

People recoil from a small pocket pen knife Erdnasephile? I don't believe that.

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Tom Gilbert » April 9th, 2017, 11:34 am

Don Alan's selected card in paper bag wouldn't be the same without a switchblade.

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Jackpot » April 9th, 2017, 12:01 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:What age group are we talking about. Does anyone under the age of 35 or 40 know that half dollars exist? Where would they have seen them? Ditto for silver dollars.

There are people under 35 or 40 who know that half dollars exist... if they've taken their grandparents to a casino to play slot machines. If they inherit silver dollars they'll go on google to find out what they are. (They'll be less happy if they inherit Ikes.) The Susan B. Anthony, Sacagawea and President dollars can be had in quantity as change when paying the machine with cash at the parking garage.

Televised poker tournaments are prolonging the life of card tricks. Perhaps we need to start the "World Series of Pitching Pennies" using British pennies and half dollars.
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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby MagicbyAlfred » April 9th, 2017, 12:45 pm

Agree with the comment re Don Alan and the switchblade, although personally I know that's one I would not be comfortable performing - the image that it conjures up, and all... Plus, I might have to get a Magician's Insurance Policy that requires premiums!

The discussion about the pocket knife reminded me of an encounter I had at the Bar recently that was both amusing and kind of scary at the same time. I sometimes use Ron Wilson's ploy (from The Uncanny Scot) for approaching strangers and breaking the ice. You have a color changing knife palmed and bend down to the floor as if you found something. It is of course the pocket knife (mine is a relatively small, un-intimidating one I bought at the magic store many years ago). Showing it black on "both" sides, you ask if anyone lost a black pocket knife? When they say no, or shake their heads, you do the change and say, "How about a white knife? Did anyone lose a white one?" It almost invariably evokes smiles, and skips the awkward, "Hi, I'm the magician here, would you like to see some magic?" (the latter query being one that sets you up for a surefire rejection more often than you'd like - well, come to think of it, even once is more often...). Well anyway, recently, I did the little shtick for several guys standing at the end of the bar. I was shocked when one of them actually pulled out a large switchblade and flicked it open, and said something along the lines of, "No, I have my knife." Yikes! All of a sudden I found myself mustering up my best Crocodile Dundee imitation, as I looked down at my puny little knife and then over at his veritable machete, saying, "That's not a knife - THAT's a knife!"

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Steve Mills » April 9th, 2017, 1:16 pm

Leonard Hevia wrote:
People recoil from a small pocket pen knife Erdnasephile? I don't believe that.


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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby erdnasephile » April 9th, 2017, 5:49 pm

Leonard Hevia wrote: People recoil from a small pocket pen knife Erdnasephile? I don't believe that.


Hi, Leo...I wouldn't have thought so either. However, even a relatively small 3 inch folder makes some folks nervous. I think they see it as a weapon instead of a tool or perhaps they had a horrible experience in their past.

(Little do they know the most common knife used for nefarious purposes likely resides in their own kitchen.)

PS: I just found out this condition apparently exists: https://www.verywell.com/what-is-the-fe ... ts-2671773

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Leonard Hevia » April 9th, 2017, 6:03 pm

Is there anyone who doesn't have a fear of medical needles, Trypanophobia? You don't have to open the color changing knife blade in your routine. Just keep the blade inside and call it a pen knife.

Steve--I wasn't aware that Yuppies were that sensitive, but I will take your word for it.

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby erdnasephile » April 9th, 2017, 7:44 pm

Leonard Hevia wrote:Is there anyone who doesn't have a fear of medical needles...


The degree of fear seems very variable and is not always predictable (at least for me). Some of the toughest patients are the slightest in stature and mildest in manner, while some of the most phobic are the largest and most outwardly macho.

Your point is well taken---no need to open the blade to perform. Thing is, in this day and aqe of TSA, I hardly see anyone where I live who carries a nice personal knife anymore. (My Dad carried a knife in his pocket every day of his adult life.)

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Jonathan Townsend » April 9th, 2017, 8:10 pm

Is this about form factor for props or nostalgia?

Pen knife -> thumb drive.
Handkerchief -> eyeglass wipe.
rope -> USB charging cable
silver dollar -> poker chip
dime/quarter -> battery
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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby performer » April 9th, 2017, 8:55 pm

brianarudolph wrote:
performer wrote: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 effects this way but rather that the impact is always diminished (sometimes greatly) when an effect is done with items supplied by the magician than with items borrowed from the spectators. You can have the magician's props examined all you want before and afterwards, but you'll never achieve the same impact in a spectator's mind by pushing YOUR cigarette through YOUR quarter versus pushing THEIR cigarette through THEIR quarter.

