The Genii Forum

Bill Duncan

I have a few books that I believe to be out of print, but in working through what I have culled from my library I have also found a couple I thought to be out of print which are actually still available, if in limited supply. Here are the books on my list that I think I know to be out of print: The ...

Bill Duncan

But an important distinction is that there is no award for Best Sound Editing by a Person with Ovaries. Technical awards are genderless. ;) I'm only guessing, but I suspect that has to do with who's seen on the big screen. While you see the actors (both male and female), you don't see the technical...

Bill Duncan

The Academy Awards, Tony Awards and others have not only had a hard time abandoning "actress", but have not abandoned this precise noun which best describes the person being honored. It might be useful in this to remember that Linda Hunt won Best Supporting Actress for playing a male char...

Bill Duncan

I find it puzzling that anyone could study magic for very long yet fail to understand how the subtleties of language change people's perception of reality. How would magic work, if which words we use didn't matter?

Just sayin'

Bill Duncan

Some years ago I put out a small manuscript and wanted to reference Steve's coin vanish in a folded dollar bill which had been published in one of the out of print NYMagic Symposium books. So I emailed him to ask if he could tell me where else it might be in print. He sent me his lecture video so I ...

Bill Duncan

Duncan's First Law:

Insufficiently Advanced Magic is Indistinguishable from Technology.

With apologies to Arthur C. Clarke.

Bill Duncan

Bill Mullins wrote:Foodies and historians also worry about the words they use, and the connotations they carry.

The historian makes an excellent point when he writes "Language has changed before, and I propose that it should change again."

Bill Duncan

It's The Rules is an awesome impromptu routine and everyone should learn it. But if I'm going to carry dice around with me, I'll either have Sol Stone's dice, or better yet Crooked by Ronnie Ramin. Ronnie's set is designed so you can hand out the dice at the end, and Sol's gets the dirty die out of ...

Bill Duncan

Effect number 2: I would call out the name of the bartender (who, at this point, was 15-20 feet away behind and at the other end of the bar) and ask him if he had any idea what happened to the spectator's card. He would turn around and start walking toward us shrugging his shoulders, with the card ...

Bill Duncan

Excellent choices IMO. However, to make them laugh with the card on forehead, they must be surprised, meaning you managed to successfully get it on your forehead surreptitiously. So aren't you both making them laugh and fooling them? No. Card on Forehead doesn't fool anyone; they know you stuck it ...

Bill Duncan

Since I would have a deck with me, Card on Forehead, or perhaps The Homing Card (the to pocket trick, not that counting crap... )

It would depend on how I read the person making the request: does he need to be fooled, or laugh?

Bill Duncan

Except it doesn't happen that way. Perhaps one in 5 or 6 people you show this to will figure this out ... the remainder will be completely stumped, even if you repeat it a dozen times. So I was fooled by it, but didn't see magic. That's the problem as far as I can tell... something is only magical ...

Bill Duncan

One of the strongest illusions in magic is created with the El Torero devise which is essentially a $3 toy. Where is the misdirection in this trick? I would suggest that there is none, and no magical effect either. I suspect any thinking person would look at that and assume the "blade" si...

Bill Duncan

Off the top of my head, I can think of at least two effects that are magical without misdirection. You can do either without even acknowledging the spectator's existence and they will still see a magical, even inexplicable, effect. Both are improved by adding cognitive direction however... Super Nee...

Bill Duncan

If they ain't square, they ain't fair. See Persi's video on YouTube (2 parts)
Part 1 is here.
https://youtu.be/G7zT9MljJ3Y

Bill Duncan

Back before the publication of the Books of Wonder , if you said "misdirection" it was generally considered that the prime example was the paper balls over the head. Back then people still believed that expert sleight of hand was "invisible" and "burnable" and shouldn't...

Bill Duncan

Richard Kaufman wrote:Someone needs to create a gimmick that will cause a sensation of tickling or movement in the spectator's hand when the bunnies are in there.

Ah, Wonder Words?

Bill Duncan

I'm glad this thread was dragged up from the depths again ... the subject matter is absolutely riveting, and I was still confused about the entire issue ... even a little bit panicy as to what to call a (gulp!!) cardman in 2019. You can call me "Bill." "Mr. Duncan" if you're nas...

Bill Duncan

Bill Duncan Wrote : "People who haven't seen them before find them delightful, not because they are strong magic, but because they aren't." [snip] ...the sponge balls is one of the strongest pieces of magic in the close-up arsenal. The effect of one object (be it a sponge ball or a sponge...

