***
Harry and Carson shooting the breeze about magic.
Rest in Peace, Harry the Hat.
Thanks to YouTuber Missy Logo
21 Saturday Apr 2018
***
Harry and Carson shooting the breeze about magic.
Rest in Peace, Harry the Hat.
Thanks to YouTuber Missy Logo
07 Saturday Apr 2018
Posted Magic, Performance
inTags
***
Magicians know Harry Lorayne as the author of some very popular books of card magic, but Harry, who is now in his 90s and still writing card magic books, really made his bread and butter from a related but different form of show business. He was recognized as one of the foremost “memory experts,” and in the 1960s and 70s, he made scores of television and night club appearances, amazing audiences with his memory stunts.
In this clip he memorizes the names of the people in Johnny Carson’s audience, having met them briefly just once before the show. It’s fun to see how Harry uses his entertainment skills and enthusiastic personality to turn what could be a dry demonstration into a showstopper.
Thanks to YouTuber Rudy Tinoco
01 Sunday Apr 2018
Here’s another installment of my limerick game contributions. As I stated in the first installment, on one of the online magic forums, there’s a game where one person suggests a first line for a limerick, and the next person has to complete the other four lines of the limerick. Many of the limericks have a magic-oriented theme, but that’s not a requirement. Here are a few of my better efforts. (Remember, all first lines were given by others):
There once was a magical duck
Enamored with some poor dumb cluck
He climbed on her bones
She started to moan
Hey!!–It’s a family website you schm*ck!
***
On a cold dismal night in mid Feb
I Googled ’bout every celeb
I perused every writer
Yes, much like the spider
I waste too much time on the web.
***
On the top of the mountain stood Harry
Houdini, that is, and then Larry
Jennings, of course
A powerful force
My favorite is Richardson, Barrie.
***
A man once married his dog
“I’m happy,” he wrote on his blog
The bathroom is free
From ten until three
While the wife is out using a log.
***
Derren Brown was reading my mind,
Attempting to do it while blind.
But the dude didn’t know
Of my years of Cointreau–
So there was nothing there he could find!
27 Tuesday Mar 2018
Posted Books, Magic, Performance, Writing
inTags
Bicycle, book, books, card magic, cards, Dai Vernon, Lewis Ganson, magic, Maiden Back, Malini on Magic, Mystic Descendant, Pete McCabe, Ron Chavis, Scripting Magic, writing
Every once in a while I like to catch up and share the titles of conjuring books I’ve been reading, so here’s what I’ve been enjoying the last couple of months—and a little product review at the end as well:
1. Scripting Magic, Volume 2: Pete McCabe’s first volume, Scripting Magic, was one of my all-time favorite magic books. It contained scripts for dozens of excellent magic tricks, and what’s more, it told you why they were good scripts and compared them to the not-so-good examples. Anyone reading them could improve the effects they already did by following the advice in the book. Now, in Volume 2, McCabe continues with more wonderful tricks and scripts—including examples from America’s Got Talent winner Derek Hughes, and the script of Houdini’s performance of the Water Torture Cell. McCabe tells you not only what makes a good script, but also helps you to understand how to come up with a premise, and how to flesh it out. It’s terrific advice, but even if you choose to ignore it, there are some very good tricks here including “Pleasure To Burn” ( a fifty-two to one card equivoque) and the holiday-themed “Catching a Leprechaun.” While it’s always great to learn new sleights (and McCabe teaches a few here in the context of a given effect) probably no investment of time will improve one’s magic so much as focusing on script and presentation.
