Fool Us - Season 3

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Tom Frame
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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby Tom Frame » July 22nd, 2016, 1:35 pm

Meanwhile, back to the latest episode of the show.

The sword-swallower had no intention of fooling P&T. His performance was clearly a showcase. I enjoyed it until he executed one of the worst switches I’ve ever seen.

The illusionist employed a clever combination of methods, but I just don’t dig big clunky contraptions and dry ice.

Dan “Heinous Haircut” Harlan took his signature Card-Toon to a wondrous new level.

Kyle Eschen is my favorite young magician. As a therapist, I love his funny, fully developed, unique, dysfunctional character. Kyle doesn’t even have to perform magic to entertain me. Just watching him and listening to him talk is a hoot of the highest order.

Fool Us continues to be the best magic show on television.

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby performer » July 22nd, 2016, 2:46 pm

Tom Frame wrote:

Kyle Eschen is my favorite young magician. As a therapist, I love his funny, fully developed, unique, dysfunctional character. Kyle doesn’t even have to perform magic to entertain me. Just watching him and listening to him talk is a hoot of the highest order.



Oddly enough I think highly of this kid too which is most unusual for me since I think most young magicians are quite dreadful. Oh, and that goes for older magicians too. Most of them make me puke.

Still, I really like the character this young man portrays. I have in the past explained my theory of "defensive resentment" on this very forum. Search it out by all means. What Kyle does is an excellent way of removing that affliction and I quite appreciated it.

Oh, and his magic is excellent too although that is not the important thing. And he seems to be shrewd enough to realise it is not the important thing. It never is............................

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erdnasephile
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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby erdnasephile » July 22nd, 2016, 3:13 pm

Without spoiling things, I predict one segment in particular is going to fry a lot of magician's brains.

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erdnasephile
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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby erdnasephile » July 24th, 2016, 1:04 pm

I think Kyle Eschen is funny as well. It's interesting to compare his character's early incarnation with it's present state. As he has grown, so has the character. Nice job (although I've seen him perform stronger magic previously).

I also learned on this show that Jesse Eisenberg really wasn't acting in Batman vs. Superman.

Finally, Ms. Hannigan is growing on me--she looks as though she is enjoying herself. I still miss Jonathan Ross though.

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby Richard Kaufman » July 24th, 2016, 1:40 pm

Oh, Tom, surely that isn't the "worst" switch you've ever seen.

It pays to keep in mind that stage magicians are often working at the required skill level based on their distance from the audience. You can take the example of a camera holding a close-up of Juliana Chen's hand when she was doing backpalming on some TV show. According to your view, she has to be one of the worst card manipulators in the word. We know that isn't even remotely true--in fact she's one of the best.

Similarly, with Brett's switch, it's designed to be seen by an audience in a large room, not the victim of a close TV camera. I would add, however, than when I watched his segment I did think he should be doing a better job with the switch. And you know, the switch, of course, since it's the one used for balls from mouth--but it must be hard has hell to do when dealing with soft objects.
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Ed Oschmann
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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby Ed Oschmann » July 25th, 2016, 3:45 pm

Back to the Tom Mullica line. It was my wife who was on stage helping. Tom had the uncanny ability to read my wife so accurately. It was the perfect joke told at the right time and place with THE perfect spectator. It is one of my wife's favorite memories.
On a side note: In a recent conversation with Michael Weber, he said that it was quite possible that Rosemarie (as well as the rest of us attending) were the last people he performed for.

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby Dustin Stinett » July 26th, 2016, 1:02 am

Thanks very much for posting that Ed. I greatly appreciate it. I think that will remain my fondest memory of one of Tom's performances. It was priceless!
Dustin

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby MagicbyAlfred » July 26th, 2016, 7:40 pm

performer wrote:
P.T.Widdle wrote:New season with new host Alyson Hannigan, and sadly she's subjected to two of stage magic's worst enduring attributes: sexism and suckerism.
First there was Shawn Farquhar's cheesy remark that if she was to hold the book close to her chest, "it just makes the book happy." Ugh. I heard the same line used by Josh Jay in the DVD for his book (as a woman was holding a card to her chest - "Happy Card!"). It's a sexist and embarrassing remark; Magicians, please stop using it.


