The Genii Forum

MagicbyAlfred

...Or say you bought a multi-jeweled pin for your wife but she only likes diamonds. I like that one. Or she only likes emeralds, or rubies, or amethyst, whatever the case may be as far as matching the single color you have. BTW, whenever I perform for kids or mixed kids and adults, I choose a littl...

MagicbyAlfred

Yes, I did mean RNT2, as shown by the link I provided as a courtesy. But the product is beautiful like I said, and in my opinion is a bargain at $25. Quality comes at a price. And the mystery does not go away with the metal rod one bit, at least in my experience of performing it many times. But then...

MagicbyAlfred

When the Hot Rod is done smoothly (I'm talking about the moves, not the force), it is a truly mind-boggling trick for laymen. They won't even remember the manner in which the color was chosen, or care. What they will be thinking about is, how in the world could this rod that had many different color...

MagicbyAlfred

Interesting that your link to Sam was the linking rings, Edward. (Great find at the swap meet, BTW). This reminds me that I need to dust off my linking rings which, inexcusably, have been sitting all by their lonesome for years in my magic chest, and reconstruct (or even improve upon) a 3-ring routi...

MagicbyAlfred

I wish them good luck and success. Succeeding in business is no easy feat. Especially the business of operating a magic shop -- and now more than ever in view of the prevalence of online vendors. Among other things, it takes very hard work, planning, resourcefulness, and skillful and reliable person...

MagicbyAlfred

I don't know if this has been said here yet, but lay people Google methods for tricks WHILE they are watching the magician do the trick. This even happens in live performances, while the trick is still being done. This is one of the reasons you should never say aloud the name of the trick you're do...

MagicbyAlfred

Nice post, Dustin. And underscoring that in magic, as in life at large, what's good for the goose is not necessarily good for the gander.

MagicbyAlfred

...These theatrical types always go all intellectual and perform as if they are playing Hamlet instead of doing the sponge ball trick. The human mind can only think of one thing at a time. Magic is PEOPLE! You have to concentrate on the PEOPLE! You have to figure out how to manipulate them, how to ...

MagicbyAlfred

Thanks, Richard. Wishing you and your family a happy, healthy, prosperous, and magical New Year.

MagicbyAlfred

This is what I have been trying to say all along but nobody seems to take any notice until other people are quoted. I actually took a public speaking course when I was 18 years old. It was drilled into us never to learn a speech off by heart. And that applies to magic too. Yes, you have been saying...

MagicbyAlfred

That [Giobbi quote] is a great and true quote. Absolutely. Below are some salient excerpts from an article written by a professional "presentation coach" that appeared in the Harvard Business Review on the topic of presenting a speech to an audience. Although his points are directed to de...

MagicbyAlfred

Mark, it wouldn't be the first time we've gone off topic on this Forum. I just didn't want to stand idly by when I saw my friend being unjustifiably attacked. As you know, I would (and have) done the same for you.

MagicbyAlfred

I don't know anyone else's answer to Paco's question, but to me, without reservation, Paco was, and is, a passionate card magician, and the world of magic is very fortunate to have him in it. If Jonathan (or anyone else) would choose to go on a guilt trip because they figured out a trick they saw pe...

MagicbyAlfred

Paco Nagata wrote:You can watch a few of his performances in this Youtube channel. The only one a could find videos about him performing.

https://youtu.be/AvHiXHTpG7I

What a beautiful, magical performance by a charismatic and talented performer! Saddened that he has left us. Sincere condolences to his loved ones.

MagicbyAlfred

Wereas, if the purpose is to keep the secret for yourself, and then trying to perform it as a magician, it would be quite ok. So explaining a trick is "wrong" but copying someone else's trick is okay? Jonathan, I believe you have mischaracterized and distorted what Paco said. From what I ...

MagicbyAlfred

Who knows? Perhaps Derren Brown will make at least a cameo appearance in the show in the form of a hologram, akin to those in the Holodeck aboard Federation starships beginning with the Star Trek, the Next Generation series. That would be nicely in keeping with a show that celebrates the power of il...

MagicbyAlfred

The Fair Use doctrine is a complicated part of copyright law, and varies among different countries that recognize the doctrine. There is no bright line definition for what constitutes fair use of someone's copyrighted work, but there are, rather, various factors the courts will attempt to apply in e...

MagicbyAlfred

Paco Nagata wrote:...Exposure is a shame specially because Magic is much much more than knowing secrets.

Yes, Paco, I agree. There is so much more to magic than the secrets; the secrets are far from everything. But then without the secret, there is nothing.

MagicbyAlfred

Mark knows, as do other members who have read my comments in the past, how I feel about exposure. I weigh in on it every chance I get. No matter how anyone else may try to rationalize it (and obviously, they are entitled to their opinions), I have zero tolerance for it. That has not changed since th...

MagicbyAlfred

I’ve modified some “found logic” originally devised for a matching trio (rather than pair), and it calculates a probability VERY close to the Python experiment. The odds that there are two consecutive cards of the same value anywhere in a shuffled deck can be approximated by: 1 - (1 - 1/17)^51 =~ 9...

