Alex Stone does magic on Face the Nation on Sunday

[Ken Trombly]

Like him or dislike him, Alex Stone did some cardwork on Bob Schieffer's Face the Nation program this past Sunday. His performance is near the end of the show.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50135807n

[erdnasephile]

It starts at 42:31

It's essentially a thought of card color change revelation followed by an ambitious card sequence.

Pretty mediocre in terms of technical skill (e.g., unintentional exposure of the jog shuffle, less than precise card handling, etc.) and presentation (i.e., none--a little surprising for a professional writer).

Schieffer seemed to like it though.

[Richard Kaufman]

He's a professional writer, but not a professional--or even expert amateur--magician.

[Jon Racherbaumer]

It was interesting to me that the aspect of FOOLING HOUDINI that particularly intrigued Schieffer was not the subculture of magic as much as the section devoted to Richard Turner. They should have played a short clip of Turner doing a few things. I'm wondering too whether this was the first time a person performed card tricks on "Face The Nation"? What an unlikely venue!

[Richard Hatch]

Not sure what these numbers mean or how it translates into sales numbers, but Stone's book is currently ranked #221 in books overall and (not surprisingly) #1 in the "magic" category. Schieffer certainly gave it a very strong plug on the show, emphasizing how funny it was...

[Jonathan Townsend]

Interesting as the host says he usually likes to read non-fiction and lumps Stone's book in with fiction.

I was alone with a washing machine that was in German, a stove that was in German and burned everything... OMG A guy writing about what a mother does.

Then the host says: "I'm old enough to remember when you were a lawyer"

To Alex: "...yours was the funniest"

Alot about "things that happen behind closed doors"

"courage to leave most of it on the cutting room floor and leave just enough to make it viable."

The host seemed to like him and his tricks. And in the long run that's what it's about.

[Mark Collier]

Interesting as the host says he usually likes to read non-fiction and lumps Stone's book in with fiction.

I was alone with a washing machine that was in German, a stove that was in German and burned everything... OMG A guy writing about what a mother does.

Then the host says: "I'm old enough to remember when you were a lawyer"

To Alex: "...yours was the funniest"

Alot about "things that happen behind closed doors"

"courage to leave most of it on the cutting room floor and leave just enough to make it viable."

The host seemed to like him and his tricks. And in the long run that's what it's about.

Some of that made sense but most....not so much.

[Jonathan Townsend]

...Some of that made sense but most....not so much.

They will likely make more sense after becoming familiar with the item linked in the OP. The quotes are from the show.

I did not put that show together. I knew someone who liked salami with peanut butter on white bread sandwiches and dunked them in milk. It seemed to work for them, and that's what counts for them.

[erdnasephile]

I think this is a case of when the audience doesn't expect much (i.e., this is just an author who does a little magic), it "works" on some level. It's sort of like how a person who has never had any decent food would find JT's salami concoction somewhat palatable.

However, to see magic "presented" on national television with so little brought to it is pretty disappointing. It demonstrates a lack of thought, a lack of respect for magic, and a wasted opportunity.

Sadly, it's also pretty much par for the course for the average magician.

[Jonathan Townsend]

AT's concoction of salami and peanutbutter worked for him. I tried it. Not for me. Serving such to others... agreed it would seem less than audience centric.

[Richard Kaufman]

Don't worry if what Jonathan writes doesn't make sense to you ... you are far from alone in that!