2. Malini and His Magic: Dai Vernon was always humble about the debt he owed to the magicians whose work he studied, including Emil Jarrow and Nate Leipzig, but none impressed him more than Max Malini. I’ve written about Malini before, but it is hard to overestimate what an important influence he was on Vernon’s generation of magicians. In an age where magicians mainly entertained with large illusions on stage, Malini changed the paradigm. Whether he was entertaining on the stage of a large theater, a hotel ballroom, or an intimate dinner party of the rich and famous, he needed only a couple of decks of cards and some silverware to make his presence unforgettable. In Malini and His Magic, editor Lewis Ganson collated Vernon and others’ thoughts and memories of Malini in order to produce a slim but valuable volume. It starts off with some basic biographical information, and then describes the presentation and methods of Malini’s full evening show, the highlight of which was his card stabbing routine. Later chapters deal with Malini’s more informal shows, and it’s wonderful to read about how audacious his effects and methods were. Malini was also quite a self-promoter, and not a small amount of his success was his ability to “schmooze” and make friends with wealthy patrons. The one secret that remains is the famous dinner table production of a block of ice from a lady’s hat. While Vernon describes the production and one aspect of the method, he admits that he does not know how Malini loaded up. That will have to be a mystery to all but Ricky Jay, who you can see perform the astonishing trick for a skeptical journalist in the documentary film Deceptive Practice. (Hmm, I just got an idea of what may have happened.)
3. Our friend Ron Chavis is now well along with the publication of his “Official Magazine for Mentalists,” Mystic Descendant, having released a solid four quarterly issues to round out the first year. The magazine continues with its friendly, good-natured, bar-room mate outlook, and as I have mentioned before, it focuses mainly on the casual performance of mentalism, with a focus on storytelling. I’ve finally caught up with the fourth issue, and in it you’ll find a lovely true story about a seance that unexpectedly turns into a tribute to a recently deceased mentalist; a presentation of an effect that leaves warm feelings of a spectator’s meaningful relationship; and an interview with South American mentalist Mauricio Jaramillo who talks about preparing for the time when things go wrong in performance. It’s light, pleasant reading, that may well stimulate mentalism thoughts of your own; if you haven’t picked up a copy yet, you can go to http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/mysticdescendant to order any issue.
4. On some of the internet magicians’ forums, you’ll find endless discussion of what are the best cards to use, and it may seem amusing to run into spirited online discussions that go into scores of pages on whether blue-backed or red-backed cards are best to use. A lot of magicians take such things quite seriously. Anyway, much virtual ink has also been spilled about what brand of cards is most suitable for card magic. For the past few years, the product of a relative newcomer in the field, the Phoenix deck by Card-Shark, has found favor with many magicians. I like Phoenix cards a lot, but I recently became aware of the new release by the US Playing Card Company of a special edition of their Maiden Back cards. I’ve been using them for a few months now, and I really like them, maybe more than the Phoenix cards. Here’s what I think the advantages of them are:
So if this sounds like something you might be interested in, I’d advise you to try a brick soon, as I don’t really see how they can keep selling them at this price. Happy magishing.
25 Sunday Mar 2018
Posted Magic, Performance
in***
Magician Hector Mancha won the Grand Prix of the 2015 international FISM magic competition with his sketch of a poor man who for a brief moment is able to get money to appear at his finger tips.
Those wiggly fingers have a lot of magicians scratching their heads over where those bills are coming from.
Thanks to YouTuber maxivolkmagic
20 Tuesday Mar 2018
***
At one of the online magic forums, there’s a game I’ve contributed to through many years concerning limericks. One person suggests a first line for a limerick, and the next person has to complete the limerick. Many of the limericks have a magic-oriented theme, but that’s not a requirement. Here are a few of my better efforts. (Remember, all first lines were given by others):
A young man from the wilds of Peru
Bought a very new gnu from the zoo
But the gnu didn’t know
What a gnu ought to know
So he bought a new gnu who knew news.
***
I “invented” a new spelling trick
With 21 cards, it’s so slick
I deal seven piles
But I never get smiles,
They all want it over real quick.
***
When presenting the spec’s queen of hearts
Some magi take leave of their smarts
They prance and parade
(No, they’ll never get laid)
Not knowing they’re just some old farts
***
I considered a life on the stage
Not easy for someone my age
But I just got hired
No longer retired
Come see me, the geek in a cage.
***
I found in my old photo book
The claw of the mean Captain Hook
And also the mug
Of some vicious thug
For Sale: by Hook or by crook.
04 Sunday Mar 2018
Posted Life, Magic, Performance
inTags
card magic, cards, Derek DelGaudio, magic, math, performance, Persi Diaconis, probability, riffle shuffle, shuffling
***
Yesterday, card magician Derek DelGaudio appeared on NPR radio’s quiz show, Ask Me Another, where his quiz category was…playing cards.