Elimination of an examine-the-props phase in a routine (because the props are supplied by the spectators) both heightens the impact and speeds up the performance. The more time that the performer has to invest in convincing the spectators the the props are legit (whether they really are legit or are examples of "spectator-proof" pieces of gimmick engineering), the more it feels like a performer is dismissively saying "believe me, believe me" after everything they say. And any amount of questioning of that "believe me, believe me" in the spectators' minds only diminishes the impact of the effect to the same degree.


Dearie me! What a load of balderdash! Alas it appears that once again I shall have to educate the inexperienced. The impact is NOT diminished when I do this sort of thing. Of course I am Mark Lewis and the rest of you aren't. Even if the props were in common use I STILL wouldn't borrow them! Now do pay attention class and you may well learn something.

1. Borrowing things slows up the pace of the trick and makes people fall asleep.
2. It isn't necessary anyway because of the Al Baker dictum "Don't run when nobody's chasing you"
3. Trying to over prove things by borrowing stuff runs contrary to the "too perfect" theory if you believe in that sort of thing.
4. You have to switch things twice instead of once thus increasing the hassle and the risk of getting caught.
5. You don't have to "convince" anyone of anything. Or imply "the believe me" tosh. You simply leave them out without saying a word. They will grab the props without you having to say a word.
6. People know what a bloody cigarette is and are well aware what a quarter is. Particularly in Canada where quarters are in common use. And since I keep getting US quarters in my change I assume they are in common use in the Excited States too. And even if they aren't who gives a stuff?
Even Americans know what a coin is and will assume it is perfectly normal until proven otherwise.
7. I know what I am talking about (as of course I always do) since I do the ring on stick and NEVER borrow someone's ring to do it! It takes too damn long and I am liable to drop the bloody thing and lose it. And it doesn't match the duplicate very well half the time. I was daft enough to wonder if the effect would be diminished by this policy. Well, it didn't make the damndest bit of difference because I let people examine the ring. They were still gasping with astonishment and it made the working a hell of a lot easier.

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby erdnasephile » April 9th, 2017, 9:01 pm

Jonathan Townsend wrote:Is this about form factor for props or nostalgia?

Pen knife -> thumb drive.
Handkerchief -> eyeglass wipe.
rope -> USB charging cable
silver dollar -> poker chip
dime/quarter -> battery


I've seen Chad Long's "Flash", but do people still carry thumb drives? Most of the kids I'm around have everything on their phones and/or files in the cloud.

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Jonathan Townsend » April 9th, 2017, 9:17 pm

How about the little charger used as emergency battery/flashlight?
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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Ted M » April 9th, 2017, 10:07 pm

Leonard Hevia wrote:You don't have to open the color changing knife blade in your routine. Just keep the blade inside and call it a pen knife.

Sure, who among us today doesn't carry a knife for trimming the nib of their quill pen?

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Bill Duncan » April 9th, 2017, 10:31 pm

Tom Gilbert wrote:Don Alan's selected card in paper bag wouldn't be the same without a switchblade.


Which is probably the best argument for using something else. Too many people try to be Don Alan, and none of them succeed.




And +1 to what Mark wrote, above.

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Leonard Hevia » April 9th, 2017, 11:01 pm

Ted M wrote:
Leonard Hevia wrote:You don't have to open the color changing knife blade in your routine. Just keep the blade inside and call it a pen knife.

Sure, who among us today doesn't carry a knife for trimming the nib of their quill pen?


Is Don Alan still imitated in close-up magic circles?

A pocket knife is fairly small like a pen and fits in your pocket. I doubt that laymen would think of quills if you named your pocket knife a pen knife, Ted.

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Tom Gilbert » April 10th, 2017, 8:51 am

Bill, I was meaning Don's performance. If he pulled out a pocket knife and opened it, and then stabbed the bag, that would be nowhere as dramatic and interesting as him using a switchblade. Plus he got a laugh or two with a comment about the knife.

I do find the comments about people being uneasy about pen or pocket knives interesting. Is it the way they are being presented or introduced?

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Jackpot » April 10th, 2017, 10:38 am

I haven't been running into people who are as paranoid about pen and pocket knives as some have described here. How many of you have actually been performing the color changing knife?

I wouldn't think that laypeople as paranoid as those described would get out much. They will be locked inside the safe rooms in their homes. The good news is that they will believe you are a true wizard. Just look at the mythical power their are subscribing to the small knives being discussed here.

If you have been getting the paranoid reaction described here I would suggest you stop busking in dark alleys and find a better pitch. Also, you are supposed to pass the hat not grab the spectator by the collar and push him against a wall.


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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby erdnasephile » April 10th, 2017, 11:59 am

I just reread what I initially wrote. I should clarify (and I apologize for not being clear): I've not had untoward reactions to a color changing knife in a performance situation.

