The Genii Forum

performer

Over the years I have had quite a few people thrust the title of "mentor" upon me whether I want them to or not. I find it slightly embarrassing since it is not intentional on my part.. They attach themselves to me and learn by osmosis. However, I never try to mentor or teach anyone anythi...

performer

This is most amusing! Only magicians would spend ages and ages discussing the best way to do a double lift! This is true - it's rarely a discussion point in the plumbing profession, for instance. Larry Jennings was in the plumbing profession I believe. I suspect he may have discussed it from time t...

performer

This is most amusing! Only magicians would spend ages and ages discussing the best way to do a double lift! I can do all sorts of fancy double lifts, including the two in the Paul Le Paul book, The Vernon Double Lift, The Leipzig Double lift combined with Harry Lorayne's Kick Double lift and many, ...

performer

This is most amusing! Only magicians would spend ages and ages discussing the best way to do a double lift! I can do all sorts of fancy double lifts, including the two in the Paul Le Paul book, The Vernon Double Lift, The Leipzig Double lift combined with Harry Lorayne's Kick Double lift and many, m...

performer

I can't get excited about the Gaeton Bloom routine at all. The best thing about it is that is over quickly and at least he does have the pins examined. The trouble is that all he is doing is linking and unlinking the pins several times. Just repeating the trick. No variety in the routine--no interes...

performer

Somehow I managed without being taught in person. I don't think I have ever learned a trick in person from another magician. I haven't the patience or attention span. With a book I can take my time. I rarely watch videos as I find them an awful way to learn. I will on occasion see something a magici...

performer

Oh, I didn't know that! If this is indeed the case I recommend that he learns to work for laymen as soon as he gets the chance. A completely different approach and more important mentality is required when working for laymen. However, I have read his mentor's book, "Strong Magic" and altho...

performer

the danger of finding a mentor is you become such a clone of theirs that it becomes the only thing people know you for. But wouldn't your audiences have to know who your mentor is for that to happen? If you are performing for laymen I don't think it would be a problem. For other magicians then yes....

performer

I will qualify my post above by saying that I think a mentor would have been very useful to me in other areas. But not for learning magic. Much better off without in my case. I do recognise that for others it might be a good thing.

performer

I never had a mentor. In fact I never met a single magician for the first two years of my studies. And I am very grateful for it. I am not saying anyone else should follow this philosophy but it worked out very well indeed for me. In fact I thank God every day for it. In fact if you wish to go this ...

performer

Terry Fox was a Canadian hero. His face was on Canadian stamps. If Mahdi is emulating him I consider it to be a wonderful thing. I suspect you have no idea who Terry Fox was. He is an icon to this day in Canada. And Mahdi will probably be an icon too. I was in Canada when Terry made that inspiring t...

performer

Well, I hope it works out. I have often cringed at representations of classic works and famous performers made by others. It is just never the same somehow. Adequate at best or mediocre at worst. I will concede there have been a tiny few exceptions. I hope this is one of them.

performer

It sounds like this is Harry's material described by other people. Not quite the same somehow. And I am uneasy about what seems to be sparse descriptions of the sleights involved based on the assumption that the viewer should know it anyway. I don't know the Tilt move for example and I have been doi...

performer

The original trick under discussion seems to be a different trick. The one I described is called Now You See It in the Royal Road to Card Magic. The other one is Design For Laughter also in the same book. They really are two different tricks. I do both and they are equally effective. Who invented th...

performer

It was definitely not Downs. He was too much of an egotist to have his name hidden . And I suspect he wasn't much of a writer since he even got John Northern Hilliard to write his own book, "The Art of Magic."

performer

I think part of me has been steeped in method for so long that I forget the pure beauty of a simple effect. Seeing the Invisible Deck for the first time for example as a layman and how wonderful an impression it had on me. Uncluttered with "meaning" or story. Maybe trying to give it meani...

performer

Edward Pungot wrote:So are you saying the average magician is just masturbating in public.