What an incredible stroke of fortuitous luck engineered by the quiz show Gods! (not)
Anyway, Derek answered questions like, “Which suit used to be represented by batons and sticks?” and “One of the four Kings’ faces is different from the other three: which, and why?” Of course Derek answered these questions correctly—he is after all performing card magic nightly in his new one man Off-Broadway show, In & Of Itself—but it was the final question that was the most amusing. Here’s how the conversation went:
Host: “According to mathematicians at Harvard and Columbia, how many—”
DelGaudio (and magicians across the country): “Seven!”
Host: (Stunned silence, then laughter) “Yes, correct.”
******
Spoiler: As the host later told the audience, the question’s finish was, “how many riffle shuffles does it take to fully shuffle a deck into a randomized state?” It’s a more interesting question than might appear at first glance, with quite a few sticky points.
First of all, is it referring to any kind of shuffle? No; it applies specifically to the riffle shuffle, also known as the dovetail shuffle—the deck is divided into two packets, one packet held from above in each hand, with each thumb at one short end of the cards, and the other fingers at the opposite short end. Then some cards are riffled off the bottom of one packet by the thumb onto the table, and next, some cards are riffled off the bottom of the other packet by the other thumb onto the table. This is repeated, riffling off cards from the bottom of the two packets onto the table, alternately, until both packets are exhausted (or at least a little bit sleepy). Most bridge players are familiar with this kind of shuffle.
Do the cards have to be perfectly alternated, one card from each hand, in perfect syncopation (magicians call this a “faro shuffle”)? Again, the answer is no. There is no requirement that the cards be perfectly interlaced, nor that the deck be cut into two even packets at the beginning. But even with imperfect shuffling, the cards should be fully randomized after seven riffle shuffles.
With some reflection, one might ask, what does it even mean to say that the cards are now in a random order? Isn’t every order a random order? The whole question of randomness is non-trivial, but a quick and dirty explanation as applied to shuffling depends on two notions. First, suppose we number all the cards in a deck consecutively from the top, 1-52. Now we shuffle the deck. When we look at our new shuffled order, are there any clues in the new order that might lead us to suspect what the original order might have been? For example, if the new order looked like 1-20, 26-40, 21-25, 41-52, we can see that the “chunks” from the original order have left a calling card of sorts of the previous order; we would not say that the shuffle had randomized the order yet. The other thing to realize is, that given our original stack ordered 1-52, it is not true that every other conceivable stack could be obtained by one riffle shuffle—even if we were allowed to decide exactly how the cards should fall. For example, if we wanted a new stack that began 2-1-7-3 on top, there is no way of splitting the original 1-52 stack and doing one riffle shuffle that would put those four cards on top.
So, now we are in a position to talk about what a randomly shuffled deck would mean. It means that if we were to compare the positions before shuffling and after shuffling, there would be no clues left as to what the original order was; and that the new order was just as likely to have resulted from the actual beginning order as from any other beginning order. It turns out that only if you riffle shuffle at least the magic seven times, can you be sure that the preceding two conditions are true.
This result was proved by Persi Diaconis, presently a professor of mathematics at Stanford University, but also one of the most intriguing and elusive figures in modern sleight-of-hand conjuring. When he was 14, he ran away from home and joined a much older magician, Dai Vernon, on a cross-country scramble to track down the best underground card sharks in America. The idea was to learn new card sleights that other magicians had not yet discovered. Diaconis was so intrigued by gambling questions that he enrolled in college math courses to learn the math that would give him more insight into such problems. Later on, Diaconis got himself a teaching post at Stanford on the recommendation of the Scientific American columnist Martin Gardner. Gardner it turns out, was a first-class amateur magician; Diaconis had shown him a few card tricks that he had invented, and on the strength of those card tricks, Gardner recommended Diaconis to the department head at Stanford who then hired Diaconis.
Diaconis has since published papers on many topics of potential interest to magicians and gamblers, including a proof that when flipping a fair coin, it is slightly more likely to fall on the side it started on. Equally intriguing is Diaconis’s tight-lipped attitude towards questions about the now-deceased Vernon. Vernon had many acolytes, most of whom have shared in print or video what Vernon had taught them. Vernon himself was not averse to revealing some of his confidences. But Diaconis is one of the few who refuses to speak about any of the Master’s teachings, and believes that some mysteries are meant to be taken to the grave.