Bill Duncan

I've been told by people who have done both that The Sponge Bunnies are "better" than simple sponge balls, nearly 100% of the time. I have no reason to disbelieve that. But I remain unconvinced that The Sponge Bunnies play so strongly because "the magic happens in their hands." I...

Bill Duncan

I have it in mind that, for the denoument, it would be very magical if the whole deck was shown to have changed to a different color than the ambitious card and deck you had been using throughout the routine. I haven't thought about a method for it though. There's a color changing deck in DesTroyer...

Bill Duncan

From my (out of print, not a plug) booklet TRIBUTE, which is about my routine "An Ambitious Young Man" and the framing effects, here's my AC ending. It's done with a face up card, but there's no reason you couldn't do it with a face down stranger card. The selection is second from the top....

Bill Duncan

You have to be logged in to Facebook for it to open...

Is that the probelm? If not try using the group name in a search on Facebook.

Bill Duncan

Thanks guys.

I have a few items I'm thinking of selling, and don't really do this sort of thing often.

Bill Duncan

Didn't Elmsley have something called Ambitious Stranger, where the entire routine was done with an odd backed card?

Seems like it would make sense that the card would try to leave a deck it didn't belong in...

Bill Duncan

Leonard Hevia wrote:Voracious readers understand when I say that those who don't read much live on a superficial level.

That has to be, hands down, the funniest damn thing I have every read on Genii. Or in a book, or a blog, or the back of a cereal box, or on one of my three Kindles.

Bill Duncan

Pete,
Is that an endorsement of the group, or just informational? I like that it's a closed group, and the fact that Facebook is so intrusive gives me hope that people will realize that it's not a good way to try and scam people.

Bill Duncan

I think that the point is that we're always one or more moves ahead of the spectators. I would assume he had a better command of English than that. The words "one ahead" have a very specific meaning and Mr. Jennings used the principle often. I don't think that's what was said or implied. ...

Bill Duncan

Due to an odd convergence this evening two of my daily reads collided; Genii and Cracked.com.

Check this out. Apollo is #4 and Paul Wilson is #2.

Bill Duncan

Richard, Being "ahead" is not the same as being "one ahead." If the spectator doesn't know what is next, you are ahead. So in that sense you are always at least one (step) ahead. But that's kind of a pointless point. "One ahead" is typically used to mean the extra objec...

Bill Duncan

Jennings would say, for Triumph, that you secretly have half the deck reversed, and thus you are one ahead. I'd love to see him defend those methods where you don't secretly reverse any cards. In the Stars of Magic method, the false shuffle happens as the cards are apparently mixed, so you're not a...

Bill Duncan

Every time I look at this thread I'm reminded of a Gloria Steinem quote about job requirements which can be found here: http://famousquotefrom.com/gloria-steinem/ Using gender modifiers for job titles that have nothing do with gender just seems foolishly old fashioned to me. I'm not offended (on any...

Bill Duncan

Those trying to constantly show how woke they are have problems, from my perspective. I agree. The problem I have is that when I try to decide who's woke, and who's simply trying to show me how woke they are, I find myself becoming a judgmental asshat, and while I'm comfortable being that sort of f...

Bill Duncan

JFC... Use magician. It's gender neutral, and if you are writing about card tricks the card part is implied. If your reader doesn't realize that "she" is a female card worker then you're prose needs work, not a special new word to describe something that has nothing to do with the subject....

Bill Duncan

If you're conversant with the muscle pass, doing it into your hand, under cover of a wave provides an improved magical moment. It can be done as the hand is closed, or as it opens.

Bill Duncan

A handy glass with a bit of condensation on the outside, or a discrete "cough" into your fist can provide the necessary moisture for the "dime pickup." You might also try using quarters, as the shells are considerably lighter.

Bill Duncan

Latta used to say: Every move's a move. which is why I personally think coin magic is a lot tougher than card magic to do deceptively. Coin magic is harder because most of what's not a move is also a move. Doing something complicated, like a shuffle control, while doing something slightly less comp...

Bill Duncan

The Pink Purse video can be identified by Geoff using a pink fabric coin purse he had to borrow because he forgot to bring one with him when he sat for the video. The footage in The Long Goodbye is taken from that privately circulated video, which also includes Geoff tipping some (at the time) inner...

Bill Duncan

AND we'll get to see the other half of the Pink Purse tape...

Bill Duncan

It would be awesome if this sold out in the first run. It's such a wonderful tribute to an amazing artist.

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