The Genii Forum

aye, definitely -- but if you have tricks where you have to do a number of faros to control a known card to a know position, then have a card selected, then another faro, then this then that...it's just silly. Not that it tips off anything about the mathematical nature of the shuffle -- it just slow...

While we are on the subject--which side of the "how many faros are acceptable in a trick" debate are you on? Vernon (no more than two), Marlo (as many as you need to get the job done regardless of the amount), or Miller (hates those "butt shuffles"). For me, I would answer: &quo...

John Van Der Put (Piff) was at IMX this week and this was the "hot topic" of the week. He's doing a great job of mocking the other guy with his characteristic dry wit and playing off the whole situation, up to and including having an imposter (Craig Mitchell) in the dragon suit and coming...

Quentin, cheers for the reply. However, there's still something I am curious about and it goes beyond the audience's level of culture and sophistication. The question is, do you think there are tricks that would be considered unethical or should be avoided? an example: I remember watching a live tri...

I do have a couple of them, I hope they are intelligent enough. Considering the general culture the western generic audience has and the misinformation our society lives in, what is the difference between "stating you are genuine" and "not stating you are not genuine"? How much r...

Joe,
I think one of the canon methods is to print one side of the banknote on (flash)paper, fold it and switch it for the genuine one in itinere.

mrgoat wrote:

Jonathan Townsend wrote:Bravo mrgoat

Know the creature on the internet by its droppings - good find.

goats have a keen sense of smell for bullsh*t!

I'm in a good mood so I will spare you a translation of the dealer's ad...

no matter what the quality of the product is, vague businesses like this shouldn't be supported. I mean, you are dealing with someone who doesn't even want to put his name on his product. I'm not saying it's going to be a scam or what, but obviously they don't seem to have the heart in the right pla...

I like the standard bike deck, I just wish the company who manufacture it took as much pride in their work that I aspire to. Neil, the point is that Bicycle are not produced exclusively for magicians. The big money they make comes from the general audience. USPCC is also a big company, so expecting...

Watch Berglas again. He touches the cards, hands them to people, and states things like "I don't want to touch the cards at all. You hold them." And people just remember that they held the cards and Berglas didn't touch them. And since he isn't a Jedi master, regular people can do it too....

Why do you guys act like you expect TV to broadcast good stuff, by the way?! It's pretty clear that it's not a meritocratic system and only what's functional gets on screen. I guess Dynamo is functional. He might be handicapped with a deck of cards (this I don't know...he can't be that bad as you pe...

Ilya wrote:14 of 52 =)))))))))))))))))))))

Ilya,
you probably have missed the whole chapter where it is explained what to do the remaining 38 times out of 52 (page 117 to 138).
Read the book then watch the second DVD and it'll make sense.

Cynicism, when is not snobbish, is a very legit psychological reaction to something people perceive as unfair, unethical etc. Since our "little world" doesn't exactly seem to resemble Arcadia, it's only natural for people to get pis**d. Plus the guy doesn't seem to complain just for the sa...

I was surprised to have a chat with lay people who have seen the show and discover that their favourite bits were actually the "smaller" stuff (the odd card trick, coin trick etc) instead of the bigger illusions. So, in a sense, I think Dynamo could work live, given the correct setting. Pe...

I've known Steve, "Dynamo" for many years. I've watched him take that incredibly shy demeanor and turn it into something that relates to people when he performs magic. I do agree with that. I've already said what I think about Dynamo in the previous thread...I've watched a bit more since ...

I agree with what the goat and some of what Brad Henderson said. Hypnosis is just another concept that has been studied by western doctors and psychologists for 150 years, found of little to no value and discarded, only to be recycled later by entertainers and pseudo-healers alike. Hypnosis has, how...

the italian newspaper confirmed that the girl was indeed in the zigzag box (described by the journalist as the "coffin") ready to get cut when the incident happened and she started to scream "Let me out" to the magician. Luckly he was able to get her out of the box and they made ...

I've watched a couple of segments on youtube a while ago, and had the chance of talking about Dynamo with some british friends (laymen) who follow his show, and much to my surprise they loved it. I understand it -- he genuinely seems a shy and nice guy, and even if he tries and sounds Blaine-esque, ...

There are some great advices in The Collected Works of Alex Elmsley Vol.2 about preparing a brand new deck for faro work. Bikes are alright, but beside the cut I still think they are too soft, which makes them loose shape very soon (especially if you cascade them) and makes rocking the cards back in...

I wonder what would happen if you accidentally pick a spectator who has some medical electric device inside his body like a pacemaker or something

I'd say Derren Brown, although the general opinion is that he's a man of science rather than a conjurer. Much to my surprise, I've met countless people over 40 who still talk about Geller and still remember his TV appearances -- everyone has some funny anecdote about them trying to bend spoons or ke...

My word, I like the idea just seems a little pointless if you ask me? Spinning a polo mint around a pencil...Okay I am sure the gimmick is ingenious but where is the relevance. Not a point for argument and I am sure it comes down to personal preference. A lifeless object that all of a sudden starts...

Simone, I wonder if you are prepared to concede that clinical psychology is itself partly based on pseudo-scientific principles? For example, classical learning theory, which underpins 'scientific psychology' is somewhat moth-eaten for the modern era. Furthermore, clinical psychology tends to be ha...

as a magician you have to be a gentleman; gentle with peoples feelings; gentle with peoples beliefs. I think this pretty much answers the initial question. Yes, it's true that some performers could get away with their claims (Geller) and other performers could get away by twisting the line between ...

package arrived in Rome, Italy aswell. It actually arrived on Thursday th 23rd but the folks at the office didn't tell me until now. Looks great. Haven't had the time to even riffle thru the pages or check the DVDs out though (I'm still at the office), this is just a quick message to let you know, R...

I really don't see why European folks are so worried about their shipping. For experience, it takes approximately 25-30 days for a US package to get delivered to Italy. I don't know how's the standard for Spain, France etc, but I'd be surprised if the book shows up here this week. I don't understand...

aye, not to mention postal taxes.

Well, I think "magic" is self-explanatory enough to not needing any disclaimer. How did things happen? By magic. If you make a bill float, the audience doesn't assume you have power over the rules of gravity and you're a mini-Newton. They don't assume you have a thread either though, they ...

I apologize in advance if the discussion will sound obvious and old. I imagine seasoned performers have already discussed and solved these topics long before I was born. The other day on youtube, I saw a mentalist from my country performing for a TV show. Beside the mentalist and the TV host, there ...

I think the Chair Test is one of the most fascinating effects in mentalism. The Berglas version must be the best I've ever heard of so far (I've never seen it though, I've read it on the book by David Britland). The "I guess that's my chair!" bit is beautiful, as it is the moment when the ...