Search found 304 matches
- February 27th, 2012, 4:17 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: Rubik Cubes
- Replies: 37
- Views: 8046
- February 20th, 2012, 1:54 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: Best Mathe-Magic Book?
- Replies: 24
- Views: 7147
Re: Best Mathe-Magic Book?
diaconis book better for math; aragon for magic; both worth having
- February 18th, 2012, 10:08 pm
- Forum: Link Watch
- Topic: Pressure by Dan White and Daniel Garcia
- Replies: 5
- Views: 1677
Re: Pressure by Dan White and Daniel Garcia
The straight YouTube performances are typically a clearer, more efficient and accurate revelation of the method than the many "tutorials." This is no exception. Either turn it over convincingly -- i.e., not furtively and showing 95% hand and 5% balloon -- or don't turn it over at all. If y...
- February 16th, 2012, 6:23 pm
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: Wayne Dobson has been manipulated
- Replies: 105
- Views: 29714
Re: Wayne Dobson has been manipulated
The recording/bullying are obviously bad; but it does seem as if there was some pure copying by McBride, irrespective of what Dobson says -- though his claiming not to care ought to have been the end of there being anything to say about the incident. Other than to comment on the weird totalitarian i...
- February 15th, 2012, 9:02 am
- Forum: General
- Topic: Esoteric Cogitations on Patter
- Replies: 7
- Views: 1828
- February 15th, 2012, 7:33 am
- Forum: Link Watch
- Topic: Pressure by Dan White and Daniel Garcia
- Replies: 5
- Views: 1677
- February 14th, 2012, 6:20 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: Esoteric Cogitations on Patter
- Replies: 7
- Views: 1828
- February 13th, 2012, 8:20 pm
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: Has The Net Killed Magic?
- Replies: 28
- Views: 4234
Re: Has The Net Killed Magic?
"I literally lay at the feet of Derek Dingle and watched him do the Pass from beneath" Great image. And I am all for Richard having been the one self-selected by his dedication to have documented and memorialized so much of the greats' work, while also being part of bringing magic into the...
- February 13th, 2012, 8:08 pm
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: Has The Net Killed Magic?
- Replies: 28
- Views: 4234
Re: Has The Net Killed Magic?
"I saw a lot of kids get encouragement from well-known people in our field up at Tannen's. Was it idyllic? Yes, for me it certainly was. "
Of course; you would become Richard Kaufman. I was just . . .
Of course; you would become Richard Kaufman. I was just . . .
- February 13th, 2012, 7:08 pm
- Forum: Feature Articles
- Topic: Jamy Ian Swiss Article
- Replies: 55
- Views: 21009
- February 13th, 2012, 7:06 pm
- Forum: Feature Articles
- Topic: Jamy Ian Swiss Article
- Replies: 55
- Views: 21009
Re: Jamy Ian Swiss Article
Pretty sure Leonard of the purportedly "original" name, for whatever that's worth, can't quite articulate who Gertrude is, or certainly who Fortinbras is/are. But he is steadfast in his conviction, like our President G.W. Bush, who never did call his electorate "merkins." Also, a...
- February 13th, 2012, 6:54 pm
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: Has The Net Killed Magic?
- Replies: 28
- Views: 4234
Re: Has The Net Killed Magic?
The idea that Tannen's was without exception an idyllic place that welcomed the most naive beginners would be purely funny if it weren't solidifying into the sort of entrenched mythology that magician types don't part easily with. I saw some of the "mentoring" that is located as the prevai...
- February 13th, 2012, 2:25 pm
- Forum: Platform & Stage Magic
- Topic: So how deceptive is the balloon swallow, really?
- Replies: 32
- Views: 28963
Re: So how deceptive is the balloon swallow, really?
"Like anything, it's about the performer."
Like anything, it also has some inherent qualities that aren't performer-contingent.
Like anything, it also has some inherent qualities that aren't performer-contingent.
- February 13th, 2012, 12:40 pm
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: Has The Net Killed Magic?
- Replies: 28
- Views: 4234
- February 12th, 2012, 3:05 pm
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: Wayne Dobson has been manipulated
- Replies: 105
- Views: 29714
Re: Wayne Dobson has been manipulated
"Posting crappy youtube videos is a cheap shot."