Good heavens! This is the end of civilsation as we know it. I actually agree with Widdle for once.


So do I.

I think it is a question of taste, more than whether a particular woman in that situation would be offended. I think it's fair to say that some would, and some wouldn't.

But when you stop to consider that literally millions of people were watching that broadcast (No! No pun intended!), there were people from all age groups, (very young to very old), with all sorts of religious and/or moral beliefs and sensibilities, etc., the line was bound to have been inappropriate for or to many, many of the viewers, even if it was not to many, many others. As Performer suggested by his comments: Does that really elevate our art in the eyes of the public?

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby JHostler » July 26th, 2016, 8:06 pm

MagicbyAlfred wrote:... the line was bound to have been inappropriate for or to many, many of the viewers, even if it was not to many, many others.


And nothing will appeal to everyone... and anything can offend someone. At some point, professional judgment - rather than appeals to the lowest common denominator of hypersensitivity - must take the reigns. If all entertainment were as pure and clean and edgeless as folks here seem to crave, television series as tame as Seinfeld, Cheers, MASH, All in the Family, and The Office wouldn't have made the cut.

But again, this conversation seems to be wobbling across taste, [in]appropriateness, and the use of hack lines - all very different issues.
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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby performer » July 26th, 2016, 8:46 pm

I have no idea what Seinfeld, Mash etc; have to do with MAGIC. I don't give a tinker's cuss (no pun intended) what other so called "entertainment" options consist of. I am only concerned with magic-nothing else. I maintain and will always maintain that the very SECOND a magician stoops to even the slightest vulgarity he is no longer a good magician. And he will remain a bad magician until he learns to eschew bad taste and vulgarity in an art form he no longer has the right to participate in.

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby MagicbyAlfred » July 26th, 2016, 9:10 pm

performer wrote:I have no idea what Seinfeld, Mash etc; have to do with MAGIC. I don't give a tinker's cuss (no pun intended) what other so called "entertainment" options consist of. I am only concerned with magic-nothing else. I maintain and will always maintain that the very SECOND a magician stoops to even the slightest vulgarity he is no longer a good magician. And he will remain a bad magician until he learns to eschew bad taste and vulgarity in an art form he no longer has the right to participate in.


Amen, Brother!

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby Bill Duncan » July 26th, 2016, 10:00 pm

performer wrote:I have no idea what Seinfeld, Mash etc; have to do with MAGIC. I don't give a tinker's cuss (no pun intended) what other so called "entertainment" options consist of. I am only concerned with magic-nothing else. I maintain and will always maintain that the very SECOND a magician stoops to even the slightest vulgarity he is no longer a good magician. And he will remain a bad magician until he learns to eschew bad taste and vulgarity in an art form he no longer has the right to participate in.


You forgot to yell at the kids to get off your lawn.

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby performer » July 26th, 2016, 11:40 pm

No. I only yell at sleazy, cheesy, low class so called "magicians" who debase the art to get out of magic.

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby Richard Stokes » July 27th, 2016, 6:34 pm

Yes, that was an interesting audio by Max Maven discussing the appropriateness of Farquar's joke on the recent Penn and Teller.
Was the joke sexist? Lame? Dated? Plagiarised? Hackneyed? Presumptively heteronormative? (Not sure what that means!)

Farquar also made a joke about wives - how they change their minds for no good reason. The kind of joke from the Tommy Cooper/ Les Dawson era.

And there was that suggestive comment of standing 'cheek to cheek'.

I'm into nostalgic retro though and I still love the early Carry On films. I quite like outdated mildly offensive sexist humour.

However, I do also enjoy the strong provocative material of contemporary stand-up comics.
My favourite comedian at the moment is the Aussie Jim Jefferies. I saw him perform in Leicester last month.
He is wonderfully and disgustingly offensive, drilling deep into taboo subjects, and ridiculing American values.
Catch him if you can.

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby performer » July 27th, 2016, 7:33 pm

I have always deplored that disgusting cheek to cheek "joke". It is very bad taste and unbecoming of a classy performer. What is more it isn't even funny. I have never heard anyone laugh at it yet.