As a psychic reverend and holy man of the cloth I have no idea what that means. However, I am getting a vibe that it is terribly vulgar and I cannot possibly approve.

performer

Hopes, fears and desires? That is easy. When I watch the average magician (and most of them are average) My main hope is that the trick will be over and done with quickly, my main fear is that it is not going to happen and my main desire is that i was somewhere else.

performer

[/quote] Neither the Andrus nor Van Senus routines ever appealed to me, as, while very clever and ingenious, to me they look like wire puzzles.[/quote] Yes. Perhaps in the way you might do it. But wire puzzles do not elicit gasps of astonishment in the way that the Andrus pins do. The routining is e...

performer

I remember reading a manuscript describing Slydini's Linking Pins. I thought it was bloody awful. You really cannot beat the Andrus Linking Pins. I don't understant. Slydini and Andrus use the same kind of pin, so why do you judge Andrus superior ? Is it in the routining ? Different type of pin ent...

performer

Richard. I bloody well DO know what I am talking about! I have no idea who you have been showing the trick to. Or how often you have been doing it. Probably not that frequently and probably to other magicians and if this is the case then it doesn't count. However, let us assume that you have been sh...

performer

Some people hide their skill and some people don't. And some people are in between. And of course even if you are of the school of thought that you hide the skill the audience pretty much figure out you have it anyway. And that is the way you might want it as a magician. You certainly don't want it ...

performer

Good for him. Can they be examined?

performer

I remember reading a manuscript describing Slydini's Linking Pins. I thought it was bloody awful. You really cannot beat the Andrus Linking Pins.

performer

I did read something once known as "The Partagas Sell" authored by Victor Farelli. i vaguely seem to remember it was more on the lines of the Dunbury Delusion. I will have to check.

performer

I read this somewhere... It requires the philosophy of the stoic to possess any great superiority and refrain from boasting to friend or foe. He must be content to rank with the common herd. In short, the professional player must never slop over. One single display of dexterity and his usefulness i...

performer

Oddly enough I use the same line "This is a trick deck that I purchased from a magic shop" for two particular tricks. One is the All Backs routine and the other is the svengali deck. I use this line with the svengali deck since it saves me a lot of trouble switching the bloody things. And ...

performer

Further, I think we would all do well to avoid the DL as much as possible. I rarely use it. I think there is only two examples out of 50 tricks in Spoiler Alert. I do agree that you can over use the double lift and in fact there is a disease known as "double lift indigestion" particularly...

performer

I use the Vernon double lift a lot. Here I agree with Al that you let gravity do the job for you. Mind you, I don't find they separate at all. After all they don't have far to fall and that is probably what the slight bend is for. Mind you, I once heard a magician criticise the slight bend on the gr...

performer

The title does sound dreadfully dull. I think that might be a turn off.

performer

This thread reminds me of something which Harry Lorayne wrote a long time ago to the effect that magicians worry too much about things laymen don't give a darn about. Oddiy enough I think he wrote in connection with a double lift description!

performer

I seem to remember reading that Don Alan was very upset with Johnny Brown. Something to do with copying his material. Of course everyone stole Don Alan's material.

performer

I also use many double lifts. In fact too many for my own good. They all resulted as a struggle learning the damn thing. I haven't the slightest idea if they are natural or not but they have all worked very well indeed. As for the Jerk ruminations on the subject, although I tend to be biased against...

performer

John Carney also believes that misdirection (attention control?) should be built into every sleight. No matter how well you do a move it will be much more deceptive if the spectator is not focusing on your hands. Oddly enough Paul Le Paul believed the exact opposite. He believed the "misdirect...

performer

It took me years to learn to do the double lift deceptively but I learned the pass in ten minutes! I have never quite figured out how that happened!

performer

It sounds more like he is having a dig at bizarre magic rather than any particular person.

performer

I wonder how many of them get standing ovations..................

performer

Richard Kaufman wrote:We are not monkeys.

I wouldn't go quite so far as to say that...................

performer

The book was indeed full of itself and I don't think he necessarily practices what he preaches but that does not necessarily invalidate his opinions which I found pretty astute except for his advice on hecklers which consisted of ignoring them and as a last resort informing the multitude that "...

performer

I am all for theory but it has to be GOOD theory. Alas a lot of it isn't. I would burn that awful book by Henning Nelms for example. Another thing is that the theory has to resonate with you. It may be suitable for someone else but not for you. And even worse a lot of it of it is just plain wrong. I...

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