What I meant to say (and should have made clear) is the reaction I was referring to was what I've noticed with pocket folders (3 inches) in other situations (while not brandishing them about in threatening ways).

I'm perhaps a bad gauge for this since I grew up around guns and knives, but it has surprised me how skittish some folks are about even small knives (which I think is reflected in some current anti-edged tool legislation around where I live).

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Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby MagicbyAlfred » April 10th, 2017, 5:21 pm

erdnasephile wrote:I just reread what I initially wrote. I should clarify (and I apologize for not being clear): I've not had untoward reactions to a color changing knife in a performance situation.

What I meant to say (and should have made clear) is the reaction I was referring to was what I've noticed with pocket folders (3 inches) in other situations (while not brandishing them about in threatening ways).

I'm perhaps a bad gauge for this since I grew up around guns and knives, but it has surprised me how skittish some folks are about even small knives (which I think is reflected in some current anti-edged tool legislation around where I live).


Erdnasephile,

My experience as to reactions to the color changing knives in a performance situation has been similar to yours. The only time I got kind of a negative reaction was one night when the tips at the bar weren't flowing very well, and I opened up the pocketknife, brandished it menacingly, and with a crazed look on my face, shouted at a group of spectators: "OK, people, your money or your life!" (I am just kidding for anyone that might believe I was really crazy enough to do that. I am crazy, but not that crazy - yet...).

Seriously, though, I have had really good success with both the Ron Wilson approach of asking, "Did anyone happen to lose a black pocketknife - No? How about a white one?" as well as in performing the color changing knife as a complete routine. The Ron Wilson approach avoids the awkwardness of approaching spectators and announcing you are a magician and/or asking if they would like to see magic. You have, in fact, already done magic, so they cannot say no, and have established yourself as a magician by action. They almost always smile when I do the color change, and ask, "How about a white knife?" And, more often than not, they want to see more... I have not had a single negative or untoward reaction either to the ploy, or in performing the full routine for almost 25 years. Spectators react very well and seem to really enjoy it, and that's all I can really go by. I am not, at this juncture, going to start getting paranoid that people are going to be fearful, or that I am going to be pummeled by an angry mob, or arrested, when I produce a small, closed pocketknife. The color change is still one of the most (if not thee most) beautiful effects in magic, and even though the majority of people probably do not carry pocket knives on their person, at least it is an item that does not look "gimmicky" or like a magician's suspicious prop...

brianarudolph
Posts: 404
Joined: February 26th, 2012, 9:22 pm

Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby brianarudolph » April 10th, 2017, 5:40 pm

performer wrote: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 you.

performer wrote:Alas it appears that once again I shall have to educate the inexperienced. The impact is NOT diminished when I do this sort of thing. Of course I am Mark Lewis and the rest of you aren't.


Dearie me! What a load of balderdash! :D :D :D

Jonathan Townsend
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Location: Westchester, NY
Contact:

Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby Jonathan Townsend » April 10th, 2017, 6:58 pm

Alarm Clock
portable radio
large household radio
CRT tvs
non-LED lightbulbs
copper pennies
silver coins
TV Guide magazine
...more to follow
Mundus vult decipi -per Caleb Carr's story Killing Time

performer
Posts: 3508
Joined: August 7th, 2015, 10:35 pm

Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby performer » April 10th, 2017, 7:44 pm

brianarudolph wrote:
performer wrote: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 you.

performer wrote:Alas it appears that once again I shall have to educate the inexperienced. The impact is NOT diminished when I do this sort of thing. Of course I am Mark Lewis and the rest of you aren't.


Dearie me! What a load of balderdash! :D :D :D


Rudolph, old chap. You really must accept that I am the expert in these matters. I have vast experience working close up and were probably doing it not only when you were breast feeding but even before you were born. I am only trying to help you since in my infinite compassion for the younger generation I can sense you are undergoing great frustration that you cannot do this marvellous trick any more because you are under the false impression that you are hampered by self imposed restrictions when you aren't. I can assure you that if you follow my advice and do things my way you will be able to resume performing this tomorrow.

I do of course have one advantage over you apart of course from my vast experience. I know human nature and how people think and process information. And I know perfectly well that if you carry your own cigarettes and casually remove a quarter from your pocket along with some other change nobody will question what you are up to. Do the bloody trick, switch the coin somehow and leave both items on the table without saying a word. They will grab both items and praise you to the skies until of course they check out the secret on the internet and if they do then it serves you right for contradicting me.

performer
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Joined: August 7th, 2015, 10:35 pm

Re: "Everyday" objects that aren't any more

Postby performer » April 10th, 2017, 7:58 pm

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 you will all disagree with me but I always thought this chap had a lot to learn. He was merely presenting a trick. He wasn't presenting HIMSELF doing the trick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXeQNiIdzsY


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