MagicbyAlfred

A question for the statistically inclined: What are the odds of at least one like-valued pair (e.g., any two queens) lying next to each other in a genuinely-shuffled deck? I can't even begin to calculate this, but suspect it is over 90%. Your suspicions appear to be right on the money. There is thi...

MagicbyAlfred

Yes, you used Google translator because It? He? She? translates "carte folle" as "Crazy Card" (that is word by word) whereas it must be "Wild Card" There is an idiomatic expression in English: "You're a card," or "He's a card." It is appropriately u...

MagicbyAlfred

As you speak and read French, here is an excerpt from: Jean Faré French Style par Yves Laplaud - 2019, page 137 Jean n'était pas un créateur dans l'âme. Il a cependant commercialisé avec Earl Nelson un tour qu'ils avaient intitulé Piccadilly Chips : 4 jetons changent de couleur un à un, puis repren...

MagicbyAlfred

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong (Phillipe? Richard? Denis?) because some of this is from memory, but I believe that How to do Tricks with Cards, is a somewhat truncated re-release of a formerly published Turner book, but under a new name. The original is The Card Wizard, An easy course of tr...

MagicbyAlfred

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong (Phillipe? Richard? Denis?) because some of this is from memory, but I believe that How to do Tricks with Cards, is a somewhat truncated re-release of a formerly published Turner book, but under a new name. The original is The Card Wizard, An easy course of tr...

MagicbyAlfred

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong (Phillipe? Richard? Denis?) because some of this is from memory, but I believe that How to do Tricks with Cards, is a somewhat truncated re-release of a formerly published Turner book, but under a new name. The original is The Card Wizard, An easy course of tri...

MagicbyAlfred

...That was Tommy, being played by a young Michael Bacall, who is still working in Hollywood. Yes, there is an unfortunate, though brief, flash of the card showing that he was using an Ace of Diamonds forcing deck. Bruce Sinclair, the magic advisor on the episode, should have just had him use a Sve...

MagicbyAlfred

Esteemed Members, introducing, for your entertainment enjoyment, a compendium of some of the Great Columbini's finest feats of legerdemain. Enjoy the show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyfywQ98dIU

MagicbyAlfred

Jack Shalom wrote:Anyone watch the Monk episode with Steve Valentine? That was fun.

Yes. It's called, "Abracadabra, Mr. Monk." And here's a really fun scene from it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDfLNSFZObQ

MagicbyAlfred

Sean-Dylan wrote:My comfort book is the Collected Almanac by Richard Kaufman.
Filled with great material and Richard's comments/reviews on the material and Magicians of the day.
Great book that I feel doesn't get the recognition it deserves.

Have it. Love it.

MagicbyAlfred

I know that I'm far from alone in being wild about Columbo (bordering on fanatical at one time). He was, in his own right, the consummate magician, the ever-present cigar his magic wand, his (apparently) bumbling and self-deprecating dialogues with the suspect, in reality, brilliantly conceived patt...

MagicbyAlfred

Bob, your routine sounds quite fresh and creative. Reading between the lines, it sounds like you have managed to eliminate or mitigate what I have always considered the weak point in the presentation which is th the rote dealing of 3 cards to the bottom of a pile each time, which smacks of mathemati...

MagicbyAlfred

How do you not love Fernie? He devoted himself, heart and soul, to being a a magician (and all-around entertainer). Going around on that beat-up old motor bike (almost 700,000 miles over a 20 year period), with a couple of cardboard boxes filled with props fastened on to it. He was all in. This a ma...

MagicbyAlfred

Not sure how I ended up on this old thread, but I rewatched the video and it impressed upon me something RK has said before: pinky breaks aren't nearly as invulnerable as many of us think they are. Well, yes, pinky breaks, in and of themselves, are not invulnerable. But the same can be said for vir...

MagicbyAlfred

Micro Psychic Nut https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/mentalism/micro-psychic/ That brings back some memories from my childhood, as far as the name my parents gave me when I started into mentalism at age 4. Scarred me for life. BTW, while it's a bit far afield from the version Bob has, I'm sold on th...

MagicbyAlfred

While one size does not fit all, I believe there is one guiding star for all magicians to follow as far as presentation, and that is being creative, original, and natural. Oops, I guess that's three guiding stars (although creativity and originality are closely related). In other words, come up with...

MagicbyAlfred

I don't think you are committing sacrilege at all. I have never gotten much out of Twisting the Aces either except for a bit of reaction with the last Ace. I strongly suspect that if I put my mind to it and added a little touch here and there I could get more out of it but I can't be bothered. As f...

MagicbyAlfred

I guess I'm about to commit magical sacrilege and may be condemned to magician's hell for this, but I always thought the traditional presentation of Twisting the Aces (Yes, Vernon's, and variants thereof) was about as interesting as watching paint dry for the audience. Even the ace, 2, 3, 4 variant ...

MagicbyAlfred

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog; writing is much more enjoyable when you know people are actually reading what you write! You're quite welcome. Very enjoyable to read these well-researched, carefully thought-out, and insightful pieces on your blog, as well. I believe that anyone who read...

MagicbyAlfred

Marty, I've already had the pleasure of reading your third article in the series this morning. A great way to start the day and the wheels turning. Just a few comments: First, I thought it was very apropos to reiterate the brilliant Tommy Wonder advice of spoon-feeding the audience a little bit of m...

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