What exactly is a "cheap shot"? Something that should never be posted, notwithstanding its accuracy? Something only you have the ability to place in proper context?
What exactly is a "cheap shot"? Something that should never be posted, notwithstanding its accuracy? Something only you have the ability to place in proper context?
- February 9th, 2012, 9:35 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: The really odd things one finds on the Cafe
- Replies: 38
- Views: 10509
Re: The really odd things one finds on the Cafe
I'd say you were pretty successfully baited, Vlad. You can't really post a response celebrating your non-response.
- February 9th, 2012, 8:43 pm
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: Sh*t Magicians Say
- Replies: 24
- Views: 5177
- February 9th, 2012, 3:16 pm
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: Sh*t Magicians Say
- Replies: 24
- Views: 5177
- February 1st, 2012, 6:15 pm
- Forum: Other Magic Publications
- Topic: Something troubling in Steinmeyer's new book
- Replies: 123
- Views: 45087
Re: Something troubling in Steinmeyer's new book
"If someone has a prima fascia case, a judge will not toss it because his docket is full. But the problem of our courts being busy is a very real one. It can take years before a civil (non-criminal) case sees the inside of a courtroom. And for every one that makes it in front of a jury, there a...
- February 1st, 2012, 6:03 pm
- Forum: Other Magic Publications
- Topic: Something troubling in Steinmeyer's new book
- Replies: 123
- Views: 45087
Re: Something troubling in Steinmeyer's new book
An aside inspired by but diferent from the thread's content: I work in a field that pompously calls itself a "learned profession." The discussion in this thread is far more vibrant and substantial than the typical quality of conversation in my work. However, I think magic has consistently ...
- January 27th, 2012, 3:57 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: The Legends weren't flawless...
- Replies: 135
- Views: 34678
Re: The Legends weren't flawless...
It marked a paradigm shift. They are, together, the new Vernon, and will accomplish nothing less than elevating magic to a respected position among the performing arts. New legends, often flawless, in other words.
- January 27th, 2012, 1:19 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: The Legends weren't flawless...
- Replies: 135
- Views: 34678
Re: The Legends weren't flawless...
Helder and Derek rose to the challenge with their performance
- January 27th, 2012, 11:53 am
- Forum: General
- Topic: The Legends weren't flawless...
- Replies: 135
- Views: 34678
Re: The Legends weren't flawless...
"It is I, Arthur, son of Uther Pendragon, from the castle of Camelot. King of the Britons, defeater of the Saxons, Sovereign of all England!"
- January 27th, 2012, 11:36 am
- Forum: General
- Topic: The Legends weren't flawless...
- Replies: 135
- Views: 34678
Re: The Legends weren't flawless...
I recall your giving an interview in which you described the concept for the new act. It sounded like a nearly impossible task, and with dauntingly ultimate stakes for you: integrating ADD into a mentalism act and, above all, creating a worthy and entirely distinct successor to one of the iconic sta...
- January 26th, 2012, 12:18 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: The Legends weren't flawless...
- Replies: 135
- Views: 34678
Re: The Legends weren't flawless...
Well said, as always, JP. Your candor and insight, linking an extraordinary personal experience to the presentation of a classic effect, is a singular contribution. And for those who have not seen Jonathan's most recent lecture notes, they are highly recommended -- though I particularly value having...
- January 25th, 2012, 4:11 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: The Legends weren't flawless...
- Replies: 135
- Views: 34678
Re: The Legends weren't flawless...
I doubt very much that discussing whether the Flushtration Count is any good either diminishes the legacy of Bro. Hamman or overlays a too-rational approach and thereby dilutes the mythology of a legend. There's a permanence to the original aura of these legends that's unaffected by the inevitably u...
- January 22nd, 2012, 1:36 am
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: Magic Castle Spouse membership cards
- Replies: 13
- Views: 2828
Re: Magic Castle Spouse membership cards
Yes, your wife gets one, even if her name were other than Liz. No, the new cards aren't "handsome."
- January 20th, 2012, 1:42 pm
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: Tuskegee Airmen
- Replies: 60
- Views: 9129
Re: Tuskegee Airmen
What Poe (or Lucas) is "saying," beyond their literal words, will almost always be subject to debate and subjective interpretation. That Lucas was impugning the Civil War soldiers is a legitimate interpretation; so, too, is the interpretation that he wasn't. Your insistence that yours is t...
