The April Issue of Genii is Out!

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Richard Kaufman
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The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 20th, 2018, 4:04 pm

You can subscribe to Genii for as little as $35 for a digital subscription and access all 80 years of Genii, over 800 issues, and shortly all 25 years of MAGIC magazine as well.

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Mike Pisciotta graces the cover of Genii in April. For almost six years, Mike has been both the mixmaster and close-up magician from Thursday through Sunday at the Hat and Hare Pub in The Magic Castle, building a reputation for his smooth intelligent magic and customer-pleasing demeanor.

Martin Eisele has developed a fascinating product called Vision. It’s an app for your cellphone that’s a tool. It “sees” a shuffled deck which has been spread face up on the table and can deduce all sorts of interesting information, including whether any cards have been removed and exactly which cards they are. You can read all about it in Genii’s April issue.

April also welcomes Alexander de Cova to Genii, joining our many fine contributors with his bi-monthly column “Notizen.” Alexander is extremely well-known throughout Europe and the U.K., but less so in the U.S. We’re going to change that, starting with this month’s effect. It’s creative in the extreme and devilish because the cards are freely chosen. * There’s a dandy effect by Jeff Prace in his column “Left-Handed,” where a bit of origami is performed with a piece of paper wrapped inside a dollar bill, and then … * Bob Read gets stuck in the roundabout of airport hell while trying to visit Ken Klosterman in Cincinnati in “Hidden Treasures.” * A set of props I’ve never seen before appears this month in John Gaughan’s “Chamber of Secrets”—a century-old set of nesting candle-lit lanterns. * Have you always wanted to perform that miracle of mentalism, the Chair Test? A row of chairs are onstage and a spectator freely sits in one of them, and that chair has a sign on the back saying “You will sit in this chair.” It was a staple of David Berglas’s show. This month in “Conjuring” Jim Steinmeyer explains his own clever version. * David Kaye knows more about the brains of kids than adults, which is just right considering his status as a children’s entertainer. This month in “The Expert at the Kids’ Table,” he delves into exactly what children know and precisely when—something parents should know as well! * Jonathan Pendragon delves into the harmony between magician and assistant in “Panmagium.” * Todd Karr dishes up the latest bits o’ news in “The Eye”; Jon Racherbaumer dishes on some interesting books in “On the Slant”; and Brad Henderson takes his first turn at tricks, David Britland reviews books, and Ryan Matney views videos, all in “Light from the Lamp.”

http://www.geniimagazine.com
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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby Bill Mullins » March 20th, 2018, 11:48 pm

This installment of "Hidden Treasures" is hilarious. I think I have had some of the same conversations that Bob describes, certainly with the same airline, maybe with the same attendants and clerks.

Do you suppose that maybe Bob Read hasn't really passed on, but is stuck at Atlanta airport, waiting for Delta to find his suitcase? If only . . .

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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby Bill Mullins » March 21st, 2018, 12:21 am

Another thing --
I thought the photos in "Chamber of Secrets" were especially well done. The photographer, Robert Sebree, was a name I did not recognize. His website shows some really nice pictures. And it turns out this is not his first work with a magic theme.

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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 21st, 2018, 10:01 am

Bob Read had little formal education, but he was a natural writer, and wrote in a truly unique voice--exactly the same as his spoken voice. His columns are often funny because he saw life as absurd on many levels.

I was very glad to be able to publish "Hidden Treasures," even if it's almost a decade after his death. I think there enough for the rest of 2018.

At some point I have to take on the task of getting his Cups and Balls book republished, this time with the quarter of a million words that are missing from the edition published by Volker Huber.
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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby Ted M » March 23rd, 2018, 2:16 pm

I'm mostly waiting for the paper issue to arrive, but that sure was a tantalizing preview of the new Hermetic Press book in the More Genii Speaks video!

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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 23rd, 2018, 2:37 pm

There is no review of the book in the paper issue. I have to wait until a release date is announced (and a price).
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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby Ted M » March 23rd, 2018, 8:38 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:There is no review of the book in the paper issue. I have to wait until a release date is announced (and a price).

Yep, I read the table of contents. I was speaking strictly of the book preview that's found only in the More Genii Speaks video, with you showing us the cover and some interior pages.

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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby Zig Zagger » March 24th, 2018, 5:08 pm

What a pleasant surprise to finally see Alexander de Cova featured in Genii!

This man obviously lives, thinks, and breathes magic in every minute of his life, no matter whether he is performing, teaching, creating, tinkering at his kitchen table, or writing.

Alexander's magnificent German "BURNERS" project is nearing completion with the publication of its sixth volume within just a few years. Yep, that's already a total of 1,800+ pages of great, innovative, easy, practical, well thought-out magic, spanning 30+ years and almost all genres of magic plus loads of tips and practical advice. And there may still be a lot more to come.

The first volumes have garnered a lot of appraisal among German-speaking magicians. They have also brought Alexander for the second time the prestigious "Writer of the Year Award" which is granted by the Magic Circle of Germany (MZvD).

Besides, he has conceived and handled two lecture tours, has produced and put out a number of new tricks and has published "work books" on misdirection, the thumb-tip and his famous clothes-peg switch (all in German). Plus, there is a great blog (http://solidmagic.org/blog/) which Alexander occasionally writes in English, German and Spanish (!).

