The Genii Forum

In my more cynical moments, I wonder if it is a bit futile to hope that an appreciation of magic history can be engendered in future generations--at least in American society. I base this on the numerous studies that demonstrate the woeful knowledge of American history amongst the majority of study...

In my more cynical moments, I wonder if it is a bit futile to hope that an appreciation of magic history can be engendered in future generations--at least in American society. I base this on the numerous studies that demonstrate the woeful knowledge of American history amongst the majority of study...

He just assumed that if it came from more than few decades prior it must be dead simple magic and not much use to modern magicians. Yes, this very point exactly! And it's just so dang wrong , but I also know the challenge of getting a short attention span audience (even an interested one) to believ...

One thing I've noticed is that new magicians don't know the history of the specific tricks they are performing. They learn something off the internet and don't have a clue about its provenance. So, their appreciation of history should start there, with the specific and then branch out to a more gen...

Hello, friends- It is a sad truth that the magically-intrigued ten-year-old of today is infinitely more likely to turn to YouTube than the library for information about magic. While they may learn perfectly good methods and techniques this way (or not, depending on what they watch), they'll almost a...

The problem with "unusual" decks is never the unusual style on the backs. But if the effect requires the spectator(s) to remember a selected card and the faces are confusing you have selected the wrong tool for the task. Using a standard face with any type of deck is always fine. This is ...

You need to understand the context and evolution of "the dove act" to appreciate a lot of what makes acts good or bad. Obviously that's a luxury most lay audiences don't have and magicians are phenomenally bad at conveying the history and context of the art which is why dove acts are gene...

The few I've seen have all been nearly identical and also...well, corny is the only word that fits. What is it about dove acts that you consider to be "corny"? The few that I'd seen until you folks made your excellent recommendations were unimaginative and derivative. A guy in an oversize...

Ditto what Pete said. Although I think calling them designer cards is a misnomer, they're just brands vying for consumer dollars. Bicycle-branded decks with varying back designs are hanging from store racks next to Duck Dynasty cards, WPT cards, Dragon Back, etc. I really don't think it's an issue ...

I was talking with a magician friend of mine yesterday about dove acts, and he suggested that my lack of appreciation for them is probably tied to my never having seen a really good one. Recognizing that he might be right, I turn to the hive mind of Genii for recommendations on the very best dove ac...

I saw this discussion on Reddit and thought the comments were quite interesting. I'd love to hear your collective thoughts on the matter: https://geniionline.com/articles/discussion-is-it-safe-to-use-designer-decks In a nutshell, it comes down to whether it's ok to use designer decks for card routin...

I am living for the responses in this thread.

"...we do our best not to pass judgment on such things. We reported on the award, but the value of that win is up to the reader to decide for themselves." By congratulating the win - GeniiOnline explicitly deemed their "achievement" to be worthy of praise ... that's pretty much ...

Bob Farmer wrote:The perfect deck for the Ambitious Card--it doesn't rise to the top, it gets high.

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

I laughed at that far more than I should've and will likely steal this joke for my very own.

Richard Kaufman wrote:I think she will ride this wave for a while.

I agree; it's definitely got legs. I just thought she might get tired of it after a while. Not cracking a smile must be a bit exhausting.

Hi Susan Do you manage the GeniiOnline twitter account ? If so - You recently tweeted "Congratulations to @ZubrickMagic for being named the Best Family Magic Show by the International Magicians Society." Are you aware that the International magicians society is considered a joke and that ...

Here's my question, though...can Riana ever stop doing the shtick? Let's say she gets tired of that particular style and just wants to be herself...would audiences reject her? I always wonder about performers who so define themselves by such a specific characterization - do they get sick of it? Cou...

She really needs to have longer hair for the Ringu thing to really stick. And, Sadako does not speak in Ringu. She just makes that damn vocalization that sends a chill down your spine. True! Would be tough to do an act like that, though. Not impossible, but dang tricky, I should think. Here's my qu...

As an exercise I tried writing a negative review about a book I had purchased for a friend. This was about two years ago. Three paragraphs in I had to stop. I simply couldn't find the willingness to say anything negative in a public forum about a product no matter what I personally thought. I enjoy...

Her performances and character appear to me to owe quite a bit to the Silent Hill video game series. I just love you for knowing of Silent Hill. But to be fair, the shtick is a pretty well-established Japanese horror trope. Ringu, which is maybe the best-known example here in the West, came out in ...

Hey, folks-- Just wanted to remind you to send anything you want to get the word out about to us at GeniiOnline. Maybe it's a cool video you saw, an upcoming auction, an interesting item on ebay, your next performance - if you think it's worth knowing, we want to share it with our audience. Send you...

In case you aren't aware - Amazon have a great program called AmazonSmile whereby they donate 0.5% of your Amazon purchases to a charity of your choosing at no cost to you. Visit https://smile.amazon.com/ - nominate your charity - and for future Amazon purchases always visit https://smile.amazon.co...

ALL of what was floating around was of poor quality - including the pirate copy posted recently on the Genii site. This is the first time it is available from the original master on the internet. Hint hint: Respectfully, as I know Richard K has nothing to do with this, perhaps the powers at Genii c...

Why are you splitting an interview into six three-minute clips? GeniiOnline seems to be quite a click-baity project. Hey, Susan the EIC of GeniiOnline here. Just wanted to pop in and say that's a fair question to ask. There are a few reasons why we do this: 1. More than 50% of our readers are on th...