- January 18th, 2012, 8:55 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: The Legends weren't flawless...
- Replies: 135
- Views: 34678
Re: The Legends weren't flawless...
" I never saw a version where the rip was made during the performance that satisfied me." Absolutely -- and I see a lot of that. Particularly in concert with giving away a card at the end that just doesn't match what is suggested when it is obscured by the other one, that would seem to be ...
- January 18th, 2012, 8:17 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: The Legends weren't flawless...
- Replies: 135
- Views: 34678
Re: The Legends weren't flawless...
"Ricky Jay used to do it quite a bit, Derek Dingle too, and they both have/had pretty good taste." All the more reason I'd like to have my mind changed on this one. The evidence is pretty overwhelming that I'm missing something. "Have you seen Jason Latimer's cup and ball routine? Tho...
- January 18th, 2012, 4:16 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: The Legends weren't flawless...
- Replies: 135
- Views: 34678
Re: The Legends weren't flawless...
This is a really beautiful and fascinating idea: "I have seen some magicians handle sponge balls in such a way as to never reveal the fact that they compress so easily." In particular, it causes me to consider with immense admiration the work that would go into realizing that objective.
- January 18th, 2012, 4:12 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: The Legends weren't flawless...
- Replies: 135
- Views: 34678
Re: The Legends weren't flawless...
"I suspect that if the effect was crap, it would have died, along with 99% of other effects. " Much as bad TV shows, music, and other products inevitably fail? I certainly agree that Card Warp's popularity is a strong piece of evidence. However, it's not infallible, and unlike other perfor...
- January 17th, 2012, 1:25 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: The Legends weren't flawless...
- Replies: 135
- Views: 34678
Re: The Legends weren't flawless...
" it's almost as horrendous as card warp." I was with you right up to this point... That was deliberately incongruous, because I am curious why I so unreservedly hate an effect - Card Warp - that has a near- consensus behind it. I like most things that most people like, or at least underst...
- January 16th, 2012, 11:55 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: The Legends weren't flawless...
- Replies: 135
- Views: 34678
Re: The Legends weren't flawless...
dancing cane: utter, unadulterated crap. even in the hands of peter pit or david copperfield or anyone, it's an anachronistic object obviously attached to a string. the necessary hand movements are replicated in no other life endeavor. and the only hope for this preposterously revered effect is esse...
- January 16th, 2012, 11:31 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: The really odd things one finds on the Cafe
- Replies: 38
- Views: 10509
- January 16th, 2012, 6:38 pm
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: Magic Castle Happenings – The Good Stuff (January 2012)
- Replies: 8
- Views: 2162
Re: Magic Castle Happenings – The Good Stuff (January 2012)
Seconding Rich Cowley: Helder and Derek were historically great.
- January 14th, 2012, 3:11 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: Fire at The Magic Castle?
- Replies: 54
- Views: 15577
Re: THE MAGIC CASTLE UPDATE
Helder and Derek Delgaudio in the Peller: Quite possible the greatest magic performance I've ever witnessed. Great way to re-open. These guys are the spiritual successors to Dai Vernon and the clear leaders of the next generation of performers.
- January 4th, 2012, 3:07 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: The really odd things one finds on the Cafe
- Replies: 38
- Views: 10509
Re: The really odd things one finds on the Cafe
"Vlad" is among the Internet's most reliably tiresome blowhards, always quick to make an insipid observation about the subjectivity of opinion or to advertise his soft-toned sensitivity. He sounds like a middling student halfway through a master's degree in dumbed-down philosophy at a thir...
- December 31st, 2011, 10:08 am
- Forum: Mentalism & Mental Magic
- Topic: I Know the Secret of the Berglas Effect!
- Replies: 122
- Views: 60040
Re: I KNOW THE SECRET "THE BERGLAS EFFECT"!!!
"However, saying 'write clearly without spelling mistakes' could come across as a tad patronising, since many of us could not formulate a post in another language."
Most of us would have the good judgment not to post, persistently and incoherently, in another language.
Most of us would have the good judgment not to post, persistently and incoherently, in another language.
- December 23rd, 2011, 2:48 pm
- Forum: Other Magic Publications
- Topic: Something troubling in Steinmeyer's new book
- Replies: 123
- Views: 45087