But Diaconis’s riffle shuffle paper is well known among magicians. So now you know why Derek DelGaudio didn’t need to hear the rest of the question…
25 Sunday Feb 2018
Tags
FISM, Laurent Piron, magic, magicians, performance, sponge balls
***
French magician Laurent Piron daringly conceives and executes a wonderfully surreal and visual magic scenario for the 2015 FISM international magic competition. Lots of clever misdirection; you’ll probably catch some moves if you repeat the video–but a live audience only gets one chance!
More at Laurent Piron
10 Saturday Feb 2018
Posted Comedy, Magic, Performance
in***
Who knew that our friend from House was a magician, too? Laurie and Stephen Fry are quite funny and good, actually. Host Terry Wogan looks on in amusement and amazement.
Thanks to YouTuber Jeannine1974
28 Sunday Jan 2018
Posted Comedy, Magic, Performance, Writing
inTags
comedy, Jesus, magic, magician, performance, Rowan Atkinson, sermon
13 Saturday Jan 2018
Posted Comedy, Magic, Performance
in***
Eight-year-old magician Issy Simpson has a ton of personality and confidence. Here she amazes the Britain’s Got Talent judges.
Thanks to YouTuber Anthony Ying
06 Saturday Jan 2018
Posted Comedy, Magic, Performance
in***
Impeccable sleight of hand and a great sense of humor is a winning combination in a magician. Johnny Ace Palmer is one of those special few who astounds and amuses.
Thanks to YouTuber PHILA TV
30 Saturday Dec 2017
Posted Comedy, Magic, Performance, Theatre
in***
The saucy Lucy Darling does it with a cherry on top.
In her other life, Canadian performer Carisa Hendrix is a fire-eater, but it’s as her burlesque character Lucy Darling that she really heats things up.
More Lucy at Carisa Hendrix
16 Saturday Dec 2017
Posted Comedy, Magic, Performance
in***
When I was a youngster, I stared at the window of my local toy store, wishing that I could own a Jerry Mahoney vent dummy like the one they had on display. Jerry Mahoney, of course, along with Knucklehead Smiff, was the creation of ventriloquist Paul Winchell. (Trivia question: Paul Winchell had some much greater contributions to society than his dummies. What were they?) I remember lying down on the floor of the television room with a number of encyclopedia volumes on my stomach, breathing slowly in and out. The book I had just taken out from the local library, How to Be A Ventriloquist, told me that that was the way to build my diaphragm muscles.
I never got any good at it, but I still love a good ventriloquist. The clip above showcases not just a good ventriloquist, but a great one, maybe the best I’ve ever seen. And she’s only 12 years old. She was a finalist on America’s Got Talent this year, Darci Lynne.
P.S. She won.
Thanks to YouTuber Downlock1
14 Thursday Dec 2017
Posted Magic, Music, Performance
inTags
card magic, magic, music, S.W. Erdnase, Sade, Smooth operator, song
***
The sultry Sade with an excellent band.
A little tribute to S.W. Erdnase.
Thanks to YouTuber Largarife2
09 Saturday Dec 2017
Posted Comedy, Magic, Performance
in***
The duo of Young & Strange update a magic classic. Love the little water kicker at the end.
More Young & Strange at Young & Strange
24 Friday Nov 2017
Posted Magic, Performance
inTags
Arts Express, card magic, cards, Dealt, film, interview, Luke Korem, magic, movie, radio, Richard Turner, sleight of hand, WBAI
***
***
Magician Richard Turner, the fabled blind card mechanic, is the subject of a compelling new film documentary directed by Luke Korem called Dealt. I interviewed Korem who spoke about the challenges and pleasures of making the film. Though ostensibly about magic, the story is also about independence, disability, discipline, creativity, and about learning how best to play the hand that life has dealt us.
Click on the grey triangle to listen to the interview as broadcast yesterday on the Arts Express radio program on WBAI 99.5 FM..