Again comedians are NOT magicians. Bad taste seems to be endemic and apparently compulsory for comedians. However, that is none of my business as long as they are not doing magic. A magician should be held to higher standards. It is a different job description entirely.

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby MagicbyAlfred » July 28th, 2016, 1:13 am

PERFORMER WROTE: "A magician should be held to higher standards [than a comedian}."

You know, i happen to agree with this. And I know that many might disagree with my outlook, and obviously they are entitled to their opinion, but I feel like every time I perform, I am an ambassador for the art of magic. I love magic, and I have all my life, and I want people to have respect and admiration for it and its practitioners. My mentor (won't name drop right now told me many years ago in relation to getting top shelf bookings and upscale clients: "Alfred, don't use blue humor, They may laugh and even think it's funny, but they won't hire you." That advice has served me very well.

I believe a magician should be classy and a gentleman/woman, and exemplify good taste If you are of a different state of mind or have a different approach, I guess there's nothing I can do about it. There is something called freedom of expression in a free society. But I would ask that you give it some serious thought and consideration...

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby AJM » July 28th, 2016, 3:09 pm

It used to be the case on this Forum that one could occasionally prick the pimple of pomposity however it's clear that this is now not the case.

What a strange hold an odious old goat has over you all.

So long and thanks for all the fish...

Andrew

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby Randy Naviaux » July 28th, 2016, 4:07 pm

Just saw Mahdi perform. I was fooled. I had the same solution as Penn and Teller. (It took several viewings to figure out what was going on method wise.) Thoroughly enjoyable presentation of a simple effect handled with a top level skill set.

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby NCMarsh » July 28th, 2016, 4:15 pm

Mahdi Gilbert!

Everything I can think to say just sounds like a cliche -- if you missed it, you should watch:



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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby Richard Kaufman » July 28th, 2016, 4:16 pm

Andrew, Goat is long gone.

Randy, if you had come to the 2015 Genii convention you would have seen Mahdi Gilbert live! :)
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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby Bill Duncan » July 28th, 2016, 5:45 pm

The most magical part is how Madhi gets an audience involved in Oil and Water. Aldo would have been proud.


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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby performer » July 28th, 2016, 6:42 pm

You know something? I suspect I had an influence on Mahdi. Let us just say I have a psychic vibe about it.

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby MagicbyAlfred » July 28th, 2016, 9:21 pm

Mahdi Gilbert! What can you possibly say to do him justice. He says it all for himself!

Absolutely brilliant and inspiring! A tour de force of both handling and presentation.

He is a modern-day Matthias Buchinger. Mahdi is living proof that there are no barriers to the human spirit.

When magicians said Oil & Water doesn't really play for layman, Aldo took exception to that. I guess it very much depends on whose doing the playing. Yes, Aldo certainly would be (or maybe I should say IS) proud. He is sorely missed!

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby performer » July 28th, 2016, 9:46 pm

Oil and Water is a great trick for laymen. It always has been if you know what you are doing.

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby erdnasephile » July 29th, 2016, 12:33 pm

I thought that Mr. Gilbert was superb and his presentation of oil/water was personal and engaging, turning what can be just a puzzle into a magical experience for the audience. It was also short, to the point, and crystal clear to the audience. Well done!

That said, I did think this particular episode was the weakest of the season for me. I just felt the rest of the performers were trying very hard to be funny, but a lot of it felt forced and awkward. Sometimes watching funny stuff on television can be misleading as to its impact in person, but Ms. Hannigan's tepid reactions to the "humor" seemed to confirm this impression. One of the presentations was so involved and tedious that I actually just tuned out mentally until the predictable end.

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Tom Frame
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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby Tom Frame » July 29th, 2016, 12:50 pm

Mahdi is a good guy and a creative, unique technician. He need never worry about anyone stealing his act.

I’ve had the good fortune of spending quality time with Mahdi at several conventions. He played in a Hold ‘Em poker game that I hosted at the Golden Gate Gathering. Don’t be fooled by his gentle demeanor. When it comes to playing poker for money, he’s a brutal beast!