If you are not familiar with any of Alexander's work yet, you will find some of his English publications over at Lybrary. But the Big Book of de Cova's Masterful Magic in English has yet to be published. Fortunately, he has recently announced a first volume of his magic in English under the title "Notas" (Spanish for "notes"). By the way, the German title of his Genii column, "Notizen", means the very same thing.

Check out Alexander de Cova's work! There's is a lot to learn from one of the most knowledgeable, most creative and most skilled magicians of his generation.
Tricks, tips, news, interviews, musings and fun stuff: Have a look at our English-German magic blog! http://www.zzzauber.com
Advancing the art in magic one post at a time (yeah, right!)

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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby Q. Kumber » March 24th, 2018, 5:28 pm

Re: The Bottom Change.
I've only ever seen two people use it. Pat Page and Johnny Hoffman (Carnival performer in Ireland who passed away in 1975 - a superb stand-up performer with cards). Unlike what Richard describes in the video, they deposited the right hand's card on the bottom of the deck while taking the top one.

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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby erdnasephile » March 27th, 2018, 6:48 pm

I really like the new design. It reminded me of this guy and his cycling team from back in the day:

http://velojerseys.com/wp-content/uploa ... /08/21.jpg

Nice work, Mrs. K!

---------------------------------------------------

PS: What's the deal with the image tags--they don't seem to work anymore on the Forum.

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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 27th, 2018, 7:50 pm

Q. Kumber wrote:Re: The Bottom Change.
I've only ever seen two people use it. Pat Page and Johnny Hoffman (Carnival performer in Ireland who passed away in 1975 - a superb stand-up performer with cards). Unlike what Richard describes in the video, they deposited the right hand's card on the bottom of the deck while taking the top one.


Did I misspeak in the video? I meant placing the card on the bottom and taking the top one.
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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby erdnasephile » March 29th, 2018, 1:31 pm

I got to meet Mike Pisciotta last fall so the cover article was a real treat and captured his personality well, IMHO. I was able to watch him work several times, and he is a GREAT performer, with a very pleasing, mellow--yet confident--style. He was a marked contrast to the brash, in your face, style of some of the folks performing at the same event.

However, on my copy of the magazine, I seem to be missing some sentences throughout the article.

Is it possible please to restore the missing text on the on-line edition so I could reread the article?

Thanks!

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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby Richard Kaufman » March 29th, 2018, 7:38 pm

There are a half a dozen words missing in each of two sentences.

We'll try to fix the online version.
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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby erdnasephile » March 30th, 2018, 9:22 am

Thank you, Richard!

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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby Ted M » April 1st, 2018, 5:00 pm

I enjoyed the Mike Pisciotta article, but was puzzled by missing text at the 28-30, 30-31, 32-33 page breaks.

My wife refers to the new layout template as "knockoff Mondrian." Coincidentally, Todd Karr notes in The Eye that his is one of those estates who will "sue your pants of for unauthorized use"...

This will be an interesting ride with Brad Henderson reviewing tricks. I suspect there may be much gnashing of teeth and rending of garments. I appreciate his critical standards, but it would be useful (and fair) to describe the basic effect relatively early on in the writeup. In the case of The Imagination Box, I had no idea what the effect was until nearly the end of the review.

Time to read the (many!) tricks now...

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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby Bill Mullins » April 1st, 2018, 6:37 pm

I'd much rather read a review from Brad, who has an informed point of view (even if it doesn't always match my own), than one of the bland "I like this" reviews that show up in The Linking Ring and elsewhere.

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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby Richard Kaufman » April 1st, 2018, 11:17 pm

"Mondrian Knock-Off" no. Inspired by Mondrian and the movement of Neo Plasticism and De Stijl, yes.

Since our work is inspired by, but not reselling actual copies of, paintings by Mondrian, we do not fall into the category of copyright infringement.
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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby Jim Martin » April 2nd, 2018, 12:55 pm

Ted M wrote:...but was puzzled by missing text at the 28-30, 30-31, 32-33 page breaks.

As was I. Is it present in a different place in the feature?
(I also enjoyed the article.)
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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby Dustin Stinett » April 2nd, 2018, 3:06 pm

No one was more frustrated by this than I. Stuff happens, but I wish it would have happened to Brad's stuff instead of mine ... ;)

Here are the complete passages:

Page 28 to 30 should be ...
“It goes back to the dawn of civilization—
to the shamans. People would come to
him in search of a miracle and he’d say, ‘Here,
drink this’!”

Page 30 to 31 should be ...
“I got to do time travel—a premise for one of my effects—
with Kip Thorne, ...

Page 32, bottom of column 1 to top of column 2 ...
Hecklers are a reality of the bar environment.
People have been drinking and, as the
old adage goes, it’s a bar, not a church. “I have
some other ‘heckler stoppers’ for when it really
gets bad,”

Page 32 to 33 ...
I’ll read a passage and think, ‘That’s the magic!’ In one
of Kafka’s travel diaries, he talks about collecting
absences.

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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby Richard Kaufman » April 2nd, 2018, 3:47 pm

This has been or will shortly be corrected in the digital edition.
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Re: The April Issue of Genii is Out!

Postby Jim Martin » April 2nd, 2018, 6:51 pm

Thanks, Dustin and Richard!
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