12 Sunday Nov 2017
Posted Comedy, Magic, Performance
in
***
Last year, Penn & Teller performed this little stunt from their classic repertoire on their television series, Fool Us; it’s still a knuckle-biting performance.
But for the purists who remember the original version, here’s a clip from twenty-five years ago, back when Teller took a few more hair-raising chances . . .
Thanks to YouTuber secretSociety40
06 Monday Nov 2017
Tags
Because I'm Me, comedy, David Mossop, Imagination, movie, music, Sequoia Colbeck, short, skiing, song, Tom Wallisch
***
Monday morning, a delightful tribute to imagination. This four-minute movie short directed by David Mossop of Sherpas Cinema had me smiling throughout. Tom Wallisch on the skis, the excellent nine-year old Sequoia Colbeck as the dreamy boy, and Lucas Meyers and Sydney Black as the oblivious parents.
“Because I’m Me” performed by The Avalanches
Thanks to YouTuber The North Face
And more about the film at https://sherpascinema.com/project/imagination/
05 Sunday Nov 2017
Thanks to everybody who participated in the contest. I had an enjoyable time reading the entries. There were some really great stories told. Here are the three winners:
First Prize goes to Daniel Doyle for his hilarious story about a chimp gone ape, complete with the requisite bite in the ass. It’s a classic. Maybe if you see him in person someday he’ll tell you about it. He chose as his prize a copy of Marlo Without Tears by Jon Racherbaumer.
Second Prize goes to Alfred Dowaliby who told a wonderful magician-in-trouble story. While Alfred was working aboard a cruise ship, fortune played a dirty trick—but instinct took over, and he emerged a hero. Extra points for a side portrait of his boss, Bill Malone. He chose as his prize Volume 5 of Richard Osterlind’s Mind Mysteries DVD.
Third Prize goes to Gallagher Hayes who told a touching and philosophical story of a misunderstanding that led him to the wrong place at the wrong time; but he still had the unstinting support of his beloved wife. He chose as his prize a copy of The Magic of Milt Kort by Stephen Minch.
Thanks again to all who entered. Sometime next week, everyone who participated will receive a pdf compilation of all the stories that were sent in
See you next year?
04 Saturday Nov 2017
Posted Comedy, Magic, Performance
inTags
card magic, cards, Garrett Thomas, magic, magician, monte, sleight of hand
***
The talented Garrett Thomas, performing one of his signature effects, packs in a load of eye-popping magic into three short minutes.
Thanks to YouTuber Dumitru Mariuta
28 Saturday Oct 2017
Posted Life, Magic, Performance, Theatre
inTags
coin magic, contest, David Roth, magic, performance, The Funnel
***
Though David Roth first introduced his coin magic showpieces some forty years ago, they are still fresher, more original, and more creative than just about anything seen since in coin magic. Here he performs one of my favorites, the inexplicable Funnel effect.
And…we’re nearing last call for my third annual Contest. It’s a fun contest, with lots of prizes, and should not take you much time to complete. You can’t win it if you’re not in it, and everybody who enters gets a free prize. Click on the link for details.
Thanks to YouTuber SpaghettiMagic
21 Saturday Oct 2017
Posted Comedy, Life, Magic, Performance
in***
Pit Hartling has amusing presentations for card magic, along with some of the most clever methods. His book In Order to Amaze should delight most card workers. Here is a fairly recent performance from The Magic Castle.
More Pit Hartling at Pit Hartling
And…time is running out to enter a dead easy contest. Magicians and hobbyists, spend a little time today to get in your entries. Read the details here.
17 Tuesday Oct 2017
Posted Life, Magic, Performance, Theatre
inTags
automaton, chess, Genii Convention, illusion, John Gaughan, magic, mechanical chess player, photography, The Turk
(Click to enlarge)
18th century chess-playing automaton, reconstructed by John Gaughan
Orlando, Florida
More on The Turk here
14 Saturday Oct 2017
Posted Comedy, Life, Magic, Performance
inTags
Fool Us, hearts, Kayla Drescher, magic, magician, Penn&Teller, performance
***
A really lovely re-imagining of a classic by magician Kayla Drescher on Penn & Teller’s Fool Us.
More Kayla Drescher at Kayla Drescher
And don’t forget to enter The Contest. Prizes galore!