I thought his performance and the manner in which he engaged everyone in the room was terrific.

Congratulations Mahdi!

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby performer » July 29th, 2016, 1:48 pm

Let me tell you about Mahdi. He is from Toronto so naturally I know him. He is very sharp and he knows perfectly well you have all been giving him praise and glory for the wrong reasons. And I think he should milk it for all it is worth. I certainly would.

I first saw him doing the stuff he does a few years ago. Naturally all the introverted card magicians were raving about how he was able to do sleight of hand without hands. However, I am a cynical old grafter and I knew he needed far more than that. I thought to myself, "This is all very well. OK. It is quite an achievement to be able to do this stuff without hands. But he is very, very, quiet. Almost timid. There is no excuse for that because there is nothing wrong with his tongue-only his hands"

Sure, the lack of hands is a great gimmick and I think it should be exploited for all it is worth. Excuse my callous cynicism but that is all you can expect from wicked grafters. In fact I wrote about this decades before I met Mahdi. It was in connection with my "defensive resentment" theory. I stated in black and white that if you are disabled in some way it should be exploited because it takes away the resentment feelings that laymen often have towards magicians.

It bothered me that he was using his limbs but not his tongue. I figured that with a dash of showmanship he could go on to far greater heights. So one day I told this to him in some awful bar or other. I told him that he needed to speak more assertively and put a bit of showmanship into his work. I told him that when working to laymen some self working card tricks were just as effective as sleight of hand stuff. And he shouldn't be ashamed to do them. And oddly enough he knew this already. He is actually a very sharp cookie and highly intelligent. And he was intelligent enough to listen to me.

He hardly said a word but I noticed his eyes riveted to me. He was listening to every word I said with great intensity. I thought, "Oh my God! He is actually listening to me!" After all nobody else seems to take the blindest bit of notice of what I say. He never said a word to me. He was just very quiet and very shy.

But then gradually over a period I saw a metamorphose in him. Over the months he became gradually more articulate in his work and his humour started to show. He became more of a showman and grew more confidence. And it culminated in that TV show above. To this day I never watch his card tricks. Things like that bore me stiff no matter who does them. Instead I watch how his personality, humour and showmanship has grown. And I am confident it will grow further. I bet I planted the seed. And I am glad I did.

Not that I am one to brag of course.

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby Randy Naviaux » July 29th, 2016, 2:36 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:Andrew, Goat is long gone.

Randy, if you had come to the 2015 Genii convention you would have seen Mahdi Gilbert live! :)



That would have been great. Forty years in magic and I have never attended a convention. I really want to do that someday!

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby Richard Kaufman » July 29th, 2016, 2:52 pm

Randy, you've never been to a convention? Ack! We need to change that. Come to Orlando Oct.4 to 8 in 2017 for the next Genii Convention. You won't regret it. I've been working on putting together a stellar lineup.
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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby performer » July 29th, 2016, 6:06 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:Randy, you've never been to a convention? Ack! We need to change that. Come to Orlando Oct.4 to 8 in 2017 for the next Genii Convention. You won't regret it. I've been working on putting together a stellar lineup.


I never go to magic conventions. I find there are far too many magicians there.

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Mahdi Gilbert
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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby Mahdi Gilbert » August 2nd, 2016, 9:33 am

Thank you for your kind remarks. And actually I was very much influenced by Mark Lewis, he is very sharp and his criticisms are usually on point. The reason for my quietness is that it takes me a long time to figure out what I want to say. I very much dislike most magic "patter" as I feel like it doesn't contribute to the intended atmosphere and is very disingenuous. But now that I understand this, I am actively trying to write material for myself.

One other thing that I want to point out is that I'm not a card player. I play very rarely and do not have any passion or interest in most card games and especially gambling.

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Re: Fool Us - Season 3

Postby performer » August 2nd, 2016, 2:08 pm

Mahdi Gilbert wrote:Thank you for your kind remarks. And actually I was very much influenced by Mark Lewis, he is very sharp and his criticisms are usually on point..


Thank you Mahdi. It is always nice to find someone who recognizes my magnificence apart from myself.


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